Recipe Report Card

I survived--with aplomb. I'm proud of my tiny Brooklyn brownstone kitchen.
Recipes get an A+.

A few tips:

* Butternut & Granny Smith Apple Soup: easy, easy, easy to make...but requires a lot of chopping. So make sure you've got a really good knife. And try to buy the butternut squash pre-cut. Make sure the package says 3 lbs. I bought 1.87 pounds and had to cut up another one at the last minute (only used 1/2 of another one). Sprinkle nutmeg as a garnish.

* Broccoli with bread crumble: I used Progresso Italian breadcrumbs instead of the white breadcrumbs...works just as well, extra tasty. Save the leftover breadcrumbs in the fridge (remember, you used butter!) and make turkey cutlets the weekend after T-giving.

* Turkey with Sage Butter: INSANE! Absolutely delicious.

My Thanksgiving Menu

Just finished whipping up a fabulous (and easy...ok, after all the chopping...easy) Butternut Squash & Granny Smith Apple Soup and geesh! now I know why soups win challenges on Bravo's Top Chef.

Here are the staples of my Thanksgiving meal ... add the sweet potato casserole, the pumpkin pie, and the Wyatt Pinot Noir ... and you're golden.

• Sage Butter Oven Roasted Chicken with Cornbread & Caramelized Onion Stuffing (a la Tyler Florence)


• Cream of Butternut Squash and Apple Soup (williams-sonoma.com)


• Broccoli with a Crunchy Crumb Topping

PS: Thanks for reading my blog! Happy Thanksgiving. xoxo, Amy

Playful Placecards

Browsing Etsy, I came upon these super cute, super chic cootie catcher placecards. I mean, how ridiculously cute -- and they're ideal for weddings and bridal showers.

The creator will actually personalize each placecard with questions about you and your fiancé -- so your guests get to know more about you two as a couple while they find their seat and mingle. There's space on the outer corners for your guest's name and/or table number. For an extra fee, she'll even work from your guest list to print your guests' names directly onto the Cootie Catchers. Several colors and types of quality paper readily available. They ship to you *flat* with instructions for folding. They'll fold them for you at an additional cost.

First 25 = $25 (1 each); each additional up to 100 (add $.65/each), each additional over 100 (add $.50/each).

Make Your Champagne Toast Sparkle

Champagne is looking for a little change-up this holiday season. Sure, a bottle of Veuve can stand on its own. But why not mix it up and create a champagne mixing bar at your next soiree!

Allow your guests to become mixologists for the evening: stock the bar with liqueurs like St-Germain Elderflower (my new favorite), Pama Pomengranate, Chambord (old stand-by), Cointreau, Grand Marnier, Triple Sec, Pellini Peachello...go to town! You can even offer up fruit purees like cherry and blood orange. Make sure to have garnishes on hand: raspberries, rose petals, and sugared rims.

PS: For tarte liqueurs, like Pama, simply drop a sugar cube into the base of the flute before pouring the champagne.

Shameless Splurge: Jonathan Adler Ornaments

With the recession looming, I actually feel guilty about posting these Jonathan Adler holiday ornaments ($100 for a set of four, fredflare.com) --but I simply could not resist. This boxed set of four white porcelain ornaments from Jonathan Adler features a Magritte-worthy pipe, a skeleton key, pocket watch and brogue topped off w/ a black ribbon. Comes packed in gorgeous box -- a keepsake, or a hostess gift for that VIP in your life.

Need to rationalize the splurge like me? Go "eco" and hang these babies on a kitschy fake tinsel tree!

Love Note: East Six

I recieved the most beautiful invitation over the weekend -- I had to jump online to share the designers with you. The girls at East Six (http://www.eastsix.com/) are some of the freshest talent on the wedding scene. If you want something truly personalized, they will bring it to life--they will create an extraordinary design for a 12-piece wedding package, a birth announcement, even social stationary. And their design cues come from something as simple as a color palette, a season, a motif to the lyrics from your favorite song, or the design of your baby's nursery. Totally in love.