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Come Party With Me: Black and White Luau - Menu

partysugar — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:45:41 -0700

Fab is strictly enforcing the black and white dress code for our upcoming luau, so I'm creating a menu that features black and white dishes. Since the party starts after dinner, we'll offer guests only a few small bites.

Although it's not Hawaiian, a platter of sushi from our favorite Japanese restaurant is perfect for late night noshing. Homemade finger foods will include piña colada scallop brochettes and spicy black bean cakes. The scallops are easy to make and pretty to present. The black bean cakes will be served with a cooling lime scented sour cream.
To get these black and white recipes, read more.

Piña Colada Scallop Brochettes
From Sandra Lee

Ingredients

12 large sea scallops
1 (10-ounce) can frozen pina colada mix, thawed (recommended: Bacardi)
1/2 cup light rum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon crushed garlic (recommended: Christopher Ranch)
12 ounces fresh pineapple wedges, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut, toasted

Directions

Soak 8 bamboo skewers in water for at least 1 hour.
In a large zip-top bag, combine scallops, thawed pina colada mix, rum, salt, pepper, and garlic. Squeeze out air and seal bag. Gently massage to thoroughly combine ingredients.
Marinate in refrigerator 15 minutes or up to 30 minutes. Do not marinate longer then this or the marinade will begin to cook the scallops.
Set up grill for direct cooking or a grill pan over medium heat. Lightly oil the grate when ready to start cooking.
Remove scallops from marinade and discard marinade.
Thread 3 scallops through 4 skewers and thread the pineapple wedges onto the remaining skewers. Season with salt and pepper.
If grilling indoors on a grill-pan, pat the scallops dry before grilling.
Spread toasted coconut on a plate; set aside.
Place brochettes on hot oiled grill and cook until scallops are opaque and just cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Grill the pineapple until there are nice grill marks and fruit softens a bit, about 4 minutes.
Remove from grill and immediately press both sides of brochettes into toasted coconut. Serve hot.

Serves 4.

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Spicy Black-Bean Cakes
From Everyday Food magazine

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 scallions, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, pressed
1 to 2 jalapeno chiles, finely chopped (ribs and seeds removed for less heat, if desired)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 cans (15.5 ounces each) black beans, drained and rinsed
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 large sweet potato, peeled and coarsely grated (2 cups)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
Lime Sour Cream (see recipe, below)

Directions

Heat broiler.
In a small skillet over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook scallions until softened, 1 minute.
Add garlic, jalapeno, and cumin; cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Transfer to a large bowl.
Add beans to bowl; mash with a fork or a potato masher, leaving about 1/4 of the beans whole. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Fold in sweet potato, egg, and breadcrumbs. Divide into 8 balls of equal size; flatten into patties.
Brush a baking sheet with remaining tablespoon oil; place patties on sheet, 1/2 inch apart.
Broil 4 inches from heat until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. With a thin metal spatula, carefully turn cakes.
Broil until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes more. Serve with Lime Sour Cream.

Makes 8 cakes.

For the Lime Sour Cream: in a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream with 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice and 1 small minced jalapeno chile (ribs and seeds removed for less heat, if desired) season with coarse salt.

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Not Your Regular Nachos: Black and White Nachos

partysugar — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 10:48:31 -0700

Now that Winter soups are a thing of the past, it's time to move onto a more interesting adventure. Recently I told you about my desire to open a restaurant devoted entirely to nachos, but in order for me to do so, I'll need a repertoire of nachos recipes. So to get started I've created a new feature entirely devoted to nachos!

Not your - not-yo, sounds like nacho - regular nachos, I'll be dishing out more than just tortilla chips and melted cheese. To get things started, I made a classic style dish that used items I already had in my pantry or fridge. To see how I made these black and white nachos, read more.

Black and White Nachos
From PartySugar

The name of these nachos comes from the color of the ingredients, which were mostly black and white.

