The Hip Hostess

Menus, tips and ideas for hosting with style!

Mango Rhubarb Cobbler June 24, 2008

 

Rhubarb and mangos are both at their peak, so I combined them to make this sweet and tart cobbler.  Serve it for dessert at a backyard BBQ.  It’s easy to transport if you make the biscuits ahead of time, prep the fruit, and bake it at your destination while dinner is cooking.

The recipe for the biscuit topping is inspired by Mesa Grill’s signature Blueberry Cobbler (recipe by Bobby Flay). 

 

Mango Rhubarb Cobbler

 

2 C. all-purpose flour
3 Tbs. sugar

1 Tbs. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 stick unsalted butter (cold), cut into small pieces

¾ C. light cream, plus 2 Tbs. to brush on top

1 large egg

2 Tbs. sugar in the raw (or 1 Tbs. sugar), reserved

6 large stalks of Rhubarb

2 large Haitian mangos (or 3 small Mexican mangos), peeled and diced

¼ C. sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

2 Tbs. tapioca (powder), optional

 

1.         Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, sift together first 4 ingredients (flour through salt).  Add the butter to the flour mixture using your hands or a pastry cutter until crumbly.  Combine the cream and egg in a small bowl and whisk.  Add the cream to the flour mixture and fold just until combined (do not over mix).

 

2.         Lightly flour counter or marble slab, place dough on counter and pat dough until it is about ½” thick.  Using a biscuit cutter or the mouth of a glass, cut dough into 10 circles.  Place biscuits on a nonstick cookie sheet.  Brush biscuits with remaining cream, sprinkle with sugar in the raw, and bake until slightly golden brown but slightly undercooked, about 10-15 minutes.  

 

3.         To make the cobbler, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place fruit in the bottom of a large casserole dish or Dutch oven.  Mix in sugar and tapioca (if using).  Top with biscuits, spread evenly over the tops of the fruit.  Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, until the fruit is soft but not mushy when tested with a fork.  Let the cobbler cool for 20-30 minutes before serving.  Serve a scoop of the filling topped with a biscuit in a bowl, and top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

 

 Check out the Farmer’s Market Fare for other seasonal recipes and more:  http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2008/07/01/farmers-market-fare-11/

 

Hip Pizza Party – No Cooking Required! June 20, 2008

 

You can still host a great get-together even if cooking isn’t your idea of a good time.  By ordering some gourmet pizzas you can save yourself from cooking and still please the crowd.  Here are some tips for hosting a hip pizza party.

 

If you can find a place with wood burning or brick ovens order your pizza there.  Their pizzas will generally have a crispy, thin crust with lots of flavor.  Another option is to order from a pizza place that offers lots of different toppings so you can create your own flavor combinations. 

 

A few of my favorite combinations are:

  • Goat cheese, spinach and sun-dried tomato
  • Portabella mushroom, sausage and spinach
  • White pizza (garlic and olive oil base) with fresh tomatoes and basil
  • White pizza with arugula, figs and goat cheese
  • Spinach, roasted red pepper, black olive and feta cheese
  • Pesto pizza with grilled chicken and fresh tomatoes
  • BBQ sauce base with grilled chicken, red onion, bacon and jack cheese

 

If you are ordering from a basic pizza place that doesn’t have an extensive topping selection, pick up a bunch of fresh basil and sprinkle chopped or torn basil over a traditional margarita pizza to add a dash of fresh flavor and bright color. 

 

A few presentation ideas:  serve pizza on a wooden pizza peel, a large cutting board, or a plain cake stand. 

 

To round out the meal, serve pizza with a simple salad with homemade vinaigrette (balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, Dijon mustard, fresh basil and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice). 

 

Sliced tomatoes and fresh buffalo mozzarella drizzled with olive oil would be a good appetizer. 

 

Dessert can be anything from tiramisu or gelato (for an Italian-inspired theme) to a seasonal fruit pie (to stick with the pizza “pie” theme).

 

Pick up a few menus on your way home tonight and invite some people over.  You don’t even need to turn on the oven!

 

Bubbly Party Favors June 17, 2008

 

Champagne and sparkling wines are the ultimate festive drink.  Mini bottles of these bubbly libations make great party favors for any celebratory event.  Many companies are now producing mini versions of their larger champagnes and sparkling wines, and by ordering them by the case you can often get a small discount. 

