Patriotic Table Decor

Ahhhh Memorial Day. It feels like the unofficial first day of summer. Usually my husband and I go to the lake or the beach for the three day weekend, but we have been traveling so much recently I needed some time at home. 

I am a sucker for holidays because it's a great excuse to host friends and decorate the house! This year I decided to spend the holiday out on our porch. I recently slapped a new coat of paint on it to brighten it for the summer. It was so drab before...the dark red floor and brown siding made the area feel like a cave. Ever since we (I) painted it, its been so bright and airy. 

Rather than using cheesy decor covered in stars and stripes and super bright colors, I decided on soft pops of patriotic colors. I wanted to add at least one element of the flag, so I decided on red and white striped napkins. I found a full set of these hand-blown blue goblets at HomeGoods (shocking, am I right??). I love adding gold accents to almost all of my home because reflective elements add shine and make the other room items glow.

I added height to the table arrangement by using large glass hurricanes and pillar candles. These are great because they are functional as well as beautiful. When the sun goes down, you can enjoy a candlelit conversation. 

I think someone is a fan of this space ;) .

You can save up to 30% off Pottery Barn by using code: SAVEMORE this weekend only. My napkins and placemats are from Pottery Barn and linked below!

Sparkling Wine

Let's talk about bubbles, baby. Since I have been studying to become a certified sommelier, the one thing I have realized that drives people in the wine biz crazy, is when consumers call any and all wine with bubbles in it, Champagne. If you're one of these people, no need to worry! I did this too, and I am here to educate you on a few delicious sparkling wines and why only true champagne can be called champagne.

(Image source: Wine Folly)

Real champagne is from a wine region in France called Champagne. It has a delicious light, nutty andfruity taste, and usually carries a pretty hefty price tag, starting at around $40 for an inexpensive 
bottle. There are tons of other delicious sparkling wines that you can find for an affordable price that carry similar taste profiles to champagne.

My personal favorite sparkling wine is crémant. Think of it as "champagne taste with a beer pocket 
book." Like champagne, it is made in the traditional method of making sparkling wine, which is 
where the second fermentation happens in the bottle, and the aging of the lees (sediment and yeast) 
happens in the bottle. There are several variations of this wine, based on the region it is produced in 
France, but they are all winners as far as I'm concerned.

Now, without getting too nerdy on the subject, I wanted to cover other sparkling wines that are pretty 
popular here in the US that you can find at your local wine shop.

Prosecco

This Italian-made sparkling wine carries a slightly sweeter flavor than a traditional champagne, and 
carries a very attractive price tag, making it one of the more economical choices for your holiday 
celebration. This dry, delicately fruity wine are found with spumante (lots of bubbles) and frizzante 
(lightly-bubbled) on the label. Prosecco, unlike champagne, cava, and crémant, spends it's second 
fermentation in a steel tank, which takes less time to make and is cheaper for the producer whose 
savings gets passed on to you, the consumer. Some great proseccos that are easily found in stores are La Marca and Ruffoni.

Cava

The sparkling wine from Spain is called cava. Similar to champagne, this wine is classified into six 
different types ranging from extra brut (the least sweet, 0-6 grams of sugar per liter) to dulce (the 
sweetest with more than 50 grams of sugar per liter). As a note to the consumer, the more expensive 
the cava, the drier it is, and the less expensive the cava, the sweeter it is. One cava you probably see 
at the store quite frequently is Freixenet. Their highest quality bottle is the black bottle with the silveraccents, called Gran Cordon Negro.

American Sparkling Wine

California has been producing some delicious, ever-improving sparkling wine over the years. 
Creating a Champagne-like sparkling wine in the USA has been a challenge due to climate. 
Wine makers have been looking to cooler climate regions, like Carneros and Oregon, to grow their 
grapes. American sparkling wines tend to be a bit fruitier and heavier on the palate than a true 
champagne, but nonetheless are more affordable, considering you can pick up a pretty decent 
bottle for right around $19.  (Some of the most popular regional wines include Scharffenberger Brut, Argyle Brut & Mumm.)

Some fun facts about sparkling wine:

• Sparkling wine corks can go as fast as 40 mph when popped! Cover your eyes!

• The ideal temperature for serving sparkling wine is 46-50 degrees.

• The pressure inside a bottle of sparkling wine is about 90 psi (pounds per square inch) – which is about 3x the pressure in a car tire

Raspberry Cosmopolitan Jello Shots

There's something about New Year's Eve that gives me the desire to make jello shots. Going to an SEC school, jello shots became synonymous with a celebration for me. I started making these classier-looking jello shots my senior year of college when I hosted my first NYE party with a few friends. I was in charge of the food and alcohol for the party.

