On Tuesday we began our true adventure into the Dreamers Into Doers Shelter Event. 

This is the logo again that was designed by

Michelle Biondolillo who owns Schuylark

We were all in awe of her designs, look at her children’s clothing line. It is so cute.

This is the door going into the Martha Stewart offices. Love that logo too. 

Our first activity was a cooking class in one of the many kitchens.

It was taught by two of our own Dreamers Into Doers.

They are definitely Doers.

That is Rachel Gaffney on the left and Lisa Umansky on the right.

Rachel owns an Irish Butter Shortbread company. Check out that wonderful green apron with her logo.

Lisa is the owner of a baking company called The Polka Dot Pound Cake.

She said her daughters gave her the polka dot apron for Christmas.

This is Rachel getting ready to demo her Bailey's Irish Cream Cheese cake. It was scrumptious!

Go to Rachel’s sight on the Dreamers site to see videos of her cooking demos.

Just click on her name above and it will take you there.

Lisa is using her Chocolate Chip Banana Bread to make cream cheese and jam sandwiches.

How would you like to take that to school in your lunch bag??

This is Rachel in behind of all the goodies she and Lisa taught us to cook.

This is Rachel’s Irish Soda Bread. So simple to make and yet very yummy.Great Dreamers in the audience.       

The view from the kitchen window.

Sisterhood of Dreamers Into Doers Shelter Event

This is the official logo for our wonderful Martha Stewart Dreamers Into Doers trip to New York.

It was designed by Michelle Biondolillo of Schuylark Designs 

Those of us who were there on Monday evening went to a neat little restaurant eighty 8 for drinks or dinner.

Emily and I went there for drinks and to get a chance to get to know some of the ladies.

It was the beginning of the wonderland trip.

More Dreamers Into Doers  Kim McCool, Terry Grahl, Sue Koons

      GiGi Page and Karen Keller-Eyer

After visiting for a while at eighty 8, Emily and I went for a wonderful dinner at

Gramercy Tavern.

  It is my favorite restaurant in New York city.

When you enter the foyer these flowers are there to greet you.

These are the flowers along one wall and below is a close up view of the end of the table.

We ordered a bottle of wine that was very good.

Our waiter brought us an amuse-bouche. I love these little surprises.

On the left is a vegetable skewer, in the middle a little bruschetta, and on the right is a foie gras terrine.

This is Emily’s first course

Shrimp Salad with Carrots, Sunchokes and Apple Cider Vinaigrette 

My first course was Butternut Squash Custard with Quince and Pine Nuts.

It was to die for!

   My main course was Poached Lobster with Turnips, Radish and Lobster-Squash Sauce

Emily had Spanish Mackerel with Foie Gras, Savoy Cabbage, Mussels and Sunchokes.

This was our pre-dessert

  For dessert I had ice cream Caramel, Pumpkin Spice and Milk Chocolate Coconut.  Emily had Peanut Butter Semifreddo with a Chocolate Macaroon. These are the flowers (peonies) in the ladies room.

Roses and Hyacinth in the ladies room also.

I don't know what was in the men's room.

This fabulous mural is above the bar in the Tavern area. I think it is fabulous!

Such great graphic design with wonderful colors.

  After dinner we met Emily’s friend Tien Ho.

We went to a little champagne bar called Flute that is next to Gramercy tavern.

Tien is chef /part owner of restaurants in the Momofuku group of restaurants.

There will be more about Tien and Momofuku later because we ate there on Tuesday night.

It was a fabulous first day in New York.

The view out of the airplane window as I flew into NYC

A view of Citi Field, home of the Mets.

Statue of Liberty

A view of lower Manhattan

The Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges going from

Manhattan at the top to Brooklyn at the lower left.

The middle of Manhattan.

The welcome sign at LaGuardia airport upon landing.

Checked into Hotel Indigo in the Chelsea section of Manhattan.

Everything was new, sleek and contemporary. The rooms have beautiful textile murals over the beds.

Don’t you think they look like quilts?

My daughter in law, Emily Winkler Maddy who is the chef de cuisine at Bolla in Dallas, went with me on the trip.

After checking in we were ready for lunch.

Restaurant Blu is located in the Indigo. This is the dining room.

Another view of the Dining Room.

The lunch menu and the bread basket.

One of the things I love most about NY restaurants is their wonderful bread.

I ordered short ribs with parsnip puree and broccoli.

After lunch we went to the Bowery to shop the kitchen supply stores.

What do you think about the ladle that Emily found?

They have every size ladle, scoop, tart pan, etc., etc., etc. that you can imagine

We had a great afternoon.

Check back soon for Part Two of Day One.

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my Dreamers Into Doers trip to NYC.

My friend Barbara and I spent several days in Savannah, Georgia

on our way home from the road trip to teach in Florida.

We stayed at the Mulberry hotel. It was very old and quaint.

We walked around the entire city and ate at some really good restaurants.

The first meal was lunch at Mrs.. Wilkes’ Dining room.

