Wine Tasting Party

I had a wine tasting party last weekend to celebrate my birthday.  My good friend Beatrice helped me put it together - and we had a blast!

We opted for a blind wine tasting - everyone contributed a bottle, then we wrapped each bottle up with a number on it.  Everyone got a scorecard, made of cardboard, paper, and binder clips, to record their thoughts and ratings.  At the end of the night, the person who brought the highest rated bottle won a bottle of Prosecco. 

The food spread was full of seafood orzo, caprese salad, roasted vegetables, leek and swiss chard quiche, and cheese from my favorite local shop. 

Caramel cake with mascarpone frosting

I love having a co-hostess friend :)

Negroni, Merrimint Style

One of my New Year's Resolutions this year was to learn to make a few key cocktails that I can whip up when people come over.  My goal was to learn a few solid before dinner drinks, or aperitivo in Italian.  These drinks tend to be on the bitter side and not very alcoholic to rev the appetite and prepare your taste for the flavors of dinner.

I decided to make a twist on the classic Negroni to serve for my first aperitivo gatherings in my new apartment.  Here's how...

What you need: Gin, Campari, Sweet Vermouth, orange peel, and sparkling wine (optional)

Pour equal parts of gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth into a short old fashioned glass.  I used 1 ounce of each, which yielded the perfect sized cocktail for before dinner.  Stir to combine.

Peel a strip of orange rind, twist over the drink to release aromatic oils.  I like to rub the peel around the rim of the glass as well to make the orange flavor really stand out (don't forget to wash your orange well before peeling it though!).  Add ice, and stir until well combined.

If you like, you can top off the drink with a few ounces of prosecco or sparkling wine- I love how this adds nuanced flavors and a bit of sparkle to the drink!  You can also use Aperol instead of Campari to take the bitterness down a notch, and make it a touch more sweet.

This drink would be the perfect way to start a Valentine's Day dinner with your significant other, family, friends, or even by yourself :) Just add a few heart shaped ice cubes to bring the loveliness of this drink over-the-top!

Cheese Tasting

Cheese is one of the greatest foods ever.  Its perfect for anything, but I especially love it as an appetizer.  Surdyk's, my local cheese & wine shop in Minneapolis, helped me pick out great tasting cheeses for beginner, intermediate, and advanced cheese lovers. 

Beginner: The cheesemonger at Surdyk's recommended something soft, like a buttery goat cheese or a French triple cream brie.  

Intermediate: A Spanish Manchego was up for the intermediate food taster - made from raw sheep's milk, it had a distinct salty flavor that would pair well with every kind of fruit spread imaginable as well as a garnish on main dishes. 

Advanced: Surkyk's recommended something with a complex flavor, like this Swiss Gruyere.  The cheesemonger liked serving something with a mushroom-y flavor to the advanced cheese taster.  It was smooth, strong, and memorable. 

Would you host a wine and cheese tasting party?  What type of cheese do you typically go for?  

Grown Up Pinatas

I've been dreaming of my first dinner party here in Chicago.  This be the perfect way to upgrade any party or event into an all out soiree.  These grown-up pinatas are filled with handmade confetti, and are made to order in New York.  The shapes are gorgeous and colors endless (they can make any color your request!).  Seriously, how fun is that? I love the silver diamond pinata above, but check out some others!

Pink Meteorite Pinata

Cantaloupe Quartz Pinata

Gold Crystal Pinata

Silver Quartz Pinata

Check out the beautiful pinatas by Confettisystem here.  I am continuously drawn to the shiny silver pinatas.  Which do you like the best?

A Bridal Shower

We are so excited to share a peek at one of the most perfect bridal showers we were so lucky to attend this week.  S's best friend is getting married in October (!) and we couldn't have been more thrilled to celebrate at her shower.  We had so much fun helping with decorations, watching the bride-to-be open her mountain of presents, and eating those amazing desserts!

Congratulations, Steph!  We cannot wait until your perfect wedding! 

Do You Fondue?

