Parties

Celia,

One of my favorite things about living in a house with the BF is being able to hold parties. I've always preferred having parties to going to parties, but my desire to be a hostess has only intensified the more my love of food has grown. I love to feed people and I love to entertain, and I take hospitality very seriously. I also occasionally read blogs where people have put together gorgeous parties with matching themed decorations they have designed themselves - like this lady -and they make me spazz out. Mostly in jealousy. Those people, are you hiring? Do you need a...helper? Enthusiastic baker? I'm not even looking for a job right now. Anyway, I really like throwing parties.

My ideal party has a lot of food, from a carefully crafted menu, featuring savory appetizers and pretty baked sweets. I always include cheeses, now that I have my cheese tray.

This is Yancey's Bergenost, and is is entirely recommended by all tasters.

We have a never-ending supply of good beer, because we have good friends who bring it and leave it, but I like to have another featured drink. Champagne sangria is one of my favorites. It's a fun, celebratory drink that I can make in advance, and it's pretty.

I used this recipe, mostly. This is so easy: 1 bottle champagne or similar bubbly, 1 can Sprite or similar, 2 shorts bourbon, 2 shots triple sec, 1 lemon sliced, 1 lime sliced, 1 tangerine/orange/clementine sliced, pomegranate seeds. Mix it all several hours in advance, if possible, to allow flavors to meld, and keep sealed and chilled. Serve cold in champagne glasses.

Depending on the size and type of the party, I have been trying fancy "cocktail" jell-o shots lately. This one is French Lemonade, and was quite tasty. Recipe is here, and I followed it exactly.

Cake pops are tasty and fun, especially when they are really brownie pops on glow bracelets! For these: bake brownies just to "under-done," let cool. Roll into balls, freeze. Dip the end of a glow stick bracelet in melted chocolate disks and stick it into the brownie (carefully so as not to activate the glow!) and stick it in the brownie ball. Dip the whole thing in melted chocolate and then a pile of sprinkles. Let harden on parchment paper. I left the bracelet connectors out for people to use after they ate the pops.

Brie! We are a group that loves cheese. This brie, although you can't tell, is full of yummy things. It's also, again, easy! To make a deceptively simple brie en croute, take a chunk of brie and cut in half like a sandwich. Fill the center of the sandwich with very thin slices of pear and chopped walnuts. Put the top of the brie back on and put more pear slices and walnuts on top. Set the brie sandwich on store-bought croissant dough or  puff pastry and wrap it up. Decorate with cookie cutters if desired and brush with a beaten egg. Cook as directed on the dough package. Devour.

These lemon stars make an awesome party snack because they're tiny and munchable. Recipe to follow!

Lemon Star Cookies

Adapted from Land O Lakes Sparkling Candy Corn Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Sanding sugar/coarse sugar/clear sugar sprinkles

Combine butter and 1 cup sugar in large bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy. Add egg, lemon juice, lemon zest and salt. Continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; add flour and baking soda. Beat until well mixed. Cover with plastic food wrap; refrigerate until firm (at least 2 hours or overnight).

Heat oven to 375°F. Roll dough out on floured surface to between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick, as desired. Cut shapes out with cookie cutters - I use a small star from a fondant cutter set. Press shapes into the sprinkles and place on cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart. Bake 5 to 7 minutes until bottoms are light brown.

That was a brain dump post!

Amanda