Styled and Savored #006
Your weekly curated guide to great finds that make your home life easier, fuller, richer, and happier.
In this week’s edition, we’re diving into the Springy-est springtime event of them all – the upcoming Easter holiday – with a crafty blog post brought to you by the Pioneer Woman website. They have some fun ideas for assembling a wide variety of Easter baskets – 45 in all – for your favorite family members and friends.
I don’t know about you, but as a kid, Easter was kind of like springtime Christmas. There are decorations and activities like coloring Easter eggs, Easter egg hunts, egg rolling, plus it’s a wonderful family time with gatherings that always have lots of food and fellowship. Finally, there’s the Easter Bunny, and while I personally prefer Santa as a fictional character, nothing was more fun back in the day than biting the head off a chocolate Easter bunny. Good times.
Which brings me back to the subject at hand, Easter baskets. The suggestions for all the baskets are relatively straightforward, though some will take a bigger time commitment than others, and some may require you to have a practiced skill (like the ability to do macramé), so choose wisely when deciding which one(s) to make for family and friends.
There are baskets made from coffee filters, duct tape, strips of paper, fabric, plastic bowls, plarn (plastic yarn), mason jars, paper bags, fabric scraps, rope, felt, flowers, and one that is completely edible.
Easter isn’t until April 20 this year, so you have plenty of time to take a gander at all the examples, decide which ones suit your loved ones best, gather the materials you need, shop for all the candy, toys, games, etc. you want to stuff the baskets with, and get to creating!
Speaking of being completely edible…
There’s something magical about the flavor that gets imparted when smoking food in a smoker. Yes, of course, smoked meats are the king of the smoking arena, but there are all kinds of food items whose flavors can be enhanced by spending a little time in a smoker. My personal favorite is smoked honey, but smoked cheese (which is used as an ingredient in the recipe I’m about to share), salsa, chili, mac and cheese, baked beans, corn on the cob, asparagus, and cauliflower are just a few examples of items other than meat that do very well in a smoker.
Smoked stuffed potatoes from the Barbecue Bible.
In that vein, this recipe for a smoked stuffed potato from the Barbecue Bible is one we’ve been eyeing for a while, and I think it’s time to give it a try, because there are a lot of things to like about it besides daydreaming about the rich smoky flavor.
It has just a handful of ingredients (butter, sour cream, chives, smoked cheddar cheese, and bacon), but the flavors they impart in combination with each other plus the smoke has my mouth watering. On top of all that, the recipe calls for basting the skin of the potatoes with rendered bacon fat to get them nice and crispy, which is just next-level genius.
Stuffed potato from Tampa’s iconic restaurant, Brocato’s
The blog post has instructions for all kinds of smokers and grills, whether you have a gas, charcoal, pellet, or kamado, so there’s no excuse not to try this.
When I first stumbled across the recipe, it reminded me of a different kind of stuffed potato I’d like to give a plug for here. Being a native Floridian born and raised in Tampa, a big part of my childhood called for countless visits to what is now a Tampa landmark. Brocato’s Sandwich Shop started out as a small, family-run grocery store in 1948, but over the years it became famous for its Cuban sandwiches, devil crabs, and softball-sized stuffed potatoes (aka papas rellenas for the Spanish speakers out there). If you’re anywhere close to Tampa, stop what you’re doing and go to Brocato’s right now to try all of the aforementioned Tampa delicacies. You will not regret it.
(Un)Sticking in the kitchen
Since we’re talking about cooking, I thought I’d share an item that I find indispensable when I’m shuffling around the kitchen trying to decide what to make for breakfast, lunch, or dinner – the venerable cast iron skillet.
Now, even though I have several different kinds of cast iron skillets in multiple sizes, I am far from an aficionado. I just love the versatility of cast iron skillets as well as how easily they clean up (despite what you may have heard).
They do take a little maintenance because they do require periodic seasoning in the oven with some kind of fat to give the skillet a protective coating, but once you get the hang of it, it’s really a very simple process.
Of course, Lodge is the 800-lb. gorilla in the market, and I have several of their skillets. They are relatively inexpensive, and Lodge offers a wide array of sizes and types of skillets. This 10.25 inch beauty is a great option if you’re just dipping your toe into the world of cast iron cookware. It can be had for under $30, and it comes with a silicon hot handle holder (how’s that for alliteration?).
However, my current favorite skillet from Lodge is this 10.25-inch skillet from their Blacklock line, which is more lightweight. It shaves over one pound of cast iron off the weight of the skillet making it easier to lift, use, and clean. However, that reduction in weight adds extra cost to the skillet, more than doubling the price to around $60, but it’s a better overall cooking experience in my opinion so I think it’s worth the additional expense.
The cast iron skillet I just can’t bring myself to purchase due to the extravagant pricetag is this 10.25-inch skillet made by Field Company. Mostly I’m just fascinated by the smoother surface, and I’m probably buying into the marketing hype a little bit. Supposedly the smoother finish on this skillet makes for a better non-stick surface as compared to the rougher finish from Lodge’s version. I don’t really know if that’s true as several online reviews I’ve read give Lodge the edge in terms of its non-stick capabilities, but at $165 maybe I’ll just add the Field Company skillet to my Amazon wishlist and see if anyone will get it for me for my birthday or Christmas.
One great resource for caring for your cast iron cookware is an Instagram account with the handle cast_iron_chris. The owner of the account – I assume his name is Chris – offers tips for maintaining and cleaning your cast iron, and he also sells a fantastic seasoning compound to keep your cookware seasoned. He also restores old cast iron pieces, which is a fascinating process.
Moving to the garage
Recently I needed to do a little garage re-organization and cleanup, and I wanted to get that done before it becomes unbearably hot. Those sweltering summer days in the Sunshine State can make spending any time at all in the garage pretty unattractive, especially if you’re trying to schlep heavy items around from one corner to another.
Fortunately, that task is now accomplished and in my rearview mirror, and now that things are more organized, I can work in my garage unimpeded by the stuff that gets accumulated over time. I’m lucky enough to have a sizeable workbench with a good solid surface that’ll accommodate those fix-it type projects we all have around the house.
However, if you’re without a decent work area but would like one, there’s a great blog post that offers 20 garage workshop layout ideas.
Get that garage workspace set up so you can take on all those DIY and home improvement projects.
The article focuses on topics from proper lighting to tool storage, as well as designing a functional workbench, vertical storage shelving, sound dampening options, and a host of other topics to consider.
If you need a garage workspace, do yourself a favor and check out the blog post.
That’s it for this week. Let us know your thoughts about any or all of the featured posts in this edition of Styled & Savored, and tell us what you’d like to see us cover in future editions as well.
