Tag Archives: baby shower

sarah’s baby shower

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A group of us girls got together to host a baby shower for our dear friend Sarah… thirty people ended up rsvp-ing!  I had never cooked for that many people before, but was up for the task!  And I’m pretty pleased with how my dishes turned out, happy happy.

greek orzo salad

(orzo, tomato, cucumber, red onion, feta cheese, basil, mint, lemon juice, s&p)

chicken salad

I used this recipe as inspiration and it was really good… chicken, greek yogurt, apple cider vinegar, apple, celery, shallot, cranberries, pecans, s&p.

burrata with olive oil, lemon, s&p… served on crostini

grissini with prosciutto, pecorino & arugula

a simple salad of mixed greens, goat cheese, pistachios, & cranberries

Connie made adorable mini chocolate chip cookies with baby blue m&m’s to go with milk shots (these ones weren’t poured yet) and oh so professional looking chocolate covered strawberries…

as well as teensy brownie bites dotted with candy pacifiers… so cute!

the best part of the shower spread?  our champagne bar!

Every daytime party deserves champagne with all the fixings… freshly squeezed orange juice, fresh peach puree, & a strawberry puree!

Sarah, we’re so glad you had fun!

ayesha’s baby shower

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Think pink! Noreen and I hosted a shower for Ayesha on Sunday…

Here’s the menu and some pictures, all recipes (if you could call them that) are below:

- israeli couscous salad
- greek salad
- chicken kabobs
- beef meatballs w/ mint, parsley & basil
- chicken/turkey meatballs w/ mint, parsley & basil
- homemade tzakiki
- hummus
- mixed olives
- soft naan bread
- crunchy pita chips

- donut holes (b/c of “mum to be”s early cravings!)
- mini choc chip cookies w/ milk shots
- cupcakes from Bakesale Betty in Berkeley

- smores bites for favors
- “pink ladies” mocktails… POM pomegranate juice mixed w/ sparkling water and garnished w/ lime slices

Here are the recipes:

israeli couscous

2 8 oz boxes israeli couscous
1 quart carton stock
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large shallot, finely chopped
almond slivers
pine nuts
cranberries
basil
mint
s&p
lemon zest (2 lemons)
lemon juice
olive oil

In a decent sized saucepan heat olive oil over medium heat then add onion and shallot, then the garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes then add the couscous then continue cooking for a couple more minutes. Add the stock then turn heat to low and cover pan. stir every now and then until all the stock has been absorbed. Add a reasonable amount of salt and pepper. Remove from heat. While couscous is cooling toast pine nuts and almonds in a dry pan over medium high heat till golden brown. Add to cooled couscous.  Chop cranberries and add. Zest lemons then add juice.  Chop mint and basil and add. Pour a bit more olive oil over the couscous and mix everything together. Taste to see if you need more salt or pepper and you are good to go!

beef/chicken/turkey meatballs

I love making Italian-style meatballs, but by adding the mint they become Mediterranean-style!

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground chicken
1 lb ground turkey
2 handfuls of mint
2 handfuls of parsley
2 handfuls of basil
s&p

Place beef in one bowl, chicken & turkey in another.  Chop herbs and place even amounts in each bowl.  Generously salt & pepper the meat.  Use your hands (or a fork or spoon if you’re squeamish) to thoroughly mix both mixtures so the herbs are distributed throughout the ground meat.  Form the mixture into balls and place on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes till cooked through.  Serve w/ tzakiki.

tzakiki

Normally I buy it and add more greek yogurt to the mix, but TJs and Whole Foods were both out so I had to make from scratch.

16 oz greek yogurt
1 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 english cucumber
celery salt
s&p

Mix olive oil w/ lemon juice. Fold in yogurt till thoroughly incorporated w/ oil & lemon. Grate cucumber and squeeze out excess moisture over sink. Add celery salt, regular salt & pepper to taste.

tandori chicken kabobs

I used Sukhi’s tandori marinade then grilled the chicken on my grill pan for the bbq affect

smores bites

These are nigella lawson’s:

1 stick plus 1 tablespoon soft unsalted butter
10 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
3 tablespoons golden syrup or 1/4 cup corn syrup
8 ounces plain hard and crunchy cookies
2 cups mini marshmallows
2 teaspoons powdered sugar

Melt the butter, chocolate and syrup in a heavy based saucepan. Scoop out about 1/2 cup of this melted mixture and put aside.  Put the biscuits/cookies into a freezer bag and then bash them with a rolling pin. You are looking for both crumbs and pieces of cookies.  Fold the cookie pieces and crumbs into the melted chocolate mixture, and then add the marshmallows.  Pour into a 9-inch square foil tray; flatten as best you can with a spatula. Pour over the reserved 1/2 half cup of melted chocolate mixture and smooth the top.

Refrigerate for about 2 hours or overnight.

Cut into small bite-sized pieces.