SUNDAYS WITH CELIA VOL 48

Hi there! It’s so nice of you to stop in today for Sundays With Celia Vol 48.

Looking Back on Sunday

This week I took you for a visit to a Southern California treasure. It’s called Rancho de Philo Vineyard and Winery. Here they make delicious, award winning sherry. People flock to this special place during the 1st two weeks of November for their annual sherry sale. Today will be your last chance to visit until next year at this time. Read all about this special place by clicking here.

Sunday In Amsterdam

My DC dwelling son was in Amsterdam this week. He sent me a couple of beautiful photos that I thought I’d share with you.

Amsterdam Canal By Day

Amsterdam Canal By Night

Celebrating Friendship This Holiday Season

It’s been a busy week here at the Becker homestead. Friday night I hosted my 4 best Lake Arrowhead girlfriends and their husbands for a Friendsgiving.

My Thanksgiving Chalkboard

The 4 of us are the best of friends, as are our husbands, which I think is a bit unusual. It’s not always the case that when you have a close girlfriend, the husbands also hit it off equally as well. So I feel thankful that I have these wonderful, supportive girlfriends, whose company I enjoy, who share much of the same likes and values as I, and who also have wonderful husbands. Plus 3 of the 4 of us have children getting married this summer, so wedding planning is a hot topic when we get together.

My Favorite Photo of the Four of Us

So, what better way to celebrate our friendship than with a Friendsgiving? I came up with an easy yet elegant tablescape for the evening, and will share with you a tablescape tutorial first thing next week.

I cooked a paired down version of my typical Thanksgiving Dinner, preparing 2 large turkey breasts instead of a whole turkey. And I did something fun in the process. I brined 1 turkey breast for 3 days using my wonderful Inn At Little Washington Turkey Brine Recipe. The other turkey breast I simply slathered in butter and sprinkled on kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and dried thyme and sage. Then we conducted a taste test. The result: the brined turkey won unanimously, and was hands-down the best tasting and the moistest by far. Lesson to take away: Brine your turkey!

I served the turkey with roasted vegetables that included carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts.

I simply tossed them in salt, pepper, fresh rosemary & olive oil and roasted them at 400°F until tender and lightly caramelized.

To accompany the turkey I made delicious mashed potatoes and gravy.

But actually, I don’t mash my potatoes, I boil them until tender and then press them through a “Potato Ricer”. I then stir in browned butter, milk, salt & pepper. Riced potatoes have the most wonderful texture. If you’ve never tried “Ricing” your potatoes you really should. My potato ricer is made by OXO and I purchased it here.

I also prepared a double batch of my delicious sweet cornbread. You can find the recipe by clicking here. I serve it every single Thanksgiving to rave reviews along with my simply irresistible Cream Biscuits.

For dessert I made a Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Browned Butter Frosting. I found the recipe on a favorite food blog: A Cozy Kitchen. It turned out to be very moist and delicious.

There was enough Sweet Cornbread and Pumpkin Cake to send everyone home with leftovers. Plus, Brenda made yummy Persimmon Cookies that she gifted everyone at our Friendsgiving. I’m enjoying one this very minute with a cup of tea.

We ate and laughed and drank good wine. As a final nightcap Brad served everyone a tiny glass of the delicious sherry we purchased on our recent visit to Rancho de Philo Vineyard & Winery.

What To Watch This Week

Brad and I went to see Murder on the Orient Express yesterday. It was a really enjoyable film that I’d recommend. It’s funny yet dramatic and full of suspense with an unexpected ending. It may not be in theaters much longer so consider seeing it real soon.

As someone who flips homes for a living, I like and admire Chip & Joanna Gaines of the highly popular HGTV show, Fixer Upper. I believe them to be authentic, sincere people, and feel that’s what draws viewers to their show. This Tuesday, November 21st, Season 5 of Fixer Upper airs at 9p|8c. Sadly, it will be the final season of the show. So, I know what I’ll be doing Tuesday night. What will you be doing?

While Joanna is my favorite of the duo, as I respect and admire her talent as a designer, Chip in all his silliness, is a pretty bright guy. I think I’ll order his new book, Capital Gaines, which might just prove to be inspiration to me and my little house flipping business here in Lake Arrowhead.

Then this weekend I hope to go see the movie Darkest Hour. It’s about Winston Churchill, Great Britain’s Prime Minister during turbulent World War II when Nazi Germany threatened the liberty of his nation. The last time Brad and I were in London we toured the underground war rooms where I expect some of what will be depicted in this movie took place.

I hope you are enjoying a nice fall weekend and that the coming Thanksgiving holiday will bring you good times & good food with the people you love.

So there you have it: SUNDAYS WITH CELIA VOL 48

Thanks so much for dropping in! 

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All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Unless otherwise noted, all photos are the original property of Celia Becker @ www.AfterOrangeCounty.com and may not be reproduced without specific permission. This post contains affiliate links which help to make this blog possible. Thank you for your support.