i will be making this immediately!

baked fontina cheese...

Baked Fontinasource: adapted from How Easy is That? by Ina Garten

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs Italian fontina, rind removed and cubed into 1-inch pieces
• 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Adjust top rack of the oven so that it sits about 5 inches under the broiler unit. Preheat broiler.
2. Spread cheese out in the bottom of a 12-inch cast iron pan.  Drizzle olive oil over the cheese.  Mix together the garlic and herbs in a small bowl and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the cheese.  Sprinkle salt and pepper over the top of the cheese.
3. Bake for 6 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and melted through.  Carefully remove the pan from the oven and set it on a heatproof surface – the pan will be hot!  Serve immediately.

yummy party idea...

strawberry margarita jello

shooters!

 

Use the real Jell-o mix and not a store brand, as the store brands tend not to set up as firmly.

Choose the freshest strawberries you can find.

You can use a strawberry huller or an apple corer along with a melon baller to empty out the strawberry.

These are best made the night before and served the next day.

Fill your strawberries as high as possible, as the Jell-O will sink a bit in the middle.

Strawberry Margarita Jell-O Shooters

Yields 24-30 Strawberry Margarita Jello Shooters

Strawberry Prep:

Cut the bottoms of the strawberry flat to get them to stand upright. When you do so, make sure that you do not cut off so much that there is a hole at the bottom.

Use a huller or apple corer to empty out the strawberry. 

Once the strawberries have been emptied, use a towel to pat the outside of the strawberries dry.

Check each strawberry and make sure there is not a hole in the bottom before you start filling.

Margarita Mix

1 box Strawberry Jell-O

8 ounces tequila, preferably reposado or blanco

6 ounce Cointreau

Salt for garnish

Instructions

Boil one cup of hot water in a saucepan,  then add in Jell-o powder and whisk until powder is completely dissolved, about 2  minutes. Set aside.  Measure out 1/4 cup of cold water and set aside.

Combine tequila and Cointreau, in cocktail shaker filled with ice. Add liquor mixture to cold water and stir to combine. Then add cold liquor mixture to hot Jell-o mixture and stir to combine. 

Pour final Jell-o mix into strawberries and chill overnight. Dip  your finger in water or use a moistened brush to wet the edge of the strawberries, dip and rotate the strawberries in salt to rim. Garnish with cut lime triangles to finish.

original recipe found here....

i love this table idea....

i have been holding onto 

this pictures for a very long time...

also holding onto the idea and i think

it's time to use it...

i have an amazing collection of 

clear glass bottles,

that have been collecting for years...

take note that the bottles are all the same height

the candles are different heights...

quinn's first birthday.....

now quinn's first birthday is six months

away so some might think this is premature...

but.....

i love giving parties

i love planning 

and 

i love planning months in advance...

to me, dreaming up all the ideas

is half the fun....

lexie saw a cake she just fell in love with,

and i did too...

now i haven't askes lexie (my sister)

but i am hoping she will let me bake the cake,

or maybe lexie, quinn and 

i can make it togeather...

how cute is this cake?

i want to make it 100% from scratch....

i just found a recipe for homemade

sprinkles and they look so fun!!!

8 ounces powdered sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg white

1 tsp vanilla, or other extract

for flavor

assorted food colorings

as many piping bags as you have colors, 

fitted with a small, plain tip

Mix the first four ingredients until a semi-thick paste forms.

Divide the paste into as many portions as you have colors, tinting each batch with the color of your choice.

now there are two ways to make these

sprinkles...

1st...

bright sprinkle dots...

piping dots onto wax paper

let dry a full 24 hours and

voila...

sprinkles...

2nd...

soft pink "jimmies"

piping icing in long rows onto

wax paper, also letting dry for a full 

24 hours. once dry, chop into pieces...

oyster shooter anyone?

my sister is hosting a party for charlestons

design walk on king street...

she came up with this adorable idea

of serving oyster shooters...

Ingredients

• 10 live oysters in shell
• 1 cup vegetable juice (such as V-8)
• 3 tablespoons vodka
• 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (optional)

Preparation

• 1. Scrub oysters thoroughly, and rinse under cold running water until all grit is removed. Shuck oysters (leaving the meat on the half shells); carefully cut the foot of each oyster with the shucking knife.
• 2. Combine vegetable juice and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a liquid measuring cup. Stir in hot sauce, if desired. Fill each of 10 shot glasses with 2 1/2 tablespoons juice mixture. Place the meat from one oyster in each glass. Discard shells.
• 
  
• i think this is such an adorable idea
• and lexie has decided to add a celery
• stick to assist getting the oyster
• out of the glass...

even a pickled green bean would be good...

rainbow colored roses...

hmmm.....

 pretty or not????

these rainbow colored roses were first created

by two dutch companies.....

they split the stem 4 ways and the flower 

absorbs the color...

i kind of like the way they look tyedyed....

i think these flowers could be fun

used in the right place....

tarts and vicars.....

i know it's not even halloween and while i am

super busy planning my annual

party..... i can't help my mind from wandering...

the british are known for their 

to tarts and vicars parties...

what a great idea!!!

i think around valentines day would be so fun!

of course this would read 2011...

i think this idea s just hilarious!!

everyone dressed up like priest and hookers!!

"In the broadest sense, a vicar (pronounced /ˈvɪkər/; from the Latin vicarius) is a representative, anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant, literally the "place-holder".[1] Usually the title appears in a number of Christian ecclesiastical contexts, but in the Holy Roman Empire a local representative of the emperor, perhaps an archduke, might be styled "vicar".

wikipedia

"A nubile young temptress, who dresses teasingly and provocatively."

well i have plenty of time to work

out the details...

now back to filling my vials with 

holy water!!