Ingredients

1 bag tortilla chips
2 cups grated white sharp cheddar cheese
1-2 cooked chicken breasts, chopped into small pieces
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1/2 cup sliced jarred jalapenos

Directions

Cover a baking pan with foil. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Arrange a layer of tortilla chips on the baking sheet. Sprinkle a 1/2 teaspoon of cheese on each chip. Spread another layer of chips over the top.
Scatter the chips with the chicken chunks and black beans.
Sprinkle with more cheese, the black olives and sliced jalapenos. Cover with the remaining cheese.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is melted, the chips are crisp, and the beans are cooked through.
To enjoy, serve with salsa and Coronas.

Serves 4.

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Give Black and White Cookies a Halloween Makeover

partysugar — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:13:59 -0700

One of the girls here at the Sugar HQ recently received several boxes of black and white cookies. She grew up on Long Island and desperately missed the quintessentially New York treat. Luckily she shared the cookies with me, and I instantly fell in love! I immediately knew I wanted to find a recipe and give this classic east coast treat a try in my San Francisco kitchen. I got even more excited when I found this recipe with a Halloween twist! A few drops of orange food coloring is the secret ingredient that takes these cookies from everyday to holiday. Get the recipe when you read more

Black & Orange Cookies
From Food & Wine magazine

Cookies
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons milk
Icing
2 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Orange food coloring, or red and yellow combined
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Make the cookies: preheat the oven to 350°; position 2 racks in the upper and middle thirds of the oven. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt onto a large sheet of wax paper. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and yolks one at a time, beating well between additions. Beat in the vanilla and milk. At low speed, beat in the dry ingredients until just combined.
Spoon rounded tablespoons of the batter onto the baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes, until the centers spring back when lightly pressed. Be careful not to let the cookies brown or overbake, or they will be dry. Transfer the cookies, flat-side up, to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the icing: in a medium bowl, whisk the confectioners' sugar with the boiling water until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and a few drops of food coloring and whisk until the icing is evenly colored. Using a small offset spatula, spread the orange-colored icing over half of the flat side of each cookie.
In a microwave oven, melt the chocolate in a small bowl. Stir the chocolate into the remaining orange icing. Spread the chocolate icing on the other half of each cookie and let stand until set, about 15 minutes. (If the icing becomes too thick, add hot water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until smooth and shiny.)

The black-and-orange cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

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Come Party With Me: Black and White Luau - Invite

partysugar — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:15:50 -0700

A girl after my own heart, FabSugar loves to host parties. Since our Sex and the City Marathon went so well, Fab and I are collaborating on another upcoming event: a black and white luau. The party will have all of the aspects of a typical luau - tropical flowers, Hawaiian-inspired dishes, etc, - but since it's a black and white theme the event will be chic and sophisticated.

A luau is a classic Summer party that's fun and fabulous to plan, so take my ideas and adapt them to make your own memorable bash. Let's start by sending invitations. To see how I made the ones here, read more.

You will need the following supplies to make a similar invitation:

tropical print decorative paper
nice white paper
glue
scissors
computer and printer

To assemble the invite:

Start by creating a new document in Microsoft word. Write out a fun message describing the party. On our invite, I wrote the following message in Baar Sophia size 14:

Fog city doesn't host enough luaus, so join me in toasting
Summer and fog, with a black and white themed luau!
Bring your friends, your rum, and your fun.

FabSugar’s Grotto, San Francisco, CA
Saturday July 12, 2008
9:30 PM

The dress code is strictly enforced!

At my luaus everybody gets leid.
Mahalo and hope you can make it!

If desired, add a thick, black border to enclose the text. Print out on regular paper and check for grammar and spelling mistakes. Once satisfied with the look and feel of the invite print out on the nice white paper.

Cut down to size.

Using the glue, mount on the decorative paper. Cut down to size.

Turn the invite over and paste more decorative paper to the back. Cut down to size.

