We're wild about Natalie Chanin's new book, Alabama Studio Style (Abrams/STC Craft, March 2010)! This is a clever craft and lifestyle book all in one, and your home will be better off from this gorgeously photographed and beautifully written how-to guide. The focus on reusing scrap fabrics and rehabilitating old furniture is refreshing and environmentally responsible.

This book has everything - helpful stencils and patterns, primers on materials and tools you'll need, special attention on the stitches and seams that make the book's projects possible, an entire section on garments and techniques, and a section of projects. Interspersed with the projects are delightful celebrations, complete with photos and recipes (Alabama Studio Autumn Brunch, Celebration, and Pickling Party). For our home goods readers, we loved these projects, each one complete with photographs (inspiring!) and thoughtful step-by-step guides.

• Small Medallion Placemats (see photo at top) - delightful, rustic placemats and matching napkins that really come alive with their Celebration dinner; these mats also make a great runner!
• Stenciled & Sewn Table - an amazing way to rehabilitate any used furniture by painting it, stenciling it, drilling holes in the surface, and stitching through the holes with twine for a teriffic freshness to the surface decoration.
• Relief Applique Chair Pillow - It's a great idea to make chairs comfier with chair pillows, particularly for chairs with woven seats. The finished size of 12 x 14 inches makes the ideal cushion.

• String-Quilted Pillow (see photo above) - Learn the techniques to create stencil transfers on fabric, then "string" them together in a unique way to create beautiful 20-inch-square pillows.
• Others - We loved the beautifully delicate and sweet Eyelet-Embroidered Placemats & Napkins; the delicious Friendship Chairs (or Woven Farm Chairs); the delightful and whimsical Eyelet Doilies; a great tabletop project for making Homemade Cake Plates; and the fantastic Eyelet & Angie Couch Saver, which is a quilted, crocheted plain-fabric cover used to protect furniture but which can also be made to slip over standard headboards to jazz up your bedroom decor!

Here's a great, FREE guide to hosting a flawless dinner party, whether you're inviting friends over for a big bash or wanting a special treat for your family. If you buy any featured party item in our Dinner Party Special Offer, you'll receive FREE our 18-page exclusive Dinner Parties: The Complete Expert Guide. The Internet's finest assortment of food and entertainment experts have joined forces in this awesome promotion.

• Introduction: Sure-Fire Party Planning Trips and Party Setup How-To from Design2Share
• Featured Hors d'oeuvre: Best Hummus Recipe from Denise of DeDeMed
• Featured Soup: Butternut Squash Soup from the Cooking with Friends Club
• Featured Salad: Avocado and Orange Salad (photo below) from the Zesty Cook
• Featured Vegetarian Entrée: Sundried Tomato and Feta Frittata from Finding Radiance
• Featured Meat Entrée: Pinot Braised Short Ribs (photo above) from Michael Ruhlman
• Featured Side Dish: Creamy Potato Mustard Gratin from Sippity Sup
• Featured Dessert: Grapefruit Panna Cotta (top photo) from Chef Michael Laiskonis

Included in the Expert Guide are tips from the cooking experts and complete recipes for each course.

TIME TO GO HOME SHOPPING: For a limited time only, Design2Share is sweetening our Open Sky deal even more. In addition to the great Dinner Paries: The Complete Expert Guide offer if you buy any featured dinner party items, if you buy anything in our online Design2Share Home Goods Shop, you'll get a FREE personal video home design consultation with the Design2Share experts. It's 1-2-3 easy:

1. With any purchase, the Design2Share team will send you a thank-you email.
2. Email us back with any and all of your home design questions - from window treatment advice and new paint color recommendations to help with your remodeling and renovation projects.
3. Design2Share's experts will make a personalized video answering all your questions, and we'll email it to you . . . with our gratitude for shopping in our store.

Shop at the Design2Share Home Goods Shop on Open Sky while this exclusive FREE personalized home design consultation video offer remains in effect. Now is the time to buy that gift, spruce up your tabletop, check out the great lighting, and add some punchy accessories to any room of your house.

Ingredients

1 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped

2 fennel bulbs, halved and sliced

½ pound green beans

1 (15 ounce) can chick peas, drained

1 (8 ounce) can corn, drained

4 carrots, chopped

2 (29 ounce) cans diced tomatoes

1 jalapeno, sliced

4 cups water

3 (32 ounce) boxes tomato soup

½ teaspoon pepper

1 (16 ounce) package spaghetti, broken in half

Grated parmesan cheese, if desired

Throw (or gently pour) everything into a large soup pot, except the pasta and the cheese.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are soft – from ½ to 1 hour. Add pasta and cook until al dente – about 8 to 10 minutes. This is the perfect warmer-upper on a cold winter day. Pass the cheese!



Go to Gourmet Kosher Cooking for more great recipes and family entertaining ideas.

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups shortening

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

½ cup molasses

4-1/2 cups flour

4 teaspoons ginger

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon cloves

1/3 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together shortening and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and molasses. On a low speed, add the remaining dry ingredients except the sugar.  Form dough into balls and roll in sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 14 minutes until lightly browned and puffed. Cook on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing to wire rack to finish cooling.

Save some for everyone else! (Wouldn't this make a great treat to serve your hungry Super Bowl fans? How about buying a great antique plate, placing a pile of fresh ginger cookies on it, and wrap it up with pink cellophane and red curly ribbons as a Valentine's Day gift?)



Go to Gourmet Kosher Cooking for more great recipes and family entertaining ideas.

Visit Stacey Hawkins' Time Savor Gourmet website for more recipes.

Visit Maria Liberatti's website for more delicious recipes.

Ingredients

1 cup canola oil

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup finely chopped pecans

5 tablespoons sugar combined with 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease baking sheets. Beat oil, sugar, and eggs. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. 

Divide dough into 4 loaves. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake for 20 minutes. Cut into 1/3 to ½- inch slices, turn on sides and bake until golden; another 5 to 10 minutes.

The folks at Gourmet Kosher Cooking call this "our all-time most popular recipe." They say that it makes a great gift for just about every occasion you can imagine. They recommend going to Nashville Wraps to package the mandelbrot (translation "almond bread," the eastern European version of Italian biscotti); select a gourmet presentation box with a window to show off your delicious gift.

Go to Gourmet Kosher Cooking for more great recipes and family entertaining ideas.

Photo credit: King Arthur Flour

Crust

½ cup toasted pecans

6 tablespoons flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons margarine, cut into pieces

Filling

1-3/4 cups pareve whip

1 pound semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon vanilla

Garnish (optional)

Fresh Raspberries

Whipped Cream (pareve)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the nuts, flour, brown sugar, nutmeg and margarine in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the nuts are crushed and the mixture is a paste. Press over the bottom and up the sides of a 9 or 10-inch round tart pan. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on rack.

Heat pareve whip and chocolate in a small pan over a low heat, stirring until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Beat egg yolks and stir a small amount of chocolate mixture into yolk. Pour yolk mixture into pan and stir quickly to incorporate. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour into crust and cool. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Can be frozen and should be removed from freezer about ½ hour before serving. Garnish with fresh raspberries and/or whipped cream if desired.



Go to Gourmet Kosher Cooking for more great recipes and family entertaining ideas.

Photo credit: Gourmet.com