Laura's 70th Birthday Party

Happy Birthday to Laura! This mother-in-law, mother, grandma, and friend needed a party to help her celebrate a milestone birthday. When we first mentioned to Laura that we wanted to host a party for her she was pretty hesitant. I'm so glad that she let us (where there any stopping us?!) and then that she embraced the idea of gathering her loved ones to celebrate her day.

I'll include the pictures that I took of the guests and friends, the decor, and of course the food! I totally embraced the FOOD! It was a fun challenge :) We've never hosted so many people in our home, and I wasn't sure how that would work out, but it did! It was a beautiful day, inside and out!

The recipe links will be at the very bottom of this blog entry.

If there was a theme, it was "Fall". I looooooooove fall!

My Mom's hand at floral design. She transformed simple Cub bouquets into these masterpieces. This one has fresh cranberries in the vase. Lovely!

Goat Cheese and Parsley cheese ball, Cheddar and Cranberry cheese ball, and Blue Cheese Walnut cheese ball. I was so happy with how these turned out.

Three Olive Tapenade. The colors were much more fabulous in person. Flecks of green, black, purple, and red. Beauty!

Yogurt Dill vegetable dip

Sweet potato and Beet chips. I think my Mom told some guests that I MADE these. I needed to publicly announce that I did NOT! Haha. Martha suggested these for one of the cheese balls.

We asked Laura to bring pictures. These picture boards were so cool to see!

We had treat bags for the guests to take home. James was so cute- he was in charge of passing them out and he did a great job! He sweetly told people, "Thank you for coming!" He took his job very seriously :)

Each bag had one Hot Chocolate on a Stick and a few Sea Salt Caramels. We taste tasted each and we approved! James has been loving "warm chocolate milk" at night.

The Hot Chocolate on a Sticks are a marshmallow and a fudge-like cube that can be eaten as is, but can also be melted into a cup of hot milk for a sweet treat.

The chocolate fountain was a HUGE hit! And so impressive to see when you first walked in our front door. Thanks to my sister Ana for owning this great fountain and for letting me borrow it. I hope it wasn't too much trouble (wink wink!)!

We served some more homemade marshmallows, Coconut Cream Cheese Pound Cake, and sliced strawberries with the chocolate. My little man James had a BALL, helping himself to it all throughout the day.

Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes and Carrot Cake cupcakes. Yum!

My wonderful husband made the BEST Ginger Tea Lemonade. We had several requests for the recipe, so of course it will be below.

James also helped himself to crackers, cherry tomatoes, and broccoli. I'm glad he ate some vegetables and not just chocolate :)

James probably ate 2 cups of strawberries!

James insisted on taking a picture of Grandma Laura. This is the picture he took.

Cupcake break!

Friends and family pictures-

I'm really glad we have our big dining table- it was well used! Lots of chatting and eating. I really loved the way the apple candles worked out. I hollowed out the top of an apple, inserted a tea light, and placed them in cocktail glasses. So cool!

Great Aunt Betty and Joe. I'm sorry the sunlight was so bright behind them, but Aunt Betty looks angelic :)

My Mom had the great idea of taking pictures from above, on our catwalk. These next few pictures are from when everyone was seated and the violinist played several songs. You can barely see him on the bottom.

Laura made a speech.

Again, I'm sorry that the violinist is glowing :)

I found this grouping taking pictures on the deck. I quickly snapped my own picture. They are an attractive bunch!

After all the guests left, James was still dipping in the chocolate!

Thank you to everyone for such a great party! Special thanks to my M-O-M, the real reason I had an "immaculate house", creative decor, and a well-behaved little boy!

Click here for the stolen recipe for the Ginger Tea Lemonade.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Artichoke Dip. (This one is my own link.)

Click here for the stolen recipe for Greek Yogurt Dill vegetable dip.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Martha's Cheese Balls.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Olive Tapenade.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Carrot Cake.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Ultimate Chocolate cupcakes.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Coconut Cream Cheese Pound Cake. (I followed this recipe but used Lindt white chocolate with coconut flakes. Yum.)

Click here for the stolen recipe for Marshmallows. (A funny: My Mom to me, "Did you know you can get these in a bag at the grocery store?" Haha.)

