Laurie’s Cobalt World Blog

In year’s past, our family has celebrated Father’s Day in different ways.  Once, the family held an ice cream party and made outrageous sundaes.  I’d guess that many men love ice cream, but I’d venture that even more like something off of the grill.

If you choose to grill out for your Father’s Day celebration, then you’ve solved the question of what to do, what to eat, and which gifts to choose.  Or at least, you are almost there.

Gifts are hard, so let’s start there.  Here are some great Father’s Day gift ideas:

• BBQ apron (funny how some men will never wear an apron - unless they are grilling!)
• new grilling sauces to try out (how about Mama Scott’s Gourmet Sauce?)
• grill charms (work like wine charms to identify how meat was cooked or seasoned - very unique)
• an assortment of beers to sample (or, if he’s not the adventurous type, his favorite beer)
• stainless steel grill light for those late evening meals
• grill tools (come in a wide range of styles and prices - even personalized)
• grill thermometer - some even come built in a fork

You may be able to combine two great loves into one great gift.  Is your father (or the father of your children) into NASCAR?  You can actually purchase a NASCAR grill cover with his favorite design on it.  Or maybe he would love a steak brand from his alma mater or favorite college sports team.   

I can’t tell you my favorite Father’s Day gift idea because my dad might read this post.  But it’s listed here.

Now let’s talk about food for your cookout.  Plan a few surprises on the menu.  A few twists on some traditional offerings can make the meal more enjoyable and memorable.

If you are serving burgers, research the very best buns or rolls available in your area.  There’s no need to stick with the hamburger buns on the bread aisle of your grocer.  That alone can make the different between a WOW! burger and a ho-hum burger.

Select turkey, tuna, lamb, salmon, or buffalo burgers for something different.  Or maybe you just want to upgrade to ground sirloin for the special day.

Want something more upscale than burgers?  Try marinated chicken, lobster, tuna steaks, smoked brisket, high-quality smoked sausage, or the proclaimed man’s favorite - the steak. 

Here’s my favorite grilling sauce, originally from a Southern Living cookbook I received as a gift in 1978:

Steak Grilling Sauce Recipe

3 T. butter (not margarine)
1 tsp. garlic powder
3 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup steak sauce (I use A-1)

Melt butter in a small saucepan.  Add other ingredients and just bring to a slow simmer.  Apply to steak as it cooks and pass additional sauce.  (If you dip a brush into the sauce that has been used on raw or undercooked meat into the sauce, be sure to bring the sauce back to a simmer before serving for food safety.)

Makes enough for 2 1/2 lbs. of steak.

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On the side, choose bourbon baked beans for a delightful change from the old standby.  Or how about a macaroni salad that features a lb. of bacon?  That sounds like a man’s macaroni salad to me!

For dessert, try one of these:

• grilled peaches served with vanilla ice cream
• grilled caramelized bananas
• homemade ice cream (for my favorite chocolate ice cream recipe, be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter - it will be in the June 1 edition)

And then there’s always mom’s apple pie a la mode, or as my husband says, with a lot of ice cream on it.  This recipe for mom’s apple pie has a bit of whiskey in it.  I don’t remember that in my mom’s apple pie, but it sounds like a winner.

I visited an outdoorsman forum to see what men’s men like for dessert.  It seemed to me that cheese cake and homemade banana pudding were preferred by more fisherman and hunters.  But they also knew the ins and outs of blackberry pie or cobbler, chocolate cake (with chocolate icing, chocolate ice cream and chocolate syrup as one member suggested), key lime pie, pecan pie, and even French silk pie.  I should mention that this was a southern group.  Perhaps northern or western hunters prefer different desserts!

We have 3 1/2 weeks until Father’s Day.  That’s plenty of time plan a great menu, order your grill charms and other grill gifts, and have a very wonderful Father’s Day.

I really thought that I would sleep until noon today after the fun, but very exhausting weekend.  But no, I woke up the regular time.  I think a nap is in my future!

My husband says that I’m great at estimating how much time a task takes - and terrible at factoring in all of the things that will happen to prevent me from being on task.  This weekend was a prime example.

I decided to go to a church sale on Saturday morning.  I’d heard about it last year and mentally planned on it for this year, not thinking that I’d be hosting a tea party on Sunday afternoon. 

