Tropical Bridal Shower

I love hosting parties and making my guests smile. When one of my best friends announced that she was going to get married on St. Thomas, I knew I had to throw her a bridal shower to celebrate. Parties can be as complicated or as simple as you want to make them. I prefer making 90 percent of my foods from scratch and ordering a cake from my trusty baker.

Sticking to a theme is an excellent way to keep organized and cohesive throughout your planning, prep and execution. Since Nikki was getting married on St. Thomas, I created a tropical theme for the entire party.

Fried Plaintains and Guacamole
5-7 plaintains
peanut oil
sea salt
pepper
3 avocados
1/2 onion
1 jalapeno
1 clove garlic
1 roma tomato
cilantro
blue chips

Plaintains can be a little difficult but if done correctly can be delicious! Plaintains can be done a few different ways, you can make little thin discs, long thin slices or giant chunks. If you want crispy plaintains choose one of the first two. For this bridal shower, I chose the small discs. Heat up your peanut oil til bubbling, slice up your plaintains and slowly dip into the oil using your wire utensil. Cook for just a few minutes until golden brown and let rest on paper towels. When all the plaintains are fried, let rest while making the guacamole.

Guacamole should be simple, mash up your avocados, dice up your onion, tomatoes and garlic. Mix everything together, add in a minced jalapeno and diced cilantro. Mix altogether, add salt, pepper and a squeeze of lime to taste. I also served blue corn chips in case the plaintains went fast.


Coconut Meatballs with an Agave Glaze
1 lb of ground beef
coconut flakes
plain bread crumbs
1 egg
salt
pepper
agave nectar

Add egg, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and a bit of the coconut flakes to the ground beef. Mix together very well then form into one inch balls. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Drizzle agave nectar on top and toss in remaining coconut flakes.

Tropical Baked Brie
one medium wheel of brie
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup dried mango
2 Tbsp agave nectar
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 sheet of puffed pastry

Roll out your puffed pastry, cut wheel of brie into two big circle slices. Mix together nuts, coconut, dried mango, agave nectar and brown sugar. Put 3/4 of the mixture in the middle between the halves of brie. Place top half of brie on top and wrap with the puffed pastry. Flip over so the smooth side is on top and add remaining nut mixure on top and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve with crackers or bread. This can be made with really any nut and dried fruit, perfect for any season.

Chicken 'n Veggie Skewers
1 pound of chicken tenders
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
olive oil
salt
pepper
wooden skewers

Soak the wooden skewers for about 20 minutes in water, before using on the grill so they do not catch on fire. Skewer the chicken and chunks of the vegetables. Grill for about 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Pork Loin Sliders
1 lb pork loin
yeast rolls (frozen or homemade)
mango glaze (recipe follows)

Drizzle olive oil over your pork loin and add any spices you prefer. I added salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Then bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes (depending on size). Let your yeast rolls rise and bake for about 10 minutes.

Mango Glaze
1 small champagne mango
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp agave nectar
pinch of salt
squeeze of one lemon

Puree mango together with all the ingredients. Make sure you taste to see if you need to add more sugar or lemon.

Once the pork is done, let rest for 10 minutes and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices. Slice up the rolls as well. Spread your mango glaze on the rolls and add the pork.


Fruit Skewers
2 cups strawberries
1 large mango
5 kiwis

Fruit skewers are easiest with firmer fruits, slice in a delicate, pretty way and add to the skewers. Serve with a fresh whipped cream.

The cake was made by my favorite local baker, I requested a French vanilla cake with mango in between the slices with a buttercream frosting and large coconut flakes on the outside. I had a Hawaiian quote placed on the top to stay with the tropical theme.

As far as the decor went, I used beach towels as the table cloths and added sea shells on top. I created bridal advice cards that went on the table as well. For flowers, you want to choose the best for your theme so birds of paradise would work perfectly.

The bridal shower was a huge success! All of these recipes are quite easy and most of all they are delicious! I hope this helps give you the courage to throw a party for one of your dear friends.

Enjoy! xo Lo

Holiday Dinner Party

During the winter time I love to bring all my favorite things together...food, family and holiday cheer. I love dinner parties, they are a fantastic way to create delicious foods and share them with those you love. Plus they are a perfect way to spend some quality time together.

The first thing you want to do is create your menu, which should be based on the season and to include foods that every guest will feel comfortable digging in to (aka know your crowd).

My dinner menu consisted of:

• Pumpkin-Cider Cocktail
• Winter lager (for the men)
• Brie en Croute with cranberries and walnuts
• Prosciutto Stuffed Figs Stuffed with Goat Cheese
• Acorn Squash Soup with Fresh Sage and Parmesan
• Arugula Salad with Dried Cranberries, Walnuts and Goat Cheese
• Savory Pumpkin Lasagna 
• Apple Tart

My menu consisted of ingredients I knew my guests would love, full of comfort, spirit of the season and a hint of culinary flair. 


