I watch a lot of food tv. Particularly the food network. Every other person I know seems to do the same. The magic of the internet’s ability to produce food photographs at the click of a button existed first in television afterall, and thankfully the food network provides video documentation of beautiful food preparation.
Eventually though all this food viewing will make me hungry, and curious to try something I just learned how to make. Sometimes the end result is less than edible, but recently I adapted a recipe that Giada De Laurentiis made on her Giada at Home show, and it was pretty excellent if I do say so myself.
Giada’s recipe was for a simple and easy pretend apple pie which I will make in the fall. But since it is August I decided to use blackberries because they were fresh and in season.
I’ll provide a link to Giada’s recipe below, which you can follow to make any of version of this you like. It’s ridiculously easy to do, but the finished product looks deceptively tricky and gorgeous.
I made my own whipped cream and stuck it back in the fridge with ½ cup of heavy cream, 2 Tablespoons of sugar, and a dash of vanilla. Then you stick it back in the fridge til the very end at assembly time.
Now I used store bought puff pastry so my finished creation resembled a napoleon dessert, more than it did Giada’s mini-pies. She used store bought pie crust, so you can use either just be aware that they will have different bake times and amounts of fat if that is an issue for you.
I let it thaw for about 25 minutes and then was able to unroll the dough and flatten it. Then I cut the dough into 3 inch circles with a large biscuit cutter but you could really do any shape you happen to have around. I poked holes in my puff pastry so it wouldn’t rise too much and baked it for 13 minutes at 400º on parchment paper so it wouldn’t stick. Oven times always vary so just keep an eye on it, if you aren’t sure.
As soon as I had the pastry in the oven all I did was mix my blackberries with enough sugar to coat them and put them on parchment paper as well. I baked them at 350º for about 12 to 13 minutes, just long enough for the sugar to caramelize and for the juices of the berries to be released.
Then all you have to do is take a spoonful of blackberries and juice and pile it on one pastry , add some whipped cream, then top with one more pastry, blackberries, whipped cream, and voila a fancy looking desert that takes about 20 minutes top to make.
Let us know if you try it, or a similar recipe and check out the millions of recipes available at the food network website.
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And here is the link to Giada’s actual recipe
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/roasted-apple-pies-with-whipped-cream-recipe/index.html
It seems to me that people mostly fall in one of two camps when it comes to planning a party. There are those who love to plan and excel at the smallest of details who generally don’t really need much help when planning a party. Usually every family or group of friends has at least one Martha Stewart in their midst. They have it all together and are generally all around demoralizing to the rest of us in the second camp.
You know which camp. The camp that decidedly does not have it all together. Whether it’s because we are just forgetful, or too busy to be able to do everything alone we could definitely use some assistance.
Thankfully there are a handful of great sites out there that exist solely to help people plan their parties. We looked at a few of the sites who offer free invitations in addition to their planning ideas to see which we liked.
Evite.com is probably the most popular site online for free invitations. They offer a wide range of designs and themes all for free. For people of my generation and younger (unless the event is a shower or a wedding) online invitations are basically the only invitations. So sites like Evite.com are essential to our social lives.
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The invitations from evite are also helpful to use as a ‘save the date’ function to let the host get a general idea of the number of guests they can expect before they send paper invitations. Evite.com also has a blog with party ideas and stories to help jumpstart the process.
Mypartyplanner.com is another site that helps you plan details by location. You have the option of signing up to receive free price quotes when you search or you can simply search by your city or state and receive information on everything from vendors, to photographers, and djs.
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Mypunchbowl.com is very similar to evite.com but not quite as well known. The site is very user friendly, and offers step by step instructions and aid for any potential party planner. You simply sign up for free and let the site guide you through all the necessary steps. You can also upgrade for a fee to even more options for your invitations.
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The site also offers a blog with posts from its CEO and founder as well as other contributing writers associated with mypunchbowl.com.
The Brandywine Valley wine trail is made up of 8 wineries who all work together to plan, organize, and execute wine related events throughout the year in addition to the normal day to day production and tasting of wine.
