For some strange reason – while making 13 different recipes in two days (eight appetizers,  four recipes for the sit-down dinner, and one recipe for the dessert table) I didn’t manage to take even one cooking photo. Imagine, too busy to stop and take pictures of the process!

Oh well, I did manage to get pretty decent photos of the food on the table itself, at least for the appetizers, which is what I present to you today. Some of these are new recipes which I’ll provide here and others are recipes I’ve previously posted. For those, click on the link to take you the original post.

Here we go…

Brie with Pears and Brandy

12 to 16-ounce wheel Brie cheese, cold
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 large Bosc or Red Anjou pears, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 tablespoons brandy
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus rosemary sprigs for garnish
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
8 walnut halves

Slice cheese wheel in half crosswise; set aside.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add diced pears, and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in brandy, and cook 1 minute more. Add rosemary, and stir to combine. Remove from heat, and spread pear mixture over the bottom half of the cheese wheel, reserving 2 tablespoons of mixture for garnish. Transfer cheese to a serving plate.

Return skillet to stove, and heat balsamic vinegar and honey until simmering. Simmer mixture until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool, about 5 minutes.

Pour half the glaze over the bottom half of the cheese with the pear mixture; top with the remaining half of the cheese wheel and top with the 2 tablespoons of reserved pears. Drizzle with remaining glaze, and garnish with walnut halves and rosemary. Serve immediately.

Blue Cheese-Apricot Bites

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon butter
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 cup crumbled Roquefort, room temperature
2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
32 dried apricots
Snipped fresh rosemary

In a small skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add walnuts and sugar; cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until walnuts are lightly toasted. Stir in rosemary; cook and stir for 30 seconds more. Transfer nuts to a foil-lined baking sheet; cool.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine Roquefort cheese and cream cheese. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.

Spoon about 3/4 teaspoon of the cheese mixture on top of each dried apricot. Sprinkle with nuts. If desired, garnish with additional fresh rosemary.

Makes 32

[Read more →]

Before I share more party details, I want to wish my dear friend, Karen Mock a very Happy Birthday!

Karen was a bridesmaid at my wedding. I think everyone should have a bridesmaid like her. She carried out her duties like a pro! I mean, it is not easy being a bridesmaid at your friends’ wedding – you have so much to do! From managing the bride’s emotions as she approaches her big day, to organizing her hen party (you could click here to find some ideas for yourself), it’s just a big roller coaster ride. Hats off to Karen for pulling it off!

At the time of my wedding, she was pregnant with her first child, Nick. Dave and I are Nick’s godparents … so yes, Karen and I have been friends for a long time and I love her to pieces. Happy Birthday, Karen! I look forward to celebrating with you on Friday! xoxo

On to the party ….

Peggy arrived a little early so she’d be there to greet her guests, and I was actually ready to greet her and the guests too. That doesn’t always happen. More often than not, I’m still scrambling and getting ready at the very last second before a party at our house begins. But not this time, and here is why –

I had gone to Sweet Salvage the day before the party with my friend and colleague, Kim Howard. (after all the party posts, I’ll share with you what I got that day – it is so cool!)

I was telling Kim about the party plans and she said, “Let me come help.” I resisted at first because I’d already hired two servers and a bartender from Elite Events AZ. Kim insisted and I finally came to my senses and took her up on her generous offer. Kim and I work together at Les Gourmettes. When I teach my series of classes there, Kim works right beside me. We’re a great team and I knew that having her in the kitchen, finishing off the dishes, overseeing everything, and doing things exactly as I would do them – well I knew that I wouldn’t have to worry about a thing and I could really relax and enjoy my own party.

That is exactly what happened! Maybe I enjoyed it a wee bit too much if you know what I mean! So, thank you, Kim. Thank you, Jana, Cami, and Jeanie from Elite Events. And thank you, to my adorable son, Connor, who was the lone man in the kitchen, there to help with whatever the ladies asked him to do!

Anne and I, gave Peggy her official birthday kiss.

Peggy with her darling parents, her brother, John, and her sister-in-law, Lorraine. Take note of Peggy’s pink crown and scepter. The Birthday Princess!

