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Archive for the ‘Entertaining at Home’ Category

Here’s a post I did in the past with Valentine Party Ideas… since the ideas are all still current, thought I’d share it again today!

Valentine’s Party Ideas

If you’re thinking about hosting a Valentine’s party, here are some easy tips to make your home look like the love bug has spun a magic little spell.

COLOR  – The three colors that scream Valentine’s Day and red, white and pink. The combination of the three leaves no doubt as to what holiday is being celebrated. You can use ribbons, crepe paper, balloons, streamers, cut-out hearts and fabric to set the scene for your event.

DECOR – There are a lot of easy and fun things you can do to add a pop of Valentine’s cheer to your home decor. Here are just a few ideas:

  • Add a red pillow to your couch or loveseat.
  • Mix reds with neutrals like beige, tan, cream, white or black for the biggest “Wow” factor.
  • Mix plain white serving pieces and dishes with a few red pieces for elegant flair.
  • Fill a white bowl with red candies, put red candles on a white plate or fill a glass container with red jelly beans or red hots for a fun accent.
  • Inexpensive fabric can be trimmed with pinking shears (to avoid fraying) and layered in a buffet setting to create a stunning  backdrop for your food.
  • Make a heart-shaped pillow and place on your bed. (Cut a heart pattern out of paper, trace onto felt, “stitch” with a satin ribbon, stuff and finish with a bow.)
  • Use red, white and pink candles for a festive touch.
  • Scatter fake rose petals around table tops or side pieces for a romantic flair.

INVITATIONS – Use a heart graphic or have your kids cut out and color hearts. You can also send Evites or electronic invitations to keep things simple.

FOOD – Have fun with the food you serve. You can cut bread into heart shapes with a cookie cutter or twist bread sticks into heart shapes. You can cut out meat, cheese, vegetables and fruit with heart-shape cookie cuttes to add fun accents to the meal. Italian is a good choice (think Lady and the Tramp) and something like spaghetti feeds a crowd easily. Add some heart-shaped bread and a salad with little heart-shaped pieces of cheese or cut out beets and you’ve got a fun meal. Finish it off with a decadent dessert or cupcakes frosted in red, white and pink.

She Who Really Likes this Holiday Color Scheme!

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rvcake plated with title

The last time Captain Cavedweller and I had the opportunity to eat at The Cheesecake Factory, I ordered their Red Velvet Cheesecake.

It was  so good, I think I dreamed about the deliciousness for a week.

On a quest to recreate that decadent dessert at home, I finally came up with a recipe that is pretty close.

It does require some work and involves some time, but the results are so worth it! This would be a tasty and beautiful finale to  a Valentine’s meal.

Think about whipping up one of these for your special sweetie. They may just thank you – profoundly!

Ingredients

Ingredients

Mix everything together, making sure you use an entire bottle of red food coloring.

Mix everything together, making sure you use an entire bottle of red food coloring.

Isn't it pretty? I was deprived of Red Velvet Cake growing up because someone who's initials are MOM told me I'd die of cancer if I ate that much food coloring at one time. Huh. I think that was her way of saying she didn't like Red Velvet Cake and wasn't going to make it.

Isn’t it pretty? I was deprived of Red Velvet Cake growing up because someone who’s initials are MOM told me I’d die of cancer if I ate that much food coloring at one time. Huh. I think that was her way of saying she didn’t like Red Velvet Cake and wasn’t going to make it.

Pour your vibrant red batter into your prepared cake pans and bake in a 350 oven until done.

Pour your vibrant red batter into your prepared cake pans and bake in a 350 oven until done.

I got so busy putting the cake together, I skipped a few shots. Basically, let your cake cool, take your frozen cheesecake out of the freezer. Frost both the two sides of cake layers that will connect with the cheesecake and put them together.

I got so busy putting the cake together, I skipped a few shots. Basically, let your cake cool, take your frozen cheesecake out of the freezer. Frost both the two sides of cake layers that will connect with the cheesecake and put them together.

Frost the cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. If it starts getting crumbs in the frosting, give it a light  "base coat," freeze, then give it a nice thick covering with the frosting.

Frost the cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. If it starts getting crumbs in the frosting, give it a light “base coat,” freeze, then give it a nice thick covering with the frosting.

Shave some white chocolate...

Shave some white chocolate…

Then liberally sprinkle on top of the cake.

Then liberally sprinkle on top of the cake.

How cool is that?

How cool is that?

Slice into the cake and prepare to dazzle your sweetheart.

Slice into the cake and prepare to dazzle your sweetheart.

They really will think you've got magical powers if you make this for them for Valentine's Day.

They really will think you’ve got magical powers if you make this for them for Valentine’s Day.

Red Velvet Cheesecake

1 box German Chocolate Cake mix

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 (1 ounce) bottle red food color

3 large eggs

1 box white chocolate instant pudding (3.3 ounce)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cheesecake

Cream Cheese Frosting

White chocolate curls (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease two 9-inch round cake pans.

