Paddy is one...menu planning

I am as bad at menu planning as I am at picking out paint.

The menu wasn't finalized until probably 3 days before the party, even though I made a valiant effort to have it done much earlier.

The gathering was from 2-4, so we didn't need to serve a full meal, but being that a lot of cadets were coming, I wanted to have enough substantial food that they would leave feeling full.  So, at the last minute we decided to add some meat to the menu.

Here was the final menu...

Food:
1.  Artichoke Breads 
2.  Grandma's French Onion dip and chips

3.  Ina's Hummus with tomatoes, feta and black olives sprinkled on top with pita chips
4.  Cheese, Crackers, Apples and Grapes
5.  Caprese with fresh basil

6.  Sausage Cheese Balls (I always just google these before I make them, so I never have a consistently good recipe - does anyone have one that they always use/like??)
7.  Chinese Chicken Skewers with dipping sauces (ginger, sesame and mustard vinaigrette)

Sweets:
1.  Red Velvet Cake Pops  
Once these were made, I covered them with glassine bags and tied them with orange polka dot gingham ribbon)

2.  Brenda's famous carrot cake cupcakes (I made small and regular sized cupcakes for guests at the party and I made Paddy a ginormous cupcake with a silicone mold that I found on eBay.  His cake turned out completely lopsided and weighed about 20 lbs.  Too funny.)

cupcakes...

from a distance it doesn't look quite as bad as it really is...

here is the leaning tower of carrot cake...at least Paddy enjoyed it...

3.  Chocolate covered marshmallows (it took me a while, but I finally found the really giant ones at WalMart.  I used baking chocolate in the disposable plastic containers to make it easy on clean up and then sprinkled with orange/blue sprinkles.  Once they were set, I stuck lollipop sticks in the bottom of them.  I had a large hurricane that I filled with sugar that we stuck the marshmallows in for display.)

4.  Chocolate covered graham crackers (just because I had lots of melting chocolate left)

 
5.  Texas Sheet Cake (recipe from my mom)


Drink:
Orange Sherbert Punch (equal parts orange soda and ginger ale and then add orange sherbert ice cream)

If I had to do it over again...

1.  I would not make hummus...I feel like this is a food that people either like or hate....not too much of it was eaten.
2.  I am SO glad that we decided to make the chicken...almost every skewer was eaten!  We made ~5 lbs of it.
3.  I would try to make the foods as accessible on the table as possible...those that were less accessible were less eaten.

I just got home from the gym to find....

This...

This...

and This...

I literally started jumping up and down with joy.  Let's just say that my husband scored MAJOR points for coming through on the flourless chocolate cake.  It was beyond cute to see the care he was taking to make it.  I don't need anything else for my birthday...this is the best.  (Now I really wish I would have run the 4.5 miles I had hoped to instead of the 2.5 I actually did...and that was mostly walking, for the record).

Brenda, baker extraordinaire!

It was always such a treat to go over to eat at Randy and Brenda's house.  They are both such excellent hosts.  A delicious meal with nothing but the freshest ingredients, a divine cocktail, a sweet treat, and the best company was guaranteed.  It was always fun to watch Randy and Brenda do their thing in the kitchen...they are both excellent cooks and are absolutely in their element while they whip up delightful concoctions.

the lovely and talented couple (you may remember, Randy has made many of our furniture pieces)

 

Sidenote:  This picture got me thinking of the infamous NYE Randy & Brenda hosted.  What a riot.  When Hallie and I reviewed the pictures the next morning, we discovered we had 1024 pictures to capture the later part of the evening.  This was my Nikon D40's first big night out, and we all used it, and figured that the best strategy was to take rapid fire pictures the whole night.  I have just been laughing out loud reviewing the antics of the evening.  This is definitely one of those 'you had to be there' types of nights, but ladies...ahhhh, that was so memorable.  As I think about it more, maybe the secret to Randy and Brenda's entertaining really is the pole in their kitchen...

I digress.  So, back to Brenda the baker...

