I struggled with deciding on a theme for her party, and I bounced several ideas off some of my best friends. When the pie theme popped into my head, I knew I had to run with it. It seemed fitting for Clara, who we frequently refer to as “Cutie Pie.” The color scheme was easy. I had seen a coral and mint wedding on Pinterest, and I knew those colors were perfect for the vintage-y pie theme. Back in early January, I had no idea those two colors would be everywhere a couple months later. I kind of want to use them all over the house now.

For the food, I wanted a menu that could be made largely in advance. I’m not sure it could have been done any other way, especially considering the exorbitant amount of pie dough I made leading up to the party. We broke it up, making party food each night after dinner, but still ended up doing quite a bit the night before (after my momentary “do we have enough food” freakout). This was the biggest party we’ve ever hosted (we had over 40 people at our house!) but thankfully had plenty of food to go around.

These hand pies were super popular with kids and adults. They’re like Hot Pockets but way, way better.

Our menu for the party included:
Frito Pie
Jalapeño Goat Cheese Whoopie Pies
Pizza Dip and tortilla chips
Ham and Cheese Hand Pies

Key Lime Pie Dip with fruit and graham crackers
Mini Chocolate Pies
Mini Peanut Butter Pies
Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes and Smash Cake

Beer, white wine sangria, and Trader Joe’s French Berry Lemonade soda
Nutella Pie Pops (favors)

I love mason jars as drinking glasses, and I used jute twine and craft paper tags to make these party-worthy. The mint paper straws tied the jars into the party colors.

Eric and I painted these frames (from Michael’s) and used them to display Clara’s monthly pictures. Since our bar was being used for drinks, we lined the frames up on our desk. We also put Clara’s baby book out so that people could flip through it if they wanted.

I absolutely love the idea of edible favors, and these Nutella Pie Pops were a huge hit. I made the paper hearts using my Silhouette and tied them on using baker’s twine. The paper was leftover from making the cupcake stand. The pail was a clearance find at Target after Valentine’s Day. I know it’s not coral, but it was too cute to pass up.These stamped forks were one of my favorite DIY touches. I found the stamp and ink at Michael’s. It’s hard to capture on camera, but these looked seriously cute in person. This was definitely the easiest DIY of all the party projects.

I made the invitations and food labels myself in Photoshop and had them printed locally. I was really proud of how they came out.Sadly, I didn’t get a great picture of Clara’s cake (this is a phone picture with an Instagram filter). I made it to look like a pie, and I was mostly happy with how it came out. This cake was my inspiration. I used Wilton Buttercup Yellow gel coloring to achieve the pie dough color I wanted for the fondant. Once Clara smashed the cake, we peeled back the fondant so she could dig right into the cake and frosting.

Clara looked adorable the entire time, and I’m beyond thrilled with how her dress came out. I’m so glad I decided to make it for her. The felt bow headband was also made by me.

Though the day started on the rough side since Clara didn’t nap at all before the party, things went surprisingly well (thanks to a few extra helping hands). Clara ate her cake like a champ (no surprise there), and we had a fabulous time. Our time spent with Clara has been the most wonderful time, and we’re excited to watch her grow and change over the next year.

Vendors:
Paper straws and twine for favors- TalkingTwineandTrim on Etsy
Paper food trays – ThePinkPicker on Etsy
Baking cups – CakeWithLove on Etsy
Invitations and food tents/labels – Designed by me and printed locally at Print1
Felt balls for garland – AnnyMay and Handbehg Felts on Etsy
Coral cake stand and bowl – Threshold line at Target
Felt ball and tissue paper garlands – Made by me
Clara’s dress and bow – Made by me, fabric is Verona Rouge Stripe by Riley Blake

Even though we’re not hosting Thanksgiving, I kind of took over planning the menu. My dad is making the usual Thanksgiving fare – turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes – and I’m making the green bean casserole, rolls, some type of sweet potatoes and dessert. We’re still debating what vegetables we want to make, but the menu is mostly finalized. And since no Thanksgiving dinner would be complete without wine, we’ll be taking along a couple bottles from our favorite Virginia wineries. I’m sure we’re going to have a fabulous time, and I’m already salivating thinking about that fried turkey. It’s no joke, guys. If you’re still searching for some ideas for your menu, here are some of  my favorite recipes for Thanksgiving.

