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Come Party With Me: Baby Shower - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:30:17 -0700

At a baby shower, it's incredibly important to have a nonalcholic specialty drink. That way the mother-to-be can join in the festivities. For Denise's baby shower brunch, I'll offer guests mimosas and spiced pomegranate sparklers.

The concoction is made with a cinnamon-spiced pomegranate juice and sparkling water. Do take the time to make the garnish - frozen whole cranberries - because it's a lovely addition to the drink.

Also have an assortment of juice, coffee, and tea on hand. To get the refreshing recipe to the sparkling mocktail, read more.

Spiced Pomegranate Sparkler
From Whole Living

Ingredients

1 cup pomegranate juice
1 stick cinnamon
2 cups sparkling mineral water
Frozen whole cranberries

Directions

In a small saucepan, heat pomegranate juice to near boiling, add cinnamon stick, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely, at least 1 hour. Remove cinnamon stick.
Divide the spiced juice between 2 tall glasses; add 1 cup sparkling mineral water to each glass. Stir, add ice, and serve with a garnish of frozen cranberries.

Makes 2 drinks.

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Come Party With Me: Baby Shower - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:00:09 -0700

After a rich, savory brunch have the young mother open up her gifts. While guests shower the lady of honor with baby toys, set up a small Belgian waffle bar. Place the batter in a pretty pitcher and plug in several waffle irons. Stack plates and arrange toppings - chocolate sauce, whipped cream, fresh berries, maple syrup, etc. - buffet style near the waffle irons. Once all the presents have been opened, invite everyone to Belgian waffles. For a more diverse spread, purchase dainty pastries from your favorite bakery. To see the waffle recipe I'll be using for Denise's baby shower, read more.

Belgian Waffles
From Food and Wine

Ingredients

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Belgian Chocolate-Fudge Sauce (recipe below), for serving

Directions

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water.
In a large bowl, stir the flour with the salt. Whisk in the yeast mixture, milk, butter, egg yolks, and vanilla until smooth.
In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold them into the batter and let stand for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 225°F.
Heat and grease a waffle iron. Pour 1 1/4 cups of the batter into the iron and cook until the waffles are golden, 6 minutes. Transfer the waffles to the oven. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Dust the waffles with confectioners’ sugar, drizzle with the Belgian Chocolate-Fudge Sauce and serve.

Makes 4 waffles.

Belgian Hot Fudge Sauce

1 cup heavy cream
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

In a saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate.
Let stand for 2 minutes, then stir until the chocolate is melted.
Add the confectioners’ sugar and whisk until smooth.

Makes 2 cups.

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Come Party With Me: Baby Shower - Menu

partysugar — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:00:09 -0700

When hosting a baby shower, be sure to consult the mother-to-be before selecting a menu. Her appetite may have changed, so ask her what she wants to enjoy at the party. My pal Denise has requested a delicious spread of savory brunch dishes. Thus the menu will consist of a crisp breakfast pizza made with hash browns and two types of cheese, home fries with peppers and onions, and crunchy slices of fried bacon. The pizza recipe calls for sausage, but I'll make a couple pork-less pies for the vegetarians in attendance.

Supplement the homemade items with easy, grocery store additions. Fresh fruit, plain yogurt, and an assortment of breads are delightful finishing touches. To experiment with these mouth-watering breakfast recipes, read more.

Breakfast Pizza
From Taste of Home

Ingredients

1 tube (4 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
1/4 pound bulk pork sausage or 4 pork sausage links, sliced
1/2 cup frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
2 tablespoons diced sweet red pepper
2 tablespoons diced green pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 eggs
2 tablespoons 2% milk
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

Separate crescent dough into four triangles; arrange on a ungreased 7-1/2-in. round pizza pan with points toward the center. Press onto the bottom of pan, building up edges slightly; seal perforations.
In a small skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Sprinkle over crust. Top with potatoes, peppers and cheddar cheese.
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, milk and pepper.
Pour over pizza; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until eggs are completely set and top is golden brown. Cut into slices.

Serves 2.

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Home Fries with Peppers and Onions
From Rachael Ray

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds red skinned potatoes
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon grill seasoning (recommended: McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning)
2 teaspoons sweet paprika

Directions

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
Coarsely chop potatoes and transfer to a nonstick cookie sheet.
Toss with oil, peppers, onions and seasonings and place in the oven 25 minutes, turning twice with spatula.M/li>
Serve hot.

Serves 4.

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Fried Bacon
From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

1 pound bacon

Directions

Heat a cast-iron or other heavy skillet over medium heat.
When hot, add bacon strips in a single layer. Cook until browned on bottom, 3 to 4 minutes.
Flip bacon, using tongs, and cook until browned on both sides, about 2 minutes.
Drain and reserve fat for another use, and repeat with remaining bacon. Drain bacon on paper towels. Serve immediately.

Makes 1 pound.

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Come Party With Me: Baby Shower - Invites

partysugar — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:37:59 -0700

One of the Sugar girls is pregnant for the first time and this week I'm planning her baby shower. When hosting a shower for a friend or family member always sit down with the mom-to-be and ask her what kind of party she envisions. Denise requested a small, intimate brunch. Her little girl's room is being decorated in khaki, pale pink, and light yellow, so I've used these colors to create the invite. A pretty butterfly motif runs throughout. To see how I made these easy invitations, read more.

To make a similar invitation you will need the following supplies:

Colored cardstock
decorative two-sided paper
satin ribbon
scissors
glue
computer and printer
tape
inspiring image (I used this image of a butterfly nightlife, the new mother-to-be recently purchased)

To assemble the invite:

Create a new document in Microsoft word. Insert the butterfly image. Shrink down to a small size and copy and paste it several times to create a border.
In between the butterfly border, write the details of the shower. I used the font Curlz MT in size 14 to write the following:

Please join us for a baby shower in honor of
Denise Stirk
On Saturday, October 11, 2008
At half past eleven in the morning.

PartySugar’s House
San Francisco, CA

R.S.V.P to PartySugar 415.555.5555

Denise is registered at Giggle and Pottery Barn Kids
Insert a border around the entire message.
Print out on plain paper. Check for grammar and spelling mistakes. Once satisfied with the look, print out on the cardstock.
Cut down to size. Glue to one side of the printed cardstock.

Cut the cardtsock down to size.
Cut a small piece of the decorative paper to fit over the invite information. Cut this in half.

Carefully tape each piece of decorative paper to the side of the invite, centering it so it covers the text. You are creating a door.

Glue a small piece of ribbon to the middle of one side of the door. Repeat with the other side.
Tie the ribbon into a pretty bow.
Slide into an envelope and send.

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Come Party With Me: Baby Shower - The Look

partysugar — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:30:35 -0700

Butterflies in pastel yellow, pink, and khaki color tones are a wonderful inspiration for a baby shower's look. Start by covering the table with a pretty neutral-colored tablecloth. Serve the brunch food on pink platters and let each guest use a pretty butterfly plate. Serve both the mimosas and sparkling mocktail in modern square wine glasses. Add a touch of elegance by using your best silverware and nice napkins. Even though the event is in the morning light candles in embellished hurricane lamps.

Arrange a beautiful bouquet of yellow flowers. Pink diaper pins are the perfect finishing touch when delicately pinned to the napkins.

Source