Recipe: J'adore Paris

J'adore Paris

Circa: 2015

 

      Tomorrow is a special day to show someone how much they mean to you and what better way to toast to a great love or friendship then with a cocktail! This delicious drink is perfect for Valentine's Day in Paris whether you are in France or Texas!

 

       To complete my Paris inspired week I wanted to add my own special touch to one of my favorite cocktails, the French 75. I was introduced to this cocktail classic on an anniversary trip to New Orleans, Louisiana. Chris and I wandered into Arnaud's French 75 Bar and several of the locals insisted that we have the bar's namesake drink. We'll as they say, when in Rome! It was delicious and has become a staple in our household. While the original is perfect I wanted to add a special touch to it in honor of Valentine's Day. 



 

For my take on the French 75 I wanted to add a little romance through the use of the Rose Brut Champagne, St. Germaine Elderflower Liqueur and a flower petal garnish. I love using St. Germaine because it adds a beautiful floral sweetness to any cocktail which absolutely perfect for this romantic holiday! While these beautiful flowers are courtesy of my husband and his garden, if you don't have a green thumb (I can sympathize) you can find edible flower petals in many grocery stores today in the produce section.

 

 

I hope that you enjoy this beautiful and simple cocktail inspired by one of my favorites! Also, be sure to visit the blog next week to check out a few more of my favorite places in "I Love Paris" Part Two!

 

 Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Personal Post: Life at the Museum

Life at the Museum 

Circa: 2014



Historic 1883 John and Lottie Moore Home

It's been a busy few weeks at the museum to say the least! Between a Murder Mystery Event, Thanksgiving and Christmas Candlelight Tours I have hardly had time to sleep, let alone blog. However with Christmas quickly approaching things are beginning to slow down  and  I will be able to bring you some fabulous holiday posts starting today!  While I love sharing my favorite recipes, D.I.Y. projects, decorating ideas and more, I thought that it would be fun to share something a little more personal and give you a  glimpse into my life at the museum.  

 

This fall we had the opportunity to create new and wonderful events for the museum, many of which we have been dreaming about for a year or two! In November we hosted our first Murder Mystery Event at the Historic Moore Mansion. Following the untimely death of our speaker, guests searched the home high and low for clues in an attempt to solve the mystery and bring the killer to justice. Now, when I say search the home high and low I meant it.  One of my first tasks was to clean a 131 year old attic. To most it would be a daunting and possibly depressing job, however I jumped at the chance and dragged/recruited one of our amazing interns to help! I discovered that all you need is a great attitude, plenty of brooms and a fabulous soundtrack! "Shake It Off" was a favorite for the day and very appropriate due to the large amounts of dust on everything.  

Katie and I cleaning up the attic

The Murder Mystery event was amazing and we already have plans to host another one this spring! My husband was a great sport and provided the "dead body" for our evening. Sadly to his dismay he was murdered before the hors d'oeuvres and champagne were served. He is truly the best and I don't know what I would do without him.

Chris and I before he was murdered on the stairs...

Following the Murder Mystery I turned my attention to my next project, preparing the Cottage for our annual Candlelight Tours. Every year during the first week of December  our museum offers special evening tours of our beautiful historic homes that are decorated for Christmas and lit by candles. This year I had the pleasure of decorating our historic 1850's cottage for this holiday season with the assistance of our wonderful docents and staff. Our cottage is a wonderful home that was built in Richmond, Texas in 1855 by the grandson of the Jane Long "The Mother of Texas."

The theme was Christmas during the Civil War in Texas and we led guests on a guided tour of this home sharing a glimpse of how the family would have celebrated Christmas Eve in 1861. It was a magical evening and sitting in the home filled with candlelight and Christmas carols echoing in the background, for a moment you felt as is you had been transported back in time. 

Oh and did I mention that I had to dress in costume to lead our tours? It is a tough job but someone has to do it!

While the museum may keep me busy, it also offers wonderful opportunities and memories that I will cherish for a lifetime.  If you would like to see a little more of my everyday vintage life you can  follow me on Instagram at Jessn012!

Recipe: Compound Butters

Compound Butters

Circa: 2014

 With Thanksgiving approaching I thought I would share one more recipe with you before Thursday!  I love making compound butters for special dinners or  during the holidays. Not only are they delicious and add so much flavor to a dish but they are very simple to make! Today I am providing you with some of my favorite flavor combinations to share with your friends and family this holiday season.

 

When I became Education Coordinator at the museum one of the first things I learned to do was make homemade butter. During our busy season we can make up to six batches in one day! At the museum we use a wonderful vintage Daisy Churn similar to the one pictured in the ad below. While it still gets the job done after all these years it tends to take a lot of time and elbow grease. It's a wonderful teaching tool for our younger visitors and helps them appreciate how hard people had to work in the past even for simple things, however,  at home I like to take advantage of our modern technology and let my mixer do the hard work!  While you can certainly add any of these flavorful ingredients to pre-made butter, homemade butter is so easy to make and adds a delicious and special touch to your holiday meal.

