by Christi on August 11, 2010
with Between Naps on the Porch
vignette friday
Wow, I had big plans this week, but it is still SO HOT!!!! Heat index of 110 today! So, no cooking again tonight. We have actually done some grilling this past week, but absolutely no turning on the oven.
Remember last week’s takeout? Well, after working all day, I’m thinking of doing a repeat with different takeout. Tonight we are going really easy with pizza in the living room, on the coffee table with, horror or horrors, paper plates. I rarely ever use paper plates but they really actually have some pretty nice ones these days.
Red plates with red and white napkins.
The roses were on sale at the grocery store for $4.99. They aren’t opening up real well, but hey, they were only $4.99 and I think they add a nice touch to the table.
The placemats are too big to fit horizontally, so, I just turned them the other way.
This looks pretty good for pizza! No need for flatware either. How easy is that?
One for you . . .
one for me.
A closer look at the roses. They are pretty nice!
Staying in . . .
and staying cool!
That is what we are doing around our home. What are you doing to stay cool?
Today’s Lagniappe: Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo
This one is from Mama. She says it is delicious and very easy. It is supposed to feed 4. She said if you are really hungry, it won’t go that far!
* 8 ounces Dried Fettuccine
* 2 tablespoons Butter
* 1 cups Whipping Cream
* 1/2 teaspoons Salt
* 1/8 teaspoons Black Pepper
* 1/2 cups Parmesan Cheese
* 12 ounces Shrimp, cooked
* 1 teaspoons Dried Basil
1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan melt butter. Add cream, salt, pepper, shrimp, and basil. Bring to boiling: reduce heat. Boil gently, uncovered, for 3-5 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in the 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Drain pasta. Add pasta to hot sauce. Toss to combine. Transfer to warm serving dish. Sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese.
by Christi on August 4, 2010
Yikes! As I write this it is 98 with a heat index of 105! That is actually not as hot as it was supposed to be today. Of course, the day is not over.
When it is this hot, turning on the oven is just not something I want to do. Actually, cooking with any kind of heat is to be avoided if you ask me. I really would prefer not to do laundry or start the dishwasher either. So, I guess, it is really just an excuse to be lazy! LOL!
Okay, so maybe we’ll order take-out but I can still serve it on pretty dishes, can’t I?
My Mikasa Studio Nova Garden Bloom plates on a clear placemat that is rimmed in gold, with my gold flatware and, of course, a wine glass.
That is a nice place to serve some take-out!
I still have some pink flowers leftover from last week so I just dressed up the table a bit by adding them along.
One of the things I like about the placemats is that I don’t have to launder them! I can just wipe them down and they are ready to go again.
A great way to beat the heat – don’t cook and eat inside!
What is your favorite way to beat the heat?
Today’s Lagniappe: Italian Spinach and Mushroom Salad
From Wishbone.
- 1 package (10 oz.) fresh spinach leaves, rinsed and patted dry
- 1 package (8 oz.) sliced mushrooms
- 1 can (19 oz.) chick peas or garbanzos, rinsed and drained
- 1/3 cup bacon bits
- Seasoned croutons
- 1/2 cup Wish-Bone® Italian Dressing
1. Combine all ingredients except Dressing in large salad bowl. Drizzle with Wish-Bone® Italian Dressing; toss gently. Serve, if desired, with additional Dressing.
TIP: Make it a main dish salad…just Flash Marinate! Brush meat or poultry repeatedly during grilling or broiling with Wish-Bone® Italian Dressing for that marinated taste; then slice and add to salad.
Go check out some wonderful, inspirational table ideas at
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Pink Saturday with Beverly at How Sweet the Sound
by Christi on July 21, 2010
It is still really hot here, but I still try to brave the back porch whenever possible. Today, while I was out, a small rain shower moved in and cooled things just a tad. The sun was still out while the rain fell. Norvelle Turner, who helped raise my husband used to say, “the devil is beating his wife” when it rained while the sun was shining.
We may have to have our meals earlier in the morning or way later in the evening to enjoy them outside, but still, I love to be outside and watch the birds and the rabbits and see the wind blowing the trees. Here is my pink outside tablescape:
The inspiration
A pink table for:
with Between Naps on the Porch
Some pink for:
Pink Saturday with Beverly at How Sweet the Sound
And today’s lagniappe is a summery recipe for:
With Designs by Gollum
Today’s Lagniappe: Summer Squash and Cherry tomatoes in Basil Butter
From Dining by Fireflies: Unexpected Pleasures of the New South – The Junior League of Charlotte, North Carolina
1 lb yellow squash, thinly sliced
8 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved
2/3 cups basil butter, divided
Saute squash and tomato in 2 tablespoons basil butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat 10 minutes or until squash is tender. Serve with remaining basil butter.
Basil Butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, minced
3/4 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup butter, softened
freshly ground pepper to taste
Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth, stopping once to scrape down sides. Cover and chill until ready to use.
Save any leftover basil butter to slather on hot corn on the cob.
by Christi on June 16, 2010
Today, I am displaying some wonderful dishes that have been shared with me by wonderful people. JoAnn Butler (aka, Mommy Jo) sent me her wonderful individual sombrero dishes. They are all different and are all so much fun to use in a tablescape! Mommy Jo’s daughter, Donna Butler Douglas sent me the great and colorful appetizer plates that just happen to go very well with the sombrero dishes. I added these adorable little cocktail forks and some colorful flowers and came up with a very fun and very colorful result.
