Fish on Sticks

So I wanted to incorporate some fish into my menu. Something easy, yet delicious. These kabobs were a simple and yummy option. I prepared everything a head of time, and even cooked them up to an hour before serving. Not to mention the presentation looks awesome. I heard a few “OoooOohh”s when I brought them out.

The mango, papaya, and lime definitely add a tropical twist to this appetizer. You can even play around and add a piece of solid fish such as halibut if you like. Definitely mix and match!

Aloha, from The Mixing Bowl!

Hello friends! This weekend was the first dinner club. Again, the theme was a Luau!

It was very very hot out of course, but I was just praying the rain would hold off. I got some fun luau decorations, and made 3 different “main course” dishes, and one side. The girls brought some really delicious foods too. I’ll be posting the different recipes this week.

To start off–I’ll be sharing my Kalua Pig recipe. This is a luau staple! Kalua literally means “to cook in an underground oven”. Well, that’s just too much work for me, so we’ll be using the “oven” method.

Kalua Pig is basically a pulled-pork kind of dish. It was extremely tasty, and surprisingly easy to make. Along with this I made a sweet potato side dish.

Apra La Bocca!

Apra la bocca means open your mouth or open wide in Italian! Because there’s some good things coming in…

If you want to impress your friends with some Mediterranean cooking skills, make a super delicious Italian antipasto dish!

I see people order this at some nice Italian restaurants, and they are always wowed by the taste and the presentation too. Well you can do this at home—at a much lesser price. So today I’m going to show you the veggie version of this appetizer. No cold cuts here.

Depending on how many you’re feeding, you can definitely vary the ingredients. For instance, you can add sliced or cubed cheese, salami, sopresatta, button mushrooms—whatever your heart desires.

You Say Tomato, I say… Let’s Eat!

As promised, here is my bruschetta recipe. This is a tried and true recipe–always get compliments every time I make this. In fact, my boyfriends family asks me to bring this for every family event. I tell him, ‘Oh why don’t I bring something else you can all try?’ Nope, they want the bruschetta!

Ingredients are key here. I absolutely recommend vine ripe tomatoes. You can buy them in the grocery store, or if you are lucky enough to have a green thumb–you can pick them in your backyard! Also, bread should be a nice rustic italian loaf. You can use a french loaf if you’re looking for smaller portions, but I don’t think the taste is as good.

So here we go…

The Good “Stuff”

I finally uploaded my pictures! I apologize for not getting any pictures of table setting and food before people arrived, but it was just way too hectic.

Oh well! I have a small picture of the table setting here. I was able to find some really nice orchids at ACMoore, with matching napkins at Party Needs. I got a nice green tablecloth and pink paper plates to match.

It did look really pretty.
I also managed to get some pictures of the appetizers! Lucky you! Oh, well, before they were cooked. But that’s OK, they didn’t look that different.

The stuffed mushrooms were delicious! A couple people even asked how I made them. Well YOU get to have the recipe right here!
Also, the bruschetta–I’ll save this one for tomorrow!

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

So, You Want to Know How it Went?

The bridal shower on Saturday was a success! The food was delicious, company was great, and best of all–the bride-to-be was pleased!

It really was a lot of work–at least the cooking was.  I spent Friday night from 7:30-10:30 p.m. cooking, and then Saturday morning 8-12p.m. finishing up and making final touches to the room, all while trying to make myself decent looking.

I set up the room in the kitchen/living upstairs. It was especially humid out,  so I had to do all my cooking downstairs (didn’t want our guests sweating all over the place.)

So I was running up and down the stairs checking on the food.  I wanted everything to be warm so I was waiting as long as I could to finish heating the food in the oven.

