Foodie Friday: $200 Williams-Sonoma Give-away

© William Berry Dreamstime.com

Welcome to the January 28th Foodie Friday. My name isTeeny Templeton, and I'll be your hostess this week. People call me a self-taught pastry chef, but the truth is, I'm a country cook. My Aunt Bluette taught me everything I know about food. © Ryan Jorgensen Dreamstime.com
© Yuri Arcurs Dreamstime.com
© Sebastian Czapnik Dreamstime.com

I'm into bacon grease and sugar. Though I bake cakes for a living at The Picky Palate in Charleston, I'm a flawed, messy cook. Also, I am not into grammar or spelling. I'm just into food and pictures of food.

To kick off my debut as a guest blogger, I've made a short video about my favorite subject: desserts. Hope you will enjoy it.
Photos (c) by Dreamstime.com used with permission

Photo credit: © Debjg Dreamstime.com
If you love copper pans, check out the Cookware Giveaway.
I'm pleased to announce two new features at Designs by Gollum: 1.) A weekly Foodie Friday give-away; 2.)A mystery, mid-week give-away whenever I, Teeny Templeton, am the guest blogger.

This week's Foodie Friday give-away is a $200 e-gift card from Williams-Sonoma.

To enter, just visit Michael's website, her Youtube Channel, Twitter, OR Facebook.
You can also leave a note on this Foodie Friday post. Leave a short comment about whatever catches your fancy, and I will select a winner from one of the entries.
Note: the Williams-Sonoma contest closes Tuesday, February 1st.

To add Foodie Friday's logo to a post, click on the (above) photo, copy it (right-click), and upload the picture to your post via Blogger's "add a photo" button. Add the host blog's address http://www.designsbygollum.blogspot.com/ to your post. This will help everyone navigate to other recipes and also discover the talented bloggers who participate each week. If you are new to Foodie Friday and need more information, read the in-depth TUTORIAL. You can also email me (see sidebar) if you have questions. In the header, put an "!" with Foodie Friday Help. To participate in this week's recipe exchange, please add a permalink to your blog entry with your name and/or your recipe:

A Word From Guest BloggerTeeny Templeton

Hi, y'all, this is Teeny Templeton, and I'm guest blogging today for Big Gal aka Michael Lee West. She sure has put on the weight since she met me, personally I think she's a lot happier. Like my Aunt Bluette used to say: "When in doubt, eat cake. Just make sure you share it."





MLee's sweet mama, Miss Jean, wanted to see the latest book trailer that Big Gal and Bandwidth made. (Don't say I said so, but I think this is book trailer number 25,000.) She's eating store-boughtchocolate and tinkering with her trailer, but she totally wanted her mama's opinion.
Here you go, Mlee's friends, and Miss Jean too. Hope y'all enjoy it.I'll see everybody on Foodie Friday.
Love,
Teeny

Tea Sandwiches

Thirty three years ago, my husband and I went on a first date. When he arrived, I offered him a glass of white wine and a tiny egg salad sandwich. From that day forward, we've associated food with romance.

This Valentine's Eve, I made itty egg salad sandwiches on savory pink-swirled bread (found at Publix Grocery). (I'm such a Doubting Thomas, I had to taste it to make sure it wasn't a dessert.)

I tied each sandwich with a chive "ribbon."

My husband got a kick out of watching this procedure--and he helped me tie the bows. Like so many things, it takes two.

Romantic Egg Salad Bundles

Make egg salad. I like mine very British and use dry Colman's English Mustard, adding chopped chives, freshly ground pepper, and a hint of dill. Stack bread and remove crust (set aside to feed the birds). Spread a thin layer of butter on the bread (somehow this makes the bread sturdier, just like commitment and honesty form a solid relationship).

Assemble your sandwiches. Add peppery watercress and chopped chives, with a hint of smoky paprika and Kosher salt. Cut into thirds.To symbolize the marriage bond, tie each sandwich with a long chives strand (they're more pliable if you soak them in tepid water). Take care as the strands are easily broken, and they can come apart without warning. Just have faith. Be patient and gentle. Garnish with cherry tomatoes and secret kisses. Serve to someone you love.

