Barefoot in Bodega Bay and a Giveaway!

One of our favorite place to go every year is Bodega Bay.
The land of "The Birds".

You know, the movie by Alfred Hitchcock.

We love to bring that movie with us and we watch it each year.

Traditions!

The Hubby has a history there and his sister owns a house on the bluff. We have had a few family celebrations here, like last years wine pairing dinner,
as well as our annual camping trip.

I'm ready to get barefoot and feel the warm sand between

my toes as the cold water chills my bare feet.

Now when I say camping, well... were not tent camping. Were really in a very comfortable RV. So don't feel sorry for us because you think were roughing it. We don't rough it. In fact, we've been known to get quite gourmet.

All the comforts of home and a lot cooler weather!

I got the towels loaded, the ice chest is full, and the truck is running.

It's party time at the bay.

And I have a super giveaway for you.

It's from the nice folks at Barefoot Wines.

How about a luxurious beach towel, a super cute beach tote,

a stemless wine glass and a wine opener?

All for one lucky winner who's ready to get barefoot.

The only requirements for the giveaway is that you must have a US address and you join the Barefoot Republic. It's a fun site about wine, food, and fun. Then come back and leave me a comment with your Barefooter name.

Mine is Tickletoes.

Don't laugh at me.

I cant wait to see what you come up.

Now check out the Barefoot wine flavors and let me know which is your favorite, and what food would you pair it with? I'm having another wine pairing dinner this October (for my 50th birthday!) and I could use your suggestions.

Easy enough?
Want to earn another entry?
Tweet it, Facebook it, or even blog about it!
Then come back and leave me a separate comment.
That's two entry's available if you leave me two comments.

When I come back from the beach, I'll use the random number generator
and pick a luck winner.

Good luck

Kick off those shoes and let's get Barefoot!

A Contest and A Giveaway!

Do you remember these?

These were my Sausage, Caramelized onion and Apple Wontons. They were so good and I still have some in the freezer for a special occasion. It's killing me not to break them out and dig in.

Marx Foods is having their sausage contest I told you about. The one I made the wontons for. The contest is now live and voting has begun. The poll will close on June 12^th at 12:00 PM PST!

This is where I shamelessly ask you to vote for me.

Please!

How about if I entice you with a giveaway?

Do you need a cute Domestic Diva apron?

I have one that I want you to have.

And with it, I'll throw in these recipe cards and
a jar of my fresh made Chocolate Raspberry Sauce.
Just made it Monday! It's delicious.

You'll be eating this stuff out of the jar. It's that good!

So here is how were gonna play this game. I'm going in the hospital for surgery on Wednesday. I'm not too proud to ask for prayers, good vibes, best wishes, or whatever it is you believe in. So...send me some love.

Just leave me a comment on this post.

Want more chances?

Vote for me!
I'll give you 2 more entries!
But you must vote before June 12h at midnight.
The poll will close on June 12^th at 12:00 PM PST!

Is that shameless?

I don't care, I hate coming in last place.
Plus I sure would like to win that sausage sample pack!

And/Or
Tweet, or blog about this giveaway.
Do both, each one gives you an entry.
Just leave me the URL of your post or your twitter name.

And/Or
Subscribe to this blog through E-mail subscription, RSS, or Follow my blog.
What ever your favorite way is.

Just leave a separate comment for each thing you do! That's up to 6 entries per person.
I'll pick a winner next Monday Morning.
So..,
you have till I draw the name to get your entries in.

Good luck and go vote for me!

Sausage, Caramelized Onion and Apple WonTons

Marx Food recently broke up one of their packages of the Game Sausage Sampler into the 11 different varieties it contains. Then, they sent four links of one random variety to 11 different selected bloggers, to create a recipe for their recipe contest.

I was one of the lucky ones!

I was sent the Wild Boar Bratwurst with Cheddar and Beer.


So I made Wontons!

I started with removing the sausage from their casings, and frying the meat up. Then I set that aside while I caramelize onions and apples together. I sauteed them till they were sweet and just turning that beautiful golden color.


I also added some fresh Garlic Scape from the farmers market. This is my new find and I love using them. They are used a lot in Asian cooking and can be used raw, steamed, sauteed, stir-fried, grilled, pretty much anyway you would want to use them. You cut off the floppy tip and and the flower bud. The flower bud can be a little bitter and it's barely noticeable in new scapes, a bit of a bulge at the base of the top of the stem.

Garlic scapes would make an excellent "green garlic pesto"!

Personally, I think they would also be beautiful in a flower arrangement. :)

After I made my mixture, I began wrapping it in wontons. Some had Cheddar cheese and some did not. We favored the one's with cheese. Go figure!!!

