01-09 Halloween Entertaining - Harum Scarum with a Touch of Glamor

Halloween is almost upon us and this week on the show we're carving jack-o-lanterns. Mary Ellen and I had such fun together carving that charming face. What do you do with the pumpkin seeds though? I toasted them and here's how:

 You'll need:

 Pumpkin seeds

Olive oil or melted butter

Salt

Start by rinsing those seeds and removing any pulp, and then spread them out on paper towels to dry over night. The next day line a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with raised sides with foil and preheat the oven to 250. Toss the dry seeds with the olive oil or butter, then salt and toss again. Spread the seeds out on the foil covered cookie sheet and bake for 1 hour, rearranging the seeds every 15 minutes.

01-08 Streamline Storage, Clear Clutter - The Basics of Organization

Organizing is the subject of this week’s vidcast, and cleaning and organizing are kissin’ cousins. Straightening up a room doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Organize the chore with these tips:

Start by picking a place in the room to deposit all the things that need to be put away. It’s best to pick a spot that will inconvenience you if you stop before finishing – like the sofa. Take everything that doesn’t belong out and put it in that spot. Getting your belongings out of their comfort zones on the tables and counters will force you to actually look at them so they can be more easily put away.

Once everything has been returned to its little home, you can simplify the task of cleaning by thinking of your room as a big clock. Focus on one “hour” at a time – work your way around from 12 back to 12 again and the task will fly by.

Here are some related tips from the archive section of my site:

Episode 102

Episode 103

Episode 104

01-07 Mary Ellen's Birthday Date is a Nut (Cake)

Hi people, this week I have a lovely family recipe for you: date nut cake. It was my grandmother’s recipe and I made it for Mary Ellen’s birthday. It’s just delicious.

You’ll need:

1 stick of butter
½ lb dates
1 tsp soda
1 cup boiling water
1 ¼ cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 egg
½ cup pecans

Begin by putting the butter, dates and soda in a bowl and covering them with the boiling water then let them cool. Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9 x 12? baking pan. Then add the egg, flour, sugar and pecans to the cooled ingredients in the bowl and mix well. Pour into your greased pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan.

01-06 Me, Mary Ellen & Margaret - Chocolate with a Cho

Chocolate fondue is delicious - a real glamour dessert. What's especially nice about it is that it's frightfully easy to make as well! The fondue we made on the episode is simply:

12 oz of bar chocolate, broken up                                                                              

1 cup of heavy cream

 Melt the chocolate with the cream over low heat until smooth, stirring constantly.

 For dippers we chose pineapple, pound cake and strawberries, but you can add marshmallows, kiwi, bananas, cookies, lady fingers, and pretzels.

 On the show on the Style network we made fondue with milk caramels. The process is similar:

 Combine:

12 oz milk caramels                                                                                                    

1 cup milk

 Over low heat until melted. Serve with apple wedges.

Coming up this Friday - Chocolate Fondue and Margaret Cho!

Hello people!

 Margaret Cho will be with us this week, so I thought I'd upload a promo for the coming episode. It's going to be lots of fun. Be sure and watch!

 See you Friday