Happy Cinco de Mayo
Any excuse to make dinner a fun dinner, I will snap up. Cinco de Mayo is one of those excuses. It’s not really a “holiday” but we’ve taken to it in the US like we took to St. Patrick’s Day. We’ve made it all about cocktails and stereotypical Mexican foods.
This Cinco de Mayo, pull out everything brightly colored and set the table for tacos and margaritas!
Classic Margarita
Shake up the best margarita around with very simple ingredients and a fresh salty rim.
Fajita Steak
A super easy way to make a dinner that is customizable for each member of the family. And it’s healthy and simple.
Super Bowl Party
The Super Bowl is literally our Super Bowl. This is the pinnacle of our football season - we love sports and we love football.
We are obsessed with football in our family. I don’t know if my kids even realize how much more our family watches football than other families. For me, it began with college football. My cousin played for the Huskies and I got to go to every game. I loved everything about it – the noise, unity of everyone cheering for the same team, the bright colors, the cheer leaders, there is literally nothing I love more than a football game. I had a purple and yellow stripe outfit that I wore to cheer on the team every week. It was hot. It was a sleeveless turtleneck number with matching stretch pants. Welcome to 1988.
I married a football fan and I’ve been lucky enough to pass that love onto my children. We play fantasy football as a family, we watch games together, and we are at every Husky football game – still. Which makes the Super Bowl our last hurrah as football season officially comes to an end.
Planning the food for the Super Bowl is a paramount decision at our house. Here’s five tips that I use every time, they may help you plan your own football party!
ONE
Buffalo Chicken is the best for football, but frying chicken is a hassle. I have found that pulled chicken dressed in buffalo wing sauce is just as awesome and so much easier (also, can be made ahead!)
TWO
Make cocktails in a large batch or a punch. No one wants to bartend all night. I usually try to make something blue or green (Go Hawks!)
Three
Crunchy snacks are mandatory for stressful moments. We can only hope for a blow out (by us not them) but that’s never what happens and the stress of seeing your team going for it on fourth and one is real.
FIVE
Clear off your coffee table – or bring in a low table – cover it with a piece of astroturf and load it up with all your food. No one wants to walk away from the television – between the game and the ads, this is TVs biggest day! And the biggest day for our family. (also, the astroturf protects your table)
Turning 18
My oldest turned 18 this past weekend. It’s a weird thing to have your child become an adult. So we had a lovely family dinner that was perfect for the person that he is and who he is becoming.
This child, at age 8, asked for a cocktail party for his birthday. He didn’t want any kids at the party - just our family and some family friends. He’s always been an old soul so a dinner party at one of our favorite places was just as “over the top” as he would tolerate.
I can’t leave well enough alone, so I made cookies, I made Lino cuts of Lars’s favorite things, and handed out favors. Sometimes the best parties are the simple ones that have just a few over the top things added to it.
Weeknight Baseball Party
It’s baseball season! Still! Which is so exciting for us in Seattle. I know there are cities where your team is regularly in the post season, or you expect them to be in the post season - we are not that city. We are the city who always has so much hope in April. And then we turn to football in the fall, because there isn’t another local sport happening.
But not this year! This year, we are in the picture.
It is absolutely something to celebrate, so let’s celebrate! We are making up a few special things and filling in with grilled hot dogs and pretzel bites. It’s a ridiculously simple menu. And even if you don’t make what I’m making, do something! Celebrate! It’s been almost a quarter century since we’ve been here!
Homemade Cracker Jacks
These are the best! And they are actually really simple - which is the best part. It’s super impressive that you made your own. Also wasn’t that hard.
Feta Pretzel Dip
A simple dip with ingredients that are probably in your fridge right now! Plus, it’s great on almost anything you can dip.
Cracker Jack Cookies
Filled with popcorn, white chocolate, and peanuts - you won’t believe how good this combination is wrapped in a buttery cookie.
Building a Giant Bow
I get to do some of the coolest projects. For the school auction last year I was asked if I could make a giant bow. I agreed without having any idea what I was actually going to do or how I would make a bow be “giant” and also look tailored and in the Ralph Lauren Christmas vibe we were going for.
Luckily, I’m not the first person to make a giant bow so there were dozens of tutorials out there to reference. I ended up wanting a stiff bow, so I used chicken wire for the base. In case you want to make your own giant bow, the steps were as follows:
Cut the chicken wire to form two loops and two ‘tails’ for the bow. I knew my end bow needed to be about six feet across, so all of the components together needed to add up to that.
Using hot glue and clothes pins, I attached the fabric to the chicken wire. I did only one side. If I did it again, I would wrap all of the chicken wire in the fabric, so even as you walked under the bow it would just look like fabric.
To attach the bow to the arch I used zip ties and wire. Wire pokes right through the fabric, so it was simple to connect anywhere on the bow to the arch. Depending on what you are attaching it to, you may need to find another solution.
To finish the bow, I used a length of fabric wrapped around the middle and hot glued it in place. And there was a little more wire to make sure it stayed up all night!
This is not a hard project, but it does take some time and strategy. And for the little amount of money, it creates a huge impact for guests walking in the door. Totally worth while. I ended up making miniature ones as well for the bars. Let me know if you end up making one too.
🕷️ Happy Halloween 🕷️
Today is the day and my daughter is the most excited of anyone. We’re hosting a little movie night at our house tonight complete with all of the spooky foods, cocktails, and mocktails. Here’s a snapshot of what we’re doing!
