Celebrating Life Around The Table
I have had this itch to make peach ice cream for over a year now. Today, I decided to to do it and did a search for a recipe. This one on a blog site called Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy featuring roasted peaches made me stop and run to the kitchen to start roasting. The bummer is you have to chill overnight so a little pre planning is needed to serve this for a dinner party. The upside is you can make ahead several days and pull out when company stops by. It is a great ending to a summer [...]
We are taking a break from the party recipes to share this yummy cake I made last week. The brown sugar cake topped with caramel frosting is so good you should plan on immediately giving it away so you will not be tempted to eat the whole thing. Luckily I had a place to bring the cake saving me untold calories. One of the woman said it reminded them of a maple bar donut. The cake is moist and very flavorful. One hint, when it says the frosting hardens quickly, it means immediately. You have been warned. Brown Sugar Cake [...]
A few days before the party I decided the meal needed something more to round it out and so I chose this salad. It is tasty and very colorful. This dish highlights all the tasty tomotoes in season right now. When topped with the tangy Maui Onion Dressing this salad will perk up your party table! This is one you can make all the components the day before and assemble right before.
The party continues…For the main portion of the appetizers I served beef and chicken skewers. The beef marinade was a yummy mix of brown sugar, thai red curry paste, honey and soy. A sweet and spicy sauce that plays off the beef and pineapple. It would be great on chicken too! I decided on this Tropical Chicken Skewer that had a bit of a zing to it. It is a caribbean based sauce with allspice, rum, brown sugar and juice combo. It is a sweet and sour sauce but leaves a kick from the Habanero. The Habenero is one of [...]
Here are the bars shown in the last post. They combine the tastes of chocolate chips cookies and macademia nuts over shortbread. These were easy to mix up and were gobbled up at the party. They can be made up two days before the event. Just store in an airtight container.
When my friend Ann asked me to cater her husband’s birthday bash she mentioned Poke that she recently had at a local restaurant. We built the menu around this dish. I had one recipe I had used a few years back but decided to research other recipes a bit more. Many of the dishes on the menu were spicy so I cut the jalapeno the recipe normally called for but added the Wasabi Creme Fraiche. It added a nice creamy kick to the dish. The key to success on this is to buy sushi quality ahi. I bought mine at [...]
The first recipe I will share from the party is the Herb Coated Goat Cheese. It is so flavorful coated with rosemary, thyme, lemon zest and parsley. It has a fresh taste with the tang of lemon. Serve it with toasted crostini or crackers. Herb Coated Goat Cheese Adapted from Giada De Laurentis – Everyday Italian 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves 2 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 11-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese 1 [...]
I was pulled out of catering retirement by a dear friend looking to plan a surprise party for her husband’s birthday. I thought I’d share for you how I plan out a party and give you a few tips to make yours a bit easier. Planning First you need to determine a few things: How many people are you planning on? Is there a theme? Will it be a meal or appetizers? My friend wanted primarily finger food with a Hawaiian theme and expected 25-30 people. She had a friend who was a BBQ fiend who would help me grill [...]
I'm Cheri Liefeld, radio host & producer, freelance recipe developer, food writer and cooking instructor. You will find easy recipes for family meals, entertaining ideas and ideas for cooking with kids.
