Happy St.Patrick’s Day

Happy St.Patrick’s Day

Happy St.Patrick’s Day from me and my little redheads!

(I can’t even tell you how many tries it took to get a shot where Linus wasn’t trying to eat the hat off of Lucy’s head!  I guess I got lucky!)

linus and lucy st pats sm

May there always be work for your hands to do.

May your purse always hold a coin or two.

May the sun always shine on your windowpane.

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.

May the hand of a friend always be near you.

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

– Irish Blessing

Wishing you all the best of luck (and blessings)… and for your dogs, an extra treat or two!

FREE Red Mustache Printable

FREE Red Mustache Printable

With St. Patty’s Day right around the corner, I thought it might be fun to help you get in the Spirit O’ the Irish! How about this straw idea for your St.Patty’s shindig this weekend?  Kids and adults alike are sure to enjoy these!redmustaches

Simply download the free printable (HERE), print on white cardstock, and glue them to any decorative straw (like these stripey ones).

Serve these in your favorite drinks this weekend and see how many “Irish Eyes are Smiling” in return!

Happy Early St. Patrick’s Day!

 

Egg Nest Brunch

Egg Nest Brunch

When it comes to brunch, one of my  favorite go-to recipes is a version of one I saw in a cooking magazine few years ago.  They called it “Breakfast in Bread” but I like to call them Egg Nests.  When I have company coming, it’s one of the easiest dishes to make, but it’s always a crowd-pleaser (gotta love that)!

Today I had the pleasure of having brunch with my sweet friend Andrea, so this is what I made for us.  It’s so easy, and that that means we get to spend more time catching up than I actually do cooking.

DSC_0724smEgg Nests

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

flour for dusting

2 -3 strips of bacon

1 1/2 c. shredded grueyere cheese

4 T. shredded parmesan cheese

4 large eggs

kosher salt and ground pepper

chopped chives

Preheat oven to 425.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Roll out the pastry sheet and cut into 4 inch squares.  Fold and pinch edges to form four round shells.  Lightly flour the parchment and place the tart shells on it.  Prick the pastry shells with a fork.  Bake until golden, approximately 8-10  minutes.

While the shells are baking, cook the bacon until crispy.  Set aside to cool and then chop into small pieces or crumble.

Once the tart shells are golden, remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the baking sheet.  If the center is puffy, deflate it by gently flattening with a fork.

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Sprinkle evenly with both of the cheeses, then make a shallow well in the middle of each one.  Carefully crack an egg in the center of each of shell.  Season with salt and pepper, then top with chopped (or crumbled) bacon.

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Return to the oven for 10-15 minutes until the egg whites are set (depending on how runny you want your eggs).  I like my whites to be just a TOUCH jiggly, so the egg is runny.  If you let the whites completely harden then you will have a soft or well done egg yolk.

Top with chopped chives and serve!

I love serving this with a side of Grapefruit & Blueberry Salad (and a couple more slices of bacon of course!)

Happy Sunday Brunch Day friends!

 

This recipe is modified from a version in Food Network Magazine’s April 2012 issue.

 

Bloody Mary Bar

Bloody Mary Bar

bloodymarybarI love brunch.  I love the idea of sleeping in, taking time to prepare a meal for family or friends, sipping on a cocktail mid-morning (because that’s acceptable brunch behavior), and enjoying a tasty meal in my pajamas.   Sounds like fun all-around!

If I have company for brunch, I love to set up a bloody mary bar (inspired by the Build Your Own Bloody Mary Bar at Ozona Grill ). The drink cart gets decked out with my favorite mary fixins and guests get to build their own version.

This weekend my friend Tony is in town, so we’re going to be enjoying a little “Bloody Sunday” morning tomorrow.  If you want to play along and have your own,  here are my suggestions for a Bloody Mary Bar must-haves:

an icing bucket (to keep the vodka cold)

vodka (I prefer Texas-made Tito’s)

bloody mary mix (get the plain, not spicy, so guests can add their desired level of spice) – If you’re feeling ambitious, I’ve heard that this homemade recipe is good, but I’ve never actually made it

ice

lemon or lime wedges

margarita salt (and yes, here I did use a juicer as a salt dish – it’s the perfect size!)

carrot sticks

celery

olives (black and green)

pickles

other pickled veggies (okra, corn, green beans, pearl onions – anything pickled is perfect!)

shrimp (I cook and refrigerate the night before so they’re ready to go)

candied bacon swizzle sticks (I adore these from The Gracious Girl, but I can never get mine to stay twirled as pretty as hers)

Worcestershire sauce

Tony Chachere’s Cajun seasoning

Tabasco hot sauce

cute paper straws (you can get them from my shop  here)

funny cocktail napkins (because boring napkins just won’t do)

water (for re-hydrating… very necessary!)

bloodymarybarspread

 

Step 1, which I almost always forget because I’m so excited to start loading up my glass:  Coat the rim of your glass with juice from the lemon or lime wedge.

Step 2:  Liberally coat the rim of the glass in the salt.

Step 3:  Add ice (not too much or you won’t have room for all the delicious fixins!).

Step 4:  Add vodka, then bloody mary mix (until the glass is about 3/4 full – again, gotta leave a little room!).

Step 5:  Add desired veggies, fixins and spices.

Step 6:  Garnish with a cute paper straw, sip and enjoy!

 

What are your bloody mary must-haves?  I’d love to hear!