Le Creuset Winner and My Thanksgiving Memory

Thank you to everyone who entered my Le Creuset giveaway. It was great to read all of your Thanksgiving memories and to get your treasured recipes all at once. I read some really funny stories that included gray mashed potatoes, seriously crazy pie baking, and drunk Grandpa's falling asleep at the dining table. I laughed so hard, and I got a little teary too as you all recalled memories of your family members who are no longer with you. Thank you for inviting me into your lives and sharing such special thoughts.

Someone asked me what my favorite recipes and memories were, so here they are: When I close my eyes and think of Thanksgiving, I see a feast and I see family. It's not in any specific place or time, it's just about being together and being grateful for what we had. Of course, the first year that we moved into our house (5 years ago) , we had 16 family members over to our house for dinner and I cooked for everyone and wouldn't let anyone else help. That was a real accomplishment though I was exhausted. But it was all worth it to have my in-laws with my father and step mother, mother and step father, grandparents, and extended family all under one roof. It hasn't happened since.

A few of my Thanksgiving must-haves include: Cranberry Freeze, Chocolate Pecan Pie, Herb Roasted Turkey, my mother's giblet stuffing, and Egg Gravy.

Before I announce the winner, I have to say that I wish I could give everyone a piece of this beautiful stoneware, but I'd be seriously in debt if I did. Rather than choosing a winner myself (which would be far too difficult) I turned to Random.org to select the recipient of the cherry Le Creuset.

Without further ado. The winner of the Le Creuset stoneware is...

#148 Sadie of Sadie's Kitchen Adventures!

Congratulations Sadie! Please email me your address and I'll get these ordered for you.

Foodbuzz Fest: Day 2

Day 2 of Foodbuzz Blogger Fest in San Francisco was a busy one! We crammed quite a bit into our day. Saturday morning, Debby and I walked across the street for breakfast at Sears' Fine Foods. They're known for their small Swedish pancakes and they're just as tasty as they are cute -served with butter and lingonberries.

Back at the hotel we went to a photography workshop. I was hoping to learn more about the camera and the settings, but it was more about how to make things pretty with placement and dishes. We then got to take pictures of food in different light settings. Not really sure what the purpose was, but the pictures turned out nicely.

The second breakout session I went to was sponsored by Fresh Express. I wasn't too thrilled about taking a class on bagged salad greens, but I was told that that Chef Todd Fisher would be there and that he was funny as well as being Debby's friend. So I was in. He also wears funky red clogs and I like that :-)

The salad that he made was a recipe from Ashley from The Edible Perspective. It was mixed greens, with roasted butternut squash, the creamiest goat cheese I've ever eaten and caramelized onions. It was very pretty and it smelled great.

Breakout session 3 was about writing and trying to avoid cliche words like "yummy", "delicious" and "creamy" to describe foods. I wrote about the luscious strawberry you see here.

Midday, we went to the Tasting Pavilion at the Metreon. It was full of vendors offering tastings, coupons and freebies for the taking. Here is Julie (on the left) from Willow Bird Baking showing off her winning Nature's Pride recipe. How cute is she?

It was a mad house at the Tasting Pavilion! And there was major food paparazzi going on in there. The lines were long and I was getting grumpy, so Debby and I took off to discover the city, but not before we had cupcakes from Mission Minis. The ones I had are Cinnamon Horchata, Pink Lemonade and Aztec Chocolate.

And because I have no self control I had a Ghirardelli S'more!

We needed some fresh air, so we headed to The Palace of Fine Arts. And let me tell you, it is grandiose and detailed beyond belief. I was in awe of this structure. My photos don't do it justice. If you're ever in the area, pack your camera and a picnic lunch and head over there. It's gorgeous.

Another magnificent sight- I'm talking about myself, not The Golden Gate Bridge. ha ha!

This is a view of San Francisco from Vista Point. A lovely place to be standing. Except for the fact that is smelled like urine. ewww!

I could look at this view all day long.

I know it may sound silly, but I had to make a trip to Trader Joe's! We don't have them in Texas so it was on my list of things to do. Gratefully, Debby was happy to fulfill that request. I got a couple things but there was only so much I could take back with me. I LOVED their orange juice though and we enjoyed that back in our room for a few days!

As the night fell, we headed to the gala dinner at The Ferry Building. We had passed hors d' oeuvres and free flowing wine. I had a Coke :-)

It was quite elegant and classy and I showed up in jeans! I know! But at least my shirt matched the table linens. ha!

The dinner was sponsored by The Cooking Channel and featured 4 courses along with wine pairings. The first course was a Golden Beet Tart, second course was seared scallops, third course was lamb chops with butternut squash puree and mushrooms and we wrapped it up with an almond cake.

Dinner was good but it ran way later than expected and we were tired beyond belief. We had to get some rest to start a new day. Day 3 of Foodbuzz fest is coming soon!

Thanks for following my Foodbuzz Fest journey!

If you missed it, here's Foodbuzz Fest: Day 1.

Foodbuzz Fest: Day 1

I had a wonderful time in San Francisco at the Foodbuzz Blogger Fest this past weekend. It is a beautiful city, with lots to experience and photograph and good food everywhere you turn. I feel like all we did all weekend was EAT! I'm pretty sure, Debby (my lovely roommate) from A Feast For The Eyes would agree with me.

Debby picked me up from the airport (thanks Deb!) and we headed straight to the Wharf for a light lunch before the Foodbuzz festivities began.

After seeing these vibrant fellows, we decided on crab cakes and crab cocktail at none other than The Crab Station!

After our snack by the water, we stopped into Boudin Bakery to smell the aroma of freshly baked Sourdough loves. And to admire the unique creatures they morph out of dough. fun stuff!

Debby couldn't be cuter in this crabby hat :-)

A few snapshots of Alcatraz from the pier....

Then down Lombard Street- the crookedest street in America. I think it's fascinating, but don't understand why anyone would want to live there? This is the view at the top of the hill heading down the street. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture looking up at Lombard.

Then we checked into our hotel, The Sir Francis Drake, which was just beautiful and ornate and the staff could not have been more friendly. They were WONDERFUL!

Our room was so nice and bright and cozy. FYI: Cozy is code for small rooms, with even smaller bathrooms :-)

We registered for the weekend's events, then checked out our goodie bags. woot!

We rested a bit in our room before loading the bus to Herbst Pavilion for "Street Food Fare".

We munched on polenta crusted pork sandwiches with melt in your mouth chicharones (the best meal all night!) spit roasted pork sandwiches with roasted potatoes, seaweed tacos (don't know what they were and didn't really like them, but they were pretty), and beef tacos. I also tried a few other things but don't have the pictures to prove it. That may be a good thing :-)

There were a lot of these...

A lot of this...

And plenty of this!

Lots of memories were made this weekend. I'll have more to share with you soon!