a summer’s delight…..

sometimes there is nothing better

to help soothe the soul

than a little girl talk

that girls talk…

in the last few months

has helped me in ways

a therapist never will.

so  with that in mind…

a summer’s delight was planned.

the Fashion-Isha & the Patchke Princess

the perfect team

24 hrs & a vision

a simple  dinner under the stars

lots of girls talk

lots of food

lots of wine

and a little (no change that…a LOT of)  happiness & fun

to help heal this girls heart.

a vision worthy

of a pinterest post

a summer’s delight….

I highly recommend  it.

Sharon’s BFF & my very good friend Margalit Lankry enjoying her Meat & Salad  

How a quick idea became a great party….

Sharon Langert & I decided on a whim at starbucks  to have a “pool” party. It then quickly morphed into “lets so do a dinner party like we see on all those blogs“.

So I sketched it out for us, and planned a menu in 15 minutes with the uber creative Sharon. To see her tips (& gorgeous pics) for party planning and her truly brilliant idea of using napkins to make a statement – you must go to Fashion-isha.

Cooking for a crowd, really for  me is no big deal, as long as I am smart about the menu and keep it simple and delicious. Sharon had all the truly hard work of running around and buying everything. Between you and me, she had the harder job – I hate  - HATE running errands!

The Menu….

It had to be simple and good for a crowd – because we had no idea who was coming! Sharon & I had no invite list…we  briefly mentioned it to the girls that were sitting in starbucks and as the day passed by, both of us kept on inviting friend after friend that we saw. The more the merrier was our philosophy – they just had to be chilled and willing to have some fun girl time.

So… what to make. Quickly deciding that no one was going to eat carb (these are girls we are talking about)…. some one is always on one sort of diet or the other, I decided on making delicious soft meat & chicken that can go on top of assorted salad fixings. Adding a choice of vegetables, including some hot grilled ones, a choice of dressings… viola…  dinner was served. And yes of course, their was dessert!

At the end of the day though, this was me cooking and no party that I make can be minus the carbs…so here came the Nachos with Meat, the Onion Spinach Tomato tart and my signature cupcakes. You know….every party needs a cupcake (even if I did make a colossal mess that day when the tip broke!)

Red Velvet cupcakes stuffed with a blueberry cream & were topped with plain par eve buttercream frosting

I also made the most delicious freeze pops, filled with all types of combinations of fruit, whip, and LIQOUR. My favorite one was the Vodka & Cream Chocolate Coconut one – Unfortunately there was a little problem of Sharon’s freezer breaking and the ices turning into mush, but we were able to save those and even in their slushy state were incredible! Also the night before, when I was making them to freeze..I readily admit to being tipsy and slightly drunk afterwards with all the taste testing! So beware! LOL

The Recipes…

Meat Nachos w/ Guacamole 

This appetizer was sooo good that there was not a SINGLE chip left by the end of the night!  It was so good that I craved it the next day and made another batch for dinner that night.

Ingredients: 

1large onion diced

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. garlic powder

salt & black pepper to taste

1 lb ground beef

1 can of Manwich Bold & Chunky Sloppy Joe Sauce (or your favorite tomato sauce)

1 packet splenda

1 package of favorite Nacho Chips

1 recipe of my famous Guacamole

Directions:

Saute the onions in the olive oil for about 8 minutes until the have softened. Add all the spices and mix well. Saute for another minute and then add the ground beef. Using a wooden spoon, break the meat into small pea size pieces, and mix well with the onions. Let it sauté and cook for about 3 minutes, and then add the Manwich sauce. Let the meat cook in the sauce for about 10-12 minutes on medium until all the meat is cooked and the sauce has thickened considerably. 

Once meat sauce is finished, add it to the top of your plated Nacho chips and then top that with my famous guacamole recipe. Serve & enjoy!

Onion, Spinach & Tomato Tart

Another easy recipe that you could literally put together 3 minutes before the party starts. I baked the tarts early that morning, as well as sautéed the onions, prep the tomatoes, and just before the guests arrived, I added the sautéd onions to the cherry tomatoes and spinach in a frying pan. So delicious and yet another carb filled item that the ladies gobbled up!

