Catatouille...or...Baby Kitty Cooks Hungarian Chicken Paprika

 Finally! The day we have been waiting for has arrived here at the Plate Addicts! Baby Kitty has completed his studies and received his Grand Diplôme from Le Cordon Bleu Paris! Now he feels ready to follow in the footsteps of his idol…Julia Child…and begin his own cooking show which he has aptly titled…Catatouille! lol (Thanks for the suggestion from Kat at Emptynester)



He was understandably excited when I came home from Goodwill hunting with this fabulous Schlemmertopf  cooker that I showed you in my last post! It’s a wonderful glazed clay roaster that was made in 1980 in West Germany (Now you know it’s old! lol) and, to all appearances, it had never even been used! Quite the bargain at $3.53! Ahhhmmm…Baby Kitty reminds me that I digress. Sorry!
 

I had never used a clay cooker before, so I asked to serve as the sous-chef to our expert Baby Kitty. In preparation, I did some studying and discovered the owner’s manual on line which included directions for handling the cooker and some fabulous recipes. It seems that extra precautions must be taken to prevent any sudden change in temperature or the cooker will break. Other than that, it’s easy! You just layer in the ingredients much like you would with a crock pot. We decided to try our luck at Hungarian Chicken Paprika.
 

I must say that it was worth the effort of taking special care of the cooker! The result was simply wonderful! The chicken was so tender, juicy and flavorful! And the dish browns right there in the cooker, even with the lid on…fabulous! Here’s the recipe that I found in the owner’s manual:

Hungarian Chicken Paprika
3-1/2 to 4 pounds frying chicken, cut in serving pieces
2 large onions, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1-1/2 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
Salt and pepper
4 medium potatoes, cut as for French frying (We cut them in rounds instead)
1 cup sour cream –optional (Optional? Are you kidding? Yum!...although we did use low fat!)
4 pieces of bacon, sliced
Soak lid of Glazed Schlemmertopf.
Put bacon, onions and green pepper into the Schlemmertopf.
Add the salted and peppered chicken pieces, sprinkle with paprika.
Cover and bake at 425F for 20 minutes. (We have a gas oven, so we added 10 minutes at 250F first.)
Add potatoes and bake for another 60 minutes.
Remove Schlemmertopf from oven, add sour cream, cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
Serve with crusty French bread.

This was one of the best chicken dishes I have ever had…hands down! Great job, Baby Kitty! I have to add that I don’t cook as often as I used to now that I am an emptynester, so I hope we will cook more often now that we have our Schlemmertopf!
 

Thanks for dropping by for the inaugural episode of Catatouille! We are excited to join our hostess with the mostest, Michael Lee at Designs by Gollum, for Foodie Friday! Please be sure to head on over to her fabulous blog to see what she has cooking and to find a list of this week’s participants! See you next time! A la prochaine!

Crazy For Clay!

Is it me or do things in the thrift stores run in cycles? My Goodwill hunting buddy, Linda at Nina’s Nest and I were discussing this last week and wondered why we see patterns in what is available…do you? This week I found several wonderful terra cotta items dating from the early 80s. Good…because I missed out on them the first time around. I was too busy making bottles and changing diapers to notice! lol


All of my finds this week end in…topf (German for pot)…a wine cooler from Romertopf ($2.92), a clay cooker and a wine carafe ($1.51) from Gourmet Topf and a glazed cooker from Schlemmertopf for $3.53…my best deal! I did some checking around and discovered that this one sells for about $40 new! Most of them will be just for decor, but I am planning to actually use the glazed cooker, since the bottom can go in the dishwasher!


The prettiest is the Gourmet Topf cooker, with its assortment of raised vegetables on the lid. I was standing in the GW giving it the once over when I felt an arm reaching around me to grab it! Whaaat?? I picked up that baby faster than greased lightning and put it in my cart. GW lesson number one…always pick up anything that you think you are even mildly interested in or you can kiss it goodbye! It was marked $9.99, but I got it for $7.50 because it was senior citizens day. That’s one advantage of being 55 or older! lol Gourmet Topf doesn't seem to exist as a company any more..too bad!


Baby Kitty would like to show your our next terra cotta finds…


…a wonderful faux olive tree complete with little faux olives and this rooster planter…both from the grand opening of my new GW back in January. I never could decide what to do with either one of them. The pot for the olive tree is too small for it and it falls constantly. Besides, there is a misspelled French word on it and we French teachers can’t have that! lol It’s herbes (not herbs) de Provence!