Pumpkin Cider Cocktail

1 liter of apple cider (the good stuff)
1 liter of ginger ale
1 can pumpkin (or one cup of real pumpkin puree)
1/4 cup pumpkin pie spice (cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, sugar)
Add vodka, rum or bourbon to spike it up a bit

Mix all together, chill and serve with frozen cranberries as a garnish. Your guests will LOVE this cup of cheer.

Winter Lager

Our personal favorite is Shiner Cheer with hints of toasted pecans and peaches. When you set out drinks you wish to keep cold, put them in a nice bucket with ice instead of a cooler, it's much more becoming and easy for guests to see where the drinks are. 

Brie en Croute

1 medium-small wheel of brie
1 puff pastry
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 Tbsp agave nectar (or honey)
1 Tbsp brown sugar

First, pull your puff pastry out to thaw then mix your cranberries, nuts, agave nectar and brown sugar together. Make sure the filling has enough agave nectar. Cut the brie in half so you have two big flat pieces, spread 3/4 of the mixture in the middle, place one half on top. Wrap up your stuffed brie with the puff pastry, putting the wrapped side down. Put the other part of the mixture on top of the brie and bake at 350 degrees at 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with water crackers.

Proscuitto-Stuffed Figs

16 small fresh figs
1 package of proscuitto
1/4 cup goat cheese
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp agave nectar (or honey)

Clean and wash all of your figs then gouge a small hole in each fig. Then grab a piping bag (or make your own with a plastic bag), soften your goat cheese and spoon into the piping bag. Stuff each fig with a generous squirt of goat cheese, then wrap each one with proscuitto. Drizzle with agave nectar mixed with the pumpkin pie spice and back for 12 minutes on 350. These will melt in your mouth!

Acorn Squash Soup

I have blogged about this one before and it was so good I had to make it again for my dinner party.

3 acorn squash (one half per person)
1 bunch of fresh sage
1 carton of chicken stock
3/4 cup heavy cream (or milk)
parmesan cheese
6 shallots
1 leek
bay leaf
olive oil
salt
pepper

Slice the acorn squash in half, slice up a few leaves of sage, a bit of leek, one shallot and place inside of each half. Drizzle with olive oil and a little shake of salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for one hour until soft. While the squash are softening in the oven, slice the rest of the shallots and leek and place in a generous portion of olive oil in a Dutch oven on medium heat.

Once the shallot mixture gets golden add chicken stock and bay leaf.  Once the acorn squash is soft, remove from oven and let cool. Once cooled, peel off skin and dice into inch size pieces and add to soup. Blend soup with emulsion blender until smooth, add heavy cream, more leaves of fresh sage, salt, pepper and simmer for 15 more minutes then it's ready to serve. This velvety, savory soup is so comforting your guests will beg for the recipe.

Arugula Salad

I wanted the salad to be a palate cleanser before the main course, I made it pretty simple and the peppery arugula did the trick.

1 bunch of arugula
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup halved walnuts
3 Tbsp crumbled goat cheese

Lemon-Agave Dressing

juice from two lemons
1/4 cup agave nectar
salt
pepper
olive oil

Squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl, agave nectar, salt and pepper then whisk in the olive oil to taste.

For the salad simply assemble in a nice wooden bowl, layering the arugula, nuts, cranberries then top with the goat cheese. Let guests drizzle their dressing up their salad.

Pumpkin Lasagna

This lasagna is savory and fantastic for guests.

1 box of lasagna noodles (oven ready, wheat or regular)
1 can of pumpkin puree
1 package of sweet Italian sausage
1 yellow onion
1 package of fresh mozzarella
parmesan
fresh basil
1 zucchini
tomato sauce (homemade or jarred)
bechamel sauce
1 egg
salt
pepper
fresh sage

Dice up your onion and saute in a pan on medium heat, in a separate pan cook the sausage (out of the casing). Once onions and sausage are cooked, add tomato sauce and start on your bechamel. To make a bechamel sauce start with butter in a sauce pan on medium heat, when melted add a bay leaf then whisk in the milk until nice and thick. Set aside and make sure not to burn.

Mix pumpkin puree with the one egg and set aside. Slice up mozzarella into thick slices, chop up fresh basil, slice zucchini in small, thin slices and grate fresh parmesan. Choose a fancy 9x11 dish and start to layer. Start with tomato sauce at the bottom, then noodles, pumpkin sauce, bechamel, mozzarella, parmesan, basil, zucchini and sage. Then continue to layer until you've reached the top of the dish. Save enough tomato sauce, bechamel and cheeses for the very top. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. This lasagna perfectly balances the zesty tomato, heaviness of the pumpkin and lusciousness of the bechamel plus the buttery cheeses. Your company will definitely be wowed!

Apple Tart

6 granny smith apples
1 pie crust
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
apricot jam

Skin the apples and slice up into thin parts, toss in a bowl with apricot jam and spices. Then pile onto the crust which has been rolled out. Overlap parts of the crust onto the edges of the apples. Brush a bit of rum on top of the tart and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Serve with a scoop of pumpkin ice cream. This is an excellent way to end your meal, it is light, crunchy and the pumpkin ice cream makes everyone go back for more.

Enjoy this fantastic menu with your loved ones this holiday season!

xoxo Lo