Thanks Mommie Jo and Donna for your contributions to today’s
with Between Naps on the Porch
So on with the fun! Don’t forget to come back and click on the logo above to see a great parade of tablescapes! Click on the first photo to start the show of choose to view with PicLens for an even larger version of the show (not as good quality)!
Today’s Lagniappe: Chicken Empanadas
This would be a perfect little bite to eat off of the little plates and you wouldn’t even need a fork! From Paula Deen.
- 3 cups chopped, cooked chicken
- 1 (8-ounce) package shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese blend
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts
- Water
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Lightly grease a baking sheet. In a large bowl, combine the chicken and next 7 ingredients. Unroll 1 piecrust onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 15-inch circle. Cut out rounds, using a 3-inch cookie cutter. Re-roll dough as needed. Repeat procedure with remaining piecrusts, making 12 to 15 circles total. Arrange 1 round on a clean, flat surface. Lightly brush the edges of crust with water. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of chicken mixture in the center of the round. Fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with the remaining rounds and chicken mixture. (Up to this point, the recipe can be made ahead and frozen for up to 1 month). Arrange empanadas on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.
by Christi on June 2, 2010
My heart is breaking when I see the destruction caused by the oil leak in the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. It makes me want to return to a better time, gathering seashells along the beach and using them in a tablescape. The shells used in this tablescape were gathered by my friend Darlene.
A lighthouse, seaglass and a few other gems from Darlene’s collection take center stage on this table.
It turns out, I don’t have a tablecloth in the shade of blue I would have liked to use, so, I used this green.
White plates with seashell pink napkins and Darlene’s collection of seashells at each plate.
How about this guy and his delicious load?
A seagull on the rocks, some fish netting and sea glass bouy near the light house.
The top of the lighthouse holds a tea light.
Even the bird feeder got in on the nautical act!
Love the little boat going by. It is actually a napkin holder.
This menu definitely calls for seafood!
Meet you at the dock!
Today’s Lagniappe (lagniappe – pronounced lan-yap=something extra) Crab Dip
1 lb. lump crabmeat
1 package of cream cheese
Approximately 8 Tbsp. seafood cocktail sauce
Crackers (nice ones that won’t crumble easily)
Put the cream cheese block on a serving dish, Let it soften for a few minutes, flatten a bit. Pour the crabmeat over the cream cheese. Pour the cocktail sauce over the crabmeat. Provide crackers and knives for people to scoop the crabmeat, cream cheese & sauce onto crackers.
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by Christi on May 12, 2010
Okay, technically, this is a “rock-scape” because we used the rocks as our table down by the White River. Check out past posts from this week to see the river house and some of the spectacular views. I may even throw in a few extras here. And, don’t forget, if you would like to have the river house as your very own, Visit my friend Ann at www.OzarkHomeTeam.com
Click on the first photo to start the show!
What a wonderful day on the river it was!
Today’s Lagniappe: Grilled Butterflied Trout with Lemon-Parsley Butter
From Bobby Flay, this recipe sounds like a divine way to enjoy some of that trout from the beautiful White River!
4 (1-pound) trout without head, scaled, gutted, and butterflied (skin on)
Olive oil or canola oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Lemon-Parsley Butter, recipe follows
Parsley sprigs, for garnish
Lemon wedges, for garnish
Heat grill to high. Brush trout on both sides with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill, skin side down, until slightly charred and crisp, about 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully turn each fish over and continue cooking until just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Remove from the grill and top each 2 tablespoons of the Lemon-Parsley Butter. Garnish with parsley sprigs and lemon wedges and serve.
Lemon-Parsley Butter:
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using.
Hope you enjoyed your visit to A Southern Life today. Check out:
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and enjoy the lovely tablesettings of some very talented bloggers!
by Christi on April 28, 2010
As I have been working today, I have noticed the pink flowers pouring over the fence in the back. It reminds me of when I put in my garden last year as these flowers were blooming. Alas, I am not putting in my regular garden this year. I am gardening in pots. Too much going on right now for the full blown deal.
Last year, as I was putting in the garden, I enjoyed resting near the pretty pink blooms. Here is that time revisited:
Working in the garden can really tire you out. I think I really need a nice place to take a break. This is my tablescape entry this week in Tablescape Thursday hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch. Y’all stay tuned. There are robins building a nest on my porch and I’m taking pics of their progress that I’ll be posting.
A nice place to take a break.
A little lemonade.
A couple of cookies - gotta keep up my strength!
A couple of my favorite gardening books.
My garden gloves.
My garden trowel.
Some seeds.
A watering can with flowers.
Hey, there's a bunny in my watering can!
Everything I need . . .
for a nice break from gardening!
Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did! – Christi
Today’s Lagniappe: Garden Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
Something light and easy to enjoy.
Use your favorite salad greens and veggies and dress them with this lovely mustard vinaigrette. Easy!
* 1½ cups salad oil
* ½ cup white wine vinegar
* 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
* 1½ tsp Kosher salt
* ½ tsp ground white pepper (or freshly ground black pepper)
1. Combine the mustard and vinegar in a glass or stainless steel bowl and whisk them together briefly.
2. Place the mustard-vinegar mixture along with the oil and seasonings in a blender and mix for about 10 seconds or until fully combined.
3. Serve right away, as the oil and vinegar will begin to separate as soon as you stop mixing.
Makes 1 pint of dressing.
Don’t miss a lot of wonderful tables at:
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