Birthday Open House

June 12, 2010

Caribbean Pork Roast about to be Pulled

The family was flying from all over for Mum’s 90th birthday.  I was hosting an open house for all the travelers, and Mum, of course.   I like to give the menu a tropical kick when I have guests from outside of Florida.  I like to let the guests feel like they are somewhere exotic, like they are definitely away from home and experiencing something different.

Mango Salsa

I didn’t know when people would be arriving, so I set everything up tapas style.  Tapas is a Spanish style of dining that implies small meals or small servings of many things.  I set everything up in stations around the kitchen and family room, so people could help themselves whenever they wanted.

Mojito Bar with Limes and Mint

I set up a mojito bar in the kitchen.  I had a mix of drinkers and non-drinkers in attendance, so as usual, I like to serve a featured cocktail that can be prepared with or without alcohol.

As guests arrived I would offer them a refreshing mojito, virgin or slutty style.  My nephew, Thomas came with his lovely girl friend, Jessica.  Boy, this gal is a something something.  She works in the murky world of politics and she is smart as a whip.  Jessica is rarely at a loss for words, but when given the choice of a virgin mojito or a slutty mojito, she stammered a bit said she would have to think about it.  I made her a slutty mojito and explained that I had to make certain assumptions.  She laughed, relaxed and we became good buddies for the rest of the weekend.

The Menu:

Roasted Shrimp with Asian Dipping Sauce

Grilled Jerk Chicken Wings

Olive Tray

Leave a Comment » | Menus | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 麻豆md传媒md0049入口
Posted by Carol Bentley

Memorial Day Picnic

June 4, 2010

Grilled Hot Dogs and Jerk Chicken Tenders

Sunday usually means fancy food, but the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend means picnic.  Mum loves a good hotdog, so hotdogs it was.  I added grilled jerk chicken tenders because I couldn’t just serve hotdogs, now could I?  I thought they dressed up the menu perfectly.

I served:

The jerk chicken tenders were super easy and grilled up in under five minutes.  I grilled both the hotdogs and the tenders just long enough to get those gorgeous grill marks, about five minutes on a hot grill.  I marinated the chicken tenders for about an hour before grilling.   I reserved the marinade, brought it to a boil and then cooked it down into a yummy drizzle with a little jerky kick to it.

Crabby Deviled Eggs

Since it was Mum’s Sunday dinner, I had to jazz up the deviled eggs.  So, I decided to add crab meat to the mix.  They were delicious!  I used an eight ounce container of pasteurized claw meat.  I didn’t realize how much moisture the crab would add, so they came out a bit runnier than I would have liked, but yummy none the less.

For the coleslaw, I used a bag of shredded mixed cabbages and made a dressing from Italian dressing, a bit of mayonnaise and a packet of splenda.  Yes, I’m still hiding the carbs from my guests.  They couldn’t tell, I promise.  You can add a teaspoon of sugar if you prefer.

Dreamy Strawberry Mousse

The strawberry mousse screamed summery freshness!  It was made with lemon jello and fresh strawberries pureed in the blender, chilled partially, then heavy cream was added to the mix.  The mixture was then poured into dessert cups and chilled until firm.  It took about 2 hours to firm up.  I topped it with the obligatory dollop of whipped cream.  Look how pretty they were!  The lemon flavored jello really perked up the strawberries and added more depth to the overall flavor of the dessert.  Ok, I know you’re wondering…. it was all sugar-free and no one knew it but me.  You could make it with regular jello if you prefer, but why, when this version is so good?

 

 

Leave a Comment » | Menus | 麻豆md传媒md0049入口
Posted by Carol Bentley

Design a site like this with 麻豆md传媒md0049入口.com
Get started