Click here for the stolen recipe for Hot Chocolate on a Stick.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Sea Salt Caramels with Vanilla Bean.

Zucchini, Corn, and Basil Penne with Bacon

The food blogger that I stole this from described this as "Summer in a Bowl". I think it's a pretty accurate description!

Fresh corn on the cob? Zucchini? Homemade basil pesto? Topped with my husband's beloved bacon? Yes please!

This had to be a pretty healthy meal, except for the bacon. Even that is limited to one strip per plate. I used the "healthy" penne with extra protein- it's the stuff that I usually buy especially for my son, who could go without meat (protein) most days.

This was a pretty light pasta dish. I almost thought it lacked flavor but I think I'm used to Pioneer Woman's heavy, creamy, and buttery pasta sauces. Jim told me, No, this is good!

Click here for the PRINTABLE RECIPE.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Zucchini, Corn and Basil Penne with Bacon (Summer in a Bowl).

Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce

with Roasted Brussel Sprouts and white rice.

I love love Coconut anything. This was a pretty simple recipe, making a crumb mixture and dipping the chicken in first some beaten eggs and then the crumbs. Bake for 40 minutes and you're done! The apricot sauce I needed to revise a bit- the amount of Dijon mustard was overpowering so I did add a bunch more apricot preserves than the recipe states.

Brussel sprouts have been looking fantastic at the grocery store so I picked up a pound of those without a plan. I quickly looked up how to roast them (I've done it before, but couldn't quite remember) and luckily it was at the same oven temperature as the chicken. I love when things work out like that :)

We would make this Coconut Chicken again. We actually will do that soon since I still have plenty of apricot preserves left! I also told my husband that this is a good recipe for him to make on a day when he's available to start cooking. (Usually our weekday meals, when I'm working, are 30 minute meals. This takes a bit longer than that with the prep and cooking time.)

Click here for the stolen recipe for Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce. (printable recipe at this link)

Slow Cooker Beef Dip Sandwiches with caramelized onions

We usually cheat with French Dip sandwiches 'round here. I buy Angus roast beef from the deli and au jus in a jar. I saw this recipe and thought this was my chance to make it "homemade".

The beef smelled heavenly all day. It slow cooked for 8 hours in beef broth, Lipton onion mix, and an au jus packet mix. The resulting au jus was a bit much, I think next time I would do without the au jus packet. I think Lipton mix is much too processed anyway, but I have yet to find a good substitute. (Note to self: keep looking!)

The beef fell apart and made for good leftovers. I sliced the beef in pretty thick pieces and assembled the sandwiches with some caramelized onions and provolone cheese. A quick few minutes in the broiler heated it all up and toasted the bread slightly. YUM.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Slow Cooker Beef Dip Sandwiches. (printable recipe at this link)

Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcakes for Dad

When James and I have a secret we used hushed voices and whisper loudly to each other, within Jim's earshot, "Shhhhh!!! Don't tell him the secret!" So it would be pretty hard for Jim not to know that something is in the works.

We made James' Daddy some special birthday cupcakes. Of course James thought they should be Star Wars cupcakes and they should be chocolate.

I did most of the measuring and running around. James got to stand on his stool and smile prettily :)

Jim took this picture, so obviously he's on to us.

James rolled his head around like the mixer. Faster faster!

A good chef always tastes as he goes.

Yum. Cake batter. (But not too much.)

The cupcakes need to cool. Time to play for a bit.

Later, frosting.

Decorating. "This one is for Daddy."

I have these SW stencils. They didn't work so well on this sticky frosting. The stencil stuck to the frosting and didn't lift off well. I should have known. I'll use the stencils next time on a firmer frosting, like buttercream.

James prefers his cupcakes plain so we didn't decorate all of them.

Jim was a good sport and walked into the kitchen covering his eyes.

"Surprise!"

James is so proud of himself. Good work!

And mellow, fluffy and moist chocolate cupcakes with simple white frosting.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcakes.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Fluffy Vanilla Frosting.

Danger Ahead!

