PARTY MENU

Party Meni by rhiannonfl1 on Polyvore

Roasted Tomatoes With Shrimp and Feta | Real Simple Recipes / Homemade French Baguettes Recipe : Food Network

Coastal Design

Coastal Design by rhiannonfl1 featuring cotton curtains

Ethan Allen outdoor pillow insert / RL Fisher cotton curtain / Pols Potten colored bottle, $51 / Dresser / Cabinet / Coastal Living by Stanley Furniture Eddy's Landing End Table / Alexis Garden Stool in Cream

COASTAL BLUES

Coastal Blues by rhiannonfl1 featuring turquoise throw pillows

Pasta bowl / Pottery Barn melamine dinnerware / Pottery Barn dinnerware / Pillow Decor turquoise throw pillow / Aéropostale turquoise throw pillow / Coastal Living by Stanley Furniture Coastal Living Resort Windward... / Coastal Living by Stanley Furniture Eddy's Landing End Table

HEARTY APPETIZER MENU

Looking for something quick and easy to serve for guests without spending a lot of time in the kitchen?   I"m fond of menus comprised of hearty appetizers that can really double as a meal.

Here's one I put together when a friend visited a few months ago

Sliced feta cheese
Kalamata Olives
Baguette slices
Olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping

Large shrimp with cocktail sauce

Variety of sliced cheeses
Nitrate free deli slices - turkey, ham, etc
Dijon mustard
Crackers
Chunked cantaloupe

Put these together on some pretty platters and you are good to go!  And don't forget some chilled Pinot Grigio  :)

BEAUTIFUL GARDEN IDEAS

Image courtesy of  The Garden Glove

What an enchanting garden pathway.   I only have a patio to decorate now, but its full of plants and greenery that I love to look at in the morning. Imagine a leisurely morning stroll in this lovely garden.

And below - I can just imagine myself curled up with a book on this comfy porch.

Visit  The Garden Glove for more inspiring ideas.

Image courtesy of  The Garden Glove

PLOUGHMAN PLATTER

Ploughman's Lunch (Photo credit: Earthworm)

A Ploughman's Lunch platter is a great way to put a delicious meal together easily and is especially great for a crowd. One of the features of the platter is a chutney - try the Melon Chili Chutney below.

This is the lazy smart girl's way to feed some friends with minimal effort.  Think of the goodies you can put together with farmer's market finds...check out these articles and get creative!

Related articles

• When Laziness Calls, Ploughman's Lunch Answers
• Simple Saturday: Ploughman's Lunch
• Melon Chili Ginger Chutney... and a new way for sterilizing !
• Cheese For Lunch: 5 New Takes on a Ploughman's Lunch
• British Bites: Ploughman's Pate
• Foodie Tuesday: Ploughman's Lunch & Cavegirl Quiche

IN THE SUMMERTIME - A COLLECTION OF FRESH CORN RECIPES

Grilled Corn (Photo credit: Another Pint Please...)

Ahhh - nothing like the taste of sweet fresh corn.  I'm having so much fun with these fabulous recipes. Grilled corn, corn and potato chowder, corn and peach salsa, corn salad and more.  Check out the recipes below the video.

• 6 Toppings to Make Your Grilled Corn Even More Magical - Grill Your Heart Out
• Mustard-glazed Corn Recipe
• Summer Salad with Zucchini & Corn
• Elote: Mexican grilled corn
• 30 Summer Corn Recipes We Love
• Summer Grilling Recipe Ideas - Latin Style Corn on the Cob
• Summertime Cheesy Black Bean & Corn Dip Recipe
• Sassy Potato Corn Chowder Recipe
• Farmers' Market Corn Toss Recipe
• Did you say corn on the cob???

BLUEBERRY GALETTE

Berry Galette from Smitten Kitchen

I love making berry galettes - so easy and tasty.  I  found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen for Blue and Red Berry Ricotta Galettes.    

Deb Perelman offers up the recipe here.   I wish I could get mine to look so nice. I'm not a pie dough maker, so I opt for using refrigerated pre- made pie dough.  Actually doesn't come out to badly - I add an egg wash and sugar to the top and the crust gets nicely flaked and browned. However, I may try her suggestion of cutting a pentagon shape in the dough to get the nice triangular fold overs and the star shape in the center.   This recipe works wonderfully with any combination of berries or fruit.  And...you could also do a veggie version for a brunch.

Here's mine getting ready to go in the oven.

TYBEE ISLAND Y'ALL COME IN COTTAGE

English: Sunrise viewed from Tybee Island, Georgia, in the southeastern United States. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This gorgeous cottage in Tybee Island sleeps 8 with a very reasonable price of $295 per nite.   3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths
Book this great cottage via Mermaid Cottage Rentals

Herbed Baked Eggs - Thank you Ina Garten!