Appetizers:
Fried Herbed Almonds
Chipotle and Rosemary Roasted Nuts
Goat Cheese, Pesto and Sun-Dried Tomato Terrine

Sides:
From-Scratch Green Bean Casserole
Three Cheese Macaroni and Cheese
Mashed Parsnips
Crispy Roasted Potatoes

Breads:
Rosemary and Pepper Dinner Rolls
Bubble Top Brioches
Goat Cheese Drop Biscuits
Roasted Garlic Compound Butter

Desserts:
Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pumpkin Tiramisu
Classic Pumpkin Roll

Black Bean Burgers

Hearty black bean burgers are a delicious and easy

Spicy Poblano Burgers with Chipotle Cream

If you were to ask me what I love most about summer, my

Bacon Burgers with Bacon Onion Balsamic Jam

Annie and I didn’t plan in advance what meals we

Key Lime Pie Bars

These sweet and tangy key lime bars have all the

Bacon Ranch Potato Salad

Eric and I revel in long weekends, but then again, who

Blackberry Limeade

A refreshing drink that’s a little sweet, a

French Potato Salad

A delicious spin on traditional potato salad, this

Soft White Hamburger Buns

Eric and I are both really into bread baking these days

Smoky Baked Beans

I’ve never really liked baked beans.  Before I

Frozen Mango Margaritas

Summertime is one of my favorite times of year. I hate

Caramelized Onion Dip

As a child, I loved onion dip and potato chips. You

Piña Coladas

Ditch the pre-made drink mix and make your own fresh pi

*This is a new blog feature I’m testing out, and I’d love to know what you think about it. :)

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! If you’re viewing this in a reader, head on over to the site to see how this looks (it’s much better, I promise).

To top it off, I was surprised last weekend when Eric and I got to our favorite restaurant only to discover my friends Annie, Josie and Tara there waiting for us. They came into town for the weekend and even had a shower for me. They had been planning this trip with Eric since before the new year (stay tuned for a post about their visit!). If that isn’t a perfect example of blogging friends turning into real friends, I don’t know what is.

Before I get too sappy, I just want to thank you all for letting Eric and I share this wonderful time in our lives with all of you. And a million thanks to the amazing ladies that made dishes to celebrate our upcoming arrival, especially Josie, who was kind enough to organize the entire thing. :) As is always the case with posts like this, seeing all the pictures makes me wish even more that we could do this in person. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It means the world to me.

Josie of Pink Parsley and I shared a room together at BlogHer Food last year. We got to see each other again for a quick lunch when Eric and I were traveling through Atlanta on our way home from Christmas in Alabama. Little did I know that they were secretly planning Josie’s visit when I wasn’t at the table. Sneaky! Josie made Crab and Brie Stuffed Mushrooms. Stuffed mushrooms were my gateway into liking mushrooms, and you really can’t go wrong when they’re stuffed with crab and Brie.

Annie of Annie’s Eats and I met for the first time over Labor Day weekend last year, but I feel like we’ve been friends forever. She was the third person (after myself and Eric) to find out about Baby C. I emailed her probably less than 5 minutes after I found out, and she emailed me back one of the most excited emails I’ve ever gotten. She made Okra Cornmeal Cakes with Chévre and Roasted Tomatoes. Being from the south, I love okra. This looks much healthier than the fried kind, and I love the combination of it with the Chévre and roasted tomatoes.

I have yet to meet Elly of Elly Says Opa, but I know it won’t be long until I do. Before she and I were really friends, Eric and I used to joke at how he had a blog crush on her because every single recipe we made from her blog was such a huge hit. I know Eric is happy that she opened my eyes to the fabulousness of chicken thighs, too. She made Goat Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Meatball Crostini. Goat cheese is my favorite cheese, and I know I would’ve eaten several of these had this shower happened in person. Seriously, how awesome does this combination sound?

I got to meet Shanon of The Curvy Carrot when I was in Indianapolis visiting Annie. She doesn’t live there anymore, but I lucked out because she was in town the same weekend I was. Shanon has a vegetarian blog, and, even though I’m not a vegetarian, I always find myself saving recipes from it. She made Mushroom and Mascarpone Tarts. I love tarts, and these look elegant and sound fabulous.

Amy of Gastronome Tart and I met last year when she moved to Richmond. We had a great time hanging out and chatting about food, blogging and all sorts of other things. Cool fact about her: she’s a beekeeper. She lives in another part of Virginia now, but I can’t wait to see her again and introduce her to Baby C (and get some honey ;)). She made Savory Apple Galettes , and I wish she still lived nearby so that I could’ve had one.

Amy of Sing for Your Supper just had a baby girl a couple weeks ago. I was so excited when I found out our due dates weren’t far apart, and I imagine we’ll be talking a lot about our baby girls. She made Virgin Peach Blood Orange Sangria. It’s no secret that I love wine, and I won’t lie and say I haven’t missed it. I wish I had seen this recipe months ago because it looks fabulous! I’m definitely making this one soon.