Combine all ingredients and mix on low speed for a minute. Scrape down edges of bowl then beat an additional two minutes on medium/high speed. Pour into cake pans and bake about25 minutes or until cake begins to pull away from sides of the pan or bounces back to your touch. (Note: use the entire bottle of food coloring if you want this to be a pretty red color.)

Let cake cool completely before assembling.

You can use a cheesecake mix, one from the store or make your own. I highly recommend making your own. Click on the link above for a simple but oh-so-good recipe. You’ll want to freeze the cheesecake layer before you try and work with it.

Once the red velvet cake has cooled, take the cheesecake out of the freezer and trim off any excess if it is going to be bigger than your cake layers.

Turn one cake layer top side down on a cake plate or platter. Slather on a layer of frosting (see easy recipe below) then gently place the cheesecake on top. Frost the inside of the other cake layer before putting it on the cheesecake, basically creating a cake and frosting sandwich around the cheesecake. Frost the entire cake with a thin layer of the frosting. If it is getting “crumby”, stick it in the freezer until the frosting is set then give it a nice thick coat of the frosting.

If you want to get all fancy-pants, shave some white chocolate curls on top.

Freeze the cake until about an hour before you are ready to serve. I made mine a week in advance and it was absolutely delicious!

If you want to make your cream cheese frosting from scratch, it’s easy!

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 box powdered sugar

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine all ingredients until smooth and creamy.

She Who May Be Dreaming of Another Piece

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Yesterday I shared a few ideas for Super Bowl Desserts.

Keeping in the football theme, here area few ideas for a Super-Duper Super Bowl Party!

Fun Football Burger from Hungry Happenings. If you don't want to freeze your buns off cooking burgers now, I found some great sliders in the freezer section at the grocery store.

Fun Football Burger from Hungry Happenings. If you don’t want to freeze your buns off cooking burgers now, I found some great sliders in the freezer section at the grocery store.

Try some spicy deviled eggs from Southern Living. They're sure to be a hit with your football fans!

Try some spicy deviled eggs from Southern Living. They’re sure to be a hit with your football fans!

Yummy Bacon Double Cheeseburger Dip from Too Stinkin' Cute.

Yummy Bacon Double Cheeseburger Dip from Too Stinkin’ Cute.

Taco Bites are always a crowd pleaser.

Taco Bites are always a crowd pleaser.

Porky Pie Pockets are super easy and good to make and can be eaten with one hand while the other is madly waving to cheer on the winning team.

Porky Pie Pockets are super easy and good to make and can be eaten with one hand while the other is madly waving to cheer on the winning team.

Tortilla Wrap Appetizers are also quite tasty and easy to make.

Tortilla Wrap Appetizers are also quite tasty and easy to make.

I love this idea for serving popcorn from Divine Party Concepts. You can also use canning jars for serving drinks, snack mix or candy.

I love this idea for serving popcorn from Divine Party Concepts. You can also use canning jars for serving drinks, snack mix or candy.

Keep the decorations simple and to a minimum. Most likely the people coming to your house could care less about centerpieces and much more about the snacks and how well they can see the game. Use team colors for some streamers or balloons. If you want to do something fun, put prize slips inside balloons and let guests pop them at half-time. Prizes could be things from the dollar store or even a coupon for a free coffee. Nothing elaborate or that will break the bank.

You’ll have enough mess to clean up without spending hours taking down a bunch of decorations. Fill jars with candy in the favored teams colors and set them around.

Do light a few candles so your home smells inviting. Make sure your bathroom is spotless and be sure you are stocked up on the basics.

Plan to have plenty of seating, loads of extra napkins and put out a few garbage cans where people can see them. They are much more likely to pick up after themselves if you make it easy for them.

For the non-game watchers who get dragged along, set up a TV in another room with some fun movies. If kids will be attending, make sure they have a play area with plenty of activities. If the gathering is large, you may even want to hire a babysitter to keep an eye on the kiddos.

Most of all, remember to have fun and please, if any one drinks – make sure they don’t drive.

She Who Needs to Plan a Menu

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If you are the lucky host for the Super Bowl this year, you’re probably already starting to work on a menu for the masses of shouting, hungry die-hard fans that will descend on your house Sunday.

Here are a few fun ideas for some football themed desserts.

Football Whoopie Pies from The Finer Things

Football Whoopie Pies from The Finer Things

Rice Krispie Football from Life, Love, Beauty

Rice Krispie Football from Life, Love, Beauty

Truffle Cupcakes from Taste of Home

Truffle Cupcakes from Taste of Home

 

Chocolate Covered Strawberries by Calligraphy by Jennifer

Chocolate Covered Strawberries by Calligraphy by Jennifer

Football Brownies from Betty Crocker

Football Brownies from Betty Crocker

She Who Needs to Make Something Fun for CC

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