Summer Dessert

Tonight we had our dear friends Sheryl and Nate and Adam's sister Randee and her husband Carl over for dinner. It was the perfect night for a bbq. Adam grilled Teriyaki Sesame Chicken Kabobs and Chipotle Rosemary Chicken Kabobs and we served them with a mixed greens salad with sunflower seeds and a poppy dressing. For dessert I served one scoop of  Haagen- Dazs Strawberry Ice Cream & one scoop of Haagen -Dazs Vanilla Raspberry Swirl frozen yogurt and sorbet topped with fresh Puyallup strawberries. It is a simple and yummy summer dessert! 

Cook It: Cioppino

photos by J. Hobson Photography 

Cioppino

1 large can of tomato sauce (15 oz or more)

1 large can or red wine (use tomato can to measure)

1 large can of tomato puree (28 oz)

1/2 cup olive oil 

2 large onions 

3 whole cloves garlic 

1/2 cup parsley 

2 teaspoons oregano 

1 teaspoon basil 

2 bay leaves 

1 bunch green onions 

1 tablespoons salt 

1/2 teaspoon pepper 

5 pounds assorted fish & shellfish

Directions:

Simmer all ingredients for one hour. Add about five pounds of assorted  fish & shellfish. We used king crab legs, scallops, Manila clams and jumbo prawns. Simmer 20 minuted longer. Serve with a crusty baguette or warm bread.  I served the baguette wrapped in white butcher paper tied with a brown grosgrain ribbon in a basket filled with fresh parsley.

-thank to you Leo Ghelardi for sharing this family recipe 

Sangria: Happy First Day of Summer

Although we did not have summer weather today, it was the official First Day of Summer, I am hoping that our amazing Washington summer with be here soon.  I wanted to share my sangria recipe with you. I made this for our dinner party last Monday and it was a hit. I hope you enjoy.

 Sangria 

2 bottles of Merlot 

2 lemons cut in wedges 

2 oranges cut in wedges 

2 limes cut in wedges 

4 tablespoon sugar 

splash of orange juice 

4 shots of gin 

1 cup sliced strawberries 

1 cup raspberries 

8 cups Fresca soda 

Pour wine in a pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon, orange and lime into the wine. Remove the seeds from the lemons, limes and oranges and toss the chunks of fruit into the pitcher. Add sugar, orange juice and gin. Chill overnight. Add Fresca soda, berries and ice prior to serving. 

Sangria is best served chilled for about 24 hours prior to serving; this allows the flavors to blend and marinate the fruit. 

photo by J. Hobson Photography 

Our Destination Wedding ~ Save the Date

Our Save the Dates were mailed about 3 weeks ago and I wanted to share them. Our wedding gift from my dear friend Heather, who is the Creative Director at Hemisphere Design gave Adam and I the design services of the Save the Date & our Wedding Invitations She is so talented and we are SO thankful for this gift! I absolutely love the finished product!

 I am a postage stamp person, I know that a lot of people do not care what the postage looks like, but I am not one of them. I loved the stamp that I found for out Save the Date's. It matched out orange fizz envelopes perfectly and is in the Love series without being a huge heart, pink or anything purple. Heather is designing us a monogram for our custom postage stamps that I am ordering from Zazzle, we will use these on the the formal invitations.  

Summer BBQ

Tonight we had our dear friends Heather, Danny & Lyla (The Savvys) and Jen, Brannen & Mia (The Robbins) over for a summer barbeque dinner. The weather held up, which means it did not rain on us, but it was a little chilly outside. I made dinner, Heather brought a salad and Jen brought dessert. It does not get much better than spending Tuesdays with people you love! 

Shopping: Wedding Dress & Bridesmaid Dresses -Oh What A Day!

Luly Yang Couture 

Design by Sara, Design Consultant @ Luly Yang Couture

Last Saturday I spent the day shopping in Seattle with a few of my bridesmaids - Heather, Laura, Rebecca and Rhyan.  it was my 3rd dress shopping trip and I am so HAPPY that I have found my dress and the dress for the amazing women that are part of our wedding. I am having my dress made by Luly Yang - a dream! The wedding suite, design & service is outstanding here and am so excited to get to have this experience with Luly Yang. I am sharing a couple of the sketches - but my final dress design is going to be kept off the blog. The bridesmaids dresses are from Bella Bridesmaid -  and they are a beautiful! We ended the day with delightful dinner at Wild Ginger. 

Dream Kitchen: Island Home of Meg Ryan

Elle Decor is slowly replacing the late Domino magazine in my house. I still miss Domino, don't get me wrong but I needed to find another magazine with great style & design inspiration. The kind of magazine you sit down to read and rip pages out for your dream house file. This month Elle Decor is that magazine for me. I love Meg Ryan's beach house that is featured in this issue. Her beach home is is Martha's Vineyard - a place that I would love to visit! The kitchen pictured below is a DREAM KITCHEN to me! I love the exposed beams - they have a barn like feel with a polished finish. This kitchen is one that is in my inspiration file.