40 Under 40 Event ~ Business Examiner

Event images from the 40 Under 40 Event that we did for the Business Examiner ~ July 8th 2010. We were the proud venue sponsor for 360 guests this year. It was a great event and I am honored to be an alumni of the 40 Under 40 group.

{The menu}

Mini Gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwiches 

Tomato Vodka Soup Sips 

Lobster Soup Sips 

Chef Attended Pasta Station 

Build Your Own Caesar Station 

Bruschetta Bar 

International Cheese, Fruit & Crackers 

Build Your Own Sundae Bar with all the Toppings 

Cupcakes 

Espresso Beverages by Black Tie Espresso 

Bake It ~ 4th of July Dessert

My sister and I made this last year for a party that we went to. I did post this last 4th of July but thought it was worthy of a re-post. So if you do not have your dessert planned for your 4th of July festivities this weekend this is a yummy and fun one to make. Happy 4th of July to you! 

FLAG CAKE

INGREDIENTS 

• 18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 3 cups sugar
• 6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups flour
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

For the icing:

• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 1/2 pounds cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

To assemble:

• 2 half-pints blueberries
• 3 half-pints raspberries

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour an 18 by 13 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and stir until smooth.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.

For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mixing just until smooth.

Spread three-fourths of the icing on the top of the cooled sheet cake. Outline the flag on the top of the cake with a toothpick. Fill the upper left corner with blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like a red stripe. Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe two rows of white stripes below the raspberries. Alternate rows of raspberries and icing until the flag is completed. Pipe stars on top of the blueberries.

~recipe from Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa, Family Style 

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!