Chocolate Graham Cracker Drink

This delicious chocolate martini was stolen from a local restaurant.  We couldn't help but snapping a pic of the menu as we were leaving and then recreating it at home! I love fancy drinks but often times at the end of dinner I am too stuffed to enjoy them. But a fun girl's night at home is the perfect opportunity to celebrate with one of my favorite foods....chocolate!

In a martini shaker combine 1 part each of Bailey's, Amaretto and Chocolate Liquor  with ice and shake. Pour into a glass rimmed with brown sugar  and graham crumbs and garnish with a mini- graham cracker.

Greek Potato Salad

I love summer BBQs just as much as the next girl but traditional fare is...well boring and full of bad fats! Now I am not one to start preaching about fat and calories  (especially when most of my recipes involve a fair amount of "good" olive oil) but eating mindless gobs of mayonnaise when there isn't any taste just isn't my style. I decided to come up with this potato salad recipe that has tons of flavor by using my favorite type of green salad as inspiration. I used large red potatoes cut into bite sized pieces, however small marble sized potatoes would be very cute as well!

Because this salad is mayo-free its a little easier to store and serve at a hot summer BBQ, there is some cheese in it however so don't leave it out too long! We have an olive- hater in our family so serving anything "Greek" style can be a little challenging. The best part of this salad though is that the olives (or the cheese is there is a dairy-free person) can be tossed in to individual taste.

Memorial Day BBQ Bash!

So I have to confess something you all probably know.... I don't live in a big gorgeous house on acres of land and have a beautiful edible garden that I just pluck my fresh ingredients from minutes before dinner time. I live in the city (metro NYC) in an apartment, my growing space is confined to two south facing window sills (and for some reason after having a very successful herb garden all winter we can't seem to keep anything alive more than a week!) and my outside space.... well we have our stoop. I love my apartment but when it comes to summer time backyard parties it just doesn't cut it! And that is where my amazing friends Tim & Heather come into this story. They just got a new apartment and guess what it has outside space! Now its still in the city so don't go dreaming of being barefoot in lush grassy fields but here in the city rooftops do double duty and knowing someone with access to one is basically the highlight of my summer! They were planning a Memorial Day BBQ and being the bossy girl I am I decided that I was going to jump in and lend them a hand (or a pork shoulder!) So thanks Tim and Heather for planning a party and letting me jump in with my party takeover.....

So first things first lets talk a little bit about party planning and take a look at a few tips that I have put together....
#1 PLAN PLAN PLAN... organization and lists galore will help you keep everything under control
#2 Know your audience... if its a cocktail party make sure food is bite size and portable, if its a BBQ plan ideas that can go on the grill so you don't have to keep running from the grill to the kitchen
#3 Mix familiar dishes with something new.... its great to try something new but don't try and do it all in one night
#4 Plan to make some dishes in advance.... dips, desserts, meats and stews are all easy to make before hand with minimal prep needed during the party
#5 Accept help...delegate responsibilities to your friends- your best girl friend who always shows up on time can get more important items while the ones who are always running later can always bring some extra desserts or snacks
#6 Multi purpose your ingredients.... using parsley in the dip, why not include it in a marinade? it saves on costs and ties your menu together

and most importantly
#7 Keep cool even if it doesn't go your way... the best parties are when everyone enjoys themselves so in the event of a party emergency try to stay cool and laugh it off

OK with all that in mind... let's get our first list ready... the menu (with the rule they correspond to)

chimichurri dip (#4 & #6)
scallion mint dip (#4 & #6)
gucamole (#5)
black bean and corn salsa (#5)
chips, nachos & veggies (#5)
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mojito-marinaded flank steak w pineapple salsa grilled pineapple (#6) (recipe below)
homemade sliders w cheddar or pepperjack (#5)
pulled pork sliders w red cabbage slaw and pickles (#3 & #4)
marinaded chicken (#5)
pasta salad (#5)
grilled corn (#3)
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fresh cubed watermelon (#4)
fruit plate (mango, strawberries, blueberries etc) (#4)
s'more blondie bars (#4)
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peach sangria (#3 & #4)
mint mojito bar (#6)
local micro-brews (#5)

From this list I will make my shopping list and more importantly my task list for the days before the party up and a timeline for the day of the party itself.

Thurs - menu plan
Fri - food shopping & liquor store
Sun - pork into crock pot, make marinade for steak, bake blondie bars, clean corn, make pineapple salsa (decided to simplify and go with grilled pineapple spears)
Mon - (guest arrive at 1 pm)
9am - prep sangria
9:30 - make coleslaw & sauce pulled pork
10 - dice watermelon
10:30  - prep burger fixings (cheese, onions, lettuce, tomato)
11 - start set up
beers into cooler with ice
chairs out and cleaned
plates/forks/knives/napkins/cups available
find and wash serving platters, serving utensils and grill utensils
12 - start plating food
chips and dips out
meat out of fridge to come to room temp
set up veggies plates
condiments out
12:45 - change into party outfit and get the music on!

keep reading for the Mojito Flank Steak Marinade

Over All Soup Swap Winner: Indian- Style Seafood Stew

We had so many wonderful options in the soup swap but there can be only one winner. Matt's Indian-Style Seafood Stew won not only in his category (seafood and meat) but took in the most votes overall! He agreed to write up a little guest post about his experience cooking this winning dish and share it with us.....

I had this recipe in my possession for a while now however, since it feeds six, and I'm a single guy who's doesn't generally have dinner parties, finding the right opportunity to make this eluded me until this event. I picked up all the fish from my favorite local fish market, Two Cousins Fish Market on the Nautical Mile in Freeport (once you find a good local fish market you'll never buy fish at the supermarket again). I doubled the recipe to make sure I had enough stew for both the swap and the contest. It took me longer to clean the shrimp and marinate the fish than it did to cook. This couldn't have been an easier recipe to follow. When I first tasted it after it was done I was worried I had used a bit too much cayenne, but the jasmine rice balanced out the heat perfectly. I was blown away by how everybody enjoyed this! Seemed like I everyone was going back for seconds (and some for thirds). There wasn't a drop left in the crock pot by the end of the night. I look forward to the next time I can make this for friends.
read on for Matt's recipe