Anne and Dave at the appetizer buffet. The bar is in the background…

… thanks Anne for taking this picture of the bar, I can see your reflection in the window and I see myself in the kitchen. What am I doing in there?! I think I was cutting green onions for the mashed potatoes and talking to Kim about the recipes. This was prior to the guests arriving. Well, of course, Anne was a guest too, but she was and is much more than that! She helped me so much in putting on this gala event. Love you girl! xoxo

Along with the full bar, we offered two signature cocktails…

The Pink Pear

1 1/2 ounces pear vodka
3 ounces mango nectar or pineapple juice
1-ounce cranberry juice
Lemon juice, for rim
Pink or gold sugar, for the rim

Dip the rim of a clear “highball” glass in lemon juice, then dip into sugar. Fill the glass with ice.

Gently layer the vodka, then the nectar, then the cranberry juice into the glass for an ombre cocktail.

Serves 1

Pink Chihuahua

Coarse pink salt
1-ounce tequila
1/2 ounce Grand Marnier
3/4 cup grapefruit juice
Grapefruit slice, for garnish

Dip the rim of a clear “rocks” glass in lemon juice, then dip into sugar. Fill the glass with ice. Pour tequila and Grand Marnier over ice.

Top with grapefruit juice and stir. Garnish with a slice of grapefruit.

Serves 1

Also on the bar, were bowls of the ever-popular Ranch Oyster Crackers, also known as Crack Crackers. These are seriously addicting!

Another fun 50th birthday party touch was a little something else I found on eBay …

[Read more →]

Before I continue to tell you about the party planning for Peggy’s 50th – I first have to say…

Happy Birthday, Peggy!

Today is her actual birthday.

One of the wonderful party ideas I found on Pinterest was to take a bunch of photos of the honoree and create a huge “50” with them. I gathered photos of Peggy, scanned them onto my computer, edited each one into gray scale, and printed them out.

Next, I taped sheets of newspaper to my marble fireplace and taped the photos to the newspaper.

I then carefully took down the numbers and placed them on a flat surface to trim the newspaper backing.

The “5” was on the fragile side, so I reinforced the weak center area with a bit of cardboard on the backing.

This was all done about a week before the party, so into the garage staging area, the numbers went to stay out of harm’s way until party time.

I was able to buy two pink crinkle taffeta 117-inch round tablecloths, four pink crinkle taffeta 60×126-inch tablecloths, six gold organza runners, one embroidered chair slipcover, one fuchsia satin chair sash, 50 gold, pink, and fuchsia napkins, and one 90-inch gold organza overlay for only $107 – and that included the shipping! They all washed up perfectly too, no ironing was needed. I could not have been happier with the selection of table linen cloths I had. I’ve always thought that how you decorate your tables is the backbone of any event; it sets the theme and tone.

Here is what the preliminary “mock table” looked like in my staging area.

[Read more →]

I started planning Peggy’s 50th birthday party about a month ago. But first and foremost, I needed to thoroughly clean the entire space so that the guests were not put off by the presence of dirt anywhere.

That is why I thought I would look for professional floor and Window Cleaning service providers to clean the places that had a lot of stubborn stains. But then I decided to do it on my own. So I washed as much as I could and decorated the rest of the space to draw our guests’ attention to the beautiful styling.

Anyway, as with any party, the first thing the host needs to decide on is the theme. Well, 50 was the theme but a color scheme is what I’d build the party around. I decided on pink and gold. Pink because Peggy is such a beautiful sweet girl and I’m sure she was a girly girl when she was little. And if not, she sure is now! Gold because she is the gold standard when it comes to friends. You know the song… “Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other’s gold.” She is Gold to me!

I believe this is the first time I’ve emailed a formal invite instead of sending it by snail mail. I’m glad I did because I was able to put so much more info in the email than I would have on just the mailed invite.

For instance, I was able to let invitees know that “The attire is casual-elegant – whatever that means – just wear something comfortable – weather permitting, we’ll be outside.” Turns out that was an important thing to let people know considering it actually snowed here only three days before the party.

I could also let people know that “The ‘theme’ is Elegant 50 ~ no ‘over-the-hill’ shenanigans!”

Once I had my color scheme, I went to town to carry it out!

[Read more →]

In the center of our entry, we have an antique Asian wine barrel. Or maybe it’s a rice barrel, I really don’t know for certain.

