You Are Invited to Lunch

You are cordially invited to attend lunch at my house. (Well maybe it will have to be a virtual lunch.)

Ding dong

Please come in.

This year I hung my fresh apple wreath in my entryway.

Please sit down and relax.
I made the snowflake wreath out of old sheet music.

I saw the idea in the Pottery Barn catalog.

They were not for sale - just décor in the room setting.

I find the things I like the best in the Pottery Barn catalog are never for sale.

Would you like a cup of hot cranberry drink?

Let's sit and take in all of the sights and sounds of Christmas

(Pretend you are listening to Christmas music)

I was too lazy to carry my Yelloware bowls down the basement

so I set them on a chair

put some Christmas berries around a ceramic pear

and called it Christmas.

I spotted this bowl at an antique shop.

I thought long and hard for about 1 second before I bought it.

Bruce found this piece in a print shop.
(He has a great eye for great finds.)
It is missing some drawers but that is what I like about it.
I change the items in the missing drawers as the seasons change.

Bruce built this faux fireplace.
(I think I will keep him.)
We copied it from one that we saw in a real house in either
Country Home or Country living magazine.

One of my patterns you could make to enjoy the rest of the long winter.

#256 Winter Follies

#258 Cranberry Christmas
Probably not enough time to finish this one by this Christmas.
But Christmas comes every year.

I spotted this hatbox in an antique shop while on a Moda retreat.
Everyone kept asking me what I was going to do with it.
To me it was obvious.
Fill it with greens at Christmas time.

Bzzzzz

Lunch is ready.
Please take a seat at the table.

I will be serving:
My favorite Christmas fruit salad.

Anise Fruit Bowl
And oh so easy to make.

Chicken and Rice Casserole -

or hotdish as we people who originate for Minnesooota call a one dish meal.

Broccoli Cranberry Salad (forgot to take a picture)

Biscuits brushed with dill butter and sea salt (forgot to take a picture)

Almond Cake with Cherry sauce.

I will post the recipes below.
If you are interested keep scrolling.
If not my luncheon ends here.

I actually did have lunch at my house for my seamstresses and my graphic artist.
(However, I forgot to take a picture of the gals)

My decorating is finished.
Now on to gift wrapping - I love to wrap gifts.
Christmas baking is something that I do not like to do and I never do.

My graphic artist Sarah gave me this quote - Do most what you do best.
Baking is not what I do best - so I do very little baking. Mom’s popcorn balls are about the extent of my holiday baking. (If you can call popcorn balls baking - kind of a stretch.)

Stay tuned for some Christmas wrapping.

From my heart,

Sandy

Hot Spice Cranberry Punch
1 (64 fluid ounce) pineapple juice
1 (64 fluid ounce cranberry juice cocktail
4 1/2 cups water
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons whole cloves
4 (4 inch) cinnamon sticks, broken
1/4 teaspoon salt
Peeling of one orange

Pour the pineapple juice, cranberry juice, and water into a clean, well-washed coffee percolator.
Place the brown sugar, cloves, cinnamon sticks, orange peeling and salt in the basket of the percolator, and assemble the coffee percolator.
Cover and perk. Serve hot.
Float an orange slice in each cup.

Anise Fruit Bowl
2 cups water
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons anise seed
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 cups assorted fresh fruit

Directions
In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar, lemon juice, aniseed and salt.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
Remove from the heat.
Cover and refrigerate until chilled.
Strain syrup; discard aniseed.
Place fruit in a large bowl; add syrup and toss to coat.
Cover and refrigerate until serving.

Chicken and Wild Rice Hotdish
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 package Uncle Ben wild rice (original - not fast cooking)
Add celery and onion to Uncle Ben's rice before cooking rice.
Prepare rice according to directions on package.
When rice is done add:
1 (4 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 jar pimento
1 cup cashews
1 can water chestnuts diced.
Mix all together and pour half of the mixture in an 9 X 13 glass cake pan sprayed with Pam.
Season 1 lb. chicken tenders with lemon pepper and Lawry salt.
Lightly brown tenders in butter.
Place chicken on top of rice.
Top with the remaining rice.
Bake covered at 350 for 45 minutes
Top with 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese and the cornflake/butter mixture.
Bake for 15 more minutes.
TOPPING:
1/2 cup cornflake crumbs
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Scandinavian Almond Cake
Beat well;
1 1/4 Cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
2/3 Cup milk
Add:
1 1/4 Cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
Add:
1 stick melted margarine
Mix well.
Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.
Edges must be golden brown.
Cool in pan before removing.
Cake will break if removed too soon.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Cherry Sauce
1 can pitted red tart cherries
1/2 Cup sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. almond extract
Red food coloring
Drain juice from cherries and place juice in a pan.
Add sugar, almond extract and cornstarch.
Heat until it thickens to a glaze.
Add red food coloring.
Gently stir in cherries.
Cool to room temperature.
Cut cake in slices and spoon sauce over slices.