Patriotic Potatoes

This past Memorial Day I had what’s called RED, WHITE AND BLUE POTATO SALAD.  It is so yum that I have to share it with you. This is your opportunity  to try something new and wow friends and family  on the 4th!  Here’s what you’ll need:

3 pounds of purple and red potatoes (some packages come with red, white and blue potatoes which is fine to use.)

2/3 cup of mayo

1/2 cup of crumbled blue cheese

4 strips of crumbled bacon and/or 1/2 a cup of finely chopped red onion.

Step 1:  Rinse potatoes in a colander and pat dry. Then slice into large bite sized chunks leaving the skins on.

Step 2:  Put 8 cups of water in a pot to boil. After water starts boiling, put red potato chunks in for 2 min. Then add purple chunks. Reduce heat and simmer for about another 10 min. or until a fork can easily go through a chunk. Drain the potatoes and put in the freezer to cool.

Step 3: In a bowl combine the mayonnaise, blue cheese, 1 teaspoon or more of garlic salt and about 5 cranks of cracked pepper. Use a fork to make sure that all the chunks of the blue cheese are smushed. Next if you are adding crumbled bacon and/or chopped red onion, mix them into the mayo/blue cheese mixture.

Finally, stir mixture in with the potatoes. Keep in the fridge until time to enjoy. ( Serves 10 to 12)

Looking Back

Last 4th of July we did some really fun and easy patriotic (4-ingredient) desserts: A WATERMELON PIZZA and AN ALL AMERICAN TRIFLE. Talk about crowd pleasers!

Killing Three Birds With One Berry

By now you have probably figured out that I am obsessed with wreaths. Well I have figured out how to make one wreath work for three holidays. This past Christmas I found a grapevine wreath (the hairy kind) with red berries already on it.  I decided to remove the greenery it had on it and add more berries and a Christmas bow. (If you want to be reminded of a great way to make a bow for a wreath, go to Berries and Bows.) Anyway for Valentine's, I exchanged the  Christmas bow for a Valentines one. Finally to celebrate Independence Day I recently added blue and white berries and stars. I decided to share this just in case you, too, wanted to kill three birds with one berry.

Funnier Saying

One of my besets friends in the whole world, Lisa Taylor, and I were getting our toesies done.  We were laughing about last week’s FUN SAYING: “I have a frog in my throat”.  Lisa, the former French teacher, remarked that the French say, "J'ai un chat dans la gorge!" which means “There’s a cat in my throat” And I thought Americans exaggerate! Now I really can’t breathe at the thought of that. Can you?

Patriotic Pizza

The 4th is almost here, so it's time to start thinking about yummy all American food. This patriotic creation is called a Watermelon Pizza. I heard about it from Monica at my yogurt shop. We decided that it would be perfect for the 4th. Here's what you'll need:

A seedless watermelon

2 cups of vanilla yogurt (Whipped cream looks better but it's not as tasty. I think I'll mix the two for the 4th!)

a carton of blue berries (Blackberries or blueberries)

A carton of red Berries (Raspberries or strawberries)

Cut a round section of the watermelon about 1 1/2 inches thick. (This is so you can get your mouth around it.) Next cover the top with vanilla yogurt. You then arrange the berries however you want. (Of course it always helps to have a two artistic daughters around.)

Cooking Tidbit: Do you know what kind of hotdogs are the best? Nathan's! Just ask Auntie Anne.

Meal Planning Magic

Do you ever find yourself at a loss as to what to make for dinner? If so, you're definitely not alone. Here is an idea that is super helpful in this department. What you do is type out about 14 main dishes and print them out. You then choose one of them each night.

Also you would list different vegetables and salads that you can make. One really neat thing about having all these options is that you won't  get in a rut and make the same thing all the time. Your experience will be more like: "Oh yeah, I think I will make Asian Lettuce Wraps. I haven't made those in a few weeks!"

Fun Saying:

"I'm just pulling your leg".  Another funny image. No one seems to have any idea where this saying came from. It really makes zero sense, but we say it all the time. The next time I use that phrase I think I will actually pull the person's leg. 

