Every year I swear I am going to watch all of the films nominated for best picture  – I came close a couple of years! But ever since they went to nine films instead of five, it is that much more of an unattainable goal for me. Maybe this year?

And every year I dream of the most fabulous Oscar party that I am going to throw, and every year it we end up with a impeccably decorated table, fun snacks, and me trying to get everyone else in the family as excited as I am about this most holy day. Maybe this year will be the fabulous year?

The nominations for this year’s Oscars were announced this morning and I am at it again – here are a few ideas from around the web that would make great fodder for my Oscar party idea folder:

I love these cookies from Bakerella – I think these are definitely on the menu this year!

And this decor from Hostess with the Mostess is just gorgeous! Who would’ve thought to use this black, yellow and white color scheme? I adore it!

These tags from Party Place (free printables!) would go so well with that look!

What nominations are you excited about this year? What do you do to celebrate the big day?

It is a very special year as my youngest son was also born in the Year of the Dragon. Tonight we will be celebrating “easy-style” with Chinese takeout but I did take a little bit of time to make it even more special by putting together this table for the family to enjoy.

If you are saving time by ordering in like me, I won’t tell But if you have a desire to cook tonight, here is a recipe that is sure to please even the pickiest of eaters.

This recipe for Potstickers is one that  I posted last year as a guest post on the Girl Power Hour Blog as part of my Fabulous Feasting series.

“Each year the Lunar New Year in China is the official celebration of the coming of spring, and while customs vary from region to region, you can be sure that family and food are always a factor.  If you are looking to celebrate at home with some loved ones, why not try your hand at these delicious appetizers? Whether you call them dumplings, gyoza, or potstickers, this recipe is a sure to please a crowd!

POTSTICKERS:

• 1 package of 44 round dumpling wrappers
• 1 lb ground pork (uncooked)
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 5 minced green onions
• 1/4 head of napa cabbage – chopped fine
• 1-1/2 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 shredded carrot
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh gingerroot
• 1/2 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar

Mix all ingredients except for the wrappers together in a large bowl.

Fill wrappers generously and close by wetting your fingers with water and crimping ends.

Heat frying pan. Add 1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil, then over medium heat fry until one side is brown. Add 1/2 cup of water and steam 3-4 minutes until done.

Dipping sauce:

• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger

Combine all ingredients and serve with warm dumplings.

Add some fried rice and BBQ pork and you have a meal. Enjoy!”

And has my week ever necessitated such comfort! I’m sure that most of you know about (or have experienced firsthand!) the winter storm that hit the pacific northwest this past week.

Here’s what the view’s been like out my back window. It is pretty to look at, sure.

But several days of being cooped up in the house, trying to work remotely while the kids enjoyed snow days home from school, is enough to drive one to sweets.

Just picture if you will…

The shuffling in and out of teenage boys and their flock of friends as they pile their soaking, makeshift sledding gear by the entrances.

The seven animals feeling the cabin fever too with the two littlest kittens chasing each other, and a tiny unassuming piece of paper (for some reason more entertainment to them than a thousand cat-nip drenched mice!), up and over the top of my chair.

And the intensity of an ever-nearing, sizable deadline at work.

All endeavoring together to only feed my loathness for this weather and my desire for something of a sugary nature (and a warmer climate.) Enter the Phoenix to warm the day and melt all my frustrations away. (Well, at least some – it did nothing to diminish my impending deadline )

Firebird Chocolates is a local, handmade, “better-than-fair-trade”, certified USDA organic chocolate company that uses the phoenix as its symbol to represent rebirth and renewal – but also a symbol that in my mind conjures up images of fire and warmth.

Firebird is a division of Foodbeat NW whose mission it is to support local foods – and if you’ve spent any time on my blog you know that I am all about that! GO local!

They recently sent me two bars of their most delicious, high quality chocolate to try. They paired perfectly with a Cara Cara orange – one good thing about this time of year. The Milk Chocolate bar, with 41% cocoa, is quite tasty – sweetly mellow with such depth of creaminess and full of chocolatey flavor. The boys loved it! I actually did too, but tend to be more of a dark chocolate fan.

And the dark? Oh the dark! Divinity! At 60% cocoa, the Huckleberry Dark Chocolate Bar had just the perfect balance of sweetness and bite. But it also had something else.

