One of my best girfriends, Kate, made an easy and yummy appetizer.  She cooked some dried cranberries in a little Grand Marnier and brown sugar and then place it over warm Brie cheese.  We devoured it!

I prepared the salad and dessert for everyone.  The salad had a Mandarin Orange Vinaigrette and tasty add-ins like blue cheese, candied walnuts, dried cranberries, golden raisins, apples, and mandarin oranges. 

My friend Matt made the Pomegranate Margaritas for the night!  They were sooo good and definitely a special treat for the night!

Brian made a delicious soup for us to enjoy for dinner.  It was a new recipe he tried out for the first time and I thought it was quite tasty.  It was a hearty Butternut Squash Soup that had Chorizo and Pepitas in it along with a bunch of other delicious ingredients.

For dessert I made one of my all-time favorites…Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Gingersnap Crust.  The recipe is a little time-consuming, but well worth it!

Here are a couple more photos from the fun night!

And of course I couldn’t leave you without a couple of the delicious recipes…both from the lovely epicurious.com

Anasazi Butternut Squash Soup with Chorizo and PepitasBon Appétit | October 1999

Yield: Makes 6 servings   3/4 cup dried kidney beans 1 pound beef chorizo sausages, casings removed 1 large onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 3 cups water 2 14 1/2-ounce cans beef broth 3 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled seeded butternut squash 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped 1 1/4 cups frozen corn kernels 2/3 cup shelled pepitas, toasted    Place kidney beans in medium bowl. Pour enough water over to cover beans by 3 inches. Let stand overnight. Drain. Sauté chorizo in heavy large pot over medium heat until cooked through and fat is rendered, about 10 minutes. Transfer chorizo to paper towels; drain, leaving 2 tablespoons drippings in pot. Add onion and garlic; sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. Add 3 cups water, broth and beans; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover. Simmer until beans are tender, 1 hour. Add squash to soup. Cover; simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in bell peppers, corn and chorizo; simmer uncovered about 10 minutes longer. Pumpkin Cheesecake with Caramel Swirl Bon Appétit | November 1993   Yield: Serves 10   Crust 1 1/2 cups ground gingersnap cookies 1 1/2 cups toasted pecans (about 6 ounces) 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted Filling 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature 1 2/3 cups sugar 1 1/2 cups canned solid pack pumpkin 9 tablespoons whipping cream 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground allspice 4 large eggs 1 tablespoon (about) purchased caramel sauce 1 cup sour cream    For Crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Finely grind ground cookies, pecans and sugar in processor. Add melted butter and blend until combined. Press crust mixture onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. For Filling: Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until light. Transfer 3/4 cup mixture to small bowl; cover tightly and refrigerate to use for topping. Add pumpkin, 4 tablespoons whipping cream, ground cinnamon and ground allspice to mixture in large bowl and beat until well combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined. Pour filling into crust (filling will almost fill pan). Bake until cheesecake puffs, top browns and center moves only slightly when pan is shaken, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Transfer cheesecake to rack and cool 10 minutes. Run small sharp knife around cake pan sides to loosen cheesecake. Cool. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. Bring remaining 3/4 cup cream cheese mixture to room temperature. Add remaining 5 tablespoons whipping cream to cream cheese mixture and stir to combine. Press down firmly on edges of cheesecake to even thickness. Pour cream cheese mixture over cheesecake, spreading evenly. Spoon caramel sauce in lines over cream cheese mixture. Using tip of knife, swirl caramel sauce into cream cheese mixture. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Release pan sides from cheesecake. Spoon sour cream into pastry bag fitted with small star tip (do not stir before using). Pipe decorative border around cheesecake and serve.

Normally I don’t really like most of the breadsticks that restaurants put out at the beginning of the meal, but Citizen Cake changed my mind…these were delicious!

This was AMAZING!!!  Sadly I didn’t get any good photos of the mushroom risotto I had for dinner, but let me tell you…it was one of the best tasting dinners I have had in a while.

Of course I had to get my favorite dinner…A MOJITO!

This dessert was so yummy too!  It was their version of a deconstructed Red Velvet Cake.  

Now onto Tartine…basically the best place for breakfast & dessert at the same time!

Now for a bite of pure heaven order one of those…their Pain Au Chocolate.

Their savory food is just as scrumptious!

And of course we had to buy those two little treats to eat back at the hotel!

Well, I have one more treat in store for you….I also stopped by a local gourmet grocery store since I heard that their homemade ice cream is to die for.   So here it is, the most delicious ice cream I have ever put my lips to from Bi-Rite Creamery!!!

It was soooo good!

I just wish I could’ve tried all of their flavors.

Just so you make sure you get the name…Malted Vanilla with Peanut Brittle and Milk Chocolate!  You have to try it!

I combined a couple different recipes that I found and came up with this one…it’s a keeper! Just for those of you who are still wondering what prickly pears are they are actually the fruit that grow on top of the flat cactus pad.  Some say that they taste like a cross between a melon and a fig…I say they taste AMAZING!