All American Trifle

You must think I'm trifle crazy. The funny thing is, I actually am. The difference between this week's trifle and the one a few weeks ago is that this one is super low-calorie. The one before is anything but. Just like all Pickett's Pearls recipes this trifle has 4 ingredients and is super easy to make.

My July 4th plan is to serve the watermelon pizza (from last week's blog) during the main part of the meal and this trifle for dessert! Aren't I patriotic with all my red, white and blue food! Here's what you'll need:

1 angel food cake

1 large pkg. of vanilla pudding mix (Sugar-free if you'd like.)

2-12 oz. cartons of whipped topping

4-6 oz. pkgs. of raspberries or 2 large cartoons of strawberries

Optional:  (to make trifle festive) 2-6 oz. pkgs. of blueberries or blackberries

*To make trifle a bit more adult. Mix 1/2 cup of Grand Marnier or Triple Sec into the raspberry puree.

Puree 1/2 the red berries in a bullet or food processor. Next mix with a hand-mixer the pudding mix, 1/2 cup of frozen whipped topping and 1 1/2 cups of iced cold water for about 2 min. or until thick.

Start by layering the bottom of a glass dish with pieces of angel food cake. Next spoon half of the berry puree onto the angel food cake layer. You then spoon on a layer of pudding. Next add a layer of both red and blue berries and finally the whipped topping. Repeat all five steps, then decorate the top however you want. (Serves 10 to 12)

Cooking Tidbit: The difference between an English Trifle and an American Trifle is the liqueur poured on top of the cake layer. (In other words, the English trifle is a bit more fun:)

Solving The Mystery

Now that we are on the subject of berries, Let's talk about the fruits that are best to buy organic and those that we don't need to buy organic. It costs more to buy organic, but it is worth it! It seems that the fruits that have a more permeable skin absorb more pesticides, and those with a thicker skin absorb less. The common ones are apples, berries of all kinds, grapes, peaches and nectarines. If we do get these fruits non-organic, then we need to wash the heck of them!

On the other hand the more common fruits that we don't need to buy organic are pineapples, mangoes, grapefruits, kiwis, cantaloupes, watermelons and avocados.  (Yay! My family is obsessed with avocados! As a matter of fact, Abbey said the one thing she would want with her on a desert island would be avocados.)

Buy organic:

No need to buy organic:

Orange You Glad It's Autumn!

Thanksgiving comes very late this year, so we still have lots of time to enjoy autumn things and eat lots of yummy autumn food! This month’s Pickett’s Pearls features warm and cozy Pumpkin Soup, Orange Margaritas and Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread. (All 4 ingredients of course:)

Pickett’s Pearls to the Rescue

My very good friend Jill has a party every Halloween and she has the same scrumptious menu which includes Pumpkin Soup from a cafe called Plums. Well this year she called me in a panic because the chef at Plums hasn’t been making the soup. (The nerve!) I told her that I would see what I could come up with. I didn’t really have time to go shopping at that point, but luckily I had some things in my cupboard that I thought just might work. The soup turned out surprisingly delicious even though the ingredients are very unorthodox. I know because it was met with wholehearted approval from Jill herself! Here’s what you will need:

A can of pumpkin puree

1/2 of a 14.5 oz. can of thick coconut cream (or 3/4 cup of heavy cream)

1 to 1 & 1/2 cups of Ginger Miso soup - TJ’s (Miso soup is mostly vegetable broth and I thought the ginger would add a lot.) Vegetable broth can also be used.

1/3 cup of Trader Joe’s Pumpkin bread mix (before you think “too weird” remember that bread or cake mixes are basically flour, sugar and spices.) I needed a 4th ingredient that had pumpkin spices and sweetness!

Simply blend these 4 ingredients in a pot and serve hot in very small bowls. (It’s very rich.) You can top the soup with very finely chopped candied pecans, which can be purchased at the store. (I candied pecan pieces myself by combining them in a small pot with a little more pumpkin bread mix and butter till everything was browned, and then I chopped up the mixture very finely.)

*If soup gets too thick, just add a little more miso soup.

Orange Margaritas

Every year at Jill’s same Halloween party, I make The award winning Cuppa, Cuppa, Cuppa Margarita recipe. This year Jill asked me if I could make Orange Margaritas. I like a challenge so I went for it! Here goes:

A cup of tequila

A cup of beer (yep that’s the recipe:)

A cup of limeade concentrate.