A bit of a surprise!

Are you ready for this? Yep, that’s a whole Idaho huckleberry in there!

Summer in a candy bar!

"Dream"

“Dream” it says on each little rectangle. And “Dream” I did…

Of this!

The snow is now melting all away but my desire for more of this chocolate never will – especially since Firebird will soon be coming out with some new flavors such as Spicy Dark Chili Lime and a drinking chocolate that I cannot wait to try!

You can find a local retail location and read more about Firebird Chocolates here. By the way – you can order online and have it shipped to you if you are ever snowbound yourself!

What sweets are comforting to you when life (or the weather) gets you down?

I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a sample for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.

Update (1/20/12-7:35 am): Winners – Jessica & Jen Evison! Congratulations! You each won one ticket to Foodportunity on February 6th at the Palace Ballroom. Enjoy!

This blog is my Foodportunity. But it may never have existed without Foodportunity. What is Foodportunity? A fabulous series of Seattle networking events for food professionals and food lovers alike.

I had been toying with the idea of starting a blog when I attended two years ago and I ran into a couple of people I had been following on Twitter – “Oh my god, we love your tweets about food!” they said. “Why don’t you have a blog?” Why don’t I have a blog? I thought.

Through this event I have also connected with many in the food industry and found a community of food lovers like myself, some of which have become mentors and many have become good friends.

The next Foodportunity Seattle, sponsored by Metropolitan Market, will take place on Monday, February 6, from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. at Tom Douglas’ beautiful Palace Ballroom, 2100 5th Ave.

A group of local food entrepreneurs and chefs will be available for questions and conversation in the lounge of the Palace Ballroom between 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.:

A selection of appetizers will be served at the event from such fine food establishments as Rover’s and Luc, The Coterie Room, Local 360, The Inn at Langley, Il Corvo Pasta, Harborside ,Volunteer Park Café, and many more.

I had my first taste of A la Mode Pies at a previous Foodportunity - Mmmmm! Pie on a stick!

Foodportunity is open to food journalists, bloggers, public relations professionals, restaurateurs, farmers, companies and all food-passionate people and was created by Seattle event planner and food blogger Keren Brown.

Keren Brown, AKA Frantic Foodie, conceived of the food networking idea known as Foodportunity and has held over a dozen of food-related events last year in both Seattle and Portland. Recently recognized by MarthaStewart.com as “Doer of the Week,” Keren is the author of the Food Lovers’ Guide to Seattle which I reviewed on this blog back in July.  She also organizes monthly events for Seattle food bloggers where she holds Q&A sessions with famous authors, tours of food companies and other events to help bloggers interact. She is truly a Seattle networker!

Early admission is $25 ($30 at a later date), which includes bites from restaurants and companies. Tickets can be purchased through BrownPaperTickets.com.

I want you to find your own foodportunity. So, thanks to Keren (I just love this gal!), I am giving away one ticket each to two lucky readers. The contest will end at midnight PST on Thursday, January 19th. I will draw two names from the comments below, using Random.org, on Friday, January 20th before 9am.

Here’s how to enter:

Main Entry – Leave a comment on this blog telling me what your foodportunity is OR visit www.foodportunity.com. and then come back and tell me what restaurant you are excited to see at next month’s Foodportunity. (You MUST do this first!)

Extra Entries – (You MUST leave a comment for each one that you do.)

• Like KristinPotPie on Facebook
• Follow KristinPotPie on Twitter
• Share this contest on Facebook
• Share this contest on Twitter using the hasthag #Foodport

Good luck!

It’s always somewhat of a scramble to make plans with his birthday so close after Christmas and New Year’s.  We are always just a bit preoccupied with the holidays and then, boom, it’s his birthday. In early December there is usually about a week or so that we begin to have the, “Your birthday is coming and before we get too busy with the holidays…” talk, but it truly is difficult to get into it with all the other excitement that time of year.

Of course this year was no different. As the last bit of wrapping paper was dumped in the recycle bin and the poinsettia-themed dishes were packed away, I started the conversation again but then planning the New Year’s menu got in the way!

