Welcome to Friday Favorites, a weekly series where I share interesting articles, books, fashion finds, recipes and more.
Good Friday Favorites morning friends. After a beautiful and busy week this morning it is moody and gray. Tonight we are going to a bonfire party. Friends, fun, food…a great way to start the weekend.
In case you missed it, I’ve “opened” a Holiday Shop on the blog. You can find all of the Home Decor I have been sharing over the last week or two all in one place.
As for Gift Lists, I am behind schedule with those but I will be posting lists for book lovers, bakers, chocolate fans and a few of my other favorite things that I post about on the blog regularly. Look for those next week.
Get yourself a cup of tea and sit a spell. I have lots to share this week, a few of my “go to” winter cookbooks that you are going to love, 2 seasonal cocktails, some comfort food for cold days and so much more.
FRIDAY FAVORITES NO.505
Food
Image here
Doesn’t this chicken pot pie look delicious?
Image Sarah Copeland via Goop
One pot meals are great for weeknights, this Soup au Pistou with Pasta and Herbs is going to the top of my list to make this week.
Image Baker By Nature
Chicken marsala with buttered noodles, tender pan-fried chicken and a flavorful mushroom marsala sauce. A beautiful and delicious dinner any night of the week.
Pastries, it’s what’s for breakfast. Easy cream cheese and fruit danish.
An easy and delicious browned butter cranberry crumble bar. This buttery bar is perfect of your holiday cookie tray.
Image Aberdeen Kitchen
Today I have two cocktails that you are definitely going to want to add to your holiday menus, Spiced Pear Gin Fizz
Image Make Mine a Spritzer
and Apple cider Aperol Spritz.
Links & Articles
More influential women will soon be gracing our quarters! This year includes Maya Angelou, Sally Ride, Wilma Mankiller, Nina Otero-Warren, and Anna May Wong.
Mysterious Objekts: An 1840s Farmhouse (and Antiques Shop) in Ontario
Lisa Kudrow Reveals Why The Friends Cast Is Laughing In The Opening Credits
Disney’s First Plus-Sized Protagonist Is a Ballet Dancer in New Short ‘Reflect’
The Fed Just Raised Interest Rates By .75 Points. Here’s How That Helps Fight Inflation
Russia Won’t Go Down Without a Fight
Animals dream too! Who knew?
Lynn Caponera on the Wild and Wonderful Legacy of Maurice Sendak
12 Incredible Places That You Can Visit In a Day
Books
It’s November! Don’t forget to check out Amazons First Reads!
A richly rewarding novel about family bonds, the power of words, and the resilience of mothers and daughters in 1930s Appalachia.
The folks in the Kentucky Appalachians are scraping by. Coal mining and hardscrabble know-how are a way of life for these isolated people. But when Amanda Rye, a young widowed mother and traveling packhorse librarian, comes through a mountain community hit hard by the nation’s economic collapse, she brings with her hope, courage, and apple pie. Along the way, Amanda takes a shine to the MacInteer family, especially to the gentle Rai; her quick-study daughter, Sass; and Finn, the eldest son who’s easy to warm to. They remind Amanda of her childhood and her parents with whom she longs to be reconciled.
Her connection with the MacInteers deepens, and Amanda shares with them a dangerous secret from her past. When that secret catches up with Amanda in the present, she, Rai, Sass, and Finn find their lives intersecting—and threatened—in the most unexpected ways. Now they must come together as the truth lights a path toward survival, mountain justice, forgiveness, and hope.
Food and poetry: in so many ways, a natural pairing, from prayers over bread to street vendor songs. Poetry is said to feed the soul, each poem a delicious morsel. When read aloud, the best poems provide a particular joy for the mouth. Poems about food make these satisfactions explicit and complete.
Of course, pages can and have been filled about food’s elemental pleasures. And we all know food is more than food: it’s identity and culture. Our days are marked by meals; our seasons are marked by celebrations. We plant in spring; harvest in fall. We labor over hot stoves; we treat ourselves to special meals out. Food is nurture; it’s comfort; it’s reward. While some of the poems here are explicitly about the food itself: the blackberries, the butter, the barbecue–all are evocative of the experience of eating.
Many of the poems are also about the everything else that accompanies food: the memories, the company, even the politics. Kevin Young, distinguished poet, editor of this year’s Best American Poetry, uses the lens of food – and his impeccable taste – to bring us some of the best poems, classic and current, period.
Christmas Book Gift Ideas
I love cookbooks and have a big collections but there are some that I go to again and again for the stories, recipes, and photos. Here are a few of my favorites that I think you will love too.
