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Thanksgiving Tip: Have Extra Place Settings Ready

partysugar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:00:11 -0800

Besides setting the table early - a couple of days before Thanksgiving - I also put aside several extra place settings. I'll stack two to three plates, chargers, napkins, and utensils in a hidden spot in the dining room.

My Thanksgiving is a "the more, the merrier" type of event, so if someone shows up with an unexpected friend or family member, all I have to do is grab the extra place setting that's ready and add another chair to the table.

It's one less thing to worry about, and will ensure that you don't have to go digging into your China cabinet looking for extra plates on the big night. Got a great Thanksgiving tip? Please share it with us below!

Veggie Flower Arrangement Is a Cool Centerpiece - and Snack

YumSugar — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:00:39 -0700

As a parting present to a friend, Sugar staffer (and OnSugar manager!) sabs creatively crafted a floral arrangement - made entirely out of fresh, edible vegetables! The result was a stunning centerpiece that, like a flower cake, would be a thoughtful (and edible!) gift for someone who avoids sugar.

I loved the idea so much that I had to ask sabs how she did it. Interested in making one yourself? Find out how when you read more

Empanadas Two Ways - Beginner and Expert

YumSugar — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:50:33 -0700

With so many Summer activities going on, I've been looking for more delectables to fit my on-the-go lifestyle. My new favorite snack is empanadas. The savory delicacies are not only perfect for portable snacking, but they're an easy way to use up leftover ingredients, and double as an appetizer for impromptu gatherings. Simply keep uncooked ones in the freezer, and bake them as necessary. Strapped for time or new to cooking? Take advantage of premade pizza dough to make mini-pockets in minutes. Or set aside a few hours to mix together homemade pastry dough - it'll make the crust extra flaky. Decide which recipe suits you best.

Come Party With Me: My Birthday Party - Invite

partysugar — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:50:55 -0700

Well folks, it's time for me to plan my favorite event of the year - my birthday party! Since I threw a blow-out bash at a bar for 27 and a big picnic at an oyster farm for 27.5, I've decided that, for 28, things should be more subdued. Thus, I'm hosting an intimate dinner party for me and my 20 closest friends. The dinner will be served in my grandfather's gorgeous backyard, but before I can think about the menu, I have to send invitations. To learn how I made the ones seen here, read more.

I wanted an invite that looks clean, fun, and is representative of my personality. After searching several paper stores in San Francisco, I decided on a navy, cream, and turquoise theme. I purchased the majority of my supplies at Paper Source. Here's what I used:

Dark blue cardstock
Decorative paper
Glittery paper
Satin ribbon
Single hole punch
Sequins
Glue
Cream printer paper
computer
printer

Here's how I made the invite:

First, I decided on the long rectangular shape (4 1/8x9 1/2 inch) of the envelope. Next I cut the navy cardstock down to 4-x-9 inches. This would be the base of the invite.
I created a stencil of the word party by opening a blank workbook sized at 4-x-9 inches in Photoshop. I made the font as large as it could be (to fit in the space) and printed on regular paper. Using a pencil, I carefully connected the letters and cut out the word. I traced it onto a thick piece of cardstock and cut out again to create a stencil.
I traced the stencil onto the glittery paper and cut out 20.

Next I focused on the text. I opened another blank workbook, this time sized at 3-x-8 inches. Then I wrote the following message:

Your presence is requested at a birthday dinner to honor PartySugar

Saturday, September 19, 2009
Cocktails begin at 6:45

Al Hogan's House
Alamo, California 94507

Dress your best!
Regrets only: 415.444.4444

I printed this out and had FabSugar check for spelling and grammatical errors. When I was satisfied with the text, I printed it with a thin border on 23 sheets of nice paper. I cut these down to size.

To create a border for the back of the invite, I cut the decorative paper into 1-inch strips.
Next I cut the satin ribbon down to 3-4 inch pieces. I needed 4 ribbons for each invite, in total 80 ribbons.

Once I had all of the elements ready, it was time to assemble. I punched a whole in the glittery word Party and the base navy cardstock in four places: at the bottom and top of the P and the bottom and top of the Y. I used the ribbon to tie the glittery party stencil to the navy-blue cardstock, and repeated until all the invites were complete.

Then I turned the invite over and glued the decorative paper strips onto the edge of the navy cardstock to create a border. I trimmed off the excess and used this to fill in the remaining sides, repeating until each invite back had a border.

