Archive 12.20.08 - Delicious Dish of the Week

*Archived Recipe*
Crustless Chicken Pot Pie

This delicious dish is perfect for a stormy evening in. Best made while attired in your most comfortable jammies...

Step 1: Lightly drizzle boneless skinless chicken thighs with olive oil. Season with generous portions of dried rosemary and thyme, pepper, and a dash of sea salt. Bake at 350 until juices run clear. Shred into hearty-sized portions and set aside.
Step 2: Slice prepared loaf of basil and garlic seasoned polenta into 1/8" slices (found in your local grocer's refrigerated section). Line the bottom of your favorite stoneware casserole dish with single layer of polenta slices.
Step 3: Saute diced sweet onion, rustically chopped cremini mushrooms, and two cloves of minced garlic in 2 T. of butter over medium high heat until onions are transparent and mushrooms are tender. When nearly complete, add 1/4 c. cooking sherry and reduce. If desired (and we always desire!), add more dried rosemary and thyme while sauteing to enhance flavor.
Step 4: Add one bag of frozen peas and carrots to onion and mushroom mixture. Gently toss to evenly circulate heat and thaw the newest additions.
Step 5: In measuring bowl, combine 1 1/4 c. chicken stock, 3/4 c. milk, and 2 T. flour. Add all at once to vegetable mixture and cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until thickened. If necessary, add cornstarch/water mixture to thicken to desired consistency. Fold in shredded chicken and mix completely. At this point, you may want to add salt and pepper to taste. For a non-traditional twist, you could also add shredded parmesan reggiano to the mixture.
Step 6: Transfer vegetable and chicken filling to polenta lined casserole dish. Using remaining polenta slices, place them along the perimeter of the casserole in an overlapping pattern. Lightly brush polenta slices with olive oil. Heat in oven at 350 until heated through and polenta turns slightly crisp and beautifully golden.

Rejoice in the fact that you made a crustless pot pie and enjoy this delicious dish with a loaf of crusty peasant bread, small green salad, and a bottle of Guinness.

Christmas Magic

I'm back! I bet you're wondering if I've jetted off to some exotic locale for an extended vacation. Or, if I finally gave up and just moved into my local Target in the hopes of furthering my research on the strange phenomenon surrounding their check out lines. No, no. I assure you that neither of those is the real reason for my e-absence. I have, in fact, been busy decorating for Christmas.

The fun began the Sunday before Thanksgiving, with the goal being completion prior to turkey dinner. (And yes, I did prepare the traditional meal this year.) So that meant the placement and decoration of five trees ranging in height from 5' to 9.5', the arranging of the Christmas Village, placement of the snowman collection, the fireplace mantel tableau, the guest room (fully decorated with its very own tree), the playroom (remember my little garland?), the dining room, an art project I dreamed up at the last minute, and the placement of all the other miscellaneous decor that was lurking in my attic. I did not mention the outside display, which my tireless husband plans and executes to perfection each year, but this was also finished by the time the turkey hit the table.
Then, a little part of my design dreams came true. A girlfriend phoned to ask if I would be willing to purchase decor and then decorate her family's home for a holiday party! Heaven! It was a little window into my dream of becoming a full-time designer, and I loved every minute of it. Thank you, dear friend, for entrusting me with that. I could go on and on and bore you to tears with all the other planned and unexpected things that have come up between my last post and now, but the fact is - why? It's the holidays and we are all busier than usual. I am certainly not more busy than anyone else. The plain fact of the matter is: I'm a perfectionist.
As I sit here and look around at the home I am so blessed to call mine, at the beautiful and bountiful Christmas decorations that I am clearly (perhaps freakishly) obsessed with, I think, "I can't post pictures of this, it's just not quite right. If I only I had something else here or a little something else there, then it would be right...maybe." I took pictures a week or so ago in preparation for a new blog entry but was so disturbed that the photographs (and my photography skills) were not good enough to post. They made my home and my decorations look, alright. Nothing special. Certainly not like the design magazines and catalogs I pour over every chance I get. I can't post those. There is nothing 'glam' about them. It gave me pause to consider what I was really trying to achieve with my holiday decorating.
When I was little, Christmas felt like a magical time in my house. Somehow, my parents always found the most perfectly shaped Noble Fir. My mom would spend hours stringing the lights to such perfection that you couldn't see the wires, and then she would open the cedar chest and bring out the ornaments. They weren't particularly fancy, nothing crystal or silver, but they were dear - they were ornaments that were meaningful to a little set of eyes and to the memories that my parents worked hard to create for me. There were other decorations tucked away in the cedar chest: a collection of Santas; special red stained glass candle holders; a book of carols; our Christmas stockings; orange and lemon pomanders that my mom would make at night while we watched hockey on the television. And along with the decorations, there was the scent of Christmas...spicy, fresh, comforting. I've never been a morning person, but I remember those December mornings when my mom would usher me out of bed a little earlier than usual, wrap me up in a big quilt and sit me down on the sofa with a mug of cocoa - the house dark except for the lights on our tree. To me, it was beautiful, magical, and very special. And I think about what our home must look like to our little boys this time of year. Is it special for them? Because as much as my husband and I love Christmas and have always loved putting extra effort into preparing our home for the holidays, it's not just the two of us any longer. We're creating this wonderland for our children, too; so that they will also love and appreciate the magic of the season. Will they love it any more because we have five Christmas trees? No, I don't think so. And this very point could not have been made more clearly to me than it was this past Saturday evening.
After returning home from a holiday party, my in-laws explained to my husband and I that our oldest son, who is four, spent the majority of the evening decorating the Christmas tree in the guest room. My immediate reaction was panic. The rules are very clear in our house: children do not touch Christmas decorations! But, not wanting to completely lose my cool in front of my mother- and father-in-law, I stared dumbstruck as they explained just what had happened upstairs. I'm not even sure I heard their words as all I could think was, "How did this happen? He should know better!" Their last words to me were something about how Lincoln Logs might want to see a picture and use it in next year's ad campaign. After they left I ventured upstairs to survey the damage. What I saw when I turned the corner brought tears to my eyes.