Sooo…I put the little pot in the big pot, steadied it with newspaper and topped it off with corks! I like it! And just in case you are wondering…no, I did not drink all that wine! lol You can buy boxes of 42 corks in the vase section at Target for about $5.00…waaay cheaper than 42 bottles of wine! Now the question is…will the staff leave them alone or will they wind up all over the house?


What did I do with my new finds? I put them on the bottom shelf of my wine rack…an area that I have never been able to decorate to my satisfaction until now! I added them to the GW wine storage basket with the vintage tag I made several months ago. What do you think?


On a little side note, I was downloading my photos when I noticed a  plastic bag attached to the underside of the wine rack. Funny. I had never noticed it before. It contained a note of apology from Rooms to Go. I had sent the rack back because there were no holes drilled for the drawer pulls…nine years ago! lol  Thanks, Rooms to Go!


And finally, here’s a last  look at my breakfast area…just in case you haven’t met your minimum daily requirement for blue and yellow decor, roosters  and/or plates! As my main man Charles Faudree says…Too much is never enough! lol

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Please visit these wonderful ladies and their beautiful blogs to see what they are up to and to find a list of this week’s participants!
Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for Today’s Thrifty Treasures
Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday
Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday
See you next time! A la prochaine!

Frenchy Finds...and...Another Bouillotte Lamp!

I am sooo excited about this week’s finds! They run the gamut from chippy to shiny as you will see! However, I am saving the best for last…so first I will show you this mirror that I bought about a year ago at a lighting outlet near me. It just looked so frenchy that I couldn’t pass it up! However, something always seemed to be missing, so I added the pussy willow wreath that I showed you a couple of weeks ago.


I also added a jute bow for a little more texture. I love the layers of paint…giving a really old look to a new mirror! However, it was still missing something. Then, last week I found what I had been looking for…


…a chippy old half table to go below and anchor it! And…wonder of wonders…it was already the right color!  I topped it off with the books and fleur-de-lis finial from another post plus…


…the top portion of a topiary I had dismantled to paint but loved what I found underneath. I think I like the bare bones better than the original look…what about you?


I wanted to experiment with the chippy look without re-doing a whole room, so this vignette in my hall will fill the bill for now! And now for my favorite find…


…another bouillotte lamp! Woo hoo! You may remember my post from several weeks back where I showed you my new bouillotte lamp and offered a little lesson on their history. (Forgive the French teacher in me, please!) Well…Linda at Nina’s Nest and I were on our usual Goodwill hunting expedition when we tried a new thrift store. We were just about to leave empty-handed when from the other side of the store a little voice was calling my name…


…a wonderful double arm bouillotte lamp…adjustable metal shade, long shaft with a key and lots of Napoleonic style!! I put on my best poker face and asked…How much for this lamp? The manager checked it out and said…Oh…$15. Whaaaat??? I silently did the happy dance, paid and ran out of the store screaming “Start the car!” lol


Why? you may ask, dear readers…because this is a very heavy, very nice. very expensive lamp…probably at least $300-$400 originally!  Its only sin…it’s brass! That’s OK with me. Bouillotte lamps are classics and have survived as is for over 200 years. They will survive current trends. And in the meantime…I will be on the lookout for more of them!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Please visit these wonderful ladies and their beautiful blogs to see what they are up to and to find a list of this week’s participants!
Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for Today’s Thrifty Treasures
Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday
Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday
See you next time! A la prochaine!

A Little Fluffing in Blue and White

In my last post, I did a little experimenting with the creams and naturals that are so popular now. But if you know me, you know that I just can’t stay away from my favorite colors…blue and white with sunny provençal yellow! This week’s finds are proof of that!


First, while Goodwill hunting with my friend Linda at Nina’s Nest, I came across a stash of blue and white candlesticks and chose these three to bring home. I love the fact that they are all mismatched! I think the one in the foreground is my favorite. It matches one of the plates in my header! I got all three of them for just under $9.00!


I also found a collection of The Yale Shakespeare from the 1950s that was just being put on the shelves. Sooo…I grabbed up five of them at $1.90 each. The volumes are faded along the spine, but are still their original blue on the covers. I think I like the way that looks. I tied them with twine and added them to the vignette on the chest in my entry.