 

 

How to Make Homemade Butter

 

To make homemade butter all you need is heavy whipping cream and a stand or hand held mixer. You will typically get half as much butter as the amount of cream used.

 

1.  Place the heavy whipping cream in a bowl and begin mixing on a low speed. You can increase to a medium speed as the cream begins to thicken. However, be careful not to increase the speed too soon or you will have cream flying everywhere! (I learned this the hard way)

 

2. The cream will transform into fluffy whipped cream; this is what I consider the half way point. Keep whipping the cream until it breaks down into soft cottage-cheese like curds.

 

3. The butter will then begin to stiffen as the butter fat separate s from the milk, clump together and turn yellow.

 

4. Once the butter separates turn off your mixer and pour off the milk. You can press the butter with a spatula to squeeze out any remaining milk.

 

5. As a bonus you can keep the buttermilk to drink!

 

It is that simple! I often get asked "How do you know when you have butter?" Trust me you will know by the consistency and color of the butter.  At this point in time I return the drained butter to my mixer and begin to add my ingredients. Rather than provide measurements for my butter combinations I have found that it is all about personal taste. For example, I love a lot of fresh basil with my lemon zest, however my husband prefers just a touch. Also if you are making small batches you may need a teaspoon of an ingredient rather than a tablespoon. I suggest adding a little bit at a time until you reach the perfect combination! For my savory butters I also added a touch a kosher salt.

 

I hope that these combinations inspire you to create your own delicious compound butters!

 

Here are my favorite combinations below!

 

 

I love the combination of lemon zest and fresh basil from my garden. They create a delicious and fresh flavor combination that works well on everything from a baguette to a roasted chicken!

 

 

 Roasted Garlic and Rosemary is my husband's favorite! I roast a head of garlic in the oven, extract the garlic and let it cool in a dish before I add it to my butter.

 

 

My favorite way to serve my cinnamon and honey butter is on my husband's homemade cornbread while it is still warm from the oven.  

 

 

Once you have created your compound butters I suggest rolling them in plastic wrap or parchment paper and placing them in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes to an hour before serving. They make a wonderful addition to any holiday table! 

 

 I hope that you have a very Happy Thanksgiving with your family and friends! Peace and Love always!

Halloween Inspiration: Season of the Witch

  

Season of the Witch 

Circa: 2014  

        Halloween is by far my favorite time of the year. I wait anxiously all summer for fall to arrive to Texas. Cooler temperatures, football season, and pumpkin spice everything are just a few of my favorite things about this time of year. However, nothing compares to my love for All Hallows Eve! My love, or some would say obsession, for this wonderful and spooky holiday began when I was a very young child. I can remember some of my favorite movies were Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice and later of course Hocus Pocus!  Everyone has always joked that I have a happy, bright and sweet side but there is also a darker and spookier Jessica lurking just beneath. I can't remember a time when I wasn't fascinated with ghosts, witches and things that go bump in the night. I still have a notebook from elementary school filled with scary stories and plays I had written with my favorite being a haunted painting in an old castle that would come to life at night. Where this love for all things mysterious and frightening came from I can't say but it has only increased as I have grown older. Thankfully, I have friends and family that share my love of creepy things or at least love me just the same! So on that note expect quite a few posts for the month of October! 

        
        I thought I would begin with my theme for this year's tablescape! Yes I have a theme each year for my dining room. Doesn't everyone? Last year I chose "Till Death Do Us Part" and had a wonderful skeleton couple sharing a romantic dinner for two. This year I wanted to go in a different direction and  I didn't have to look far for inspiration. One of my favorite movies is Practical Magic. I fell in love the first time I saw it and it has always reminded me so much of my relationship with one of my longest and dearest friends from my hometown. Plus add in Stevie Nicks, magic, romance and you have me. I watch it often and the soundtrack is always on my Ipod! 

       This year I also discovered one of my new favorite shows...American Horror Story. I know I am late to the game but thanks to Netflix I was able to catch up. As soon as I started watching season three Coven, I was hooked. The house, the wardrobe, Jessica Lange and a character obsessed with Stevie Nicks. How could I not fall in love? Interestingly enough I was actually named after Jessica Lange. Coincidence? I think not! I was mesmerized, terrorized and loved every minute of it. 