There was his masterpiece. Photographs do not do it justice. I cannot possibly capture the scope and detail involved in the placement of my son's 'ornaments' with my paltry photography skills. He used every piece in his brother's new set of Lincoln Logs, including the yellow plastic windows, doors, and roofs. The black fishnet head wrap and plastic sword from his beloved pirate costume. A painted wooden spoon from last summer's music camp that was originally used as a drumstick. The stethoscope from his doctor's kit. A plastic screwdriver from last Christmas's tool bench. A wooden drumstick and box of pasta from the kitchen he and his brother received two Christmases ago. And lastly, the handmade mitten and tree garland I completed only a few days before Thanksgiving. Every item perfectly positioned, tenderly arranged. He used as ornaments things that are dear to him, toys that are beloved, the things that memories are made from. The next morning as he scampered into the guest room to look at his creation, I heard his daddy remind him that we don't touch decorations once they've been put on the tree. His tree has remained pristine for the past two days, and I occasionally catch he and his little brother sitting on the floor in front of it, clutching their blankets, gazing up at the lights. This is the stuff Christmas magic is made of and I am grateful to my little boy for reminding me of that.

Life in the Slow Lane

Is it just me, or do you too always pick the slowest line at Target? It is a phenomenon that, when contemplated calmly and logically, does not seem possible, and yet while I have no idea how it happens, it does - every single time. It's as if I walk through the automatic doors and enter some strange wrinkle in the space/time continuum. Even when I try to be thoughtful about which check out line I select, I inevitably end up behind some poor soul who would like to pay in Canadian pennies, or has actually been 'saving a spot' for their extended family of 12. I've experienced this so many times that I've decided to now base my exit strategy on selecting the most competent looking Target employee and hopping into that person's lane. I'll let you know how it goes.

Domestic Glam's Holiday Gift Guide

In these troubled economic times it's just not reasonable to ask Santa to bring you a new Louis Vuitton bag for Christmas. But here at Domestic Glam, we believe that you can be just as fabulous on budget. Here are a few suggestions for fantastic, unique, and affordable holiday gifts perfect for giving or receiving.

Lotta Jansdotter 2009 Fabric Calendar

You can purchase this fabulous calendar by designer Lotta Jansdotter at www.designpublic.com. It retails for $28 and is available in orange, blue and green. The calendar is 19" w X 19" l and made of 100% linen. According to the designpublic website these calendars "sell out in lightening speed every year," so start shopping!

The Notebook Set by Thomas Paul

Thomas Paul is one of my favorite home accessories designers, so imagine my delight when I learned he has recently released a line of desktop stationery and accessories. You can find this set of three 100-page notebooks at www.velocityartanddesign.com where it retails for $18. The notebooks' dimensions are 6" x 8" and you'll note that each of the three notebooks included in the set feature a different interior paper: blank, graph, or ruled. The sets come in five fun, graphic color combinations.

