Hanukkah Dinner

In honor of the last night of Hanukkah my family made potato pancakes, served festive cocktails and had delicious cupcakes and macaroons for dessert. 

Inspiration: For my Hanukkah table setting I was inspired by the Hanukkah party featured on savvima.com, which was created by Paula from Frog Prince Paperie. I especially liked how this particular tablescape used apothecary jars and filled the jars with blue and silver ornaments. Once I knew that I wanted the apothecary jars to be the focal point of my table setting I also bought some blue and silver candles and candleholders to make the table look complete. 

Décor: I went with very simple Décor and decided to use a lot of candles in order to emphasize that Hanukkah is the festival of lights. 

Where I Bought Each Item: 

Apothecary Jars: Crate&Barrel, Delfina Covered Jar Small; www.crateandbarrel.com

Blue Ornaments: B&J Florist Supply, NYC; (212)564-6086

Tealight Candleholders: Crate&Barrel, Cobalt Blue Tealight Candleholders; www.crateandbarrel.com

Silver Taper Candles: Crate&Barrel, www.crateandbarrel.com

Crystal Candleholders: Val Saint Lambert,www.val-saint-lambert.com

Clear Votives: Bed,Bath & Beyond, www.bedbathandbeyond.com


Plastic Martini Glasses: Party Harty, Westport, CT; (203) 454-2525

Recipes:

Potato Pancakes: (family recipe) 
4 medium potatoes pared
1 onion
2 eggs 
1/3 cup flour
3/4 tsp. salt
freshly ground pepper
oil for frying


cut potatoes in chunks and onion in half. Place in processor with eggs and process using the steel knife of the food processor for 20 seconds. Add remaining ingredients except oil and process a few  seconds longer for a smooth, thick mixture. Pour oil to about 1/8"
depth into a large skillet. When hot, drop potato mixture by large spoonfuls to form pancakes. Brown well on both sides. Drain well on paper towels.

Homemade Apple Sauce:(Family Recipe)
1 dozen apples of your choice
2/3 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon


Core, peel and cube apples and place them in a large saucepan. Add water, sugar and cinnamon. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and serve either slightly warm or cool if desired.

Turkey: Pre-Made turkey from Stew Leonards, www.stewleonards.com

Cupcakes: Billy's Bakery, NYC; www.billysbakerynyc.com/

Coconut Macaroons:(From Barefoot Contessa Family Style Cookbook)


14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.


Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until they make medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.


Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper using either a 1 3/4-inch diameter ice cream scoop, or two teaspoons. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve.

Blue Raspberry Martini Cocktail: Rose's Cocktail Infusions, Blue Raspberry Mix (bought at Stop & Shop) and then added vodka to the mix. 

* I rimmed the glass with blue sugar to make the cocktail more festive. 

 

Holiday Dessert & Cocktail Party

While the holiday season might be over I wanted to share a dessert & cocktail party that I created and hopefully this will be able to put you back into the holiday spirit. 





Inspiration: One of my favorite sources for inspiration is "Hostess {with the mostess}"; www.hostessblog.com. I was especially drawn to the red & white themed parties showcased on Hostess With the Mostess so that was the color palette I chose to use for my party. I also decided to add a touch of green (through the christmas ornaments) to add a little visual interest to the table. 



Décor: For this table I used two apothecary jars (one I filled with red and green christmas ornaments and the other I filled with candy canes and peppermint candies), red candle holders and styrofoam cones that I covered with red glitter glue. 








Where I bought each item:

Apothecary Jars: Crate & Barrel, Delfina Covered Jar Small; www.crateandbarrel.com


Candleholders: Crate & Barrel, Diaz Red Candleholder small


Red & Green Ornaments: CVS; www.cvs.com 


Styrofoam Cones & Red Glitter: Michaels Arts & Crafts; www.michaels.com


Round Red Plates: Crate & Barrel, Delilah Red Plate; www.crateandbarrel.com


Square Serving Plates: Pier 1, www.pier1.com


Paper Lining Serving Plates: www.hostessblog.com/2011/11/new-vintage-glam-holiday-theme-free-party-printables/


* The Raspberry Cheesecake Parfait shooters were served in the mini parfait set from Pier 1 and the White Chocolate Peppermint mouse was served in the mini martini glasses, which were also from Pier 1

Menu: 

Raspberry Cheesecake Parfait Shooters: www.hwtm.com/themes/christmas/vintage_glam_holiday/party_decor


White Chocolate Peppermint Mouse:
www.hwtm.com/themes/christmas/vintage_glam_holiday/party_decor


Cupcakes: Bought from Billy's Bakery in NYC; www.billysbakerynyc.com



Candy Cane Cocktail: www.marthastewart.com/318807/candy-cane-cocktail


Cupcake Lollipops: Bought from Starbucks, www.starbucks.com


Additional Desserts (not photographed):
Peppermint Cheesecake Bars: www.bhg.com/recipe/cheesecake/swirls-of-peppermint-cheesecake-bars
Candy Cane Thumbprint Cookies: www.bhg.com/recipe/cookies/candy-cane-thumbprints/

Welcome!

Through this blog I will share easy décor and menu ideas for various themed parties. I am by no means a professional event planner or chef, but I enjoy cooking and have always wanted to experiment with showcasing food along with pretty décor. My goal is to share with you some great recipes and demonstrate that creating a beautiful table setting can be easy. In each blog post I will demonstrate step-by-step how I created each party and where you can buy everything that I used for the table setting. I want everyone to realize that entertaining does not have to be expensive and you don’t need a lot of time to create a stunning table setting and fun centerpieces. Please feel free to leave  me any comments or suggestions you might have. I am always looking for new recipes or tips to creating more professional table settings.