Last Minute Quick Gift: Spiced Pecans

 I'm not much of a baker.  

I leave that to the hubster.

However, a friend and her husband came over and while the guys watched the Army/Navy game (and destroyed the charcuterie I built), we made her recipe of Spiced Pecans.

It was SO EASY, and so much fun, that the next day hubby and I made 4 more batches.

You can do this any time of the year, but I've been giving it as gifts this year, and it's a quick option for some last-minute gifting.

Let me show you.

You will need the following to make one batch:

4 Cups of Pecans, 1/2 Cups of Sugar.

1 Egg WHITE, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of Cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon of Ginger.

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

A large bowl for mixing, a medium bowl for mixing, and a cookie sheet.

Start by dropping your 1 EGG WHITE into the large bowl.

Add your 4 Cups of Pecans and stir until the pecans are thoroughly coated with the egg white.

In your medium bowl, combine all the dry ingredients: sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.

Give it a good stir so they are all well distributed.

Dump this over your egg white coated pecans and stir.

You want to totally coat the wet pecans with the sugary/spicy mixture.

Spread them fully out on a cookie sheet.

(This cookie sheet was used multiple time so there's residue, that's fine, just keep on!)

Bake at 300 degrees in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes.

I sware, it takes longer to bake than it does to prep all the ingredients!

Once it's done, take it out and let them cool for a bit on the cookie sheet - about 15 minutes.

Once cooled, break up any chunks of pecans into "grab-size" pieces.

You can store in a large bowl until you are ready to bag, box, or eat them yourself.

Hubs and I ended up making a dozen 2 cup bags.

We gifted our neighbors, mail carrier, friends, and family with them.

And, I must say, it was fun making them together...a tradition we're going to continue next year!

I hope you have a joyous Christmas.

I'm going to take a break from posting new content until Saturday the 4th of January.

I've got an exciting "series" planned for the new year, one that I hope will inspire you.

I love all my rule breakers!

"Building" a Charcuterie Spread

A little over a year ago, I posted this tutorial on how to make a wooden Charcuterie Board.

Just to refresh your memory, or to inform you first hand:

It's pronounced shahr-koo-tuh-ree. (It's French)

It is the art of preparing meats (usually smoked types) like bacon, ham, or salami.

A charcuterie board most often consists of a variety of meats and cheeses and maybe fruits or nuts.  It's essentially a meat and cheese board.

However, you never have to limit yourself with your food choices, and since this is a blog about breaking the rules, I think you can make a charcuterie out of anything you like to eat.  Think desserts, cheeses, and crackers, etc..

I recently used the board I made for myself to build a charcuterie board selection for friends who were coming over to watch a football game.

I wanted to take you through the steps to demonstrate just how easy it is to build a beautifully presented selection of foods on any board or tray you have.

Let's get started.

First, gather your items.

IF you don't have a board, don't stress.

Use a tray, a cutting board, a large platter, or even a cookie sheet that has sides.

Gather together items to corral and cut your selected food.

I have collected a series of copper items over the years, picking up odds and ends in stores like Marshal's and Tuesday Morning.  

You can use anything you have, including stopping by the Dollar Tree for small plastic cutlery found in their party/wedding aisle.

Most of these items I already had.

Things like nuts, crackers, and fruit are pretty much a staple in most homes.

I also had some homemade banana bread from hubby's recent baking foray.

I had picked up a collection of three salamis.  Notice that they are labeled as a "Charcuterie Trio."

I also grabbed my favorite...prosciutto!

You can use whatever you like, just check out what's already in the prepared foods section of your local grocery store.  

You will find MANY items that might appeal to you.

I purchased a small selection fo cheeses, ranging from a soft gourney to a harder gouda.  

Again, pick out what you like to eat.  You DO NOT have to be fancy-schmancy or over the top.

You want to appeal to your guests and what they like to eat.

One thing that I do like to do is provide a bit of information on the types of cheeses and spreads that I have available.

Cheese can be hard to identify because it can be similar in color to other cheeses around it.

Plus, it helps guests pick out what they like and what they may not like.

I use a toothpick and punched out a scalloped oval to make a name pick for each cheese.

I also made one for the spread.

You can do the same thing by just using a piece of card stock and a toothpick.

With the spread in the bowl, the pick fits perfectly.

I made enough picks to identify everything that needed a name.

Adding some nuts to the spread gives people a chance for a little crunch.

They also clean the palate and allow for other flavors on the board to be tasted to their fullest.

Now comes the fun part.

Start by putting your bowls of items on the board first.

Then, begin arranging the meats in different areas around the board.

The trick is to spread these items to different areas so they are easily accessible by your guests.