The one request from the guys I received was to make jello shots. I was resistant at first because I thought they were so tacky. I usually see mismatching colors of jello shots served in cups that are holding way too large of a portion, which was always unattractive to me. I started looking for  way to serve them that would look more sophisticated and came up with this solution. 

I decided to do a little experiment. I used a baking dish and an ice cube mold to see which one would produce better looking shots. I was sure that the ice cube mold would make them look perfect.

I was wrong. After trying 3 different methods of removing the jello carefully from the mold, all 3 resulted in the same, terrible way...a glob.

After removing the jello from the baking dish lined with plastic wrap, I found that it was a much better way to create a more unified look for the shots.

These shots are a hit wherever I take them! I found these cute edible star sprinkles on amazon, and used them to garnish the tops of my shots for New Years. If I'm making these in the summer or spring, I usually liked to use rainbow sprinkles for birthday parties or a lemon or lime zest for other types of parties. Any way you serve them up, they are a tasty a fun treat to make for bachelorette parties, holiday events, or a girl's night!

Raspberry Cosmo Jello Shots

Preparation:  5 min Cool Time: 4 hours Total Time: 4 hours

Serves: 25-30 shots

Ingredients

        

          1 cup of hot water

          1/2 cup vodka

          1/2 cup cold water

          1 package of raspberry lemon jello

          Sprinkles or zest from a lemon or lime for garnish

Instructions

          1) Pour jello packet into a large bowl. Add hot water and mix until all of the jello packet has dissolved.

          

          2) Once dissolved, add your vodka and the cold water to the bowl and mix.

          3) Line a baking dish with foil or plastic wrap. Pour the mixture into the baking dish.

          4) Place the dish in the fridge for 3-4 hours, or until set.

          5) Once your jello is set, lift the foil/plastic wrap from the baking dish, holding the jello, and place on a 

               flat surface. Using a knife or square cookie cutter, begin cutting squares out of the jello. 

          6) Place the squares onto a serving dish and garnish with sprinkles or zest.

Enjoy!

Cranberry Mojitos

Christmas is almost here! It is such a wonderful time of year! Friends and family coming to town, communities coming together to celebrate and decorate, and best of all, holiday treats and drinks! I love getting into the spirit with seasonal libations. I enjoy putting a holiday spin on traditional favorites. Mojitos are one of my favorite drinks to make during the summer, and I found myself wanting to make them festive for the holidays. Rather than using cranberry cocktail, I decided to make a cranberry-infused simple syrup and add it to a traditional mojito recipe. Warning: these are so tasty you may forget there is alcohol in them! I just love the way they look, too! With fun pops of red and green, these gorgeous cocktails are sure to be a hit at your next party!

Cranberry Mojitos

Preparation:  10 min Cook Time: 5 min Total Time: 15 min

Serves: 4

Ingredients

        

          1 cup of fresh cranberries

          1 1/2 cups of fresh mint (just the leaves)

          1 cup water

          4 tbsp lime juice

          1 cup (or 8 oz) of rum

          Soda water

Instructions

          1) Place the cranberries, sugar and water in a medium size pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.

          2) Once simmering, lower the heat to medium-low for 10 minutes.

          3) Remove from heat and allow to cool. Once cooled, take a mesh strainer and place it over a bowl. 

                Pour the mixture into the strainer, and using a large spoon, press the cranberries to try and extract 

                as much liquid as you can.

          4) Arrange the glasses you plan on serving the drinks in. Place about 8-10 mint leaves and 

              squeeze one tbsp of lime juice into each glass. Muddle the leaves with the lime juice. 

             (Note: I infused my simple syrup with the mint leaves...this is a nice option if you want less of the 

               leaves in your drink.)

          5) Place ice in each glass and then pour 4 tbsp (2 oz) of rum and 4 tbsp (2 oz) of the cranberry simple 

               syrup into each glass. Top with soda water and garnish with fresh cranberries.

Cheers!

     

Christmas Stovetop Potpourri

Are you ready for the simplest way to make your entire home smell like Christmas? You may still have these items on hand from Thanksgiving! All you need is four simple ingredients to make this amazing-smelling mixture. You can put this on the stovetop, or throw all of the ingredients into your crockpot on low to keep the aromas going. When the water runs low, simply add more to keep the smell going. 

I love using this easy mixture before I entertain, to make the house smell like it's right out of a Christmas catalogue! As soon as I put this mixture on the stove, my husband asked what I was cooking because it smelled "amazing all over the house." While the mixture doesn't last as long as a candle (the mixture keeps 1-3 days), it certainly smells better and stronger than any Christmas candle I've found....not to mention it is beautiful to look at! 

I hope this seasonal medley makes your home a hit at your next rendezvous!

