Food, Fun, and Bling!

A few weeks ago, my Mom and I gathered up a few friends and hosted a Premier Jewelry Party. It was the perfect opportunity to break out some of the fun party hosting dishes I have and serve up some delicious snacks. I made Spinach Dip and some Creamy Chicken Pastry Pockets, which were fantastic. And the big hit of the "food party" was the milk chocolate fondue - so many fun dippers, all of which were great! Mom brought brownie bites, fruit, graham crackers, pretzel sticks and my favorite...drum roll..."naked buckeyes"! That's right, she made up the insides of buckeye candies and then we dipped those in the chocolate fondue!
I can't say enough about how easy it was to host the jewelry party - all I had to do was come up with a list of friends and the Premier consultant did most of the leg work! See all that fun, sparkly jewelry she brought for people to try on - it's all laid out on the table behind her. I liked how she brought several of the pieces from the catalog - I think seeing jewelry in person helps people decide if it's something they will wear.
And see all these shiny sliver boxes - all 12 of them - those are all free pieces of jewelry we received as party hosts. Since my Mom and I split the hosting duties, we split the free benefits too and both got some great new jewelry to show off this holiday season!
Nothing like a new pair of earrings & necklace to to spice up some of the clothes already in your closet!

Sugardaddy's is So Sweet!

On a recent trip to Columbus, I made a stop at Sugardaddy's bakery. This spot was featured on the Food Network show "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" and ever since hearing about this store, I've wanted to check it out. Now, most who know of Bobby Flay would probably agree that he's not know for his confectioneries, but he was willing to take on the challenge of competing against the fine folks at Sugardaddy's for a "throw down" on who could make the best brownie. Now that's my kind of competition! Sugardaddy's is know for their "couture brownies", which is is a phase that has been trademarked by the owners. The shop in Columbus definitely has an upscale "couture" feel and is a fun place to check out. Here's some shots from inside their shop near the Polaris shopping center.

The staff at the store was super nice and very helpful while I was mulling over all the fabulous choices. "My new friend", aka the Sugardaddy's employee, told me all about their brownie flavors, how they can package the brownies if you're giving them as a gift and she also shared with me that they've started to use their brownies as crust for cheesecake. I had a sample and it was some seriously out of this world deliciousness. The case full of fresh brownies:

After a great trip to this fun store, here's a shot of all the goodies I purchased on my first trip to Sugardaddy's:
6 brownies:
1 American Beauty Brownie (no nuts)
1 Rich Mint Brownie (My favorite!)
1 Dark Berry Brownie
1 Cinnamon Blondie
2 Strawberry Blondies

1 bag of "Pocket Change" - American Beauty brownie bites. Sugardaddy's cuts their brownies into circles, so they have tons of left over crusts. They've cleverly bagged up those left overs and sell them, which my new friend at the store tells me is the most economical option when purchasing their sweet treats.

Cheesecake with Dark Citrus Brownie Crust - definitely check this option out if you're a fan of brownies and cheesecake (and who isn't a fan of those two things!).

So, who won the "Throwdown" of Sugardaddy's vs. Bobby Flay?

Sugardaddy's, of course.

Go ahead, order some - you know you want too!

Lemon Blueberry Bread

I whipped up this delicious bread and I think it will be a big hit with JJ, who has been on a huge blueberry kick lately The recipe comes from the Joy of Baking website and it was very easy to follow. On the website you will find a extra step that calls for a glaze for the bread, I decided to skip this step, so that part of the recipe is not listed below.
Here's my take on the Lemon Blueberry Bread Loaf:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

1/2 cup milk

1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter (or spray with a non stick vegetable spray) the bottom and sides of a loaf pan (9 x 5 x 3 inch).

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until softened. Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture (in three additions) and milk (in two additions) alternately, starting and ending with the flour. Mix only until combined. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 55 to 65 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Ta-Dah - now I think a slice of this bread would be a great way to start your day - Enjoy!

Food at work...

It is impossible to not be tempted by all the food that is often brought in where I work.

You name it, it is usually around - chocolate chip cookies, salty chips, ice cream stocked in the freezer, homemade cakes for birthdays, free samples sent in by new restaurants opening, etc.

This picture below shows my point...


Seriously people, brownie wars! Today I gave in to temptation - I was simply forced, for the good of humanity, to eat two brownies - and they were delicious!

My vote was for #1, but maybe I should have another taste test just to make sure...

Banana Muffins

This week we had a few left over bananas in the fruit bowl, so I thought in honor of Earth Day today, I'd bake up some banana muffins - instead of throwing 3 bananas in the trash. (See how I tied that one together!)

I used the recipe below from allrecipes.com:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 large bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat muffin pans with non-stick spray, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. Combine bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven. Bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes, and large muffins for 25 to 30 minutes. Muffins will spring back when lightly tapped.

I had a few dried cranberries in the pantry, so I threw a few of those into the last bit of batter. Lots of recipes call for chopped walnuts, which sounds good - if you are a nut lover; me - not so much. I was intrigued by the recipes that added chocolate chips - which is totally more my style, maybe I'll add those next time!