To add Foodie Friday's logo to a post. Click on the (above) photo, copy, and upload the picture to your post via Blogger's "add a photo" button, then add the host blog's address, http://www.designsbygollum.blogspot.com, to your post. This will help everyone navigate to all of the recipes and wonderful blogs who participate each week. If you are new to Foodie Friday and need more info, here's an in-depth TUTORIAL. If you're participating in this week's recipe exchange, please add your recipe and permalink:

A Foodie Friday Video and a Copper Cookware Give-away

I hope this week's Foodie Friday finds everyone safe and warm. For today's offering, I made a 60-second video. I hope you enjoy it.



To enter the copper cookware give-away, click HERE.



To add Foodie Friday's logo to a post. Click on the (above) photo, copy, and upload the picture to your post via Blogger's "add a photo" button, then add the host blog's address, http://www.designsbygollum.blogspot.com, to your post. This will help everyone navigate to all of the recipes and wonderful blogs who participate each week. If you are new to Foodie Friday and need more info, here's an in-depth TUTORIAL. If you're participating in this week's recipe exchange, please add your recipe and permalink:

Foodie Friday and Copper Give-away

"All I ever wanted in life was true love, a set of copper cookware, and the perfect recipe for Red Velvet cake. The last thing I wanted was to end up on Charleston’s six o’clock news, accused of murder and a slew of other crimes."

-- Teeny Templeton, self-taught cook and trouble magnet.

So begins the story of Teeny Templeton, out-of-work Charleston "cake lady." The first bit of trouble in which Teeny finds herself is when she catches her fiance playing naked badminton with two other women, which compels her to climb a peach tree and begin hurling peaches at him. Needless to say, the engagement is over, and her fiance slaps her with a restraining order. When he is found dead a few days later, all fingers point to Teeny. Her only hope is an old boyfriend-turned-lawyer, the guy who broke her heart a decade ago. But dredging up the past brings more than skeletons out of the closet, and Teeny doesn't know who she can trust. With evidence mounting and the heat turning tup, Teeny must also figure out where to live, how to support herself, how to clear her name, and how to protect her heart.

To enter the cookware give-away,please visit Teeny at my website, click on "books," and take a peek at Chapter One of Gone With a Handsomer Man. Then, on my blog, leave a comment, working in "peaches," "dog," "Charleston," or "cake." You can also look HERE.

The drawing will be held March 31, 2011.

To add Foodie Friday's logo to a post. Click on the (above) photo, copy, and upload the picture to your post via Blogger's "add a photo" button, then add the host blog's address, http://www.designsbygollum.blogspot.com, to your post. This will help everyone navigate to all of the recipes and wonderful blogs who participate each week. If you are new to Foodie Friday and need more info, here's an in-depth TUTORIAL. If you're participating in this week's recipe exchange, please add your recipe and permalink:

Foodie Bloopers

First, I'd like to wish everyone a blooper free 2011. Second, I'm hosting a contest at Facebook. To win a gorgeous copper egg white pan, just let me know your top 3 New Year's resolutions.

Third, my bloopers are from several long-ago Foodie Friday Trainwreck posts. Some of you may remember when this sweet, innocent apricot tart

dripped all over the bottom of my oven, carbonizing into an impenetrable shell. It took many applications of baking soda and lemon juice, and, finally, Bandwith plus Brillo Pads. I was just too weak from lifting cookies rather than weights. Sigh.
Why did this happen? Because I used the WRONG PAN.
I won't do this again. Ever. But still, trainwrecks will happen.

Some trainwrecks happen all by themselves. This morning I took random pictures of the kitchen. I thought I'd show what happens to my kitchen when I'm writing a book. Things get skewed. Contrasts appear. Note the hairbrush next to the apples, so the author can detangle her hair while eating apples.

Trashbags and an empty salad bowl.

Doughnuts and Cascade.

Bandwidth's Bobby Flay sauce was actually good, but it trainwrecked the cast iron (cast iron HATES tomato based sauces).

The leftover sauce was frozen, the pan cleaned by Bandy. I found it put away neatly in the pan drawer. Bravo, Bandwidth!

Here's my blog post about Word Bloopers over at Savvy Authors.
I'm linking to the bloopers at Between Naps on the Porch.