I called my mom to see if she wanted to go.  She asked my dad and then we decided to invite my sister, who turned out to be babysitting her two infant grandchildren. 

We planned to be there by 7:30 and got there at a quarter of 9:00 instead.  It seemed a waste to go to just one sale since we were by then all assembled, so we took in a few more.

Then we had a flat tire.  Then we visited a few more. 

After several more sales, we were starving, so of course we had to have lunch.

The long and the short of it is that we got home at 3:00 p.m. on the day I was supposed to be cooking up a storm!

So, I got home and got to work - in a bit of a frenzy.  Andrew put the turkey roast into the oven and tended to that so I didn’t have to think about it again.

I started to zest limes for the lime cooler cookies, but couldn’t find the zester.  My zester is one of my all-time favorite kitchen tools.  Where would something like that wander off to?  We looked and looked and then decided to go with an alternate plan.

I don’t have a grater with a zester side to it.  I’ve always used my zester that does such a wonderful job.  So, I finally used a potato peeler using a lot of outward pressure to leave the pith behind.  Then I diced and diced and diced.  It took longer, but the end product was successful.

Then I juiced 12 limes and made the dough and glaze.

We got two sheets of cookies finished and glazed before it was time to stop and get ready for a dance.  We couldn’t skip it because the club was a little low on help and we needed to be there to help break things down at the end.  (I wouldn’t want to skip it anyway.)

Not having had time to think about what kind of refreshment we could take to the dance, we decided to take the cookies displayed on the inverted thistle large pedsetal cake stand.  They were very popular.

The dance was great.  I sat out very few numbers and was exhausted at the end.  So when our friends asked if we had the time and energy to go out after the dance, which is our usual custom, we were level-headed and said that we had to go to bed and get some rest for the next day - NOT!  We went out and stayed at the restaurant until ten minutes before 1:00 a.m.  We had a great time.

However, in the morning, I had a hard time thinking, walking, and keeping my balance (no, we didn’t drink).  After a cup of coffee, which I rarely drink, I was finally able to get my act together and get on with the crazy, busy, fun day ahead.

So now, all of my great plans to make ahead, cook ahead, and have a restful Mother’s Day just attending to the last minute details turned into a cooking circus.

Thank goodness my children are older and capable - and that my husband cooks!

I started on the petits fours.  Never, ever, ever make petits fours on the day you are going to serve them.  They will devour time.  And, it ended up that they were one of the less popular items.  With a double layer of poured fondant, they are pretty but so sweet that you can enjoy just one.

My middle daughter was in charge of buttering bread.  We had a grainy, nutty bread for turkey sandwiches with cranberry mustard.  We used a marble rye/pumpernickel swirl for my favorite tea sandwiches, and we used a gourmet white bread for the cucumber sandwiches.

With the turkey, we sliced the boneless turkey roast moderately thin.  Then I mixed 1/4 cup cranberry sauce with 1/4 cup coarse ground prepared mustard.  A thin coat of the mustard on each side of the bread plus the turkey worked out nicely.

I’m a fanatic about keeping sandwiches moist, so everything was kept in bags or under plastic wrap except when it was actually being buttered or assembled.

The favorite tea sandwiches helped me find an error on my blog!  I had left out the bleu cheese from the recipe.  Luckily, I generally go to my own website and print out recipes when I cook and had done so for the tea sandwiches.  My apologies to anyone who tried them before and wondered why in the world I had suggested the recipe.  It is repaired now.  They were the favorite sandwiches at the tea, too, and not just my personal favorite.  Try them out next time you need a party sandwich.

The cucumber standwiches were a hit, too.  They were simple to make.  My daughter peeled the cucumbers, sliced them thinly and then placed a thin, but overlapping layer on the buttered bread.  Then she cut off the crusts and sliced them into dainty triangles.

We made more cookies, and began scrambling to get china and serving dishes assembled. I had used our sugar and creamer for the tea and was fretting that I didn’t have a creamer for the coffee.  My husband Andrew replied, “Yes, you do,” and pointed at the Laurie’s Cobalt World door in our home.  So I now have an Inverted Thistle pattern coffee creamer and sugar bowl.  I wonder if he had noticed that I also have a Nicole glass serving plate with handles.  I had to have something for the third plate of sandwiches, didn’t I?

