Fish Cake

Perfect Pairing:  Child’s Birthday

A couple of years ago my mom gave me the task of coming up with a birthday cake and theme for my nephew’s 4^th birthday party at the lake house.   It was just going to be family at the party, but we still wanted to make it special. 

I was pretty sure my cake decorating skills were not so great since I had never attempted decorating a cake before, and that seems like something that takes a lot of practice.  I watch shows about cake decorating on the Food Network and that makes me an expert on what I don’t know.

After throwing around a few ideas I landed on a fish/underwater theme since we were at the lake.  I am not sure if my nephew has an affinity towards fish or water themed creatures, but I thought it would be fun.  The entire theme revolved around a fish cake.  I chose a fish cake because it seemed like something I could pull off with help from my sister-in-law!

Here is what we did….

I baked two 9-inch chocolate cakes, left one cake intact, and cut shapes from the other cake, including the tail and fins. 

To craft the fish extremities I traced the cake pans onto waxed paper and cut out the circles.  On one of the waxed paper circles I sketched out the fins and tail, cut out the shapes, and played around with them until it started to look like a fish.  It took a few attempts, but it was worth it to figure it out before I started cutting into the cake!  Once all of the templates were cut out of waxed paper I laid the shapes over the cake and trimmed the cake with a sharp knife.  I found it was much easier to cut the cake while it was frozen.  I would recommend doing this.

We did not have a platter large enough for the cake so I had to get creative.  I found a sturdy piece of cardboard and covered it with blue tissue paper and then covered that with plastic wrap.  Voila!  The fish is now on water.  We frosted the cake with orange icing and decorated it with M&Ms and decorating gel.  For the eye, I cut a marshmallow in half and placed a blue M&M in the center, secured with a little frosting.

Here is the birthday boy with his fish cake!  Notice there are a few M&Ms missing.  It was hard to keep little hands away from them.

Case in point….

It was not hard to guess which piece of the fish the kids wanted on their plates! 

We even had themed party hats!

But they got in the way….

I think it was a hit!

It is hard to believe he turned six years old this week and started kindergarten.  I think he is a head taller than all the other kids in his class.  Happy birthday little man! 

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Rumaki

Perfect Pairing:  Retro night

When I get hooked on a TV show, I am loyal.  I have been known to continue watching something long after it has lost its original appeal (ahem, Bachelor).  While I may not be proud of all of the content on my DVR, there are a few shows I would highly recommend.  My latest obsession is Game of Thrones on HBO.  I started reading the books last winter and ordered HBO with the sole purpose of watching Season 1 On Demand.  Totally worth it.  That show is phenomenal.

Another great one is Mad Men on AMC.  There is something about that show that just drags you in.  I love the 60’s clothing, hair, sets, etc.  Don Draper doesn’t suck either.  After the fourth season Mad Men went on a 17 month hiatus.  This caused a lot of excitement around the premiere of the new season in March.  To celebrate the return of the beloved series, my dear friend had a retro-themed premiere party.  Originally we discussed dressing in Betty Draper-esque garb but that did not last long.  We decided to focus on retro food.  Some of the theme food included tuna casserole, wedge salad, ambrosia salad, deviled eggs, and rumaki.  Everything was fantastic!

What is rumaki, you ask?  Well Wikipedia tells me that rumaki is an hors d'oeuvre of mock-Polynesian origin. It was most likely invented by Victor Bergeron, known as Trader Vic.  Its ingredients and method of preparation vary, but usually it consists of water chestnuts and pieces of duck or chicken liver wrapped in bacon and marinated in soy sauce and either ginger or brown sugar.  I chose to stray from the original version with liver.  I was not that committed to authenticity. 

I made two versions of rumaki, one with water chestnuts and green onions and one with pineapple chunks.  I used the same sauce on both.  Yum!  How can you go wrong?  Bacon wrapped anything has to be good.

It makes sense that the Perfect Pairing for rumaki is a retro night!  Is there anything more retro than rumaki?  At least that is what I am told. 

