There is no other way I’d rather spend my birthday then with my favorite people on the planet. What a great day!

Down the rabbit hole…

“Welcome to Wonderland” sign by Grace Placzek

Me as the Mad Hatter!

Drink Me

Jill, Heather, me, Nancy

me and Dana

Andie and Gracie

The Queen of Hearts

Me, My girls and my TJ

me

Nancy…she wore a different hat for each of the five courses!

tea and vino

cupcakes and creampuffs and heartcake OH MY!

Jester Nancy

Tea Sammies: cucumber, carrot-cheddar-curry, ginger chicken tart and radish

Gracie and TJ

Me and Gracie as The Queen of Hearts

Curiouser and curiouser!

~Melissa

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“From the gate to the porch went a wide walk, paved with smooth slabs of dark stone, and bordered with the tall bushes which met overhead, making a green roof. All sorts of neglected flowers and wild weeds grew between their stems, covering the walls of this summer parlor with the prettiest tapestry. A board, propped on two blocks of wood, stood in the middle of the walk, covered with a little plaid shawl much the worse for wear, and on it a miniature tea service was set forth with great elegance. To be sure the teapot had lost it’s spout, the cream jug it’s handle, the sugar bowl it’s cover, and the cups and plates were all more or less cracked or nicked; but polite persons would not take notice of these trifling deficiencies, and none but polite persons were invited to this tea party.” ~Louisa May Alcott, Under the Lilacs

Teacup Cake

2 cups sugar

1 and 3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup good quality, unsweetened cocoa powder

1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup espresso or double strong coffee

1/2 cup canola or light olive oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup milk

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line 30 cupcake tins with paper liners.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, coffee, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in milk (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared cups.

3. Bake 20-25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2/3 cup good quality unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup extra strong coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and coffee, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount of milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting. Frost teacup cakes, place in teacups. Add sprinkles or whatever decoration you desire. Serve. These make a beautiful sweet course for a formal afternoon tea.

~Melissa

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beautiful slate cheese board

I’m planning a wine and cheese tasting party for later this summer. This is such a fun and easy way to entertain. I’m by no means a cheese expert, but Jeff and I have tried quite a few different varieties and know what we like. While researching and deciding what cheeses to include on our cheese plate, I came across this impressive resource. It’s a website called CheeseCupid. Loads of helpful information on cheese and wine pairing.

This website, along with other cheeses I’ve tried and read about have helped me compile my list. I think I have it narrowed down to these:

Buttermilk Blue Cheese by Roth Kase – made with the freshest raw milk from herds of predominantly Jersey cows, which is then homogenized, inoculated with a secret blend of cultures, hooped by hand, pierced, salted then cured for at least 2 months while being rotated regularly to insure a perfect cheese. You won’t find a more delicious blue cheese.

Idiazabal - from the Basque country in Spain. During production, the wheels were traditionally smoked over beechwood, hawthorn, or cherry for 10 days, imparting a slight smoky quality that would add depth to the rich, nutty flavor of this sheep’s milk cheese. Idiázabal has a firm texture, similar to Zamorano, Roncal, and Manchego, and pairs well with Navarra wines and other medium-bodied reds.

Taleggio is a semi-soft, washed-rind cheese from the Valtaleggio region in northern Italy, near Lombardy. It is characteristically aromatic yet mild in flavor and features tangy, meaty notes with a fruity finish. The texture of the cheese is moist-to-oozy with a very pleasant melt-in-your-mouth feel. The combination of the soft texture, pungent aroma, and buttery flavors has proven to be addictive especially when spread on fresh crusty bread. Taleggio pairs nicely with Italian Nebbiolo wines, as well as a wide range of reds and whites.

Stickney Hill’s Goat cheese

A soft style cheese distinguished by a simple, mild, fresh goats’ milk flavor, the cheese is highly versatile and an excellent ingredient in many dishes as well as on its own. While chèvre continues to grow in popularity, maintains its reputation for quality through clean taste, freshness, and lower salt.

Chevre is one of the world’s most dynamic cheeses that can support a menu from appetizer through deserts. Good with:

• Arugala Salad with warm goat cheese and candied walnuts
• Warm red garden fresh beets with goat cheese medallions
• Crumbled chevre for specialty goat cheese pizza
• Chevre marbled with cinnamon and cranberries

Manchego cheese is the most important and well-known sheep’s milk cheese in Spain. Beautiful for grating, a perfect pairing with Spanish Tapas and olives! The shape of this cheese is very characteristic and defined, due to the traditional use of esparto grass molds which imprints a zigzag pattern along the side of the cheese. The small wooden boards used for pressing the cheese also imprints the typical wheat ear pattern on the top and bottom.
This rustic molds are used outside of La Mancha as well. Thus, there are other Spanish sheep’s milk cheese with similar shape and markings, known commonly as “Manchego style” cheese.