Apple a Day is one of the sweetest people I know. I just adore her, and I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll get to meet her one of these days. She made Raspberry White Chocolate Tartlets, which look perfect for a baby shower. Eric and I both love raspberries, especially when they’re paired with white chocolate.

Shawnda of Confections of a Foodie Bride lives in Texas and makes me wish I still did. Eric and I love Tex-Mex food and margaritas, and I’m pretty sure Shawnda is the margarita queen. She also does other cool things like garden and brew beer and make wine. I know we’d be great friends if we lived closer together. She made these adorable Pink Grapefruit Cookies. I love citrus in any form, and these delicate cookies look like the perfect way to showcase it.

I feel like I’ve known Nikki of Pennies on a Platter for such a long time. She’s so thoughtful and was especially helpful when I was making the switch to my new blog design. She made Cream Puffs Filled with Strawberries and Mascarpone. I love cream puffs, and the combination of them with strawberries and mascarpone sounds absolutely delightful.

I got to meet Karin of This Wife Bakes at BlogHer Food last year. She is hip and so much fun, and she’s also an insanely talented cake decorator. If I lived in Atlanta, I would pay her to give me some one-on-one lessons. She made this Blood Orange Marmalade Cake, and I so wish I could have a slice. Like I said, I love citrus. I’m not sure why I’ve never put it in a cake before, but that will be changing very soon.

I got to meet Tara of Smells Like Home last year at BlogHer Food. We had such a fantastic time hanging out, and I was so happy I got to see her again last weekend! She drove all the way here from Connecticut, and didn’t flinch when we stayed up until 4am the night before (technically, the day) she had to drive back. She made Sweet and Salty Cupcakes, which are the ideal dessert for me because my cravings right now quickly change from sweet to salty and back again. Eating one of these would certainly satisfy both.

Branny of Branny Boils Over and I got to meet at BlogHer Food last year. She’s hilarious, and I had such a fabulous time hanging out with her. While we were there, she tried Nutella for the first time when we were out to breakfast one day. The rest of us were shocked that she’d never eaten it, and we practically told her she had to try it right that second. That’s why I was so happy when I saw she made Nutella Swirl Blondies. Really, there’s no way to go wrong when Nutella is involved.

Ryan of Ryan Bakes and I met last year. She’s another Richmond food blogger, and it’s been awesome to have someone nearby who understands the craziness that is food blogging. We’ve had many laughs over blog-related topics, and I’m excited that she’ll get to meet Baby C soon. She made Strawberry Shortcake Sliders, which are so cute and perfect for a shower. I love strawberries and know I would devour these.

Cate of Cate’s World Kitchen is always inspiring me. Her blog is one of the first vegetarian blogs I started reading, and she’s constantly introducing me to new foods and recipes. She lives near San Francisco, which holds a special place in my heart since Eric and I spent part of our honeymoon there. She made Pink Lemonade Cupcakes. I spent the last year working at a cupcake shop, so cupcakes are high on my list of favorite treats. I love citrusy sweets and would have a hard time eating just one of these.

Thank you all again for making this so special for me, Eric and our baby girl. I’m lucky to have such a wonderful (and talented!) group of friends.

Thanksgiving is approaching faster than we know it, so I’m going to start sharing some of my tried and true holiday favorites. Appetizers are often the last thing people think of when it comes to holiday entertaining, but they’re actually an integral part of the meal. I like having them available so everyone has a snack to enjoy while waiting on the main attraction. This is especially helpful in case your turkey isn’t done when it should be or you need additional time to make the finishing touches on your sides. When Eric and I hosted our Friendsgiving party last year, these almonds were the first thing to disappear (and that’s not just because they were the first thing served).

The beauty of these is in their simplicity. Crunchy almonds flecked with thyme, coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. That’s it. They’re easy to snack on while drinking a glass of wine, and they pair wonderfully with a variety of cheeses (we served ours with Capricho de Cabra). Because they can be made ahead of time, they’re a great item to have on your holiday menu. Just be careful if you make them too far in advance because they might disappear before Thanksgiving arrives.

