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A Fabulous Brunch by my Friend, Rachel!

November 7th, 2018

brunch, breakfast, eggs, salad, breakfast buffet, bagels, bagel party, party, buffet, brunch buffet,

I have a wonderful friend named Rachel who is obsessed with Smitten Kitchen.  Rachel invited us to a fabulous bagel brunch at her home.  The bagels were from a famous local bakery where they make water bagels and we were excited to finally sample a few.  Rachel not only supplied the delicious bagels, but she also made several outstanding recipes from Smitten Kitchen and Dash and Bella.  First, she made Baked Eggs with Spinach and Mushrooms. They turned out delicious! Secondly, she prepared a Persimmon Salad which not only tasted fabulous but was also one of the most beautiful salads I have ever seen.  Rachel outdid herself and I had to share some photos as well as links to both the recipes. So, if hosting a brunch is in your future, the recipes in this post will be outstanding.

Brunch, breakfast, salad, party, breakfast buffet, muffins, fruit salad, buffet

 

Craft Club Goodies

November 5th, 2018

I’m shining the spotlight on my friend Rachel again.  Rachel is no stranger to fabulous parties, she organizes fun events which look effortless and always filled with delicious goodies.  For anyone who feels like it takes too much work or preparation to host a book night or craft night, you will love this post.  Hosting these types of mini-parties are very easy and don’t require as much work and planning as a typical party. When Rachel decided to throw a craft night, she asked all the guests to bring their favorite snacks. One guest brought a delicious white bean dip with pretzels.  Another brought home-made chocolate covered pop-corn… SOOO GOOD… and another brought yummy gourmet chocolates.  Rachel did an outstanding job of organizing a night out and creating a fun craft.  And since all the guests were more than happy to bring something fun, Rachel also made her life a little easier.

Halloween Book Club

October 29th, 2018
Spooky, Halloween, Halloween punch, Halloween cocktails, Halloween eye, Punch, cocktails

Spooky Bloodied Eye Punch

Recently, I attended a SPOOKY book club which was beautifully organized by a mom from our school.  “How did you do all this, Mini”, everyone asked. Mini wasn’t secretive about how she was able to create such a fabulous buffet while being a working mom…. she outsourced everything!

As a hostess who loves to outsource myself, I always keep an eye out for great places to contact when I am throwing my own shindig.  Mini contacted Straub’s, which is a local supermarket that specializes in gourmet food.  The book we discussed was Educated by Tara Westover, which is a wonderful book… I highly recommend it! But I have to admit, the highlight to my evening was the beautiful way Mini entertained her room full of guests and the delicious accompaniments to the wonderful book discussion.

I loved the stuffed mushrooms and the melted cheese with chutney. The chicken skewers were also easy to eat and delicious.  However, my favorite part of the appetizer buffet was the Bloody Eye Punch.  It was a mixture of juices topped of with a little champagne.

Fall Cheese Platter and Dinner for Book Club

September 27th, 2018

Had book club at my house again and wanted to create a beautiful “fall” appetizer table… but nothing too complicated.  I had some hummus left over from the weekend… beet hummus and basil hummus.  Additionally, I prepared some quinoa Mexican inspired salad with corn and beans.  It was DELICIOUS!!!  I also prepared a beet salad because I LOVE to add red to my menu.

For a healthier alternative, I served greens so that people can build a salad foundation with  lettuce and spinach and then top it off with the quinoa or beet salad.

The appetizer platter was very simple. It included bread and crackers, for the hummus, as well as various kinds of cheese.  Last but not least, I purchased a flatbread at my local supermarket’s frozen food section, right next to the pizzas.  It was easy to bake and my friends thought it was a wonderful addition to the table.  I mean, who doesn’t love some freshly baked flatbread with their salad?