{late night snack tray with starbucks}

For the second post in my series in partnership with Starbucks® flavored K-Cup® Packs, I thought it would be fun to think about times other than the morning to serve coffee (see the first post in the series here).  I love to pull inspiration for dinner parties and entertaining in our home from wedding blogs (especially my two faves: 100 Layer Cake & Grey Likes Weddings).  One thing that I have seen become a staple at weddings is the idea of late night snacks that reinvigorate guests for an evening of dancing well after the dinner plates have been cleared (we even did late night milk and cookies at our wedding!).  I decided to try that idea on a smaller scale with a late night snack tray accompanied by a little caffeine jolt from fresh cups of coffee.

After guests have arrived, enjoyed your meticulously arranged appetizers, served themselves a few cocktails and settled in for a night of lively conversation there will ultimately come a lull in the evening.  How fun would it be to reinvigorate your get-together by presenting your friends with this fun snack at your next cocktail party?  The key is to pick small bite foods that won't have you prepping in the kitchen for hours.  I chose to pick some easy frozen treats like mini tacos and churros- not necessarily items I would normally present guests, but later in the evening they are the exact comfort foods that people love!

I always opt in for a late night cup of coffee to end a long dinner so I figured serving the dessert inspired Starbucks® Cinnamon Dolce K-Cup® Packs as a little evening kick would be the perfect accompaniment to the snack tray!  The best part of a Keurig machine is the ease of use- so rather than having to ask each of your guests whether they want coffee and how they prefer to take it you can easily set up your machine in an accessible place alongside a selection of mugs and coffee toppings so that guests can serve themselves.  We actually did this for a big group brunch a while back and it worked perfectly to have people serve themselves.  This time around I placed this Keurig on our outdoor bar cart along with sugar, cream, a selection of K-Cups and glass mugs!

 {tossing the freshly baked fries with a little garlic and truffle salt to give them a special touch}

{a handful of freshly baked fries served with ketchup and chipotle aioli in these mini cups} 

I'd love to hear about your favorite tricks for fall entertaining!! Share in the comments what you like to do to delight your guests at fall get-togethers.

The rich aromas and sweet flavors you love from Starbucks®, now brewing at home. Introducing two new K-Cup® flavors for fall, inspired by our café favorites.

LEGAL: Developed in partnership with Starbucks Coffee Company and their new Starbucks® K-

Cup® packs. K-Cup® packs for use in Keurig® K-Cup® brewing systems. Keurig, the Cup and Star Design, Keurig Brewed, K-Cup and the Keurig brewer trade dress are trademarks of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., used with permission.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Starbucks Coffee Company, via Mode Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Starbucks Coffee Company.

{weekday breakfast with starbucks & keurig}

I am so excited to partner with Starbucks for a 3 part series about their flavored K-Cup® Packs because let’s face it people...my lifeblood before noon revolves around coffee. We’ve had a Keurig machine for almost 3 years now ever since we received one off our wedding registry and it really satisfies my push of button instant gratification needs (read: I’m a bit lazy in the morning so anything that takes significant effort or laborious clean-up isn’t going to work).

Today’s post is all about my favorite breakfast pairings. My dream breakfast situation (besides going out for a boozy Sunday brunch) is a leisurely morning spent cooking (probably this French toast) and maybe even getting back in bed to eat it, but most days that’s not a reality.  So today I thought it would be fun to show two of my favorite go-to breakfasts for quick weekday mornings: a super-food packed acai parfait and avocado toast using my secret ingredient!

Most mornings the very first thing I do (after taking out our high maintenance dog) is brew a cup of coffee in our Keurig and add a splash of cream.  I enjoy that cup of coffee while getting ready, watching the news, trying to make myself presentable to leave the house, etc.  I always drink that first cup of coffee like it’s my last and it disappears in about 15 minutes, so I’ll brew a second cup to enjoy with breakfast.  I usually just add a splash of cream to my coffee so I was excited to try out the flavored Starbucks® flavored K-Cup® Packs hoping that the sweet flavors like Vanilla or Cinnamon Dolce might prompt me to use less cream (which they did! win.).  Scroll down for my secret avocado toast ingredient and simple acai parfait recipe that I pair with my morning coffee!

