Thanksgiving is Coming!!

I. Love. Thanksgiving.
Seriously, guys. It's my favorite holiday. It wins out over Christmas, Easter, Independence Day, Groundhogs Day...
Okay, I take it back. I don't have a favorite holiday per se, because whenever a new one appears on the horizon I get really excited and declare it my new favorite. So right now my favorite holiday is absolutely most definitely Thanksgiving. Let's think about this.
Christmas is the happiest...
Easter is the most meaningful...
Groundhogs Day the most under-appreciated...
But Thanksgiving is the most comfortable...
And if you know anything about me, I am always 100% about comfort. I change into Pajamas at 4 in the afternoon. I drink at least three cups of tea a day. I put a comforter in the drivers seat of my car because it's comfier than just a plain old seat. I carry an extra pair of socks in my purse (Don't judge me...) Okay! back to the Thanksgiving theme. This could get even more embarrassing if I confess anything else.
I thought, since I've done so little blogging of late, that I could tell you guys (if there is even anyone still reading my poor neglected blog) our Thanksgiving Menu for 2013!
Hurray! Huzzah! *confetti* Bravo!
Okay, fine. I might be a little too excited.


This year, because we have stupendous guests arriving on Thanksgiving day (aka my favorite person in the world) and my sister's boyfriend has his own family festivities that day our fantastic feast will be on Friday this year. I was happy with this plan because it means I have a whole entire day off to cook before hand, and we can have Thanksgiving breakfast for Thursday. Because as well as being an advocate for comfort, I am also the number one fan of breakfast. Best meal ever. So yes! Let the menu-ing begin!

Breakfast:
- Cranberry Orange Blintzes. Every year we have some sort of crepes for breakfast. This year will be blintzes, which are rolled crepes filled with creamy ricotta custard. There will be cranberry orange sauce for the top, as well as warmed fried apples.
-Latkes
-Bacon. Obviously. Every good breakfast has bacon.

First Thanksgiving as Purple Door Bakery, three years ago.

Dinner

- Turkey (duh) We decided no brining this year. It takes about three days to brine a turkey and that's a lot of days. And although you can taste the difference, it isn't a big enough difference for three days. :) In the good old days Grandma would make awesome turkey by just basting it every hour and putting bacon on top. Throwback Thursday this year!
- Stuffing. There is no Thanksgiving without Stuffing. And our family can be a little bit particular. My dad wants it to be cornbread, my sister insists on water chestnuts, sausage is a must. So yes. Our perfected recipe will be amazing and make everyone happy. That's the way Thanksgiving goes... 
- Garlic Smashed Potatoes with Browned Onions. This is the best mashed potato you will ever eat. There's hints of cheese, garlic, and oniony goodness. We pretty much only eat them one day a year because they are so bad for you (but good for your happy place)
- Asparagus with bacon bits and butter everywhere! Usually we have it with Hollandaise sauce, but going with one less sauce this year, phew!
- Homemade Creamed Corn. It's kinda my signature dish. When I first moved here about three years ago I made creamed corn for some people at a barbeque. I think everyone in town called me "Creamed Corn Girl" for a few months at least. Slightly embarrassing. A little flattering.
- Pao de Quejo. Because we need a little Brazilian goods on our table. Plus, any American biscuit or roll, no matter how fluffy and perfect, can't compare with little cheesy (gluten free!) bites of absolute deliciousness known as Pao de Quejo.
- Green beans. Not the casserole, not the canned kind. I'm talking squeaky teeth beans, the kind that snap even after you've cooked them. (We call them squeaky teeth beans because they are perfect if they squeak against your teeth when you chew. It's fun. :) )

Dessert
If I had my way we would be consuming two types of creme brulee, four pies, and some sort of cookie. My family doesn't let that happen, which would be a sad story, except they are probably all saving our waistlines from a terrifying future. ;)
-Pumpkin Pie. People are asking for the same old classic, but I want to shake it up a little tiny bit. Whether it's by adding a gingersnap crust, a maple glaze, or something else I haven't decided yet. One thing for sure: whipped cream will be there. Pumpkin Pie without chipped cream might be the saddest thing to ever happen in the pie world.
-Apple Pie. My dad really hates pumpkin things. He's just one of those people that isn't a pumpkin fan. So I'm making his favorite pie. Apple Pie with strudel topping. Vanilla ice cream will also be making a guest appearance, I'm pretty sure.
- Sweet Potato Creme Brulee. Both me and my mom are avid fans of yams. I could honestly eat sweet potato casserole for days. FOR DAYS. I'm excited about this one. :)

These are pumpkin Creme Brulees, but they are going to be awesome with yams!

-Gingerbread Leaf Cookies. I'm making these as place markers on the table. I'm going to pipe names on in fancy royal icing. They should be fun...

