[HOH Glorious Friday]: Taking out the Old Sewing Machine.

This is what I'll be playing with this weekend.

No, it's not a desk, silly.

It's a sewing machine! And it found its way to my house last weekend, in my father's pickup truck. And I'm going to put it to work tomorrow.

Memory of an Easter Past: Italian Easter Bread

For most it may be ham. Or lamb [I guess I'm feeling poetic today]. But for me, the most prominent food in my memories of Easter is Italian Easter Bread. 

As a child, I remember thinking that it was quite silly to put hard-boiled eggs in a loaf of bread. Forget COLORFUL EASTER EGGS - that was just plain bizarre. I suppose, though, that I've come a long way in my appreciation of all things bizarre and so, it is with no further adieu, that I present you with a ROSATA FAMILY CLASSIC - Easter is right around the corner, so get out your pretty apron and bake a loaf of this bread. You won't be disappointed. And, if there are children around, they will be rather amused. 


I don't think my grandmother every followed a recipe, even when baking. I guess she was just THAT GOOD. Unfortunately, when baking, I NEED TO FOLLOW RECIPES, so I found this one at The Italian Dish (slightly condensed). 


Ingredients
1 package Rapid Rise yeast
1.25 cups scalded milk, cooled to room temperature
pinch of salt
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar

 3.5 cups flour (approximate)

1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon of water

6 dyed Easter eggs
Rainbow sprinkles

tip: the Easter eggs do not need to be hard boiled. They cook when the bread bakes. I usually just dye the eggs right out of the fridge, without hardboiling them. Saves time. Just be careful they don't crack!

In a large mixer bowl, combine yeast, warm (not hot) milk, salt, butter, eggs and sugar. Add about half the flour and beat until smooth with dough hook. Slowly add the remaining flour to form a stiff dough - until it is no longer sticky. Knead until smooth. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.

Punch dough down, divide into 12 pieces. Roll each piece to form a 1 inch thick rope about 14 inches long and, taking two pieces, twist to form a "braid", pinching the ends,  and loop into a circle.

Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until double, about an hour again. Brush each bread with beaten egg wash. Put on the sprinkles. In the middle of each bread ring, gently place an Easter egg, making an indentation with the egg. Bake at 350 degrees until golden - about 20 - 25 minutes. Cool on rack.

Giggle at how amazingly silly they look [but awesome at the same time]. 

Enjoy!

[HOH Recipe Box]: Super-Easy Side Dish

[Forgot to take my own pictures of this recipe, so Martha's swoon-worthy renditions of Tomatoes and Corn will just have to do...]

We made the mistake of hitting up a little 'happy hour' action the other day, thus delaying our dinner plans to an abnormally late hour. I put the [planned upon] pork roast in the oven and was just feeling uninspired as to what would accompany it, not wanting to peel potatoes or think too hard about making a pasta side dish.

SO, I avoided it all together, and made this handy little concoction:

Ingredients:

Cherry/Grape Tomatoes

Bag of Frozen Corn (obviously fresh corn would be better, but it's not so good this time of year)

Salt + Pepper

Olive Oil

Butter

What to Do:

1. In a small baking dish, toss tomatoes with salt, pepper, olive oil (maybe a little dried basil if you're feeling frisky) and pop them in the oven. [Shouldn't take any more than 20 minutes on a medium-high oven for them to prune up and look 'roasted'].

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet saute the corn [no need to defrost] with butter, olive oil, salt, and pepper until slightly browned on the edges - when the sugars have developed the kernels will start to caramelize.

3. Combine the two and voilà! Excellent, season-less side dish that goes with just about any protein you're cooking up that night.

[Side Note]: Once Summer finally arrives, and corn is far better, I would totally recommend serving a version of this dish cold - roast the tomatoes, cool them, and then add thawed corn. A quick chiffonade of basil, a swirl of olive oil, and you're good to go].

[House Favorite]: Three.

Victoria

I've mentioned before my philosophy on buying art for your house: when you see something and just have to have it, you totally should. Two years ago we were visiting my bestest buddy in Boston when she and I stumbled into the sale section at Urban Outfitters. I saw this print, and there was no turning back.

It spoke to me. There was no hesitation - Will Tim like it? WHO CARES. Price tag? Doesn't matter. It was absolutely, positively love at first sight.

I choose this as my 3rd favorite item in my house not only as an homage to my long, sordid history with Moby Dick [dating back to a tyrannical High School English teacher], but mostly because I have such a fond memory of the day I bought it and the way I felt bringing it home - like it belonged. It's modern but classic too, and with a touch of whimsy that entices me to just stare at it a little longer, even to this day.

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Dena

My open shelving.

Last winter, I had a lot of time on my hands. And, I took it upon myself to drive down to Ikea, purchase shelves and install them. I was determined to have it completed before my husband got home from work one day. I had to do it alone because he would have dragged his feet and we probably wouldn't have lasted the night. These shelves are HEAVY [not sure why that is reason to do it alone, but what I do know is that the last time we put something together, side by side, it ended in tears]. If he knew what I was up to, he would have thought I was crazy. And, I wouldn't have disagreed. I was completely nuts.