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Olive Crostini

Perfect Pairing:  Party Music

I can’t count how many times I have made this olive crostini recipe.  It is my “go to” appetizer whenever I am having a get together.  I love the combination of salty olives, spicy pepper jack cheese, and nutty parmesan.  It is so easy to throw together and is always a hit.  You can even make the olive mixture ahead of time and broil the crostini right before serving.

The Perfect Pairing for olive crostini is the perfect party music!  When I entertain I spend a lot of time thinking about the atmosphere in addition to the food that I am going to serve.  Music is key!  I am a big fan of Pandora.  If you have not used Pandora, you should start.  I love that I don’t have to buy/download new music or have to make a playlist of songs before a party.  I like to have an eclectic mix of tunes.  My party mix is a combination of the following Pandora stations:  Frank Sinatra, Joshua Radin, Madeleine Peyroux, Spanish Guitar, Salsa, Mumford and Sons, Blue Six, UB40, Van Morrison, Jason Mraz, and Contemporary Reggae.  Of course, maybe not all of those at once.  You have to know your audience!

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Customizable Bread Bowl Breakfast

Perfect Pairing:  Refrigerator leftovers

Recently I had a wonderful winter retreat with some of my very best girlfriends at my family’s lake house.  There was a lot of chatting, sipping wine, and relaxing.  We each took charge of a couple of meals and ate really well over the weekend. 

I wanted to do something fun and different for one of the breakfasts and came across an idea for eggs in a bread bowl.  Not only were these guys delicious, they were completely customizable.  I laid out all of the components and let everyone go to town with their creations.

 

I recommend using a crusty French bread roll for this recipe. You just cut off the top, scoop out the inside, fill it with your favorite ingredients, add an egg or egg white, and bake in the oven until the egg is set.

The Perfect Pairing for this recipe is whatever you have leftover in your refrigerator!  Below is a summary photo of what I used. 

 

 

I will definitely be making these again!  They are perfect for a big group breakfast.

 

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Tapas Party

Perfect Pairing:  Menu in a photo frame

This fall I hosted a tapas dinner party for some friends. I figured it would be the perfect theme since I love appetizer-ish foods.  I spent more time testing out recipes for this party than I normally do. This may have been the reason that I delayed confirming the date for a couple of weeks… er, months.  I admit that I was hoping to impress this particular group because they have fabulous taste.  I had been to their house for dinner and was utterly impressed by a six-course Italian meal with wine pairings.  I could hardly set out some chips and dip after that.

Typically when I have a dinner party I focus on a few main items.  After I was knee deep into the planning of this dinner it hit me that making an impressive showing of tapas means you are making lots of small dishes.  In the end, I chose to focus on tapas that I could make ahead of time or that would take minimal effort while the guests were there.  I think everything turned out well and I would definitely make this menu again with no changes.

It is a no brainer that you have to have sangria at a tapas party.  The recipe I used (available here) was dangerously good.  Watch out… that boozey fruit will sneak up on you.  I also served Spanish red wines.  I kept all of the drinks, glasses, and ice on a side table.

 

I mentioned that my friend served an amazing six course Italian meal with wine pairings, but I didn’t mention that he also had the menu on themed paper… in Italian.  What is a girl to do?  I decided to print my menu to look like the chalkboards they have at tapas restaurants, and put it in a photo frame.  It was nice to have it out with the food because everyone could look at the menu and know what they were eating.  You might say that it was the Perfect Pairing for a tapas party!  I apologize for the fuzziness of the picture.  I chose not to use a flash because that would just ruin the mood but it actually kind of ruined the picture. 

I had half of the tapas out when the guests arrived.  I considered this the “first course” as silly as that sounds when you are serving tapas.  I wanted everyone to kind of graze while they enjoyed their drinks.  The first round included rosemary cocktail nuts, roasted vegetable dip, manchego cheese with brown butter honey sauce, and roasted mushrooms with goat cheese along with assorted crackers and crostini.  Click on any of the dishes for the recipe.