There was a line to get in and the seating is common table for ten.

We sat with two ladies from Alabama and 5 students from Penn State.

This was their first taste of truly Southern Food.

The tables were brimming with wonderful things to eat.

Fried chicken, barbeque pork, chicken and dumplings, okra,

beans, grits, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, greens, etc. etc.

It was all wonderful.

There was ispiration for quilting designs everywhere we looked. This is the ironwork on a window.

An opening filled with iron work under a staircase.

A beautiful planting in one of the squares.

I will show you more of our stay in the days to come.

Popovers

Who knew they could be so persnickety!!

I bought a popover pan at Christmas time and decided to make them for Christmas breakfast.

Well let me tell you it has been a real adventure.

Me against the popovers!

 I can't tell you how many times I have attempted this but sometimes I would win and sometimes I would lose.

I do believe I have the secret now and this is a picture of success!

They are a delight to eat, especially with cherry jam or strawberry.

We had them in Maine at Acadia National Park with strawberry and they were wonderful at the end of a trail walk.

Popovers

Preheat oven 450 F

Place the oven rack in the lower part of the oven. 

2 Tbs unsalted butter, melted

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup milk (room temperature - microwave for one minute)

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

Spray the cups of a 6-cup popover pan with nonstick spray.

Pour 1/2 tsp. of the melted butter into each cup.

In a bowl whisk together the eggs and milk., then whisk in the remaining butter.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour and salt, then whisk in the egg mixture.

Whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Heat the pan for 3 minutes in the oven. Remove the pan from the oven and divide the batter among the prepared cups. Bake for 20 minutes.

Reduce the heat to 325 F and bake for 15 minutes more.

Do not open oven door while the popovers are baking!

Remove from the oven and invert onto a wire rack.

Serve immediately with butter and jam. 

Christmas at home

We had Christmas early because Jason and his girlfriend Emily are both chefs at hotel restaurants and they both had to work on Christmas day. Jason is the Chef de Cuisine at The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas. Emily is the Executive Sous Chef at the Stoneleigh Hotel in Dallas. Trevor is an architect caught in the lay offs of the recession. He is looking and we are confident he will find the perfect position very soon. This is them in the kitchen that we are almost finished renovating.

Trevor has the beard, Jason is deboning the turkey so it will cook faster and Emily is helping.

 We are having some cheese, mussels and breads.  

We are also enjoying champagne with pomegranate juice.

Kitty is going to help with the onions.

My table was set with festive colors for the season.

I used caper bottles as vases for the Gerber Daisies along with lemons and limes for the center piece.

It is getting close to Fall Quilt Market in Houston and things are really crazy around here. I have very little free time but want to show you some great fabrics I am working with and tell you about a recipe exchange.

These are fabrics from the Soiree' collection by Lila Tueller for Moda Fabrics

These are fabrics from the Wonderland collection by MoMo for Moda Fabrics

I will show you the finished quilts soon. They are so cute!!

I am participating in a great Halloween recipe swap at TheArmChairChef.com. Tink Board is running it and doing a great job. Check there everyday for a new recipe. The apple pie sounds devine!

I really have to get back to work. Today I am working on two lap quilts and several table runners out of silk.

I recently went to Brenham, Texas to give a lecture and teach a Shining Star class for the Friendship Quilt Guild. In case you don't know, Brenham is the home of BlueBell ice cream. A great time was had by all including me.

 I had great students who worked very hard.

And they served a fabulous pot luck lunch.

This is a quilt made by Mabel Dimick.

 She used the Broken Star pattern from my Simple Stars Beautiful Quilts book.

My hosts were Karen & Mike.

They have a beautiful home in the country with a great lake on the land.

This is the Putter Shed Mike built for Karen. Don't you love it?

They treated me to a wonderful dinner at Volare in Brenham. One of the things I love most about traveling to teach is meeting the wonderful people.

The ladies in Brenham sewed, visited and had a lot of fun.

Just a couple of stars ready to put together.  

 One student brought her Carpenter's Star quilt top to show.

I have to get to work now. I am working on quilts and patterns for Fall Quilt Market.

Tomorrow I will show you some of my progress.

When I was in Benton, Arkansas teaching at the Saline County Quilt Guild my lunch was provided by Gwen Rogers' husband. This is his recipe.

 Tom's Tasty Tuna

1   5 oz. can albacore tuna in water, drained

1/2 apple, chopped (sometimes we use the whole apple)

1/2 cup chopped pecans (more or less)

1/2 cup dried cranberries (more or less)

3/4 cup mayonnaise (more or less to suit your taste)

(We always use albacore tuna because it doesn't have such a strong flavor.)

Mix all ingredients and serve on lettuce or in sandwiches.

Also while I was in Benton one of the students shared the quilt she had made using the free pattern from my website.

http://www.calicocarriage.com

It uses the No Diamonds / No "Y" Seams technique. It is also fat quarter friendly. It is a great project for a holiday like today. I hope you all have a great Labor Day.