Point is, I’ve had it decorated pretty much the same way for the past 12 years. I switch it out for Christmas and add decor for other major holidays. For the rest of the year, it has looked like you see above, minus the arrow sign and the basket of books below.

While I was putting everything back in its place this year, I decided I was sick of the way it looked and decided to change it up. Out with the urn full of faux greens. Goodbye large iron dragonfly. Adios to the bird cage and the stack of coffee table books the cage sat upon. (I must have moved the books for the “Blog 2-Year Celebration Cookbook Happy Hour,” photo you see above, but they were usually present.)

Hello to a collection of cloches filled with pretty little treasures I gathered up from around the house.

I’m pleased with the way it looks, but I have to admit that I now live with a fear of someone knocking into it, resulting in it all of it crashing down like a deck of cards. Hopefully, that day will not come, but just in case, let’s take a look at it on its first day. We’ll begin with the large centerpiece of the group.

This very large cloche sits on an old upturned milk can lid. It is filled with pieces of vintage French ephemera, some of it is rolled up and tied with twine and other pieces are left open.

The papers sit atop small leather-bound journals. A brass cow tag with a skeleton key completes this vignette.

The next largest cloche is the most recent find. It is actually a necklace stand from Pottery Barn.  Please do your best to focus on what’s inside the cloche and not what is behind it. It appears that the Christmas tree was fully undecorated, but still standing, and an evil ladder is leaning there, taunting me.

Speaking of ladders, I should report that I feel fully healed. I am in San Francisco visiting Marissa this weekend and I have a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday. I expect the x-rays and doctor will confirm my belief that I am recovered. I don’t really believe this particular ladder is evil, only extension ladders – those are straight from the devil, himself!

This lovely cloche holds a collection of rosaries, and olive-wood cross from the Holy Land, and various religious charms.

A dessert cloche holds a few of my French Limoges boxes.

I especially love the boxes that have a little something removable inside. The pea pod has little individual peas and the cookbook has a sweet little recipe card. They are two of my favorites.

[Read more →]

This is the final recipe from our dinner party with Karen and Bob. As with the other recipes, I found this in a food magazine, this time from the February issue of Food & Wine.

The changes I made; two large onions seemed like too much, so I decreased it to one. The recipe was called Ratatouille Toasts with Fried Eggs, it is now Ratatouille Toasts with Poached Eggs. Poached eggs are easier and able to be done ahead, a huge bonus when entertaining.

To do so; poach your eggs as normal, but under-cook them slightly. About 30 seconds off of your normal cooking time should do the trick. Just make sure the whites are nearly set. Lift the eggs directly out of the simmering water and into an ice bath to stop the cooking.  Then place them into the refrigerator until you need them.

When you’re ready to serve, bring a pot of water to a gentle simmer and give your eggs a final 45 seconds of poaching. Because the whites are already set, you can heat several eggs at once without worrying that they will stick together. This takes much less time than poaching all the eggs at the last minute.

I usually poach the eggs the night before or the morning of a dinner or brunch. In the recipe below, I have instructions as if you are going to serve the eggs immediately, just in case that is how you would prefer to do it. Use the instructions above for making ahead.

[Read more →]

The idea for this pizza came from the Corkscrew Cafe in Carmel Valley, California.

I’ve never been there. I have never had their pizza, but as you well know, I have Meyer lemons… so it is this pizza that I made!

I read the description on the menu, and the plethora of raves about it on Yelp, and I came up with my own Meyer Lemon Pizza.

Are you worried that you may not like this pizza because of the full lemon slices on there? Peel and all! Please don’t be. Meyer lemon peel is thinner and sweeter and it is delicious!

In addition, just yesterday, my friend, Amy (Amy’s Famous Taco Soup) sent me an email with all kinds of amazing information about lemon peels.

Did you know that lemon peels contain as much as 10 times more vitamins than the lemon juice itself? Lemon peels eradicate toxic elements in the body. The peel is an antimicrobial agent that fights against bacterial infections and fungi, effective against internal parasites and worms, it regulates blood pressure, and is an antidepressant, that combats stress and nervous disorders. And according to the email Amy sent me, lemon kills cancer cells and is 10,000 times stronger than chemotherapy.

Now, I haven’t done an ounce of research to back up any of the information in that email, it could be “internet truth.” But if even 1/10th of that is true… well get out there and eat your lemons, peels and all… and start with this pizza! If you still are not convinced, you can always look to have pizza delivered to you through a simple online order.