For your drinking pleasure…
Corpse Reviver no.2 Cocktail
Super kid (and kid at heart) friendly
Halloween-ies with ketchup blood
It’s delish and a little elegant
Apple Cider Skull cakes
Spooky enough to eat a handful
Eyeball Meringues
For a Harry Potter binge
Butter Beer Cookies
For the kid’s at heart
Ice cream floats made with purple & green sodas
It's my Happy Birthday!
Today is my birthday! I love my birthday. I’m a big fan of getting older - it’s so much better than the alternative. But it’s also fun! A day to celebrate me! With everyone I love. I’m so lucky to get to have a birthday.
In honor of my birthday, I’ve put together a bunch of my favorite things so you can celebrate along with me!
Literally the best champagne punch I have ever made. It’s my absolute favorite. My birthday cake every year is a Black Forest Cake - this goes perfectly with it!
This is the best dinner ever. I order it every time it comes up on a menu - it’s almost all I ate when we were in Italy. I’m obsessed with clams - and in pasta with delicious olive oil - I’m extra obsessed.
These are actually perfect. They’re fluffy, filled with white chocolate chips, and covered in sprinkles. I cannot get enough of them! They’re perfect for those of us who don’t care about cake - but LOVE cookies.
Leave a comment if you decide to celebrate with me! I love to celebrate with all of my friends and you are some of my favorite friends.
A Kid's Table for Thanksgiving
When I was little we never separated into kids table/adults table. We sat at one extremely long table with all of my aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and random friends that someone showed up with. And we ate. If there is one thing that my family has always done well, it's eat.
But I love the concept of a table filled with fun. And fun things to do. And fun. There's a chance I will turn the entire table into a 'kid's table' this year. I'm sort of smitten with the idea.
In case you are smitten too, here's what I did:
1. Covered the table with kraft paper. You can draw on it and when you are done it's compostable {at least the kind I bought is compostable}
2. Drew on placemats and place cards. Black pen = outlines for coloring everything else.
3. Created snack cornucopias out of ice cream cones. Here's how to do it :: dip the base of the cone in water for 20 seconds. microwave the cone for 20 seconds. bend the cone around a pencil and let sit until hard. Stale cones work best.
4. Printed out games and activities to play.
5. Made play dough. Arguably, you can buy it too. But more fun to make it.
6. Made handprint turkeys with the little turkeys. Easy, trace their hand, cut it out, glue on. Let them cut it out.
7. Apple juice in milk jars = happy little hands.
Links:
Julie Blanner’s Word Search Printable
Somewhat Simple’s Thankful for Printable Cards
Playdoh Recipe from I Heart Naptime
A Super Simple Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving seems to kick off a season of over eating, loads of butter, and a massive amount of dessert. Not to mention the cocktails!! It’s a season where everything makes it harder to eat well. But it doesn’t have to be that way! There are simple solutions, swap outs, and mindfulness that can take this time fraught with heavy cream and turn it into the celebration it’s supposed to be.
Everyone needs to have a turkey. The large bird are iconic of the season but if you aren’t hosting a huge crowd, try swapping that out for something smaller like a turkey breast or even turkey tenderloins. If you are cooking the big bird, here’s the best tips for making a centerpiece for your dinner.
And don’t forget a cocktail! Even the healthiest of eating requires a little libation at the holiday. And on a holiday surrounded by family no less. These cocktails are fun and festive and add a little flavor of fall. Make these in big batches and you won’t have to be stuck trying to pour and shake drinks every few minutes! Trust me, a punch bowl full of booze goes a long way!
Happy Mother's Day + Mommy & Me Cooking Class
Last week Kim Hildebrand and I hosted a cooking class + mini photo session and it was EPIC! We cooked, we laughed, we ate. It was such a fun class. Not only was it a fun class, but the girls really pitched in and did 90% of the work themselves.
I set up the table the same way I do it for every cooking class with a giant table down the middle of the bay of the fire station. After we’d all cooked together, we went to the bay for our ‘family brunch’ and all ate together. The girls had the best time sitting together, chatting, and then diving into cupcakes from Trophy Cupcakes.
The menu for the class was simple. Pearl and I met the girls at the door with a Vanilla Float made with DRY Sparkling Vanilla and the moms with a glass of champagne. Have you tried a float with DRY Sparkling?? It’s just a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with DRY Sparkling Vanilla. It’s so ridiculously good. The Vanilla soda isn’t as sweet as most sodas so it compliments the ice cream perfectly - it still forms the little crust that’s on the top of the ice cream when you make a soda float. Let’s be honest, that’s really the best part.
The girls then made us all Ham & Cheese Puffs - basically on their own! I gave instructions and each girl took on a different job from slicing ingredients to rolling puff pastry to brushing the egg wash on everything. It was adorable how excited each girl got about the tasks - and even more adorable how they all wanted to help in the kitchen! It was proof that if we give our kids age appropriate jobs, they can totally cook dinner for us. If I can get your kids to help AND/OR cook for you once a week then my job is done and I will retire.
I don’t always believe in making dessert. But this was a special occasion and we needed something fabulous to finish off our brunch. My friends at Trophy made us Strawberry Cupcakes - a classic that’s always a hit. It’s the most delicious cupcake I have possibly had in a long time. It has strawberry frosting on top & a strawberry jam filling - I did not mean to eat the whole thing, but there you go. It disappeared.
Are you interested in coming to a Mommy & Me class? If so, leave a comment below - it would be a blast to do this again soon! If you want to come to a kid-free cooking class, sign up for notifications on Eventbrite and we’ll find out as soon as it’s posted!
