Happy New Year!

Some Party Essentials

I Always Start with the Menu 

Delicious Party Favors

Wrap it in a Theme (Polar Bears!) 

Unify with a Color Scheme (White, Gold and a bit of Black)

Happy Holidays!!

I must confess, I am rather sad the holidays are over. But at the very least, I have this blog to write about them and remember how much fun it was to plan for a good meal and enjoy the party with my loved ones!

A few posts ago, I shared with you the menu I was planning on for Christmas and I am happy to report that all the dishes came out beautifully! Hands down, my favorite was the turkey. It was fresh, juicy and just perfect! And as usual, I spent quite a lot of time setting up the table decor (my favorite part of any party). This time however, I had help from the best of helpers: mom. After a trip to the local Marshall's (where we purchased placemats and a few decorations) and Target (where we found the polar bears at 50% off plus the paper christmas trees and candles), we were able to complete our polar bear theme. 

The colors we used this year were gold, white and a punch of black. It was all inspired by the design of the menu I did a few weeks back. The menu also inspired the handsomest party favors - custom made cookies by Cakes and Cookies by Claudia. 

All in all, I think I am really liking the idea of hosting celebrations! I am already looking for an excuse to have another one soon!

PS: A shoutout to our lovely hosts: Jessica and Stefan Popov and the great help from Jenny Blair (still dreaming of that casserole!) and of course, mom and dad, who are always willing to assist in any loving way they can. 

Fall is Here!

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla exract
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 package (12 oz.) white chocolate chips

Original Recipe

It never truly feels like fall until you cook something pumpkin, don't you think? Well, last week, I did just that! And, thanks to my cooking ambitions (or nature...), Houston cooled off right in time. I loved this recipe so I wanted to share with you... Enjoy!  

Directions: 

Prepare a 9" x 13" pan by lining it with parchment paper, or greasing it with bit of butter. Preheat oven to 350*F.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices and set aside. In another large bowl whisk together the melted butter and sugars. Add the egg, then vanilla and pumpkin and blend together well with the whisk (no need for an electric mixer).

Pour the bowl of dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients, add the white chocolate chips and blend together with a spatula or wooden spoon just until fully incorporated.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly in the pan.

Bake 25-30 minutes, or until it appears set and a toothpick inserted in the center of the pan comes out clean. Cool fully, then cut into bars as desired.