Guest Post: 4th of July Menu & Table Decor from MacSuzie.Com

July 1, 2014 1 Comment A Well Crafted Pantry

A big thank you to Jenni for having me as a guest poster today on A Well Crafted Party! After a little hiatus from my own blog, her invite was just the kick in the pants I needed to get back on track and get some MacSuzie mojo going! It felt really good to be in the kitchen and at my craft table working on this menu and table decor.

I hope you all enjoy the summer recipes I’ve put together for you – great as a menu altogether for the 4th of July, or any of them on their own as additions to your gatherings throughout summer. Many items can be prepared ahead of time (or require barely any prep at all!) so you won’t toil away the afternoon in the in the kitchen. Plus, the table decor is very simple and won’t cost you an arm and a leg 🙂

Start yourself off right with a fun and festive summer cocktail reminiscent of the ice cream man jingling down the street.

This Bomb Pop Cocktail has all the flavors of the original – cherry, lime and blue raspberry, with a grown up twist.

For the kiddos, a real Bomb Pop is a fun way to keep lemonade or soda pop cold 🙂

Grill out (or in, if your 4th gets rained out, as mine always seems to!) with this flavor packed Homemade Veggie Burger with Blue Cheese & BBQ Sauce that will impress even the staunchest of carnivores.

Lately, my favorite way to eat these is topped with a slice of blue cheese plus some pickled onions and BBQ sauce – so good!

On the side, the smell of these Tin Foil “Camping” Potatoes will make it hard to decide what you want to take a bite of first.

Packed with onions and garlic in a pocket of foil, it doesn’t get any easier. Ok, maybe it does… See below for my roasted corn!

It wouldn’t be summer without an ear of In-Husk Roasted Sweet Corn – just like the county fair vendors 🙂

You won’t believe how easy it is to cook corn on the grill or in the oven – no husking required! Hahaha, guess you’ll have to find something else to keep the kids (or husband!) busy. 🙂

End the meal on a fruity note with my Mini Red, White & Blueberry Strawberry Shortcakes!

Smaller than the usual shortcake, you don’t have to choose between the two toppings – have one of each! (both with a giant dollop of homemade whipped cream of course!)

Table Decor:

To break up the traditional (and sometimes boring) red, white and blue, I decided to add in a touch of light turquoise here and there. I pulled in a few of turquoise Fiesta serving pieces I already had, plus my trusty vintage ball jar, some bandanas and scraps of paper and fabric and ended up with a beautiful table. You can do the same – just use what you have on hand and get creative!

To start, I used bandanas as place mats.

Some coordinating ribbon dresses up a plain jar or old vase without much effort.

Keep all your toppings on top of your burger with these adorable picks!

Just a few scraps of paper and some stickers make boring old skewers into fun decorations. Use them on your burgers as I have, or put the flags on toothpicks and use for fruit or cupcakes.

Lastly, ditch the paper napkins and use some clean bandanas instead!

Quickly folded into a pocket and dressed up with some fabric scraps and ribbon, these bandana napkins are festive AND won’t blow off the table. :

Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and summer!

Seriously, how cute is this party!? A huge thank you to Lindsey of MacSuzie.com for brining us this awesome 4th of July party! I can’t wait to try these recipes and entertaining tips for the upcoming holiday and throughout the Summer. By the way… if you’ve been wondering about the name MacSuzie here is how Lindsey describes it on her site: “A dash of ‘MacGyver’ plus a sprinkle of ‘Suzie Homemaker’ – all tied up with a bow!“

A Well Crafted Pantry

Saturday Spirits: Melon & Mint Granita Cocktail

June 28, 2014 1 Comment A Well Crafted Pantry

Okay, I’m not gonna lie… this drink takes some work. It is totally worth it though! First you have to make a granita. Granita takes some time to make, though very little effort. The granita can be used in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages or just eaten on its own as a delicious pallet cleanser or dessert.

What is a granita? According to good ole wikipedia a granita is a semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water, and various flavorings. I learned how to make a granita from Martha.

