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Cheese and Holiday Cheer
One of my favorite things about blogging is that is provides me with a good excuse to do all of the nerdy, quirky things that I’ve secretly always wanted to do, but was too embarrassed to admit to anyone else. For example, I’ve always wanted to stop at one of the many souvenir stores that dot Wisconsin’s roadsides, selling things like cheese and moccasins. So, on my my way to visit a friend in Green Bay on Monday, I stopped on a whim at Schutlz’s Cheese Haus off of Highway 151. Schultz’s is everything you’d ever want in a roadside cheese store. It looks like a little house you’d find…
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How to Host a Swap Party
I’m blogging today over at Wisconsin Public Television’s Engage Wisconsin website about how to host a swap party. I recently attended such a party at the home of a friend, and it’s a great incentive for cleaning out closets and cabinets. The idea is that each guest brings used items in good condition from her own home and, in return, can “shop” at the party for items that other people brought. I came home from the recent swap party I attended with a vintage 1970s leather jacket, an adorable green tunic from Anthropologie, and an armload of new books to add to my reading list. To learn how to host…
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Feels Like Home
I’m thrilled to have the talented blogger and decorator Doreen Creede from Style Maniac guest posting today on Glossing Over It about interior design. Decor is something I admire and enjoy, but I don’t have any background in it, so I was thrilled when Doreen agreed to say a few words about her own approach to a designing a room: Candlelight glows against the soft brass of my vintage coffee table; its mirrored surface gleams with glasses of garnet wine, platters of creamy goat cheese, and bowls of savory sundried tomatoes. Shoes have been kicked off, pillows smushed behind backs, lights dimmed low, music turned up high. Flames lick against…
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Pairing Drinks with Halloween Candy
Halloween is upon us and, with it, bags and bags of grocery store sweets. Whether you swipe Fun Size Snickers from your kids’ plastic pumpkins or you scarf down the leftovers you bought for trick-or-treaters, chances are you’ll be indulging in some candy. And if you’re looking for an adult beverage to go with that candy, look no further. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups go great with beer. Although some might suggest a heavier brew, like Lake Louie’s Warped Speed Scotch Ale, these sweet and slightly salty little peanut butter cups also would go great with a light, caramely ale, like Furthmore’s Proper. In Food Network Magazine, restaurateur Tom Geniesse of…
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Don’t Hate Them Because They’re Ugly
If you ever see someone crawling on the sidewalk underneath the tables at the farmers’ market, that person would be me. In late summer and early fall, I will be close to the ground, digging through the boxes of ugly tomatoes that aren’t perfect enough to put on display. You know the tomatoes I’m talking about–the squishy, cracked, bruised, or misshapen ones. Farmers usually sell them for about 50 cents a pound at this time of year. Most people will take one glance at these ugly tomatoes and walk on by. I ask you to reserve judgment, because ugly tomatoes are perfect for one of my favorite tomato recipes: Bruschetta…
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Treats for the Soul and Stomach
Tonight I have Critique Group. I am lucky to be a part of a group of five fabulous women writers who get together every other week to weigh in on one another’s projects. We are bold: we blog and send our work out into the world for publication. We are brave: we read one another’s manuscripts without the shine of extensive revision (we put the “rough” in rough draft). And we are hungry: hungry for a place in the literary world, yes, but also physically hungry. We show up, exhausted and starving, after our various day job in the worlds of law, motherhood, sales, and office administration. Often one or…
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Sangria: A Classier Version of Wapatuli
It’s almost Memorial Day weekend, which, here in the great white north, is the unofficial start of summer and a cause for celebration. Summer, to me, means sangria. And I’m picky about it. It can’t be too sweet or too heavy. I’ve asked many people to share their sangria recipes only to get the response, “Oh, a little of this, a little of that. It’s different every time.” I guess sangria is one of those things you’re not supposed to make with a recipe, kind of like a classier version of wapatuli. But if you’ve never made it before (sangria, that is–I know you’ve all made wapatuli) and you need…
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When in Rome
I am not a fan of broccoli unless it is rendered into near-unrecognizable form. That’s why I like this classic Italian recipe, Orecchiette con Cime di Rapa. I first learned about the wonders of Italy from my uncle, who lived there for several years with his wife when I was a kid. They came back speaking exotic words like bella and mangia. I, too, wanted to speak Romance languages, travel to far-away places, and eat new foods. This week, my uncle passed away, but his traveler’s spirit lives on. This recipe is in honor of him. 1 pound broccoli rabe (or regular broccoli, if you can’t find it) 1 pound orecchiette…
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Pink Wine: Thinking Outside the Box
For years, any mention of rosé wine conjured images of Sunset Blush from a box which, in turn, led to dry heaving. Then my friend Katie, ever adventurous, offered me a glass of Sofia Blanc de Blancs at my bridal shower. I only accepted it because I loved The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation, so I reasoned that a wine named after their director would be good, too. On my honeymoon in Argentina, I tried more pink wines, and even bought some Crios de Susana de Balbo Rosé when I got back to the US. Now that warmer weather is upon us and my bias is almost gone (though…