So much for the rule against Laurie’s Cobalt World glass not ending up in my kitchen.  Hee hee hee.

As the hour drew near, the kitchen sounded and looked more like a kitchen in a greasy spoon during lunchtime.  We were wiping, moving, dancing around each other, and getting it all together, maybe just a few minutes late, but it seemed to work out okay.

The number one rule for a tea party is to have plenty of boiling water.  I set a large pot to boil and found it cold ten minutes later.  The kids said that sometimes you have to turn it off and on again, if the knob doesn’t click into the “hi” position right the first time.  So we tried again.  Again, it didn’t get hot.  I found that the cassette had wiggled slightly out of the socket, so it took the third time, I suppose as a charm, to get the water to boil.

Luckily, I had arranged my flowers for the centerpiece on Tuesday (I’ll be writing about how I did that pretty soon).  I had made the corsage of silk flowers on Thursday.  We beaded the napkin rings beginning on Saturday, but then I forgot that I had six not yet completed in my craft room - and remembered about 15 mintues before our guests were to arrive.  [Sign up for our newsletter to find out how to bead the napkin rings- they'll be in June's edition.]  Luckily, I had passed by the table where my husband had the napkins folded or I would not have noticed in time.

Twenty minutes before the guests arrived, I popped the apricot-cream cheese scones into the oven (seemed they could have used a touch more milk in them).  It turns out that if we had had only tea and scones, everyone would have still been most pleased.  They were by far the most popular item.  I had made the lemon curd on Saturday, woven in around making the lime cookies.  And I had purchased the double cream on Friday. 

I also served black raspberry jam and orange marmelade, but I think we could have easily skipped those.  The double cream and the lemon curd were much, much more popular.

Lemon Curd Recipe

1/2 cup butter (not margaine)
grated peel of 1 lemon
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 egg yolks
1 whole egg

In the top of a double boiler over medium high heat, melt butter.  Add the lemon peel, lemon juice and sugar.  Mix well.

Using a whisk, add the egg and egg yolks, continue to whisk and cook for about 20 minutes, until the mixture is thick and smooth.

Cool.  Place into covered containers.  Refrigerate.  Will last approximately a week in the refrigerator.

* * * * * * *

I had been disappointed that the market where I normally get clotted cream was out and I could only get double cream (clotted cream is 55% fat while double cream is 48% fat).  Clotted cream is supposed to taste better, but we all liked the double cream better. 

Before my next tea party, I want to get some small teaspoons to go with my china tea cups.  And I want to get more tea cups.  With coffee and hot chocolate drinkers, we had just enough tea cups.  But next time, we could easily run out. 

I will also skip the petits fours.  I love the currant jelly taste of them, but for the time they take and the “one’s my limit” reaction I got to them, I’m going to say they just weren’t worth it.

We also had chocolate mint lentils (they look like pastel M & M’s, just a bit classier), but they weren’t that popular.  I had meant to make brownies with pastel icing but let the weekend get away from me.  I think it was just as well.  Chocolate just didn’t seem to fit, for some reason.

I also left my carrot flowers and butterflies in the refrigerator that I had planned to use to garnish the sandwich platters.  I did remember to line the trays with lettuce (we used romaine).  That did help keep the sandwiches from drying out.  But I really would have loved to have had my flowers and butterflies, too.  (I will be posting a blog on making them later this week, so please check back.)

The tea party was a success I think.  The main thing was that my mother felt honored and seemed to really enjoy herself. 

I’m really glad that we hosted this tea party.  Next year, however, I’m taking the day off.

We’re less than two weeks until Mother’s Day and that means less than two weeks until our Mother’s Day tea.  This weekend, my number one goal was to make invitations and get them out. 

I first thought I’d look for ideas on the internet but I really didn’t find anything that I liked.  So I went to the drawing board and created my own design.  I am pleased with how they turned out.  According to my husband, the pictures don’t do them justice.  But I think you can get some ideas of what you can do with the patterns yourself.

And yes, I’m going to give you the free printable patterns for the tea party invitations.  And you don’t have to join anything to sign up to get them, either.