Ina is one of my favorite cooks.  Her dishes are simple, delicious and fabulous. This recipe is no exception.  Less than 15 minutes from start to finish. These will be the best damned eggs you have ever had!

  I used fresh herbs from my herb garden - this dish is really best with the freshest ingredients you can find.  If you are lucky enough to have farm fresh eggs and organic cream - even better.  If not, store bought works perfectly fine as you can see with my ingredients.  You can change up the herbs if you like. 

If you're like me and you don't use a lot of cream, buy a small carton.  Use the leftover to add to soups or  add a bit to eggs and whisk together for rich, fluffy scrambled eggs.  Or, buy a larger carton and make your own butter :)

MORE BEACH HOUSE STYLE

Always a delight to see the new inventory from Beach House Style

APPLE CHEDDAR FRITTATA

Great brunch idea - serve this with some chicken sausages and a green salad.  Soooo easy. BTW - my photos don't so this justice - I'm just using a simple digital camera with zero photography skills.  I'm sure I won't be on FoodGawker or Tastespotting anytime soon  lol.  But, I thought it was important for readers to have an idea of how this comes together. I made this in a small saute pan, so I was able to flip it instead of putting the pan in the broiler.  If you're not crazy about doing the flip thing, or are using a larger pan , place the pan in the broiler in the middle rack ( after the bottom browns) for about 10-15 mins until the top browns.

Entertaining Menus

Living in a small space doesn't give me a chance to entertain too often  However, I live by the beach, so I do get some out of town visitors once in a while.  Being single,  I am not used to putting together menus for guests.  I pack food for work and usually snack out of the fridge at home.  This being said,  I decided to put together a collection of menus/appetizers/snacks for those time when guests are in house. I really don't want to spend a lot of time cooking and planning when the beach beckons  :)

Here we go:

Breakfast

Herbed baked eggs with fruit and yogurt

Scrambled eggs with chicken sausage, home fries and cantaloupe

Appetizers/ Snacks

Sliced feta cheese ( buy the block, not the crumbles)
Black olives
Crusty bread
Olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping
Sliced prosciutto or salami
Canteloupe cubes
Crackers - my fave Crunchmaster Multi Seed Crackers

Brunch/Lunch

Ploughman's platter - you can mix this up in a lot of ways.  This is great for a crowd.  Scale it down for one or two - maybe just ham, bread, mustard, cheeses, pickles and sliced apples. No fancy serving trays?  Just lay down some parchment paper on the table/buffet and arrange your goodies  Oh - don't forget a nice wine and/or some good ale!

Sliced ham
Sausages sliced on angle
Sourdough bread or other crusty bread
Cranberry chutney
Dijon Mustard
Romaine leaves tossed with Garlic Expressions dressing ( all natural ingredients with no junk)
Hard boiled eggs
Sweet pickles
Cheddar cheese wedges
Swiss cheese wedges
Blue cheese weges
Grapes
Sliced apples
Grape tomatoes
Baby carrots
Olive tapenade
Celery sticks


Check out some of these Ploughman's Lunch ideas on Pinterest

Corn and Peach Salsa

I'm pairing this with some BBQ chicken.  What a great mix of flavors!

Ingredients:

3 ears of corn -raw and sliced off the cob  ( trust me - you don't need to cook the corn)
1 Peach diced
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1/4 C minced cilantro or 2 dabs of cilantro paste
salt and pepper to taste
1 T honey
1T lime juice

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate to let flavors meld.

Serve as a salsa or side dish.  Excellent with chicken or pork.

Deerfield Beach S Curve

Hard to believe there are so many restaurants/bars in these few blocks on AIA in Deerfield Beach - here's the list

Bru's Room
Barracuda
The concept of Barracuda, a small restaurant located just two blocks from the ocean, was created by the owner’s passion for food and tradition of her country. The restaurant offers a full liquor bar but is known for making the best Caipirinha of South Florida. With live Brazilian music for most nights of the week, we find Barracuda hosting customers from various countries, but most important, our establishment is filled with the presence and support of our locals. We hope you savor our food with the same pleasure as we prepare them for you.

Happy Hour from 4-7 with $5 appetizers and 2/1 drinks.  They also have an Early Bird Special from 4-7 - full course meal with a glass of wine for $15.

Fireworks at Deerfield Beach 2014

I am so blessed to live near the beach and lemme tell you, watching fireworks on the beach is awesome!
First stop was Rattlesnake Jake's for a couple of steak tacos, fresh guac and chilled Pinot Grigio.  Then onward to the beach for the show.