Let’s Celebrate

Posted by TheRoomMom

The Back to School Teacher Emergency Kit Giveaway has ended. In honor of this amazing giveaway I am sharing one final summer cocktail recipe to celebrate.

Of the handful of cocktails I posted this summer, the cherry margarita is still my favorite, but this weekend’s cocktail, the Paloma, was refreshing. I am definitely drawn to drinks with tart, citrus flavors in them, so this grapefruit based drink caught my attention.

The Ingredients

1 shot tequila
2 shots pink grapefruit juice (preferably freshly squeezed)
1 T. simple syrup or Agave syrup (or to taste)
splash of club soda
1 lime wedge
crushed ice

The Directions

In a glass, mix the tequila, grapefruit juice, and simple syrup.
Add crushed ice.
Pour a splash of club soda on top.
Squeeze a wedge of lime on top and garnish with a slice of lime.
Ingredients list makes one large Paloma. Increase amounts as needed.

The Notes

To make simple syrup, Put equal parts water and sugar in a pot and heat on the stove until sugar is dissolved. Swirl the mixture a few times while heating. Remove from heat and let cool. If you only need a few cocktails, mix 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar. If you are mixing cocktails for a large group, double or triple. Leftover simple syrup can be kept in a container with a lid in the refrigerator for a long time.

The Giveaway Details

Giveaway ended at 7 pm (EST) tonight, 8/4/13.
My two lucky winners will each receive one filled Back to School Teacher Emergency Kit! I will announce the winners this week in a separate post.

4th of July Cocktail

Posted by TheRoomMom

Since I will need a cocktail for our 4th of July block party, I wanted to focus on a cocktail that has a red, white, or blue theme for this weekend’s new drink. Last night I tested cherry margaritas. I mentioned last week that I like tart drinks better and this one is almost perfect. Even if it did not taste that great (which it does), the color is so vibrant that people assume it is going to be delicious.

Ingredients

cherries (you need 15-20 for one batch)
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 c. freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 c. (plus a splash) of tequila
1/4 c. (plus a splash) of triple sec
lime wedges for garnish

Directions

Make a simple syrup by adding 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar to a pot on the stovetop at medium heat. Do not stir, but swirl sugar water occasionally while the pot is on the stove. Remove from heat once the sugar dissolves.
Pit ~15 cherries and put them in a blender. You can do more or less cherries depending on your taste. Add tequila, triple sec, 1/2 cup lime juice, and 1/2 cup cooled simple syrup to the blender.
Blend ~20 seconds until the cherries are ground up. It will look like a dull color, but as soon as you start blending, it turns this really bright pinky red color.
Pour the mixture through a fine sieve into a pitcher. Press the mixture around the sieve with a spatula to get as much liquid through as possible.
Serve margarita over ice with a wedge of lime for garnish.
Makes ~4 servings

In Other News

A dear friend of TheRoomMom e-mailed the picture below to me. She served the Watermelon Vodka Slushie in this totally awesome watermelon keg. She said she had a few leakage problems. She picked up two more foam circles a little larger than the lock nuts to try to prevent leaking next time. My friend is visiting in a few weeks, and I will get a full report, but the materials list is below if you want to use the picture and the list to give it a try.

Materials

Hose Bibb, quarter turn (that’s the tap)
Faucet Lock Nuts (those black circles)
Brass Pipe Nipple 1/2″ (the piece with threads on both ends)
Coupling 1/2″ (what looks like a hex nut)

The Last Lunch

Posted by TheRoomMom

“Manager’s Special” is on the menu at my daughter’s school today. What that really means is the cafeteria is cleaning up for the summer and is serving anything they have left in the refrigerator. I don’t like to eat the clean-out-the-refrigerator meal in my own house, so I certainly would not want to eat it at school.

Since I am already on summer break, and my daughter is not, we overslept this morning. I sent her to school without a lunch and promised I would bring something to her. I figured my daughter’s teachers did not want the Manager’s Special either, so I packed a lunch for everybody. Consider it a final little teacher gift for the year.

As a reminder, teachers are stuck in the school building all day. Unless you hire a sub, there is no leaving the building to grab a sandwich. If you are looking for an easy, low cost end of the year teacher gift, consider bringing a tasty lunch.

