Lisa and Carolyn hosted their first gourmet night at Lisa's house. Their theme was breakfast at Tiffany's and it was amazing! Their invite came in the perfectly wrapped Tiffany blue package tied with a tiny white bow.
It unwrapped and unveiled the details of the evening and told us to arrive dressed for the occasion, black dress and pearls!
We did just that and arrived ready for an evening of fun. They knocked it out of the park for their first go and everything looked fantastic. They had transformed the entire room and it was adorned with pearls, crowns, ribbon, rhinestones, silver plated china and Tiffany blue. It looked great.
The table looked so elegant it was perfect!
Tiffany blue chargers, silver rimmed china, all the many utensils lined up perfectly with goblets and napkins folded just so.
It looked like it was out of a magazine.
The center piece was a sheet of mirror topped with crystal, glass and rhinestone candle sticks and a vase of simple whites.
The large diamonds and authentic Tiffany bags were the perfect touch.
Place cards were our menus again tied with a perfect little bow and label with each of our names followed by "& Co." Seriously to die for darling.
Inside we found the menu for the evening and it sounded delicious!
The rest of the room was surrounded with details and touches all around to complete the perfect setting.
The even had crowns for each of us to wear for the night.
The appetizer table was set up and looked yummy!
We started with a "Carat Juice",
Berry Baked Oatmeal Cups, Classic Fruit Kabobs, Studded Hash Brown Ball and a Quiche Bite.
All great flavors and just perfectly bite sized.
Salad course was a Citrus Salad with Balsamic Honey & Pistachios and a Ruby Red Strawberry Lemonade Biscuit with Lemon Curd. Both were refreshing and completely enjoyable.
Our Mini Main was a Sweet Potato Crisp and Grits & Eggs. Both fun unique ideas that paired well together.
Main Course was a Coconut Encrusted Stuffed French Toast and a Broiled Asparagus with Egg Blanket.
Dessert was a Lemon Cream Crepe Inlayed with Berries and a White Chocolate Ganache Crepe. So good!
The entry table was full of Tiffany blue bags for take homes.
A little bling in key chain form, our recipes, and some pancake mix and buttermilk syrup.
Talk about a treat of an evening put on by these two lovely ladies.
So fun to be catered to and spend the evening together with wonderful ladies!
Berry Baked
Oatmeal Cups
1 C. sugar
3-4 eggs
½ C. oil
4 C buttermilk
4 C oatmeal
11/2 tsp. salt
1 Tab. baking powder
2 C. peeled, chopped apples
1C. berries
Mix sugar, eggs oil, and buttermilk. Add oatmeal,
salt, baking powder and mix well. Fold in apples & berries, stir gently.
Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Bake uncovered for 45 min at 350 degrees or until
firm in the middle. Serve with fresh whipping cream or vanilla yogurt &
strawberries.
Classic Fruit
Kabobs
Choose three to four in season fruits. Put on
skewer and serve chilled!
Quiche Bites
Makes 24 mini quiches
Mix:
5 eggs- scrambled
2 ½ Tbsp. sour cream
2 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp. salsa
Pre-cooked, chopped bacon (or any meat of your
choice)—approx. ½ cup
Shredded cheese—approx. ½ cup
Grease mini muffin pan. Sprinkle a small amount
of bacon into each tin. Scoop 1 Tbsp of egg mixture into each muffin. Sprinkle
top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
“Carat” Juice
8 carrots—washed and tops cut off
1 apple—washed
Juice carrots and apples in a juicer. Move liquid
to a blender and add:
1 cup frozen pineapple
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 lime - rind included
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Blend until smooth. Serve immediately. Serves 2
Studded Hash
Brown Ball
Makes
approximately 60
● 1 lb
sausage, uncooked
● 8 oz
cream cheese, softened
● 1 1/2
cups Bisquick
● 1 1/2
cups cheddar cheese, shredded
● 1/2
(30oz) package frozen shredded hash brown potatoes (about 4 cups)
Preheat oven
to 400F.
Mix all
ingredients until well combined. (I use my mixer with the dough hook
attachment) Roll into 1 1/2-inch balls. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until brown.
Sausage
balls may be frozen uncooked. If baking frozen, add a few minutes to the baking
time.
Citrus Salad with
Balsamic Honey & Pistachios
Cara oranges are very sweet like Naval oranges,
Blood oranges when in season are tart trying a mixture can give a different
flavor.
