~ A Pie Party~

My friend Cheryl @ JoJo's Joys is having a party.

~ A Pie Party~

Pies are a favorite dessert here at HFTS

so I decided to join in with a few slices of my own.

Enjoy!

Apple Pie

Apple is my favorite of the fruit pies, though cherry and peach are right up at the top of the list too.

Pumpkin pie is a favorite of my personal "chef" and a must for the fall season.

This one was trimmed using my set of William Sonoma mini pie crust cutters.

I like to serve pumpkin pie with a healthy scoop of whipped cream and a side of honey glazed Texas pecans.

Pecan pie, made with our famous Texas pecans, is a holiday favorite.

Why, you might ask, is this one sitting among sea shells in a fish net? Click here to read my FFT edible book review on MERMAIDS IN THE BASEMENT, written by the talented Michael Lee West, also hostess of Foodie Friday.

Lemon meringue pie is my summer favorite.

This too was featured in a FFT edible review, CHERRIES IN WINTER, by Suzan Colón. Click here to read about this delightful book.

Pocket Pie Photos From William Sonoma

Pocket pies made in the William Sonoma pocket pie molds are also a favorite around here. The individual pies are fun for parties and are easy to make. I also highly recommend the mini pie crust cutters that William Sonoma sells. I like to trim the edge of a pie crust with a decorative edge, and the embossed detail of these cutters adds an extra touch.

Below is the recipe I use for making pie crusts.

No Fail Pie Crust

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup corn oil

2 1/2 tablespoons ice water

Sift flour with salt into bowl. Slowly dribble oil into flour, mixing with fork until coarsely blended. Sprinkle water over dough and mix. Form into a ball and roll out between sheets of wax paper. Peel off top piece of paper and fit crust into 9-inch or 10-inch pan. (If paper sticks to crust, chill in refrigerator a few minutes.) to bake pie shell, prick pastry all over with fork and bake at 425 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.

Yes, pies are definitely a favorite thing.

When I have a big "piz-za" pie, that's amore!

Celebrate National Pie Day, January 23rd

Click here to join JoJo's Pie Party

Also linking to

Foodie Friday @ Designs by Gollum

Friday Favorites @ Whistlestop Cafe Cooking

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

A Few of My Favorite Things @

Bargain Hunting & Chatting w/ Laurie

Autumn Delights

November is quickly coming to a close, 

and I'm savoring some favorites of the season.

Pardoned Turkeys

Hooray for Apple and Cider!

Mini Pumpkins

Pecan Pie

Bowls of Horse Apples

And Bowls of 

Pumpkins and Acorns

Natural Horn Votives

A Favorite

Piece of Vintage Silver

Redware Pottery 

and a Vintage Candy Container

Shawnne Pottery Squirrel 

and Courtly Check Acorns

Pumpkin Pie

Familiar Faces

Tom Turkey from 

Midwest Importers, c. 1980s

Redware Turkey Platter

Another Favorite 

Vintage Turkey Candy Container

Rum Cake

Amber Turkey Dishes 

from William Sonoma

Turkey Tureen from Portugal

Honey Glazed Texas Pecans

Onion Walnut Muffins ~ Eatable Acorn Style ~

Folk Art Wooden Turkey

by Beaver Creek Woodworks, Beaman, Iowa

A Bountiful 

Thanksgiving Dinner 2010

Followed by 

Too Many Choices for Dessert

All Guarded by this 

Handsome Whimsical Critter!

Hope you enjoyed time 

spent with family and friends.

Linkiing to

A Few of My Favorite Things @

Bargaining Hunting & Chatting with Laurie

Seasonal Sundays @

The Tablescaper

Post Thanksgiving Dinner

Most of you will no doubt be sharing tables this week that are set for the upcoming holidays. But I'd like to share one more fall inspired setting. My husband and I were invited to a delightful post Thanksgiving dinner last Friday evening. The table setting was simple, but elegant. I might add that this table was pulled together in a very short time, after our hostess returned home from a day at work. I think it is stunning!