I made these cute little shapes but half way through, I changed to the folded over triangle. They were easier to make but I like this shape better.


Waiting for the oil to heat up!


These were so good. The sweetness from the onions and apples combined with the sausage and Cheddar cheese were a perfect combination. All wrapped up in a pretty and crunchy package.


We had these for dinner with a simple salad. I also froze half for an appetizer that I'll be serving during another wine pairing dinner this summer.

Enjoy!

Sausage, Caramelized Onion and Apple Wontons

Recipe by Megan Pires

1 PKG (4 links) sausage (Casing removed)

3 yellow onions, sliced

3 green apples, diced

4-6 garlic scape stems, chopped

1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

1 PKG wonton wrappers

oil for frying

Fry sausage till browned and crumbly. Set aside.

In same frying pan, add onions and saute till limp. Add apples and cook till the onions start to golden. Add garlic scapes and cook 5 minutes more. Cool slightly. Add chopped parsley.

Place one heaping teaspoon of the mixture onto wonton wrapper, rubbing a little water around the edges of the wrapper. Fold over and seal or crimp tightly.

Heat oil, fry wontons till lightly browned and crisp. Serve and enjoy!

Second Chance To Win A Hershey Basket!!!

This is your second chance to win this Hershey Chocolate girt basket. Get on over to Baking Delights and check how you can get your name in the drawing 4 times. Yes! 4 chances to win!
Good Luck.

A Hershey Giveaway!!!

No not here silly. It's at Marye's blog. Go check it out and get your name in the drawing. She is giving one away a week for the next 4 weeks. Yeaa Marye!!! What a sweet giveaway. :)

TCHO Chocolate

We couldn't deny the attraction.

We both had the desire, the passion, the hunger.

We tried to control it, but lust over came us.

We couldn't wait to shed the outer wrapping.

The heat of our tongue melting the silky surface.

Delectable, delightful, distinct.



TCHO Chocolate.
It's not your ordinary chocolate.
It's a rich, deep dark chocolate without being sweet nor bitter. It was smooth with no gritty feel in the mouth. I only wish I had more.Thank you TCHO for making this chocolate. It's excellent!
If you would like to taste test this chocolate, They are selling bars at TCHO.



Thank you Blake from Blakemakes for sending me this chocolate bar. I was one of the lucky 50 to comment on his contest and receive this piece of heaven. If you don't know about Blake's Sooper Hero's
Your missing out. Go check it out!
Picture courtesy of BlakeMakes

And The Winner Is?

Just got back from the wild weekend. Non stop, late nights, and early mornings have done me in! I'm exhausted, but I'm here for the winner. Because I'm like that. :)

Just a moment to brag. Please bare with me.

Our orchestra is awesome!!! We won a total of 7 awards. We were up against a lot of high school groups including band and choir.

Our school strings, and the ensemble, both won Gold Awards!!!

Not to mention we won the Sweepstakes Award which was for overall highs points among all groups, Orchestral, band, and choir.

The Spirit Of San Francisco Award, which is a citizenship award was also ours. We have some awesome kids!

There were more but I'll spare ya. Besides, I'm just to tired.

I still have to make chocolate sour cream crumb cakes for the potluck in the morning. It's party time in orchestra class. It's breakfast and they listen to the tapes the judges made during the competition. Constructive criticism is always better with food! Stay tuned for that recipe!

Well...
It's time to do some giving.

Thank you to all who entered my contest.
I wish I could give you all a basket. Because I'm like that. ;)

I met a lot of new people and found some really cool blogs.

And now-
The Winner Is......

(drum roll)


Stephanie from Stephanie's Kitchen!
Applause applause applause.

Stephanie- E-mail me your snail mail and I'll get this in the mail.

And now I'm going to go take a nap!


.

What's Cookin?

I have had this little "ol blog for 7 months now. I've met so many nice people, formed fabulous friendships, became a Daring Baker and stepped out of my baking comfort zone, and won so many contest. I'm actually embarrassed to tell you how many I have won. All in about 2 months. Lets list them!

A cookbook titled *I'm Dreaming Of A Chocolate Christmas* from Marye at Baking Delights. (Great cookbook!)

A 14k gold cherub pendant and bag from Karen at A Simply Amusing Blog

A purple stone jewelry set from Melissa at Organized Chaos

An acrylic folk art painting from Jonna at Just Jonna

And a surprise gift that's on the way from Cookie at Cookie Sunshine

And a NEAT receipt scanner from Amy at Working Moms Blog

So a big thank you to these ladies! And I still have my name in a few other hats out there in the blogosphere.


