A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of getting a little cooking lesson from Jason and Jamie of Homespun.  I love supporting their mission of creating community around amazing meals, and wish we could attend every monthly dinner!  (Read more about working with them here and here!)  They are doing a series right now called "From Scratch", where they are visiting different homes, and teaching how to prepare different courses.  We worked on a charcuterie board together, which was so fun and surprisingly simple, and would be the perfect thing for entertaining guests.

Today, I'm going to share how to make the most delicious bread and butter pickles (seriously, it's hard not to eat a whole jar of these in one sitting!) and Jamie shared how to make cider whole grain mustard (which was amazing - and incredibly simple!) on their blog.  It's so wonderful to know how to make these things yourself, so you don't have all the extra additives and preservatives.

Ingredients: 1 lb. kirby cucumbers, sliced 1/4" thick (aren't these gorgeous?) | 1 large sweet onion | 1/4 c. diamond salt | 1/2 c. sugar | 1/2 c. white wine vinegar | 1/4 c. purified water | 1/4 tsp. turmeric | 1 tbsp. yellow mustard seeds | 1 tbsp. whole coriander or 1 tsp. ground coriander | 3 whole allspice | 2 cloves garlic | 1/4 tsp. celery seed | ice

Steps:

(1) Place thinly julienned sweet onions and cucumbers in a bowl and toss with diamond salt.  After the cucumbers have been coated with the salt, add ice to cover them for about an hour at room temperature.

(2) In a medium pot, pour in white vinegar, purified water, sugar, turmeric, whole yellow mustard seeds, coriander, allspice, garlic gloves, and celery seed.  Heat over medium heat for 10 minutes, just until it begins to bubble.

(3) Once the ice has melted from the cucumber and onions, strain excess water and rinse very well under cold water.  Place cucumber mixture in pickling solution and cook for 10 minutes just until the mixture comes from a boil.  Remove from heat and cool.

(4) Place in pickling jars with an air tight lid for up to 3 weeks in the fridge.  Makes such a sweet gift!

Then, if you would like to use them for entertaining, here are some tips!

Make some crostinis by slicing a baguette and brushing the tops with olive oil.  Broil them until they are perfectly browned.

Serve with cured meats (this is from Pine Street Market) and some cider whole grain mustard on a pretty tray (love this gorgeous piece from Honeycomb Studio!) and pair with crostinis, cheese, some locally made jam, and maybe some fruit for a gorgeous and super yummy spread that is relatively simple to prepare.

Easy is always a plus when there are little people around, right?  I want to entertain more, but it can be so overwhelming.  Great to have a simple go to!

What do you think?  You seriously have to try these - they are so delicious!  Be sure to check out Homespun and follow along on their blog as they share more recipes and tips!  I can't wait to learn more.

You can bet this was eaten up right after the photo was taken.  And can you believe Jamie made those lovely dip dyed napkins?  Thanks so much to Erin Wood for taking all the gorgeous photos!  (tablecloth from here).