I'm Crashing the Party! #NellysBigDay

"And ... I said YESSSSS!"

It happened one November midnight, in Twitterverse, we saw this tweet from our dear Nelly @nella22. Without missing a beat, we all knew Nelly had “said YES” to her beloved “M, as she sweetly calls Brian Murray, her fiancé.

So here we are, Nelly dear, your friends in the food world (and paper lovelies world), wishing you and Brian, all the best. And with our wishes, a simple recipe with an easy formula for a life of bliss, rich with EVERYTHING in it!

Okay, I'm not really a "Foodie", I just happen to be friends with a lot of foodies. That's not going to stop me from crashing this amazing virtual wedding shower! Nelly surely knows me well enough to know I love a good party! 

As for what I would bring... Appetizers, of course! Finger foods are awesome! (Nelly, am I right?)

Brie and Fancy Plum:

Here is a quick and easy appetizer! You need three ingredients: Brie Cheese, your favorite preserves, and some mini phyllo cups.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Place the phyllo cups on the parchment and place a dollop of preserves in each. I use fancy plum and it's delicious! Cut the rind off the brie. Top the preserves with a piece of brie and bake for 7 minutes. Serve hot or room temperature.

My dear, sweet friend, Nelly...

I wish for you a life of great adventure, pure joy and continued sweetness. I am so happy for you and Brian. I look forward to the day we can meet in real life and toast your happy union! Until then, know that my thoughts and prayers are with you as always. As we say in our house: Mazel Tov!! L'Chaim!! To Life!!

xoxo

Patti

Asparagus and Goat Cheese

I was invited to a ladies' night pool party last night. This group of friends plays tennis together on Tuesdays during the summer months. It was so fun to get together for drinks, hor d'oeuvres and dessert. I chose to take one of my favorite summer appetizers: Asparagus and goat cheese phyllo cups. I shared this simple creation of mine with one of my foodie friends, Terra Reisinger Baltosiewich of Cafe Terra Blog and though I'm sure she put her own fabulous touch on it, reported that she liked it! So today, I'm sharing it with you as well!
I'm not a cook (by any means), but I like to create in the kitchen now and again. Since I'm not a cook (by any means) my recipes are very simple and have few ingredients. For this recipe you'll need...

1 bunch of fresh asparagus, rinsed and bottoms trimmed
drizzles of Olive Oil
spicy garlic
Sea salt to taste
small "log" of goat cheese
2 packages of phyllo cups (total of 30)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Drizzle cleaned/dried asparagus with olive oil and coat well.
Sprinkle spicy garlic and salt then grill on medium until the asparagus is bright green and warmed. Do not over grill. You want the asparagus to have a nice crunch left to it. I turned the vegetables twice during the 12 minute grilling. While these are cooking, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set up your phyllo cups.

Once cooked, cut the asparagus into half to one inch pieces and place in the phyllo cups. Top with a piece of fresh goat cheese and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the goat cheese starts to brown.

Plate and serve hot or at room temperature. Since I was taking these to a party, they were room temperature and still very yummy!

Let me know if you decide to try this easy recipe! I hope you're enjoying your Summer!