On The Side
November 22, 2015
A happy accident. While cooking up a few slices of bacon to season something else entirely, I found myself left with a foil lined baking tray coated with a bit of bacon fat and all of that beautiful bacon fond. It took but a minute to wash and prep a stalk of Brussels sprouts to roast off using that same tray and all of that residual bacon goodness. A quick toss with a bit of salt and pepper…30-40 minutes in a 400 degree oven…and you’re ready to serve them up with a big bowl of mashed and a bit of cranberry along side a big ‘ol smoked turkey. As Thanksgiving menus go, it doesn’t get any simpler.
Top three photos: gp
Carved smoked turkey photo: http://thedomesticman.com/2013/10/01/perfect-smoked-turkey/
Switching it up
November 19, 2015
While I will usually go for a simple Thanksgiving table decorated with Bosc pears, nuts in their shells and oak leaves , I’m thinking I might just switch things up a bit. Heath Ceramics dinnerware in basalt and linen, blown Polo roses and a tangle of Tallowberry will keep it simplequietmodern with a chalky neutral palette. Now that that’s taken care of let’s see if I can simplify dinner without any sacrifices.
Photos:gp
Paper or…
November 15, 2015
You know I can work a classic Kraft paper shopping bag six ways till Sunday. But, this waxed canvas market bag takes simplequietmodern to a new level. Easy care cotton canvas hand coated with organic beeswax. Perfect for carrying all the quince, apples and persimmons you’ll be cooking up during the holidays and leaving the brown bags you’ve been recycling available for the wrapping of gifts come December.
Top photo:https://food52.com/shop/products/718-waxed-canvas-market-bag
others: gp
Serving It Up
November 8, 2015
Turkey, Vegducken or pie….they have to go somewhere. Picture presenting your Thanksgiving feast here, on this Paul McCobb walnut and brass credenza. Designed as part of his Irwin Collection for the Calvin Group in the mid 50’s, this stunner was born to be put into holiday service now through the first of the year providing a simplequietmodern stage for everything from a full buffet, coffee and dessert or stirring up a few Manhattans. 
photo: Plastolux
Fallen Back?
November 1, 2015
Now what? Dark as night before you’ve even started your journey home at the end of the day and you still have to take your best bud out for a walk when you get there. You can make short work of slicing through the night with the award winning M Lamp and its warm, dimmable LED light. Back inside you’ll find endless uses for it as well.
Photo: http://shop.juniper-design.com/m-lamp
A Little Needed Comfort
October 27, 2015
Between Halloween, Dia los Muertos and turning the clocks back, this weekend might just have you craving or needing a little comfort food. My simplequietmodern shortcut for Pork with Green Chilis and Potatoes to the rescue. A slow cooked New Texican stew served up over rice or folded into tortillas might be just what’s needed to fight that candy corn hangover.
photos:gp
Put it in neutral
October 25, 2015
I’ve owned a pair of vintage Womb chairs in a sunflower yellow with black frames and then a single in royal purple with a chrome frame, each a nod to the time in which they were produced…first the fifties, then the seventies. The first pair was acquired during an impromptu stop at a Beverly Hills yard sale and the latter from a similar unplanned stop in the mid-west. Now I’m feeling the urge to buy back my simplequietmodern favorites that have been long gone to new homes. Lucky for me this classic is still in production. And, bonus, Knoll has re-issued the Saarinen Womb settee. Hmmmm, what to do. In any case, the textile selection for me is a no brainer….the classic wool boucle is always my first choice. And, as if it could get any simpler… the color is aptly named “Neutral”. Hard to make a mistake here, especially when combined with the black frame. That settled, it’s on to choosing a chair and ottoman, a chair and settee. a pair of chairs or the settee alone. Good to know that there are no bad choices here.
photos:http://www.knoll.com/shop
Like It or Not
October 20, 2015
Well, I’m ” falling” into it without a fight. Fall that is. It’s been so much like Summer I had forgotten all about the change in seasons until today. Like someone flipping a switch the sky has grayed, the breeze has cooled and leaves have gone all red and golden. There is simplequietmodern Autumn inspiration around every turn.
Photos: gp
Aristotle was right,
October 4, 2015
sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Take the Wald HI-LO by LA’s Feltmark. Combine a plug, a socket, a rod, a bulb. Then, make it dimmable. simplequietmodern lighting genius just in time as the days start growing shorter.
Photo: http://feltmark.com/collections/waldhilo
In Season
September 27, 2015
Three simple ingredients and a hot dry skillet will have you cranking out these quesadillas in just a few minutes. A simplequietmodern spin on the traditional, these start with homemade quality tortillas from my local latin market, a Wisconsin Buttermilk Blue Cheese from Whole Foods and crisp thin slices of SweeTango apple. A perfect combination of warm, cheesy, toasty and cool, crisp and sweet will have you enjoying these as a snack, for lunch or as an appetizer from these earliest Autumn days all the way through to Thanksgiving .
Preheat a heavy skillet over medium heat. Place tortilla in skillet, top with blue cheese and cover until cheese is melted and underside of tortilla is browned and crisp. Remove from pan, top with thinly sliced apple and fold in half. Done.
photos: gp
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