        One day while shopping with my mom I came across a pedestal with a white marble top and it reminded me of the conservatory in Practical Magic and the lab area in AHS Coven and my theme "Season of the Witch" was born. I wanted to pull elements from both by combining the romantic, botanical side of Practical Magic with the darker and chilling side of AHS. Expect to see a lot of herbs, spells, candles, skulls and more! I hope that this inspires you find things that you love to create your own unique holiday decorations. I have a few more finishing touches and I will reveal the finished table on the blog very soon!  Have a wonderful and spooky Monday! 

Recipe: The Redcoat Cocktail

The Redcoat

Circa: 1776

           We are having a few friends over to the house tomorrow to celebrate the 4^th of July and I thought that it would be fun to have a signature cocktail for the festivities! July in Houston means very warm days so I wanted to have something very light and refreshing for guests that also took advantage of the beautiful and delicious fruits that are in season! When I was testing out recipes for my 4^th of July cocktail a friend commented that I was using traditional British spirits for a uniquely American celebration. I happen to love using Pimms Cup No.1 and Gin for cocktails this time of year and I didn’t even realize that they were right! But since we are serving an All-American menu ending with a very patriotic red, white, and blue dessert I thought why not have British-inspired cocktails and tell the whole story of the American Revolution and our fight for Independence. So that is how the name and concept of this cocktail came to be. I present to you The Redcoat!

             Of course I can’t leave you without a little bit of background information and history that you can read while sipping your cocktail. I thought it would be fun to do a little research and find out more about the Redcoats in honor of our drink! The dictionary defines Redcoat as a British soldier especially in America during the Revolutionary War. The red uniform was officially adopted by the Parliament of England in 1645 when they passed the New Model Army ordinance. The infantry wore coats of Venetian red with white facings. While red uniforms are by no means exclusive to the British Army, their extensive use of this color over a period of nearly 300 years has made it an icon of the British Empire.

             Why red? One of the main reasons for choosing the vibrant color was the fact that russet and crimson dyes were relatively cheap to produce. Roots of the madder plant were dried, crushed and hulled to produce the red colored dye. In addition there was a growing popular sense that red was the national English color. It has also been said that they believed the red would hide blood stains; however this has proven to be a myth.

             While today most people wouldn’t choose bright red for a military uniform because it would make a soldier easy to spot from across the field….well in the 18^th century that was the whole point! Surprised?  During a time where a musket had a limited range and accuracy and battlefield visibility was obscured by clouds of smoke the bright red uniform helped commanders and fellow troops distinguish friend from foe!

             In parting I want to wish everyone a very Happy 4^th of July filled with friends, fireworks and maybe even a few Redcoats!  

Holiday Decorating: Fourth of July

Decorating With Military Memories

Circa: 1776-2014

          The 4^th of July is just around the corner and I couldn't be more excited! It’s not only a day of celebration with friends and family and fireworks but a day of remembrance and celebrating our freedom and independence! Of course I also love any occasion to decorate and holidays are my favorite! For the 4th of July I decided to highlight some of our family's old military memorabilia. I know that many of us have our fathers, grandfathers or great-grandfather’s photographs, military papers, letters, medals, and more tucked away for safe keeping. Now don’t get me wrong, as a lover of history and antiques I strongly encourage preservation and handling this objects with care however, I also believe in displaying these treasured items in your everyday life or for special occasions.

          When I was preparing to decorate our house for the 4^th of July rather than run out to the store I first turned to what we had on hand at the house. My wallet and husband were happy!  I started off with the large objects that were scattered about such as my World War II Souvenir pillow, a framed copy of my grandfather’s naval class picture, a beautiful American flag scarf from a friend, my husband’s saber and hat from college and more! Next, I headed into my photo albums and trunk for family items from World War II. I found several pictures, postcards, medals, and even my great-grandmother’s ration book.  After I had picked out several items I began placing them around the house and they really added a more personal and meaningful touch to our holiday decorations.  

          Now, I know that the thought of displaying your grandfather’s military papers or letters scattered around the house for all to see and TOUCH can cause some concern! I completely understand, I am the person that cringes when I watch antique shows and someone is turning the pages of a 300 year old book with their bare hands! The solution is actually really simple:  quality photocopies.  For example, one of the things that I did for my wedding and continue to do today is make good quality, color copies of my more delicate items. At our wedding we wanted to display pictures of our family but we didn't want to risk having the originals misplaced or damaged so we made copies of all of the older pictures that we wanted to use. I still use those copies today in many of my decorations and if they are damaged there is no fear because the original is safe! So if you have any paper items or photographs that you don’t feel comfortable displaying simply make a copy and protect the original!

          I hope this inspires you to share some of your family treasures throughout the holiday season! Have a very Happy 4^th of July and thank you for stopping by!

P.S. The flag in the entry way was one of my favorite finds at an antique store in Paris, Texas. It is displayed all year round but it is perfect for the 4th of July! From the markings on the top we know it flew in the Pacific before World War II!