{custom coffee sleeves with our wedding crest from here}

{sugar bowl from here & gold tongs from here}

{you guys. this Tajin Seasoning is the secret ingredient to out of this world avocado toast. trust.}

Simple Acai Parfait:

what you need:

• acai smoothie packet (I like the unsweetened version from here - and you can find it cheaper at your local Whole Foods or Costco)
• 1/3 cup granola 
• 1/2 cup light vanilla soy milk
• 1 cup kale (or leafy greens like spinach)
• 1 half banana, chopped
• 5 strawberries, sliced
• toasted coconut flakes

1. Place granola in bottom of glass or bowl. 
2. Chop bananas and strawberries. Set aside.
3. Place acai packet, kale and soy milk into a blender.  Blend until smooth and then place contents on top of granola.
4. Top acai blend with strawberries, bananas and coconut flakes. 
5. Enjoy!

The rich aromas and sweet flavors you love from Starbucks®,now brewing at home. Introducing two new K-Cup(R) flavors for fall, inspired by our café favorites.

LEGAL: Developed in partnership with Starbucks Coffee Company and their new Starbucks® K-Cups® packs. K-Cup® packs for use in Keurig® K-Cup® brewing systems. Keurig, the Cup and Star Design, Keurig Brewed, K-Cup and the Keurig brewer trade dress are trademarks of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., used with permission.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Starbucks Coffee Company, via Mode Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Starbucks Coffee Company.

{dinner party prep & clean up tips}

Entertaining friends in our home is one of my greatest joys in life- there is really nothing more special you can do than invite people in your home for an evening and show them a good time.  While I do love to throw a big party (like this or this), I prefer the more intimate setting of a small dinner party with a fun mix of friends.  After our guests leave for the evening, Chris and I always find ourselves discussing the details of the evening to figure out how to make it even better for next time and I'd like to think after all this time we have figured at least a few things out!  

Today's post is all about my tips for the best dinner party prep and clean-up - brought to you by Electrolux's fancy new dishwasher (Electrolux Stainless Steel Dishwasher with IQ-Touch™ Controls (EI24ID50QS).  The food and conversation of a dinner is the highlight of the evening, but it will never be successful without a little forethought and careful preparation.  While most people don't like to think about the clean-up of a party, it's equally as important as prep because it resets your home to its normal setting and doesn't leave you regretting hosting the party when you wake up to a mess the next morning.  Check out this little dinner party set up on our new roof deck from the other night and then read on for my tips on prep + clean up! 

PREP

1. Cook the night before:  We always try to to pick a menu that will allow us to do almost all the cooking the night before a party so that we aren't spending all day in the kitchen.  This is also helpful for weeknight dinner parties where you might only have an hour after work to get everything ready before your guests arrive. You can check out a great menu for a prep-ahead dinner right here!

2. Make a Playlist:  Music is so important to the vibe of a party.  Have you ever been in a restaurant where they forgot to turn on the music?!? It's absolutely horrible.  Music fills in the gaps in conversation and generally helps people relax.  I like to use spotify to make playlists and you can check out the one I made for our Moroccan inspired dinner party right here.

3.  Assign Seats:  Some people have negative associations with assigned seats - probably reminds them of their stuffy grandmother's house on Christmas Eve.  I prefer to assign seats - it elevates the feel of the evening and it helps you control the conversation.  I love a dinner party that has a good mix of people who might not necessarily know each other well which makes it even more important to place people strategically around the table who will have common interests.

4.  Buy Consistently:  While I love to get distracted by the colorful vintage inspired dishes at Anthropologie, I try to only buy dishes in white, glasses in clear glass and decor accents in gold.  This makes it incredibly easy to put together a tablescape that looks polished (like the one pictured above) since everything I own can be used together.  You can always bring in holiday colors or party themes using a fun tablecloth/napkins or interesting paper goods!

5.  Review the steps for set-up:  I always make fun of Chris because before we have a dinner party he sits down and makes a list of all the things we need to do and at what time such as pre-heating the oven, assembling appetizers, etc.  It's always written in chicken-scratch and taped up on the cupboard.  Sounds like a pretty simple tip, but it really helps us make sure we dont forget anything so we arent scrambling to add the cheese to appetizers we prepped the night before as guests are walking the door!

CLEAN UP

1.  No Cleaning with Guests:  I absolutely will not allow guests to help clean and I have a personal rule in our house that we don't clean anything while guests are still there.  Your guests are there to spend time with you and relax- no one is making lifelong memories while loading the dishwasher.  Also nothing signals the evening is over like clearing a table and disappearing to the kitchen- you never know what hilarious things will happen if you allow everyone to linger leisurely over the after dinner drinks!

