Hosting a Girl’s Night In

Last Monday night, I hosted a girl's night at my house for a CAbi party.  If you aren't familiar with CAbi, it stands for Carol Anderson by invitation and is clothes that are only sold by hostess parties.  So to show the Fall line, I hosted the girl's to a night of eating, drinking wine and shopping!  Doesn't get better than that.

Keeping with the Fall theme, my menu consisted of:

Cheese, Nut & Fruit Plate

Autumn Chopped Salad

Pear & Brie Tart

Mushroom & Goat Cheese Tart

Vegetable & Hummus Tart

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Pumpkin Pie Dip with Apples & Cinnamon

   Graham Crackers

The Autumn Chopped Salad recipe came from here at Espresso and Cream.  I left out the bacon to make it vegetarian friendly.  It’s a delicious salad, and I’m already wanting it again!

For the tarts, I was inspired by Natalie’s recipe here at Designer Bags and Dirty Diapers.  I did make a vegetable and hummus tart although I didn’t quite follow her recipe exactly.  I cheated and bought hummus instead of making my own, and I used puff pastry sheets for all of my tart shells.  I used red bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini and green onions for my vegetables, and I sprinkled a little feta cheese on top. 

The Pumpkin Pie Dip recipe was found here at Skinny Taste and the Caramel Apple Cupcakes were from here at Mrs. Happy Homemaker.  They are both amazing desserts and were fun to keep with the Fall theme!  The cupcakes are probably some of the best tasting cupcakes ever and they are super easy to make. 

Finally, here is a shot of the Fall table centerpiece and my new lanterns filled with gourds and candles to make the house a little festive!

Thanks to all of the fabulous bloggers that helped me get inspired for my Fall Girl’s Night In.  I loved trying these new recipes, and I know my friends sure enjoyed trying them too!

Tara

Antique Mercury Glass Pumpkins

I've been slowly adding some Fall decor around our home (I'll take some pics soon!).  I have a few decorations that are specific to Halloween, but I'm trying to keep it as nuetral as possible so that my decor will last through Thanksgiving as well.  I love the bright colors with the orange, yellow, reds, etc.. but I also like the look created when mixing in Mercury Glass or other textures to add interest.  As such, I've been on the lookout for Antique Mercury Glass Pumpkins, and here is what i've found:

Pottery Barn's Antique Mercury Glass Pumpkins $19-$39

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Z Gallerie's Antique Mercury Pumpkins $20-$40

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Wisteria's Antiqued Glass Gourds - Set of 3 is $34

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I think I have to order the ones from Wisteria, since I can get all 3 for a good price although the PB's ones are so pretty, but a little too pricey for me!

Tara

Fall, Football & Tailgating

With the start of Fall, it also means football!  Both my husband and I went to Texas A&M, and we are going back to College Station this weekend to tailgate on campus....yes we are staying in an RV on campus.  WHOOP!  I'm very excited about this!  I honestly don't get excited that football dominates most of our weekends this time of the year and well, my husband is pretty much glued to the tv.  However, I can appreciate a whole weekend focused around spending time with great friends, eating tons of delicious tailgating foods, and drinking some cocktails while enjoying being outdoors!  (now only IF it felt like fall...still in the 90's here) 

I'll be back next week to give you a re-cap of our weekend and of course some recipes from the fab food we'll be snacking on.  Hope you all have a fantastic one!

Tara

My Go-To Fall Appetizers (round 2)

My second go-to appetizer includes....wait for it....Puff Pastry Sheets!  Imagine that.  You should just go ahead and stock up on a few boxes of these amazing things!  (No, Pepperidge Farm is not paying me to say this.)  I just think they are so easy to work with and you can make so many different recipes that are delish, but really don't require that much preparation!  Genius!!  This recipe actually called for 15 phyllo sheets.  I'm sure the phyllo sheets are wonderful too, but who has the time to layer each sheet and brush them with butter and then add another sheet and on and on....not me!  

Now back to the recipe...this is a great one to make on a day when you have time and then wrap them up and throw them in the freezer.  Then you already have an appetizer made for whenever you need it! 

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Make-Ahead Spinach Pastry Roll-Ups

• 3 thawed Puff Pastry Sheets (1 1/2 boxes, since 2 sheets come in a box)
• flour, enough for a light dusting
• 1 egg
• 1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained
• 1 cup crumbled Feta cheese
• 1 tub (8 oz) flavored Cream Cheese, such as garden vegetable or spinach and artichoke
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup butter, melted (or you could use cooking spray instead if you prefer)

Mix together the spinach, egg, feta, cream cheese and onions until well blended.  Set aside.   Lightly dust flour over a flat surface. (I usually lay down wax paper and dust flour over the wax paper.)  Spread thawed out pastry sheet over the floured surface.  Spread 1/3 of the spinach mixture along 1 long side of the pastry sheet and roll it up into a log.  Brush the ends with butter to seal.  Brush butter lightly over the entire outsides of the log. Make small cuts along the top of the log at about 1-inch intervals.  Wrap log tightly in plastic wrap and place in freezer.  Repeat two more times with remaining two puff pastry sheets.

