Friday, November 27, 2009

Giveaways: Black Friday!

We hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving celebration with your family and friends! Of course, we wanted to have a couple of GIVEAWAYS in honor of Black Friday!

IMG_8882

First up is this beautiful set of note cards. You will receive 8 photo note cards with envelopes. These cards will not only inspire your own creativity in the kitchen but will be lovely  for correspondence. They could even be framed for your kitchen. The photography and cards are made by Heather.

IMG_8880

The second giveaway is this wonderful cookbook! It boasts over 600 recipes. My favorite feature of this book (which truly has a recipe for just about everything!) is the notes at the end of many of the recipes telling you what can be prepared in advance and what to do with leftovers (how long to keep them, how to store them, etc.).  I tried the Potato Pancakes (Latkes) and everyone loved them!

IMG_8850

POTATO LATKES
4 lg potatoes, peeled and cut in lg. chunks
2 lg. white onions, peeled and halved
2 lg. eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c. matzo meal or bread crumbs
2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
3/4 c. peanut or vegetable oil for frying

Using the medium shredding disk of a food processor or the large holes of a box grater, grate a few chunks of potato. Next grate half an onion onto the potato - the onion juice helps keep the potato from turning brown. Continue alternating until all of the potatoes and onions are grated. Transfer half of this mixture to a clean dish towel, roll it up, and holding the towel over the sink, wring out as much liquid as you can. Place in a bowl and repeat with the remaining potato-onion mixture. Add the eggs, matzo meal (or bread crumbs), salt, and pepper. Mix well.

In a large cast-iron or nonstick saute pan, heat about 1/8 in. of oil over medium-high heat. You can test a small one to check seasoning if desired.

To form the latkes, scoop up about 1/2 c. of the potato mixture with your hands and pat it loosely into a thick patty, letting any liquid fall back into the bowl. Slip the latke into the hot oil and flatten the center slightly with your fingertips. Fill the pan but do not crowd it. Fry the latkes until the undersides are golden brown, about 10 minutes (mine took less). Turn them over and cook for another 8-10 minutes. If the latkes begin to darken too quickly, before the centers are cooked, lower the heat. To prevent excess oil absorption, flip each latke only once, Add more oil to the pan only between batches and be sure to allow the oil to heat up before adding more latkes. As the mixture sits, liquid will collect in the bottom of the bowl. Squeeze the pancakes between your hands to remove excess liquid before placing in the hot frying pan. When done, transfer the latkes to clean paper towels or a brown paper bag to drain. Serve immediately.

Okay, so the nitty gritty. Here's HOW TO ENTER:
- Leave a comment (one per person, please!) telling us something you are thankful for this year.
- Make sure we have a way to contact you.
- We will draw for the note cards first and then the cookbook - you are automatically entered into both drawings.

EXTRA ENTRIES:
You may gain up to 4 extra entries for each of the additional things you complete (just leave us a comment letting us know):
- Subscribe to the blog.
- Blog or facebook about the giveaway.
- Follow us on twitter.

That's it! We will leave the giveaway open through Tuesday, December 1 and the winners will be announced by Thursday, December 3. If for some reason, we do not hear back from either of the winners within 48 hours, we will draw another name. Have fun!

29 comments:

  1. I'm thankful for the blessing of our children; they're not something I take for granted at all!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm already a follower, or subscribed on my google reader. Does that count?

    Thankful for my husband, who is a Godly, loving leader and who cares for me and loves me so well!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am thankful for a Godly husband, wonderful children and dear friends that love, encourage and challenge me to grow closer to my Lord.

    Thank you ladies!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am thankful for the addition of Ellie to our family this year and her successful surgery outcome! :)

    I am going to fb about this, you will see Alaina.

    ~Kim
    Kimmertek@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am thankful for the special friends that I have met through adoption. :)

    I Facebooked and subscribed to your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am thankful for my wonderful church family that really feels like a second family, especially since our closest family lives two hours away!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am thankful for my four precious children and the most wonderful husband ever!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm thankful for God's wonderful creativity and the diversity and beauty we see in creation, particularly in the range of flavors, textures, and shapes of food... This thought was probably partly inspired by Heather's beautiful photos :).

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am very thankful for the wonderful family & friends I have.

    Facebooked & subscribed to the blog.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am thankful to have all of my children home for Thanksgiving. It has been a wonderful week. And we made your pumpkin cheesecake for dinner yesterday and it was divine!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am thankful that I am able to get up each morning and spend time with our son and with my husband.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have subscribed to the feed.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I am thankful for my two beautiful little boys and my wonderful husband!
    jmorley@frontiernet.net

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ooh, what wonderful prizes! I am thankful for many things... but if I have to pick one, I'm going to pick the life that is growing inside of me... I can't wait to be a mommy.

    ReplyDelete
  15. It's the middle of the night, a lingering illness has me wandering the house with insomnia. I sat down at the computer and from one link to another to another, I found you all. I am so thankful. Reading about God's plan for us to have healthy lives, seeing the peace in the area where so many natural things are being encouraged to grow, and now I'm wishing I lived closer to Tennessee. I am grateful for God's prodding me to look beyond myself to health.

    Sarah

    ReplyDelete
  16. I am thankful for dear friends, my family, and the love of God that surpasses everything else. And time to work on projects, and a dinner that "worked" and getting to see my brothers and families next week and cuddles from my boys and chances to catch up and much much more...

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm thankful for my husband and my amazing family and a new church and books!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I'm thankful for all that God has done this year for us. I'm also thankful that my husband gave me the weekend to sew (it kept me from shopping!)

    ReplyDelete
  19. I am thankful for a new husband, a nice roof over our heads and for an interesting job that lets me telecommute.

    (p.s. I subscribe to the blog through my Google reader, and I follow on Twitter.)

    ReplyDelete
  20. [...] Lots of spices work well with squash (nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, cloves) and I still have a few more recipes to share with the remainder of my pumpkin puree. In the meantime, go here to enter to win a slew of wonderful spices. Another giveaway can be found here. [...]

    ReplyDelete
  21. I am thankful for such supportive family and friends.

    I also posted about the giveaway here but I am not sure if my pingback worked:
    http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/pumpkin-cranberry-muffins/

    ReplyDelete
  22. i am very thankful for my husband & family. And for good film and literature.:) I also subscribed to your blog, so put me in twice!:)

    ReplyDelete
  23. I'm so thankful for my two beautiful children, and my husband.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Oh, and I subscribed to your blog. Really like it...have tried several of the recipes, and I haven't been disappointed yet!

    ReplyDelete
  25. thankful for this blog...love it!

    ReplyDelete
  26. A year ago I was 35, single and living with friends, and facing several surgeries before Dr.'s said I would be able to walk. I had given away most of my things (even my kitchen stuff) to move into a little one room apartment that my friends had built me, not knowing if I would ever be able to stand and thinking I would spend the rest of my life alone. Nine months ago (TODAY!!) :-) the love of my life walked up to me at church and sat down. I was engaged 6 weeks later, walked down the aisle in July (without surgery), and moved from PGH, Pa. to Indianapolis for his new job in Aug. I have a new family, new home and the cutest puppy on earth :-) I'm thankful for an AWESOME GOD Who brings us to our knees so that HE can lift us up to be who He wants us to be!!!

    I subscribe to your incredible blog and have posted this on facebook :-)

    ReplyDelete