Holly and Melissa hosted a beautiful Spring Brunch at their clubhouse in May.
The tiny little succulent was a darling invite and I have mine flourishing in my pot garden.
The colors they chose were bright and refreshing yet calm and inviting. They had fun banners and tissue balls hung at the entrance and over the mantel adding just a pop of color.
Their chalkboard signs and mason jars placed around were darling and a fun accent.
The table. Lets talk about this table.
The centerpiece was my favorite part of the entire evening. Hydrangeas, peonies, gorgeousness! All placed in mason jars inside a fun wooden crate box.
Plus, they were so brilliant and beautiful and smelt amazing!
The place settings were perfect. Chalkboard paper place mats, clean simple white plates,
the cutest mason jars with lids and a chalkboard sticker for our names.
And these darlings. All the ladies just raved about the ceramic mason jar measuring spoons. Seriously to cute.
After we gawked at the details the were ready for us to indulge in appetizers.
Wedge Salad Skewers,
Deviled Eggs with Crab and Chipotle aioli,
Avocado with Bacon deviled eggs
and Poppyseed Cucumber & Strawberry Salads.
Everything tiny and cute and tasty.
Menus got us excited for the rest of our night and ready to taste the evenings flavors.
Pomegranate, Pear & Pistachio Salad with Creamy Pomegranate Dressing. It was so good and beautiful!
Main course was a quiche trio:
Sausage & Gruyere, Gorgonzola & Bacon with Red Onion, Spinach & Artichoke and a Caprese Orzo Salad with Prosciotto wrapped Melon. Fun distinct flavors in different shapes and sizes to enjoy.
Dessert was a Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake Tart and a Cream Cheese Stuffed Strawberry. Everything was delicious with great flavor.
The take home had a fun quote about Spring with bags of homemade granola for us, our recipes and we got to take the cute measuring spoons from the table with us as well.
It was a delightful evening, so fun to be together again and enjoy every ones company.
Props to Holly and Melissa who were great sports about changing their theme along the way and pulling of a fantastic evening!
Cranberry Pineapple Spritzer
Ingredients
- 8 ounces
pineapple juice, chilled
- 8 ounces
cranberry juice, chilled
- 8 ounces orange
juice, chilled
- 8 ounces
sparkling water, chilled
- crushed ice
Instructions: Put handful of crushed ice in each of 4
glasses. Pour 2 ounces of each; pineapple juice, cranberry juice, orange juice
and sparkling water over crushed ice. Garnish with orange slices and fresh
cranberries. Serve immediately.
Wedge
Salad Skewer
Ingredients
- 8 (1-inch)
wedges iceberg lettuce
- 4 strips
*candied pepper bacon, cut in half (*see recipe below)
- 8 grape tomatoes
- 8 bamboo
toothpicks
- 8 teaspoons blue
cheese salad dressing or *Green Goddess Dressing (*see recipe below)
- 8 teaspoons
crumbled blue cheese, or more to taste
Directions
Thread each lettuce
wedge, bacon piece, and grape tomato onto each toothpick, respectively. Arrange
toothpicks on a serving platter. Drizzle 1 teaspoon blue cheese dressing over
each and sprinkle with blue cheese.
*Candied Pepper Bacon
Thick-Cut bacon slices
(Can use peppered bacon for an extra kick)
Dark Brown Sugar
Fresh Ground Pepper
Instructions:
-Line a baking sheet with parchment
paper.
-Arrange 7 or 8 slices of bacon on
top of the parchment.
-Sprinkle with 2 or 3 Tablespoons
of dark brown sugar.
-Season liberally with fresh ground
pepper.
-Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30
minutes.
-Watch the bacon carefully to make
sure it doesn’t burn, as the sugar will caramelize as it cooks. When the bacon
looks almost done, turn over and bake on the other side for the last 5 minutes
of cooking time, until the bacon is chewy-crisp but not charred.
-Remove from pan and drain (sugared
side up) on paper towels. Don’t leave the bacon on the paper towels too long or
they may stick to the candied bacon.
Green
Goddess Dressing
3/4- 1 cup heavy cream (to desired consistency)
1 c sour cream
3 TBLS chopped chives
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp black pepper
Mix and refrigerate before serving
Deviled Eggs with Crab and Chipotle
Aioli
Eggs
8 Hard boiled eggs
4 T. Mayonnaise
1 T. Dijon mustard
¼ t. Salt
Hard boil the eight eggs and let cool to room temperature. Cut in half
lengthwise and remove the yolk. Place into a bowl and break up with a fork
until lumps are gone. Add the mayonnaise, mustard and salt. Whisk with a fork
until creamy. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired. Chill for one hour.