Fried Chicken Salad

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

3 T. cider vinegar
2 T. honey, room temperature
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 T. coarse-grained mustard
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. white pepper
1/4 c. walnut oil (can use all olive oil and delete walnut oil)
1/2 c. olive oil

Salad

2 tart apples, peeled, cored, and cut into small bites (I like Granny Smith apples)
romaine lettuce, chopped, enough for 4-6 people (or any lettuce combination you prefer)
1/2 lb. blue cheese, crumbled
1 c. pecan halves, toasted
2 T. chopped green onion, white and green parts
good fried chicken tenders, ~2 per person

Directions

Prepare dressing by combining vinegar, honey, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in oils until well blended.
Place lettuce greens in a large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Sprinkle apples, cheese, green onion, and pecans over the top.
Cut chicken strips crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces. Arrange on top of salad.
Drizzle with remaining dressing if needed.

Notes

In order to keep the apples from browning, toss the apples in a little lemon juice before sprinkling on the salad.
If making for a school or work lunch, compose the salad but keep the dressing in a little container on the side. I like to keep the chicken strip pieces on the side too. Do not add dressing until ready to eat and then top with the chicken strips.
If I have the option, I always use Publix fried chicken tenders. When we lived in New Orleans, I used Popeye’s fried chicken tenders. If you do not have a Publix or Popeye’s in your area, I find that most local grocery stores usually have superior fried chicken tenders to other fast food restaurants. Chik-fil-a tenders do not really work for this salad because their coating is a little different than a straight up fried chicken strip.
This salad is great for baby showers, picnics, luncheons, and summer dinners!

I delivered the teacher salads and my daughter’s lunch a little before 10 am this morning. My daughter had a decomposed salad in her lunch box (chicken strip bites in one container, apple slices in another container…). The teachers received their salads in a bento style tupperware that they get to keep– cookies included.

Happy summer everybody!

Run for the Roses

Posted by TheRoomMom

The first Saturday in May is the Kentucky Derby (May 4 this year). TheRoomDad is from Louisville, and the Derby is near and dear to his heart. Since meeting TheRoomDad many years ago, we always celebrate Derby either in Louisville at Churchill Downs or at our house. Throwing a Kentucky Derby party is so fun. It gives the ladies an excuse to wear a big hat; it demands cocktails and good party food, and there is a party game built right in– betting!

The Invitation

There are great Derby invitations available. I found my invitation at FineStationery.com. Indicate on the invitation if bets will be accepted, if hats are encouraged (I missed this key detail on my invite!), and if juleps will be served.
I am inserting a public service announcement here. My invitation says RSVP. That means ALL invited guests are supposed to let me know if they are coming or not. It is not a suggestion. If I put RSVP on the invitation, I want to hear from you. Because of the way I set up the betting pool, I needed names of all of my party guests ahead of time. Time and effort go into throwing a party, and it is a common courtesy to let the host know if you will/will not attend if it states RSVP on the invitation.

The Hats

I love big hats. It is hard to pull off a hat, but anything goes for Derby. There is a store in Louisville that will design a hat for you via e-mail. My mother-in-law gave me a gift certificate to design a hat at Dee’s Crafts a few years back. It was the best Christmas gift I received that year.

The Bets

I found this program called Racehorse by Nags Head Software. The current price is about $50. Once you buy the program, you can update every year for about $15. It figures out odds and payouts based on the money you collect at your party. I have not used the software in a few years. At the time I used it, the program was a little hinky. I e-mailed the contact, and they were very helpful. You can download the horses the morning of the race, and the program will pull the horse names into your betting pool. The program allows you to place complicated bets like Trifectas. I stuck with win, place, or show at our party.
It is helpful to print a list of horses and jockeys to share with party guests. Many of our guests actually came prepared with their horses selected.

The Juleps

My in-laws give us a set of 2 or 4 commemorative julep glasses every year. My grandparents attended the Derby in the late 60s and early 70s, and my grandmother gave me her julep glass collection. Between the two, we own about 100 mint julep glasses. I served all of our cocktails at the party in the julep glass. I have seen the official Churchill Down Julep Glasses online and at party stores if you want to go all out.
I use a pretty traditional mint julep recipe. A true julep is bourbon, mint, crushed ice, and not much else. These drinks are not for the weak. Click Mint Juleps and Sausage Won Ton Tartlets for all of the recipes.