Who says the winter months have to be bleak and barren? Author Tammy Donroe sees this season as an opportunity to stay inside, fire up the oven, and produce decadent desserts from the bounty of wholesome winter ingredients. Wintersweet encourages readers to make use of fresh, local ingredients for warming seasonal desserts. While summer farmers’ markets are always overflowing with ripe produce, there’s plenty to be had from November to March: squashes and pumpkins, parsnips and carrots, apples, pears, citrus of all types, and feel-good ingredients like nuts, cheese, and chocolate.
Perfect for holiday gatherings or to warm the belly on a cold night, Wintersweet is the perfect dessert companion to make the year’s coldest season a bit more festive.
The must-have guide to cooking with nuts and seeds, from soups and sauces to pasta and dessert.
The only cookbook of its kind, In a Nutshell is a complete guide to cooking and baking with nuts and seeds. After working for years as instructors at the Institute of Culinary Education, Cara Tannenbaum and Andrea Tutunjian deliver the essential cookbook for Mother Nature’s most versatile and nutritious ingredients. With more than 250 recipes exploring the culinary and cultural history of nuts and seeds in everything from Pumpkin Seed Guacamole to Hazelnut Roulade, In a Nutshell unites the smooth, crunchy, savory, and sweet.
In a Nutshell is organized to reflect the way we eat meals today, with chapters like Nibbles, Dip It, Noodles and Nuts, and Family Style. Omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans alike will delight in dishes both simple and complex, from Almond-Crusted Mac-and-Cheese to Pistachio Biryiani. Culinary cheerleaders for the powerful team of sixteen nuts and seeds featured in the book, Tannenbaum and Tutunjian prove that nuts are so much more than a happy-hour snack.
Going well beyond cookbooks that focus solely on the holidays, Eat Feed Autumn Winter finds reason to celebrate throughout the year’s twilit time. After helping you stock your pantry, Bramley presents meals to sustain you from the first chilly evenings of fall through the lengthening days that herald spring. With menus for enjoying the autumn harvest (Wheat Berry and Fig Salad, Feta-Olive Phyllo Cigars), celebrating the winter solstice (Lambswool Punch, Yule Log Cake), and warming up après ski (Onion Rösti, Cheese Fondue), the book is a cornucopia—not just of delectable recipes but also of imaginative ideas for cold-weather entertaining.
For Kids
On one bright winter night, a group of woodland creatures emerges from the forest. Despite their differences, they start to build something together, using items found on the forest floor. What are they making? And how quickly can they build it? Something special is happening tonight, and soon the animals are off—in a race to catch a glimpse of one of nature’s most astounding wonders! With lyrical text and sparkling artwork, Bright Winter Night is a celebration of the joy and beauty of nature and the special gift of friendship and togetherness.
Finds
Move over Elf on the Shelf, make way for the gnomes. These little things are everywhere this year.
Have you seen all of the beautiful skirts at Anthropologie? I love this one and this one.
Target is one of my favorite places to find holiday decor and this year they have so many good pieces. Many are under $10.00
Don’t miss all their family pajamas for the holidays.
Speaking of Target, this pillow is the #1 purchased item from my blog in 3 months!
I mentioned this a few months ago, Banana Republic has stepped up its game and the designs and quality are back to the”good old days.” Everything in their line of handbags and totes is on my wish list.
Pin Me for Later
Until Tomorrow
Have a great day friends, thank you for spending part of your day with me, I really appreciate it. I hope to see you back here tomorrow for Weekend Meanderings with Kim and Juliet!
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Great looking tasty food as always! Love the gnomes. So cute for Christmas. I saw them on Amazon last week and thought about getting them. But decided not to. I already have way too much stuff to store for holidays.
Brenda
Brenda, I have seen them many times on Amazon and elsewhere but I do not need anything either. I just like to look. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
You might also like “The Bookwoman Of Troublesome Creek”- about a young woman who delivers books on horseback to people living in the Appalachian hollers. Very good!
Lindsey, thank you for the recommendation! I will check it out. Have a wonderful weekend.
The danishes look good!
Mmmmmmm…delicious food….but I am hungry now… hahahaha….happy weekend love from me and Leaf
Happy weekend sweet friend!
I remember the first time my partner saw our dog dreaming, where his adorable little legs started running. My partner panicked and tried to wake him up as he thought something was wrong. Too cute!
They are so sweet when they do that. I hope that you are well and not affected by the bad rain and weather.