 

For my sister Sara’s 40th birthday party, we chose mini bottles of Asti Spumanti, an Italian sparkling dessert wine, to give as favors.  We had gift tags printed (“Sara’s Fountain of Youth”) and used satin ribbons to tie them around the bottles.  Everyone loved their festive favor!

 

 

 

Hip Tip – Simple Bridal Shower Centerpiece (Mini Wedding Cake Candles) June 12, 2008


‘Tis the season for wedding festivities.  If you are hosting a bridal shower or a bachelorette party and looking for some decorating ideas, here’s a simple, festive and inexpensive idea for you.  Mini wedding cake candles look great when displayed in numbers.  Use a rectangular glass block or candle holder, line up the candles and you have yourself a very simple centerpiece.  The mini cake candles would also look great displayed on a glass cake stand in a large group for a similar effect. 

 

Many of the mini wedding cake candles out there are pretty tacky.  I found a few that are simple and look nicer than most on the market. 

 

Small Pearl Wedding Cake Candle – available at Candles.com for $5.99 each
http://www.candles.com/productDescription1.aspx?product_id=730
*A little more expensive than the average mini wedding cake candle but, unlike most of the others I found, they are very simple.  They are also available in a larger size, so you can vary your display with large and small candles.

 

Elegant Lace Wedding Cake Candle – available at icestandar.org for $1.84 each
http://www.icestandard.org/products/view/5239/elegant-lace-wedding-cake-candle.html
*This one even comes with its’ own mini cake stand you can use as a candle holder, but it does have the extra pastic packaging, which isn’t very eco-friendly.  Try asking for it without the plastic box if you are using them decoratively and not giving them as a favor.

 

Simple Summer Appetizer (Prosciutto Wrapped Melon) June 6, 2008

When the heat of summer hits my kitchen, the last thing I want to do is turn on the stove.  That’s when I turn to simple no-bake recipes.  One of my favorite summer recipes is a very classical combination -  fresh sweet melon and prosciutto.  The sweet-salty combo is perfect for a light summer appetizer when melon at its best.  Prosciutto wrapped melon is a simple appetizer that goes well with both formal or casual menus. 

 

Simply buy some prosciutto de parma at the deli counter (ask for it sliced paper-thin), and wrap it around pieces of melon that have been seeded and cut from the rind.  Serve with a nice glass of white wine and after a few bites (and sips) you’ll forget all about the heat.  

 

Espresso Chocolate Chunk Cookies June 3, 2008

When we were in Hawaii, we visited the Kailua Candy Company in Kona and bought a box of the most delicious Kona Coffee Swirls (a blend of finely ground Kona Coffee with white and dark chocolate).  They literally melted on our tongues before we had a chance to chew and elicited a long, audible moan.  After rationing these little morsels for the past few months we finally depleted our supply.  In an attempt to quell my craving for the swirls, I picked up a bar of Green & Black’s Organic Espresso Dark Chocolate.  The chocolate was nothing like the swirls so I decided to find another use for it.  I chopped it up into chunks, added more chocolate and substituted it for regular chocolate chips in my variation on the Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookie recipe.  While they don’t compare to the legend of the swirls, they are super tasty in their own right. 

 

These are great served with espresso or cappuccino after dinner, or served with little shots of milk and coffee for an afternoon book club meeting.  They are also really portable so they would be perfect for a BBQ or picnic.

 

 

Espresso Chocolate Chunk Cookies

 

½ C. (1 stick) butter, softened

1 C. light brown sugar

3 Tbs. granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 ¾ C. all purpose flour

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

3.5oz bar Green & Black’s organic espresso dark chocolate, chopped
3.5oz bar 60% dark chocolate, chopped

 

1.       Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Cream softened butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy.  Scrape down sides as needed.  Beat in the egg and vanilla extract for another 30 seconds.

2.       In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.  Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, beating at a low speed for about 15 seconds.  Stir in the chopped chocolates.

3.       Using a 1 ounce scoop or a 2 Tbs. measure, drop cookie dough onto ungreased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart.  Gently press down on the dough with the back of a spoon to spread out into a 2 inch circle.  For a chewier cookie, bake for about 20 minutes or until very slightly browned around the edges.  Bake a little longer for a crispier cookie (about 25 minutes).  Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies
 
 

 

 

 
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