Chipotle Aioli
½ C. Mayonnaise
1 T. Chives, finely chopped
1 Garlic clove, finely minced
½ t. Lemon juice
1 large Adobo chili
Salt and pepper
Add all of the above ingredients into a food processor until smooth. Taste and
adjust seasoning as desired. Place into a container with a lid and refrigerate
until ready to use.
Toppings
1/3 C. Crab, lump meat
1 T. Chives, minced
To assemble:
Place the egg halves onto a platter. Put the egg yolk mixture into a piping bag
and use the star tip to pipe into the egg halves. Once you have that complete,
then top each one with a pinch of crab. Then add a tiny dollop of the chipotle
aioli and garnish with a small pinch of chives. Refrigerate until ready to
serve.
Avocado Deviled Eggs
with Bacon
Yield: 24
Ingredients:
- 12 large eggs
- 2 ripe avocados
- 2 Tb. lime juice
- 1 Tb. chile
garlic sauce
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- Garnishes: 1/4
cup crumbled bacon and/or 1/4
cup pomegranate arils
- *Can use recipe
for candied peppered bacon for extra flavor!
Directions:
- Place the eggs
in a large pot and fill with cold water until it covers the eggs by 1
inch. Put the pot on the stovetop over high heat and bring to a boil. The
moment the water starts boiling, set the timer for 12 minutes. At exactly
12 minutes remove the pot from the heat, set it in the sink, and run cold
water into the pot until it remains cold. Then add ice to the pot to chill
the eggs all the way through. If you have time, put the eggs in the fridge
for a few hours to chill--cold eggs peel easier than warm eggs.
- Tap the hard
boiled eggs on the counter and roll gently to crack the shell all the way
around. Peel the egg shells off. If you're having trouble, run them under
cold water as you peel. Cut the eggs in half lengthwise and pop the
egg yolks into the bowl of your food processor. Lay the white on a
platter.
- Now spoon the
avocado flesh into the food processor, followed by the lime juice, chile
garlic sauce, and salt. Puree until completely smooth. Scoop the mixture
into a piping bag with a medium tip (or into a zip bag then snip the
corner off) and pipe the filling into the center of each egg. You should
have plenty of filling to create nice tall mounds.
- Top each avocado
deviled egg with crumbled bacon or pomegranate arils. Loosely wrap and
chill until ready to serve. Can be made up to 4 days ahead.
Poppyseed Cucumber & Strawberry Salad
Ingredients
- 2 large cucumbers, spiralized (with the ribbon setting)
- 4 cups strawberries, sliced
- ½ cup feta, crumbled
- ½ cup Poppyseed Dressing (Recipe below)
- Mint leaves
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss cucumbers and strawberries
together.
- Divide among four plates, sprinkle with feta and pour 2
tablespoons dressing over each salad, garnish with mint and serve
immediately!
*This salad holds wonderfully in the fridge for a make ahead meal. Just
add salad dressing before serving.
*For a tutorial on how to spiralize, see Ali at
Inspiralized!
Poppyseed Dressing
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup vinegar
1 TBSP plus 1 ½ tsp onion juice
1 cup oil
1 TBSP plus 1 ½ tsp poppy seeds
Directions:
Mix together sugar, mustard, salt & vinegar. Add onion
juice & stir thoroughly. Add oil slowly, beating constantly until thick.
Add poppyseeds & beat for a few minutes. Store in a cool place or in
fridge. Yields 1 ¾ cups.
Pomegranate, Pear,
Pistachio Salad with Creamy Pomegranate Dressing
Adatped from
Jen@CarlsbadCravings.com
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
- 1 large head
romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 sweet apple,
chopped
- 1 pear, chopped
- 1 small
cucumber, peeled and chopped
- 1 small red bell
pepper, chopped
- 1/4 red onion, chopped
- 1/3 cup roasted
and salted pistachios
- 1/3 cup
pomegranate arils
- 1/2 cup Feta
cheese
- Creamy Pomegranate Dressing
- 1 5.3 oz. Greek
Yogurt with Cherry Pomegranate (I use Fage)*
- 1/4 cup Sweet
Red Chili Sauce (found in Asian section)
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate
juice
- 2 tablespoons
mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon
apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon
lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon
Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper
to taste
Instructions
- Whisk together
all of the Creamy Pomegranate Dressing ingredients in a medium bowl and
chill in the refrigerator while you prepare the salad.