Now it's my turn to give! I'm giving away this (Easter) basket of goodies. Anyone can enter, even if you don't have a blog. I'll tell you the specifics in a minute, but first let's look in this basket!

He have a 2 pack of cute spring kitchen towels and a 4 pack of dishcloths. Notice the cute white flower on the dishcloths? It will make you smile while doing dishes. Guaranteed!

A package of three *Fuzzy Bunny* medium treat boxes
with matching baking cups!

And of course, a package of purple *Peep* bunny's. And who knows what other little goodies could make their way into this basket. It is almost Easter after all and I love surprises!


What do you have to do to enter you ask? Its simple.
Leave me a comment that you want to be entered and that's it. Your entered.
(Non-bloggers must leave a valid e-mail so I can contact you if your the winner)


If you want an extra ticket, subscribe to my blog. Either by RSS feed or e-mail. Already subscribe? Let me know and you get the extra ticket.


Now if you blog about the contest with a link back to this post, I'll give you 5 more tickets!
And for every person who tells me that you sent them, I'll give you another ticket.


You could really jack up your chances to win. Just let me know what your doing in the comments so you get full credit!


You have till St. Patrick's Day to earn your ticket's. I'll have someone around here (not me) pull a name from the hat on March 17th. If I can find a hat! Might have to be a box.



I'll e-mail that person for their address and send the box out immediately. Hopefully, so the box will get to the winner with plenty of time before Easter.

Now who wouldn't want this cute little Easter Basket? I know it's gonna be hard for me to part with. I really want to bake with those cute little baking cups!

I hope I explained it clearly enough. I wish everyone the best of luck.

If you have any questions, E-mail me! Megan_pires2000 AT yahoo DOT com.







.

Valentine Exchange

Remember awhile back, I told you about the Valentine exchange I participated in? It was hosted by Kailani from An Island Life.

Well, my package arrived on *Valentine's Day* from the awesome Shana who writes about life with her 3 little boys. Thier last name is Wiseman so the name of her blog is My Three Wisemans. Pretty catchy, dont you think? I got chocolates and candles with a holder and a heart. She even included a rose. A rose that will never die. It was so much fun, giving and receiving. Check out what I gave her here. A Big Thank You Shana!!! Your timing was perfect.

That same day, I also recieves a 14K gold cherub pendant from Karen of Simply A Musing Blog. I won this from the bloggy carnival that she participated in. What fun that was! They have the carnival quarterly and this last time there was more then 500 participants. Now thats a carnival!

So, how was your Valentines?

Sweet Treat!

I got home from work this afternoon and there was a little treat in my mail box!
I won a little weekend contest over at Helen's of Tartlette fame. Out of 154 contenders, I was one of two lucky winners!

One dozen of the most marvelous Cannelles I've ever tasted. Well, the only Cannelles I've ever tasted. But they were marvelous. A perfect afternoon snack with my cup of tea!

So a big Thank You to you Helen. You made my day a little bit sweeter!

Spring Cleaning!

I saw a daffodil blooming and the birds were out playing. Even though its suppose to snow tomorrow (I doubt it will snow in the valley were I'm located but...) I feel spring is in the air! So I did a little spring cleaning. The house and the blog.
1. I tried cleaning up my side bar some. I also added a few things. You'll notice a new blogroll down on the right hand side. I joined the *Great Cooks* blogroll. Check it out and see if you would like to join.

2. I'm celebrating Valentines Day. Sooo...
I signed up for a valentine goody swap. I kind of feel like a school girl hoping for the heart shaped box of chocolates. I never got the candy, only the little paper valentines. Now days, there is candy in every single card. If you would like to join the fun, you better hurry. Sign-ups end Jan.31st.

3. I have a valentinr mailbox to the right.
Valentinr is an online valentine mailbox. You set up your own Valentinr, and place it where your friends can see it. Your friends follow the link and write valentines to you. But their valentines will not immediately be visible to you - they remain hidden. You will only be able to see how many there are. On Valentine's Day (February 14), at 6 AM EST, the valentines will be revealed, and only then will I (and only I) be able to read them.

Get your own valentinr


Will you send me a valentine wish? I don't want to be the only girl in class who doesn't get a card. Just click on my mailbox!

Contest, Contest Contest.

I'm hoping everyone loves a contest cause I have 2 more for you to check out!
Now I've been very luck lately with 2 wins under my belt. I won the wonderful cookbook called *I'm Dreaming of a Chocolate Christmas* by Marcel Desaulniers over at Marye's blog Baking Delights!

