A suggestion that is a cheaper gift for maybe teachers, mailmen, co-workers is one of my favorites! I have always hoarded Christmas mugs at the after Christmas sales, so I have plenty for the "just in case I forgot" people - I have a wonderful recipe for homemade cocoa and Russian Tea! I make double batches of each, slide plastic baggies not ziplock) in each mug, along with a candycane for the cocoa and a cinnamon stick for the tea, fill up each bag so its a little over the rim, tie off the bag with a rubber band and tie a pretty ribbon around the rubber band! I like to find the oversized mugs because they hold so much more and it adds up to a lot more yummy mugs of tea and cocoa! They are the perfect gift that shows that you care because they are personal, yet cheap for you!!

Josie and Berf - I love how you both have your wine stored. I wish I would have done that instead of a small message center I have in my kitchen. I told DH, when and if we ever add on the mudroom off the kitchen, I'm turning the message center into something like the two of you have. Looks great!

I also wanted to say that my "art" doesn't touch that rug. I only paid like 17.00 for each of the cloths; however, I did pay a small fortune to have them framed. Also, in my mind I pictured your rug framed without glass, just my 2 cents. You might could also have some sort of custom rug holder made for cheap to attach it to the wall with. I am sure it will be beautiful whatever you choose to do with it!!!! By the way, I am so jealous of your kitchen. C'est Magnifique!!!!