- Combine salad
ingredients in a large bowl. If serving entire salad immediately, drizzle
with desired amount of dressing and toss to coat. If there might be
leftovers, drizzle dressing on individual salad servings. Top with freshly
ground salt and pepper.
Notes
*You may substitute
1/3 vanilla Greek yogurt (won't be pink or have as much pomegranate taste but
still delicoius) or substitute 1/3 cup strawberry yogurt which is a little
sweeter than the Cherry-Pomegranate yogurt but still delicious
Sausage
& Gruyere Quiche
1 9-inch
unbaked pie shell
1 pound of sausage (or bacon)
1 ½ cups
milk
½ tsp
salt
2 cups
gruyere or swiss cheese
2 TBSP
flour
Dash of
cayenne pepper
4 eggs
Directions:
Heat oven 350. Mix eggs, milk, seasoning. Mix well. Toss cheese with flour. Add
cheese mixture & sausage (or bacon) to egg mixture. Pour into pie shell
& bake for 40-45 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6.
Gorgonzola Quichettes
with Red Onion & Thyme Confit
(makes 24)
200 g shortcrust pastry* (ready-rolled) or phyllo cups
1 tbsp butter
1 medium red onion (peeled and thinkly sliced)
1 heaped tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp good balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp thyme leaves
pepper
2/3 cup gorgonzola
2 egg yolks
4 tbsp mascarpone
2 tbsp single cream
salt, pepper
Prepare the pastry cases in advance. Pre-heat oven to 400+. Line 24 mini
shallow bun or muffin tins with shortcrust pastry or phyllo dough (I have a
non-stick and a silicone mould, so don't need to grease it, but do so if your
tin requires it), the dough shouldn't be thicker than 1-2 mm. Cut off surplus
dough and smooth round the egdes. Prick with a fork, then line with small
pieces of grease-proof paper and fill with baking beans
or pulses. Place tray in the oven and blind-bake pastry for 10 minutes, it
should be cooked through, but not too brown on the edges. Leave pastry shells
to cool, then store in an air-tight container.
For the onion confit, melt the butter in a non-stick pan, fry the onions
until browning, then add the sugar and let caramelize. Deglaze with the
balsamic vinegar and cook over a low heat, enough for the onions to soften
through and the vinegar to lose its edge. This should take about 15 minutes.
Add the thyme leaves and season to taste.
The confit will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a week.
To finish the quichettes, pre-heat oven to 350.
Beat the egg yolks with the mascarpone and cream, season to taste. Fill the
pastry cases with roughly half a teaspoon full of gorgonzola, then top with a
teaspoon full of the egg/cream mixture. Make sure the cases are not filled all
the way to the top as the filling will rise.
Put into the oven and bake for 10 minutes, until the mixture has set and is
browning on top.
Meanwhile, gently warm the onion confit in a pan or the micro-wave to make it
easier to handle.
Remove the mini-quiches from the oven and leave to stand for a few minutes. Top
with half a teaspoon of onion confit and serve while still warm.
Crust-less Spinach Artichoke
Mini Quiche
PREP: 10 MINS COOK: 20 MINS TOTAL: 30 MINS
INGREDIENTS:
·
1 (14.5-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and
chopped
·
1 package frozen spinach, drained
·
5 eggs, whisked
·
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
·
2/3 cup milk (any kind)
·
1/2 cup chopped white onion
·
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
·
2 cloves garlic, minced
·
1/4 teaspoon salt
·
1/4 teaspoon pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat
oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 12 baking cups by either spraying them liberally
with cooking spray, or lining them with paper liners.
Stir
all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until combined. Portion the
mixture into the 12 prepared baking cups so that they are all nearly full.
Bake
for about 20 minutes, or until the eggs are set and a toothpick inserted in the
middle of the quiche comes out clean. Serve
immediately.