2.  Don't Put It Off Til Tomorrow:  There is nothing worse than waking up to a mess.  As much as I want to go straight to bed after guests leave- we force ourselves to clean up that evening.  The Electrolux dishwasher helps tremendously with this as it cleans in only 30 minutes so you could even be extra productive and put away all the clean dishes before going to bed, but if you do fall straight to sleep after cleaning you won't hear a peep out of the dishwasher is cleans silently (which is HUGE as our current dishwasher sounds like a garbage truck).

3. Make It Fun:  Chris and I love to set a timer on our phone to challenge ourselves to see how much cleaning we can get done in a short amount of time.  It makes cleaning up feel like a game and sometimes that's the little distraction you need to make it pleasant.

4.  Use Nice Cleaning Products: I'm obsessed with glamorous cleaning product brands like Caldrea & Murchinson Hume.  It may seem ridiculous to spend a bit more on cleaning products, but the luxurious scents make the whole process significantly better.  Lately I have been using this Rosewater Driftwood scent.

see more details on Electrolux Appliance's homepage right here. 

The new Electrolux dishwasher provides a professional level clean with its 30-minute wash and dry cycle. As the highest rated dishwasher on Reviewed.com (http://dishwashers.reviewed.com/content/electrolux-ei24id50qs-dishwasher-review ), it also features SatelliteSpray Arm technology which provides 400% more water coverage than a traditional dishwasher. Visit ElectroluxAppliances.com for more information on this and other stylish and functional options available from Electrolux.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Electrolux via Mode Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Electrolux.

{trio of gourmet s'mores}

S'mores just might be one of my favorite throwback desserts from childhood, but they so rarely make an appearance now outside of camping trips (which are not a part of my life) and bonfires (which I wish were a bigger part of my life).   For the last post in my series with Pinnacle Vodka I got to watch a series of fun cocktail videos they recently created and their recipe using Whipped Cream flavored vodka to make a S'mores cocktail got me inspired to try out some alternative s'mores combos this past weekend (you can check out the fun video at the bottom of the post!).  I'm not a huge chocolate person so I decided to try making three different s'mores combos all without chocolate.   The whole set up of ingredients laid out in our kitchen before we started assembling the s'mores reminded me of the fun idea of creating a "s'mores bar" for a party like this one- you could even add a couple dessert cocktail options alongside the s'mores toppings using Pinnacle's flavored vodkas!

 {how fun would this tray be to bring out after a summer dinner}

{to make it easier to assemble/devour- I crumbled the pretzels in a ziploc bag before
adding them to the toppings tray} 

 {this was by far my favorite flavor combo- I even added a tiny sprinkle of finely ground black pepper to add a bit of kick. in the humble brag department I'll inform you that I grew that basil myself - it's really all about the small wins in life ya know?}

 {this simple combo was inspired by my all-time favorite street crepe flavor that I would find myself purchasing on our late nights in Paris- I would recommend not cutting the bananas like this, but rather cutting the banana on the bias to create longer pieces so they dont slip out of the s'mores set up - you can learn from my mistakes}

Check out this fun video that inspired this post with a S'mores cocktail recipe using Pinnacle's Whipped flavored vodka:

Pinnacle Vodka shakes things up with unexpected experiences and delightful discoveries. Explore with other fun flavors at http://www.pinnaclevodka.com.  Also, check us out at www.facebook.com/pinnaclevodkas and https://twitter.com/PinnacleVodka or find more fun entertaining and drink ideas on our Pinterest page at http://www.pinterest.com/pinnaclevodka/.

Pinnacle® is a registered trademark of Jim Beam Brands Co. and is used with permission.  This is a sponsored partnership, with Pinnacle® Vodka, via Mode Media.  The information, comments, and ideas expressed on this website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Jim Beam Brands Co., its affiliated companies, or any of their directors or employees.

{friday cocktail: green bloody mary}

For a long time I was strictly a mimosa drinker for brunch situations, but in the past couple years I have become a full blown bloody mary convert.  In partnership with Pinnacle Vodka, I'm bringing you a fabulous way to enjoy your bloody mary at brunch this weekend in the form of a green bloody mary.  Using lots of fresh green veggies like tomatillos, peppers  and cucumber, I mixed up a green bloody mary base that is almost healthy enough that you might forget it's actually a cocktail.   In fact you could probably add some kale to this recipe and consider it your green juice for the day!

