Week 46 Check-In: Petite Antique Lace Blocks Finished; Potatoes au Gratin

Hello again on a beautiful fall day in Kansas.

The wind is blowing, the rain is coming down and

the leaves are falling:  perfection!

Perfect for cleaning, getting into the Thanksgiving-ish spirit

(perhaps with a touch of Christmas-Is-On-The-Way vibes), and

of course, for quilting.   I made a great start on my holiday prep

and got the last of the blocks pieced for my current quilt.

Before I get back to work, lets chat a bit about this progress

I speak of and maybe you can share some of your own.

Week 45 Priority Goal

Petite Antique Lace:  Finish all 30 blocks; sew together.

(30 blocks, 2640 pieces)

Blocks are all finished; working on sewing together.

2) Choose next quilt project

Time to move into Christmas quilts even though

I really want to keep going with fall.

3) Christmas Prep

I made a ginormous To-Do list with categories of

Inside House, Outside House and Quilting/Sewing.

I've been happily crossing items off the Outside list.  With acreage,

this list is always long but getting the trees and shrubs trimmed,

leaves mowed, garden trellises and hoses tucked away, etc creates

 an immense feeling of satisfaction in me.  Hubs has noted how tidy

things are looking all around.  I have a good start on the windows

but the rain has me working on the Inside list for now.

*Put up tree in basement:  Still working on it.

We NEVER do this before T-giving but there are many reasons to

reasons to start super-early just this once.  The tree is up but

still needs decorated; the main-floor flocked tree along with all

other decor will wait until after Thanksgiving.

Off The Shelf Recipe of the Week

This week I chose a side dish from a favorite book
Cooking with Bonnie: Farm to France.  Bonnie was a local chef

back in the day but the book is out of print so I hope I'm okay

sharing the recipe that we enjoyed last night.  It's easy and

quite yummy, but plan ahead as it takes some time and you'll

want to make sure those potatoes bake up nice and soft.

Golden Potatoes Au Gratin with Goat Cheese and Herbs

by Bonnie Aescheliman

2 3/4 c heavy cream

3/4 c chicken broth

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 t dried basil

1/4 t dried leaf thyme

1/4 t dried oregano

3/4 t salt

6 oz fresh goat cheese

6 oz cream cheese

4 lbs Russet potatoes, peeled, sliced thinly

1 1/2 c Gruyere cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400'.  Butter a 9x13 glass baking dish.  Place cream,

broth, onion, garlic, herbs and salt in a large pot.  Bring to a simmer

over med-high heat.  Add goat and cream cheese; whisk until smooth.

Add potatoes and return to simmer, then remove from heat.

Transfer to prepared dish, spreading evenly, and top with Gruyere.
Cover with foil and bake 15 mins.  Uncover and bake until potatoes

are very tender and liquid thickens, about 50 mins.  Cool 10 mins

before serving.  Makes 8-10 servings.

* * My notes * *

1) Halved it for hubs and I; still had leftovers.

2) I used fresh thyme; also garnished with thyme sprigs.

3) The goat cheese lends it a little bit different flavor than other

 potatoes au gratin recipes.  It's a definite keeper.

Week 47 Goals

Priority:  Finish Petite Antique Lace top; piece back and load

2) Choose and start on new quilt project

3) Holiday prep aka, Operation Thorough House Cleaning!

This is so overdue!  It's going to be glorious when everything is

done and I get to enjoy the holidays with that peace of mind.

Carpets are being cleaned today so I'll be in the kitchen cleaning

the pantry and fridge.  If time allows, I'll do more windows.

How's your holiday prep going?  Or is it all quilting, all the time?

Happy quilting!

Linking up to:

Monday Musings by Songbird Designs

Tuesday To Do by Quilt Schmilt

Sew & Tell by Melva Loves Scraps