This week’s fun find is Mary Esther’s Baby Cakes. I met Jessica, the owner, this past Sunday at Tami’s Sip and See. Jessica gifted each guest with one perfect Red Velvet cupcake. Mmmmmm, yummy!
Everyone loves red velvet cupcakes
And let me tell you, they were luscious!
Jessica is so special that she doesn’t have website, so I am letting you in on the secret – because I love you so.
Prices start at $15 for one dozen minis and you will not believe the variety! OMG, listen to a few of the types of cupcakes Jessica is baking up for you:
• Apple Chai
• Apple Pie
• Bailey’s Irish Cream
• Caramel Pretzel
• Chai
• Cheese Cake
• Choc. Covered Strawberry
• Chocolate Truffle
• Coconut
• Crème Brulee
• Cookies & Crème
• Cookies & Crème Cheese CupCakes
• Drumstick
• Kahlua
• Lemon Drop
• Lemon Meringue
• Margarita
• Mochaccino
• Molten Chocolate
• Nuvo Red Velvet
• Pecan FrenchToast
• Pina Colada
• Pink Champagne
• Pink Lemonade
• Tiramisu
• White Chocolate Mousse
Oh, wait – don’t see one you love? Jessica will custom bake your favorite. How fab is that? AND she provides FREE delivery in the metro Atlanta area. Ohhhh whee!
You can find Jessica and all the news on her Baby Cakes here on Facebook.
Um….did I just read Caramel Pretzel? Oh, yeah, I’ll take a dozen!
I know a lot of you have been waiting patiently for the details of our paella party. Here you go!
The party started the day before when Vickie arrived and Jeff, Crystal and Teague joined us for some brainstorming about the fire and flow of the party. Pizza and beer followed. A pre-party is always fun.
Sunday we all woke early and Eric got the fire started. Early, y’all. It was blazing by 10 a.m. and was ready for the paella pan by 3 p.m. And then Eric cooked. And cooked. And cooked some more. We have realized that the paella still takes about 3 hours to prepare. But we were ready this time.
Remember on Wednesday, when I nabbed that cozy chair at Victor’s house and said it would be the perfect place to curl up with a good book? I found the book.
Actually, I found a boodle of them at Book Swim, a new service that’s like Netflix, but instead of movies, you receive books. Isn’t that cool? Here’s the press release from lovely Marita Burke:
The happiest time of the year is also the busiest and most expensive time of the year! Make your holiday hosting plans a little easier (and affordable!) this year with the help from BookSwim. Rent books to teach you everything from how to create spectacular decorations to making the best Eggnog. It’s the perfect way to come up ideas for those picky in-laws. Plus, when the holidays are through, you can send each book back, cutting down on clutter (a New Year’s resolution?) and allowing you, also, to rent all new and updated books the following year!
You and your guests can even gather on the couch and enjoy a Christmas classic like The Night Before Christmas!
Limited Plans
1 book per month: $9.95/month, $3.99 outgoing shipping
I love the unlimited plan. This way I can read three cookbooks at one time and enjoy them at my leisure. They go back in a pre-paid envelope when I am finished.
Loving all the holiday titles right now. I can’t help myself! And lookie, here’s a book from Ree, The Pioneer Woman – one of the web’s first food bloggers.
I bet you are getting ready for Labor Day. Me, too. Eric and I are hosting around 70 of our nearest and dearest for paella in the backyard. Someone asked me the other day how I do it. My response was that it is just as easy to cook for 70 as 10 friends. You just add extra chicken. lol
Remember last year’s paella soiree? We learned a lot from last year’s bash.
First, we will build a big wood fire this year. No wimpy propane for us. And we will start the fire early. Eric plans on having the fire up and roaring by 9 a.m. so we can eat at a decent hour. Last year it took 3 hours for that paella to cook and everyone was half in the bag by dinner. Now everyone will only be 1/4 in the bag by dinner, so that’s an improvement.
Secondly, we are asking our darlings to bring wine, beer and booze. That stuff skyrockets a party budget. Everyone is in a bit of an economic crunch these days, so our buddies are happy to contribute.
Thirdly, this year we will buy cleaned and deveined shrimp. Holly and I spent a billion hours peeling and deveining the four pounds of shrimp last year. Not this time.
Dessert will be paletas, or in english, popsicles. As I write this, the strawberries are bubbling on the stovetop with sugar and strawberry nectar. They will go into our popsicle molds and I will start all over again tomorrow with a new flavor. Maybe Mexican chocolate would be good. And easy. Pretty much just chocolate milk with cinnamon. That would be good. When you are making 70 popsicles, easy is key.