Mediterranean
Pesto Orzo Salad
Adapted from Pioneer
Woman
Servings:12
·
Ingredients
· 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (more as needed)
· 1 whole Lemon, Juiced
· 1 clove Garlic, Minced
· 8 oz jar of prepared pesto
· Salt And Pepper, to taste
· 12 ounces, weight Orzo Pasta, Cooked, Drained, And Cooled
· 1 cup Red Grape Or Cherry Tomatoes (cut in half)
· 1 cup Yellow Grape Or Cherry Tomatoes (cut in half)
· 1 cup Kalamata Olives (cut into 1/4ths)
· 1 cup+ bocconcine mozzarella cheese (or cubed)
· 1 cup Chickpeas, Drained.
· 1/4-1/2 whole Red Onion, Diced
· 1/3 cup roasted and
salted pumpkin seeds
· 4 Tablespoons Minced Fresh basil
Preparation Instructions: Cook pasta, set aside to
cool. In a jar or bowl, mix
together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper until totally
combined. Place the orzo and all
the other ingredients in a large mixing bowl and pour the dressing over the
top, stir in pesto. Stir to
combine, taste and adjust seasonings, and refrigerate at least an hour before
serving. Top with basil, pumpkin seeds and serve. If you make this ahead of time, you'll need to
"refresh" this. Just add a bit more olive oil, salt and parmesan before
serving. This salad is best, though, room temp, or even slightly warm.
Rustic Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake Tart
~makes 1 tart~
Ingredients:
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed but still cold
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
1/3 cup lemon curd, homemade or store-bought
1 pint raspberries
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam, warmed
Powdered sugar
Directions:
For the tart: Preheat oven to
425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat. Unfold
the thawed out puff pastry on a lightly flour dusted area and gently roll into
a 10x11 inch rectangle. Carefully transfer to your baking sheet.
Brush edges with a little bit of water and fold over all 4 sides to create a
lip. Using a fork, poke holes all over the center of your tart. Gently brush
the entire tart with an egg wash and sprinkle about 2 tsp. of sugar over the
center. Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and
carefully with the back of a spoon press the center back down if it has puffed.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
For the filling: In a bowl
combine softened cream cheese and sugar. Mix with a hand-mixer or by hand until
smooth and the sugar is well incorporated. Add the heavy cream and mix for
about 1 minute. Fold in the lemon curd.
To assemble the tart: Carefully
spread your lemon cheesecake mixture over the center of your cooled tart crust.
Arrange berries decoratively over the curd and drizzle with the warmed jam.
Dust the tart with powdered sugar.
Notes: This tart is best made
and eaten on the same day. You can prepare the tart along with the cheesecake
filling ahead of time. Refrigerate the filling and assemble the tart right
before eating.
Cream Cheese Stuffed Strawberries
1 8 oz package of cream cheese,
softened (I used 1/3 less fat)
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp almond or vanilla extract
1 quart strawberries, capped
Chocolate shavings
Directions: In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and almond/vanilla
extract until smooth. Spoon cream cheese mixture into a pastry bag fitted with
a medium star tip. (You could also use a ziplock baggie, and just cut the
corner). Chill for 1 hour (I have skipped this step and they still turned out
great). Quarter strawberries from tip to stem end without cutting them all the
way through. You could also cut them the opposite direction, like the top
picture, but then they don't stand up. Pipe cream cheese mixture into
strawberries. Sprinkle with chocolate shavings. Chill until ready to serve.
Brown Butter Maple
Granola
Yield: About 5 cups granola
Ingredients:
2
cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chopped pecans or cashews
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 Half Stick (1/4 cup) Land O Lakes® Unsalted Butter
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup dried cranberries
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven
to 300 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.
Set aside.
2. In a large bowl,
combine oats, coconut, almonds, pecans/cashews, brown sugar, cinnamon, and sea
salt. Set aside.
3. In a small
saucepan, melt the Land O Lakes® Unsalted Butter over medium heat and continue
to cook, swirling occasionally, until butter turns golden brown and has a nutty
aroma. Remove from heat and pour into a medium bowl. Add the maple syrup and
vanilla. Whisk until combined. Pour the brown butter maple mixture over dry
ingredients. Stir until dry ingredients are well-coated.
4. Pour the granola
mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread granola into an even layer. Bake
for 35 minutes or until granola is golden brown, stirring every 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and stir in dried cranberries. Let the granola cool
completely. Store in an air-tight container for up to 1 month.
Note-any dried fruit
is great in this granola.