First, gather your supplies.  You will need the following:

- 1 sheet of decorative paper for each pair of teapot invitations, if you want to print two per page

- scraps of decorative paper to trim the teapots (may also use glitter, buttons, lace, etc.)

- 1 sheet of color-coordinating cardstock for each invitation

- color-coordinating solid paper to print the wording on  - 3 fit per page

- 1 sheet of 12 x 12 cardstock for the envelope pattern

- 1 sheet of 12 x 12 colored cardstock paper for each envelope (may also be called cover stock)

- scissors

- glue sticks

- ruler

- pencil

Cut the colored cardstock into rectangles 7-3/4 inches long and 6 inches wide.  One for each invitation.

Use the teapot template and print out as many teapots as you will need for invitations.  I printed mine on the back of the paper so that I didn’t have to worry about partially showing black lines.  Also, I wanted them to have a more handmade look and feel rather than the look of something I just printed out. 

Test print the teapot.  Make sure the teapot is 5-1/8″ tall.  If not, adjust the image size before printing on your fancy paper.

Carefully cut out the teapots and use the glue sticks to attach one to each card.

Cut two small rectangles from coordinating paper (or use other trimmings).  The top band is 3-1/8 inches wide and 1/4 inch tall.  The bottom band is also 3-1/8 inches wide, but is 1/2 inch tall.  Use the glue stick to glue on the decorations.

Print the wording using this template.  It is in MS Word.  If you need a different format, email me.  The image should be around the wording and should be 2-1/2 inches tall and 4-1/2 inches wide.  If you need to adjust it, do so before you change the wording to your own.  Cut out the wording, removing all traces of the black guide.  Glue the wording onto the teapot.

You are not quite done.  You will need to make a coordinating envelope, too.

Start with the white 12 x 12 cardboard and make a template.  That will make the remaining envelopes very easy to make.

The directions may sound complicated, but if you take them one step at a time, it won’t be hard.

Near the bottom left hand corner, along the bottom, write “bottom” so that you can keep the template oriented the same way as you follow the directions.

We will start by drawing a parallelogram on the cardstock.

Starting in the bottom left-hand corner, measure 11-1/8 inches up the left side and place a dot.  Repeat on the right side, measuring up from the bottom right-hand corner.  Connect the dots with a line.  Cut on the line. 

Now measure from the bottom left-hand corner across the bottom of the paper 11-1/8 inches and place a dot.  You will repeat on the top line, but you will be starting on the top right-hand corner and measure measuring to the left 11-1/8 inches.   

Connect the bottom left-hand corner and the top left dot with a line.  Cut off the long, tall triangle that results.  Connect the bottom right dot with the top right corner with a line.  Cut off the long, tall triangle that results.  Your cardstock will look like a square that has been pushed over just slightly.

Starting on the bottom left-hand corner, measure to the right 4-1/2 inches and also 5-1/2 inches and place a dot at each location.  From the bottom right-hand corner, measure up 5-1/2 inches and 6-1/2 inches and place a dot at each location.  From the top right-hand corner, measure left 4-1/2 inches and 5-1/2 inches and place a dot at each location.  From the top left-hand corner, measure down 5-1/2 inches and 6-1/2 inches and place a dot in each location. 

Now here’s the hard part (not to do, for me to explain).  Imagine an unbalanced tic-tac-toe board with a huge center and small outside squares.  Connect the dots to make such a tic-tac-toe pattern, which will create a small triangle near the middle of each side.  Snip out those triangles.

(Alternatively, you can number the dots.  Starting from the bottom left and continuing to the right, 1 & 2. Then turn and go up the right-hand side and number them 3 & 4.  Turn left again and go across the top, and number them 5 & 6.  Turn left again and number the last two 7 & 8.  Connect 1 to 4, 2 to 7, 3 to 6,  and 5 to 8.)

From the top left-hand corner, measure down 1-1/4 inches and then to the right 1-1/4 inches.  Connect the dots, draw a line, and cut off the corner.  That corner is the bottom flap of the envelope.

