Moms w"h"ine Night!

The Headlines:

Moms need wine.

Moms need to w"h"ine.

How to do your own Moms w"h"ine night.


Last Spring, I started what I like to call a w"h"ine night for moms.  Because, let's face it.... we could all use a little wine while we wHine about our lovely children.  Well, a good time was had by all last time so I decided to bring it "Back to School" style!  Glad I did...

Now, the problem with being a perpetual entertainer is 2 things: one, it gets expensive and two, it's a lot of work.  Like you, I never have any time.  And this picky chick likes to make parties just right.  So, for years I have invited people over and done the whole menu myself.  I like the control, I like to plan them per the season, I like to decorate around them.  Yea, not anymore.  I have decided that, in some cases, I'll let people chip in.  In this mom's night, I did the mom-tini's, wine and spinach salad bar.  Everyone else brought one thing each.  It worked like a charm.

There were 10 of us in all so we had a LOT of food.  A bacon dip, an oyster dip, a spinach dip, a 5 layer dip (guess we're a little dippy), fruit, cheese and olives, salmon, a candy bar... the list goes on.  I've decided I think people want to bring things to your house when invited.  It makes them feel like they are more a part of the event.   So, yes, I relinquished control just a bit and it felt good.  That Friday afternoon, I was able to attend my daughters daisy "bridging" ceremony... leave from that and come directly home to throwing a party that took just a little prep earlier in the day.  It was awesome.

Here's what I did do:

Mom-tini's

They were so pretty... a deep turquoise green color (since we're still in our summer style - which btw, is on its way out next weekend), made with blue curaçao and pineapple juice among other things... but while I was in love with their look... I wasn't in love with their taste so I will not be passing on the recipe.  As one picky chick, it just didn't do it for me.  But everyone drank theirs before...

Moving on to the W"h"ine Bar

And the Salad Bar...

I'm really annoyed with myself....  I didn't get a pic of the whole spread... but what can I say?  I was having a good time!

By the way, a couple hours before the gathering I discovered a  really easy idea to apply to any party.  Use your frames to make food and drink signs.  Easy.  

Finally, when the night was over and all the w"h"ining had been heard.   It was time to go... but don;t forget a parting gift!

These were branch pencils.  I'm sure you've seen them.   Perf for a "Back to School" w"h"ine  night!

Success!  SO fun, so easy, we are definitely doing this again.  Super glad I got over my control the menu thing and let everyone help... it means I can do it again sooner, knowing it will not be as difficult as a typical party is!

Now, go out and create your own w"h"ine night and let me know how it goes!   

Ugliest cake you'll ever LOVE!

The Headlines:

Needed a last minute cake.

Looks super ugly.

Tastes major yum!

Recipe for ugly, yummy (chocolate & caramel) cake.



So it was my parents anniversary last week and they came into town to watch my kids while my husband and I "jetted" off to the Laguna, California area. They actually arrived on their anniversary so, the night before, I figured the only proper thing to do was to bake them a cake! But I had no time.  Now, if I haven't mentioned this before -- think I'm picky -- you should meet my mom!  Oh my goodness... nothing pleases that woman. Well, not nothing but WOW - I know where I get it from!  But  one thing she loves is chocolate... goooood chocolate!  So I decided a super easy,  quick chocolate cake that tastes like you're visiting heaven for a day would be in order.  Easy.  Ha! Remember, I don't cook - so this is never an easy task.

But today... it was...

Ooooey Goooey Chocolate & Caramel Cake

It took about 15-20 minutes of actual work to make this cake happen.  Love that!

And look how pretty it is.... here.  Yea, I set this up.  I'm picky so I like things to look cool, remember? 

When it's an actual cake... there's just no beauty in it.  See below.  It kind of looks like a lump of coal to me. 

Cake 

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup water

4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

8 large caramels cut into pieces or 16 medium pieces

Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted butter

6 tablespoons milk

4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

16 ounces (give or take) confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

you can add come caramels in here too but not necessary 

Heat oven to 375, use butter wrapper to coat a 15x10 inch baking pan.  Put butter, water, cocoa in saucepan.  Heat until boiling then remove from heat.  Add flour, sugar and salt.  Stir in sour cream, baking soda and eggs.  Stir until blended.  Pour into pan.  Place caramels into mix like shown below.  Then take spoon and cover with batter in pan already.  Bake 22-24 minutes.

When the cake is done, start on the frosting.

For the frosting,  kind of the same thing... place butter, milk and cocoa in saucepan.  This is where I also added more caramels but, like I said, that's up to you!  Heat until boiling, stirring.  Remove from heat and stir in sugar and vanilla.  Spread on cake while it's still warm. 

I know, it's not gorgeous... but that's not the point of this cake.  Use this, when you're short on time but high on taste!  To make things worse, I was going to use frosting to write an Anniversary message but it didn't work so I found random candies in my pantry.  Again, I know... it's not very pretty.  But I promise you, the taste will make up for it.  An idea:  maybe throw some ice cream your guests way because it's rich!  Almost brownie like!  

Side note, if you make this cake without the caramels... it won't be quite as gooey and more cake - like.  I prefer the gooey version! By the way, the picky mom - loved it!