I got to check out Paula’s new rectangular baking dish, the three piece mixing bowl set, measuring cup set, some wooden spoon, and a slotted metal spoon. It’s a very nice set I love the color, and the pattern. I checked out some of the other pieces while I was at Walmart yesterday. I think I might have to go back for the covered baking dish and the pie dish.

I used the baking dish and the small bowl from the mixing bowl as a vegetable tray on Thanksgiving day. I know that’s not the intended use for either one, but they made a very nice presentation.

The entire set of Paula Deen bakeware and kitchen gadgets are available at Walmart and include beautiful, oven-to-table stoneware pieces like pie plates, casseroles, loaf pans and mixing bowls with a ribbed leaf pattern.

They’re ideal for baking, serving and reheating and designed for microwave, oven, refrigerator, freezer and dishwasher use. The line also includes all your kitchen gadgets from spatulas to mechanical egg beaters to measuring cups and spoons with a rooster motif.

I have great news! I have a giveaway coming up next week where one lucky She Knows Party reader will be able to win their own Paula Deen bakeware, so stay tuned!

Image L Gerlach

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If you’re not sure what wine to serve with your Thanksgiving turkey, or whether you need to serve a white or a red wine with your ham, you’re not alone. So today I have a few holiday wine pairing tips from the pros to help you pick out a wine to go with your holiday dinner that your guests will enjoy.

Follow these wine food pairing tips from The California Wine Club, and your guests will think you’re a wine pro.

Pairing the right wine with Turkey isn’t easy! The flavors in the leaner, white meat vary drastically from the richer flavors in the dark meat. Throw stuffing into the mix and you have a whole new set of challenges (a cranberry stuffing will pair with a wine in a completely different way, than a sausage stuffing).

If you’re not in charge of the turkey, but are required to bring the wine, go with these fail-safe “lighter-styled” choices:

• Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc or a dry Riesling for whites.
• Pinot Noir, Sangiovese or a Beaujolais for reds.

For a classic Christmas roast beef, try a fully-bodied red like a Cabernet, Bordeaux or Barolo.

For Ham or Roasted Pork, try a dry Rose, Pinot Noir or white like an unoaked Chardonnay or dry Gewürztraminer.

Some other general Food & Wine pairing tips:

• Pair hearty, heavier foods, with heavier wines and lighter fare with lighter wines.Salty foods need wines higher in acid (that “crisp” Sauvignon Blanc, would be better than a “creamy” or “oaky” Chardonnay.
• Sweet foods (like dessert) need a wine that is slighter sweeter…if the wine is as sweet as the food, the wine will lost its taste.
• Match flavors in food, to flavors in wine (accentuate the smokiness of BBQ ribs with a smoky Shiraz, pair the spicy pepperoni Pizza with a spicy Zinfandel).

Image The California Wine Club

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They’re easy to make, and even though they’ll look gourmet to your guests they won’t break your budget to create.

They would be perfect for a cozy little holiday dinner party. Guests will love the caramelized flavor of the pears. I love the idea of topping them with chutney or cranberries, it definitely adds a nice holiday touch.

Roasted Bosc Pears

Ingredients:

• 4  Bosc pears
• 1½ tsp Extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ tsp Kosher salt
• ⅛ tsp Fresh ground pepper

Procedure:

• Preheat oven to 400°
• Wash pears and cut them in half. Pat dry.
• Toss pears with olive oil and salt and pepper in bowl.
• Lay pears on baking dish skin-side down, cut-side up.
• Roast pears in 400º oven for 15 minutes.
• Rotate tray.
• Continue cooking 15 minutes until soft and caramelized.
• Serve as an accompaniment.
• Top with chutney or cranberry relish for added holiday touch.

Serves: 4

Image and recipe courtesy of Seasons 52

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• Easy Gourd and Candle Fall Centerpieces
• Fall Party Centerpiece Ideas With Gourds
• Apple Decorating Ideas For Fall Parties
• Fall Party Decorating Ideas

If you’re going for a traditional fall color palette for your party, stick with rich browns with bright  oranges, or yellows, and deep reds. Warm tones work very well in fall. You can also work in golds, and shades of green into your fall tablescape.

Here are a couple fall tablescapes to help guide you in your fall planning.

This first one features yellows and silvers.

The next tablescape features rich golds and sunflowers, a wonderful combination for fall.

Or combine golds and greens like the tablescape below, add in accents of reds and yellows and you’ve got a great setting. I think this is my favorite color combination of all of these.

I hope some of these tablescapes and centerpiece ideas inspire your fall table.