Gruyere- so far I haven’t met a gruyere I didn’t like

Beemster Vlaskaas- Creamy with a hint of sweetness, Vlaskaas is a Gouda-like cheese made from a centuries-old recipe re-discovered in 2004. This award-winning Dutch cheese is enjoyed for everyday meals; in salads, sandwiches, with ripe fruit or served as a table cheese. Milk: Cow. Origin: Holland. Texture: Firm and creamy.

Brillat Savarin Triple Cream Brie Brillat Savarin, Petite is a cow’s milk, triple-crème brie-style cheese from France. This lovely cheese is buttery, rich, creamy and decadent with a rare “natural rind” which is essentially a thin skin. Brillat Savarin, Petite is essentially the cheese equivalent of ice cream! Incredible on its own or served with a fruit jam on hearty Artisanal bread. Pair Brillat Savarin “natural rind” with Domaine Chandon Rosé or a Viognier.

We like mango chutney, honey, fruit preserves, quince paste and mostarda with our cheese plates. Making mostarda is quite easy, and it also makes an excellent gift. I’ll include the recipes for quince paste and mostarda in a later post.

What are your favorite wine and cheese pairings?

~Melissa

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I love sharing tea with lovely ladies and boysies

Building a teacup collection is so much more enjoyable when you can actually use the teacups and share tea with friends!

Yesterday I celebrated my 39th birthday with my closest family and friends.

Here are some scenes from the celebration. I will be sure to write another post including costume pics and recipes…

Taking Tea With Alice…

Party palette inspired by summer gardens…

the tea menu included…

cold spiced peach soup

spring greens with poppyseed dressing & rose petals

radish sandwich on baby rye

cucumber sandwich with herbed spread

ginger chicken salad phyllo cup

Carrot Cheddar Curry Sandwich Fingers

Cream Scones & Rose Miel

Mini Vanilla Cupcakes, Chocolate Raspberry Cake, Mini Cream Puffs and Chocolates…

more tomorrow…

XO,

Melissa

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I’m in the mood to watch 60′s beach flicks, and start a big batch of Coneys for dinner.

I love everything about old movies. I like to watch them over and over again and look for subtle details. Like the fabric the characters’ costumes are made out of, how they decorate their apartments,  the cars they drive,  fun slang, hair-dos, the places they hang out, and the food they eat…I love it all.

Here’s a recipe for my Coney Island “Red Hots.”

Invite your best pals over to watch a beach flick, serve Coneys, and have a groovy time!

Coney Island Red Hots

2 lb. lean ground beef

1 large onion, chopped fine

1/4 cup prepared, yellow mustard

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup white sugar

2 Tablespoons water

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons celery seed

1 Tablespoon Tabasco sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, saute the ground beef and onion for 10 to 12 minutes or until the meat is well browned. Crumble into a fine texture with a fork. If necessary, drain excess fat. Stir in the mustard, vinegar, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, celery seed, Tabasco and ketchup. Mix well, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 35 minutes. Transfer sauce to a warm (low) crock pot. Add 12 good quality, skin on hot dogs to the sauce. When hot dogs are warmed through, they’re ready to serve. To serve: Top a toasted hot dog bun with a hot dog, some of the sauce, and whatever condiments you wish.

What’s your favorite beach flick?

~Melissa

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Time for another theme party!

This past Saturday my little grandgirl, Maddie May, turned one year old! When we were picking a theme for her party we knew we were going to ‘do it up BIG’…and what could be bigger than a BIG TOP BIRTHDAY?

We decorated the dining room with alternating red and white streamers to give the illusion of a circus tent, blew up tons of colorful balloons… and made a carousel cake complete with frosted animal crackers, candy decorations and a polkadot canopy…

We played fun childrens’ music CDs like ‘Songs I Heard’ by Harry Connick Jr., ‘Animal Crackers’ by Shirley Temple, and ‘This Land is Your Land’ by Woody Guthrie…

We made up some festive, circus themed party favors full of popcorn, candy, noise makers, and balloons…

And we kept the circus menu simple and fun by serving: corn dogs, french fries, Granny Smith apples with caramel apple dip, veggies with oven roasted garlic dip, popcorn, chocolate cake, banana split ice cream, and pink lemonade.

Everyone, including the guest of honor, had a great time!

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I’m thinking about party themes today. I filled out, addressed, and stamped the invites to my grandbaby Madeline’s birthday party and got them all in the mail yesterday. I can’t believe she’s already going to be one! How time flies.We’re doing her party in a circus theme. I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures and share them with you! It’s going to be so fun.

I’m also planning my annual birthday soiree…more on that later…

All of this planning got me thinking about Gracie’s princess themed party a couple years ago. I thought it might inspire you if you’re looking for a party theme to celebrate a little girl you know.