The Vinotagz Designed Set by Modern-Twist



This may well be my gift of choice this year for my fellow lovers of wine and chic design. The Vinotagz Designed Set from Modern-Twist combines all the elements of sleek chic that I love best: innovative design; beautiful graphics; and genius packaging. These silicone stemmarkers come in a set of six and are available in either retro prints or solid colors. You can actually write your guests' names on these stemmarkers with ballpoint pen and, when the evening is done, wipe them clean with a damp cloth for use at your next soiree. Even better they are packaged in a convenient plastic box that fits nicely on the neck of a wine bottle. Priced at just $14 for the set, you can purchase this fabulous gift at www.velocityartanddesign.com.

Owl Serving Pitcher

The ceramic Owl Serving Pitcher from Burke Decor is perfect at $38. At 9" high, it's a charming accent for your brunch table. Or, fill with fresh flowers in an unexpected burst of color, tangerine or chartreuse, and place on a bedside table. Visit www.burkedecor.com to order.

Boom - Hive Wine Rack

Inspired by nature, the Hive Wine Rack is made from natural walnut harvested from sustained forests in Thailand. The wine rack will hold six bottles of your favorite varietal and look fabulous while doing so - can be oriented vertically, as shown, or horizontally to fit your design aesthetic. This is a fantastic green gift with a budget-conscious price tag, only $35. To order, check out www.2modern.com.

Nordstrom 2008 Shopping Bag Ornament

Nordstrom's 2008 edition of their holiday Shopping Bag Ornament is perfect for the fashionistas among us. Its whimsical design and sparkly, hand-painted touches are sure to warm hearts everywhere this holiday season. At only $18 you could purchase two: one for you and one for me! www.nordstrom.com

Christmas Under Construction

You should be impressed. I've used remarkable self-restraint and no winter-themed decor has made it out of the attic thus far. Thank you to J and J for both writing that they too were entranced by visions of sugarplums and eagerly counting down the days until snowflakes, nativities, and the big man himself can make an appearance in their homes.

I have been working on a winter themed craft project for my children's playroom and thought I would share a quick pic of my progress. I cannot claim that the inspiration for this project was all my own - I did find outside inspiration in the form of a Land of Nod catalog - but I am thrilled to announce that no new crafting materials were purchased for the construction of this project.

Each of the mittens and trees is approximately 5" tall and constructed from felt, with hand stitched details using embroidery floss. The pieces are deliberately 'rustic' in their finishing. I plan to affix them to black grosgrain ribbon at 5-6" intervals and then string the garland somewhere in the playroom. Accompanying the garland will be two 25' strands of multi-colored ceramic C7 lights, as well as paper chains in coordinating colors. My vision is for something primary, colorful, and playful for my little boys. If it all goes well, I'll post pictures of our winter wonderland. If it doesn't go well, we will never speak of it again ;)

The Final Countdown

Wouldn't you know it? I woke up Saturday morning bright eyed and bushy-tailed, and ready to put up Christmas decorations! I contented myself by working on my mitten and Christmas tree garland, but I wasn't the only member of the family who suggested getting out even a few tinsel-tinged decorations this weekend. We exercised great restraint, however, and instead listened to a few holiday tunes in preparation for the big event. Check out this week's poll and tell me when you think it's safe and sane to start decorating for Christmas.

Archive 10.25.08 - 10.31.08

Poll Results

The Halloween Costume Poll has come a close with the following results: It's a Tie! Your favorite childhood costumes were Princess and Witch.

*Archived Recipe*
Delicious Dish of the Week: Autumn Mac & Cheese

Thanks to some fabulous friends for sharing this delicious dish and inspiring me to make it again... Autumn Mac & Cheese
Step 1: Toss diced Butternut Squash with olive oil, sage, garlic, and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, or until tender, at 450 degrees.
Step 2: Cook up as much bacon as you can handle in one dish. Make sure it's not too limp, but not completely crisp. Crumble and set aside.
Step 3: Prepare 3/4 box of Piccolini (mini Penne pasta) per box directions.
Step 4: Prepare a white sauce. Just as the sauce begins to thicken, add a generous portion of your favorite shredded Italian cheese, ie Parmesan or Romano...or both!
Step 5: Toss cooked pasta, roasted squash, crumbled bacon, and white sauce until completed mixed together. Transfer to your most glamourous casserole dish and sprinkle with a little extra cheese. Heat in oven at 350 until heated through.

Serve this delicious dish with a beautiful green salad tossed with homemade dressing and a bottle of 2005 merlot. Make it extra special by having a candlelight picnic with your sweetie or better yet, include the whole family.