Here’s a link to the recipe we’re using. It says it will feed 25-30, but don’t you believe it. It will easily feed 60. With leftovers. Seriously. Maybe 25-30 linebackers.
Some of my favorite shots from last year.
Rick, Teague and Eric discuss the browning of the chicken
I love the look on Eric's face as he stirs this monster...
Recently, I have been getting so much advice on monetizing the blog that sometimes I just want to scream. I don’t want sell stuff just for the sake of making a few pennies here and there. Plus, I am so woefully bad at it.
But, I am always online looking for cool new stuff for my parties! This Labor Day we will be hosting a paella party for a passel of friends. Maybe 40, maybe 70, who knows? What I do know is that it will be a ball. And that I have got to get cracking on finding the freshest ingredients for our humongous paella pan.
Last year we had a devil of a time locating spanish chorizo. The kind that does not dissolve when cooked.
Guess what?? I found it online this week! The folks at La Tienda offer about a gazillion types of tantalizing spanish chorizo, just perfect for our paella soiree. Yay!
And I almost fainted when I spied the Extra Large Paella Burner. Who knew? Okay, I don’t know if we will be picking this up with its hefty $285 price tag, but golly, it would sure make things easier. We will probably still cook the paella the old school way, over a blazing fire (please, Mother Nature, make it cool this Labor Day).
But all our chorizo will come from La Tienda, for sure. Ole, y’all!
Eric and Teague man the paella station last year. Action shot!
Monetize, smonetize. Lets have fun!
xoxo, Patti
Today blogging to Aretha Franklin – Spanish Harlem
As any fan of design shows would know, Top Design is the ultimate contest. You all know Eddie Ross, and of course you know Kerry Howard. Remember our fun dinner party here?
Well, this time, we were the lucky ones to be hosted by our dear Kerry. I swear, if you met him, you would just want to eat him up with a spoon. He is that sweet.
And there were new friends to meet! You know how I love that.
First off, I know you are dying to hear all about Kerry’s place – fab. fab.fab. Everything is gorgeous – from the old church-inspired mirrors to the original art on the walls. It truly is a showplace. And of course, that fine design aesthetic made its way to the dinner table. I loved the cushioned bench that off-set the dining chairs.
While in New Orleans, Eric and I had the chance to visit the fantastic Farmer’s Market in town. It’s small, but the vendors are of the highest quality. We ate crispy, delicate pastries, popsicles made with the freshest fruit, bought brightly colored peppers, ripe Creole tomatoes, picked up luscious goat cheese and even bought a goat roast. Now, I have never cooked goat, but this seemed as good a time as any to try it.
Saturday night we attended our third(!!) Secret Supper with Black Tie Barbecue. I am of the opinion that what they do is unlike any secret supper operation in town. The suppers are always at a fresh, fabulous, fun location and the food is incredible. Just when I think they cannot top themselves, they do.
The morning of the supper I received a call from Spencer with the location. This time to be held at Theatrical Outfit, a small, professional theatre downtown. A theatre! Eric and I were both theatre geeks in high school and college, so this was a special treat.
We go to a lot of events. Dinner parties we throw, cocktail parties feting fab friends, cookouts and birthday celebrations.
But last night was a first. Eric and I were hosted by not one, but four hostesses, at a dinner party in Decatur.
Let me explain.
Invited by my friend, Elizabeth, who I met through bestie Clint (you all know Clint, right?), to the home of her good friends, Allison and Joel. Oh, their home was dandy – a grand piano, fantastic art created by Joel himself, it was a very elegant setting. Allison even set their lovely table with collected silver and beautiful southern china. Add Victor, a most dapper Image Consultant (I have got to call him) and you have got yourself the recipe for a perfect night.
You would call Eddie Ross a designer on Bravo’s Top Design, the former Senior Style Editor for Martha Stewart Living, Decorating Editor for House Beautiful, Contributing Editor to Woman’s Day and wildly popular blogger.
I am lucky enough to call him my friend.
When I learned that Eddie and his ultra fabulous beau, Jaithan, were going to be in town in July, they were so kind to set aside some time in their incredibly busy schedules to join us for dinner.
Okay, now that they have agreed to dinner – where do I go from here? This was not to be a wienie cookout with s’mores (though there is nothing wrong with that!), but needed to be warm, inviting and sophisticated – like the two of them.
Warm – check
Inviting – check
Sophisticated – let me work on that
