I Host a Casual Thanksgiving Dinner with KitchenAid

All images by Stagetecture

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This Thanksgiving I paired up with KitchenAid® to show off their gorgeous colors of the season and how you can use their fall-inspired bakeware and small appliances to pull together a great dinner. To start off my table setting I used the Persimmon (Orange) Nesting Ceramic 4 Piece Set for fried chicken that my kids love! While you may think that fried chicken isn’t for Thanksgiving, think again! Perfect for a laid back dinner amongst friends and family. For those who still want a baked fowl I cooked a chicken in their Casserole Dish in Ivy Green and served it alongside green beans and potatoes.

Here’s a few tips on setting a Casual Thanksgiving Dinner table:

Choose your favorite small gourds like pumpkins, squash and other miniature vegetables to disperse around the table. I prefer to not have one centerpiece as it creates a more formal environment that makes everyone feel uptight!  Instead, I used a bag of mixed shelled nuts like walnuts, pine nuts, pecans and more and put them casually around the table.

Casual Thanksgiving Dinner – Create the look:

• Burlap runner in your choice of colors. It makes a beautiful backdrop to any natural tablescape
• Napkin rings with fall inspired motifs. I like these leaf ones
• Fabric napkins in a deep rust color brings texture to your table and pairs nicely with the autumn colored bakeware
• Casual dinnerware that doesn’t have a lot of ornamentation will bring focus to the food and will keep the meal casual
• Simple stemware for your favorite wine.. or put apple juice for kids to feel grown up!

Adding unexpected touches to the Thanksgiving meal

What I love about a casual Thanksgiving is you don’t have to only serve traditional food. I opted for a Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup prepared in the KitchenAid® 5-Speed Diamond Blender in Tangerine. It whips up your favorite soups easily but also would be perfect for drinks to serve table-side!

This Thanksgiving create a casual way to gather friends and family without the stress of formal planning.

For more Thanksgiving ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

I’m excited to give you a chance to win:

KitchenAid® 11-Cup Food Processor with ExactSlice System

This food processor replaced my 10 year old white one and I absolutely love the ability to adjust the thickness of your slices with the lever in the front. I was able to make Thanksgiving sides much quicker

You can see all the details for the food processor here on KitchenAid®. This food processor is a $249.00 value and comes in your choice of colors: Empire Red, Onyx Black or Contour Silver as shown here.

Pin to Win #HolidayEats Giveaway with KitchenAid

We want to give one (1) lucky winner this food processor for the holidays!

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Official Contest Rules*

PRIZE – KitchenAid® 11-Cup Food Processor with ExactSlice System

*(Contest is only open to U.S. Residents for shipment purposes) – This contest is NOT affiliated with Olioboard.

2 Ways to Enter – #HolidayEats ‘Pin to Win’ Board Contest

#1 – CREATE AN OLIOBOARD

Create an Olioboard showing us your favorite Holiday inspiration ideas. Beautifully appointed decor, kitchen, dining room, you name it, we want to see your holiday inspired interior room. They can be in the kitchen, dining room, hosting a dessert banquet party – but they should focus around food!

OR

#2. CREATE A PINTEREST BOARD

On your own Pinterest account, create a Pinterest Board called #HolidayEats and gather 20 (twenty) holiday ideas from Stagetecture.com website. Include #HolidayEats hashtag in the description of your pins. – You can use the “Pin it” Button above every Stagetecture post and pin recipes, decor, crafts that inspire you for the holidays.

IMPORTANT-  Tag @KitchenAidUSA on all of your Pinterest/Olioboards and social shares!

Judging:

Board will be judged on creativity, adherence to the rules, and awesome engagement with other pinners and friends in your community.

Additional Rules 

*****Don’t forget these or your entry will be disqualified****

1. Once you have created your Olioboard or Pinterest board you will need to “Pin to Win” to Stagetecture’s Group Board –Christmas & New Year’s Eve board.

2. Enter your email in the Rafflecopter entry form and we will invite you to the shared Christmas & New Year’s Eve board. (Check your notifications on Pinterest to see when you’ve been added to the group board.)

• Pin only 1 (one) copy of your Olioboard or Pinterest board to the Christmas & New Year’s Eve board.

3. YOU MUST FILL OUT THE Rafflecopter Official Entry form below. Follow the directions in the Rafflecopter entry to win additional chances to win4. Share the contest on your social media outlets with the hashtag #HolidayEats and win extra chances to win (as mentioned in Rafflecopter entry form below)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!  Contest runs from Dec.5th  – Dec. 10th. Winner Announced Friday, Dec. 11th

Celebrate Fall: My Autumn Apple Dessert Party with KitchenAid®

All images by Stagetecture

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I paired up with KitchenAid® to show off their gorgeous colors of the season. From their Empire Red –  Traditional Cast Iron 3-Quart Casserole that I used to bake the Apple Crumb Bars Recipe to the Persimmon (Orange) Nesting Ceramic 4 Piece Set I made a version of Apple Dumplings with Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe. The beautiful orange and reds are a good theme color to start decorating your dessert party table. Here’s how to create your table:

Decorating your Autumn Dessert Party Table:

Choose colors that resonate with the season. Reds, greens, natural burlap in dark and light shades of brown can be used as your tablecloth or table runner and throughout your display areas. Cover the table with the runner and choose 2-3 colors that you will use repeatedly throughout the display. Gather wicker baskets, galvanized tin pails, and rustic or metallic chargers below your serving dishes.

Use Apples as Decoration and as Edible Display

When decorating with apples remember they can be edible display and used around your table for color. Grab various size apples and an assortment of types to bring color around your dishes. I used an apple around the apple crumb cake to add color to a neutral plate display.

The Empire Red KitchenAid® Electric Tea Kettle is one of my favorites. It plugs into the wall, and has a removable base to bring it directly to your buffet table. Guests can pour hot water for tea, or you can serve warm apple cider to keep with the apple theme!

Lastly, gather your favorite red napkins, silverware, and metallic chargers to add reflectance to your autumn table. My family wished we could have an Autumn Apple Dessert Party everyday! Thanks KitchenAid® for the wonderful opportunity to showcase the colorful side of entertaining.

For more autumn party ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

You’ll likely pay a pretty penny for many of the kitchen appliances on this list, but don’t let that stop you from creating the kitchen of your dreams.  If you are willing to spend the money on remodeling your kitchen cabinets or countertops, you’d almost be foolish not to take a look at some of these tantalizing appliances.  Kitchens – welcome to the 21st century.

A Refrigerator to Die For

It’s just a fridge, right? Wrong. The Pro 48 from Sub-Zero is without a doubt the most top of the line refrigerator that your home can feature. You can build it right into your new kitchen design, or you can get a free-standing model and it comes with a microprocessor to regulate the interior temperature better than any other fridge on the market. It is also one of the most energy efficient models on the planet, costing just $75/year to operate. And with its auto-closing door, you never have to worry about spoiling food just because you were forgetful.  This is truly a fridge made for kings.

Heat Up Chicken Noodle Soup in Style

You may not know how to cook, but if you decide to own the Grand Palais 180 stove top, you just might be inspired to become a master chef. This stove top from La Cornue features two ovens (one electric and one gas), two hot plates, and two brass burners. Even better, you can fully customize the stove top to your liking including such additions as a Teppanyaki grill, all gas, or all electric stoves and much more. At the end of the day, your cooking might not taste better, but you will certainly look classier when preparing meals on your luxury stove top.

Microwaves for the Fanciest of the Hot Pockets

Ok, this is getting ridiculous now don’t you think? Not a chance. Every kitchen in America has a microwave and they are being used for more than just popcorn and TV dinners. The KitchenAid Architect Series II microwave oven is the most feature-packed microwave you could possibly imagine. The microwave features built-in convection cooking which gets your food ready even faster (I know right?). The smart microwave is amazing at estimating reheat and defrost times which means your leftover pizza or frozen meatloaf will be ready for consumption with minimal effort on your part. The microwave even has a built in sensor for steaming vegetables. It shuts the microwave oven off at precisely the right time for perfectly steamed veggies. You won’t even have to lift a finger to prepare amazing meals anymore and isn’t that worth every penny?

Get Your Dishes Sparkling Clean after Every Meal

We all know the complaints about dishwashers. They are too loud, they don’t clean everything, they leave streaks/spots on my crystal.  What if I told you that there was a dishwasher out there that could eliminate every one of the issues we just listed – would you be interested?  Let me introduce you to the Miele LaPerla II Dishwasher. It has a custom water filtration system that assures that only the cleanest, most refined water washes over your dirty plates and forks. It runs almost noiselessly, meaning you never have to wonder if someone is breaking into your house every time the rinse cycle starts. It holds more dishes than standard dishwashers, and comes with an almost unheard of 16 wash and rinse cycles. This dishwasher is so good, you will probably be tempted to run it before it is ready for a full load, but have no fear – it’s water saving technology means that you won’t have to spend inordinate amounts of cash every time you wash your dishes – it practically pays for itself.

Citations:

• By Pbroks13 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

 Aaron Garcia is a homeowner who has been through more than a couple kitchen remodels in his day.  He knows the frustrations associated with pulling off a seamless project which is why he recommends working with a professional kitchen cabinet company whenever taking on a remodeling project.  

For more kitchen & bath ideas on Stagetecture, click here.