Entertaining

Hello Friday. Pour me one of these, please.

Spending your summer at home can still feel a little indulgent. Find relief from the heat and make summer backyard gatherings a chic affair with a sparkling drink, a frothy drinkable dessert or one of myt favorites for summer, rose or vinho verde wine.

NUVO Sparkling Sunset, a delicious, fruity drink perfect for a warm weather get-together.

Nuvo Sparkling Sunset

3 oz NUVO Sparkling Liqueur
3 oz pineapple juice
Splash of fresh lime juice
Top with sliced fruit of your choice

Or for a drink that tastes like dessert choose one of my favorites, the mudslide. This reminds me of the yummy drinks I recently had on my boat trip off of Panama.

Baileys Mudslide
For one serving

Wino Weekend:

If wine is what you’re looking for set your sights on a rose or vinho verde. Leave the reds for fall and the buttery whites until Labor Day. This summer keep it light, crisp and bubbly.

Some of my favorites:

2010 Adega Cooperativo Regional de Monçao “Trajarinho” Vinho Verde, $8.99

2010 Adegas Cooperativos de Monção “Muralhas” Rosé Vinho Verde, $9.99

2010 Domaine Begude Pinot Noir Vin de Pays d’Oc Rosé, $12.99

All from KLWines.com

Shopping the Larchmont Farmer’s Market on Sunday is part of my weekend routine and one recent Sunday my gal pal Judy Ludy (master of cook & baking) and I were inspired to create a meal of fresh ingredients that were almost solely from the market. My husband came along to document the experience and, of course, eagerly await the food.

On the menu for six guests:

Dinner:
Roasted chicken (we bought rotisserie chickens from the grill guy at the market. It saved us time in the kitchen.)
Japanese Eggplant, Mozzarella & Tomato (Slice the eggplant length wise to wrap around the cheese and tomato-hold closed with a toothpick to grill on bbq)
Roasted Squash and Zucchini (so simple-long slices grilled with evoo, sea salt and pepper)

Two desserts: Just because!
Peach Cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream (Judy’s trick-cut out a 1/3 of the sugar)

Berry Trifle (blueberries, strawberries and raspberries heated in a pot with some lemon juice and a little sugar will reap plenty of juices to be soaked up by your choice of cubed pound cake or angel food cake. I make fresh whipped cream with a touch of vanilla and sugar and then I fold in a jar of lemon curd to the mix. Judy baked a lemon pound cake for the trifle that was awesome, but you can use store bought to save time. It’s all about the layers.

And plenty of wine from Rose to Vinho Verde.

YUM!

My favorite flowers, Peonies, are abundant at Trader Joe’s. For $21 bucks I was able to create gorgeous, simple arrangements. Just snip, snip and voila! Don’t hesitate to add flowers to your home. They may only last a week, but you’ll notice them everyday they’re with you. And they signify wealth, luck and happiness. I should be so lucky to get them every week.

Devastatingly Delicious, Decidedly Naughty and Wickedly Addictive Dessert

Dare I tell you about the infamous Seven Layer Bars that have taken over our home for the last few days?

Yes, I shall share the tale of the outrageous, foodgasm that erupts in your mouth each time you take a bite of one of these sinful pleasures. Sinful is where this short story starts. Our friends invited us to a glam affair to “Ring in the Rapture” although as we all know it The Rapture didn’t happen so it turned out to be a chance dress up and partake in sinful drinks and sweets. I made two desserts-devil’s food cake mini cupcakes with vanilla icing and red drizzled pitchforks and the seven layer bars which I like to think of as 7th Heaven.

I made two batches and kept part of the second batch back home when I couldn’t figure out how my husband and I could balance more than four trays of desserts. AND, that my friends is how at around 3pm each afternoon I start hearing a voice beckoning me into the kitchen to open up a tinfoil lined container housing these decadent little treats. I confessed to my friend, Jesse Brune who also happens to be a classically trained chef and my trainer that I should just throw them away. He, who has a love of sweets as well, agreed, “Throw them away or you’ll be doomed.” OK, he didn’t say doomed aloud, but he and I can communicate telepathically.

So after my training session today I went home and ignored the container until 4pm (oh, how strong I am) when I went into the kitchen and chose two squares and slowly ate them while taking a break to read the Hollywood Reporter. I went back into the kitchen and unwrapped the foil again to just take a look, a last look was the plan before I threw the rest away. Then I thought, perhaps I should freeze all the rest, but four squares. Only fair to let my husband have his share before they’re packed away for a few weeks until some fated night he suggests cupcakes for dessert or a mad dash to Milk for the blondie sundae and I say, “We’ve got bars in the freezer.” And guaranteed he’ll say, “Those will do. Those will definitely do.” And yet, I still haven’t packed them yet in freezer bags. Maybe just one last look, one last bite before they hit the cold.

