Saturday Surprise - Wedding Day!!!!!!

My sister is getting married today!................

Summer Salad with Brown Sugar-Seared Figs, Goat Cheese, Balsamic Reduction and Basil Oil

When life gives you lemons figs make lemonade something yummy like Brown Sugar-Seared Fig and Goat Cheese Salad........

A Super Fabulous, Super Simple Appetizer - Blue Cheese with Honey, Toasted Pecans and Rosemary Crostini

Do you ever forget about making an appetizer?.......

Grilled Pizza with Figs, Applewood Smoked Bacon and Sweet Cherries

Grilled pizza??????? Yes, a fabulous, delicious way to keep your kitchen cool on a sweltering summer day..................

Vanilla-Bean Frozen Yogurt with Chocolate Velvet Sauce

This is a fun summer sweet treat that my daughter-in-law, Lindsay makes. Lindsay is a great cook and told me about this yummy recipe several weeks ago. While she was visiting us this past weekend she whipped up a batch of this refreshing frozen delight......

Fire-Roasted Salsa with Fresh Corn and Pineapple

This is a wonderful salsa recipe that has been in our family for a hundred years.................

A Saturday Surprise - The Vanilla Ritual and a Few Sweet Treats

Yesterday I shared some yummy Blueberry Muffins with Lemon/Sugar Topping that I made with my granddaughters who are visiting from England. We started baking together when they were very young and been having fun coming up with delicious treats for the rest of the family ever since. We have a bit of a silly ritual that we HAVE to do every time we bake. This is how it works: When it comes time to add the vanilla towhat we're making, everyone has to first take a whiff, and then roll (and I mean roll! - see the pictures below) our eyes and swoon in delight! It's a crazy tradition that has us cracking up time after time, checking out each other's funny faces!

A difficult job but someone has to do it!!

Thought you might want to try out our little game! Here are a few fun sweet treat ideas!

Triple Berry Muffins with Lemon Glaze

Millie Gaul's Amish Sugar Cookies

Lemon-Raspberry Polka Dot Pound Cake

Banana Crunch Muffins

Blueberry Muffins with Lemon/Sugar Topping and My Best Little Cooking Helpers

My daughter and her three sweet girls - Annie, Ellie and Lilly arrived from their home in London on Tuesday. We could hardly wait till they got here and are LOVING having them with us. The two older girls always want to help Grammy (me) in the kitchen and we've been whipping up all kinds of special treats during this visit.

Lemon/Basil Hummus and "The Little Cucumber that Could"

One of my favorite childhood stories was the children's book called The Little Engine that Could..........

Butterflake Dinner Rolls

You would have laughed had you been a fly on the wall when I took these delicious dinner rolls out of the oven.....

Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette..... and a Secret Revealed!

I've always love the Secret Santa game; participants draw a name and stealthily surprise their given person with kind deeds and little surprises over a specific time period. The culmination  comes at the end when each "Secret Santa" is revealed and the mystery is finally over. It's a fun way to build relationships and team spirit with a group of co-workers or friends.

I've been playing a type of Secret Santa with a group of food blogger called The Secret Recipe Club..........................

A Few Fun Grilling Ideas.........

Feel like grilling out today? Check out these summery recipes......

Tricia's Delicious Summer-Berry Salad with Butter Lettuce, Blue Cheese, Raspberry Vinaigrette and Slow Roasted Pecans

If someone tells you that I've been looking a little blue lately...........

Fabulous White Chocolate and Blueberry Sheet Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream Icing

You do want to have this cake recipe in your repertoire! It is the easiest and yet one of the best cakes I make........

Patty Cake, Patty Cake.........Yum,YumYum!

Salmon Patty Cake Salad with Blueberries, Mango and 

Citrus/Ginger Vinaigrette

Earlier this week I shared a yummy Nicoise Salad with Cedar-Plank Grilled Salmon and Kalamata Vinaigrette that I had spotted in Fine Cooking. I grilled a couple extra salmon pieces because I wanted to try making salmon cakes similar to traditional crab cakes......

Strawberry Balsamic Pizza with Chicken, Sweet Onion and Applewood Bacon

They say that "necessity is the mother of invention" but for me it might be a bit more precise to change the saying to, "Mother Hubbard is the mother of invention"!.....

Nicoise Salad with Cedar-Plank Grilled Salmon and Kalamata Vinaigrette

I feel like I became just a wee bit sophisticated while I was preparing this delicious salad......

Saturday Surprise - Cottontail Punch.......