Now, he is much more of a low-key, introverted kid than my 14 year old. He’s just not that into the social scene or his birthday (at least that’s what he tries to lead us to believe…) While my 14 year old has always enjoyed having many friends around and loves the big birthday party (not that we do it every year!) I think the last time my 12 year old had a big birthday party was when he was a toddler and had no say in the matter. Even still my son went back to school in the New Year with the intention of inviting two of his buddies out for some pizza and video game play. But it was too late – both boys already had conflicts on their calendars and couldn’t make it.

He made it out to be no big deal, claiming that he didn’t really care. which led to many attempts on my part to find out if he would like a special meal at home or what dessert he might like – ’cause darn-it! I’m an event planner and he should after all show some interest in parties, right!? -  and after repeated responses of, “Mom, I don’t really care. You and Dad are the only ones who really seem to enjoy my birthday.” I decided to take matters into my own hands. I knew he was a bit disappointed by not having a couple of close friends to celebrate with and I wanted to make it the best I could under the circumstances.

It was a birthday weekend – because that’s just what we do around here. And there was a definite theme – Food. Go figure! In my house! He is my little food lover after all.  (The other one could care less – in fact he just loves frozen, canned and all food that’s been processed. I’m sure it’s just to spite me. Or maybe it’s just his 14 year old way of rebelling. It could be worse!)

So we started the preparations on Friday night and ended the food festivities Sunday evening with this surprise Sundae bar.

My son loves nothing more than going to the fair each fall and noshing on a giant turkey leg. Ever since my husband started playing around with smoking meats on the grill he has been promising our son that they would experiment together with smoking some at home. The turkey legs turned out very tasty, and I will share more about how we did this later in the week, but the cherry on top of the weekend was this surprise sundae bar that I threw together at the last minute – what a fun alternative to plain-Jane birthday cake and ice cream!

I made my favorite brownie recipe – I was going to cut them up and put them on one of my a pretty colorful pedestals but they were still warm (which, honestly, makes the sundaes even better!) and falling apart.

And gathered some toppings.

Then I put out some ice cream…

…and a few finds from the dollar store.

Like these great colorful sundae cups!

And many other fun colorful items!

Kids this age love to see how much sugary goodness they can fit into one bowl. While the older son put every single topping on his sundae, the birthday boy was more judicious.

It was a huge hit. One of those memory-making moments. I was so touched by just the look on his face – even after all his protestations of ” I don’t really care”, his face lit up the moment he saw the table. The quiet, “Thank you mom.”,  was all I needed to know that it was not so important what I bought for him, but what I gave him, that truly mattered.

Being a member of the “give till it hurts” camp, from time to time on this blog – in the “Sharing About Caring” category, I will give you ideas for giving back in the Seattle community as well as nationally. Here’s one that is really easy (and good thing because it happens tomorrow!) and also delicious! So go shop! You know you have to go to the grocery store anyway – you might as well do some good while you’re there!

Tomorrow, Tuesday, January 10, Whole Foods Market with its 5% Day, is offering a great way to meet your healthy eating New Year’s resolutions while giving others the opportunity to eat healthy.

For this quarterly event, all of the Seattle Metro area locations will be donating 5 percent of their sales to the Just Garden Project, an organization focused on building a just food system and expansive gardening culture, with a recent emphasis on developing free gardens for low-income families. How great is that?

The Westlake Whole Foods Market is also increasing your giving capital by hosting a Winter Produce Happy Hour tomorrow evening from 5pm to 7pm. At this event an additional 5 percent of sales from the Happy Hour will also be donated to the Just Garden Project.

The Happy Hour will highlight a variety of top produce items for just $5.99 a plate, plus wine ($4.99/glass) and beer ($1.99/bottle). Some of the incredibly tasty treats that will be available to devour include:

• Baby Eggplants stuffed with Spinach, Tomatoes, Israeli Cous Cous, Pine Nuts, and Currants in a Garlic Mint Yogurt Sauce
• Potato Feta Turnip Dumplings with a Spinach Dill Cream Sauce and Pickled Beets and Cabbage
• Mushroom Sage Terrine with Cappelini tossed with Fava Beans,  Artichokes, and Asiago
• Curried Lentil and Sesame Ricotta Tartine with Kaffir Lime and Mango Pickle

Sounds delectable!