A cup of frozen mandarin oranges (you have to freeze these yourself), a cup of frozen peaches-chopped, or a cup of frozen mango pieces (all of these are good!)

Blend everything together with 2 to 3 cups of ice and you have a super fun fall party drink! We also put a tiny bit of lime around the glass rim and turned the glass over onto a saucer of Tajin (a very popular mexican salt/spice; you only want a touch of this!)

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Recently my daughter, Abbey, wanted to make pumpkin bread, so my family and I taste tested a bunch of pumpkin bread boxed recipes and we found that we liked the Trader Joe’s “Pumpkin Bread and Muffin Mix” the best! All you have to do is follow the directions and add a heaping 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips. (What is it about dark chocolate and pumpkins? Beyond yummy!) Additionally, you can add a 1/2 cup of chopped pecans to the mixture or to the top before baking.

• By the way, it’s not by chance that everything on this post is orange and blue! Go Auburn Tigers!

Fall Napkins

This first one is super, super easy and ideal for a one time occasion like Thanksgiving.

Step 1. You'll just need one or two fall colored napkins, a fall colored ribbon to match and a real or artificial leaf.

Step 2. You overlap the napkins as in the second picture. You then pick the napkins up by pinching the overlapped napkins in their center.

Step 1.

Step 2.

Step 3. Next you tie up the leaf into the center of the napkin. Voila you have a lovely fall creation!

Step 3.

This next style of a napkin rings requires more work initially, but you can use them over and over.

Step 1.  First you will need: three artificial leaves. (I got mine from Michaels, of course. I had to look and look and finally found some that looked natural.) You will also need a glue gun and glue sticks, about 2 & 1/2 feet of ribbon, plain round napkin rings (you can get lots and lots from Amazon for super cheap), a pair of scissors and a bit of tape. 

Step 2. First cut the stems of the leaves so that they are about 1 inch long then tape them together. Using the ribbon, secure the bundle of leaves to the napkin ring by wrapping the ribbon around the stems and the napkin ring. (It's a good idea to put a dot of hot glue at the beginning part of the ribbon.) 

Step 1.

Step2.

Step 3. Proceed to wrap the ribbon around and around the ring overlapping the edges as you go. Once you have wrapped the ribbon all the way around, use a bit of hot glue to secure the end of the ribbon to the ring. Voila! you have elegant fall napkin rings.

Step 3.

*I'm excited to use these ideas to make Christmas napkins as well!!!

Fun Saying:

I'm happy as a crow in a cornfield! The fun thing about many sayings is their alliteration. Happy as a blackbird in a cornfield doesn't quite do the trick. Funny thing is crows are a major subject of sayings: "As the crow flies", "Eat crow" and the little known midwestern saying:"I have a crow to pluck with someone". Who would have thunk that those irritating little things were so popular!

Best Pumpkin dessert, bar none

Last week, I got a serious craving for Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars. (The funny thing is that I’m not even sure I’ve ever had one!) Anyway I ran to the store to get what I thought would be the perfect 4 ingredients to make some. Multiple trips, many failed attempts and who knows how many added pounds later (you gotta taste stuff!), I came up with these scrumptious Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Bars. Here’s what you’ll need:

1 can of pumpkin purée

2 packages of cream cheese

1/4 cup of sugar + 3 Tablespoons

1 pkg of spiced cake mix

Step 1. Preheat oven to 325 then soften 10 oz (1 & 1/4 packages) of cream cheese in the microwave until it is very soft and stirable. Then in a large mixing bowl combine the cream cheese and pumpkin.

Step 2. In another bowl, throughly combine 2 cups of spiced cake mix with 1/4 cup of the pumpkin/cream cheese mixture. (At first, it will seem like you have way too much cake mix but keep working the dough.) Form four large balls. Next place the dough balls in each corner of a sprayed 8x8 pan. You then press down and spread out each ball to form a crust.

Step 3. Now return to the pumpkin/cream cheese mixture and stir in 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of the cake mix. You then spoon this filling on top of the crust layer and place in oven for 35 to 40 min.