I don't usually post on the weekend but there was one more recipe from the party this past week that  I just have to share with you..................
Cottontail Punch. It is simple, refreshing and whenever I serve it, I am almost always asked for the recipe. This punch is a bit of a chameleon - you see it isn't always called Cottontail Punch; its name is dependent on the time of year. During the holiday season, I float some fresh cranberries and seasonal citrus fruit and call it Reindeer Punch. I mean would you serve Cottontail Punch at Christmas time?!? Not me, it would sound a bit....... well just a bit silly, and I would NEVER want to be considered silly!


Seriously, this punch is delicious no matter what you call it or when you serve it! I found the recipe many years ago in Southern Living and I honestly can't remember what they called it - I do know it's like an old friend around our house - always welcome!

Cottontail Punch, or whatever you want to call it, is delicious served along with a meal but also makes a wonderful, refreshing beverage for a party served in a large punch bowl. I like to add fresh fruit and fresh mint - it makes a lovely presentation. If you want a little flavor change, try it with raspberry lemonade or limeade, both quite delicious!

Cottontail Punch

6 cups peach-flavored white grape juice
12 ounces frozen lemonade
1 liter bottle club soda or gingerale
6 ounces frozen lemonade, for lemonade ice cubes

1. For lemonade ice cubes, prepare lemonade according to directions.. Pour into ice cube trays. Freeze 8 hours.

2. Stir together first 3 ingredients in a large container; add lemonade ice cubes

NOTES : Instead of ice cubes, you can make a ring out of the lemonade to float in the punch.

From Southern LivingPRINTABLE RECIPE

A Special Party - Last Day - Smokey Korean Pulled Pork with Fresh Corn Relish

Smokey Korean Pulled Pork is my final recipe from our Specialist's Party on Tuesday. This recipe may be the last but it is definitely not the least; a delicious, slow roasted pulled pork with an Asian twist.

A Special Party - Day 3 - Raspberry Heaven!!!

I'm blogging this week about the recipes from a party we had on Tuesday for some of my husband's co-workers. One of the desserts we served was a raspberry cream cheese tart I created several years ago for a special friend who's crazy about raspberries (that's you Amy!) It has a crisp, buttery crust, a light-as-a feather cream cheese layer and is topped with fresh raspberries which are nestled in a yummy bed of crushed and thickened.........yes, you guessed it - delicious raspberries!

A Special Party - Day 2 - Mango, Cucumber and Sweet Onion Salad

Yesterday we had a fun lunch party for some of my husband's co-workers. I'm sharing another one of the recipes today that we served, a quintessential summer salad; great for a casual lunch, but also an amazing appetizer salad for an elegant dinner party. It's colorful, vibrant, unique and bursting with fresh flavor. The dressing is simple to prepare with honey, ginger, lime and cilantro teaming together to make a perfect complement to the crispy cucumbers, smooth delectable champagne mangoes and mild sweet onions. I must say, it's quite an addictive salad!

The special Specialists!

Mango, Cucumber and Sweet Onion Salad

3 medium champagne mangoes (if you can't find the champagne mangoes, use whatever type is available), peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch slices as angular as possible*

1 medium English (seedless) cucumber, sliced on an angle into 1/4 inch wide slices, then each slice cut in half on an angle* (I happened to have some of the first cucumbers from our garden, so I used those instead. Either is wonderful!)
1 medium sweet onion, sliced in 1/2 lengthwise, then cut lengthwise into 1/4 in wide slices
¼ cup fresh red pepper or roasted red pepper, diced tiny
1 teaspoon finely minced ginger
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons honey or agave syrup
1 teaspoon sriracha chili sauce*
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

1. Combine sliced mangoes, cucumbers and sweet onion and red pepper in a bowl.

2. Combine lime juice, honey, ginger and sriracha chili sauce. Slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking continuously until well combined. Add cilantro and combine with veggie/fruit in bowl. Transfer to serving platter and sprinkle with a bit more cilantro, if desired. Can be made several hours ahead and refrigerated until ready to serve.

As you can see in the picture, this salad looks quite stunning with the fruit cut into long angular shapes, it gives it a bit of an exotic flair!

Serves 6 as a side salad

PRINTABLE RECIPE

A Special Party - Day 1 - Sweet Potato Sandwich Rolls

I'm calling this a special party for more than one reason........

Patriotic Greetings for the 4th of July from The Café!

Some recipe ideas to help you celebrate....................

Red, White and Blueberry Trifle

Are you looking for a festive, fun, delicious but simple dessert to celebrate the 4th of July? Well, look no further...................................