I have been thinking about Brenda's baked goodies lately - I made her 'to die for' carrot cake for McGov's birthday cake just this past weekend...and Sommer made them for Brady's bash.  You can never go wrong with this coveted recipe.  I am going to try to twist Brenda's arm to be a guest blogger and share some new cooking/baking adventures with us!

I had the privilege of having my 30th birthday cake baked by Brenda....her heavenly chocolate raspberry treat.  My mouth is watering as I write this.  And how cute is it with the fresh berries and those adorable candles?

Brenda also makes Pavlova, a dessert she grew up with in New Zealand.  She has a way of making everything that she touches gorgeous.

This year I am asking for a flourless chocolate cake with ganache (okay, maybe I have been asking for this for a couple of years).  Decadent?  Um, yes.  Illegal?  Maybe.  Against my Lenten resolutions?  Definitely. (but, don't I get an exception for my birthday?)

I specifically have asked Sean to make it....I think it would be cute to see him baking.  Plus, he is such a good cook, I have confidence that he could knock this one out of the park.  I told him I thought it would be a sweet tradition if he and Paddy could bake me a cake each year.  I will keep you posted on this one...Brenda, maybe you could give him some pointers?

Sweet Savannah

It is amazing how many times Sean and I say, "we miss Columbus" or "we miss Georgia" or "we miss the south".  Right now, I am thinking about Savannah.  Sean and I took a 4 day trip there in April of 2006, and I loved it so much, I still feel like it was just yesterday.  I can't wait to get back there!

 

 

I adore the layout of the city and the stunning architecture...I can't believe I don't have a gazillion pictures of the houses and parks.  Hmmm...guess I will need to go back :)  (*this was also pre-digital SLR, and I sucked at taking pics with my point and shoot)

We splurged and stayed at the Mansion on Forsyth for a couple of the nights.  It was worth it.  It is an 1888 Victorian mansion turned funeral home that was rehabbed into a modern boutique hotel.  Hotels can be so incredibly inspiring, don't you think?

 

  

  

  

  

  

 

We also spent two days in the cooking school affiliated with the Mansion on Forsyth, 700 Kitchen.  We had planned to go for one day, but we had such a great time during our first session with Chef Darin, we decided mid-class that we MUST go back for another day!  We still constantly make the recipes that we learned from our Searing/ Sautéing and Low Country classes...black eyed pea salad, creamy grits, and pork tenderloin medallions with dijon mustard sauce are just a few of our favorites.  I would HIGHLY recommend going.

There are amazing shops.  I tried to sneak some pics...these are from The Paris Market...

This is when I became obsessed with apothecary jars...

We also went to one of my favorite spas that I have been to...the Savannah Day Spa.  I am SUPER picky when it comes to spas...SUPER picky.  I loved the ambiance here, (in a beautifully restored historic home) and I dream about going back.

And the food, of course, the wonderful food.  A friend of ours, Donna, is like our personal concierge anytime we go to a new city, domestic or abroad, we could count on her for amazing dining suggestions.  Elizabeth on 37th is one of the best restaurants that we have ever been to.  The food is delectable, service - incredible, AND it is in a beautiful old house which I am a total sucker for.  I wish I had a better pic.  I will never forget the huge rosemary bushes out front.  That began my obsession with and purchasing of rosemary bushes.  What a heavenly scent when you brush against them.  mmmmm.....

I feel like we fit so much into four days...I have such fond memories of everything we saw, experienced, ate and did here.  Oh Savannah, I can't wait to bond with you again (and get better pics!).

Happy Valentine's Day...

I got to spend Valentine's Day weekend with my oldest friends.  We were so honored to have Meagan, Joy and Blair come visit.  Saturday, we went downtown, walked through the Faneuil Hall area, and then onto the North End.  We saw a woman literally rolling one precious pasta noodle at a time...we all agreed...it looked very therapeutic and even more delicious!  We ate dinner at Euno and all the food was incredibly rich and flavorful.  I especially loved the complimentary champagne that they brought us while we were waiting for our table!  Then, of course, onto Mike's Pastry for some dessert.  By the way, canoli's make a good breakfast.

