An Easy Dinner Party Menu For A Night With Good Friends!

The older I get the more I realize that time is my greatest extravagance. 

It's the most valuable commodity I have. I no longer want to spend time with people that don't care about me, lift me up, make me laugh or make me think. I no longer want to do things that don't make my heart sing.

That's why I was excited to get my first real group of great Mom friends and husbands together for a dinner party at my house. We haven't done this in a while so it was a nice reunion! Here are my girls:)

 

I love everything about a dinner party. From picking the menu, to setting the table (like how it turned out?) to the great conversation at the table.

One thing I don't like is working so much on the food that I don't get to spend time with my friends! Don't get mt wrong, I have girlfriends that jump in and help, but I would rather lounge and chat as much as I can.

I wanted to share my menu with you because it was not only delicious, it was the perfect easy menu. Most of these recipes you can prep way ahead of time so you can truly enjoy your evening!

The appetizers:

Artichoke Bruschetta from The Cookie Rookie- (OH MY LORD THESE WERE INSANE)

Parmesan Tortellini Bites by Damn Delicious- (COULD THIS BE MORE BRILLIANT??)

Main Course:

Pinwheel Steaks by Rachel Ray! (sooooo good and fun to make!!!)

Here they are when we made and tied them:

And then once we sliced them for grilling!

Lemon Parmesan Baked Broccoli by Get Off Your Tush And Cook- (SO YUMMY!!!!!)

Smashed Yukon Gold Potatoes by Pioneer Woman (kids loved these too!)

Dessert:

Blackberry Cheesecake Bars by Hugs and Cookies- (aka you've died and gone to heaven bars)

It was a great evening and made even better by some amazing food! What's your go to dinner party recipe?

Two Great Christmas Holiday Menus!

How was your Christmas?! Are you still recovering? What was on your menu?

We had two Christmas dinners with two different sides of the family which meant two different Christmas menus!

I think we really outdid ourselves. It was a ton of work but everyone was blown away!

Menu 1: (Italian inspired:)

Appetizers:

Grilled Artichokes- (like these from Foodie Crush)

Paleo Meatballs in Marinara from Paleo Newbie

Cucumber Hummus bites with Tina's Homemade Hummus

Tina's Hummus recipe:
2- 16 ounce cans of chick peas drained- reserve the juice
4-6 garlic cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
3/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
1/2 cup lemon juice

Drain chick peas. Put garlic in food processor and mince. Add chick peas and mince, scraping down the sides. Add salt, tahini and lemon juice. Mix. Taste. Add enough reserve chick pea juice to make a thick creamy consistency. You should be able to make an indentation with the back of a spoon . Check taste again for additional lemon and salt. You can serve also with olive oil drizzled on top and smokey paprika! Divine!

Persimmons and prosciutto (add truffle oil, or honey if you have it!)

Main course:

Caprese wreath from Huffington Post

Shrimp Scampi (also by Huffington Post)

Chicken Cacciatore By Proud Italian Cook

and Italian Peas  (These were amazing)

And for dessert?

Pioneer Womans Cherry Cheesecake Shooters! These were a HUGE hit!!!

Stay tuned for menu number 2!!!

Best Side Dish For Labor Day! Mexican Style Corn!

We call this fabulousness  "Mexi-Corn".

Everyone who tries it says it's "CRACK CORN" LOL!!!! Sarina helped hubby make them and is now HOOKED!

We served it last night. You should make it this weekend!

• 5 ears fresh corn, husked 
 
For the Spread:
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tablespoons sour cream
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• Juice from one lime
 
For the Topping:
• 1/4 cup grated Cotija cheese
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (or chili powder if you want heat)
• Chopped cilantro, for garnish (optional)

ENJOY!!!!

Frozen Birthday Party Theme! How To Throw A Frozen Birthday Party!

Miss Coco, like a million other little girls is literally OBSESSED with FROZEN.

 

She sings all the songs, dressed up in the costumes and reads all the books. We eagerly await the release of the Frozen DVD!

With Coco's birthday coming in March, I decided to enlist my friend Myriam at MLC Event Planning to help me plan the perfect Frozen Party for Coco.

We are planning a...FROZEN TEA PARTY!!!

 These invitations by Lovely Divine on Etsy, went out last week! Aren't they amazing??

And we had to order a special dress so that she could be the only one in this Frozen inspired look!

It's by Maggie Rose Bows on Etsy.