o RE: Cookalong #40 - Wine clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by walnutcreek (My Page) on Sun, Feb 12, 12 at 16:05 CHICKEN IN HEAVENLY WINE SAUCE 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon crushed dry oregano 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil 8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms 1 cup Marsala wine 1/2 cup sherry wine Clean and rinse chicken, place between sheets of plastic wrap and using the side of a square mallet pound chicken breast to 1/4 inch thickness. In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, and oregano. Coat chicken pieces with the flour mixture. In a large skillet, melt butter in the oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan and lightly brown, then turn over chicken pieces and add mushrooms and any remaining flour mixture. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover Skillet and bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer,and cook for 10 minutes, turning chicken once, cook until no longer pink. Serve over egg noodles or your favorite pasta, topped with the wine sauce. Serves 4 SPICY WINE MUSTARD 3/4 cup brown mustard seeds 3/4 cup yellow mustard seeds 1 cup white wine vinegar 1 cup dry white wine 1/4 cup EVOO 1/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons dry mustard (Coleman's) 1 tablespoon sea salt 1 - 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Put all ingredients into a deep, medium-sized bowl, stir well, cover and leave on countertop at room temperature, stirring once or twice, for 24 hours. Transfer bowl contents to a food processor puree until creamy. Transfer mustard to jars, seal tightly and refrigerate. Makes about 3 cups. APPLE, CHICKEN, AND WINE 1 whole fryer chicken 1 whole apple 1 cup apple juice or 1 cup white wine Salt and pepper Sprinkle salt and pepper all over the inside of the chicken. Put the whole apple inside the chicken cavity. Place chicken breast side down in a crock pot. Pour apple juice or wine around the chicken. Cook on low 4-6 hours. SHALLOT AND WINE BUTTER 1 shallot, finely chopped 3/4 cup dry red wine 4 oz butter cut into small pieces Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste Bring the shallots and wine to a boil in a small saucepan over moderate heat. Boil until all the wine has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter, salt, and pepper until the mixture is smooth except for the pieces of shallot. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. To serve with steak, top each steak with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the butter. BLACKBERRY WINE CAKE 1 Duncan Hines white cake mix 1 3-oz. box blackberry Jell-O 1/2 cup salad oil 4 eggs 1 cup blackberry wine 1/2 cup chopped pecans Preheat oven 325 degrees. Combine all ingredients except pecans. Mix on low speed until moistened then on high for 2 minutes. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Sprinkle pecans on bottom and side of pan. Spoon batter to cover pecans. Bake 1 hour. GLAZE: 2/3 stick butter 1/2 c. blackberry wine 1 1/4 c. powdered sugar Combine butter, sugar, and wine, bring to boil. Punch holes in cake with ice pick and pour half of glaze over cake while in pan. Let stand 30 minutes. Turn out and pour glaze over cake. PARMESAN WINE RICE 1 tablespoon butter 1 medium onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 cup chicken broth 1 cup uncooked rice 1 cup dry white wine 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook 8 minutes or until translucent. Stir in broth, rice and wine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook 25 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in grated Parmesan and serve warm. Serves 4 o RE: Cookalong #40 - Wine clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Mon, Feb 13, 12 at 10:28 A big Thank You to all that participated in this thread, there are some really good recipes here. I just pulled a name for the next Cookalong. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ bbstx ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please choose the next focus ingredient. Try to pick something you have a special interest in. If it happens to be something that has been covered in the older Cookalongs, that's fine, especially if it is basic. All the older Cookalong threads are in the FAQ. Think about Seasonal, Fresh, Basic, and Readily available ingredients.... If you have questions, you can email me through GW. I will check back here and then set up the new Cookalong. Nancy o RE: Cookalong #40 - Wine clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by foodonastump (My Page) on Mon, Feb 13, 12 at 12:51 A little late, but I think worth mentioning here. I had been meaning to try this since I first chose wine for the cookalong. Recent conversations about mussels and fennel finally got me to do it today for lunch. I winged it but here's approximately what I did: Saute about 3/4 cup small-diced fennel and a minced shallot in butter with a pinch of salt. Add some thyme, a pinch of saffron, and 1.5 cups or so wine. (I used Gewuertztraminer, as recommended in Patricia Wells' "The Paris Cookbook" for its slightly sweet note.) Reduce wine by half and add scrubbed mussels. Steam for about 3 minutes or until they open. If some open earlier than others remove them so they don't overcook. Once all the mussels are done, remove them from the pan and add a dollop or two of creme fraiche to the broth. Adjust seasoning to taste. I think that's about all I did. I ended up eating the full 2.5 pound bag, plus half a baguette to sop up the sauce. It was awesome! o RE: Cookalong #40 - Wine clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Mon, Feb 13, 12 at 15:42 The next topic is #41 - Greens - Cooked and Raw Here is a link Here is a link that might be useful: Cookalong #41 Greens, Cooked and Raw o RE: Cookalong #40 - Wine clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by sally2 (My Page) on Sun, Feb 19, 12 at 8:19 I'm reporting back way late on my cooking with wine attempt. I made Ruthanna's French Bean Soup, and know it would have been wonderful if......I didn't burn it. Yes, I actually managed to burn soup. We were up in Oklahoma where I have a substandard set of pots and pans, basically camping gear, cause I don't want to spend a lot of money on another set of pots and pans. Anyway, the soup pot I used is very thin aluminum. It was already cooked earlier in the day, and tasting delicious. DH had to go on an errand, and while he was gone, I turned the soup back on to heat up for dinner, and sat down with my cross stitch. Big mistake. When DH got home, he headed for the kitchen,stirred the soup, and announced, "Did you know the soup is burning?" Aaahg! Oh, well, it was still edible, and I'll definitely make it again, but I was very disappointed that I did something so stupid. Ruthanna, I think I'm drawn to your recipes. I'm sure I've made more than one other of your recipes. If you had a cookbook, I'd probably buy it. I do have one question about the recipe. In the last part of the instructions you say to remove the cinnamon sticks, but there are no cinnamon sticks mentioned anywhere else in the recipe. I didn't have any, so I added a dash of cinnamon to the soup. Sally o RE: Cookalong #40 - Wine clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by lakeguy35 (My Page) on Fri, Feb 24, 12 at 0:53 I'm late checking back here too...I did make the dessert that Lindac posted. Oh man was it good!! My group loved it. Photobucket I have my eye on several recipes posted here that's for sure. Glad to see the cookalongs back in action. David