On Valentine's Day, we had a girls' afternoon out.  We went to Tea at the Taj, shopping on Newbury, cocktails at the Cheer's bar, and then back to the house for a night of southern food.  Sean made some killer fried chicken for us....yum.

I can't tell you how many times throughout the weekend I counted my blessings that I have these amazing women in my life.  To be living so far apart for so long now, and to be able to come together and have so many laughs, to reminisce, to speak of the past, the present and the future, and to feel like we never skipped a beat - it really speaks to the meaning of true friendship.  Girls - thanks so much for coming to see us...can't wait until next time.  Love you all!

The stunning flowers at the TAJ...

Breathtaking (thanks for snapping this one, MC!)

Tea sandwiches...scrumptious.  I need to make these little cucumber sandwiches.  Okay, and the prosciutto ones as well!

Here comes the sweets! 

Love the detail on the bottom of the strawberries...

Won't you be mine?

macaroons are the prettiest.

Back at the casa, we had champagne cocktails...

I made Brenda's delicious chocolate raspberry cake with ganache frosting.  decadent.

Happy Valentine's Day...

I am on a personalized straw kick, can you tell?  Fun straws make champagne taste better...

Bakerella's cake pops...this time I made them with strawberry cake.  I filled the vase with sugar to help them stand up.

Sugar in the Raw

I love sugar in the raw.  I love to have my coffee with cream and sugar in the raw.  I bought this jar at Ikea last night, and I think the sugar looks pretty in it.

Down Home Cookin'

Ahhhh, entertaining. Sean and I have really been missing entertaining. There is just something about our current house that makes it seem difficult. Part of it is probably missing our favorite piece of furniture that housed all our serving pieces which is collecting dust in storage. Part of it is that we have our landlady and the three legged cat downstairs. I will refrain from commenting further on that. Part of it is being up on a second floor. Part of it is our horrible kitchen. Bottom line, it is just NOT our house. There are lots of random reasons...or, maybe they are excuses. We also needed to add a newborn to the complication column.

We first invited the Sean's classmates from the Irish Studies program over. We had a very fun night, albeit, it was a lot easier and more fun to get ready for it considering I am 'retired' for the time being and Sean had completed everything due for the semester. We had a lovely evening, despite feeling quite old when one of the girls said "this is the classiest party I have been to without my parents!". It was cute.

Okay...onto entertaining round 2.
Time for some good ol' Southern cookin'.

We had been craving Southern cooking since visiting a highly recommended upscale Southern restaurant in Cambridge - Hungry Mother. We had six friends over for a southern feast. The night was guaranteed to be fun just because of the wonderful company of the Haubens.

We had thought about doing some fried chicken, but decided that might be hard b/c of so much time in the kitchen close to show time. We went ahead and tested fried chicken out ahead of time, and Sean knocked it out of the park, in my opinion....



Southern night made us miss Columbus and all our dear friends so much. We wish we could have ordered all of our favorites from Minnies, Girlfriends, Country's, etc. but we had to make due with our best attempt.

Prep pics...I have been bad about getting pics of the final products...need to work on that.



The menu was as follows:

Appetizers:
--Homemade cheese straws
--Pimento cheese dip

Dinner:
--BBQ Pulled Pork with mustard based BBQ sauce
--Collards
--Cheese Grits
--Tomato Pie
--Squash Casserole

Dessert:
--Phila's Pecan Pie
--Phila's Chocolate Chess Pie
--Fresh Whipped Cream

If I was all over it, I would have links to all the recipes that we used. Considering I started this post weeks ago, I am clearly not...

Apples - what to make?

So, now that we are back home, I am staring at this gynormous bowl of apples that we have, trying to figure out how to use them all before they go bad.

I am thinking that I should try to make a few things that I could freeze and enjoy post baby, and have some stuff for now too...

On the list so far...
1. Apple pie - I have never made one - does anyone have a great recipe to share?
2. Maybe a caramel/apple bread?
3. Apple pancakes?

I figured I would see if anyone has suggestions/recipes...I am all ears!