Honeydew Melon, Lime, & Mint Granita Recipe:

*Makes enough granita for about a dozen of the Melon & Mint Cocktails

Ingredients:

1 medium sized honey dew melon– ripe and sectioned discarding rind
Juice of 2 freshley squeezed limes
Mint to taste (I used about 15 leaves)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
Food Processor
sauce pan
a non-reactive pan that will fit in fridge and has at least 1 inch sides (I used a loaf pan)

Directions:

Put the melon in a food processor and process until there are no chunks, add mint and process
In a sauce pan on medium heat combine the sugar and water. Stir as it heats until it is completely dissolved. Take off the heat and let cool.
Combine the sugar/water syrup, freshly squeezed lime juice, and honey dew melon/mint puree in a non reactive pan. Put in freezer.
Every 30 minutes or so give the mixture a scrape with a fork. Continue to freeze until ice crystals are formed. I tend to cover my granita with plastic wrap between freezings.
Store granita in freezer in a airtight container

Melon & Mint Granita Cocktail Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 scoop of your Honeydew Melon & Mint Granita
1 1/4 oz Gin
2 oz sparkling water

Directions:

Drop 1 scoop of granita in a martini glass
Top with 1 1/4 oz of Gin
Slowly pour over the sparkling water– pouring it slowly helps mix a bit of the granita flavor in with the gin
Garnish with mint

This drink has a strong beginning and then gets sweeter as the granita melts. It is a good drink for sipping on a hot Summer day!

Enjoy!

A Well Crafted Pantry

Saturday Spirits: Jalapeno Margarita

June 21, 2014 5 Comments A Well Crafted Pantry

Summer and margaritas go together like cream & coffee, bread & butter, or apps & iOS. So, on this first day of Summer and my first official Saturday Spirits post I’m bringing you my recipe for a Jalapeno Margarita.

This past fall I was able to try drinks and dessert at this tiny (yet, super cool) restaurant in Oklahoma City called Hillbilly Po’boys and Oysters. If you are in the OKC area I’d highly recommend this place for great atmosphere, awesome drinks, and hands down the best bread pudding I’ve ever eaten. Anyways, while there I tried their Jalapeno Margarita…WOWEEEEE. So good.

This is my interpretation of that drink. Theres was better, but this one is still really good.

Recipe for a Jalapeno Margarita

Makes one drink

Needed:

1 3/4 oz Tequila — normally I like a silver tequila, but for this drink I went with a Reposado
1 oz of jalapeno infused simple syrup (see recipe below)
Freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 large orange
Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime
Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
Margarita salt on rim
Ice
slices of fresh jalapeno for garnish

Directions:

Rim a glass using lime juice and margarita salt (kosher salt works great too)
Fill glass with ice and a few slices of jalapeno (pickled jalapeno just won’t taste good in this… it needs to be fresh)
Pour 1 shot (1 3/4 oz Tequila), 1 oz Jalapeno infused simple syrup, and freshly squeezed juice over ice
Stir and taste!

If the drink isn’t quite sweet enough for you then you are welcome to add a bit more simple syrup. If you want it hotter you can muddle some jalapeno in the drink and then pour it over ice. If the jalapeno simple syrup is TOO hot, add in some plain simple syrup or even just some water to dilute it a tad.

Recipe for Jalapeno Simple Syrup

I love making simple syrups for drinks… they are SO easy. Seriously, NEVER buy a simple syrup unless you aren’t going to be home at all. All you need is 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of water, a sauce pan, and a stove top.

Directions for the Jalapeno Simple Syrup: Combine 1 cup of sugar and one cup of water in a sauce pan (heavy bottom is best) and put on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Put a jalapeno in a container (I used a canning jar) and pour the liquid over it. I cut the top off of my jalapeno before pouring the sugar solution over it. Cover the container and let infuse for at least an hour, but up to overnight. For me, the perfect heat happened at about 4 hours of infusion. After you get your jalapeno simple syrup to the desired heat level, strain the simple syrup with a fine meshed sieve. The simple syrup will last in the fridge for about 2 weeks.

This post is part of my new (hopefully LONG running) series called Saturday Spirits. Each Saturday look out for a new post featuring a tasty adult beverage! I’m also always taking requests—comment or email with suggestions or requests!