running with tweezers

Hay! The winner of Donna Day is...

I am sorry for the day-long delay in announcing the winner of Hay Hay It's Donna Day. I got caught up in watching college football on the couch with the boy. Oops!

I want to say thanks again to everyone that took part in HHDD. As usual, the competition was fierce - I meant it when I said that even though the turnout wasn't high, we are dealing with quality over quantity here.

I am happy to announce that the winner of the terrine edition of Hay Hay It's Donna Day is ChichaJo over at 80 Breakfasts! If I may say...it's about darned time! Every time there is a HHDD, she contributes a beautiful and delicious post. Her Country Terrine was no exception! I am very much looking forward to seeing which theme she chooses. As her prize, she has won a set of Laguiole knives - a current obsession of mine. They'll make lovely props in photos...and a reminder of her win!

Congrats to ChichaJo and everyone else who took part in Hay Hay It's Donna Day!

our daily bread and giving thanks

I can't believe its Thanksgiving time once again. This year has FLOWN by, hasn't it? Maybe its the perils of getting older and time doesn't drag on the way it used to...or maybe its a side effect of a life that is too often spent being too busy to relax and enjoy it.

It seems like just yesterday I was gearing up for the first of many first holidays without my mom. It was a tough day...and there have been good and bad days since. This year, I will be spending this day with my father and some family friends at a communal dinner - the gathering of the orphans, in a way. I'm happy to have friends and family to spend the day with.

I like to think that the people in my life know how much I appreciate and care about them - I'm not one of those people who needs a holiday to tell someone how I feel. However, I wanted to take this moment to remind myself - and others - of the things I'm thankful for on this day:

• After months of a drought...and a looming water crisis...it rained today. Thanksgiving. Coincidence? I think not.
• I've been blessed with a busy, successful, and creative year of work. I am so lucky to be able to do something I truly love for a living.
• For my two fuzzy friends, Brumby and Floyd. What would I do without the cat barf and the purring vibrating pillow at night? Sleep better...but I digress.
• My friend are amazing. They are my family, my heart, my belly laughs. It's a very selective group...and I like it that way. I surround myself with good people.
• This blog. I've said it before...and I'll say it again: I feel so lucky to be able to have this blog...to have a voice that reaches further than I would have ever imagined...to meet wonderful & talented people from across the globe. This blog and the people involved in the food blog world inspire me.

During my week of cooking, I wanted to make something that I could share with my friends that might have other plans for the holiday. Since I wouldn't be able to spend it with them, I wanted to share a part of me with them. I made this Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread in small loaves and gave them away. It's absolutely divine (once I realized that the recipe was all wacked out with left-out ingredients and I had to troubleshoot it, that is). It's the most not dry, flavorful pumpkin bread I've ever had. I also made a version with the new cinnamon chips, which was awesome as well.

CHOCOLATE CHIP PUMPKIN BREAD  - recipe originally found here on cooks.com   

• 4 eggs
• 2 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. water
• 1 c. oil
• 2 c. canned pumpkin
• 1 c. chocolate chips
• 1/3 tsp. salt
• 3 1/2 c. flour
• 2 tbsp. soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Beat eggs and sugar together. Add oil, water and pumpkin to egg mixture and mix flour, soda, salt and cinnamon together and add to pumpkin mixture. Stir in as many chocolate chips as you like (6 to 12 ounces). Pour in 2 or 3 greased bread pans and bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

Hay Hay...It's The Roundup!

After a month of working every single day, I thought I would never get back to this blog...much less be able to sit down and post the round-up for this edition of Hay Hay It's Donna Day. I knew going into this event that I had picked a challenging theme. I was sure that the world of food bloggers was up for the challenge. Unfortunately, I think many people must have been intimidated by the thought of terrines. Turn-out for this edition of HHDD was pretty low, by my standards. Only ELEVEN people had the guts to travel into terrine territory!

That having been said, the entries that I received were wonderful. We're seeing a wide variety of both sweet and savory terrines...and your terrine techniques were exquisite. Kudos to those folks who took on the tough theme. I have thoroughly enjoyed hosting again! There will be an extra special prize for the winner this time to thank them for taking part in the event. All of the information about voting is at the end of this post.

Let's get started!

Courtney, who blogs at Coco Cooks from my hometown of Chicago, shows off some impressive colors and layers in her savory Red Pepper, Spinach, and Mushroom Terrine.

From Philadelphia, Jill at Hey, That Tastes Good! gave terrines another try with great results. Her Chicken Liver Pate Terrine looks delicious!

Lynne, a fellow Georgia food blogger over at Cafe Lynnylu, made a terrine that is a study in both layers *and* textures: Pistachio, Mango, and Blood Orange Terrine.

Michelle at Greedy Gourmet, who lives in the UK, shows her terrine techniques with her beautiful and elegant savory Chicken, Bacon, and Pistachio Terrine. Lovely!

My Atlanta foodie buddy Matt, who is isn't called Rowdy for no reason, conquers Batali's Warm Testa with Waxy Potatoes. The photos are amazing...but could be graphic to some (pig parts in detail). Great job, Matt.

Rachel, from Baltimore's Coconut and Lime, made the kind of refreshing terrine that I would just love: a delicious, colorful Mango & Pomegranate Terrine.

Mary from Ohio, who blogs at the adorably named Shazam in the Kitchen, brought skillful layers to light with her Thanksgiving Ice Cream Terrine.

Dhiyva, from California's Culinary Bazaar, helps the vegetables go down with her yummy looking Broccoli and Chestnut Terrine.

Always bringing the beautiful photos and great recipes, ChichaJo from Manila's 80 Breakfasts, does her terrine the savory way with this delectable Country Terrine.

Another Atlantan, Chris over at MeleCotte, learned about terrines the hard way. After ____ attempts (I'll let you read the entry to find out), she comes with a lovely recipe of her own: a savory Avocado Terrine.

Pam, who lives in Australia and blogs at the beautiful blog The Backyard Pizzeria, is a fan of terrines and it shows! Her Festive Terrine is both stunning and delicious sounding - and would be a pretty choice for a holiday dessert!

Finally, the host of this challenging HHDD event, Tami at Running With Tweezers started things off with Donna's Peach and Vanilla Panna Cotta.

Thanks again to the participants! The voting begins now and will go until November 24th. I will be announcing the winner of the Terrine edition of HHDD on the 24th. The winner gets bragging rights, the job of hosting the upcoming HHDD, and a prize courtesy of moi. Email your choice for the winner to runningwithtweezers@gmail.com by November 24th. Good luck!

tips on terrines

I have lived to post again - see!? I've been swamped the last 10 days with work...and there's more coming. I'm working on some really exciting things...and it's been very inspiring. However, my work foodie-ism has overshadowed by blog foodie-ism...and I didnt want you all to forget Hay Hay It's Donna Day (the details are here). The deadline is November 10th!

Since I've been in full-on food styling mode, I thought I would take a minute to share a couple of my terrine tips. I won't mince words: terrines are challenging but very rewarding. Here are a couple of things I learned while working on my recipe:

- Patience, patience, patience. There is no quick way to make a terrine. Just pour yourself a glass of wine and accept it.

- Be creative. Once you get your brain around the fact that you're just layering flavors in a pan, you can go hog wild. I promise.

- Wiggle it. For those people making a jiggly, dessert type terrine, immerse your terrine in a water bath of warm water - read: NOT HOT - before you invert it. If you get the water too hot, however, your terrine is going to get a head start on the melting process.

- Snap fast. I found that doing the panna cotta like terrine, I didn't have a lot of time to mess with and primp the terrine before it started to go south. Have your roller-skates on.