Use the template to draw the pattern on the 12 x 12 cardstock paper (thinner than cardstock but heavier than typing paper), 1 per invitation.  To assemble, turn the bottom flap up first (the one with the tip cut off).  Fold in the right and left sides at the same times, making sure you match the tips.  Use the glue stick to glue just the outside of the bottom edges of the side flaps.  Dry completely.

If you want to line the envelope, you can line the entire back, but it makes it hard to fold unless you have some very thin paper.  I used the top flat template (down to where the little triangle cut-outs start on each side).  Then glued that triangle to the top flap, aligning the bottom of the triangle with the crease.

Fold the top over.  You may a glue stick or use a seal to close the envelope once the invitation is inside.

While I don’t think that you have to knock yourself out every time you entertain, every now and then it’s nice to pull out all of the stops and attend to every little detail.  For me, this tea party is going to be just that kind of event.

Last evening we hosted an informal cocktail tasting party. I invited a small group over to help us test some non-alcoholic cocktail recipes. It was a lot of fun.

You might ask why I wanted to focus on non-alcoholic cocktail recipes. The answer is simple. There are many sources for alcoholic cocktails and many of those recipes are tried and true.

There are fewer resources for non-alcoholic cocktails. But there are many people for whom an alcoholic cocktail is not an option or is not preferred. Consider the following:

1. Pregnant and nursing women
2. Recovering alcoholics
3. Those on medication not compatible with alcohol consumption
4. Those who know they don’t hold alcohol well (two drinks and it’s lampshade time)
5. Under 21’s
6. Those who have a religious belief about alcohol consumption
7. Those with medical conditions that are aggravated by alcohol consumption
8. Those who never learned to enjoy the flavor of alcohol

To prepare for the party, I researched recipes I wanted to try. I made my grocery list and stocked up on cream, grenadine syrup, cherries, cranberry juice, pineapple juice, lemon juice, lime juice, orange juice, passion fruit juice, peach nectar, lemon lime soda, strawberries, cream of coconut, and lots of ice.

Preparation was easy. I made some simple syrup ahead of time. We set out freshly popped corn, some pistachios, and chips. I arranged a bowl of oranges, lemons, and limes. The blender, shakers, glasses, strainer, and measuring implements were on hand. And I put all of the juices into ice chests so they would be at hand and so we wouldn’t be constantly opening and closing the refrigerator all evening.

I gave the guests a choice between some of my favorite cobalt blue cocktail glasses and a clear wine glass. Everyone chose the cobalt blue ones, of course. They were just so appealing. (By the way, I have some new margarita, wine, and martini glasses coming in soon. I can’t wait!)

I started out bartending, but luckily some of our guests enjoy the job as well, so no one person got stuck making drinks all evening.

The first cocktail was the Bobby Cocktail. It was an instant hit with all but one guest. No one could believe that she didn’t like it. But each to her own. The Bobby Cocktail is a cream and citrus beverage that reminds me of a fine lemon mousse.

Our second beverage of the evening was a non-alcoholic cosmopolitan. The reactions were pretty hilarious and none of them were good. You will not find that recipe listed here or on the Laurie’s Cobalt World website. It failed to please anyone. Some comments were, “Curls your toes,” and “Will grow hair on your chest.” Enough said.

The next cocktail - Unfuzzy Navel - was a huge success. Some guests noted at the end of the evening that it was their favorite. The flavor is very robust - nothing wimpy or watery about it. Peach and orange flavor comes first and you finish with a lovely pineapple aftertaste. You really want to try this one.

I especially liked the Alice Cocktail. Several guests thought that the cocktail was strawberry-based, but in actuality, there was no strawberry in it. It’s a creamy cocktail flavored with a generous portion of grenadine syrup, a pomegranate-flavored syrup.

I made an error that affected the next recipe. I put the cream of coconut into the ice chest with the juices. That caused the cream to congeal, making it a little difficult to use. I put the coconut cream and milk into the microwave and melted it enough to stir before using it. It was a pretty funny moment when we opened the can!

Luckily, my boo-boo didn’t affect the recipe at all. And the Virgin Strawberry Colada was another hit. This drink is a frozen cocktail. Make sure that you don’t make it too thick. Late in the evening, the drink was repeated (I told you it was a hit). But this time, it was too thick. When I tried to drink it, a lump of beverage broke loose all at once and I got it on my nose! Not elegant. Not at all.