Unfortunately, I have a prior commitment tomorrow and won’t be able to make it, but I would love to hear your stories and see your pictures! Let me know if you go!

What ways do you help and/or donate to your community? Please feel free to share your ideas with us in the comments below!

And if you are a non-profit, or raising funds for one, let me know this as well – I am always looking for new ways of giving to share with my readers.

A few months ago I won a starter set of these wonderful Tablefare spice containers. I just love these attractive little jars with the flip-top lid. Sitting on the counter they are so handy and right where I need them when I am cooking. They help me to really control the amount of seasoning I use because I can use my fingers to just pinch the perfect amount of spice. But the best part is that I find the see-through jars so lovely showing off the colors of all my beautiful herbs and spices. But, I quickly found that I could use a few more. Then guess what I got for Christmas?

I also scored some labels to help me get further organized! Now, even the starter set comes with blank labels that you can write the names of your seasonings on, but I really wanted the pre-printed ones – my handwriting is not something I like to display in my home!

Here is a project I have been dreading but itching to do at the same time – you must have projects like that in your home?

Oh my, I cannot believe I am about to show you this… this is going to be so embarrassing…but, here it goes…

This was my spice/baking cabinet before. I decided that I would take out all the seasonings that I used in my everyday cooking and put them in the TableFare jars – leaving behind mostly baking supplies and a few other items.

In addition, I still had a bunch of rosemary being stored out on my porch that was leftover from Christmas.

Remember my holiday chair decorations/favors?

They had dried out nicely so I removed all the needles

And then put them into one of the big bottles -

I needed to save some room – since I still had all that rosemary on my porch!

So in order to dry the rest of it out here is what I did – I tied it all up with some kitchen string and then hung it in the utility room to dry.

For later

I am so happy with how it all turned out! Removing my “everyday” seasonings gave me the nudge I needed to redo the cabinet as well.

I just got a few plastic containers to hold some of the larger items like flour, sugar and salt. Just look at that formerly messy cabinet now!

Now I have to decide what is next…my jewelry? The pantry? Craft supplies? The list is never-ending…

What are you working on organizing in this new year?

As we calmly and simply rang in the New Year last night, watching a movie, playing board games, and having a simple ham dinner in front of a lovely fire, I had the opportunity to revel in some quiet moments of reflection.

I mused on the mixed bag that was 2011. For me, it was the year of “lost and found”. I guess it’s only natural that when one experiences so much change, in order to make sense of all the chaos, one could have a tendency to compartmentalize things. Don’t get me wrong – I couldn’t have enjoyed the gains without feeling the losses, so I appreciate the presence of both in my life.

Lost: Another year of my boys’ fleeting childhood.
Found: Two middle-school boys who are (mostly!) well-behaved, charming, sensitive, giving and who can have (mostly!) wonderfully intelligent conversations. It was also great practice for this year when in the fall I will have *gasp* a high-schooler! Oh my!

Lost: Time – I went back to work full-time this fall after working only part-time for the last 14 years. I am still adjusting!
Found: New readers (Thank you!) as I redesigned the blog and made a commitment to blogging more often – even with less time.

Lost: Cancer was far too close at hand this year as it took from me several people who had such impact on my life, including a dear family member. In addition to people we had to say goodbye to this year, we also had 4 pet funerals in our backyard.
Found: Several new animals in our house and a more close bond with my mother-in-law (for me, as well as for the boys) as she mourned the loss of a spouse, relocated from the East Coast and moved in with us – adding her pets to our already large pet family.

Lost: A small bit of my self-confidence, with a potential job lay-off and ensuing difficult job search that preoccupied much of my time this year, and as I start a another job and adjust to the new work routine with its own set of politics, people and procedures. I also miss all my friends at my old office that I worked with, and built relationships with, over 6 years.
Found: An amazing new job with an incredible local organization! New challenges! New friends!

Lost: “Normal” – as life changes we have to find a new “normal”. Is there such a  thing?
Found: New experiences. There were some pretty exciting, incredible moments for me this year – re-uniting with my older half sister after 30+ years, a backstage sneak peek of the Seattle Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, glass-blowing with a good friend, and of course many great meals, outings and parties!