Fried Herbed Almonds
Makes 2 cups

*Note: If you can’t find blanched almonds, you can blanch your own by placing raw almonds in a bowl and covering with boiling water. Allow to sit for one minute, then drain and rinse under cold water. Turn onto a tea towel. Squeeze each almond between fingers to slip skin off.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups whole blanched almonds
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add almonds and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and light golden, 10-12 minutes. Stir in thyme and remove from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste, then pour onto a rimmed baking sheet to cool completely. Once cool, store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Source: Martha Stewart

I’ve mentioned before how much Eric and I love Virginia wine. Many people don’t know that Virginia even grows wine grapes; we certainly didn’t until moving here. Our honeymoon was in Sonoma, so I’ll admit that we were skeptical when we first visited a winery here. However, that skepticism quickly turned into excitement once we realized how much promise lies in Virginia wines. Even before moving here, I knew that Thomas Jefferson had unsuccessfully tried to grow European grapes in Virginia. In fact, he tried for more than thirty years and never got a single bottle from his grapes. George Washington tried for eleven years and also came up dry. (I’ll cut them some slack since they founded our country and all.) I think our former presidents would be impressed by how far Virginia winegrowers have come since then. I’ll spare you a lengthy history lesson, but suffice to say that there’s a good deal of it tied into wine in this state.

A few weeks ago, Eric and I volunteered to pour wine for Horton Vineyards at a wine festival at Montpelier (James Madison’s home). We came home with six bottles of their wine and knew almost immediately that those wines were the perfect basis for a 24×24 party. We decided on a menu and were all set to start planning. Eric and I have been to so many wine festivals that we had exactly enough tasting glasses for each of our guests, which allowed them to sample the wines before deciding which ones they wanted to drink. I didn’t set the party up so much as a tasting where each person would take notes, but rather as a laid back way to introduce the wines to our friends.

I knew I wanted several small plates for people to eat while enjoying their wines, so that defined what foods we decided to make. I feel good pairing one wine with dinner, but I’m not confident enough in my pairing abilities to have planned for each plate to have a corresponding wine. Still, my friends all found wines they enjoyed and ended up kind of pairing them on their own. Here’s what the menu looked like:

Caramelized Onion Dip and Crackers
Marinated Bocconcini
Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Crostini
Mozzarella and Roasted Tomato Phyllo Pizza
Crab Cakes with Homemade Tartar Sauce
Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches
Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce
Chocolate Mousse
Chocolate Truffles

We had several bottles of wine, and we saved the fruity wines to have with dessert. Otherwise, we just let everyone choose which wines they wanted with their meal. Our wines, all from Horton Vineyards, were:

Cabernet Franc
Norton
Black Cat Chardonnay
Viognier
Eclipse White
Peach
Blackberry
Xoco

There are a few notable things about the wines that I’d like to share. Cabernet Franc is a wine we’d never heard of until moving here. This wine continues to be one of our favorite red wines, and I even heard a few non-red wine drinkers say last night that they liked this one. Norton is a native Virginia grape that was actually cultivated here in Richmond. My friend Elise loved it and couldn’t get enough of it when paired with the roasted pepper and goat cheese bruschetta. Xoco is a red wine with a hint of chocolate essence. It was the perfect wine to serve with our chocolaty desserts.

We had such a fantastic time sharing these wines with our friends. If you’re ever in Virginia, don’t miss out on its beautiful wine country. There’s a lot going on with Virginia wines, and I hope they continue to grow and flourish. This party just highlighted one specific winery, but there are so many wonderful ones here. We’ve actually got a few bottles from Jefferson Vineyards, and I’m pretty eager to open them. Being the history nerd I am, I can’t help but think of what Jefferson would think now about the grapes being grown on the same land he used and having a winery named after him.

I’ll post many of these recipes in the coming weeks. Since the crostini was such a favorite, that recipe will be making an appearance soon. Many thanks to Foodbuzz for sponsoring my party!

When deciding what to serve at the party, I knew I wanted each dish to make my guests feel like they were enjoying their meal in a place somewhere much warmer. I mainly focused on Jamaican and Caribbean dishes, with a couple of tropical dishes and drinks thrown in for good measure. There were so many recipes I wanted to try, but I was eventually able to narrow down the menu to include:

Coquitos
Fried Plantain Chips with Avocado Kiwi Salsa
Jamaican Beef Dumplings
Grilled Shrimp with Dark Rum Glaze
Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings
Tropical Rice
Coconut Lime Cake
Coconut Saffron Ice Cream
Luau Coconut Drinks
Pineappleade
Strawberry Mango Daiquiris

Eric and I tried to make as much as we could ahead of time. The night before the party, Eric made the marinade for the chicken wings while I made the ice cream. The pineappleade also had to be made the night before so that it could sit overnight. We made the plantain chips early in the day Saturday, and they stayed perfectly crisp for the party. I prepared the salsa minus the avocado and added it once our guests arrived. I also baked the cake early in the day so that the glaze would have time to seep into it. I cooked the rice close to the arrival of our guests while Eric was grilling the wings and shrimp. Overall, I’m really happy with how everything turned out, and I’m so thankful that our friends were able to join us for our tropical meal. Though it’s not the best picture (hey, I was hungry!), here’s our table setup:

I absolutely love these coquitos, which were a random find one morning while grocery shopping. They’re like baby coconuts and are a little smaller than grapes. They have a hard exterior and soft, coconutty interior. I couldn’t resist serving them in a piece of coconut shell.

