Friday Things #449
1. When our parents come over, these three love sitting at the front window waiting to see them pull up. It melts my heart each and every time โค๏ธ
2. We stocked a cooler with drinks and snacks for our delivery drivers and have been leaving it outside every day with a note to help themselves. I love doing this and the kids have gotten so into it! They love helping to restock it and when we get a delivery, they run to peek out the door and then come running to tell us that someone got a snack!
3. I finished the cardigan sweater I was making for Isabelle! Itโs a bit big on her right now, but should fit her perfectly by next fall :) She was so, so excited about it! (I used these strawberry buttons!)
4. Does anyone have a carbon steel pan? I saw them mentioned in the latest Cookโs Illustrated issue I received this week; Iโve never used one and am thinking about adding it to my arsenal. Give me your thoughts!
5. Iโve mentioned before that weโve ordered some things from Goldbelly since the pandemic began, and I just got an email this week that they are now offering Ina Garten/Barefoot Contessa desserts! I want to order her outrageous brownies to see how they compare to the ones I churn out in my kitchen ๐
6. Reindeer chow is calling my name; do you have a favorite easy Christmas candy?
7. If youโre looking to start the decluttering process, this is a great place to start >> 24 Things You Can Get Rid of Without Ever Missing
8. And on that note, if youโre looking for Christmas ideas that donโt add to someoneโs โstuffโ, this is a great list >> 99 Clutter-Free Gift Ideas
9. Okay first, Yellowstoneโฆ what a fantastic episode this week! I felt like it was BACK. We also watched Mystery Road (Acorn TV); it has two seasons and started a little slow, but we ended up really liking it.
10. TGIF! Judith wanted to be very involved in reading and Isabelle wasnโt so much into it ๐
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Favorite Christmas candyโฆCaramel Pretzel bites. ย A recipe from Taste of Home. ย The caramel takes a bit of time, but mostly just stirring it while itโs cooking on the stove. Other than that itโs just a layering process and melting some chocolate chips. ย Itโs makes a ton of bites too because theyโre rich so you cut them small. Well worth the time. ย
Btw, beautiful job on the cardigan! ย
Ok, love, love the sweet picture of your children waiting by the window for their grandparents. I could barely tell my Mom about this pic without getting teared up itโs so sweet.
And I โborrowedโ๐ your idea about snacks for the delivery people. I set out some bags of chips at my parents and my Mom gave their delivery guys tonight some chips and drinks and they were elated. Said this was the first time ever. So thank you!
Btw beeeeaaautiful cardigan.
Love the photo of your beautiful children waiting for their grandparents. ย Also congratulations on your sweaterโvery pretty.
โฆI also have a well seasoned 12โณ cast iron frying pan that belonged to my great grandmother.
Greetings, I have a high carbon steel wok (40+yrs) and it is still in use today.
The sweater is adorable! ย
I simply adore your blog and itโs been my go-to for years, so Thank you and Happy Holidays! I bought the carbon steel pan that ATK voted โthe winnerโ, did the potato peel/salt method of seasoning the pan, and now itโs a year later, and completely (naturally!) non-stick. We love it. I canโt tell you how many various Teflon, green r copper โas seen on tvโ skillets my household has bought, tried, and eventually had to trash, over the years. Iโm trying to be a better โsteward of our earthโ and not contribute to the problem of being ok with but it cheap, โthrow away cultureโ. We will probably have this one carbon steel pan for the rest of our lives- we mainly cook with it, our Le Creuset Dutch oven and porcelain coated handled skillet, and our tried and true perfectly (patiently, granted, it took years) seasoned cast iron Dutch oven, and the carbon steel keeps getting better every time we use it. Have a wonderful rest of your December and thanks again for sharing your expertise and love for baking (and all things delicious) with your greater community! Mary, Portland, Oregon
I love Isabelles sweater. Iโm hoping to start decluttering after the holidays. What are you girls reading?
I purchased a carbon steel wok last month. I had been searching/educating (ha) myself on what wok to get. I narrowed it down to a cheap wok from San Fran or the carbon steel from Made In. I decided to splurge and get the carbon steel. It is nice. Easy maintenance with the oil. No regrets!
Ida would have to come to my house and bake the item before I would pay $99.00 for 2 dz cookies
I know what you mean. Thatโs totally ridiculous.
Mystery Road was fabulous! ย Having lived in Australia for 30 years and returned to Canada 4 1/2 years ago, I love watching shows that remind me of it. ย The Aussie sense of humour is wonderful. ย Also love Kiwi and UK shows. ย Have you watched My Life Is Murder or The Madame Blanc Mysteries or Jack Irish? ย So many good ones. ย Still have not gotten into Yellowstone. ย Must try ย again.loving Succession and The Sinners was great too.
Isabelleโs cardigan is gorgeous! ย Looking forward to reading the articles on decluttering!
We havenโt watched those yet, but adding them to our list!
And thank you so much ๐
If you havenโt watched the last episode, spoiler alert!ย
Why was Skeeter kicked out? ย She was branded into the โfamilyโ. ย I thought once you were in you were in, you were part of a forever family. ย This seems inconsistent with what the Buttons have been โpreachingโ the whole time. ย Plus, she didnโt do anything. ย She was lumped together with the two unbranded girls. ย Thatโs just wrong.ย
I guess because John wanted all the girls out the bunk house, figured they were too much trouble than they were worth? But I agree, she sort of was apart from the others. The whole thing with Lloyd has been crazy!
But sheโs family, sheโs branded. To me it cheapens the brand.ย
Carbon steel pans are a big yes!! Itโs the best of cast iron and non-stick pan all in one. Of course they are a little bit of work to season and clean. I have a smaller Matfer Bourgeat, purchased because of previous CI recommendation, and I use it very often with great results for a variety of things. The design is such that the actual cooking surface area is a lot smaller than the stated diameter of the pan. This is particularly noticeable in the 8 or 9โณ sizes so I recommend buying a slightly larger size.
Thank you for the input and recommendation!
First of all- beautiful little girl and sweater. That sweater looks like something you would find in an expensive boutique. You really out did yourself itโs so special.ย
Iโm about to make the 4th batch of the saltine toffee with pecans for the two of us. My husband loves it, the last batch I used up the last of the mini saltines and didnโt use enough crackers I may of over baked the sugar mixture too. ย It was good but not my best. I went down the rabbit hole of other varieties of this type of candy next batch using Graham crackers.ย
Have you heard the sad but true story of our hockey team โ the Phoenix Coyotes? ย They were $250,000 behind in taxes fees that the city of Glendale threatened to lock them out, yesterday they paid up apologized buy looks like they will be sold & moved to Houston. Very sad the minor league team was always supported I remember all the reporting the locals did when I was a kid the city was so proud of the team.ย
Thanks as always for your wonderful posts โ I look forward to the Friday posts guaranteed a smile or two.ย
Aw, thank you so much!
I love that youโre using graham crackers for the toffee, that sounds delicious!
I did hear the store about the Coyotes, absolutely crazy!! I hope that theyโll be able to stay โค๏ธ
Thank you for this very interesting blog article. Will you please supply a link to the pattern you used for your adorable little girlโs cardigan? Thank you.
Hi Laura, Sure! This is the pattern: https://www.anniescatalog.com/detail.html?prod_id=161574&cat_id=929
Iโm so impressed with the sweater you knitted for Isabel-thatโs just gorgeous, & what a sweet addition to use strawberry buttons! Have a great weekend.
Aww thank you so much, Renee!