Despite how much healthy veggie ingredients are here, this mix is delightfully flavorful and a nice change from the normal red tomato bloody- sometimes you just gotta switch it up.  You can see my classic bloody mary recipe right here and a unique korean inspired version here.   Scroll down for both the green bloody mary base recipe and the cocktail recipe- as always make sure to get your garnish on!

Green Bloody Mary Base:

what you need:

• 1 cucumber 
• 6 tomatillos
• 1/2 cup parsley
• 4 stalks of celery
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 Roasted and skinned pasilla pepper*
• 1 roasted and skinned green bell pepper*
• salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste

*the roasted part of these peppers makes them taste super yummy, but roasting them is a totally optional step. we just got excited about getting out in the sunshine and grilling stuff. ya know? 

1. Peel skin off roasted peppers and chop.  Peel, de-seed and chop cucumber.  Roughly chop parsley and tomatillos (leave skin on).  Juice limes.
2. Puree all chopped ingredients in a food processor or blender until well combined.  
3. Strain entire mixture into serving container.
4. Add salt, pepper and cayenne to taste.
5. Mixture should keep in the fridge for a few days, but I wouldn't push it too far!

Cheers!

Pinnacle Vodka shakes things up with unexpected experiences and delightful discoveries. Explore with other fun flavors at http://www.pinnaclevodka.com.  Also, check us out at www.facebook.com/pinnaclevodkas and https://twitter.com/PinnacleVodka or find more fun entertaining and drink ideas on our Pinterest page at http://www.pinterest.com/pinnaclevodka/.

Pinnacle® is a registered trademark of Jim Beam Brands Co. and is used with permission.  This is a sponsored partnership, with Pinnacle® Vodka, via Mode Media.  The information, comments, and ideas expressed on this website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Jim Beam Brands Co., its affiliated companies, or any of their directors or employees.

{grilled appetizer + cocktail pairing}

An alternate name for this post was "all grilled everything" because that's basically the mentality I took.  In the second to last post in my series with Pinnacle Vodka, I thought it would be fun to try mixing up a cocktail using grilled fruit- especially since everyone is currently saying these are officially the last days of summer.  Inspired by the recipes in this post, I grilled up some peaches and lemons for a delicious cocktail with a charred and smokey flavor.  One of my favorite things in the world is grilled bread so we tossed some of that on to the grill as well to make an accompanying appetizer using the leftover grilled peaches.  Scroll to the bottom of the post for the cocktail recipe which I'm calling the Burnt Sunset as well steps to make its twin sister appetizer of grilled bread topped with charred peaches, burrata cheese, fresh basil and lemon zest.  

This is little pairing is the perfect combo to savor the last days of summer!

Grilled Bread with Peaches, Burrata & Basil (serves 6)

what you need:

• loaf of french bread (or whatever bread makes you happy)
• olive oil
• 8 oz burrata cheese
• 2 ripe peaches
• 6 fresh basil leaves
• zest of half a lemon
• salt & pepper

1. Heat up your grill on high heat.
2.  Cut bread in 1 inch thick slices, lightly brush oil on both sides. Set aside.  Cut 1 inch thick peach slices and lightly drizzle with olive oil.
3. Chiffonade the fresh basil leaves and set aside.
4. Place both the bread and peaches on to the grill.  Peaches will take about 5 minutes per side and the bread should take about a minute per side.  Keep an eye on both until they get a nice char then remove from the grill.
5. Spread a healthy spoonful of burrata onto each slice of bread, top with 3 or 4 slices of grilled peaches.  Place a few small pieces of basil on top then sprinkle lemon zest on top.  Top with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Enjoy!

Pinnacle Vodka shakes things up with unexpected experiences and delightful discoveries. Explore with other fun flavors at http://www.pinnaclevodka.com.  Also, check us out at www.facebook.com/pinnaclevodkas and https://twitter.com/PinnacleVodka or find more fun entertaining and drink ideas on our Pinterest page at http://www.pinterest.com/pinnaclevodka/.

Pinnacle® is a registered trademark of Jim Beam Brands Co. and is used with permission.  This is a sponsored partnership, with Pinnacle® Vodka, via Mode Media.  The information, comments, and ideas expressed on this website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Jim Beam Brands Co., its affiliated companies, or any of their directors or employees.