The spinach roll-ups can freeze up to 3 months.  Whenever you are ready to use, remove however many logs you want to use from the freezer to thaw for several hours or place them in the refrigerator (still wrapped) to thaw overnight.  When ready to bake, unwrap and place on a cooking sheet.  Bake in the oven at 375* for 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool for about 5 minutes.  Cut logs into pieces as show in the picture above and serve!!  

My friends LOVE these and always eat them very quickly!!

Tara

My Go-To Fall Appetizers (round 1)

September is finally here, and images of Fall are buzzing around everywhere!  I love this time of year, and believe it or not, the weather finally feels decent outside, kind of nice actually.  Although we won't be pulling out sweaters and boots down here in Houston just yet, it's fun to start thinking of the cooler days ahead.  When it's chilly outside, I love to have something warm baking in the oven, especially when company is coming over. 

Here are my favorite two go-to appetizer recipes that are perfect for Fall and Winter.  It only calls for a few simple ingredients that you can keep on hand and quickly throw together if you are in a time crunch.

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Puff Pastry Baked Brie

• 1 sheet of puff pastry (thawed)
• 1 wheel of Brie
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp. of water
• flour (for a light dusting)

Heat oven to 400*.  Sread a flat surface with a light dusting of flour.  Get egg wash ready by whisking 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water.  Spread out thawed puff pastry sheet over flour.  Place brie on puff pastry sheet and wrap sheet around brie using the egg wash to seal the edges.  Cut away the excess dough.  (You can use the excess to make designs for the top of the pastry if you desire although I never personally do but maybe one day...)  Brush egg wash over entire pastry and place on a baking sheet with the sealed side down.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until brie is melted and pastry is a light brown color.  Cool for 10-20 minutes before serving.  I usually serve this with baguettes, crackers or apples and pears.  It's always a hit!

Oh, and of course you can add fruit preserves, honey, nuts, or herbs to the brie inside of the pastry if you want to change it up a bit!  However, I think it's delicious just as it is, but that's just me!  It's warm, gooey and oh so yummy!!  Hope you enjoy.  (I'll post my other favorite fall appetizer tomorrow...come back to see what it is!)

I linked this post up to the Fall Five Linky Party over at Schue Love

Tara

Fun with PUMPKINS! ...Inspired by Martha Stewart

I'm getting excited that September is almost here, mainly because I'm hoping that sooner rather than later we get cooler weather.  It is soo hot!  I love it when the leaves start to fall off the trees and the cool crisp air arrives.  I love putting out my fall wreath and buying pumpkins to decorate the entryway with.  It's always fun when the seasons change!  I especially love the holiday season and getting together with family.  However, I don't know if my sister always looks foward to the weekends I visit them or when they come visit us, as I will admit I tend to get a little too excited and go overboard with planning activities to do with the kids and places to take them to.  Okay, I know she does look forward to our time together, but I probably do drive my sister a little batty! :)  At least I can admit it, right?

Last year when my sister and her family came to visit my husband and I during October, we visited the Houston Zoo for "Boo at the Zoo" and then we came back to the house to decorate pumpkins and make cupcakes.  It was such a fun time, and I wanted to share this idea with you as a new way of decorating pumpkins other than the traditional way of carving them. 

I saw this idea on Martha Stewart's website and thought it was a great way for the kids to be more hands on and get creative (since they need a little more supervision to carve the pumpkins).  I bought all different types of candy for them to use for hair, eyes, nose and mouth.  We also used construction paper to make hats.  We used toothpicks to secure the candy and paper to the pumpkins.  My sister and I The kids really got into it!!  :) I think their pumpkins turned out awesome. 

Since the little one was only a year and a half at the time, we let her join in the fun by using Halloween stickers to decorate her little pumpkin.  It turned out really cute.

**These pics were taken on my iphone, so they weren't the best, but at least you get the idea. 

What's your favorite way to decorate pumpkins??  Do you have any special traditions you've started with your kids for fall or Halloween?

I'm linking up to Domestically Speaking's Countdown to Autumn Linky Party.  Click here to get fall decorating ideas, recipes and lots of other fun stuff!

Tara