Prickly Pear Margaritas

serves 6

3 1/2 cups crushed ice

3 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice

3 oz. frozen limeade

6 Tequila

4 1/2 oz. Cointreau

3 oz. prickly pear cactus juice

3 T. sugar 

Lime wedges and kosher salt for garnish

In a blender, add all of the ingredients (minus the garnish) and pulse it until the ice is completely blended. Taste and add more sugar if necessary.  

Rub some of the lime around the rim of the glasses and then dip the glasses into the salt.  Pour in the drink and garnish with a lime.  Enjoy!

Here are a couple links to where you can buy prickly pear juice.  Dessert USA or Perfect Puree of Napa Valley 

I then made the most delicious margaritas ever…Prickly Pear Margaritas.  Yes, they are pink AND delicious! The recipe will come soon in another post!

For dinner we went casual with grilled fish tacos, mexican rice, and fresh fruit.

And for dessert I made chocolate churros with milk chocolate peanut butter and chocolate ganache dipping sauces and flan.  Both desserts were out of this world yummy!  Homemade churros are so much fun to make and are a sure hit for a dinner party.  This flan I got off of Epicurious.com and I loved the recipe.  It was more of a twist between a creme brulee and a flan…creamy all the way through.  Definitely a keeper!

As you can see from these photos this is definitely not my typical food photo shoot, but I still wanted to share these pictures and recipe with you…hope you enjoy them!  

Shagadelic

adapted from Demolition Desserts

serves two 

(I changed some things in the recipe…like the sugar rim instead of a shredded coconut rim and a strawberry instead of a maraschino cherry) 

1/2 c. bottled passion, such as Looza brand

1 T. Cointreau

1/4 c. white rum, such as 10 Cane brand

2 T. coconut rum, such as Malibu brand

Juice of 1/2 lime

Ice cubes

A couple strawberries

Sugar for the rim

Rub one of the cut limes around the edge of the glasses and then dip into sugar.

In a cocktail shaker, combine passion fruit juice, Cointreau, white and coconut rum, and lime juice.  Fill the shaker with ice, cover, and shake.

Strain into the sugar-rimmed glasses and add a sliced strawberry to the rim.  

Like I said earlier, my friend Matt made two drinks for us too…both which were a lot of fun and delicious too!  The first drink he made was a Peach Bellini.  He said you just need a good sparkling wine and a scoop of peach sorbet and presto dingdough your done!  

The other drink he made took a little preparation beforehand, but was really yummy and looked beautiful too!  He infused vodka with strawberries for 2 days or so and then drained the vodka from the jar.  (The strawberries definitely lose their beauty in the infusing process and end up looking more like little tongues, but the end result is worth it!)

Matt added simple syrup (equal parts of sugar and water heated until dissolved), mint, and ice to the strawberry vodka and muddled it around.  Overall, a really great drink!

Sadly I don’t have a great picture of the end result, but take my word for it…it’s a winner!  Thanks Matt!

To end the night off right I thought that I should try out a gift that my husband’s aunt had gotten me…a Skookie Cast Iron Skillet!!!  I had some leftover Peanut Butter M&M Monster cookie dough, so I thought it would make the perfect birthday dessert…and it did!  Here is the birthday girl with her own Skookie aka pizza cookie.

Hope you had a great birthday Kate!  Thanks for being such a great friend!

Mojito Granita

adapted by David Lebovitz’s, The Perfect Scoop

Makes about 1 quart

2 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup sugar

2 limes, preferably unsprayed

1 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 6 limes)

3 Tablespoons white or light rum

Add the water and sugar to a small, non reactive saucepan and then grate the zest from the two limes directly into the saucepan.  Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil, so that the sugar completely dissolves.  Reserve 5 mint leaves and then add the rest to the saucepan and take it off of the heat.  Cover the pan for 8 minutes so that the mint infuses the liquid.  Then uncover and let liquid come to room temperature.

Once liquid is cool, strain the mixture into a flat container that is approximately 8 to 12 inches across, with a 2 quart capacity.  Make sure to squeeze all the yummy liquid out of the leaves and then discard them.  Stir in the lime juice and rum and then finely chop the remaining 5 leaves and add them to the liquid (I choose just to use them as garnish).  Place the container in the freezer and freeze for one hour.  Once the edges begin to freeze, take a fork and break up the frozen parts and rack them toward the center.  Return to the freezer and then check the mixture every 30 minutes and continue breaking up the ice particles until the mixture almost completely frozen or completely frozen (depending on your preference).

Here are some photos of the process…infusing the mint and then the stages of ice formation.

David suggests that you can serve it over any ice cream or sorbet (maybe mint ice cream), top it off with whipped cream, or simply pile the granita high in its own dish and enjoy it by itself…that is what I did!

I have to confess that my husband and I were so addicted to this delicious granita that almost every cup ended up like this one!