Back in 2005 a wonderful little bakery opened in Portland (that would be Portland, OREGON) just up the road from all of us here in Eugene. I can’t believe I can’t find a picture of it online. Bummer because it is just so cute! The patio umbrellas out front are pink and they kind of look like cupcakes.

Anyway, I know that cupcake bakeries are popping up all over the country. But St. Cupcake had it figured out before the cupcake wave hit.

We are hosting a welcome home party for our newlyweds (who got married in Ojai last week-end…see my last posting!). My daughter and new son-in-law are pretty much obsessed with St. Cupcake so of course we will have a big ol’ mountain of these yummy treats. I have NO idea how their cupcakes turn out so well when they probably don’t even use our American-made lead-free super awesome Pewter Measuring Cups to make them – ha! (Because we don’t make industrial size Cups!)

Anyway, they are AMAZING and they can be shipped right to YOU – wherever you are! (even if you are in the other Portland – back there in Maine.)

Today my third child, Petrel Crosby Chapman, is getting married! Thank goodness you can write your blog postings and schedule them for a future date. You can be sure that I did not write this posting today.

Many store owners have had the opportunity to meet Petrel at Americasmart where she has helped out at more than one show. Now she has her own business, The Wedding Cottage, in Portland. I will blog more about her soon but, for today, it’s all about tieing the knot.

Congratulations Petrel and Jacob! Mazel Tov!

Someone looked at our website the other day and didn’t realize that our Studio Sale is ONLINE! I guess she thought that we have one here on location. But, no! You do not need to live anywhere near Eugene, Oregon to come to our studio sale.

You can come late at night. You can come early in the morning. It is always open. The best part of it is that we add new things every few days. We have been in business nearly 25 years. Over these years we have accumulated a lot of fun, interesting, random pieces that we are now selling off. Additionally, we have other items that were perhaps prototypes, slower sellers, or over-runs. Basically, there’s just a lot of fun stuff to look through! And the prices are really great.

Leandra, who assists Nancy in the office, is in charge of our Studio Sale. If you have any questions about items in the sale – or items that might be listed soon- just let her know and she’ll be your personal Studio Sale Shopping Assistant! 888-683-1196

Here are a couple of items that Leandra recently posted:

Growing up in northern New York, we considered Memorial Day to be the start of summer. We toughed out those last couple weeks of school. However, out here in Oregon, summer frequently doesn’t arrive until the 4th of July.

This is just in time for The Oregon Country Fair, which takes place the second week-end of July each year. I’m surprised I would even blog about the Oregon Country Fair since I can’t say that my life overlaps much with it anymore. My fabulous packer, shipper, and production assistant, Derrik IS missing work for the fair. And that is a super big deal. But, other than, missing Derrik, I wouldn’t normally think about it much.

However, a few days ago, I learned that my 19 year old niece was on her way to Eugene for the Fair. My sister had no idea what it was. I didn’t even know how to begin to describe it.

I googled images to include in this blog posting but most of them were all about the body painting.

It’s crazy that, with all the fabulous events that go on at the Fair, the images that capture everyone’s attention are the ones about bodies.

Jim’s fellow golfers would probably be pretty surprised to learn that Jim owns a booth at the Oregon Country Fair. There is an unusual set-up there in which you own your booth for life. He hasn’t exhibited there for years but it is one of the places where he got his start as an artisan. Back then he made adjustable wooden lamps. From wood to pewter to golf, Jim has worn a lot of different caps!

We were so busy last month that I forgot to talk about Mister June – our employee of the month.
Here he is at the party we had last year, celebrating our new pottery. See him – right there in the middle!

Dan is the twin brother to Adam, who was our Mister April.
I hired Adam before I hired Dan. Although this seems absurd now, I was scared to hire Dan. I had seen him around town at fast-food places. He had such crazy energy that I wondered if I could trust him around hot, molten metal.

What was I thinking? Dan is a gift! He walks in each day, with the biggest grin on his face. This guy loves to work. He is the most flexible, easy-going person around. Whatever you need help with….Dan is your man.

Every business owner wants to succeed. Every leader wants to see the sales charts go up. I am no different. But it’s not just about me or paying my own bills. It’s for my guys like Dan. I want him to be able to be proud at night when he gets home and sits down to dinner with his family – knowing that he is not just pulling his weight, but that he is working to provide a better life for all of them.

Dan is your classic American worker – earning an honest paycheck making an American product.
Every time you reach for your Pewter Measuring Cups or your Pewter Coffee Scoop, you can feel proud – knowing you have contributed, in a small way, to getting this country back on its feet. Artisans like Dan thank you!

Here are the last two Paula Deen dishes I served at Carol’s Farewell Luncheon. I am not posting a recipe for the Strawberry Shortcake – since I pretty much just made it up. I figure – how can you go wrong if you put shortcake, whipped cream, and strawberries together? It just kind of works. Yum!

Fresh Corn Scallop

6 ears fresh corn
2 T. flour – measured out with your Crosby & Taylor Pewter Measuring Spoons
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup whole milk
3/4 cup buttered dry bread crumbs

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
*Cut corn off cob, being careful to not cut too deep.
(This should make 2 1/2 to 3 cups of corn.)
*Combine corn, flour, sugar, salt, pepper and milk.
*Sprinkle half the crumbs over the bottom of a 1 quart casserole dish.
*Add corn mixture.
*Bake covered for about 30 minutes.
*Remove cover and sprinkle with remaining crumbs.
*Bake uncovered 20 minutes more.