The Food

Aside from a handful of my favorite dips, I also served Sausage Won Ton Tartlets. The filling is stuffed into a crispy won ton wrapper cup. There are many delicious fillings you can use in the won ton cups. I used a sausage, ranch dressing, red bell pepper combination. Click Mint Juleps and Sausage Won Ton Tartlets for all of the recipes.

Anyone else planning a fun spring party? I am itching to host something new.

American Girl Sweet Shop

Posted by TheRoomMom

It started out innocently enough. Miss Priss needed (wanted?) a shelf to hold all of the American Girl doll food we made at Christmas, so her doll restaurant would seem more authentic. I found a Recollections “Embellishment Organizer” for 50% off at Michael’s (A LOT of assembly required). It really looked like a display at a bakery. Crafty obsessive idea brain immediately took over. Hadn’t Sewing Sister made miniature cakes out of plastic bottle tops? If I just picked up a few supplies, I bet I could make cakes. Did we really have enough American Girl doll food from Round One to fill the display? Perhaps not. And so, food production began again.

Wedding Cakes

Locate any and all plastic bottle caps. I used caps from anything I could get my hands on like water bottles, milk bottles, vitamin jars, juice bottles, and soda bottles. The more size variety you have, the better.
White plastic caps work the best, but I did use acrylic paint for the pale pink and pale blue cakes. It took about 3 coats of paint. If you have white bottle caps, no painting is required.

I like 3 stacked bottle caps the best. Stack them in graduating sizes. Run a bead of hot glue around the edge of a bottle cap and press it onto the center of the top of the bottle cap that goes beneath. Repeat for all layers.

Add decoration with the hot glue gun. I used satin flowers, 3-D flower stickers, thin lacy ribbon, and strings of mini pearls.

Cupcakes

Collect twist off toothpaste caps. Thankfully, I had a stash of travel toothpaste tubes from the children’s last dental visit. My kids never put the lid back on the toothpaste tube anyway, so I did not think it mattered if I took the caps.

Drop a blob of hot glue into the bottom of a toothpaste cap. Squish one 3/4″ pom pom into the cap.
Smear a little Elmer’s glue around the top of the pom pom and sprinkle seed beads on the top.
Add a mini 5 mm pom pom if desired.

Milkshakes

Taller, clear caps work the best for the milkshakes. The clear caps that cover the top of non-aerosol bug spray or suntan lotion are perfect. I also used small, clear bead jars.
Cut a straw to the needed length to stand in the milkshake cup. Run a small bead of hot glue on the edge of the inside of the cup and attach the straw.
Put a blob of hot glue at the bottom of the cup and press one 3/4″ pom pom to the bottom. Add a blob of hot glue to the top of the pom pom and press another pom on top. Try to avoid getting any hot glue on the edge of the cup because it looks smeary from the outside. Repeat one more time with a third pom pom.

Smear a little Elmer’s glue around the top of the pom pom and sprinkle seed beads on the top. I used rainbow nonpareils sprinkles on a few of the milkshakes too.
Add a mini 5 mm pom pom if desired.

Donuts

Put a spoonful of powdered sugar in a small Ziploc bag. Add Cheerios and shake.
Put a spoonful of cinnamon in a small Ziploc bag. Add Cheerios and shake.
Remove Cheerios from the bags. You may need to brush excess cinnamon and powdered sugar from the Cheerio.

Oreos

Using a round hole puncher, punch a ton of black and white circles from foam sheet.
With glue dots, build Oreo cookies. 2 black circles on the outside, one white circle in the center.

Pies, Cookie Tray, Sponge Cake, and Petits Fours

Visit the original American Girl Buffet Post for directions.

Materials

Plastic bottle caps, any and all sizes
strings of mini pearls, thin white lacy ribbon
mini 3-D flower stickers
mini satin flowers
hot glue gun
acrylic paint (pale colors)
3/4″ pom poms
5 mm pom poms
seed beads (variety of colors)
rainbow sprinkles (optional)
black and white foam sheets
glue dots
Cheerios, powdered sugar, cinnamon
small mirrors, mini Altiod tins, flat wood shapes (to use as serving trays)

I have put the bakery display in Miss Priss’ room, although, I am not entirely comfortable with her actually playing with the doll food. It looked so perfect for a few short hours sitting on the shelf, untouched by little hands.

This is how Miss Priss has it set up in her room.

TheRoomMom

The Parent with the Teacher's Perspective

food

Let’s Celebrate

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Fried Chicken Salad

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