I glued the text to the middle of the back of the invite and repeated until all the invite backs were finished.

To give the invites some sparkle, I glued several sequins to the front (the side with the word party) of each invite. Then I set all of the invites aside to dry for several hours.

I slide the completed invites into the envelopes, addressed them with a nice navy pen, and sent!

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Do You Know What's Cooking This Week?

YumSugar — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:40:33 -0700

For a slow-paced Summer month, this week sure was filled with news: Top Chef Masters wrapped, Sin City got a brand-new season of TC, and, after five years as the New York Times food critic, Frank Bruni officially pushed his plate aside.

Were you around for all the week's brouhaha? You'll know when you take our quiz.

Take the quiz

Slippage Aside Bailey's Chocolate Layer Cake Is Divine

partysugar — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 14:56:19 -0700

My half birthday was last Friday, and to celebrate I made myself a decadent chocolate layer cake. The recipe was something I personally devised by combining several different cake, pudding, and frosting recipes. The Bailey's pudding was an excellent consistency for the inside of a cake and the intense creamy flavor intense and insanely delightful. Even those who don't enjoy sipping a glass of Bailey's will enjoy this pudding. I have a delicious chocolate cake recipe that I use whenever I make chocolate cake, but this time I decided to experiment with a new devil's food cake recipe. In the end, I preferred my original recipe over this devil's food cake, but this one came out pretty good too.

Let the frosting rest for several hours instead of just one and you will have a smooth, luscious, deep brown icing. I had a horrible crisis when I went to assemble the cake, the layers were slipping like mad. The frosting would not stick because each layer was sliding every which way. Extreme times call for extreme measures and I asked my dad to help me align the cake with skewers (conveniently he was prepping shish-ka-bobs for the grill and had the skewers handy). We placed a circle of skewers in the cake which looked like birthday candles and easily averted disaster. I popped the whole cake in the fridge for a few hours to chill and it firmed up expertly with the frosting cooling to a ganache like state. The final product was a cake that was dense and delicious, moist and super chocolatey. I can't wait to have another piece today when I finish dinner. For the recipe and a gallery of photos, read more

Party's Half Birthday Chocolate Irish Layer Cake
Modified from Epicurious and Martha Stewart

For pudding:
1 1/4 cups chilled whipping cream
12 tablespoons Baileys Original Irish Cream
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
6 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
For cake
1 1/2 Cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pans
3/4 Cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, plus more for pans
1/2 Cup boiling water
2 1/4 Cups sugar
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 Cups sifted cake flour, (not self-rising)
1 Teaspoon baking soda
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 Cup milk
For the syrup
2/3 cup sugar
5 tablespoons water
5 tablespoons Irish whiskey
For the frosting
3/4 cup chilled whipping cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
9 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons kirsch (clear cherry brandy)

Make pudding: combine 3/4 cup cream, 6 tablespoons Baileys liqueur, sugar, yolks and nutmeg in large metal bowl. Place over saucepan of simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water).
Using electric mixer, beat until custard thickens and thermometer registers 160°F, about 8 minutes.
Remove from over water and beat until cool, about 8 minutes.
Mix in remaining 6 tablespoons liqueur.
Beat remaining 1/2 cup cream in medium bowl to medium peaks. Fold into custard.
Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
Make cake: heat oven to 350 degrees; arrange two racks in center of oven. Butter three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans; line bottoms with parchment. Dust bottoms and sides of pans with cocoa powder; tap out any excess.
Sift cocoa into a medium bowl, and whisk in 1/2 cup boiling water. Set aside to cool.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on low speed until light and fluffy.
Gradually beat in sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down sides twice.
Beat in vanilla.
Drizzle in eggs, a little at a time, beating between each addition until the batter is no longer slick, scraping down the sides twice.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.
Whisk milk into reserved cocoa mixture.
With mixer on low speed, alternately add flour and cocoa mixtures to the batter, a little of each at a time, starting and ending with flour mixture.
Divide batter evenly among the three prepared pans.
Bake until a cake tester inserted into center of each layer comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes, rotating the pans for even baking.
Transfer layers to wire racks; let cool, 15 minutes.
Turn out cakes, and return to racks, tops up, until completely cool.
Make syrup: Combine sugar and water in small saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring to boil. Remove from heat. Mix in whiskey. Cool. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.)
Make frosting: bring first 3 ingredients to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low. Add chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Mix in kirsch. Remove from heat. Let stand until spreadable, whisking occasionally, about 1 hour.
To assemble the cake: remove parchment from bottoms of cakes. Reserve the prettiest layer for the top. Place one cake layer on a serving platter; drizzle with syrup, and spread 1 1/2 cups Bailey's pudding over the top. Add the second cake layer, and drizzle with syrup spread with another 1 1/2 cups frosting. Top with third cake layer. Drizzle with remaining syrup.
Cover outside of cake with the frosting. Serve.