Christmas Stovetop Potpourri

Preparation:  5 min

                  Cook Time:  All Day                     

Ingredients

        

          1 bag of cranberries

          1 orange, cut into thin slices

          2-3 cinnamon sticks

          3 fresh pine clippings

          Top with water or red wine (the water is to keep the mixture moist, add more as needed)

           Optional: 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

          1) Bring all ingredients to a boil on the stovetop. Lower the temperature to low heat, and enjoy!

Sweet Potato Casserole

There are some classics that never get old, like this sweet potato casserole. I grew up in a family that made southern dishes. If you've ever had southern food, you know butter is used like a spice....the more butter added, the better the recipe. We can all agree that butter makes things taste better. This casserole is one of my favorites! It's so decadent, you'd swear you were on the dessert course. 

I've had sweet potato casserole from a few places, and it is always too sweet. It almost seemed as though the sweet potato was the secondary ingredient and sugar was the primary. This casserole is well-rounded. Without adding too much sugar and including a small amount of heavy whipping cream, this recipe is light and fluffy, has a great mouth-feel without delivering tooth-aching sweetness.

This casserole is great to serve with a holiday roast or with a classic southern meal as a side. 

Sweet Potato Casserole

Preparation:  10 min

                  Cook Time: 65 min  Total Time: 75 min                       

Ingredients

        

          5 cups mashed sweet potatoes

          1 stick unsalted butter

          1/3 cup whipped cream

          1 2/3 cup light brown sugar

          1 tbsp cinnamon
          1 bag of marshmallows

Instructions

          1) Begin by peeling the sweet potatoes and putting them in a large stock pot, covering them with water.

          2) Let the potatoes come to a rolling boil and cook until you can stick a fork all the way through. 

               About 30-45 minutes.

          3) Transfer your potatoes to a mixing bowl. Add the stick of butter and blend. Once the butter is mixed 

                in, add the sugar, cream, and cinnamon to your mixture and blend all the way through. 

          4) Pour the mixture into a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

           5) After 30 minutes, dump the marshmallows evenly over the top and put it back into the oven until the 

                marshmallows are golden brown (about 3-5 minutes).

Homemade Pie Crust

This year, I decided to step it up and make pie crust from scratch for Thanksgiving. I'll admit it...I really wanted to break in my new cookie cutters for a decorative trim. When I found out this crust can be frozen for up to two months, I decided to make it two weeks in advance of the holiday.

Each year, my family celebrated Thanksgiving at my grandparent's house. Man can that woman cook! She would slave away in the kitchen for days leading up to Thanksgiving day, and when the day came there was a spread that would put restaurants to shame. Homemade casseroles, the biggest turkey you've ever seen, and at least 6 different desserts draped her giant kitchen island as we all lined up with empty stomachs and empty plates, ready to dive in.  

{ I don't see nothin' wrong, with a little bit of chop and grindddd }

Once my grandfather passed away, my grandmother wasn't as fervent to make the holiday feast, so I decided I'd try my hand at passing on her legacy. Up to this point, I have always purchased crust from the freezer section, because it was one less task on my to-do list. 

As I began writing my list of recipes, old and new, I would be cooking this year, I thought about those homemade pie crusts she made. They were warm and buttery and oh-so crusty. It was always the highlight of the dessert course in my family. I suppose making homemade crusts has dwindled, like mincemeat pies, they're seldom seen around the holidays anymore. 

This is her recipe.

All of this time, I thought making crust would be insanely laborious and messy...wrong. It took only ten minutes to make! Now, the decorative rim is a different story.

After cutting the draped edges of the pie, I shaped the trimmings into a ball and rolled them out again,  cutting strips to form a braid. I haven't braided hair, or anything for that matter, in so long, I completely forgot how and had to YouTube it! Once I began braiding the crust, I decided I wanted to go for a different look. I removed the braids from my pie rim and rolled them back out to a blank canvas. I grabbed my new set of pie cutters and began punching out little leaves and adhered them using melted butter.

You can grab my set here:

 

I love the result! It is so festive and pretty! I can't wait to see it once it bakes!

What desserts are you making for your Thanksgiving dinner?

Homemade Pie Crust

Makes one crust

Preparation:  10 min

                  Cook Time: 0 min  Total Time: 10 min                       

Ingredients

        

          1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

          1 tbsp sugar

          1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter

          3 tbsp cold water

        

Instructions

          1) Using a food processor, pour one cup of flour and half of the amount of butter and pulse until well 

                blended.

          2) Add the remaining flour and remaining butter to the food processor, and pulse until completely 

               blended. Add sugar and pulse a few more times.

          3) Transfer the mixture to a bowl or your kitchenaid and add the water. Mix with the paddle 

                attachment and blend until the dough begins to form. It should be somewhat sticky.

          4) Remove the dough from the bowl and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours before rolling 

                out. Dough can be frozen for up to 2 months and refrigerated for up to 5 days.