Again, here was the menu–

Appetizers:
Bruschetta
Stuffed mushrooms

Lunch:
Baked Ziti
Meatballs
Chicken Parm

Salad
Bread

Dessert:
cupcakes and cookies (store bought)
Tirimisu (other bridesmaid brought)
Fresh Fruit Platter

Drinks:
Sangria

Here’s what I did to prepare for guests arrival at 12:30p.m.:

Friday night:

Cooked chicken parm sauce (no meat)
Cooked Pasta sauce with meatballs
Fried chicken cutlets and arranged in baking dish
Prepared brushetta tomato topping; mixed all ingredients minus salt
Chopped up salad w/cucumbers and pre-sliced julienne carrots
Washed and arranged fruit on a platter

Saturday Morning:
Topped chicken parm with tomato sauce and cheese
Boiled pasta and arranged in baking dish with sauce and cheese (removed meatballs to another baking dish)
Pre-pared stuffed mushrooms
Toasted brushetta bread

Saturday starting at 11:30am:
Baked Stuffed Mushrooms (reheated at 12:30)
Baked Ziti for 45 minutes (needs time to cool a little so easy to scoop)
Baked chicken Parm
Reheated meatballs
Made sangria mix

I think that was everything! A lot of the food went, but I obviously cooked extra so we’ve been eating leftovers since!

Some other tidbits, don’t forget the salad dressing, butter for bread and of course background music!

I found some Enya, and the Practical Magic soundtrack.  It was the perfect mix.

Now I know you’re looking for pictures of food.  But since I was running around like a mad woman, I didn’t get to take pictures of everything

I did get a nice shot of bruschetta and the uncooked stuffed mushrooms. I’ll post these very soon.

Cheers!
Sabrina

Shower Her With Food!

Saturday I am hosting a bridal shower at my house.  I’ve hosted one bridal shower myself before, and helped with another one… but never did I do the cooking! Yikes, I’m nervous. Granted it’s a small group (10-15 people… don’t you love “maybe’s”), but I still feel the pressure.

I am recovering from an inner ear virus (umm can you say vertigo?) yet running around trying to get things done. Not a good mix.

The Maid of Honor wants to incorporate orchids into the theme, as well as create a spa-like relaxing atmosphere. Oh yeah, no biggie.

So far I picked up some impressive fake orchids at AC Moore (60% off). I plan to either make an arrangement with these, or pick off the bulbs and either scatter around the table or place on cloth napkins.

Then what you all really care about… the food! Yes the food. So what’s on the menu?

Appetizers

Bruschetta
Stuffed Mushrooms

Lunch Items
Chicken Parm
Baked Ziti with meatballs
Salad
Bread

Dessert
Cupcakes

So Friday night and Saturday morning will be jam-packed with fun, delicious smells, and sweat! Wish me luck! Oh yeah, if anyone has a favorite recipe for stuffed mushrooms–send them my way!!

Cheers,

Sabrina

It’s a Luau!

The first official dinner club theme has been set! Any guesses. Think tropical… think hula skirts!

Yes, that’s right. It’s a Luau!!

I’m so excited for this. It’s the perfect summer time theme. So I have a month to prepare. What steps have I taken so far?

After I determined a date, I sent out an Evite to my guests.  Evite is the easy, cute, and cheap way to send invitations web-style. Check out the preview below.

Evite screenshot

Be sure to include reminders that if they attend, they’ll need to bring something to eat. The way our group works? The host provides the main course and drinks. Everyone else can bring either an appetizer, side dish, or dessert. After the RSVP date, contact all your “Yes” people and have them sign up for a food option. (You don’t want all desserts…well maybe you do!)

Stay tuned for more details!

Have an theme idea for dinner night? Share!

Cheers,
Sabrina

Apple Pastry, with Love

I love dessert, BUT I love regular food better (except for ice cream). Because of that, when I go out for dinner, I’m usually too full for dessert. Depressing, isn’t it? The advantage of cooking dinner at home, is you have plenty of time to wait in between dessert! I’m been trying to find some simple, easy, weekday desserts. This Apple Pastry is so delicious and pretty, no one will believe you when you tell them how simple and easy it was to make. Really, please try this—tonight!

The Italian Way: Meat-a-ball-a

I used to be intimidated of meatballs. Not eating them of course, just making them. They were one of these holy foods I was always scared to attempt. I mean really, how many times have you heard someone say “Oh my mom’s meatballs are the best”, or “No one makes meatballs like my grandmother”. A lot I’m sure–I say it all the time!

But I had enough! I want someone to speak that way about my meatballs, dangit! I’ve made a bunch of batches with the recipe below, and they’ve come out differently every time. My last batch makes me think I have finally got the hang of it. The secret is not in the ingredients, but in your touch. Hopefully my tips will help you create the meatballs worth praising about. NOTE: If you like very meaty and hard meatballs, skip this recipe.