Last week, my good friend, Amanda from Fashionablehostess.com
hosted a Summer Cooking 101 event for me at her house to celebrate the launch of my
cooking series on Glamour.com!
Here’s the invite she sent out:
She recently moved and when I stepped into her apartment,
I knew that we needed to host an event together there.
She has the the most impeccable taste and her kitchen, especially, is just too pretty not to utilize!
We invited some well-known beauty and fashion bloggers
and I made some delicious summery recipes AND
even gave a mini cooking class!
To start, Amanda served the cutest Mini Champagne Bottles by Le Grand Courtage.
Um…notice anything interesting? My friend, Julia from Lemonstripes.com and I wore THE SAME EXACT top and
the iloveme ring!
In addition to champagne, I served banana chips, jack fruit chips and my Maple Sesame Cashews for guests to nosh on at the beginning of the night.
Tip: Always have little treats to nosh on so when guests arrive and you haven’t served the food yet, they have something to keep their stomaches from rumbling!
P.S. How cool are Amanda’s bowls?
To complement my delicious, light and fresh dishes, Amanda had refreshing
wine pairings to pair with the clean eats by Santa Margherita.
First, Amanda welcomed everyone and
I thanked her for having impeccable taste, teaching me about time management
and, of course, for hosting.
And then we showed a little preview of my Glamour.com cooking videos to kick off the night.
After the preview, we got to the fun part – the cooking class!
Here is Katie from MeyersStyles helping me measure out the ingredients for the Pistachio Pesto.
Katie from Katie’s Bliss learned my trick to cutting peaches…. and
Lindsey from Caviar Taste Tuna Fish Wallet learned how to chop without
slicing off her well-manicured nails!
Here is a taste of everything that I served:
1. Peach Sangria Fruit Salad – one of my famous recipes featured on my Glamour.com series:
a light, refreshing summertime dessert
(AND healthy way to get a buzz)!
Peaches are in season in NY and they’re a summertime favorite,
so it’s a great addition to a summer dinner – and just so easy to make.
2. Zucchini Bites with Pistachio Pesto and Honey Drizzle
For another light bite, I wanted to serve something filling, yet tasty and refreshing.
Zucchini is in season in NY, so I bought a mix of green
and yellow summer zucchini and made a fresh pistachio pesto to go with it –
a taste off of traditional Pine Nut Pesto
and an alternative to my Almond Pesto!
3. I made healthy “Kale Caprese Pizzettes” and “Kale Caprese Cups” – a cuter and healthier version of pizza!
Tomatoes are also in season at the New York Farmers Market –
not just red tomatoes, but yellow beauties too.
Instead of making a boring caprese salad
(typically just tomatoes, onions, mozzarella, olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette),
I made these with brown rice tortillas, kale,
fresh mozzarella and tomatoes in a light Italian vinaigrette
and the guests loved them!
Hostessing Tip: always make extra of everything! Instead of making extra pizzettes, I decided to just serve the caprese on top of kale.
Then, I made Watermelon, Feta and Mint Skewers.
I wanted to serve another light, refreshing bite, but something a little filling…
and of course, something that looked cute!
A lot of people steer clear of dairy because of the lactose,
which makes their stomach ache, cramp or bloat.
To prevent any bloating at the party,
I bought local sheep’s milk feta cheese,
which has less lactose than cow’s milk feta!
These skewers are so easy to make: just cube up some watermelon,
add a cube of feta and a mint leaf, stick them into a cute skewer or umbrella toothpick and voila!
Again, I didn’t want anyone to get hungry,
so in addition to the skewers, I put out a bowl of the skewers in salad form –
another great party appetizer to serve during the summer.
When I entertain, I ALWAYS have the guests part with something
and I always think, home-made is best.
I found these cute mini mason jars
and packed them up with some home-made Maple Sesame Cashews. A cute little thank you
to for our guests to “treat themselves” on the way home!
Amanda, thank you again for letting me cook up a storm in your gorgeous apartment!
For more cooking and hostessing tips, check out my cooking series on glamour.com.
Until my next event…treat yourself and be well!
xo
be well,
arielle