So here’s the simple recipe for the wickedly addictive bars:

Seven Layer Bars

1 stick of butter
1 cup of graham caracker crumbs
1 cup of shredded coconut
1 package of chocolate chips
1 package of butterscotch chips
1 can of condensed milk
Your choice: 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts or 1 cup of mini marshmallows

How to:
Melt the butter and pour into a 9 X 13 pan. Layer graham cracker crumbs on top (they will soak up the butter). Then layer the various chips. I admit I also added in peanut butter chips as well. Add the coconut on top of the chips and then add your nuts if you choose to use nuts. Then pour the condensed milk over the layers. Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes. If you want marshmallows add them halfway through baking scattered on top. They will soften, get a little oozy and turn a light brown on top.

Take out of oven and let cool. Once thoroughly cooled you can put the pan in the fridge for 10 minutes to make them easier to cut into bars or just go for the soft melty goodness that will happen.

Enjoying a naughty good time at the Ring in the Rapture party. Me, with my halo and Daysun with his horns.

Tired of stringing popcorn or hanging lights? Create a fruit garland by using a long, heavy duty needle and colored twine and pushing it through kumquats, kiwi or other small fruit and dangle from a chandelier or mantle.

It’s an homage to the movies for Halloween this season and families are dressing in the themes together.

Unsure of where to still find that fun costume or where to get the best price? I found all these fab costumes through a simple search on TheFind.com

Our family friends were featured on KTLA in Los Angeles today, www.ktla.com

The Loughran Family as Alice in Wonderland (simply cute, cute, cute and in perfect poses)

Red Queen , $79.50
Mad Hatter, $39.50
Alice, $39.50
Found these character costumes from Disneystore.com.

The Basco Family as characters from Aladdin (swashbuckling and adorable)

Princess Jasmine, $66
Aladdin, $94
Our adorable monkey, playing Abu, $35
I did an advance search on TheFind.com to find the best price comparisons of the same costume and shop easily without driving to multiple stores. I scooped up these costumes from Target.com, Disney.com and Kohls.com.

And a simple sew costume for our magic carpet. I took two dish towels and four tassels that I purchased at Target and did a quick hand sew leaving room for arms and head. It’s soft, comfy and such a simple costume to keep a baby warm and snuggly while carrying or in a stroller.

The Alvarez Family is ready to save Gotham City (they’re so sassy as a crime fighting family)

Dark Knight, $55
Bat girl, $35
Baby as Robin, $20
And Curtis, the dog with a perpetual smile as The Joker, $15
All available at CostumeExpress.com and Walmart.com

Friends, Lauren and Natalie (best friends ready for the party)

Hocus Pocus Witch, $40
Sassy Sailor, $35
Both costumes available from Kohl’s and Kohls.com.

A few more tips for the festive day:
1. Halloween Costumes:
“Costume shopping can sometimes seem endless, crowded and messy when your kids either don’t know what they want to be, or they have a definitive idea and the shops you visited don’t have the costume. The best way to save time and money is to shop online. I personally use TheFind.com because it allows you access to all retailers at once, while being able to narrow down your search to a specific costume, gender and size range. After finding the perfect costume, you can view all available coupons, sales and shipping offers at a glance to make sure you’re selecting the store with the best possible price.”

2. Decorating Indoors:
“I like to make pumpkin bats to add a little DIY Halloween-themed home décor. All you need are mini pumpkins, black and white paint, and black craft foam. First, paint the mini pumpkins black, adding in eyes with the white paint and black dots. Next, cut the craft foam into the shapes of wings and ears and insert into small slits that you cut into the sides and top of the pumpkins.”

3. Decorating Outdoors:
“For outdoor decorating, I like to stick to one streamlined theme – such as spiders. I start by staging small and medium plastic spiders around the front door, along the outdoor stair railings and around columns or beams. For an added touch, have the path of creepy crawlers lead to one large inflatable spider and stretch gauzy ‘spiderwebs’ from a craft store over bushes.”

4. Keeping Kids Engaged:
“To keep the excited little ones happily occupied while counting down the minutes to trick-or-treat time, keep them engaged with a craft project. Set up a table where they can bejewel and decorate their own masks – all you need are simple black masks with an elastic strap, glue, glitter, feathers, stickers, and fake crystals. If you have photo print paper at home, take a group picture of all the kids in the masks then send everyone home with a printed photo from the party.”

If you don’t have time to bake, buy a cake and cover it in fondant or add candy or sprinkles to match your party colors or theme. It will take the pressure off you at dessert time.

Don’t let guests leave empty handed. Write or print up the recipes from that evening’s dinner, roll up and secure with ribbon and tie around a mini bottle of wine or champagne.

Guests arrive and you’ll still be cooking? Have small ramekins filled with mixed nuts (preferably heated with some spices) stacked by the wine or beer you’ll be serving. Guests will be impressed by the mini treat individually prepared. It’s like traveling first class on Continental.