And now for a look ahead

Some things I can stand to lose in 2012:

• a few pounds
• my inability to say no
• the feeling that I have to do it all!
• any negative thoughts, words, and actions against others

And things I would love to find:

• new adventures
• more time to do all the things I love
• AND more writing time – I hope to grow my blog even more this year!
• lessons in how to take better photos
• continued inspiration to provide my readers useful, insightful, fun and inspiring information
• more patience

This year is not being ushered in with a bang, but a quiet welcoming that is hopefully indicative of the year to come – not that I don’t want ANY excitement, but just maybe a bit LESS.

What do you hope to find this year?

We entertained 15 people in our home for our Christmas Eve open house and these mushrooms were the hit of the party. I created this recipe at 11pm the night before the party. As I sat, furiously scribbling, my husband looked over at me and asked, “What are you doing?”

“What else?” I told him matter-of-factly, “Writing a recipe. For tomorrow.”

I think I may just do these things for the heavy sigh and eye-rolling reaction I get. Though, I know for a fact that the satisfaction I felt in the compliments the next day were definitely a driver as well. As soon as I laid down that pen, I knew this would be a winner – but I guess it just as easily could have gone bad. Luckily for you, it didn’t

Sausage Stuffed Mushroom Appetizers

• 1-1/2 lbs Fresh mushrooms – about 40 medium
• 1lb ground sausage
• 4 oz softened cream cheese
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (I make my own – but plain store-bought work just fine)
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary
• olive oil
• 1/2 Tablespoon butter
• fresh-squeezed lemon juice (about a Tablespoon)
• salt
• fresh ground pepper
• grated Parmesan cheese

1. Clean mushrooms and remove stems by twisting slightly.
2. Chop 1/2 of stems (discard the rest or save for another recipe), rosemary and garlic.
3. Cook sausage until browned in a frying pan breaking into small pieces.
4. Once sausage is browned, remove from pan and set aside.
5. Melt butter in same pan over med-high heat. Add chopped mushroom stems, rosemary and garlic and cook until soft.
6. Mix sausage, sauteed mushroom stem mixture, softened cream cheese, breadcrumbs and lemon juice in a bowl – I had to use my hands to really work the cream cheese in.
7. Toss the mushroom caps in olive oil, fresh ground pepper and salt.
8. Stuff mushrooms.
9. Place on greased cookie sheet.
10. Top each one with grated (or shaved) parmesan cheese and bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

What is your favorite appetizer to serve on New Year’s?

Gingerbread Cookies with Tea Towel

I made these wonderful gingerbread cookies from Allrecipes.com last year.

My family just loved this recipe, so this year my 11-year-old son and I decided they would be the perfect addition to our Christmas Eve Dessert & Appetizer buffet.

Actually, my son did quite a bit of the work – I made the dough,

but he rolled…

cut-out…

and decorated each and every cookie along side of me! He’s becoming a little expert Gingerbread Man baker!

I love gingerbread men as a gift – they are so cute and taste so good!  This gift is perfect for last-minute because you can use any type of rolled & cut cookie, not just gingerbread.

Package them up with a cookie cutter and tea towel, include a recipe card, and you are done! And even if you don’t have time to bake you can buy store-bought cookies and package them similarly.

I saw these towel and cookie cutter sets for just a couple of dollars and decided to snag up a few of them for neighbor gifts.

And I am so glad I did! We just received two Day-After-Christmas parties in the neighborhood – these will make the best hostess gifts!

Fresh Rosemary Wreaths

For a couple of years now I have seen quite a few images online of little wreaths as decorations on the backs of chairs at a holiday table and have been wanting to try it. This year I decided that I would make little wreaths from fresh Rosemary and spruce up my dining room set!

They will make a lovely decoration for my Christmas Eve Open House. Then as guests leave, I will simply detach them from the chairs, add a smaller ribbon (pre-cut, of course) and hand them out for my guests to take home and use in their own kitchen.

All I did for each of these was take two long-ish pieces of fresh rosemary…

wrap them around one another at opposite ends…

attached the ends with some floral wire…

and then continued wrapping the wire around the “wreath” to secure the pieces together. I added in a few other smaller pieces of rosemary to fill in any gaps.

I think they are adorable! Plus they smell so good!

Merry Christmas!