Thank You Sale!

Now is a great time to start thinking about stocking your Entertaining Pantry and your Gifting Arsenal!  ALL of my Taste of Gourmet products are 15% off now through November 1, 2012.  Everything.  15% off!  Just use the code THANK YOU.

Taste of Gourmet products are the perfect "under $10.00" gift for friends and business associates.  All the products are packed and ready for gifting...just add a ribbon and gift tag!

  The Mississippi Delta Fudge Pie...perfect for your hostess or co-worker!

The Mississippi Delta Fudge Pie is a Southern favorite!

The Creole File Gumbo mix...add a wooden soup spoon and a ribbon and this makes a great gift!

Creole File Gumbo...an easy meal to prepare in the crockpot during autumn and winter and a must-eat during Mardi Gras season!

Jezebel Sauce and Sassy Seasoning...both are staples in my kitchen!

Bayou Beer Bread...add this to a bowl of our chilis and soups, and voila...Gameday food!!!!

If you are invited to a potluck meal, this Apple Cake is easy to prepare and will be the "Belle of the Buffet"!!

Apple Cake...always a favorite dessert!

Take advantage of this fabulous offer for 15% off on ALL my products and be sure to use the code Thank You when checking out!  Have a great weekend!

Mississippi Mud Brownies

Every month I tell y'all about my Taste of Gourmet Product of the Month...each purchase of which generates a $1 donation to the St. Jude Children's Hospital in Memphis. Well, this month it's the Mississippi Delta Fudge Pie mix.

This a Southern favorite...a rich, moist, fudgey, and intensely chocolate pie mix! I decided to use the mix to make Mississippi Mud Brownies. At $9.95 per box, this mix makes an 8" square pan full of decadent brownies...great to serve during the football season as a tasty dessert treat.

Marshmallows, chocolate, pecans...goodness gracious y'all! Mississippi Mud Brownies.

A mug of orange, witchy hot chocolate was just the right beverage to pair with the brownies.

Recipe for Mississippi Mud Brownies:

1 box Mississippi Delta Fudge Pie mix
1/2 cup flour
3 eggs
1 stick butter or margarine
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup pecans

Melt the butter. Add the pie mix, flour, and eggs, and stir with a spoon until mixed, but not too much. Butter an 8" square pan and dust lightly with flour. Pour the brownie mixture in the pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Spread marshmallows over the hot brownies and return just long enough to begin to melt the marshmallows. Take out and let cool.

Chocolate Icing:
8 oz. sour cream
8 oz. chocolate chips

Melt the chocolate chips. Add the sour cream and stir until smooth. Spread the icing on the brownies and top with pecans.

Enjoy y'all! You can purchase the Mississippi Delta Fudge Pie here.

Creative Gifting

Gift-giving and shopping are two of my favorite pastimes--it's a year-round event for me. Finding the "perfect" gift and ensuring it is unique and appropriate is my mission. It doesn't matter how much you spend on a gift; but, it's important to give some thought to its presentation. Creative vessels help to make the most boring gift more creative; i.e., baskets, tubs, coolers, serving bowls, etc. may all be used to hold your gift and then wrapped and embellished with gift tags, labels, small ornaments, ribbons, etc.

Remember, the presentation of the gift is just as important as the gift itself!

If you are interested in becoming a more creative gifter, it's important that you have the necessary supplies on hand. Here are some photos of my gifting arsenal:

Tissue paper, wrapping paper, stamps, gift bags, and ribbons are all on display so that I can see exactly what I have and then put together my package. Most of my gifts have a "signature design" which includes toile, gingham, fleur de lis, and Eiffel towers. I try to incorporate a little bit of those patterns into all of my gifts.

During these tough economic times, let your "recessionista" shine through and save some money!

~Go to Target, Walmart, or The Dollar Store. Choose an inexpensive gift and repackage and embellish the item to make it more presentable.

~For the frugal minded worker--find a cute lunch bag and have it personalized with the recipient's monogram.

~Everybody loves cookies, so just place them in a cute tin and voila! This is a nice gift for delivery people, a neighbor, or those in rest homes.

~This is a nice gift for a co-worker--a latte cup filled with shred and Starbuck's ornaments and a Starbuck's gift card.

~This is my "friendship gift" for December--a red "Christmas toile" take out box, filled with red and white shred, a porcelain teabag holder, some gingerbread spice teabags, and a silver teapot teaspoon attached to the outside of the box.

But, what about regifting? Regifting is a term coined by the sitcom "Seinfield" in the mid-90's that means giving someone a gift you received and didn't want. On the Tonight Show, Johnny Carson would frequently joke about the Christmas fruitcake that was given from one person to another, year after year.

Once the gift is given, it's the recipient's to do with as they wish, whether it be returning it or regifting it. Proper etiquette doesn't require you to keep anything, just that you are grateful when you receive it. Just be sure that the gift is brand new.

Remember:

~Don't just consider what you like to give...think about what they would like to receive.

~Do ask what they want...don't assume anything!

~Don't give up until you know that they like--hobbies, interests, etc.

~Do remember that it's not the amount you spend, it's the thought that counts.