Next, fill in areas with your cheeses.

Again, spread them out and around the board for easy access.

It also spreads the "colors" of the food around the board, making it look pleasing to the eye which in turn makes it look good to eat.

I add my crackers next.

One good rule to always follow and NEVER break...

Place only whole and not broken crackers on your board.

It just looks more professional that way.

Save those broken crakers for yourself or your kids!

After that, fill in with the colorful fruits, mounding them in and around the meats, cheeses, and crackers.

You can also add any specialty items, like the banana bread or sweet items, in and around as well.

Look how beautiful the fruits look nestled throughout this presentation.

Once I was happy with all the items, I placed it on my table with some cocktail napkins and plates and added a small bowl of nonpareils.

Look how appetizing this board looks.

The guys literally sat down at the table and picked it almost clean.

You can make large boards to feed several people, or make a board for one or two.

Just pick the things you like and play around with the arrangements.

Go over to Pinterest or YouTube to see what "experts" have done with Charcuteries.  I promise that checking them out is NOT breaking any rules, but who cares?

Oh Christmas Tree

Soooo...

Funny Story to tell.

I had planned to NOT put up a big tree this year.  I just wasn't feeling it.

Instead, I was going to put up the small tinsel tree that showcases the Shiny Bright ornaments that once belonged to my sister-in-law.

It's a small sweet silvery tree with white lights.

The colorful ornaments made popular in the 50's look beautiful against the silver.

I have just enough of them to fill this tree all the way around.

I love how "retro" it feels at night with the lights on.  

It really adds a great touch to the large foyer in our home.

BUT!

In true "Mikki" fashion, while pulling out the color-coordinated boxes of Christmas decor from the basement, I remembered that LAST YEAR, I had purchased a new 6-foot tree for the living room.

Ummm...  What?

"UHHHH...honey!  I think we need to do a tree in the living room because I got a great after Christmas deal on it and I can't leave it in the box!"

So, I cut the tape and took out the new 6-foot FLOCKED TREE!

Yep...what the FLOCK was I thinking?

Oh...and with it was 6 boxes of new crystal cut LED white lights.

Imagine if you will the sheer amount of white powder that coated our floors and tables once the tree was up AND the lights were carefully wound around and through the branches.

I'm not sure hubby will ever recover from the laughter.

However, in the end, it was beautiful and we are truly enjoying the tree this year.

My theme, as in year's past, is a focus on woodland creatures and warm fall colors.

There's not a traditional bone in my body when it comes to this tree.

I love stuffing my ski fox (my sweet spirit animal) among the branches.

 Big items like this add focal points to a tree and give it texture and interest.

This little squirrel, with his "furry" body, peeks through the branches.

Here's a great shot of those crystal cut LED lights I mentioned earlier.

I love the soft orange balls, the coppery globes, and the different ornaments of brass and gold.

Of course, there is A LOT of glitter and glittery elements.

My giant brown velvet and gold-trimmed bow tops the tree just below the gold star.

I like to tuck little items into the tree.

This porcelain bird in her nest can be seen if you look closely. 

The frosted deer are from Dollar Tree last year at the end of the season.

You can see how more of the flock has settled on the ornaments.  I think it gives it a sweet touch...like the tree is decorated outside in the gently falling snow.

I've used a few beautifully wrapped boxes among the branches as well.

Like the ski fox, these add a large focus for the eye.

There are even some artfully disguised gift card "books" scattered throughout as well. 

I've had these jingle bells for a long time.  They just lay across a few branches and reflect the ornaments around them.

A few years ago I wired large glittered feathers, some real feathers, and some brown glittered berry picks together.

I stuff these in all over the tree along with some gold "curly cues."

My little Snow Baby, one of my older ornaments, always can be found "hanging around" the tree.

Of course, you will find several different foxes making appearances here and there as well.

And not be outdone...there is quite a collection of owls there too.

By day, the tree reflects the sunlight that comes through the window.

Yes, I stuff this tree within an inch of its life.

But, I love the look of an "overstuffed" tree so it works for me.

I believe that I like this flocked tree better than the tree I used last year.

The flocking, although challenging, really shows off the ornaments and the colors that I put on our tree.

AND.....

At night, it just glows!

The flocking takes on a bright white look and the colors in the woodland theme stand out even more.

My life-sized baby fox stands guard underneath on my satin gold tree skirt.

The partridges and pears are the perfect foundation for this tree.

I found the cutest woodland-themed paper, with foxes on it, at the Dollar Tree this year.

It's going to look great on the presents under this tree.

I guess I "broke" the rules because of the non-traditional color choices of the tree.

It's just who I am!

Merry Christmas!