Summer is one of the best times for spontaneous parties, visits that turn into lingering dinners, and easy no-fuss gatherings.  Last night I enjoyed the company of a few great friends for a fondue party! It was fun and easy to put together, and kept us at the table drinking, dipping, and chatting for hours.

Here are some tips for a great fondue party:

• Try prepping the ingredients together! We did everything as a team, and as a result all felt like we helped in the delicious success of the night.
• It's important to have a great fondue, but...
• It's really all about the dippables! Classics are great- broccoli, bread (we used sourdough), tart apples.
• Don't be afraid to take some risks with the dippers you choose.  We roasted some corn and cauliflower for dipping, and loved them both! You can't go wrong with melted cheese.
• Wine. Have it.
• Music to set the mood is a great asset.  We chose the Carla Bruni pandora station, and found it to be just right.

Here's a recipe for the fondue we made.  Fondue is a personal preference sort of meal, so change it up as you like.

Classic Fondue

Ingredients

1 clove of garlic

1.5 cups dry, tart white wine (we chose a souvignon blanc)

Juice of half of 1 lemon

8 oz. gruyere 

6 oz. emmentaler 

2 tbsp cornstarch

Dash of mustard powder

Dash of nutmeg

Special equipment: crock pot or fondue pot

Rub the inside of bowl of the fondue pot or crock pot with crushed garlic.  Pour in white wine and lemon juice.  Let heat for 10 minutes.

Shred the cheeses into a large bowl.  Add the cornstarch and toss to combine thoroughly.

Add the shredded cheese mixture to the pot with the wine and lemon juice.  Stir to combine.  Allow cheese to melt, about 20 minutes.  Once cheese is to the desired consistency, add mustard powder and nutmeg.  Dip and enjoy!

Christmas Playlist

Hip Hip Gin Gin posted a a merry little Christmas playlist, and we look the liberty of creating it for you on Grooveshark!  Follow this link to play: A Merry Little Playlist

(and a pretty Christmas desktop background)

happy birthday, independent america.

The 4th of July flag cake was a hit! 

It worked!

 There's a flag inside!

 I feel proud.  It looks way more challenging than it is, though. All you do is make 4 8-inch cakes (1 blue, 1 white, and 2 red), flavor of your choice but make sure it's white to begin with.  Since you'll be spending time on the layering later, I recommend using a cake mix.  Cut a 4-inch circle out of the blue and set aside - you use the outer ring as the top left square of the flag.  The other 3 layers get sliced in half horizontally and layered - red, white, red.  Then cut out 4-inch circles out of one of the red remaining layers and one of the white.  Those get layered inside the blue ring.  Each layer should be sealed with a thin layer of frosting (mine was the joy of baking's cream cheese frosting).

I messed my cake up because I started with 2 white cakes and 1 red cake instead of the reverse, but no one noticed.  It's one of those pow moments where the pow is all that matters.  Flavor also doesn't matter that much, as long as it's white and moist and yummy (I recommend using an egg white-only batter/cake mix so that the yolks don't taint the white stripes darker).  Because I used a classic crowd-pleaser white cake mix, it was a hit with kids and my sweet tooth-graced grandmother.  It was like a birthday cake for America.

When you are done making your cake, you will have lots of cake pieces left over from being cut in half/cut out of.  Put your leftover cake to use by making cake balls and/or cake pops! 

Happy birthday, Independent America.  Love, S&L.

The Cake

Last week, we had a birthday party for our mom.

(Hi, Mom!)

It was great fun!  We took her out to the spa and shopping for the afternoon, then brought her home to a houseful of people for a surprise party!

(Sorry, Mom.)

Anyway, here's the cake we made for the party!  Well, amendment - it was actually 2 cakes.  1 for looks, 1 for servin.  But they ended up both being for looks, and both were served!  We deem it a success.

Cake: 3-layer classic yellow cake by Martha
Icing: White Chocolate Lemon Curd frosting (with raspberries for the filling)
Topping: Homemade candied meyer lemons