two new apple recipes I love

Realistic pewter apple branches adorn both the top of the honey pot and the spoon.

One of my favorite family traditions is making homemade apple jelly. 

I’m really in love with the whole process al over again because I found the perfect Apple Honey Pot from Vagabond House to serve it in. 

It even comes with the most adorable apple embossed spoon!

 

If you’ve never had apple jelly, it’s truly a culinary delight. 

The flavor notes are subtle and almost floral, and my favorite way to eat it is on a warm croissant with a little coffee on the side.

How about kicking off this weekend with a refreshing and delicious twist on a classic cocktail: Apple Sangria! 

This recipe is actually a “mocktail”, so it can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

🍏This gorgeous Apple pitcher from Vagabond House comes to life when it’s filled with these 4 simple ingredients: Apple Juice, Lemon Juice, Orange Juice, and Sparking White Grape Juice, and then add pretty sliced fruit. 

Another simple and yummy recipe from Martha Stewart.

 

For a 10% discount on all Vagabond House products, 

use the code CIAOFABIANA10OFF.

Valid until August 31, 2023

 

ciao fabiana

 

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shabby chic vintage style

It's my wedding anniversary today, and I'm feeling a bit of a romantic purple vibe. Inspired by a few old-fashioned flowers from the garden and lots of vintage accessories, here's a peek at today's tablescape!

 ciao! fabiana

weekend wrap up

It’s Sunday morning and while I’m here dreaming of a white Christmas, we’ve got cold and blustery Santa Ana winds blowing again today, with not a snowflake in sight. 

Everyone in our community and in all of California is praying and hoping for better weather conditions for those affected by the California wildfires, which are burning terribly in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties.    

Right now, my favorite Christmas movie, Christmas in Connecticut, is playing on TCM right now, and I have it on in the background. The farmhouse pictured above reminds me of the idyllic home described in the movie. 

And here’s a lovely shot of two homes from my husband’s hometown of Geneva, Illinois, taken just this weekend. The one in the foreground belonged to the Bogash family and the one behind it is my husband’s childhood home. 

All this talk of nostalgia, really makes me appreciate all our pretty vintage ornaments that were handed down from our parents and grandparents. Do you have ornaments that remind you of your family?

The holidays are also a fun time to honor family recipes. I think it’s fun to go through old cookbooks and make holiday treats like our grandmothers did. I have a tattered little notebook from Woolworth’s filled with recipes that belonged to my husband’s great grandmother.

The handwriting is a killer, but I finally figured out the little quirks in her cursive, like not crossing her T's but kind of accenting them instead?!?

It’s interesting to see how that generation ate. No fresh herbs are included in any of the recipe I found in the book, lol. This weekend I tried her recipe for pralines, which I’ll share soon. After a little trial and error, I think I figured out how to make them the right way, since the directions were not detailed at all!

Yesterday was a busy day for me in the kitchen. In addition to making the pralines, I also made Spiced Pecans for gift giving, this week’s recipe of Chutney from Kate Middleton (so yummy!), and Pignoli Cookies that I remember from my childhood. If you’re Italian, chances are you’ve enjoyed these too!

Every time I want to make Pignoli (Pine Nut) Cookies I never have almond paste, which is essential for these cookies. Well, we found almond paste at Ralph’s, and the cookies came together easily in the food processor. They come out soft and chewy kind of like a macaroon. These are the classic old-school Italian cookies I grew up loving. Recipe found below.

BTW, we served the chutney over cream cheese and with manchego cheese on crackers at a gathering this weekend, and it was a hit! I'll share a few other yummy cookie recipes later this week.

I’m loving my collection of little scrabble tiles. They’re perfect for spelling out names or holiday greetings!

How about a holiday greeting from Dorinda and Ramona from the Real Housewives of New York City? Here they are sharing their Manhattan apartment Christmas trees.

I’m soooo excited that as we speak, they’re at Dorinda’s house in the Berkshires for their annual Christmas gathering. 

Here’s Ramona with the fabulous Berkshires tree in Dorinda’s beautiful blue living room. Could it be a 1920's themed party that they're having for Dorinda's birthday? 

It looks that way! Oh, how I love a good theme party!

I’m also excited for the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills to start on Tuesday night. Even though Kyle has recently moved, we probably won’t be seeing her fabulous new home this season. Here’s a little peek at the beauty from Kyle’s Instagram...

I hope you enjoy the rest of your Sunday,

and are ready to head into this final week before

Christmas!

Here's the recipe for the yummy Pignoli cookies...

Pignoli or Pine Nut Cookies

2 cups pine nuts

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ cup almond paste

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

½ teaspoon lemon zest

½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Process ¾ cup pine nuts in a food processor with the sugar, almond paste, and vanilla until fine crumbs form. Add egg and lemon zest; pulse to combine. Add flour, baking powder, and salt; process just until dough comes together. Roll dough into ½ inch balls. Roll the cookie balls in the remaining 1 ¼ cups pine nuts and gently press to adhere. Space the cookie dough 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake until cookies begin to turn golden brown, approximately 20 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks. Makes about 2 ½ dozen pignoli cookies.

ciao! fabiana

photos: 1. Country Living  3. Southern Living
Housewives photos: instagram

a very dreamy christmas

I’m really an old soul at heart,

and especially love all the special traditions of Christmas.

One of my favorite things to do is to turn out all the lights 
and let the twinkle lights on the tree illuminate the whole room.

It feels so cozy, doesn’t it? 

A Christmas movie night is a must!

Of course, Christmas movies are so sentimental and there are so many great ones.

One of my favorites is “Christmas in Connecticut”.* I just discovered this classic movie a few years ago, and it’s so fun! In the movie, Barbara Stanwyck writes a newspaper column called “Diary of a Housewife” and she plays sort of a 1940’s perfect-homemaker, Martha Stewart-type character. 

Well, her whole lifestyle turns out to be a sham, and she has to somehow pretend to be this persona she’s created throughout the holidays. It’s sweet, and of course has a nice feel-good ending.  

*If you want to DVR it, it’s on TCM on December 17.  

And, “Elf” is definitely a family fave around here!

Son of a nutcracker!

You really can’t beat Will Farrell’s sense of humor. 

I just love the silhouette of a beautiful Christmas tree!

And these quaint little villages remind me of my snowy childhood in upstate New York.

I also love the smell of fresh gingerbread cookies and this year 

I may even tackle making a gingerbread house from scratch.  

Today was the day for making spritz cookies. 

It just wouldn’t seem like Christmas around here 

without these cute little treats.

(Recipe on the blog tomorrow)

This is the sweetest little ornament that I’ve seen all year!

Available from Lauren Conrad for Kohl's.

And I love Lauren’s simple ideas for wrapping, too.

I miss those days gone by of sharing the wonder of Christmas with my sweet little babies.

This vignette from Downton Abbey captures the preciousness of those faraway days.

Panettone is essential for our family every year

and my absolute favorite is the chocolate chip variety,

especially when enjoyed along with a yummy cappuccino.

The name literally means large cake. 

It’s always fun to make bread pudding with these Italian cakes too!

These days you see Panettone everywhere, so 

how do you feel about this Christmas treat?

ciao! fabiana

photo credit:  1. & 2. Christmas-Winter Tumblr  3.  Dreamy Whites  

4. Ciao Newport Beach  5. Pop & Soda  6. & 7. Lauren Conrad

8. Downton Abbey  9. Laura Adani