A Pioneer Woman Supper Club

We are in an informal supper club, which consists of four couples who like to cook (girls) and eat (boys and girls). Since we all share the common denominator of being in love with Ree Drummond, her quirky writing style, her fabulous recipes, and her infectious attitude, we decided the theme this month would be...the Pioneer Woman! Denise was hosting this month, so we started out in her kitchen. Here is Denise sampling the cooking and Sarah trying to avoid being photographed! Suckaaaaaa :)



So here's what was on the menu for the night.
Denise delighted us with coq au vin for the main entree, plus wine.
Sarah contributed spinach salad with hot bacon dressing, plus wine.
I whipped up some creamy mashed potatoes, plus wine.
Ann made the oreo/peanut butter pie, plus wine.

Are we booze hounds??



Whilst we were slaving away in the kitchen drinking the drink of booze hounds, the boys were relaxing and catching up. Helloooo boys!!!! (They have it so easy)



Because each of us worked hard to bring the Pioneer Woman's individual recipes to life, here's a close up of each. I am adding the links because I know you want to be just like us, and I'm just here to make it a little easier for you.

The spinach salad with hot bacon dressing!!!!!!!!!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/06/the-best-spinach-salad-ever/




The coq au vin! With noodles!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/08/coq-au-vin/




The creamy herbed mashed potatoes! I take the easy way and leave the skin on. I think you get more...um, fiber or vitamins that way. The secret ingredient to mashed potatoes is Lawry's seasoned salt...which, I am ashamed to say, I didn't even own when I first made this recipe. Now I quadruple the quantity any time I use a recipe that calls for it!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/11/delicious_creamy_mashed_potatoes/




The peanut butter pie! As PW says, "If you don’t like peanut butter, step away from this recipe. I’m serious, man. You’re in the wrong place at the wrong time." It was delicious!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/06/another-pie/





All assembled, the heavenly dinner looked something like this...why is there so much salad?? This must be Sarah's plate!




The happy diners. Can you guess which one is my husband??



I'm not sure where Ann was, but here's the girls!

Lengthen those Drapes

My friend Denise bought some incredibly cute drapes at World Market. But given the height of her ceilings, she decided she wanted to add on about 18 inches in brown linen to the bottom of the drapes. I say great idea! It's an inexpensive way to take mainstream drapes and make them custom design and custom length.

Denise had first tried to use what they call hem tape (something like that) but the thickness of the brown material she was trying to add on was really too substantial to be held by tape.



First, I trimmed the width of the brown fabric to correspond with the pre-sewn drapes. Then I ironed. One of the delightful evils of sewing is you always have to have an iron out and ready; it's a necessary evil I must tolerate if I want to sew, and is usually the only time I ever iron my dear husband's shirts.

I hemmed the sides in, then I went for the top. I wanted the unattractive, turned under top of the brown fabric to be hidden.



Then I pinned it to the back of the drape.



Then I sewed that sucker on! Take care to use a thread color that will not show up on front of the fabric. I know there's a way to sew where it won't show, but I haven't figured that out yet. So I just go search for the right thread (HINT: Always pull out the actual thread and lay it across the actual fabric. You'd be surprised how much the color changes from the roll to the individual thread. This is a fool-proof method of getting the right color. You're welcome.)



All that remains was to hem the bottom evenly. Since Denise wanted it as tall as possible, I didn't have to conform to 84 inches, or 96 inches. I just made sure it was even and voila!



Please excuse Wild Thing, he doesn't like to be left out.