When I am not writing for the blog here at OSP, I am working in the tasting rooms of Paradocx Vineyard on the BV Wine Trail. Paradocx is a winery owned by a pair of doctors or ‘pair o’ docs’. Hence the name and the spelling.
Currently Paradocx is serving 13 award winning wines at their tasting rooms. The winery and its home tasting room are located in Landenberg, PA.
The satellite tasting room and store are located in Kennett Square, PA. The winery is open on Saturday and Sunday for tasting and tours and the Kennett store is open 7 days a week.
Paradocx is also the only winery that serves wine in a paint can. The wines are stored in a bladder, identical to a boxed wine, but instead are placed in special paint cans with taps. Already more enviromentally friendly than the traditional glass bottled wine because of its 3 Liter economy sized packaging, Paradocx also encourages recylcing of the cans by offering $2 off the next purchase when you bring back an empty can. The Barn Red is a blend of cabernet franc and sangiovese.
During the summer months every other Saturday at the vineyard is a concert with many different local bands coming to play. Visitors are welcome to bring their own food as well as blankets and chairs to picnic out on the lawn to listen to music with friends or family. Paradocx is also kid friendly and offers hayride tours for adults and children of the vineyard.
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I regularly read a lot of blogs that are food, drink, or entertaining related for many reasons, but mainly because being able to look at pictures of gorgeous arrangements of food and drinks at anytime day or night is quite possibly the greatest invention in the age of the internet. There are a staggering number of blogs devoted to these topics.
Some of the blogs are good, but some of them are even better and I have a few favorites that are friends to OurSilverPlatter.com so I thought I’d write a little about them today.
Chris Nease’s blog Celebrations at Home has become one of my favorites to look at even though I am not much of a decorator myself. Her site offers great pictures of beautiful and unusual tablescapes, foods, and beverages for others who like to entertain at home. She also offers food and beverage recipes and is available to help those living in the Metro Richmond, Virginia region plan and design their own parties.
This is a recent item she posted about decorating with yellows and oranges in a new way.
HostessJo is another regular on my list along with their sister site for their blog, Letsentertain.net. HostessJo offers a wide array of fun and unique items to purchase and right now they are featuring a Christmas in July summer special sale. The site is easy to use and search for anything you might need for a gift or for your next party at home.
The blog on the sister site letsentertain.net offers also offers decorating tips, recipes, and more for anyone who loves to entertain, or for anyone who just loves to look at unusual and pretty things, like this birdbath drink tray.
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Check out these sites for great ideas and tips:
Last spring right before the Kentucky Derby my mother and I watched the Ricky Gervais movie Ghost Town. In that movie he drinks something called a Pimm’s Cup that neither of us had ever heard of and being anglophiles we of course had to immediately Google it and make it on Derby Day to serve.
It is named after its inventor from London in the 1840s James Pimm, and is officially called Pimm’s No. 1. It was also delicious and it has become our favorite drink of the summer.
Then this past weekend Lisa and Steve had a few friends over to their house and their drink of the evening was a Pimm’s Cup! I happen to be fond of coincidental beverage preferences so when I told them of mine for Pimm’s we decided I should do a little post on the recipe and history of Pimm’s here along with some great photos of Lisa’s. The history comes from the Williams Sonoma drink book The Bar Guide.
Although the Pimm’s that is available in America today is distilled from gin, it is not actually very high in alcohol, and is often garnished with a cucumber making it a lighter more refreshing choice than you might suppose from its dark color. Although you can use any other fruit cucumber seems to be the standard and is the suggested garnish on the Pimm’s No. 1 recipe label.
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As with all drink recipes modify to suit your level of alcohol to mixer ratio but this is the suggested recipe from Williams Sonoma.
4 fl oz Pimm’s No. 1
1 cup ginge ale (or lemon lime soda)
1 sliver of cucumber rind, for garnish
Pour the Pimm’s and ginger ale into an ice-filled tankard (or glass if you prefer). Stir briefly. Garnish with the cucumber rind.
Visit Williams-Sonoma website to find this book and anything else food or drink related.
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