This ended in a lot of tears anyway. There were tears in the beginning, the middle and the end, in fact. But, after a lot of tears, annoying grunts and yells, a cool-down walk with the dogs and many, MANY unnecessary holes in the wall, I am happy to say that I love my open shelving. It's brighter and more modern and I'm able to display my love for interesting glassware.

love.

Stay tuned for more kitchen makeover photos. I had my hands deep in paint this past weekend and I have some fabulous photos to show for it!

[HOH Glorious Friday]: Planning Sunday Dinner

Happy Friday y'all.

We're so excited for this day, let us tell you. For one, work is over, DUH [well in a few hours]. And for two, we've got some plans up our sleeves, yessiree we do.

Plans for a FABULOUS SUNDAY DINNER. It's what you should do in TWO DAYS. We had a fabulous dinner last Sunday, so take notes.

We set the table up nicely [on Victoria's AWESOME farmtable, for which details will soon be released], with her gorgeous china.

We used this pretty flower to decorate the table [it's lasted since Valentine's Day].

I made homemade rosemary focaccia.

And this photo was so nice, we thought we'd share it TWICE.

We hope this inspires you to have a Sunday dinner, just as fab.

[House Favorite]: Four.

Dena:

Here is my numero cuatro.

Sure, it's a simple white chandelier. But oh, my dearies, it's way more than that. You see, when we moved into our house, it was sage green and hung above our dining room table. It wasn't ugly, but it wasn't anything more than ordinary, either. 

I didn't want it hanging over the dining room table. BUT, I was certain I could find a purpose for it. So, one troublesome removal later [a snapped cord, a shattered dining room table - no one ever said I wasn't a total CLUTZ], and it was no longer attached to the ceiling. One can of white spray paint later, it had a new identity. And with a little creativity and imagination, it has a new home:

above my couch.

 

Once a drab dining room chandelier, now a gleaming FOCAL POINT.

Victoria:

Tim and I have this wood stove. He bought it from some guy on Craigslist for $200, without my knowledge and came home assuring me it was awesome. It is a 1977 Vermont Casting, which I guess means it's pretty serious stuff. I mostly just like the way it looks. [Not to mention it provides me with yet another showcase for decorating pieces - note totally rockin lounging mermaid on top].

Sometimes, dealing with the wood stove is a huge pain in the ass. You have to make sure the intake is clear, build your fire exactly the right way [which, by the by, I have become the expert at], constantly clean up the ashy mess it inevitably creates, blah blah blah. Plus, our wood pile is in the backyard, and is just far enough away to make it hellish to have to go out there and replenish our indoor supply [which we keep handy in this primo box I bought at the Jewett City Flea Market for $20!]

But there have been a few choice moments where I've found myself lounging on the couch, cat Bella curled up on my lap, puppy Levi passed out in front of us, happy husband snoozing next to me and the roar of the wood stove keeping us nice and warm as the unsavory weather blows outside. Overall, not a bad gig if you can get it.

[House Favorite]: Five.

Miss Victoria:

This is my China Cabinet.

[I love it.]

It was the first piece of furniture my husband and I bought for our new house, which we closed on only 3 short weeks after our wedding. Having a china cabinet makes you feel grown up. My mom had one, and I remember ever-so-delicately opening it up to set the table for Thanksgiving dinner - when we were allowed to break out the good stuff.

When it came time to register for wedding gifts, I received some sage advice from a good friend - register for things you wouldn't buy yourself. So, I stuck with my gut and we registered for formal china - 18 place settings to be exact! People told me I was crazy, but I just couldn't help myself! And, of course, our fabulous friends and family did not disappoint - all in all we ended up with 16 place settings and all the accessories. Now we just had to store it! And so, my new hubs and I looked here and there, and finally found this beauty at a local antique shop [for less than $200].

I regularly switch out the inventory, featuring my grandmother's wedding china one month, those awesome mercury glass goblets I totally scored at Brimfield last summer the next month, and an endless array of seasonal knickknacks that probably go unnoticed to most, but make me smile nonetheless. It's the perfect medium to display the fruits of my tableware obsession, and I couldn't love it more.

And Dena:

This is my handmade farm table.

After endless searching online, at antique stores, yadda yadda yadda, I commissioned my father: good ole' Chuck, Charlie, Chaz Lampman.

I found the plans at Knock Off Wood, a blog dedicated to delivering construction plans for fan favorites, like pieces at Restoration Hardware and stores of the like [aka simple furniture at unreasonable prices]. These plans, found here, were fairly simple and I was sure my handy father could tackle the challenge.

And he did, 268 screws later. And then I stained it.

And I couldn't be happier. We sat 12 people at the table for Christmas Dinner. It was divine.