A Cherry and Vanilla Poke Cake

Have you ever made one of these?  If not, you should!  What fun!  The hubby requested one for his birthday this year (yep - squeezed that one in before the little one's birthday party) and it turned out beautifully.

It was a total copy/paste from the Kraft website - but what a great idea for a cake!  Bake the cake, poke a bunch of holes in it, fill it full of Jello, let set and serve - what could be easier?

2 baked 9-inch round white cake layers, cooled

1 package JELL-O Cherry Flavor Gelatin

2 tubs Betty Crocker Vanilla Whipped Frosting

Maraschino Cherries

 

Place cakes, top sides up, in clean 9-inch round pans. Pierce with a large fork at 1/2-inch intervals.

 

Make JELL-O according to package directions.

 

Pour over cakes, refrigerate for 3 hours.

 

Dip bottoms of pans in warm water for 10 seconds; remove cakes from pans.  Stack on a plate, fill the middle with frosting and frost the outside of the cake.

Garnish with Maraschino Cherries

Pomegranate Watermelon Rum Cooler

I recently featured this in my weekly column for the Southeast Valley Ledger, it's way too good to not add to the blog for reference later! 

One of my girlfriends and I had a lot of fun taste testing different varieties of this cocktail until we finally came up with one that we both loved.

It's a light, refreshing cooler that with just a few simple ingredients, you'll have created a delicious drink in no time.  The result is a beverage that is clean, easy to drink and makes you just a little happier too.

Pomegranate Watermelon Rum Cooler

Serves 2 (plus a little extra to top off your drink)  

½ cup pomegranate juice
2 shots light rum
2 shots sour watermelon schnapps (such as Mr. Stacks)
Juice of 1 lime
Small amount of Sprite
Ice
Watermelon slices for garnish  

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the pomegranate juice, rum, sour watermelon schnapps, and lime juice.   Shake it!  Using the cocktail shaker’s strainer, pour into tumbler about 2/3 full.  Top off with Sprite and garnish.  Sip.  Enjoy.  Repeat. 

Candy, Cupcakes, and Beer | Photographed & Styled by Gretchen Wakeman Photography

This post is just a tad later than the actual event.....I just realized I still had it sitting in draft mode, what is wrong with me? This party was amazing!

My friend...and neighbor, Gretchen recently styled and hosted a birthday party for her little girl who was turning the big ONE! I was pretty excited when I received the invitation telling us this was going to be a birthday happy hour. The invitation read that the birthday girl's favorite things included: after-nap playtime + bottle + snack....which = happy hour!

Beer and cupcakes were served and a candy bar was available for the kids to attack and fill up their goodie bags with delicious treats. We also enjoyed chips, salsa, chicken burritos, rice, and beans as part of our happy hour.

There was a batch of lemonade for the kids and of course a tub of beer on ice for the adults. I brought a bottle of Wilson Creek Almond Champagne for my friend - one of her favorites. She was so excited she added it to the beer tub and enjoyed during the party. Oh, and I can't forget the chocolate fountain complete with pound cake, fruit, and marshmallows. This was the appetizer for the kids....at least, that's how they understood it!

Gretchen's mom made the gorgeous smash cake for her granddaughter....unfortunately, the birthday girl wanted nothing to do with it. Couldn't even get her to dive into one of those beautiful cupcakes made by my friend. The one year old did manage to eat several of the Oreo pops!

What are 5 year old big sisters for? Well, they are there to hug you when you don't want to have your cake and eat it too.....they are also there to set up an impromptu craft table for your party guests after the cupcakes are consumed and gifts are opened. They are available to walk around offering various treats from the candy bar to your guests throughout the party. It was so cute - and tough to resist her generosity. I never had a big sister - they seem pretty cool! I do have a sister-in-law who is older and have considered her MY big sister for the past 16+ years, she's awesome! This 5 year old is definitely a hostess in the making - her mom sets a great example.

I have included a few photos from the candy bar courtesy of Gretchen below - you'll have to check out her blog to see the rest. I took the photo of the wrapped gift and wanted to share, since we knew there was going to be a candy bar ahead of time, I topped off the packaging with a giant Whirly Pop in hopes that her mom will get some great photos of her with it. I love adding a little something extra to the top of a gift.

I wanted to include this party on my blog to give you more ideas for a great event! Enjoy the photos and get inspired!



photo & styling by www.gretchenwakeman.com

photo & styling by www.gretchenwakeman.com

photo & styling by www.gretchenwakeman.com



special touch tied into ribbon for birthday girl

 

Beergaritas

This year for Cinco de Mayo I wanted to focus on a couple of cocktails....no Mexican food on the blog this year for the big event...definitely next year!  Along with the Michelada I posted, this pitcher of Beergaritas had to make the blog as well.

