The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen Turns One! Plus a Le Creuset Giveaway!

Strawberry Cake

The giveaway is now closed! A winner was chosen using Random.org, congratulations Jessica H.!  Thank you to everyone to entered.

Happy blog birthday,  blogiversary,  oh whatever you call it, one year ago today The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen was born! 

It is hard to believe that a year has gone by already.  Before I go any further, I want to thank my family, friends and readers because without you, there would be no blog.  

I believe my husband deserves the biggest thanks, as he patiently stood by waiting (with a hunger in his eyes) for me to finish taking photos and to finally get to eat dinner!

To celebrate, I thought it would be fun to cook a dinner with red food – or food that turns red when you cook it!

Heirloom Tomato Salad

Heirloom Tomato Salad

I started dinner with a simple, but elegant heirloom tomato salad.  One thickly sliced beefsteak tomato, plus a smattering of cherry tomatoes are laid out on a platter topped with fresh basil, oregano, salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.  The tomatoes should be served at room temperature for optimum flavor.  In the center, I placed a dollop of my garlic scape pesto, which was not only a beautiful balance, color-wise but taste too. 

No red dinner is complete without a pair of these in my house. 

Lobstah

Lobstahs!!

I turned these two fellas into some lobstah rolls. Which also happened to have been the second recipe I ever posted. You can click here for the recipe and see how much this blog has improved in the last year.  My only change last time from now is that I swapped out the celery for some scallions on top of the lobster rolls. 

Lobstah rolls

Lobstah rolls

You can’t have a celebration without dessert. Usually my go-to dessert involves chocolate. However, this was a special occasion and strawberries are just coming into season, so I felt compelled to make this beauty of a strawberry cake.

Strawberry Cake

Strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting

Looks so good, you almost want to lick the screen? Want the recipe?  You’ll just need to pop back in a few days to get it.

For now, I have a giveaway to get to, because you can’t have cake without coffee, right?

Thanks to the wonderful folks over at Le Creuset, I am giving away one of their brand new beautiful French Presses from their new Cafe Collection

LC French Press

Le Creuset sent me one to test out for all of you to see first hand, and while I personally am not a coffee drinker, my husband is.   I put him to the test, and to teach me how to work a French Press.  What I love as a non-coffee drinker about having a French Press around, is that not only is Le Creuset’s model stunning, it takes up half the space of a traditional coffee maker.  When you have guests arrive who drink coffee, you can provide a cup from your beautiful press. 

For the readers out there who do drink coffee, these are the notes from my husband. 

As someone who primarily drinks espresso based drinks, if my only other option was drip coffee or French Press – I would choose the French Press preparation.  Making coffee from a French Press extracts more flavor from your coffee, which you would not achieve with drip.” 
 

My final note about Le Creuset’s French Press vs. a glass French Press is that because it is made from stoneware, the French Press retains heat for a much longer time than glass. 

I’d also like to add that, this is perfect for making loose leaf tea or tea from fresh herbs, which I did myself with some fresh mint julep. 

Now, let’s move on to the giveaway details!

This giveaway is for 1 (one) Le Creuset French Press, in the color of your choice – Cherry, Marseille, or Truffle. It is open to U.S. Residents Only and will run from Friday, June 1st, 2012 to Thursday, June 8th , 2012 at 11:59 EST.  I will announce a random winner on Friday, June 9th.  Please be sure to include a way for me to contact you via email when entering. 

How to Enter:

  • Required Entry: Leave a comment with the color French Press of your choice

Additional Entries (not required, but will give you more chances to win) please leave a comment after completing each task. 

  • Like The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen on Facebook
  • Follow The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen on Twitter
  • Like Le Creuset on Facebook (please no comments about the giveaway on their page)
  • Pin one of the photos from my dinner on Pinterest (it’s easy to do from here, just run your mouse over the picture and a Pin It button will appear)

Good luck to everyone who enters!

FTC Disclosure: Le Creuset sent me a French Press to review, all opinions in this post are of my own. No monetary value was exchanged.
Little Red Kitchen Bake Shop

80 thoughts on “The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen Turns One! Plus a Le Creuset Giveaway!

  1. Shana

    Loving your blog. I will be making the strawberry cake once you reveal the recipe! Please count my comment in the Le Creuset giveaway. ~Shana

    Reply
  2. Renee

    Congrats on your 1 year blog anniversary!
    I would love the cherry colored french press. It would be a nice pop of color in my kitchen.

    Reply
  3. Bradley Madsen

    I think I posted this to your twitter as well, but if I win I’d love a Marseille French Press. I am also a fan on Facebook of both Le Crueset and of your blog. I am also following you on Twitter (@BMadsenLowBrass), so I’m up to 4 entries now?

    Reply
  4. Suzanne

    Congrats on the one yr birthday, your blog is beautiful and I am so glad I found it. Would love to be entered in the give-away, the pugs and I follow on Twitter!

    Reply
  5. Amanda

    Congratulations on blogging for one year. What a great giveaway to celebrate with. If I won I’d have to go with the marseille. I have a soft spot for that blue.

    Reply
  6. Jessica | Oh Cake

    Congratulations Susan! Happy first blogaversary! I am so, so happy to have met you as a foodie/blogger friend and look forward to meeting in person. I am also totally entering your giveaway because that French press is gorgeous! I choose cherry (cerise?) in honor of Little Red Kitchen. 😀

    Reply
    1. Susan

      Thank you Jessica! I’m so happy to have met you too! Because of you and #foodbloggersnetwork blogging has gone to a whole new level for me, and I am so appreciative of it 🙂

      Reply
  7. Tina

    Hello, I would have to choose the Cherry colored Le Creuset press. And that strawberry cake looks delish! Thanks!

    Reply
  8. Katie Jones

    Congrats on your one year! You’re lobstah roles are near and dear to my heart, growing up in MA. I’ll be sure to follow you on twitter!

    Best,
    Katie

    Reply
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  10. Shar Rehorn

    Congratulations and best wishes on your 1st of what will undoubtably be many blogiversarys. I would love to receive a press in the beautifully named Marseille color.

    Reply
  11. Pingback: Strawberry Cake with Creamcheese Frosting | The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen

  12. Julie Ryan

    Congrats on the 1 year and here’s to many more!! This French Press is just too cute, I’d love one in red. Thanks for the opportunity and I look forward to seeing what else you create!

    Reply
  13. Kelly

    Happy Blogiversary! I love seeing all the new recipes you post. Since you asked, I would love the French Press in Marseille.

    Reply

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