the best floral items to fit your holiday

I'm sure last week wore you out a bit on the recipe front, so now it's time to switch modes. I hope you enjoyed Brian's guest gift guide yesterday; there will be more of those as the holiday season trundles on. In the meantime, i'd like to share some imparted knowledge. I recently started working at a small floral shop and have had the privilege of watching some very creative folks at work each day. Sometimes I get lucky and they teach me a thing or two, like how to tie a bow with red velvet ribbon, an item that screams holiday no matter what you apply it to, or how to make a mistletoe orb without actually having mistletoe (hint: boxwood and christmas tree trimmings). You can get pine cones the size of your face from the west coast. Did you know that spruce needles are poisonous so you should use fir branches to make wreaths because they won't irritate your skin as much? I didn't, and in order to impart some of my gleaned floral knowledge to you (and a few long-time personal opinions), I've created this handy educational chart on the best floral supplies for all you DIYers out there to help you decorate for the holidays. Enjoy!-hil

Gift Guide for the Mustachioed Man

Well folks, today you're in luck. I am fortunate enough to share with you a carefully curated gift guide from one of our dearest friends. If you have a Ron Swanson in your life, look no further than this handy compilation. This is a guest post from outdoorsman extraordinaire Brian Quay. Brian lives in Fort Collins, Colorado with his lovely wife Shannon and their Siberian Husky, Manii. He is currently pursuing a Graduate degree in Natural Resource Economics from Colorado State University. Brian is a fan of climbing mountains, growing mustaches, reducing his carbon footprint, and brewing beer. Enjoy!

Read on for the details and Brian's comments after the jump!

Mom's Turkey leftover remedy: Grießklößchen soup

Every year, once Thanksgiving has passed, there's still one thing to be looked forward to in my family, and that thing is Grießklößchen (grease-kloos-hen) suppe. My mom boils down the turkey bones into soup broth and then adds these wonderful little german potato dumplings. Unfortunately, if her sister hasn't shipped some over from the old country, these little gems are pretty hard to find. If there's a german grocer or international foods market near you, you may be able to find a mix for them, otherwise you're up the creek. But never fear, folks. There is an easy substitute. Head down to the kosher section of your local bodega and pick up some matzo ball mix and you're ready to go! Read on for how to make this delicious Thanksgiving hangover after the jump!

A last minute list for Thanksgiving day

Happy thanksgiving! I hope you're all cozily snuggled on your couches watching the big parade. But if you're anything like my family, you're probably busily making a schedule for oven use or being sent out to the grocery store with a last minute list in your hot little hand. So to help with these eleventh-hour errands, I've compiled a short list of items that never hurt to have around this capitol of all cooking days. You can view it after the jump. Hope it's helpful and have a great holiday! -hil

Thanksgiving for the Smaller Table

For the past ten years or so, I've gone to Florida with my family for Thanksgiving. We don't have much extended family, at least not any close by, so our holidays have always been a bit small. When my oldest sister got hitched and it was just my parents and Lindsey and I, we started inviting folks over on Thanksgiving, but even that felt pretty modest. That's why I'm very excited to spend the holiday with Sean's family this year. The extended family lives close by for the most part, and those who don't are driving in. I think Thanksgiving is a great time for a large group, a festive feast, and even if your family is small it's nice to attend a good party or go over to a friends house this time of year. However, if there's just a couple of you, cooking a huge turkey and all the fixings can be overwhelming and impractical for your personal Thanksgiving meal. Never fear: I'm here to help.

I think it's important to cook something special on the holidays. It helps to set the occasion apart, hence the traditional whole Turkey. But if fifteen pounds of poultry is a little over the top for you and just a couple other guests, consider this recipe I found for Roasted Cornish Hens with Apples and Onions. What's great about the cornish hen is they always feel really special to make and to eat, plus you get the satisfaction of serving the whole bird. They are a bit of a delicacy and certainly aren't the most practical, but they're so small that it makes them easy to work with. They don't dry out like other birds in the oven since it doesn't take as long for them to cook the whole way through. This particular recipe is festive and rich: perfect to serve alongside mashed potatoes and all the other Thanksgiving accouterments. Part of it even includes a delicious gravy! I like that it's a simple recipe that produces a complex flavor. You'll need a dutch oven for this one, as well as: 2 Cornish Hens, olive oil, an onion, 2 apples, dried thyme, a smidgen of brandy, and a splash of apple cider. If you have flour or cornstarch nearby, it might be handy to thicken the gravy. Follow the link above for the complete instructions and read on for a visual How To after the jump!

Second Family Thanksgiving

This past weekend Sean and I hosted a little gathering called Second Family Thanksgiving. We moved around our furniture and thanks to some kind friends who brought extra tables and chairs, we were able to turn our tiny home into what looked like a ramshackle but cozy restaurant for the evening. It was my first time doing a turkey solo, and one certainly feels the weight of getting it right when there's fifteen pounds of main course depending on you. I went with something fairly straightforward and also wrapped some bacon around the bird to give some extra flavor (a trick my sister Lindsey taught me). Success was mine, as was the whole night. We had folks bring a veritable cornucopia of dishes, from the traditional sweet potato casserole and cranberry sauce to mashed parsnips and waldorf salad. It was delicious!

The vintage plates help add that homey feel

One of the best parts was seeing all the people from every corner of our lives crammed into the same room enjoying one another. Despite the fact that most were strangers to each other, it felt like a reunion of old friends. Having a celebration like this was such a phenomenal way to embrace this season. The founders of this occasion in Oxford, the Quays, were of course desperately missed, but it was lovely to see the legacy they'd left with us. Also, a few lovely ladies had collected vintage plates for me back in the spring to use for the wedding, but it ended up being a bust. Fortunately, we still had them stowed away and used them for the event. They added a great down home feel to the whole thing.

So, from Second Family Thanksgiving, I've included some family photos. My sincere apologies for neglecting to take pictures of the beautiful and expansive spread! In all the excitement, I just plum forgot.

Ashley and Mark with their award (a vintage plate, duh) for coming the farthest: all the way from Iowa!

Verily, Thanksgiving is almost upon us! Here's to a week of food, merriment and togetherness. You can view more pictures of our Second Family after the jump!

A Rustic Italian November Dinner

Last night my sister, Lindsey, and her beau came for dinner, which gave me the perfect opportunity to try out a recipe I've been carrying around in my back pocket for awhile now. About a month and a half ago Design*Sponge posted a recipe by food editor and stylist Dani Fischer for orecchiette with orange-spiced lamb meatballs. I immediately knew this was one I'd like to try and bought a pound of lamb at the farmer's market that very weekend. It has been sitting in the freezer since, and last night I triumphantly sculpted it into these lovely meatballs.

The recipe itself is very rustic and earthy, and it felt fulfilling to make. I started the stock earlier in the day and followed the instructions to the T, boiling down a few potatoes, celery stalks with leaves, and I even found arugula to add into the mix. It smelled quite tantalizing as it simmered. The most actual labor came into play mixing and forming the meatballs and thinly slicing the eight celery hearts. I nearly always underestimate how much time cooking will take, and these two things definitely slowed my progress. Luckily, our dinner guests were also running late.
More on this culinary adventure after the jump!