Back when I couldn't take pictures...yay!

Duvall Plant Sale

The best time of the year!!! At least, it is for anyone living here in the Pacific Northwest. Winter is a dreary, wet, gray, soggy, ugly mess of a month in Seattle. So now that it's May and the sun is shining a bit more it's time for this gal to get baking!
At each change of the seasons I always get inspired. All of my spring and summer baking goals pop out of the woodwork from last year and I vow to bake something new every day. Of course, it doesn't always work that way...but you will see a bunch of baking projects I think!
May 12th our purple booth will be open at Duvall's Annual Plant Sale. Last year was a blast and everyone had fun and enjoyed the baked goods. I'm hoping this year will be even better. But you are all waiting for the menu so let's get that out of the way...

First things first...cupcakes! We have five flavors for sale this year instead of four.
Coconut Cream- everyone that eats one of these vows they are the best...and they are fun because they are filled with coconut custard. Filled cupcakes are always the best, don't you agree?
Orange Dream- This was a request from the little brother. He said they were a very spring themed garden cupcake. He has good taste...vanilla frosting, orange cake, filled with marmalade, topped with candied orange peel. I'm excited for these!
White Chocolate Raspberry- At first I wasn't going to add these to the menu. Until EVERYONE started asking me if I was going to be selling them. They are the most famous of PDB's cupcakes I think. And who wouldn't love em?
Chocolate Peanut Butter- Another returning favorite. These were the first to sell out last year.
Spiced Chai Latte- And to add to our "healthy" options, our vegan cupcake: spiced chai! You can't really tell he's vegan or healthy, though...just as tasty as the rest of the bunch.

We also are planning on selling
Mediterranean Focaccia: Olive oil bread, Parmesan cheese, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes and tasty spices...
Pesto Rolls: Soft buttery crescent rolled with pesto...
Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies: lots of people wanted gluten free options last year. We heard you! We are also selling Gluten Free Brownies.
Jumbo Decorated Sugar Cookies: For the kiddos! I'm planning on all sorts of shapes including dinosaurs, smiley faces, and flowers.

Plus Homemade Lemonade, Coffee, Water, and Tea. Go ahead and comment below. Anything you were hoping to see this year? I'm still deciding if we should have slices of pie available as well.

I'm super excited and I'm so glad my grandma and mom will be there helping as well. Three generations in the Bakery Booth. Doesn't get much better than that. :)

Ladies Fall Kick Off!

Saturday's Fall event went great! Lots of people gave the Purple Door Bakery compliments and it was encouraging to feed so many people successfully. I feel as if I can actually DO this...
It was an uphill battle and I'm thankful it's over, but I'm super glad I was able to do it.

Because it was a volunteer shindig it was great to work with other people who also love baking and cooking. My mom and sister did a great job grating cheese, prepping salad, baking frittatas...Laura even helped me do all the hundreds of tarts we put out (in addition to all the wonderful photos she took.). We were so sick of mushrooms by the end of it! Also, a good friend of mine, Shannon, came early on Saturday to help as well. She was a life saver too! I couldn't have pulled off such a succesful catering endeavor without the help of everyone and I am very thankful.

The Menu:

Salmon Asparagus Frittata

Mushroom Onion Tarts

Mediterranean Salad

Autumn Gingerbread Cookies

Purple Himalayan Cupcakes

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

We were even able to decorate the table to make it look festive and autumn themed. I'm so glad presentation is part of this. Making things look pretty is my favorite part of this job...

My favorite thing from this brunch: Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with white chocolate cream cheese frosting with chocolate chips and homemade candy pumpkin toppers.... :)

All in all, it was a very tasty and fun event!

Live and Learn

Friday afternoon last week I set out to enter the big wild world of catering. I had gotten a request to make a meal for not just a normal graduation party, but a double one! It was going to be themed after the Brazilian style of a Churrasco mixed with traditional American Barbeque. I was pretty excited...until I started stringing the last leg of the veggie kabobs, my chocolate cake fell, and the raspberry mousse wouldn't form stiff peaks. My feet hurt, I was sleep deprived and my emotional state was in shreds since I had never had a cake fall on me before. Not once in my whole life. Needless, in the end I did have a lot of fun and people liked it more than I thought they would. It was incredibly satisfying to see everyone having a great time and the graduates happy to relax. To heap on the good news: I have another catered event! Next Saturday I'm going to be making some baked goods for my church's garden party.

Menu for Double Graduation Party:

Romaine Caesar Salad

Bacon Water Chestnut Appetizers

Homemade Baked Beans

Creamed Corn

Colorful Kabobs with Peppers and Onions

Cheesy Grilled Potatoes

Brazilian Vinegrette

Churrasco-Style Grilled Steaks

2 Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cakes (one with more fudge than it's fruity sister)

Carrot Cake