Ingredients:

1 package of pre-cut square puff pastry dough

sesame seeds & fresh black pepper

For the Filling

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 small onions, sliced thin

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

2 cups fresh spinach

generous pinch of sea salt

fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Lay all your squares, except 10 on a non-stick spray coated baking sheet. Cut strips length wise from the set aside square. Egg wash all your squares on the tray then lay 4 strips on each square, framing each puff pastry piece.

Sprinkle some sesame seeds and a dash of black pepper on each one and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Prepare your filling: Saute the prepared onions, tomatoes and fresh spinach in a frying pan until all the spinach has wilted and cooked down. Add the salt and black pepper.

Then fill the center of each square with a generous dollop of spinach mixture. Serve warm.

Orange & Honey Mustard Glazed Stove-top BBQ Chicken

  serves about 12

It was too hot to start BBQ outside that day and truthfully I did not want to be bothered with “the food” during the party. So I took my cast iron grill pan (weighs a ton) and stove toped BBQ’d my delicious chicken. They key to making this chicken super moist and delicious, is you HAVE TO marinate it for at least 3 hours before you start cooking it. IT IS SO WORTH IT!

Ingredients:

for the marinate & glaze:

1 bottle of Ken Steakhouse Honey Mustard Dressing (or your favorite brand)

1/2 cup honey

1 bottle of Iron Chef Orange Ginger Glaze

1 cup spicy dijon mustard

2-3 lbs dark skinless chicken cutlets

4 tbsp. fresh garlic minced

fresh back pepper & kosher salt

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl add all your marinate ingredients up to the chicken. Place the chicken into a aluminum tin and sprinkle a little salt and pepper all over the pieces and then using your hands run the minced garlic as best as you can all over the chicken.

Pour 3/4 of the marinate over the chicken and using your hands or a pastry brush make sure the chicken is full coated and is sitting at least half way in the marinate. Cover & refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Cover and refrigerate the remaining marinate – this will be your glaze when you are ready to cook.

After 3 hours, heat up your skillet that has the BBQ lines (forgot the name  -sorry) and make sure that the pan is super hot. Spray a little non-stick spray and lay a few chicken pieces in to the pan. Using a pastry brush generously the top side with your reserved marinate. after about 3-4 minutes, turn the chicken over and glaze the top side again. Continue to cook on each side, brushing as you flip every 3-4 minutes until your chicken is cooked. Total time about 8-12 minutes depending on how thick the chicken cutlet is cut.

To serve, cut into small pieces and pour any reserve juices that is on the cutting board over them.

Teriyaki Pulled Beef

 yeiids 6-8 servings

 Because we were not sure how many people were actually coming, I decided to save some money and have Sharon buy 2 London Broil roasts, instead of steaks for 20. I wanted the meat to melt in everyones mouth as they ate, so I knew I was going to have to really marinate that beef in some killer sauce and then cook it low and slow. To save myself some cooking time, I removed the net from the roasts, and hacked them into 2-3 smaller pieces, reducing their thickness and cooking time. Once again, I surprised even myself on this dish, it was truly AMAZING, if I can say so myself. Probably going to have to make myself another one this Friday night for Shabbat! (also makes for killer leftovers)

Ingredients:

1 4lb London Broil Roast, cut into 2-3 smaller pieces 

3 tbsp. garlic powder

2 tbsp. ginger powder

2 1/2 cups of Teriyaki sauce (I use Mr. Yoshida Sweet & Savory sauce that I can only buy in Costco)

1 jar favorite mustard (I use Bone Suckin Mustard Sauce)

Directions:

Using your gloved hands, rub the garlic and ginger all over the beef slices and place them into a large aluminum baking pan. Let rest in fridge for 30 minutes.

Then in a large mixing bowl, combine the teriyaki sauce and mustard sauce, mixing them well. Add another dash of both the ginger and garlic powder.

Remove meat from fridge and pour the teriyaki mixture over all of the meat. Cover pan with foil and put back into fridge for another 30 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 350. Place pan into oven covered and let cook for up to 2 1/2-3 hours. Turn the meat halfway through cooking.

The meat will be ready when you can stick a fork into it, and it easily starts to melt off.

To serve: After removing meat from oven let rest for 10 minutes on the counter.

Then remove each piece from the sauce. Using two forks, easily shred the beef into short string like pieces. Place on platter and pour spoonfuls of remaining sauce from pan onto the platter.  

Oven Grilled Vegetables

recipe link on kosherstreet.com