My next find came from my favorite flea/antique mall…the Queen of Hearts in Alpharetta, Georgia. He was peering out at me from the back of a bookcase…calling my name. It was love at first sight! Do you see what he is? It’s a little Breton man in the shape of…


…a vase…and he’s oh so Quimper-esque! He was $12…but how could I leave him behind?


He is holding some rosemary that I cut from my garden. I love the tiny little lavender-colored blooms! Isn’t it pretty?


Baby Kitty wants to show you the next find…also from the Queen of Hearts. They look like a pair of little transferware urns, don’t they?


But they are really a pair of salt and pepper shakers! They were also $12, but I couldn’t resist. They look perfect on my breakfast room table and really complement the blue and yellow table square...one of my favorite finds from my retirement trip to Provence several years ago.


I just love all the detail! Look at the little boating party picnicking beside the river with the castle in the background...so Jane Austen! Isn’t that Mr. Knightly and Emma standing there to the left? lol Can you tell this is my new favorite? Ahhh! Blue and white transferware…I can never get enough of it!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Please visit these wonderful ladies and their beautiful blogs to see what they are up to and to find a list of this week’s participants!
Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for Today’s Thrifty Treasures
Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday
Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday
See you next time! A la prochaine!

Thrifting Finds in Creams and Naturals

This post is a real departure for me, as you will soon see…


…which is not to say that there will not be cats and plates, because there will be…


…but because I am straying from my usual blues and yellows for the creams…

  …naturals and textures that I love seeing on other blogs!  Not that I am planning on redecorating my house, because I’m not. I just want to try it on for size in a small way. And…as my friend and Goodwill hunting partner, Linda  at Nina’s Nest pointed out to me…most of my GW trophies this week seem to fall into that pattern!


First, I have finally collected enough wonderful old silverplated flatware to have eight complete place settings…mismatched, of course! I was looking for one more odd dinner fork and instead found another whole bag of a dozen or so lovely old assorted pieces. I was thrilled to also find a stack of six crazed, chipped and much loved  vintage Wedgewood Wellesley square luncheon plates for $4.54…my new favorite find!


I love the well-worn and intricate designs of the flatware…little dings and all! Look at the morning glories in the top design…sigh! They just don’t make patterns like that any more! And doesn’t it look wonderful with my “new”  plates? Don’t you love the raised band of fruit and circles?


I have added another GW find…this pussy willow wreath ($3.53)… and some fleur-de-lis finials from Dollar Tree with a little jute twine thrown in for good measure! The cake plate is a flea market find from last year.


I found this coffee/tea pot on eBay during my recent quest for more Red Cliff ironstone. It is identical to one that I bought recently, but this one has no top and only cost $3.87! I decided that for that price, I could use it as a vase or pitcher!


Linda found this basket at GW and grabbed it for me since she already  has one. It’s from Southern Living at Home and was only $3.53! I added some jute gauze from Michael’s ($3.99 for 10 feet) for a little interest.


I’m using it to hold the glasses, which were my mother’s, the flatware and…


…these great vintage-looking napkins, which actually came from the clearance aisle at Home Goods last year…99 cents each! The little design looks like another morning glory, too!


And then I took this fleur-de-lis finial that I found at GW for 99 cents and transformed it into…

  …this with some white spray paint! I love me some spray paint! I didn’t coat it too heavily, though, because I liked the way the gold was showing through just a little. I think the finial adds some of the frenchiness that I seem to require…


…as does this lantern…a GW find from last year…and the homemade vintage style tag (directions here) keeping the fleur-de-lis theme!


 Soooo…put it all together and you have a luncheon using creams and naturals! I don’t think I could abandon my Provençal blues and yellows, but it is a nice change! And…I did it all with thrifting finds!


Baby Kitty is puzzled that I am so excited about other people’s stuff, as is my nine-year old grandson, but somehow brand new stuff with no patina or cracks just isn’t the same! Someone else had done all of the work of breaking it in for me and all I have to do is love it! And…I might add…virtually nothing on this table cost over $5.00! Now I think that’s something to get excited about!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Please visit these wonderful ladies and their beautiful blogs to see what they are up to and to find a list of this week’s participants!
Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for Today’s Thrifty Treasures
Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday
Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday
See you next time! A la prochaine!

Wishes for a Wonderful Easter and Passover

I would like to wish a joyful Easter and Passover to all of you, my dear blogger friends and readers! Have a wonderful holiday and enjoy this special time with your family!