Gift Thy Neighbor

So we moved in to our new home 6 months ago and I still only know a couple of the neighbors!  Eek!  Between traveling all week to Birmingham, out of town almost every weekend for weddings, Clemson games, and otherwise and being DIY house project-attempters in every other waking minute I haven't exactly been the most open-door policy newcomer!  

To be fair, my neighborhood literally is 90% couples with little bambinos, all of which seem to have paired off into teams of roaming stroller gangs.  Besides taking Finnley for her walks, our only neighborhood social outings have consisted of a couple of sunset booze cruises in the golf cart - still working on our theme song.

It's a convertible.  No big deal.

So I made some gifts to spread some holiday cheer!  Seriously only 2 people out of 12 were home when Patrick, my brother and I wandered the streets handing out our hot cocoa mix, one of which had literally no idea who we were.  Ha!  Thought that counts - good thing I put our address on the label!

Hot Cocoa "Snowman Soup"

1 cup unsweetened hot cocoa mix
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (mini melt better!)
1/4 cup crushed peppermint candies
Lots of marshmallows!  More marshmallows!

Fashion some tags and write some instructions (I happened to have hot cocoa stamps and cutesy things in my grandma stash of scrapbookables!)

1.  Mix ingredients in a large bowl
2.  For each serving, stir 1/3 cup cocoa mix into 1 cup boiling water or warm milk

Yummy and adorable!



But then again, maybe this is why we have no neighborhood friends...

Wishes & Wants: Turquoise

Halfway through Winter and I'm already craving Spring - the warmth, the colors... the mimosas and Hoegaardens in the sunshine....  Especially those.

Growing up on Hilton Head Island, SC spoiled me to the core with constant proximity to the beach, and all things country club chic.  I love nautical textures, patterns and especially colors!  Even my wedding is predominantly navy with lots of navy/white striped linens and burlap textures!

The color turquoise has been my biggest obsession since I can remember - down to the first car I bought for myself: a neon turquoise (think Fast & the Furious) '93 BMW 325i, not-so-fondly nicknamed the Blue Bomber.  It died slowly but magnificently.  It was once towed and impounded for 2 weeks without my knowledge and I found it with 3 flat tires, a dead battery and 2 boots.  TWO boots.  In case I was going to take off on the only inflated tire...  In another epic moment, the car alarm wouldn't stop wailing as a poor valet (at Aiko in Altanta) desperately tried to get the thing started.  My 3rd party alarm had kicked the bucket - so in a moment of panic I pleaded with him to physically rip the horn out of the hood to end my embarrassment.  With the most incredulous look I've ever seen and a not so subtle "crazy woman," he obliged.  The bomber never honked again.

Back to the point.  My Spring inspired wishlist of the day:

Bracelet | Jars | White Croc Tieks | James Nares Print | Clutch | Chaise

Wedding Invitations!

We just got out wedding invitation samples in the mail, thanks to weddingpaperdivas.com and minted.com!  So many pretty colors, beautiful finishes and fabulous textures!  It was really hard to narrow it down to the samples, but we picked out our favorite in under 5 minutes!  Whew!  And only 5 months before they need to be sent out... hehe!  Organized crazy person that I am!

Our colors are navy and yellow - so we are going with navy type!  I am lucky enough to have a mommy who has done gorgeous calligraphy for years to write out all my envelopes for a special touch.  Can't wait to see the finished product!  

Resolution Fail

Made it almost 48 hours into the New Year and already disobeying myself...  Oopses!  Wine, cheese and a not-so-early bedtime await...

But look what my awesome hotel in Birmingham delivered up for me in the New Year!  

While I desperately miss my puppy, my fiance and my home every night that I'm away, there is something really nice about lounging in my pajiminies, watching the Sugar Bowl and sipping on my mini bottle of wine in my big king bed (feather free!) with no one but my onesie to talk to.  Which I do.  I blame the cheese...

Pretty much the whole food pyramid, right?  That counts for something...