¼ C olive oil
1 1/2 Tab. white balsamic vinegar
1 Tab honey
¼ tsp. kosher salt
6 navel, cara or blood oranges
8 oz
jicama
¼ C pistachios
Dressing:
Combine olive oil, vinegar, honey and salt in a
jar with a tight- fitted lid; shake to mix well.
Salad:
Peel oranges and remove any white pith
Cut each orange crosswise into ¼ inch slices
Peel and grate jicama
Place oranges on a large serving platter.
Sprinkle with jicama and pistachios. Drizzle with vinaigrette; serve salad
immediately.
White Chocolate
Ganache Crepe
8 oz cream
8 oz chocolate chips, milk , or white
Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce
pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if
it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has
come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth.
Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over a cake. Start at
the center of the cake and work outward. For a fluffy frosting or chocolate
filling, allow it to cool until thick, then whip with a whisk until light and
fluffy.
Can store overnight in the refrigerator in a glass bowl covered with
saran wrap.
Ruby Red
Strawberry Lemonade Biscuit with Lemonade Curd
2 1/2 cups
of all-purpose flour
2
tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon
baking powder
1/4 teaspoon
salt
1/2 cup
unsalted butter (chilled, not softened), cut into cubes
1 cup diced
fresh strawberries
1/2 cup
freeze-dried strawberries
1 generous
tablespoon lemon zest
2 eggs,
beaten
1/2 cup
heavy cream
Toppings:
sugar, cream, and prepared lemon curd
1. Preheat oven to 400
degrees F. In large bowl mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. With pastry blender, cut in butter
cubes until mixture has coarse crumbs.
Gently add both kinds of strawberries and the lemon zest. Make a well in
the center of the mixture and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together
eggs and cream. Add egg mixture to
flour mixture. Gently stir until moistened.
3. Place dough onto a well-floured
surface. Gently knead the dough by
folding and pressing it about 7 times, turning the dough a quarter turn after
each fold. Move dough to a lightly floured parchment-lined baking sheet (or
stoneware baking sheet without parchment). Pat dough into a ¾ inch-thick
circle. Cut circle into wedges and separate each slightly.
4. Brush wedges with cream and
sprinkle with sugar. Bake 16-20 minutes until golden brown. Drizzle scones with lemon
curd. Makes 8-12 scones.
Lemon Curd: (from
Barefoot Contessa)
3 lemons (zest and ½ cup juice)
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup unsalted butter—Room temperature
4 large eggs
1/8 tsp kosher salt
Zest lemons and add sugar. Mix.
In another bowl cream butter and add lemon sugar
mixture. Add 1 egg at a time and then the lemon juice and salt. Mix until
combined. Pour the mixture into a
2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes),
stirring constantly. The lemon curd will thicken at about 170 degrees F, or
just below simmer. Remove from the heat and cool or refrigerate for up to a
week.
Sweet Potato
Crisps
Recipe inspired
by Epicurious
Ingredients:
1 sweet potatoes
2 eggs
½ cup Parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon rosemary
1/8
teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Set a wire rack on top of a
baking sheet. Spray rack with non-stick spray. Finely grate sweet potatoes. To the grated sweet potatoes, add the eggs, cheese,
pepper, salt, and rosemary. Mix
until combined. Scoop
out potato mixture and set on wire rack. About 3 Tbsp. worth. Press sweet potato mixture as thin as
possible. Repeat until potatoes are gone. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until
potatoes are dark around the edges and crispy. Makes about 15.
Grits & Eggs
4 cups water
1 cup grits
1-2 Tbsp salt
4-8 eggs
2-4 Tbsp butter
Place 4 c boiling water & 1 Cup of grits into
medium to large sauce pan. Salt to taste ( 1-2 Tab) Cook on high. Bring to
boil, stirring often Cover with lid and reduce to simmer. Cook approx. 20-25
minutes, stirring occasionally.
meanwhile cook eggs 4-8 eggs on medium heat until
almost cooked and eggs are still shiny then, 5 minutes before grits are done add eggs & stir. (eggs will continue to cook when added
to grits.
Add 2-4 Tab butter. Serve hot.
This can be made with quick grits- follow
directions on box, cooking time is much shorter so you will need to adapt egg
cooking time.
If you accidently over cook grits you can add
milk to thin out again.