The plantain chips, with a cayenne and lime zest seasoning, were so delicious that Eric and I had a hard time resisting them. It’s lucky we had any left for the party because we definitely snacked on a few while we were cooking other things.

As soon as we started cooking these, I knew they’d be my favorite (food) item of the night. The dumplings are simply wonton wrappers filled with a delicious beef filling that includes curry powder, onion and Jamaican hot sauce. We served these with Thai sweet chili sauce, plus extra hot sauce for those that wanted them especially spicy.

The glaze for the shrimp made our kitchen smell fabulous. I was so excited about these, and they did not disappoint. They had a sweet and smoky flavor that everyone absolutely loved.  We served extra glaze on the side.

This coconut cake had the most wonderful tropical flavor. With coconut, limes and coconut rum, you know it was good. Though it took Eric taking the coconut outside and hitting it with a hammer and me carefully peeling each strip, the fresh coconut on top was totally worth it.  This cake was definitely a show stopper, and it disappeared in no time.

This ice cream is made with coconut milk, coconut sugar and saffron, giving it a truly exotic flavor.  I’ve never made an ice cream from David Lebovitz that I didn’t like, and this one was no different.  Not everyone was a fan, which I believe had to do with the fact that this ice cream has a much different flavor than traditional ice creams and isn’t quite as sweet.  I really enjoyed it, though, and I can’t wait to make something else with the coconut sugar I used in this recipe.

This spin on the classic piña colada might have been my favorite recipe of the night.  It’s got coconut water, coconut milk, light rum and coconut rum.  There’s a ton of coconut flavor packed into this drink, and I felt like I was sipping it on a beach when I drank it out of this coconut.

And just to show what a fun time we had, here’s a picture of me and my friend Amanda enjoying some tasty drinks in the cutest pineapple cups that my friends Katy and Juli were nice enough to bring.

Thank you so much for allowing me to share our party with you!  I’ll be posting many of the recipes soon, and I hope you’ll come back to take a look at them.  Spring may be a couple months away, but a tropical getaway is closer than you think! :)

The Menu:
Appetizers – Capricho de Cabra cheese with sea salt crackers and Pan Fried Almonds with Thyme
Main Course – Herb Roasted Turkey Breast
Sides – Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans with Walnuts and Lemon Vinaigrette, Chorizo Stuffing, Bubble Top Brioche Rolls
Wine – Veritas Cabernet Franc
Dessert – Pumpkin Tiramisu

Thanksgiving table for two

We made these almonds for Friendsgiving, a party we had before Thanksgiving. They disappeared in no time, so we decided to make more to snack on while cooking our Thanksgiving meal. We also had Capricho de Cabra, which is an incredibly smooth Spanish goat cheese. Perhaps our favorite discovery since moving to Virginia is its abundance of wine growing regions.  This medium-bodied cabernet franc from Veritas paired perfectly with our meal.

These Bubble Top Brioche Rolls were the most delicious rolls I’ve ever made. They were so soft and buttery. I think the Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes were my favorite side dish ever. Eric, who normally isn’t even a fan of sweet potatoes, absolutely loved these. Instead of a heavy green bean casserole, I opted to make a lighter green bean dish. These are tossed in a lemon vinaigrette and topped with toasted walnuts.

Eric said this was the best roasted turkey he’s ever had, but my dad’s fried turkey is still his favorite. I loved the way the herbs looked when the turkey breasts were cut and how their flavors really seeped into the turkey. The chorizo and brioche stuffing was a nice change from traditional stuffing. Since I was already making brioche rolls, I used half the dough to make a loaf to use in the stuffing.

This pumpkin tiramisu tasted sort of like a pumpkin spice latte. The original recipe called for the ladyfingers to be brushed with rum, but I couldn’t resist drowning them in espresso.

It took about 2 seconds for Rabb to steal my seat once I got up to start cleaning.

We don’t normally give Abby any type of human food, but I couldn’t resist the cute face she was making while Eric was carving the turkey. Once we finished our dinner, I got a tiny piece of turkey to give her. She was quite willing to do tricks for it, too.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen her roll over so quickly!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I’ll be posting these recipes soon.  :)