Floats

One night (a long while back) we had a float night.  We went to the store and picked sodies to go with ice cream for new creative floats.  Here are the combinations we tried.

Jones Soda's Strawberry Lime with Vanilla Ice Cream

This one was good, but not as good as I was hoping.  It was quite pretty though.  Maybe it would be better with a lime or lemon sorbet, just to bring out those flavors more.

  Cream Soda with Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

This was probably our most adventurous combination and it was actually better than we expected it to be.  Honestly, it was really good.  Try it for yourself.

Key Lime Soda with Vanilla Ice Cream

This combination was also a success.  If you like key lime pie with ice cream, you will love this float.

Lemon-Lime Soda with Raspberry Sorbet

This was probably my favorite float out of the bunch.  I love most anything with raspberry and lemon together.  It tasted brilliant.  Although, I realize we can't really take credit for this match-up because it tasted pretty similar to those drinks often served at bridal and baby showers.  Oh well, it was still great as a float and I would recommend it for something different.

We'll keep thinking of more fun float ideas and share the great ones with you!

4th of July Craft and Dessert

A while back, I bought a cheap glass vase from Wal-Mart and have been using it for all sorts of things. At Christmastime I put ball ornaments in it. For Easter I put plastic Easter eggs in it. I also used it as a vase for some beautiful tulips on Mother's Day (or in my case, Wife's Day). I wanted to use it for the 4th of July but didn't know what to put in it. Finally, I came up with this idea.

A Picture Frame!

All I did was take some 4th of July themed paper and cut it to fit in the vase. I used a flexible measuring tape to measure the height and circumference of the vase. This works best for vases where the circumference is the same throughout the entire vase. I used a picture of us from 4th of July last year. I was really pleased with how it turned out.

Here is a 4th of July tradition from my family. We always make this flag cake. I didn't make it last year because I knew we would never eat all of it. But this year we had my sister's family staying with us to help finish it off. Here are my cute nieces who helped me make it. We dished it up while waiting for the fireworks to go off.

1 box cake mix, baked according to directions on the box
Strawberries, halved
Blueberries
Raspberries
1 package of whipped topping

1. After cake has cooled off, top it with a layer of the berries so that the cake is completely covered.
2. Top the berries with the whipped topping.
3. Use blueberries and strawberries to make the cake look like a flag.

Enjoy!

Berry Delicious Desserts

I would never describe myself as a lover of desserts or chocolate. I hardly ever make desserts. I could count the number of times I have made a dessert on both hands in the past year. And most of those times were due to party planning. But that does not mean I don't like desserts. They are especially appealing to me when fruit is somehow incorporated. So here are some beautifully delicious fruit inspired desserts.

Berry Trifle

My client gave me the idea to do a trifle bar for the bridal shower I threw over the weekend. It was fun and I think everyone really enjoyed it... because many of them went back for seconds! It was easy to pull together, which is always a plus when serving food for a party. Here is how you can do it!

Cake

• 1 box of cake mix of your choice (I used Betty Crocker's Golden Vanilla)
  
• wet ingredients in the amounts the box suggests
  

Instead of taking the time to make a cake from scratch, I used a cake mix. Several hours before your event, bake cake in a cookie sheet so it isn't as thick as a regular cake. Make sure you reduce the cooking time. Use a toothpick to determine when it is done (when it comes out clean). Mine was done in about 15 minutes. Let the cake sit out uncovered for several hours. This will help keep it from sticking together when you cut it into little pieces. About 20-30 minutes before serving, cut the cake into 1 inch square pieces and serve them on a platter.

Custard

• 2 small boxes of pudding of your choice (I used White Chocolate)

Once again, I could have made the custard from scratch. But I had cleaning and other things to get done. You can make the pudding ahead of time as well and let it chill in the refrigerator.

Toppings

• Fruit- I used strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and bananas.
• Sauces- caramel, strawberry, chocolate
• Ready whip

My client also let me borrow an assortment of fun glasses. Everyone had fun picking their own cute glass and what ingredients they wanted to include.

Berry Chocolate Panini

Since I had left over berries from the trifles, I made these treats just for fun. I would highly recommend them. Even my husband, who doesn't get excited about dessert, thought they were scrumptious.

• 8 slices of day-old-bread (or 2 day, in my case)- I used a baguette
• A couple of strawberries, sliced thin
• 8 or so raspberries
• chocolate chips or chocolate sauce
• strawberry or raspberry jam (optional)
• 1 Tbs. olive oil

1. Put olive oil in a small prep bowl. Using a pastry brush, or an unused paint brush, brush a small amount of olive oil on one side of 4 bread slices. Place on heated panini grill, oil side down.
2. Place a few chocolate chips on top of bread. This allows the heat to start melting the chocolate while you slice the strawberries and prepare the rest.
3. If using jam, spread a small amount on one side of the other 4 slices.
4. Place strawberry slices and raspberries on top of the chocolate chips.
5. Place the remaining slices on top of the berries. Brush olive oil on top. Smash with grill top and heat until chocolate is completely melted. Serve and enjoy!
   

I would recommend using a baguette for these because of the small size. These are rich, and in my opinion, good things come in small packages. Plus, they look cute when they are small. I made 4 for the two of us, but we thought 1 each was just enough. If you don't have a panini grill, you can heat them in a pan on the stove. They just won't have the attractive grill marks. Once again, these were fabulous.