Coconut Encrusted
Stuffed French Toast
1 pkg 8 oz cream cheese
¼ C. powdered sugar
chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans) (as much as you
like)
loaf Grandma Sycamore white bread
6-8 eggs
(¼-½) C. half and half
1-2 tsp. vanilla
1 C. cornflakes crushed
¼-½ C. coconut
Filling Mix:
1 Pkg softened cream cheese, ¼ C. powdered sugar,
chopped nuts and spread a little (1-2 Tab.) between 2 slices of bread.
Outside Mix:
Mix cornflakes and coconut into a bowl that you
can dip the bread into.
French Toast Mix:
Mix eggs, half & half & a little vanilla.
Dip “sandwiches” into egg mixture then into mixture of crushed cornflakes &
coconut. Cook on griddle on medium heat coated with butter.
Watch because the coconut can burn. Keep warm in
oven.
Sparkling Grape Lemonade
2 cups concord grape juice
1 crystal light lemonade packet
6 cups water
sprite or club soda or ginger ale
French vanilla creamer
Mix the first three ingredients and chill. Add
soda to taste. Add 1-2 Tbsp creamer to each glass.
Broiled Asparagus
with an Egg Blanket
Ingredients
·
8
slice bacon
·
1
lb. asparagus spears
·
0.50
tsp. fresh thyme leaves
·
Salt
·
Pepper
·
8
large eggs
·
3
tbsp. packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
·
1
tbsp. fresh dill
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees
F. In 18 inch by 12 inch jelly-roll pan, arrange bacon slices in single layer,
spacing 1/4 inch apart. Roast 8 to 9 minutes or until browned and crisp.
Transfer to paper-towel-lined plate; set aside. Drain and discard excess bacon
fat in pan, leaving thin film of fat.
2. Add asparagus to pan in single layer. Roll in fat until evenly coated.
Arrange in tight single layer, with bottoms of spears touching one long side of
pan. Sprinkle thyme and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper on asparagus.
Roast 8 to 10 minutes or until asparagus spears are tender and browned.
3. Carefully crack eggs, without breaking yolks, directly onto asparagus
spears, staggering if necessary and spacing 1/4 inch apart. Carefully return
pan to oven. Roast 5 to 6 minutes or until whites are just set and yolks are
still runny. Sprinkle 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper on eggs. Return bacon to pan; sprinkle eggs and asparagus with parsley
and dill. To serve, use wide spatula to transfer to serving plates.
Lemon Cream Crepe
Inlayed with Berries
Crepes:
4 eggs
2 cups milk
2 cups flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
½ tsp kosher salt
10 Tbsp water
4 Tbsp. melted butter
Mix until smooth. Refrigerate overnight for best
consistency. Use approx.. ¼-1/3
cup mixture for each crepe. Cook on medium heat. Crepes can be made the
day before and refrigerated in an air tight container. Fill with your favorite
filling and enjoy!
Lemon Filling:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
¼ c butter, soft, not melted
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
16 oz powder sugar
16 oz cool whip
Cream together cream cheese and butter until
smooth. Add lemon juice and vanilla. Add powder sugar 1 cup at a time. Fold in
cool whip. Refrigerate overnight to thicken. Fill crepe with ¼ cup and berries.
(This also makes an amazing frosting for fruit pizzas!)
Buttermilk Syrup
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup
buttermilk
1/2 cup
butter
2
tablespoons corn syrup
1
teaspoon baking soda
2
teaspoons vanilla extract
In a
saucepan, stir together the sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup, and baking
soda. Bring to a boil, and cook for 6 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir
in the vanilla.
Blueberry Pancake
Mix
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted,
plus 1/2 teaspoon for griddle
1 cup fresh blueberries (optional)
Heat griddle to 375 degrees. Whisk
together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl.
Add eggs, buttermilk, and 4 tablespoons butter; whisk to combine. Batter should
have small to medium lumps.
Test griddle by sprinkling a few drops of
water on it. If water bounces and spatters off griddle, it is hot enough. Using
a pastry brush, brush remaining 1/2 teaspoon of butter or reserved bacon fat
onto griddle. Wipe off excess.
Using a 4-ounce ladle, about 1/2 cup,
pour pancake batter, in pools 2 inches away from one other. Scatter with
berries, if using. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry
around edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom,
about 1 minute.
Repeat
with remaining batter, keeping finished pancakes on a heatproof plate in oven.
Heat oven to 175 degrees. Serve warm.
