My  mother-in-law and I had the privilege of recently throwing a baby shower for a good friend, Vanessa.  Her due date was one week from the date of the shower, so we were hoping she would make it!  Since the shower, Vanessa has delivered her precious beautiful baby girl, Chloe.  Please see below for recipes and for party inspiration!  Thank you, Vanessa for letting us celebrate your new bundle!

white cupcakes with raspberry buttercream

place setting

food and drink table

			handsewn chair bows

homemade caramel corn for guests to take home

baby's breath centerpieces with baby pink roses

pink lemonade and water

flower petal cupcakes

chicken salad croissants

chocolate covered strawberries with pink drizzle

ham and swiss rolls

strawberry caprese salad with homemade balsamic dressing

banana pudding parfaits

guest table

fresh cut flowers and gardenias

pom poms with ribbon

It's usually not smart to try out new recipes for groups of people, but the ones I tried sounded too good to pass up.  And I was right... I love trying new recipes and this gave me a good excuse to do so.  My poor husband Andrew never knows what he'll come home to for dinner.  Mystery Mondays aptly got their nickname from this.  Luckily the recipes for the party turned out better than I expected, and there were requests for almost all of them!  I really take deep joy when people like the food I make, so it was hard to fit my head through the door that day.

The following helped provide inspiration and recipes for the day...


the place settings and chair ties ................my mother-in-law, Caneva, made the chair ties....amazing; inspiration for our table settings and chair ties came from She Paperie, whose Sugar and Spice party you'll find at Hostess with the Mostess


chicken salad croissants.................Oh Yum Bakery in Bellingham, MA made the croissants and my mother-in-law made the chicken salad

ham and swiss rolls................. recipe is from One Charming Partyhttp://onecharmingparty.com/category/elephant-baby-shower/ ...these were really good and I've been craving them ever since

strawberry caprese salad with balsamic dressing........recipe adapted from Pink Parsley 

banana pudding parfaits..............recipe is from my sister-in-law, Michelle; parfait style inspired from Annie's Eats (one of my go-to food blogs). you can also find the recipe for the caramel corn here, too

white cupcakes with raspberry buttercream .........inspiration came from a variety of places;  I saw the cupcake holders on a blog that I now can't remember; they are by Wilton and are sold at A.C. Moore and Michael's; the raspberry buttercream was inspired by cupcakes from Wegman's that are out of this world; the buttercream recipe is from My baking addiction and the white cupcakes are from a Pillsbury white cake mix (yes, it's from a box and although I really like things from scratch, these are really good) If using the mix, make sure to use the one on the back that calls for egg whites
 

pom poms.............how to is on Martha Stewart's website



 ham and swiss rolls

12 thick slices honey ham
12 slices swiss cheese
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 T. poppy seeds
1/2 t. ground mustard
1 t. worcestershire sauce
24 pack of Hawaiian sweet rolls or other dinner rolls

Melt butter in saucepan and add in poppy seeds, ground mustard and worcestershire sauce and stir until combined.  In each roll, place 1/2 slice of ham and 1/2 slice of swiss cheese.  After all sandwiches assembled, brush butter mixture over tops of rolls.  Bake at 350 for 15 - 20 minutes.

recipe from One Charming Party


strawberry caprese salad

1 c. halved grape tomatoes
1 c. strawberries, quartered
7 oz. small mozzarella pearls
3 basil leaves, chiffonaded
Spring salad mix

Combine and enjoy!

recipe inspired by Pink Parsley

balsamic dressing

1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
1 c. olive oil
1-2 T. dijon mustard
3 T. sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk all ingredients until emulsified

recipe from unremembered site; may not need all 3 T. of sugar

banana pudding

2 c. milk
2 pkgs. instant vanilla pudding
8 oz. sour cream
14 oz. Cool Whip (I used reduced fat)
9 bananas, sliced
1 box Nila wafers

Mix milk, pudding mixes and sour cream together.  Fold in Cool Whip and then layer, alternating between pudding, Nila wafers and bananas.  End with pudding layer and top with crumbled wafer OR for parfaits,  refrigerate for a few hours or overnight and then spoon into parfait glasses.  Top with dollop of whipped cream and 1 Nila wafer.

recipe from my sister-in-law, Michelle
inspiration for parfaits from Annie's Eats

raspberry buttercream

1/2 c. raspberries (blended into a puree and pushed through a sieve to remove seeds)
1 stick salted butter, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 T. vanilla extract
1/2 t. raspberry extract (I excluded this and used more raspberry puree, next time I will probably use the extract
1 1/2 lbs. powdered sugar
2 - 4 T. very cold milk

Cream the butter and shortening with mixer.  Add extracts and raspberry puree and combine well.  Begin adding in the powdered sugar and mix thoroughly after each addition.  After all p. sugar added and incorporated well, begin adding cold milk 1 T. at a time, combining well after each addition until you reach the desired consistency. I ended up adding about another 3 T. of raspberry puree since I didn't use the raspberry extract.  Although the frosting was still very good, I'll use the extract next time.


Add 1 inverted raspberry to top of each frosted cupcake.  Dust with pale pink sanding sugar.

recipe from My baking addiction

Before we get to the tart, I just wanted to post some pictures of my son David. He just turned 6 months old and is it just me, or is he the most handsome little boy you've ever seen?





Now on to the tart. This is a Tomato Mozzarella Tart with Basil-Garlic Crust from one of my favorite food blog sites, Annie's Eats. I have a lot of recipes that I want to try, but when you find one that has garlic, fresh mozzarella and fresh tomatoes it's hard to pass up. Although I don't know if I'll make this again, it was really good and the crust was unique. While this was cooking, the whole house smelled of garlic and basil...I'm making myself hungry thinking about it.

Tomato Mozzarella Tart with Basil Garlic Crust

Ingredients:
For the dough:
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
1-2 cloves garlic
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 8-10 pieces
4-5 tbsp. ice cold water

For the filling:
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced
Ripe cherry tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1-2 tbsp. minced fresh basil

Directions:
To make the dough, combine the basil and garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Process, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until finely minced. Add the flour and salt; pulse briefly to combine. Add in the chunks of butter and pulse about 10 times, or until the mixture resembles pea-sized crumbs. Add 3 tablespoons of the water and pulse a few times to incorporate. Add 1 more tablespoon and process for several seconds to see if the dough forms a ball. If not, add the remaining tablespoon of water and process until a ball of dough forms. Remove the dough, flatten into a 5-inch disc, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

When you are ready to bake the tart, preheat the oven to 425.°

Transfer the chilled dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll out into a 12-inch circle. Lay the dough over a 9-inch round tart pan and press it into the sides. Trim the excess dough as needed or use it to reinforce the edges. Cut out a round piece of parchment paper to lay loosely over the tart dough and fill the center with baking beads. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the parchment and baking beads. Return the empty tart shell to the oven to bake for 5 minutes more. Remove from the oven and lower the heat to 375° F.

Layer the bottom of the pre-baked tart shell with the sliced mozzarella. Arrange the cherry tomato slices on top of the cheese in a single even layer. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Top with freshly grated Parmesan and minced fresh basil.

Bake about 30 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned in places. About halfway through baking, rotate the tart 180° and wick off any excess moisture that has collected on top with a towel if necessary (I did this twice during baking). Allow the tart to rest at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

from Annie's Eats, originally from Ezra Pound Cake and The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook