It’s that time of the year again folks. We are mining through the basement, pulling out all kinds of fun pieces for the upcoming basement sale. We wanted to share a few of our favorite finds so far with you, with some creative ideas on how we’d use them. Who knows what else we’ll find down there!
Mix and match these lanterns for a great looking evening dinner party – once we can actually eat outside again!
Found this 6 qt Le Creuset stockpot hiding in the back-of-the-back of the shelves.
Stay tuned for more finds we discover and basement sale details!
Today we are having a special, one-day only trunk show with Rob Hollis. Most people know him for his amazing salon, Frost, but he also makes beautiful hand blown glass ornaments. Join us from 11-3pm today and pick out the perfect ornament for the people on your list!
Since stocking stuffers are flying out of the store right now, the gals at Belle Cose pulled together our favorite $30-and-under stocking stuffers. A lot of these would also make great for the Christmas exchange at work or a teacher gift. We’d love to wrap all your presents, so come in for a total one-stop shopping experience. Here are some of our most popular items:
1. Microplane Zester/Grater – $18.95
2. Siplat Silcone Liner – $28.95
3. Le Creuset Set of Ramekins – $18
4. The Cheese Knife – $19.95
5. OXO Hand-Held Slicer – $26.95
6. Kuhn Rikon Ceramic Knife & Sheath – $12.95
7. Chef’n Garlic Zoom – $10.95
8. Set of Poach Pods – $12.95
9. Onion Saver – $4.95 & Onion Goggles – $22.95
10. Bodum Brazil 3 cup French Press – $23.95
As Christmas quickly approaches, we thought we would pull some of our favorite items that will fit perfectly in anyone’s stocking – no matter what the size! Whether its a gift for someone’s stocking, an ornament exchange or a teacher’s gift, we have so many wonderful Christmas gifts. Come see us to get lots more ideas – we’re full of them!
Here are some fun stocking stuffer options for the bakers in your life. With or without kiddos, these are all fun presents:
A. Head Chefs Cool Tools For Kids; B. Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Pure Vanilla Extract; C. The Original Brown Sugar Bear; D. Wilton Cookie Scoop; E. Kuhn Rikon Cookie Press
Or, if you’re looking for a little more sophisticated stocking stuffers for the entertainer, any of these would be a great addition to someone’s cocktail party:
A. Vinturi Wine Aerator; B. Boston Warehouse Wine Charms; C. Wusthof Serrated Pairing Knife; D. Match Pewter Coasters (set of 4); E. Swissmar Cheese Knife Set; F. VacuVin Champagne Sealer
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! And chances are, you may still have a bit of Christmas shopping to do. Don’t panic – there’s plenty of time to find the right gifts for everyone on your list. This year, if you’re looking for something unique, come by the store to check out a few of our local & regional artists and their products.
A handcrafted gift from our beautiful part of the country is special and significant – anyone would be thrilled to open one! From stocking stuffers to the big gift for your special someone, here are a few our favorites:
A. New West Knifeworks Chopper; B. Liston Studios Tram Ornament; C. Meredith Campbell "Buffalo & Calf" Wood Bowl; D. Amy Carter Cowboy Wine Glasses; E. Too Haute Cowgirls "Fistful of Fleur de Sel" Popcorn
These products all come in other styles or flavors, so come by the store to see all the options we offer and learn more about each artist. We’d love to help you find the perfect presents for everyone on your Christmas list!
What’s one of the first things that pops in to your head when someone asks you about the day after Thanksgiving? Football. Shopping. Christmas decorating. And of course, leftovers. Claudia shared her favorite Turkey soup recipe with us – it’s a delicious, easy meal to make with some of your Thanksgiving leftovers. See the recipe at the bottom of this post.
We always recommend having a large stockpot in your kitchen as one of your cookware staples. Here are three we carry in the store that are great, depending on your needs and price point. Come by the store, we’d love to answer any questions you have about our cookware. (We obviously enjoying cooking!).
All-Clad stainless steel 8 qt. stockpot
Le Creuset Enamel on Steel 12 qt Stockpot
Chantal Enamel-on-Steel 9 qt Stockpot w/ Glass Lid
Turkey Vegetable Soup w/ Cheese-Filled Tortellini
Serves 8-10
Sweat:
2 cups each sliced carrot, diced onion, diced fennel bulb & diced Swiss chard stems
2 Tbsp minced garlic
4 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp olive oil
Deglaze:
1/2 cup dry Marsala
1-2 Tbsp chicken base
12 cups low sodium chicken broth
Add:
4 cups chopped roasted turkey
3 cups refrigerated cheese filled tortellini
8 cups chopped Swiss chard leaves, rinsed (1 bunch)
1 can red kidney beans, drained & rinsed
Stir in:
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste
grated Parmesan cheese
Sweat carrot, onion, fennel, chard stems, garlic, Italian seasoning, pepper flakes, and nutmeg in oil in a large stockpot over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Deglaze pot with Marsala and simmer until nearly evaporated; stir in chicken base. Add broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
Add turkey, tortellini, chard leaves, and beans; simmer, partially covered, until tortellini are cooked through, 8-10 minutes.