My child is going to grow up thinking that his Mom can whip up cookies in just 15 minutes. I guess it's going to be true! This is a great recipe and I love that I can make just enough for the three of us to be satisfied, and not a whole tempting batch that sits on the counter or in the freezer for midnight (okay, 8:00, we're old here) munchies.

These One Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies for Two (errrrr, Three) were simple and delicious! I never know what to use for shortening but in this recipe I did use some Smart Balance spread and it worked well. Yay!

The recipe made 4 medium-large cookies. Here is my one cookie-

James tackled one cookie, happily. And we left these two for Dad. Actually James didn't count fast enough to see that there were two left. I didn't think James needed two cookies so I told Jim to get his share out of the kitchen fast :)

I'm going to try and start posting printable recipes for y'all. This is a great recipe to start doing this with and you'll enjoy it if you make it!

Click here for the stolen recipe for One Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies for Two.

OR

Click here for my Printable Recipe.

HaHa! I just labeled these healthy because I figure it's better than making a whole batch of 2-3 dozen!

And you should always just have chocolate chips laying around your house...

Soy Lime Pork Tenderloin

Easy easy meal. I followed this recipe and let our pork tenderloin marinate overnight. The marinade was just a matter of dumping a bunch of ingredients in a ziploc with the tenderloin. Done!

The rest of the meal was kid friendly. Our little boy has been under the weather and barely eating enough to keep a bird alive so I was pretty confident he'd eat his beloved macaroni shells and "little trees".

Anyway, back to the pork... It was extremely tender and delicious. I don't know if a lot of the flavors made it through the grilling but the blackened crust held on to a lot of the flavors and every so often a bite would be packed with lime or salty flavor. We agreed that we would make this again, with no changes.

Jim reported that the grilling was a breeze. 24 minutes total, turning the tenderloin a quarter turn every 6 minutes.

I did think about boiling the marinade left in the ziploc for a sauce. It's worth a try!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Soy Lime Pork Tenderloin.

Staples

I've realized that I need quite a few things to always be in my pantry and/or fridge. Here they are:

unsalted butter

buttermilk (pancake balls & coleslaw)

sliced almonds (coleslaw)

craisins (coleslaw)

mini chocolate chips (baking & pancake balls)

honey

soy sauce

fresh ginger (various Asian inspired meals & ginger tea lemonade)

lemons & limes

heavy cream (PW recipes, ice cream, to make salted caramel... :)

Classic Fajitas & Corn with Spicy Chili Butter

I picked out this next recipe. It really just appealed and it seemed like a good recipe to have under our belts if we ever have a dinner party. The meat and vegetables needed almost no prep which is awesome.

I wish I would have made my own guacamole (the avocados at the store were not ripe) or salsa but maybe next time. I even joked that I should've made my own tortillas!

Jim is becoming a master chef. And isn't he cute in this shirt? (Note: he bought the shirt to amuse James. He said he wouldn't really wear this shirt out in public, too cutesy. I hope he doesn't mind my 5 blog readers seeing it :)

I should have taken some pictures of the grilling in action. The flank steak grilled quickly and easily, the vegetables blackened just a bit, and now the steak is being sliced. Yum.

No editing. Just fabulous natural colors!

I didn't do much for this meal. We ended up boiling the corn and not grilling it because Jim was already doing a bit on the grill, I didn't want him overwhelmed. I made the spicy chili butter on the stovetop. I LOVED it. The spice and lime juice were wonderful!

Delicious! And plenty for leftovers :)

Both of these recipes were from Jim's new cookbook- The Cook's Illustrated Guide to Grilling and Barbecue. I'm always glad to find the recipes online for you.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Classic Fajitas.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Corn with Spicy Chili Butter.

Classic Patty Melts on Rye

I've really enjoyed Jim's grilling lately!

He's been inspired by his newest cookbook but for this recipe he turned to another book that he has- Weber's Way to Grill. This was a pretty easy recipe, for both Jim and ME. I only had to make the coleslaw :)

These were probably a pretty basic burger but the rye bread, caramelized onions, and Swiss cheese really, really added to it. Wow. I didn't even know I liked rye bread! Good job Jim, for picking out a great recipe :)

The money shot-

This recipe is from one of our cookbooks but I found the recipe online.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Classic Patty Melts on Rye.