Tag Archives: entertaining

Spicy Tomato Cream Sauce

Posted on by

0

IMG_3849

I used to be so intimidated to make my own pasta sauces. Doesn’t that sound like something a full blooded Italian (which I’m not) can whip up with a glass of wine in one hand and without breaking a sweat? Intimidating. I’ve been playing around with it though… learned a few basic recipes, married a few new techniques. And I came up with a pretty easy (and vegetarian!) recipe that tastes like you spent all day in the kitchen. Ready for it?

What you’ll need:

2T Olive oil

Crushed red pepper

Paprika

Salt and pepper

1 Onion- chopped

4-6 Cloves minced garlic (4 if you prefer a subtle garlic taste, 5-6 if you LOVE garlic)

2 cups (or a 14 oz can) of petite diced tomatoes

1/4 cup water

1 T dried Basil or 3 T fresh Basil… I just cut about a dozen fresh leaves with scissors.

1/4 tsp dried Oregano

1/3 to 1/2 cup heavy cream

Supplies: Large skillet, a blender or food processor

IMG_3844

Heat Olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, paprika and crushed red pepper. Heat on mediu-high for 2 minutes until onions become golden. *Note: Start small with the paprika and red pepper… just sprinkle enough to give the onion a little dusting and red color. The flavor will intensify later and you can always add more later. 

Add tomatoes, water, basil, oregano. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 10-15 minutes. While it’s simmering you can taste to add more paprika, red crushed pepper or salt and paper. This is also when I boil water for the pasta.

Add heavy cream and immediately remove from heat. To make it vegan you could use almond milk, although I haven’t tried it myself yet.

Pour contents into blender/food processor. Pulse until smooth. *Note:It will be hot so make sure its glass or heat resistant plastic. I use large Ball jar with my blender. 

IMG_3846

I served my sauce over Roasted Butternut Squash Agnolotti (Buitoni) with fresh basil and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Hubby says it would be delish with shrimp or chicken over Penne or Fettuccine too! You can make this as mild or spicy as you like! I jarred the rest of the sauce (take note of the expiration date on your cream) and ate leftovers for lunch yesterday. So yummy if I may say so myself!

IMG_3848

Party Paper

Posted on by

2

IMG_3733

I know it’s been a month since NYE but I wanted to share a fun party trick I used for our little get together. Don’t worry- you don’t have to wait until next NYE, you can use it for any party! I bought a roll of Kraft paper a while back and I’ve been having fun using it for entertaining. So far I’ve used it for book club, casual post-thanksgiving gathering and game night. I love this idea for so many reasons… First you can buy rolls of Kraft paper at many grocery stores and even Walmart on the cheap. Second, it’s disposable. Third, it’s a festive way to add some unique decor and a functional and fun way to label dishes. There is so much you can do with it!

IMG_2312

I simply rolled out my paper (cut to a 12″ runner size in this case) where I was going to have our “bar” area. I used a sharpie to outline the glasses, label wines, and even outlined the corkscrew. I tried to vary the size of the letters and different vibes for each word. I had fun and made a whimsical illustration of Champagne and used the marker to label cranberry juice that I had put in a small carafe.

IMG_2316

As most of our guests are tired young parents like ourselves, I knew midnight was passed most of our bedtimes. I made sure the Keurig was ready (thanks, Santa!) and set out some coffee mugs with a K-cup in each one. Then I wrote simple direction for the Keurig. *** Side note: I just got a reusable K-cup so I can have any local coffee I want and be more “green” …BTW- have you seen this video?!?! Worth a quick watch.

IMG_2318

I also used the paper on our kitchen’s peninsula for some of the food. I left the marker and open spaces for party guests who were bringing dishes to share. I added washi tape to keep everything in place and to keep the end from rolling up.

IMG_2314

Whenever I use this I get tons of comments on how clever it is. It is literally a blank slate for your party. Cut the edges with scrap-booking scissors, use washi tape, different markers, use movie quotes or fun facts that pertain to your theme. Anything is possible! I doesn’t need to be perfect. Have fun with it!

Apple Goat Cheese Bruschetta

Posted on by

1

We were invited to my parents’ house last night for a cookout in honor of some family friends that are in town visiting. Steak, macaroni and cheese, corn on the cob and grilled veggies were on the menu. When I asked what I could bring my mom asked me to bring a “light appetizer” since the rest of the menu was fairly rich and we were having birthday cake from the amazing BonBonerie Bakery afterward. I immediately thought of this fantastic apple bruschetta my friend used to make. She sent me a link to the recipe but I changed up some of the measurements.

20130925-184339.jpg

Ingredients:

1 Fuji apple (really any sweet apple will do) peeled and cubed

1/3 cup goat cheese

3/4 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 ground black pepper

1 baguette sliced thin

Lay the slices of bread out flat onto a cookie sheet. Turn on your broiler and toast the slices for just a minute … maybe two. Just to get them warm and a little crusty. Mix goat cheese, thyme, oregano and pepper then toss in apple cubes. Spoon mixture onto bread. Place in oven for a minute until cheese is melted well.

This was so delicious that the finished product didn’t even stick around long enough for me to snap a picture! It was a great fall appetizer because of the apple. But it is a really unique mix of spices, savory goat cheese and sweet apples. I was tempted to add a drop of honey but I wasn’t sure if it would be too sweet. Of course my favorite part was how easy it was and the fact that it took practically no time to mix together. My kind of recipe.

 

*Baking related side note: I made those amazing homemade pop tarts yesterday…but I switched out the filling for my Mother-in-law’s homemade strawberry preserves. She even picks the strawberries herself! Hubby ate half of them for dessert and I’m guessing the rest of the batch won’t last through the day.