[Read more →]

The last two days were dedicated to the dessert I served at dinner with our friends on Friday night. Today, we’ll start at the beginning. The very beginning… in my tub where the menu inspiration hit me early one morning – in the wee hours when I should have been sleeping!

No, I did not have the foresight to actually take a tub photo at that moment, this was taken the next day, in fact, the flowers were a hostess gift from Karen and Bob. But this pretty spot is where quite of bit of my inspirational thoughts develop.  So quiet and relaxing. Nothing like a calming soak in the hot tub to clear the mind.  OK, enough of that… on to the tablescape.

I wanted the evening to be easy, casual, and relaxed. Nothing too fancy, so I laid out a 1938 French grain sack as the table runner. Soft and pretty white and blue hydrangea blooms in square glass containers were the no-fuss centerpiece.

[Read more →]

Image

Earlier this week I told you that we were having, Karen, my long-time friend, who was a bridesmaid in our wedding, and her husband, Bob, over for dinner on Friday night.

As of Thursday night, I had not a clue what I’d make for dinner the next evening. I wasn’t too worried, I knew I’d figure out something, so I went to bed.

In the wee hours, the house phone rang.

That really is the worst thing, isn’t it? Nothing good can come of that, no good phone calls occur at 3:53 AM!

I rolled over, grabbed the phone, and looked, through very blurry eyes, at the caller ID.  “Starnetpaetec” is what it read. I immediately pressed “Talk” and then “End” and said a choice curse word or two.

Starnetpaetec, whoever you are, what the heck? It’s 3:53 AM, what could you possibly think you could sell me at that hour?!?

Thank you for ending my much-needed sleep for the night.  Yep, that was it. For the next hour, try as I might, I was not able to fall asleep, too many aches and pains in my leg prevented it. Finally, I relented and decided to get in the Jacuzzi tub to relieve the pain.

And that is where and when I came up with my menu and shopping list for the dinner party that was, by now, only 12 hours away.

I love to read books or peruse magazines in the tub. I had a stack there already and pieced together the menu from the February issues of Food & Wine, Cooking Light, and Southern Living. Today’s recipe comes from Southern Living.

On the cover this month, there is a gorgeous Lemon Bar Cheesecake.

Lemon! Yay! Inside, there are several recipes using lemon curd to make different desserts. Lemon Curd! Triple YAY!

The thing is, there was a new way of making the lemon curd that intrigued me. Using the microwave. I was curious as to just how that would turn out as compared with the usual stove-top method.  Turns out, pretty darn well.

Personally, I will probably use the standard method from here on out, because I found having to go to the microwave every minute, and then every 30 seconds, to stir it, more annoying than just standing there and stirring constantly, as you usually do. That could be attributed to the fact that I’m a bit ADD and find it difficult to keep track of all those time intervals.

Need proof of that? I had to put a Post-it note on the microwave to keep track of the times I stirred it.

Seriously! If I didn’t do this, God only knows how many times I would have cooked and stirred this for 1 minute, could have been 4 or 10 – most certainly not the correct amount!

But, if you’ve been afraid to try making lemon curd before, stop being afraid and make this recipe. It works perfectly and you’ll finally have homemade lemon curd you can be proud of!

The rest of the recipes from the dinner will be posted throughout the week to come, including the dessert I used this curd for.

[Read more →]

Peggy, Shelia, and I went to Sweet Salvage yesterday morning and something super exciting happened to me!

I had the privilege of meeting one of my styling/lifestyle/blogging heroes who is an editor and photographer!
I know!
It was awesome!

I’d read the night before, on Facebook, that she would be there – so I went to her blog and left a comment that I was one of her stalkers fans and was excited at the possibility of meeting her.

And then it actually happened!

Peggy and I got there about 45 minutes before the doors opened. We were holding a space in line for Sheila, who was coming separately. Peggy went to the car to deposit our coats and scarves, as it was warming up while we waited.

There is a sidewalk that runs alongside the store and is adjacent to the parking lot.  As I was standing there on that sidewalk, I see this woman get in the car that is right in front of me. I think, “What kind of crazy person would leave and give up that great parking spot now, only minutes before the doors open?”  I look closer and lo and behold, it is her!

[Read more →]