Step 4. When baking is done, turn off the oven and leave dish in for 10 min. with the door half open. Then, place the dish in the frig. for at least 2 hours so bars can set.

Step 5. Soften 6 more ozs. of cream cheese then whip with 3 tablespoons of sugar. Next ice the pan of bars and return to the frig for 30 min. or so.

Step. 6. You then immediately slice all the way through the layers with a very sharp utensil and carefully remove from the pan. (I use a baby metal spatula.) Serve at room temperature. You might need to use forks cause they will be a big gooey but boy are they good!!

Looking Back

My mother-in law Mimi Pickett used to make these 2 ingredient Pumpkin Cookies all the time! So much so that when we recently hired a carpet cleaner for the Pickett family home on Balboa Island, he said that when he used to clean the carpets there Mimi would give him pumpkin cookies! That was just like our Mimi!

Fun Sayings

I have a friend named Bradley whom I have known since Kindergarten at Highland’s Day School. (My Daddy used to call it Holiday Inn School, by the way. I think he was suggesting that the school was so cushy that it was like we were on perpetual vacation.) Anyway, when I go back to Birmingham, my and Bradley’s favorite thing to do is pig out on junk food and watch “Hart of Dixie”. The other day, Bradley called me ‘cause Wade, the bartender, on the show described someone as “drunk as a boiled owl”. I guess “boiled” means drunk, so basically the saying means: Drunk as a drunk owl. Doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it’s funny especially when cute Wade says it with a very small town Alabama accent!

Touch Up Your Table!

I know Thanksgiving is just two days away, but these flower arrangements are totally doable and will make your table that much more attractive. They are the same basic flower arrangements that were on a previous Pickett's Pearls post ("Put a Little Drama in Your Life") with two fun additions: autumn leaves and mini pumpkins.

I got the idea of using autumn leaves from my daughter, Carly, who was about six at the time. (Surprise, surprise she is an awesome artist now.) Anyway one Thanksgiving day while I was arranging flowers for our table, Carly came up to me and asked, "Why don't you use fall leaves?" Well needless to say, I have been using fall leaves ever since. 

There is some sad, sad news about mini pumpkins. I went to three grocery stores and couldn't find them. Of course there was plenty of poinsettias everywhere. Thankfully I had some mini pumpkins laying around the house. If you have super small mini pumpkins, you're lucky. If you happen to have a little larger minis, you may want to make your arrangement bigger.

You'll need:

1 oasis ( the soft kind, which you can get at Michael's)

 A low container for the centerpiece

Two different  bunches of fun, fall, flowers (I just had to put the "fun" in. Try saying that over and over.)

Very sharp scissors or clippers

Lots of small or medium-sized autumn leaves. I have a beautiful tree, so I don't have to forage anywhere else. (Artificial leaves are also an option if natural autumn leaves aren't available.) 

Tooth picks & masking tape

Opt. mini pumpkins and wooden skewers (The skewers  are at any grocery store.)

Greenery

Step 1. Cut oasis to fit container snuggly, then throughly soak with water. Step 2. Cut the stems of one kind of flower. Stems should be 3.5 to 5 inches depending on whether container is smaller or larger. Step 3. Arrange some of the first type of flower in a corner of the container (forming a cluster). Step 4. Arrange the same number of flowers of the first type across from the first cluster of flowers. (Thank goodness there are pics.) Step 5. Then take the second type of flowers and fill in the other two spots in the arrangement, so they are diagonal with each other as well. Step 6. Then add greenery. (Greenery fills in empty places and adds height to the arrangement.)

Step 7. Take the toothpicks and tape them to the stems of medium sized fall leaves. (Artificial leaves are also an option.)

Step 8. Put the fall leaves around the base  of the arrangement.

Opt. Step 9. If you want to use mini pumpkins, I suggest you take a wooden skewer and break it so that it is about 5 inches or so. Then pierce the bottom of the pumpkins and place them kitty corner from each other in the arrangement.

There, you have a beautiful flower arrangement!

Surprise, Surprise. I will be doing an arrangement with fall leaves AND baby pumpkins.

Just a note: At Thanksgiving we go around the table and say one thing that we are thankful for. This tradition makes Thanksgiving that much more special. (Except for the part about watching football, of course.)