Shout out from HOSTESS WITH THE MOSTESS

WOW...I am so excited...I just got this email:

Hi Marcie -

Just wanted to let you know that your 4th of July party is one of the top 5 finalists in the HWTM Summer Entertaining Contest - congrats!



Voting starts today and goes through next Thursday, August 20th. We'll announce the winners on Friday.

Here's a little more info for you:
www.hostessblog.com/2009/08/summer-entertaining-contest-5-finalists-voting-begins/

Thanks so much for sharing your photos with us - and good luck!
Jenn :)

HOW COOL IS THAT!! So, if you are a fan of Hostess with the Mostess on facebook...and you like my party, could you vote for me?! :) VOTE HERE! Thanks so much!!

4th of July 2009

So my friend Kristy and I are planning a little pool party tomorrow. She and I have developed this great friendship...we both love to cook...so this is our first attempt to throwing a party together. I can't get over how at ease I am with the preps for this one. I truly have a partner who has as much fun as I do. :) I AM GOING TO HAVE REAL FUN TOMORROW!!

So, we are still in the process of preping and setting up, but I wanted to share with you our table:





Plates were 4 for $1 at walmart. The napkins are dishtowels, 7 for $3 at walmart, the runner was $20 at Pier 1, the colanders and pails are from the Pottery Barn, but all together, makes a lovely table.

Don't you love the cracker jacks? 3 for $1 at walmart. They even have this antique packaging that really compliments our table setting.

I will post more photos later when we get our buffet set up.

Happy 4th of July everyone!
Marcie

Spring Fling

I know I live in Florida, and the weather is always warm...but there is something about the spring time...the colors, the flowers, the fresh fruit!



My friends Kristy and Sara came over for Easter so I put together some good eats...first, my simple spring table setting:


Then, Kristy came up with a great cocktail for us. We were in St. Augustine the week before, and had a Cava (Spanish Champagne) Sangria at the Columbia restaurant that was fantastic. Kristy created these tasty drinks for us...

Champagne, fresh fruit, white wine, peach puree, triple sec...Gorgeous and delicious!!

Next food:
Simple spring salad with fresh fruit, arugula, goat cheese, toasted walnuts and balsamic vinagrette:

The main course was a baked ham and a roasted pork tenderloin:

I made a reduction of the pork juices, orange juice, plum cherry jam and balsamic that was fantastic!

This is my new favorite pasta salad for the summer. Roasted garlic oil, orzo, fresh spinach, toasted walnuts, roasted garlic, goat cheese and salt and pepper. I had a salad similar to this at Whole Foods, this time, I added dried cherries for some chewy texture...so simple and delicious!!


Roasted asparagus with parmesan...love roasted veggies...thanks Ina Garten!


For dessert, I made these Espresso Caramel Bars, a recipe by Giada DeLarentis...really good...more like eating a chewy candy bar. I sprinkled the top with flake salt...SO GOOD and decadent. Served them with espressos and lattes.


Hope you are all enjoying your springtime!

Cute Easter Idea

Hey peeps, it has been way too long since my last post. Work has been a bit overwhelming to say the least which leaves me no time to party...but I intend to fix that very soon. Got Easter coming up, and a baby shower to plan for my friend Vanessa, so I will have lots to post soon.

Speaking of Easter, I saw this adorable idea in my latest Pottery Barn catalog.



I have a collection of cakeplates that will work for this display...let's just see if I get around to doing it...but wouldn't that look adorable?

I love the bell jars!

Can you feel the love tonight?

So, I celebrated Valentines Day with my husband, but I also invited a few of my SINGLE LADIES over so we could all enjoy a great night of food and friends! This dinner was all about small portions...so had six courses!

Here are some of the highlights:

I made chocolate covered strawberries with toasted hazelnuts, and my Mom made these sweet cupcakes that looked like flowers. These were used to decorate the table...and as party favors.







I decked out the table in red and silver...used the cupcakes and chocolate strawberries as my centerpiece, which I set at the end of the table.













COURSE 1: Baked Brie with French Bread
We started with our favorite Baked Brie...you really must try this...it is to die for!


