More Tasting Party Ideas....

I blogged awhile ago about tasting parties and they're becoming even more popular than before. It's a great alternative to a dinner party and much easier too! I thought I'd share some new spring tasting party pieces as well as recipes to get you going!

I love these plates from Crate & Barrel, the set of four is $12.95.

This set of four Triana plates, also from Crate & Barrel are $24.95.

This white porcelain sampler set from Pier 1 Imports is $19.95.

The Nambe Wood Serveware collection is one of my favorites and can be easily found at Macy's.

Recipes

Here are two recipes that I like, they're yummy but also extremely easy.  Let me know what you think of them and please share if you have any recipes you'd like to suggest!

Bacon & Cheese Crescents 
1 can of crescent rolls
4 ounces of flavored cream cheese (I like chive and olive)
1/4 cup diced tomatos
1/4 cup diced red peppers
4 slices of cooked bacon chopped into small pieces (should be cooked until crispy)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Place open triangles of dough onto cookie sheet, add a smear of cream cheese, some tomatoes, peppers and bacon. Roll up the crescent roll just like normal.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden on top.


Grilled Greek Chicken Kabobs - from Kraft Kitchens.com

1/2 cup KRAFT Greek Vinaigrette Dressing

2 Tbsp.  ATHENOS Greek Strained Nonfat Yogurt

1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

1   red onion, cut into thin wedges

1 lemon, halved

Mix the dressing and yogurt together. Add the chicken; stir to evenly coat. Refrigerate approximately 20 min. to marinate.
Remove chicken from marinade and place bite sized pieces of chicken and onions onto skewers.  Next, place your kabobs on a grill that has been heated to a medium high heat.
Cook on the grill for about 8 to 10 min. turning occasionally.
When they are finished cooking, place on a fun decorative plate and squeeze lemon over kabobs.

Cocoa Cocktails

We just had some friends over for drinks and instead of wine or beer I served different types of cocoa cocktails. It was a cold, damp evening and they loved it!

I thought I'd share some of our favorite recipes with you!

This alcoholic Almond Coconut Cocoa is amazing!

• 2 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 2 c. milk
• 1 oz. Parrot Bay or Malibu coconut rum
• 1 oz. Amaretto De Saronno or amaretto liqueur
• Whipped cream (optional)
• Shredded coconut as garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix sugar, milk and cocoa powder in a sauce pan over medium heat. Heat until steaming, not boiling.
2. Add in liqueur and rum. Pour into two mugs.
3. Top with whipped cream, if desired. Drizzle amaretto over whipped cream, if desired.
4. Top with shredded coconut.

Read more at Suite101: Alcoholic Hot Chocolate Beverage Recipes: How to Make Your Cocoa With Alcohol for a Warm Winter Drink http://www.suite101.com/content/adults-only-hot-chocolate-a149118#ixzz19Xei5rTJ

This Baileys Hot Mint Chocolate recipe is from allrecipes.com

• 2 ounces Baileys® Mint Chocolate Irish Liqueur
• 1 cup hot chocolate
• Cinnamon sugar
• 1/4 ounce green Chartreuse® (optional)
• A dollop of whipped cream
• Cinnamon stick

Directions

1. Build in a mug and float heavy cream on top.
2. Garnish with cinnamon sugar and a cinnamon stick. 

These are both scrumptious! I also keep Godiva liquor, Bailey's Caramel liquor and Peppermint Schapps around in case someone wants to make their own concoction. 

Table Accessories

I love different table accessories. They're not just decor but they can be useful too!

These birds nest placecard holders from Pottery Barn are so cute.

This handmade copper pepper mill from Sur la table would definitely be a conversation piece.

West Elm has great serving pieces like this Nature set.

 

 

Love this cheese board from Bed Bath and Beyond.

Appetizers

Do you love having gatherings but always worry about how much food to serve?
If you're like me, you normally have enough food left over to serve an army!

I was just looking online for some guides and found this. It's really helpful. I'm going to print it out and tape it inside one of my kitchen cabinets for quick reference.

Appetizers for a cocktail party:

Cocktail Party:	12 pieces per person
Dinner Party:	Four to five pieces per person for an early meal Six pieces per person for a later meal
Variety:	Eight different appetizers if 50+ people Four or five different appetizers for 20+ people Three different appetizers for small gatherings

Cheese Trays:

Cheese Tray Appetizers (based on an 8-oz. bar of cheese)

• Allow 1/4 of a bar (2 oz.) per person
• You will need to purchase three bars for 12 people

This is one a lot of people struggle with. With so many BBQ's this summer, I've been buying too much!

Meat	Per Person	4 People	12 People	40 People
Lean or Extra Lean Ground Meat	1/4 lb.	1 lb.	3 lb.	10 lb.
Spareribs	1 lb.	4 lb.	12 lb.	40 lb.
Steak - boneless tenderloin, rib-eye, sirloin	1/4 lb.	1 to 1-1/2 lb.	3 lb.	10 lb.
Steak - T-bone	6 oz.	1-1/2 lb.	4-1/2 lb.	15 lb.
Chicken - boneless	4 oz.	1 lb.	3 lb.	10 lb.
Chicken - bone-in	1 to 2 pieces 1/2 lb.	2 lb.	6 lb.	20 lb.

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Experiment

For the past few months my husband and I have been testing out different types of homemade chocolate chip cookie recipes. I am the baker and of course he is the tester. I've been online searching for great cookie recipes. I have tested out five different recipes that claim to be the "Worlds Best Chocolate Chip Cookie". Of those, some make flat cookies, other thick cookies, some large batches and some small. I even made one recipe that didn't include any eggs. After testing all these recipes I read about small tweaks that you can make to improve them and also experimented with my own ideas.

In the end (and a few pounds later) we have come up with what we found to be the best cookie recipe. Drumroll please.........

The Nestle Toll House recipe located on the back of the chocolate chips! Yes this was the winner overall.

We first decided that the flavor of the chips make or break the cookie and then we found we liked the consistency best. Here are the tweaks that I made to this recipe.

Instead of two sticks of butter, I only used one.
Double the amount of vanilla. Also make sure its real vanilla, not imitation.
Add two tablespoons of milk to the final moist mixture before the flour is added
Refrigerate the dough. We found they do not spread as much, if the balls of raw dough are cold therefore making the cookie not so thin around the edges.

So test this recipe and my recommended tweaks out for yourself. Let me know what you think!

Greek Yogurt Dip

Here is a really quick and healthy veggie dip that is extremely easy to make.

2 cups nonfat Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 the juice of a lemon
Mix all the ingredients together and then salt and pepper to taste.

Serve this on a plate with colorful veggies and its an easy appetizer for a picnic or barbecue!