3, 2, 1...party!

Last weekend, a few of my girlfriends and I threw a wedding shower for our friend Callie. Please let me just share with you a few gems from the day:

1.     Things only take one minute when you wait til the last minute. I do not normally operate on this principle with projects I care about, but it had been a rough week for me and somehow the day of the party snuck right up on me. Then the hour of the party snuck right up. Then the last 15 minutes. So much can be accomplished with good focus and the busy hands of women you trust, synergistically pulling off a common goal (and hey, with about 30 seconds to spare).

2.     Although I am not the girl that travels with a wardrobe, I am now glad to be friends with girls that do. Fifteen minutes before our guests are set to arrive, I am frying up donuts like a mad woman (for freshness sake, obviously). In my haste, I splash grease all down the front of my dress and have to do a quick costume change as the future bride and her mother and sister are walking in the front door. I found myself so thankful for the absurdity that one of the other hostesses had brought 4 outfits to wear to this single event.

3.     husBen is just the best. The minute we hit the door to prepare for the party, he started responding to our every request, like an extension of whoever called out to him. He set out food and washed dishes and poured drinks. He never seemed to stop moving and then disappeared right before the party began, making our guests think we pulled it all off ourselves. What a true facilitator. So proud.

photo credit to Ali D :)

Per usual, I must admit I so enjoyed the hustle and rush of this event with these specific women. I felt grateful to have so many like minds working together and spending time intentionally to celebrate a major blessing of a friend.  If wedding-shower-ing were a team sport, I dare say we vied for the gold (Sochi-ready). Below are a few of the goods we whipped up to feed our gaggle of guests celebrating our dear Callie!

 White wine mojitos

 

the ladies love these

1 bottle white wine

1 cup chopped mint leaves

2 limes (sliced and juiced)

1 ounce simple syrup

½ cup Falernum (lime liqueur) optional

1 cup sparkling lemonade

Combine above ingredients, except sparkling lemonade. Chill for 2 hours then add in sparkling lemonade immediately before serving.

Ham and Gruyere Sandwiches

1 package (2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted*

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

¼ pound black forest ham, thinly sliced

½ pound smoked Gruyère cheese, thinly sliced

1 egg

flour for dusting

Preheat your oven to 450 F. Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and dust lightly with flour. Lay one sheet of puff pastry on baking sheet. Spread a layer of mustard on the puff pastry, leaving a 2 cm border around the edge. Add a layer of sliced ham, overlapping pieces. Add the cheese in similar fashion.

Make an egg wash by lightly beating 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush exposed edges with the egg wash.  Lay the other piece of puff pastry on top and crimp edges together with a fork (press fork down all the way around edges to seal the top and bottom layers of puff pastry together). Brush the whole puff pastry with egg wash and cut a few small slits in the top to allow steam to escape during baking. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until puffed and golden brown.

Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, then cut into triangles or squares (whatever you find most aesthetically pleasing). Serve warm.

Caramel popcorn

Popcorn, popped

Vanilla caramel, slightly warmed (recipe below*)

Dark chocolate discs

Toffee pieces

Pretzels

Pinch of salt

Toss as much as you’d like of each of the above ingredients together and eat up!

*Caramel

2 ½ cups sugar

2 cups heavy cream

¾ cup light corn syrup

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons and softened

½ teaspoon kosher salt

In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cream, corn syrup, vanilla bean and the seeds you scraped out. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce to moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until a candy thermometer reads 230° (about 15 minutes).

Carefully whisk in the butter and salt and continue stirring (constantly) until the caramel is golden and reaches 235° on a candy thermometer, about 5 more minutes. Pick out and discard the vanilla bean and allow caramel to cool for about 5-10 minutes. Pour the warm caramel into a pan or glass dish to continue cooling to room temperature. Use over popcorn, ice cream, pie, or anything you wish! Store in the refrigerator in a glass container. 

Donuts

the dangerous donuts

I followed the recipe fairly religiously for the donuts found on Joy the Baker’s blog (http://joythebaker.com/2012/02/pink-raised-doughnuts-with-toasted-coconut/), but adorned them with white pearl sprinkles instead of coconut and cut mine into squares rather than the classic donut shape.  

Ali, me, Callie, and Mel. Quality folks right there.