COURSE 2: Cream of Asparagus Soup
This was made by my Mom. I will post the recipe later. THIS WAS SO DELICIOUS!!! We served these in coffee cups!




COURSE 3: Goat Cheese Tart with Arugula tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette
Kristy created these delicious tarts...it was all YUMMY!





COURSE 4: Mushroom Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter, Saulteed Butternut squash gorgonzola and sweet balsamic glaze.
I made a batch of fresh pasta and rolled out these little babies. I made one large ravioli per person. The balsamic glaze was a nice touch to counterbalance the richness of the gorgonzola.


COURSE 5: Red Wine braised Short Ribs served over sour cream mashed potatoes and au jus
This was a last minute addition to my menu. I thought this would be an easy entree and I was right. I just seared these babies and then the cooked in the crock pot for the rest of the day. The meat was amazingly tender and had great flavor!



COURSE 6: Molten Lava Cake ala mode with Raspberry coulee
We ended the night with Molten Lava Cakes and Cappucinos. Yes there were cupcakes and chocolate covered strawberries...but hey, it is VALENTINES DAY! These little babies have a soft chocolate center and were so YUMMY! Just on the verge of "death by chocolate!"





My Mom lives in Orlando now, and she is AMAZING! She is like the engergizer bunny, I dirty a dish, it is cleaned and put away before I turn around...she is an amazing chef too! She preps like a champ and she is so fun! We had a great time making dinner together!



We started cooking around 11 am yesterday, and we were done about 3...If she wasn't here, I would have been stressed, and not done...this is the first time that I truly enjoyed myself! We all had a lovely time! Kristy was great because she has tons of catering experience, and she helped me plate everything between courses...we are a well oiled machine and can do anything!! I love you girl! The only person you don't see is Viviana, as always, she is behind the camera. THANKS VIVI for the amazing pics!!

What about Paul you ask? Wel...Paul serenaded us! :)

Be Mine...Valentine

Just made a few Valentines...I keep a box on my desk at work. The people I work with know I am kind of crafty...and when they need cards and don't have time to go to the drug store, they stop by my desk.

I sell them for a few bucks...but they are all made with love...and I really sell them because I just like to share pretty things! :)

I am kinda into the cupcake theme this year:

Plans for New Years Eve

Looking for little inspiration for your decor...Martha has some great and simple ideas:



These are my favs:




I am just cleaning up from Christmas cooking...so I will post more about that later...I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

More and More like Christmas

I think I am finally done decorating our house...I love coming home to the glow of christmas lights, so I put them everywhere. You saw my front door, and my kitchen and tree, here are a few more shots of the decor...

This is the view from the head of my dinner table...my seat actually. I love how the lights look thru the sheer curtains...


Here are some close ups of the centerpiece I created this year:







This is a wall vinyl that I picked up at Kohl's. It looks much bigger on the box...but cute none the less. It doesn't stick very well to my textured walls...but I like it. It was hard to get on too...I don't think I would recommend it. They do however come off of the wall very easliy, but I don't think they are reusable:





This is a greeting tree...they are about $40 in the Pottery Barn catalog, but I picked this one up after Christmas last year for under $5...my kind of deal!  Oh, and you can see my fabulous brother's handmade cards in this shot...the ones with the cute snowmen...









Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Home for Christmas

I put my tree up on Thanksgiving, but I didn't decorate it until last weekend...because I have been a little crazed...so, now my tree is done, and I am ready to share. Here is my tree







It is LOADED with oranments...but I love it!



I bought this tree skirt on clearance at Home Goods, for under $10 dollars...and my friend Dena embroidered it for me..just like Pottery Barn, 1/4 of the price!

I don't have lots of surfaces to decorate, so I do what I can...here is the spot under my tv...I tried grouping like with like items to give them more impact:







I have an obsession with cake plates...so I decided to use them in my decor....I took ornaments and filled them, again with a like color...they look much better in person:











I still have the banister, dinner table and my bar and buffet to finish...I better get to it soon...It's the most wonderful time of the year and I am running out of time!