Makes 1 eight-inch-round layer cake.

Print recipe with images | without images

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Happy Hour: Gordon's Cup

YumSugar — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:00:00 -0700

I am always tempted by cocktails with cucumber in them but often disappointed. Aside from the classically refreshing Pimm's Cup, the cucumber-based recipes I've tried have either been too sweet, not sweet enough, or way too much trouble.

The Gordon's Cup, however, made me giddy, and it wasn't just the 1/4 cup of gin. This cooling Summer cocktail is easy to make: simply muddle lime and cucumber in a shaker, toss the other goods on top, give it a few shimmies, and dump everything out in your cup - no straining required. Shake up your Summer and get the recipe.

Guess Who Was in Aspen?

YumSugar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:50:06 -0700

Aside from the entertaining seminars and enticing offerings at the Grand Tasting, one of the coolest things about the Food & Wine Classic is the fact that you're constantly running into celebrity chefs. Last year, we spotted Padma Lakshmi and got chatty with Rocco Dispirito; this year had its share of celeb chef sightings as well. Just about everybody in the culinary world - from Alex Guarnaschelli to David Chang - was in town. Can you guess which star chefs we spotted around the festival? Find out when you take our quiz!

Question 1 of 5

Guess who signed a fan's shirt right on her back?

Party Foul: Not Greeting Your Guests

partysugar — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 03:30:42 -0700

At female-centric events like baby showers or bachelorette parties, it's easy for cliques to form and cattiness to flourish. Recently, my sister attended a bridal shower where the majority of guests went to the same high school. However some girls, despite knowing my sister, were cold and unfriendly. To make matters worse, the hostess did not say one word to her! While I understand that everyone present may not get along, it's totally unacceptable for the hostess to ignore her guests. It's up to the hostess to ensure that gossip and grudges don't ruin the party. This means that she must put aside any hard feelings and greet everyone equally.

Have you ever been to a party where the hostess made you feel unwelcome? Please share your stories below!

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Saving the Top Tier of Your Wedding Cake

YumSugar — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:00:15 -0700

It's de rigueur for newlyweds to save the top tier of their wedding cake to enjoy on the first anniversary. The idea behind this tradition, which dates back as far as the late 19th century, is for couples to savor the cake once again - as well as the memories of the big day and the first year of marriage.

Enjoying a well-preserved piece of wedding cake should be a pleasant reminder of your big day, so make sure it isn't ruined by a dry, smelly cake wrought with freezer burn. Learn how to properly store the top layer of cake when you read more.

To store the cake:

Designate a person to save the top tier once the cake cutting begins.
Set aside any fragile and large ornaments or decorations, such as the cake topper.
To avoid a stale cardboard taste, ensure the cake sits on wrapped cake board. A cardboard cake board should be wrapped with foil.
Place the cake in a freezer until the icing becomes firm, 20 minutes to three hours, depending on the icing.
Cover all of the cake's surface area with a generous amount of plastic wrap, avoiding air pockets.
Follow plastic wrap with two layers of aluminum foil.
Place wrapped cake in an airtight storage container and freeze for a year.

To enjoy the cake:

One day before your first anniversary, begin defrosting the cake: transfer it from the freezer to the refrigerator.
After two hours, remove the cake from its wrapping. Continue to defrost in the refrigerator.
Bring the cake to room temperature before consuming.
Serve and enjoy.

If you know you'll be moving within your first year, lack the freezer space, or simply don't want to bother with the process of freezing your wedding cake, order a small, six-inch anniversary cake from the same bakery. Ask for similar cake flavors and fillings and have it adorned like your wedding cake (you can even save your cake topper to be placed on it). Use the cake knife and serving set from your wedding, and enjoy the memories of the special day with fresh cake.

Did you celebrate your first anniversary with the top tier of your wedding cake? What are your cake-preserving tips?

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