A super easy drink to make and a crowd pleaser!  After serving to the hubby and a couple of close friends, I saw happy faces all around.  Give these a try and please leave me feedback as to what you think.  Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Beergaritas
Makes 1 pitcher

12 oz frozen lime concentrate
36 oz Corona Light Beer
6 oz silver Tequila
2 oz Grand Marnier
Juice of 2 limes (plus additional lime for garnish)
Ice
Course salt
Lime and orange slices for garnish

In a large pitcher, add the frozen lime concentrate and slowly add the 3 beers.  Stir until combined.  Next, add the Tequila, Grand Marnier, and juice from 2 limes.   Stir again.

Cut the third lime into slices for your garnish and cut part of the lime into a wedge.  Take your lime wedge and run it around the rim of your glasses.  Dip the rims of your glasses into a plate of course salt to coat. 

Fill each glass with lots of ice, pour Beergarita into glass, garnish, and serve.

Michelada

Yum.  I love a good, cold Mexican beer with tons of limes.....and with summer approaching, such a refreshing drink.   This recipe calls for Maggi which is a dark liquid seasoning that is similar to soy sauce but doesn't contain soy.  You should be able to find it in the Asian or Latin section of the grocery store or at a specialty market.  If you can't find it, soy sauce can be substituted.

Make sure you check out the Chelada I made and posted on the blog too, that's another tasty treat. 

Michelada
Makes 1 drink

1 Negro Modelo
Course salt
1 lime, cut into wedges
2-3 dashes hot sauce
2-3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
2-3 dashes Maggi seasoning sauce (or soy sauce can be used)
Ice

Run one of the lime wedges around the rim of a chilled glass.  Dip the rim into the salt to coat.  Fill the glass with ice.  Squeeze all but one of the lime wedges into the glass and drop in.  Add hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and Maggi sauce.  Top with Negro Modelo, stir, and garnish with remaining lime wedge. 

Cherry Almond Breakfast Bread

As I was looking through my Williams Sonoma catalog that recently arrived, my eyes quickly spotted a recipe for Cherry Almond Quick Bread.  I removed the "quick" from my post title, because I didn't use one of their quick bread mixes featured on the same page!

This bread is delicious!  I am a huge fan of cherries, paired with an almond flavor, it's awesome.  I have another recipe for Cherry Almond Frozen Yogurt on my site, you'll want to be sure to check that out too.

 

Cherry Almond Breakfast Bread

Makes 1 loaf
Recipe courtesy of Williams Sonoma

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped dried tart cherries
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease 8" x 4" loaf pan.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Add cherries; toss to distribute evenly.  In another bowl, whisk milk, eggs, butter, and almond extract.  Add to flour mixture; stir until combined.  Do not overmix. 

Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 55-60 minutes.  Transfer pan to wire rack; let cool 10 minutes.  Turn loaf out onto rack; let cool completely.

La Marca Prosecco

I featured this Prosecco in a recent fact filled column for the Southeast Valley Ledger, it's such a great bottle of bubbly, I wanted to include on my blog as well!

The two facts I knew about Prosecco prior to doing further research were that they are produced in Italy and I like the taste of them.  I have enjoyed La Marca on a number of occasions; however, I wanted to share a little background on this yummy bubbly so you too can add it to your rotation of refreshing bottles of wine from which to choose. 

As I mentioned, Proseccos are made in Italy and the white grapes used are called Glera, these were known before 2009 as Prosecco grapes.  The name change was to avoid the confusion between the region and the variety of grape when the Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene region was promoted to DOCG (the highest classification for Italian wines) status. 

To produce the wines, the Italians use the Charmat method which basically means the wine goes through a secondary fermentation in stainless steel tanks.  Using this process is less expensive than Champagne where the secondary fermentation happens in the bottle. 

As I prefer my bubblies, Proseccos are made on the dry or extra dry side.  For those of you newer to learning about different types of sparklings, this means that they are not sweet. 

One of my favorite Proseccos is La Marca, named for the region where it is made, La Marca Trevigiana.  Although dry, it has nice fruity flavors and is very light and refreshing.  At $12.99 a bottle at my favorite store Total Wine, you just can’t go wrong. 

Last year I posted a bubbly cocktail using La Marca, the Garden of Eden Cocktail - it's delicious, make sure you add this to your list of drinks to try as well!

I hope you’ll get a bottle of La Marca Prosecco and give it a try at your next brunch or afternoon cocktail party.   This is one you and your guests will enjoy.