Stir in lemon juice and season with salt and black pepper. Serve soup with grated Parmesan.
Come in the store Saturday, November 26th to take advantage of this great offer from American Express. It’s like shopping with free money!
It’s officially winter here in Jackson Hole! Now that we have “fallen” back with daylight savings (it’s dark by 5:30pm!), it’s the perfect time of the year to serve warm, hearty soup for dinner. We wanted to share a very yummy recipe that is also very easy to make. And how fun would it be to cook and serve it in this Staub cast-iron dutch oven?
This recipe is from the cookbook A Taste of Wyoming, with amazing Wyoming recipes compiled by Pamela Sinclair. We can’t keep enough of them in stock, so come get them while you can. They would make a great hostess gift for those holiday parties coming up.
The book is full of amazing recipes! Some of our other favorite soup recipes from the book include the BLT soup from Trio Restaurant, Branding Day Chili, and Blue Corn Tortilla Soup. But the following recipe is hands-down our favorite:
Butternut Squash & Jalapeño Soup
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3 cups chicken stock or broth
1 cup water
1 1/2 pounds peeled, seeded, and diced butternut squash
1/4 cup seeded and finely chopped jalapeño peppers
2 cups heavy cream
Pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium heat; sauté the onion until translucent.
2. Add the chicken stock or broth and water; bring to a boil and add the squash.
3. Lower heat to medium and cover; cook until the squash is tender, about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir in the pepper and cream, bring to a low boil, then remove from the heat and cool for 20-30 minutes.
5. Transfer to a blender or food processor and puree.
6. Pour soup through a strainer over pan and add seasonings.
7. Warm over low heat for a few minutes and ladle into bowls; garnish with a drizzle of cream and finely chopped pepper for a pretty presentation. (Serves 6)
A couple of suggestions:
If you want a slightly healthier version of this soup, simply replace the heavy cream with two packages of Neufchatel cheese. It cuts some calories, while still maintaining richness to the soup.
Also, be very careful when de-seeding the jalapeños. Definitely avoid touching your skin and eyes – Claudia wears gloves when she makes this soup to make sure the seed oils don’t get on her skin.
One way to make this soup even easier to make is using an immersion blender, like this Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender. Instead of transferring the soup to a blender, you can just pop this appliance in the stockpot and have pureed soup in minutes.
We wanted to share some images of our fun themed trees with those of you who couldn’t make it to the Holiday Open House. (And its likely that even those of you who did come didn’t get to see it all!). The front counter has a vintage feel to it, with these old-school Jackson Hole ski banners and the bright peace sign. Scroll down and take a tour of the store and all the trees!
Upside Down Christmas Tree – complete with Santa and his huskies pulling his sleigh!
The Snowman Tree
The Woodlands Tree
The Vintage Tree – that’ right, that’s an elf riding a Vespa!And it can be yours! We are raffling the vespa and all the proceeds go to the Community Resource Center. The winning ticket will be drawn February 25th at the 49er Ball. Come by the store to buy your tickets and chance to win this awesome toy.
We love these vintage televisions!
The 12 Days of Christmas Tree
The Traditional Tree
Vintage Lake House Tree
Hungarian Felt Tree
We can’t get enough of these vintage bulb signs! Be sure to bring the kiddos by to check out Santa flying out of the store with this nine tiny reindeer.
This past week was very busy for the Belle Cose elves. We closed the store for 3 days to prep and decorate for one of our favorite days of the year: the Holiday Open House. Lots of folks ask us about the process for turning the store in to a Christmas wonderland, and so this year we thought we would share a break down of what those three days look like for us.
Day 1: First, tear down each display. This means finding new homes for all the items in the displays (dishes, decorative items, pillows, linens, etc…). Second, rearrange each display with the proper cubes and furniture pieces to set up holiday displays. Third, (if you’re lucky there’s enough time), position Christmas trees in each display.
Day 2: First, bring up all the ornaments from the basement (this is a killer stairmaster workout, running up and down the basement stairs). Second, find any large focal pieces for the displays (giant elves, santa, sleds, etc…) Lastly, grab a large caffeinated beverage and start decorating the trees!
Day 3: First, bring up all the dishes, food, and other holiday decorative items for each themed display. Second, hang banners, rugs, elves and other large items on the wall and the ceiling. Third, clean up the giant mess that christmas decorating creates.
And lastly, a toast to celebrate a job well done! This year we decorated the store in record timing. It was the first year ever that the entire store was finished by 9:30pm. Sure beats 4am!
Stay tuned for more pictures of all our holiday displays….