We ran out of evening before we tried all of the recipes I had in mind. My family and I tried Safe Sex On the Beach - the cocktail by that name, that is. It was nice. It’s a good choice for someone who doesn’t like their cocktail too sweet but doesn’t care for too sour either.

• 1/4 cup peach nectar
• 1/3 cup cranberry juice
• 1/3 cup orange juice

Mix all ingredients and then pour over ice. Garnish with a cherry, if desired.

If you like to pucker up a bit, try the Yellow Jacket. We made this twice and adjusted the recipe the second time. It was much preferred in this version:

• 1/3 cup pineapple juice
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

Fill a shaker half full of cracked ice. Pour all ingredients into the shaker. Shake until the cocktail is very cold and the ice just begins to melt. Strain into two martini glasses and serve.

The last non-alcoholic cocktail recipe we tried is a Tequila Meadow. No, there’s no tequila in it, of course. It’s crisp and light, and sweet, but not overly sweet.

Tequila Meadow

• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1 T. cranberry juice
• 3/4 tsp. grenadine syrup
• 1/4 cup lemon-lime soda

Fill a shaker halfway with cracked ice. Add all ingredients except the soda. Shake well and strain into a glass. Add the soda and stir gently.

While it is fun to have formal parties, informal evenings can be so entertaining. I highly recommend getting some of your friends and family together to cook together, taste something together, or otherwise have a shared experience. It’s worth it.

Laurie

I really must be a slow mover - at least in some areas. I’ve been thinking about hosting an afternoon tea in honor of my mother for several years now. This year, I’m actually going to do it.

I am so excited about it. It will be held on Mother’s Day and the guests will include our local family.

Following the English example, this tea will include both male and female guests. We often think of matrons with floral dresses and large hats sipping tea, but teas were originally for everyone.

Before I go further, let me say that a tea need not be elaborate. Tea and cookies or tea and scones is enough. But I’ve decided on quite a bit more for this tea.

It will be a full tea and an afternoon tea, but not a high tea. I’m setting it at 5:00, about as late as you want to schedule an afternoon tea. Since there are other mothers on my guest list, I want to give them as much time as possible for their other Mother’s Day activities.

If this were a high tea, the menu would resemble a full meal much more.

Since it is a full tea, we will be having three courses: scones, tea sandwiches, and sweets.

I’ve decided to make apricot scones and I will serve them with homemade lemon curd, raspberry jam, and clotted cream.

Clotted cream is not available in my town, or even in the next town. But I do know a place in Winston-Salem, the closest city, where I can get it at a gourmet market.

I’ll probably be trying out my lemon curd recipes between now and then. The last time I made it, it was a little too tart for my taste. Once I’ve settled on the best one, I’ll post the recipe either here, in my newsletter, or on my website.

The next course will be tea sandwiches. I’ve decided on turkey with cranberry mustard and my favorite tea sandwiches. These tea sandwiches are cream cheese-based, a popular choice.

I first made these sandwiches in 1979. Since it wasn’t a tea, I made the sandwiches a little bit bigger than finger size. In fact, I used two different colors of bread (pumpernickel and rye, if I recall correctly) and made an alternating design.

First I froze the bread. Then I used a sturdy, sharp cookie cutter to cut the bread into decorative rounds. Using a smaller cookie cutter, I cut out a design in the middle of half of the slices. I believe it was a simple flower shape. I popped out the centers and switched them. Then I assembled the sandwiches using a solid bottom and a decorative top.

The filling is simple to make, but will get a lot of attention from your guests. It’s really good.

Favorite Tea Sandwich Filling Recipe

2 3-oz. packages of cream cheese, softened
1 oz. bleu cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 tsp. minced dried onion flakes
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup mayonnaise (not salad dressing)

Mix all ingredients well. Place in the refrigerator for several hours to blend flavors. Bring to room temperature before filling sandwiches. Lightly spread bread with a thin coat of butter before filling.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups of filling.

I’ll be able to make those sandwiches a day ahead of time, carefully wrap them airtight, and store them in the refrigerator until about 1/2 hour before serving time.

We’ll talk about the sweets, tea, flowers, invitations, and music another day.

Laurie