Slide into an envelope and send.

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Yum Market Finds: Black and White in the Kitchen

partysugar — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 10:01:18 -0800

I enjoy changing the look of my kitchen in order to go with the weather and season. However the basics - things I rarely change - are in black and white. Filling a kitchen with black and white accessories creates a wonderful foundation for decorative accents. To get in the Christmas spirit I will add red and green. For New Year's, I'll ditch those and supplement silver and gold.

To help you get back to the black and white basics, I went hunting in the Yum Market. You found some fabulous essentials, but these graphic black and white espresso cups are perfect now and wonderful later. Fun find, moderngirl! To get more ideas, scroll through below.

To learn more about the bookmarking feature of TeamSugar please read GeekSugar's explanation.

Yummy Link: Black and White Chocolate Cake

partysugar — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 05:18:31 -0800

According to Fab, black and white are a hot combination right now. In the food world, black and white - as in chocolate and vanilla - never go out of style. Peabody proves this with her to-die-for rendition of black and white chocolate cake. - Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

Come Party With Me: Black and White Luau - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:00:40 -0700

For our black and white luau, FabSugar has requested a special dessert. While marshmallows don't have anything to do with the luau part of the theme, they'll be black and white, and more importantly: bite sized and delicious! Homemade marshmallows are a marvelous treat that will impress guests. Once you make them, you'll never go back to purchasing their grocery-store counterpart. Instead of dipping the marshmallows in coconut, I plan to dip the squares in chocolate and roll them around in crushed oreos! Served plated with toothpicks they're the perfect party dessert. For the recipe, read more.

Homemade Marshmallows
From Ina Garten

Ingredients

3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240°F on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.
Spay a 8 by 12-inch nonmetal pan with cooking spray. Pour in the marshmallow batter and smooth the top of the mixture with damp hands.
Allow to dry uncovered at room temperature overnight.
Remove the marshmallows from the pan and cut into squares. Roll the sides of each piece carefully in confectioners' sugar. Store uncovered at room temperature.

Makes 20-40 marshmallows.

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Come Party With Me: Black and White Luau - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:30:59 -0700

When hosting a large, blowout-style bash ask guests to bring alcohol. Delegate a certain type of liquor or simply let them bring their favorite bottle. Doing this ensures that you won't run out of drinks and anything leftover can stock your liquor cabinet!

However, do make a specialty cocktail and purchase beer. For Fab's black and white luau I'll be making a simple yet chic punch. Fab requested a "white" drink and this colorless ti punch is elegantly refreshing. To check out the cocktail recipe - it's garnished with white rock candy! - read more.

Ti Punch
From Food and Wine magazine

Ingredients

1 lime disk, cut from the side of a lime to include flesh, pith and skin (about 1/4 inch thick)
1 teaspoon cane syrup, such as Depaz
1 cup crushed ice
2 ounces white rhum agricole (aromatic West Indian rum)

Directions

Working over a rocks glass, squeeze the lime in both directions to squeeze the oil and juice into the glass. Add the lime to the glass along with the cane syrup and half of the crushed ice.
Set a long swizzle stick or bar spoon in the glass and rub it between your hands to mix the drink.
Add the rhum agricole and the remaining crushed ice and mix again.

Makes 1 cocktail.

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Yummy Link: Red Velvet Black and White Cookies

YumSugar — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 03:01:31 -0700

I didn't even realize that the Black and White cookie had room for improvement, but here it is in the form of Red Velvet Black and White Cookies. - Joy the Baker via Tastespotting

Behind the Scenes: Black and White Luau

partysugar — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:30:58 -0700

On Saturday night FabSugar hosted her annual summer luau. Instead of throwing a regular luau, Fab's party had a sophisticated, chic black and white theme. While Fab created the look of the luau, I was in charge of the snacks and specialty cocktail. To take a look at the food and decor of our memorable party, click the "Start" button.

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