A princess party gives little girls the opportunity to wear those princess dresses you probably spent too much money on but just had to buy because they’re so darn cute! Little girls LOVE to dress up!

I just used a pretty pink table cloth I already had instead of buying the cheesy plastic Disney one from Target. Much more elegant, frugal, and Earth friendly. The only other decorations were balloons and streamers. We kept the menu simple: Princess Pizza, Princess Punch, cake and ice cream. We played a couple traditional party games like pin the tail on the donkey, and the clothespin in the jar game. I rented a Disney Princess sing along and game DVD, which kept them busy for about a half hour and they absolutely adored it. My daughter Andrea did Princess makeovers which included: nail painting, face glitter and perfume application.

And of course there was plenty of time to just be silly

The birthday girl enjoying cake and ice cream, no longer in the fancy dress, but she kept the tiara on all day…and who can blame her?

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“Good Americans, when they die, go to Paris. “

~Thomas Gold Appleton

Here’s the recipe for the Melted Lemon Chicken that Jeff and I made for my Paris themed birthday party. So delicious paired with fresh, steamed asparagus spears and baby red potatoes. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (four pieces)

• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice (the juice of one lemon)

• 3/4 cup chicken broth

• 1 lemon, thinly sliced

• 2 tablespoons capers (with juice)

• 14 oz. marinated artichoke hearts

• salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Heat the olive oil in an 8-inch skillet over medium high heat, and swirl to cover the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken breasts and sear them until browned. Turn the chicken, and brown them on the other side. Remove the chicken breasts to a plate and increase the heat to high. Deglaze the pan with the lemon juice, scraping up any browned bits into the sauce.
Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Add the lemon slices to the pan, reduce the heat to medium, and place the chicken breasts on top of the lemon slices. Add the capers, cover, reduce the heat to medium and cook, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and add the artichoke hearts along with marinade from jars. Cover and continue cooking for five minutes, or until the breasts are cooked through.
Remove the chicken to a warm plate. Increase the temperature and reduce the sauce to a glaze, adding 2 Tablespoons flour. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper as needed. Just a little salt will reduce the acidity of the lemons, capers and artichokes and balance the flavors. Serve the chicken with the artichoke hearts, capers and melted lemons drizzled with the glaze.

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Mantle with mini Eiffel Tower

We all went outside after dinner and had wine while I opened my presents on the front porch.

My girls 

Candle light flickering, the sounds of Edith Piaf and laughter

Melted Lemon Chicken, baby red potatoes, and fresh asparagus were on the menu

(I’ll post the recipe for the lemon chicken sometime soon!)

And what would a Paris party be without La Vie en Rose?

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Last summer, for my birthday I invited my closest friends to my home to join me for a Japanese themed dinner party. We had so much fun!

To prepare for the party I ordered authentic Japanese bento boxes (which are actually Japanese “lunch” boxes). I had experienced a bento box dinner at a wonderful restaurant at the Mall of America here in Minnesota called “California Cafe.” I decided to duplicate this elegant serving style at my dinner party.

Traditionally a bento box has a different little section for each course of the meal. The bento boxes I purchased have 4 compartments. One for a salad course, one for an appetizer course, one for a rice course, and one for a meat/vegetable course. There is a tiny compartment located in the center of the bento box for a desired condiment that will enhance the meal (such as hot mustard, sweet and sour, or fish sauce to go with wontons or eggrolls.) A sample menu for a bento box would be:

• Appetizer Course- Eggrolls, dim sum, or wontons with hot mustard and fish sauce
• Salad Course- Cole Slaw tossed with mayo, sunflower seeds, a dash of cayenne pepper, a drizzle of toasted sesame oil and honey, and shredded carrots.
• Meat/Vegetable course- Cooked chicken or pork chunks tossed with stir fry veggies, Japanese noodles, and peanut sauce.
• Rice Course-Sushi is always my first choice…or, brown rice with butter and soy sauce.

I set the table with a golden organza table cloth and the 4 bento boxes, chop sticks and forest green organza party favor bags that held a bag of “Tazo-Zen” tea, a sake-rose votive candle, and the menu as a keepsake.

On my fireplace mantle I embellished two large glass cylinder hurricane lanterns with Japanese newspaper (as seen in my book “Welcome Home” on page 47.) I also included a crystal vase filled with faux bamboo. The mantle had a understated “Zen” elegance that set the stage for our “Journey to Japan.”

Some other fun ideas for a “Journey to Japan” party would include:

• Wear kimonos!
• Burn incense.
• Set up an indoor fountain. The sound is so relaxing.
• Play the soundtrack to “Memoirs of a Geisha“… the perfect background music for this occasion!
• Warm, almond or lemon scented washcloths offered to each guest before the meal.
• Ice cold sake served in hollowed out cucumber sake cups.
• Sencha and green tea ice cream served in authentic Japanese rice bowls for dessert.

Enjoy!

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