AND

The wonderful cookbook called Food to Live By, by Myra Goodman,
won over at Ari's blog Baking and Books

Now it your turn to be a winner!

Go to
So...What else, What else, What else? for your chance to win some goodies from Burt Bees! Ya Gotta love that stuff!

AND

If your blog needs a new make-over, then I suggest you head over to Sandier Pastures for a chance to win just that. A Blog Makeover!

My blog needs a professional up-lift, so I'm on my way to enter!
Wish me luck and I'll see you there!

Win A Stand Mixer!

A Cowboy’s Wife is having a contest on her food blog! You can win a Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer and she’ll ship anywhere so everyone is eligible!


The Prize:
The winner will receive a brand new Hamilton Beach 4.5-qt. Eclectrics Stand Mixer, Pineapple Yellow!!
About the mixer:
From Hamilton Beach’s “Eclectrics” line, this all-metal stand mixer comes with a host of accessories - a Flat Beater for cakes and cookies, a Dough Hook for bread and a Wire Whisk for whipped cream or pudding. The 4.5-qt. stainless steel bowl comes with a Pouring Shield that helps prevent splattering while in operation. The pouring shield has a built-in chute for adding ingredients. Powered by 400 watts, the stand mixer has a two-way mixing action to ensure all ingredients are incorporated into the mix. The quick-release, tilt-up head assists when removing the bowl. 9 x 14 x 14-in. When you’re ready for a kitchen re-do, don’t call in the carpenters! Instead, “counterscape” your kitchen with Hamilton Beach’s retro-designed, affordably priced electrics in happy, sun-saturated colors. Their “Eclectrics” line includes updates to those classic appliances from the 1950s. All of their “Eclectrics” are available in six colors: Apple Green, Moroccan Red, Pineapple Yellow, Intrigue Blue, Sugar White and Licorice Black.

Contest Alert

New blog, new contest! Check out Barefoot in the kitchen!

And you dont have to have a blog to enter and win!!!

Just leave a comment for one ticket, but mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back to the post, and she'll give you an EXTRA entry.

Good luck!!!

I'm A Winner and You Can Be Too!

I Won!!! I Won!!! I Won!!!
Remember not long ago I told you my friends think I'm lucky? Is it really luck, or is it the pure persistance I have to joining in on a contest? Well, I Won!!!
Marye from Baking Delights had
the contest I told you about. I didnt see any of your names in the comment section. Well I did see April there. And she won a pound of coffee!
Remember the secret? You have to play to win.
I played, I Won!!! Guess I'm just lucky!
So I'm gonna tell you. Here's your last chance to get in on the final week of Kettle and Cups grand opening contest. Just go on over to Kettle and Cup and check it out . There is a great grand prize involved. Lets just say its Oprah style. It also involves a pound of her special roast coffee. I really want that coffee! Maybe April will send me a cup.It would go so well with my new cookbook! I'm off to Kettle and Cups. See ya there!

The Great Vanilla Bean Giveaway!

What would you do with a half pound of vanilla beans?
I would make
Old Fashion Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, or
French Vanilla Cake, or
Vanilla extract or
just a canister of vanilla sugar.
Oh what I would do with half a pound of vanilla beans!
Well as luck would have it , Jaden of Jaden's Steamy Kitchen is having a contest. Leave a comment at her site by clicking here and you can have a chance of being one of eight people who could win alot of vanilla beans. The photo shows what a 1/2lb of beans looks like.

Hurry, contest closes on November 7Th. at noon EST. Just in time for the holidays!

It's The Donna Reed Show!

Remember the Donna Reed Show? It's been so long ago but I remember that beginning. I use to love Donna standing at the back door, handing out sack lunches and kisses as the family leaves for their day. And then there's just Donna left to do the cooking and cleaning in her high heels and pearls. Weren't those the good ol' days?
Well, Marye over at BakingDelights Is having a Donna Reed Diva Retro Housewife Wannabe contest and you could win this adorable apron in time for the holiday. Couldn't you just see me in this apron making my Buche De Noel on Christmas eve?
So head on over here and enter the contest for yourself. And if you win, can I borrow the apron?

According to amazon.com, BAKING FROM MY HOME TO YOURS turned one-year old this week! Hooray and Happy Birthday!

To celebrate this birthday, Houghton Mifflin, the publisher, and Dorie Greenspan are giving away 10 autographed copies of BAKING.

To win a copy, Click here and leave a comment with your name and the name of the person to whom you'd like her to sign the book and she'll pick the 10 winners at random.

The deadline for entries is October 10, so you'll have about two weeks to put your names in the virtual hat.