So, here are Bubba’s Beer Biscuits. I can’t say these are the best Biscuits I have ever had. But, if you have to throw something together after work before you run to a potluck and you want people to guess what is in them – then I would give them a shot.
Frankly, the Honey Butter is the best part of them!

Bubba’s Beer Biscuits (Pay attention – this is a pretty tricky recipe – ha!)

4 cups Biquick – measured with your Crosby & Taylor Pewter Measuring Cups
1/3 cup sugar
One 12-ounce can of Beer (I used Coors Light – since that is what we keep around for my future son-in-law)
2 T. melted butter

*Preheat over to 400 degrees
*Mix all ingredients well.
*Pour into well-greased (of course! this is Paula Deen goodness) muffin tins
*Bake for 15 – 20 minutes
*Serve warm with Honey Butter

Honey Butter

2 sticks butter
2 T. honey

Allow butter to soften slightly at room temperature. Using an electric mixer, whip butter and honey together in a bowl until well mixed.

Here is the 3rd course that I served at Carol’s Farewell Luncheon. Our pewter smiths here at Crosby & Taylor can really pack it in. They are very fun to feed! Needless to say, they devoured this.
Ok, so I know this isn’t gourmet fare. But if you have a bunch of college guys home for the week-end, they will love you for this!

Thank you again to Food Network for the image.

Hash Brown Casserole

3 T. butter – measured with your Crosby & Taylor Pewter Measuring Spoons, I am sure!
1 small yellow onion, chopped
4 cups frozen shredded hash browns – measured with your Crosby & Taylor measuring cups
8 cups cubed French or Italian bread, crusts removed
1 pound bulk sausage – mild, hot or sage
2 cups (1/2 pound) grated Gruyere cheese
2 cups (1/2 pound) grated Romano cheese
2 1/4 cups whole milk
8 large eggs
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
2 T. Dijon mustard

*Grease a deep 9″ X 13″ casserole.
*Melt the butter in a large frying pan. Add the onion and saute over medium-low heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the hash browns and break apart. Saute until soft (about 5 minutes).
*Place the bread cubes in the bottom of the casserole. Spread the onion and hash browns evenly on top.
*Saute the sausage in the same pas, breaking apart large clumps. When the sausage is cooked through, remove it with a slotted spoon and distribute evenly over the hash browns. Distribute the grated cheese evenly over the sausage.
*In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk, eggs, salt, pepper, nutmeg and mustard – whisking briskly to blend. Pour over the cheese.
*Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight or at least 8 hours.
*Remove the casserole from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the casserole, uncovered, for about 45 minutes until puffed and golden brown.

Enjoy!

This was the 2nd course served at Carol’s Farewell Luncheon.
There are so many recipes for Spinach Salad. But this is a yummy, easy one. The recipe, from Paula Deen Celebrates!, has this comment with it: “This dressing is so good, you just might want to drink it!”
So, if you already have your own favorite Spinach Salad, you might want to try it with Paula’s “good enough to drink” dressing!

I am not posting an image. Salads are so hard to photograph and I do believe most of us can picture what this would look like!

Spinach Salad

Fresh Baby Spinach
4 strips bacon, fried crisp, drained and crumbled
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 green onions, sliced
6 cherry tomatoes, halved

In a large glass bowl, layer the salad ingredients beginning with the spinach. Cover and chill.

Dressing
1 cup vegetable oil – measured with your Paula Deen Pewter Measuring Cups
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. salt – measured with your Paula Deen Measuring Spoons
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 clover garlic – minced

Combine the dressing ingredients in a blender and mix well.

Add the dressing just before serving the salad and toss well!

At Carol’s Farewell Luncheon last week, everything but the Strawberry Shortcake was from my two Paula Deen Cookbooks.

We started with her Strawberry Soup. This was heavenly and a rather unusual way to start a meal!
But on a hot summer day, it is perfect. Unfortunately, I forgot to photograph it so I must thank
The Food Network for this image.

Strawberry Soup
serves 6 – 8

1 quart strawberries, hulled
4 cups buttermilk, measured with our Paula Deen Pewter Measuring Cups, of course!
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup sour cream plus a bit more for garnish
3 T. peach schnapps, measured with our Paula Deen Pewter Measuring Spoons, of course!
Fresh mint leaves

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the strawberries, 1 cup of the buttermilk, and the sugar. Process until blended and set aside. Combine the remaining 3 cups of buttermilk, the sour cream, and schnapps in a large bowl. Pour the strawberry mixture into the sour cream mixture and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled. Serve the soup chilled in small cups, garnished with a small dollop of sour cream with mint sprigs.

The average age here at Crosby & Taylor is about 30 years old. Most of the lunch room talk is about sports teams, bands, and food and drink.

In 2007, when Carol accepted a job here, as sales manager, I kind of wondered how she would fit in with this crowd. Like myself, Carol has been “around the block”. This was not the first job on her resume. But something about her led me to believe that she was a lot younger (in spirit) than the date on her driver’s license might lead you to think.

This was so true! Carol fit in just fine here. She has boundless energy, a positive outlook on life, and a great – take it as it is – attitude. But nothing lasts forever and so last Friday was Carol’s last day. We had a fun going-away luncheon out in our side yard. Thank you, Mother Nature!
We had lots of food and games, of course.
We rarely have a party around here without games and prizes. Some of the prizes were goodies that I had brought home from Out of the Blue, one of my favorites stores in Georgia.
Everything I made was from my two Paula Deen cookbooks. In my next few posts, I will share the recipes from our luncheon.