Unfortunately I had left my camera at home, so these photos were taken with an iphone. Thus they are a bit grainy and not the best, but hopefully you can see the charm of this beautifully set table.

The center piece was a large antique Canton Famille Rose porcelain bowl filled with fresh fruit and branches from a Coral Bark Japanese maple. The golden leaves added a delicate balance to the lush colors of the fruit. The antique bowl was an unexpected find at the early morning Marchee aux Puces de Vanes in Paris years ago. My friend and I were quite a sight as we pampered this treasure on the return flight home.

A trio of exquisite Saint Louis crystal candle sticks flanked one side of the bowl of fruit, while on the other side was a antique Canton Famille Rose porcelain vase filled with roses from our hostess' garden: Rio Sambas and Playboys.

The texture and color of the placemats was a perfect balance with this elegant china and echoed the organic feel of the centerpiece. Linen napkins within antique sterling French napkin rings added the finishing touch.

The china is Carlyle by Royal Dalton. The deep wide border in dark teal blue is accented with blue flowers and leaves of gold. It is truly beautiful china. The sterling flatware is Strasbourg by Gorham.

A delicious dinner of game hens, fresh cranberry sauce, dressing and gravy, sautéed spinach, and sweet potatoes was served on this beautiful table setting. Dessert of pumpkin pie followed.

You can click on the following links to see the posts of our Thanksgiving table and dinner.

As always, thank you for stopping by to visit. Please leave a comment so I know you were here.

Thank you Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for hosting Tablescape Thursday each week. Click here to see more table setting that others have shared this week.

Friends, Food, and Fun

A French Thanksgiving?  

Yes, I know the French don't celebrate Thanksgiving, 

but one of our dinner guests is French. 

 This was in her honor!

Designs by Gollum: Foodie Friday is also labeled, Friends, Food, and Fun. That pretty well sums up our Thanksgiving evening. We definitely had a delightfully fun evening with friends as we enjoyed a delicious meal, so I decided to link some of the photos of our meal to Foodie Friday. It's the first time I'm participating in this weekly party, though I'm a faithful visitor each week.

We started our evening by popping a bottle of Veuve Clicquot and nibbling on appetizers.

Liver Paté 

with Herbed Crostini

More Paté. . . Paté with 

Truffles and Paté de Campagne

Artichoke Spread 

with Cayenne

Served on 

Heart Shaped Lahvosh

We started dinner with a salad of baby spinach 

with fresh grapefruit and blue cheese crumbles.

The main meal was served from the sideboard.

My husband is the chef in our home, and he likes to march to his own drum. Though he has roasted a turkey for Thanksgiving at times, he often likes to cook a different bird for our Thanksgiving meal. We've had pheasant, quail, cornish game hens, and this year he selected to serve duck. He actually bought it smoked, and it was delicious!

Smoked Duck

Garnished with 

Cherry Tomatoes

Wild Rice with Dried Sour Cherries 

and Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Haricots Verts 

with Bacon and Onions

Country Bread

Sweet Cream Butter

A nice Chardonnay from Chateau St. Michelle

A Cru Du Beaujolais. . . 

Perfect Pairing for the Duck!

After dinner we moved into the living room 

around the cozy fire to enjoy coffee and dessert.

Expresso with a Touch of Irish Whisky 

and a Topping of Whipped Cream

A Bite of Chocolate

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Just so you don't think 

I'm totally worthless in the kitchen, 

this little birdie wanted me to tell you 

that I get the credit for baking the pies.

Pumpkin Pie Topped with Fresh Whipped Cream 

and Honey Glazed Pecans

Thank you for joining me for Foodie Friday. You can view the table setting for this meal here . It was posted for Tablescape Thursday this week.

Please leave a comment below. I always enjoying hearing from each of you who stop by for a visit. Then click here to visit Designs by Gollum to see a list of others participating in today's Foodie Friday.