Can't wait to show you all our decorating ideas!! Stay tuned!

The Best Thanksgiving Ideas From Pinterest! My Friday Five!

On to the next Holiday! RIGHT? (right about now I am dreaming on January where there is NOTHING TO DO).  I thought my Friday Five should have a Thanksgiving Theme!! I know Carolina Charm will love it. (Isn't she the cutest pregnant person!?)

Anyhoo....Here's some things from my PINTEREST board: "Thanksgiving Fabulous" that I am loving:

 1) I love to make my Mom's pie crust but my friend at Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes took it to a whole other level!

Don't you love the acorns!!

2) This pumpkin roll by Homemade by Holman looks amazing.

3) Might have to try to find this shirt on Etsy for Coco!

 4) I want to make these hat place cards for this years meal. A pilgrim hat place card holder from Tip Junkie!

5) And.....I am so doing this veggie platter this year!!! Gobble Gobble!

Party Idea- Mexican Party Theme- Tequila Fabuloso!

I will find ANY REASON to have a party! Like when my friend won a $1200 bottle of Asombroso tequila at The Junior League's Casino Angeleno, we just HAD to have a party! So of course I called it:

Tequila Fabuloso!

We could not wait to try to dress in our fabulous theme.

Holly and Kevin brought the Asombroso Tequila they won!

But before we tried this million dollar tequila we needed food! That's where Manouschka of Single Serving came in!

Amazing chef!!! We had stuffed Jalapenos, ceviche, shrimp quesadillas, beef empanadas and more!!

This was a fun group let me tell you!!!

 

And then the toast and we tried the Asombroso!

And we loved it!! It really tasted amazing. Hints of hazelnut. Unexpected and fabulous!

A gorgeous time with gorgeous husband.

But let's not forgot churros, and avocado ice cream for dessert!!!

Oscar Party Ideas!

We are going to an Oscar Party tomorrow to watch with a bunch of friends. We've seen a few of the nominated pics (Flight, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty...) and want to see who will win!

Here are some cute Oscar Party ideas for you!

This is a cute spread from Brian Worley:

And you could play Red Carpet Bingo!

I think no matter what you need champagne cocktails!

I usually cheat this with Prosecco and Pom!

I call it the Pom Pom!

Who do you think will win?

Cocktail Club Starts With Beauty and Basil!

It was a wonderful night and it went off without a hitch! Being the first event in our cocktail club, I wanted to really go all out. After all, God is in the details! I started with the theme of Beauty and Basil. I used this invitation from Paperless Post!

I even used a green crocodile liner. I know, I know. I am always extolling the virtues of paper invitations, but for this club wanted it to be easy peasy.

I wanted to have all forms of beauty at the party. Beauty you could see, taste, hear, touch and create!

First, husband had to get the pool and backyard looking smashing. And he did! Sod was in! Mama was happy! Before the party started we had to take of photo of our color coordinating Beauty and Basil attire!

I literally walked into Macy's with an exact idea of the dress I wanted and it was waiting for me. I love that place! Husband looked smashing in his Nantucket reds, green gingham Vineyard Vines shirt and blue blazer!


When our guests arrived they were treated to two signature cocktails from our bartender Robin.

One was a Cucumber Basil Martini with Vodka....

And the other was a Strawberry, Basil Mojito!

We moved outside for our cocktails. Aren't we a colorful and festive group!

 

Soon our Fabulous Chef Manouschka Guerrier of "Single Serving Bytes" was ready with our appetizers!

You may recognize her from Food Networks, Private Chefs of Beverly Hills! You can follow her on twitter @singleserving.

The menu:

Sliced Filet on a Crostini with horseradish

Tomato Basil Soup with Grilled Fontina Cheese

Lemon Basil Shrimp with Creole Cocktail Sauce

Tomato, Basil, and Watermelon skewers with balsamic simple syrup

Ahi Tuna Tare Tare Kiss

and guava cream cheese tartlets!

We were loving it! Soon my special guests arrived.

Danielle and her cellist . She was amazing and breathtaking! We listened and also watched the movie "Under The Tuscan Sun", playing on our outdoor wall.

Magical!  Throughout the night my guests painted on canvases with acrylic paints I had set out for them. One canvas per couple.

The guys got into it!

At the end of the night each guest left with a bottle of Santa Barbara Collection wine and a basil plant! A fabulous evening!!!