3rd Fourth Sunday Dinner Comments!

 Well, we celebrated another Fourth Sunday Dinner – this time we all gathered at Josh and Katie’s new apartment.  The night began with some delicious cheese, crackers, olives and M&M snacks.  I made an “Irish Cocktail” called Peppermint Patty for a pre-dinner drink.  It was made with equal parts: Chocolate Vodka, White Crème de Cacao, Green Crème de Menthe, and Half & Half Cream.  Shake it over ice and poured into martini style glasses (or plastics!).

I could not decide what to make for my Irish cold side dish, so I improvised.  I took fresh spinach and mixed it with diced corned beef, diced gouda cheese, dried cranberries, tomatoes, and Irish Soda Bread croutons!  All this was topped with Sweet Mustard Salad Dressing.  It really came out better than I expected.

  We will be skipping April, since Easter Sunday is the right before the fourth Sunday of the month.  We will resume our dinners on Sunday, May 25 for a Cinco de Mayo Mexican Feast.   
Do you recognize my little Mexicanos?

3rd Fourth Sunday Dinner is almost here!

Believe it or not, the 3rd  Fourth Sunday is almost here!  So far, the first two Fourth Sunday Dinners were a huge success.  What a wonderful night of food, fun, love and laughter.  This is truly a blessing to our family togetherness.

Josh and Katie are going to “wow” us with their version of a St. Patrick’s Day favorite – corned beef and cabbage.  Mom and Dad have a special surprise for this month’s cocktail (a special recipe from a dear friend of Dad’s).  Just wait and you will see why it is so special. 

Before you know it, we will have a new member to join us at our Fourth Sunday Dinners, but it will be a while before he will be able to share in our meal, until the time comes when we can just blend it up and make it palatable for him. 

Well, see you there!  Love you all!

Well, the 2^nd Fourth Sunday dinner came upon us really fast.  Ben and Nicole said they almost forgot it was this weekend.  George and I spent the day finishing up our desserts – George made homemade cheese cake with fresh strawberries and strawberry glaze.  I made Raspberry Cream Cheese Tarts – super easy to make.  The recipe will be posted (I did not glaze them).

We arrived a little early and had some cheese and crackers appetizer along with some Spanish wine.  Ben and Nicole were busy making the ham.  I got to see the beautiful crib that Nicole’s dad sent her.  It’s really unique.  It goes from a crib to child day bed to full size bed.  We then welcomed Josh and Katie.  They brought some very yummy shrimp and bacon skewers with cinnamon chili powder rub.  Jacob showed up a few minutes later to prepare a gourmet tomato, mozzarella, and basil capreze salad.  Vivi showed up late since she was driving in from seeing her sister in West Palm Beach.  Jacob made sure he saved the whole dinner for her.  After dinner we talked and watched some of the Daytona 500 race (which was postponed 6 hours because of bad weather).  After dinner, the menfolk went outside and solved all the world’s problems, as usual, over cigars and fine whiskey!  Except Jacob – who cannot stand the smell of the cigars.  There was a promise made that night that the next Fourth Sunday after dinner menfolk meeting would be cigar-less so Jacob could join in on the world solving problem discussion.  All in all, it was a wonderful evening.  I love these dinners – great idea – even if I do say so myself!!! Get ready for March – Irish theme at Josh and Katie’s.

Homemade, Heart-Shaped Toaster Pastries  

By SARAH DIGREGORIO

Surprise your valentine with these pretty (and deceptively easy!) breakfast pastries.

Homemade Tarts

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Beat 1 large egg in a bowl. Unroll 2 sheets of refrigerated pie dough and cut out 3- to 4-inch heart shapes using cookie cutters. Arrange half the hearts on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Top with about 1½ Tbsp ­filling (see below for ideas), leaving clean border all around. Generously moisten edges of remaining hearts with beaten egg (use your fingers or a ­pastry brush) and align 1 heart on top of each heart on baking sheet, pressing very firmly all around edges to seal ­fillings inside; crimp with a fork. Brush tops with more beaten egg. Bake until golden brown and slightly puffed, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool on a rack, then dip in Vanilla Glaze (see below) and immediately decorate with sprinkles, sanding sugar, or nonpareils.

Vanilla Glaze
Whisk 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, 2 Tbsp milk, and 1 tsp vanilla until smooth. Tint with a few drops of food coloring.

Four Great Fillings
1. Cream cheese + raspberry jam
2. Marmalade + a drizzle of maple syrup
3. Thinly sliced banana + a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk
4 Cherry jam + Nutella