1st Holiday Dinner Party

Last night I hosted my first ever seated dinner party, in the new home and in life! Fiancé I hosted his family for a gourmet meal and cocktails at our house and I think it went off rather perfectly!
I notoriously stress the heck out when I'm on a time crunch but luckily I prepped everything beforehand and even wrote out a timing chart for myself!  OCD much?!  Unfortunately I got so caught up in the cooking and entertaining I forgot to take pics of the final products, but lets just say mine made these pro photos look like they belonged at the kiddy table (right...!)

Every recipe I used was a new one, except the cashews and potatoes and I will reuse every one! The tenderloin will take some adapting for a better crust though, as there wasn't any crunch factor. Lots of firsts: 1st lobster, 1st Brussels sprouts, 1st beef tenderloin and 1st cheesecake!

 

My future mamma-in-law got me this adorable apron for the occasion!  So thoughtful!

The Menu
Appeteasers
Rosemary and Cayenne Tossed Cashews
Dips & Spreads (tapenade, spin dip, hummus, etc.)

A Little Sumthin Sumthin
Avocado and Tomato Lobster-tinis
Toasted Baguette with Killer Italian Olive Oil (snuck home from Verona visiting my bestie last year)

The Big Kahuna
Mustard and Horseradish Crusted Beef Tenderloin
Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprouts and Dried Cranberries
Roasted Rosemary Potatoes and Cippolini Onions

Sweet Treat
Individual Caramel Cheesecakes with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

The Recipes

Rosemary and Cayenne Cashews
These are so fabulous and addicting like crazy! You have to serve them warm though, because as the butter cools it gets a little sticky. These smell just amazing while cooking!  Don't cut out the cayenne, it really makes them pop!

Avocado and Tomato Lobster-Tinis
I adapted this recipe and added cherry tomatoes for some Christmas color! This is a very acidic vinaigrette but quite delicious - I baked the lobster tails, cut the horseradish in half and added more honey but otherwise stayed true to B. Flay.  Next time I'll slow it down on the Worcestershire too I think!

Cut as close to the edges as possible for max yummability

Run your knife around the edges of the meat to separate, as well as get the marinade in the little nookies

Drizzle with the good stuff

Make some fun animals - a whale, a goose andddd a lobster tail, whammy!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic and Cranberries
I've never made Brussels sprouts before this because I don't care for the bitter almost pungent flavor, but after this recipe I am a changed chicky! I didn't even know they were "Brussels" sprouts, as in the location, and have always referred to them in the singular!  Learned something (or 57 things) new!  I used premade balsamic glaze to save time and just tossed the roasted sprouts w the Craisins and glaze until it looked pretty!

Check out that Stalk o' Sprouts!  

Roasted Potatoes and Cippolinis
This is a ridiculously easy, foolproof recipe that I've made a dozen times. I ran out of dried rosemary so I subbed an Italian blend of dried herbs (not fresh!). If you can't find Cippolinis you can chunk up a large onion into similar sized pieces and throw it in instead! I used a fingerling blend that included purple potatoes, who doesn't love that??



Dijon and Horseradish Crusted Tenderloin
This monster was a super easy prep with pretty good results. I marinated for 24 hours which could be why it didn't get a true crust.  It was good, but not super duper great flavor.   Also I cooked it at the same time as the potatoes, so I had to add about 10 min to the cook time for medium-rare. SUCH a tender cut of meat, which I love!  Even after my future sister-in-law nuked hers to a dark gray puck, it was still pretty tender apparently!  

Lather on the goodness!

Salted Caramel Cheesecakes
Oh. My. Goodness. These were amazing. Like make every day and hide them in your pocket amazing. I made 12 for 7 people in case of breakage during playing, which I'm glad I did - not because a single one broke, but because I have 5, FIVE! to devour today!  I made these 6 hours in advance and you definitely need to refrigerate up till the moment you're ready to plate.   I cheated here too and used a squeeze bottle of Ghirardeli caramel to drizzle on top to save time. The salt is a MUST on top.  AND they're from Cooking Light and relatively low cal (254 calories each!)

Drinkable.

Golden little crusties

Such a fabulous meal with fabulous family!