Images (c) L Gerlach

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Today I have some decorative bouquets ideas you can use for a party centerpiece, or wedding bouquet, all in white. If you don’t like the solid white, you can add accents in any color.

First up, dressing up simple white daisies with a little green, or with some pearl beads.

Lilies are fabulous in white.

Did you know white can come in shades? You can use off white, or winter white in your bouquet. Mix up shades of white for a beautiful look, like this bouquet with white roses, and mums.

You can also go with one type of flower, and a white, white like this very white rose arrangement on a red background.

White is spectacular for winter and snow, or summer and sun. It’s a timeless elegant color for parties and weddings.

Images (c) L Gerlach

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Image (c) L Gerlach

You can even drape fabric from one corner, or add a small bouquet to the top to dress up. Match your chairs to your tablescape, or decorate them in a contrasting color.

Image (c) L Gerlach

Or use them to announce special guests, or the bride and groom.

Image (c) L Gerlach

You can dress up your chairs without much effort, but it can make a huge impact on the atmosphere of your dinner party, or wedding.

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Each dessert contains four layers of rich flavors. The desserts are packaged in individual cups. You just warm the sides and push on the bottom to turn them out onto a dessert plate. Each guest has their own individual little dessert.

Just drizzle a little chocolate, or caramel on the plate, and you have a gourmet dinner dessert.

Culinary Circle desserts come in six different flavors including, Caramel Pecan Praline, Cherry Chocolate Amore, Chocolate Truffle Gooey Fudge Brownie, Midnight Mint, Peanut Butter Passion and Tiramisu. I’ve tried the Tiramisu, and the Peanut Butter Passion so far, and both were fabulous! Very rich and creamy, and definitely delicious.

Culinary Circle Desserts are available exclusively at SuperValu stores nationwide.

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The cutest idea was this one that held dinner place cards for the guests. The cards list the guests name and tells them their table number. This would be great for a formal wedding or dinner party.

Images (c) L Gerlach

Image (c) L Gerlach

Dress forms would also make fabulous party decorations with a little tulle tucked in the wires or by adding some well placed flowers or a bouquet to the wires.

Image (c) L Gerlach

Wouldn’t these be great for a bridal shower, wedding, or for a fall dinner party. Add bright orange flowers or leaves (or even dark colored black and red), and use dark colored tulle (black or gray) for a Halloween party. Like a corpse bride.

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Image via sxc.hu

With the fall and winter party season coming up fast, it means more parties will be moving indoors. Which also means more spills, and accidents on your carpets and floors. One of the biggest concerns are wine and drink spills.

Wine spills can happen so easily at a party, but they can be so hard to get out of the carpet later. I have a few tips to share with you today to make sure that wine spill doesn’t become a wine stain in your brand new carpet.

Here are the key steps the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) recommend for removal.

How can the stain be prevented from becoming permanent?

Act fast!

• Fill a cup with warm – not hot – water and add two to three drops of laundry detergent, preferably clear, for better penetration and distribution
• Saturate the spot with about half the solution, blot the excess with paper towels – not colored napkins – repeat the saturation process and blot some more
• Rinse with some warm water and blot again
• Forget the myth … pouring white wine on a red wine stain will not remove it. Pouring water on the stain and blotting thoroughly does the same thing with fewer residues in the carpet.

There may be a little soil attracted to the damp spot before the party’s over, but that’s easy to remove the next day. Make sure that the damp spot doesn’t create a slip/fall problem if guests will be walking off the spot onto a hard surface floor.

That’s all wonderful if you catch the spill right away, but what if the spill goes unnoticed and is allowed to dry and stain the carpet? Yikes!

Try a little test area with the warm detergent water solution to see if it responds

• If the carpet is fairly new or only subject to light traffic, the stain may be easily removed with the above process
• Remember that strong, especially alkaline detergents can remove the protective treatments and allow the stain to become permanent
• Never use bleach to remove the stain, since it’s likely that carpet’s color will be removed as well
• If the stain can’t be removed with a water and detergent solution, contact a certified professional cleaning service to remove the red wine
• Certified professionals have a variety of specialized agents and techniques to remove most spots and stains without damage to carpet
• After cleaning, they can re-apply the protective coating to maintain high levels of soil and stain resistance

Now you can plan that New Years Eve or holiday party and worry a little less about the clean up afterward.

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You can add colored or plain water to a vase, or small bowl then add a candle, some fruit or flowers to the bowl for a nice but simple, and low cost summer table centerpiece. Better yet combine flowers and candles, or fruit and flowers in the vase for a different look.

The centerpiece above combines a small glass candleholder, a floating candle, water, and a rose at the bottom of the candle holder. Very elegant for an evening dinner party.

Image via sxc.hu

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