While we were enjoying the first round of tapas I finished up the final touches on the second course.  The second course was slow cooker beef short ribs over celery root and apple puree, roasted shrimp with lemon aioli, herbed tomatoes, and patatas bravas with roasted garlic aioli. 

So by this point the wheels had fallen off the presentation bus, so to speak.  I just took a quick picture to capture the moment.

We finished off the meal with homemade pumpkin pie and cinnamon spiced whipped cream.  I didn’t take a picture of this because I am pretty sure I brought the mixing bowl of whipped cream to the table.  We were moments away from playing Catch Phrase and I was not about to take the time to take a picture.  I made the standard Libby pumpkin pie but I did use my all-time favorite homemade pressed pie crust recipe. 

All in all I think it was a successful tapas dinner party! 

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Goat Cheese with Cranberries and Pistachios AND Party Appetizer Roundup

Perfect Pairing:  Holiday Party

I absolutely love entertaining this time of year.  I decorate my house immediately following Thanksgiving and start planning Christmas get-togethers.  My place is pretty small so it does not take long to hang the stockings by the chimney with care, so to speak.  My favorite part about Christmas decorating is hanging the ornaments on the tree.  Every ornament on my tree means something to me.  I love pulling them out of the box and thinking about who gave it to me, where I was when I bought it, or the memories it invokes. 

Years ago I started buying ornaments as my souvenir whenever I was traveling.  I used to travel a lot with my job and I went to some fun places.  In fact, I was lucky enough to travel to six continents.  Buying an ornament in each place was the perfect thing to do because they were affordable, small, and easy to bring home.  When I got home I would write when and where I got it on the bottom of the ornament. 

Here are some of my favorites.

A tangoing couple from a trip to Buenos Aires

The first ornament I remember on my personal Christmas tree in my bedroom as a little girl.

Every year my mom gives me the Hallmark Noelville light up Gingerbread House ornament.  I love these because you just pop in the tree light and do not have to pull out the bulb.

Mom has also given me the Swarovski snowflake ornament for the last 12 years.  I love the sparkle they add to my tree.

There were times that I was not able to find an actual ornament so I settled with a keychain.  Hey, if it hangs on the tree, I say it counts. 

This particular keychain was from a trip to South Africa.  I absolutely had to get it because of this guy that I met on the road while I was there.  Hey buddy!

I guess sometimes the ornaments don’t have a meaning; I just think they are cute. 

I also seem to have a lot of ornaments that fall into the tropical/sparkly/pink category.

When I have Christmas get-togethers at my house I usually serve a variety of appetizers rather than a full meal.  The key is to have a few appetizers that are easy to throw together or that could be made ahead of time.  This year I plan on including roasted vegetable dip, manchego cheese with brown butter honey sauce, rosemary cocktail nuts, Scottish oatcakes, and prosciutto wrapped breadsticks in the menu because they are all so easy and delicious. 

I will also be making goat cheese with cranberries and pistachios.  It does not get any easier than this…. You just cover a 4 oz log of goat cheese with chopped dried cranberries and chopped pistachios and serve it with crackers.  It takes minutes to make and looks so festive!  It is easy to keep the ingredients on hand in case you have some unexpected visitors stop by.  That is why goat cheese with cranberries and pistachios is the Perfect Pairing for holiday parties!

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Weenie Roast

Perfect Pairing:  Hot Dog Topping Bar

An old-fashioned weenie roast on a fall evening is one of the best things going.  Recently my parents invited friends and family over to roast hot dogs, sip wine and cider, and enjoy the fall foliage.  We really lucked out with the weather, it was a gorgeous night.  The sun was shining on the trees and lake, there was no wind to blow smoke in faces, and the temperature was perfect for sitting around a fire after the sun goes down.

No party is complete without lots of good food, drinks, and friends!

We had planned to carve a pumpkin during the day for display that night, but time just got away from us, as it often does on the day of a party.  We decided to go ahead and carve it during the party.  It was fun getting input from everyone!

I feel like this pumpkin is enjoying his final moments before the carving begins.

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