Pineapple Coconut Cake Vodka Slush--This Year's Signature Deck Drink

It's very common for events to have "signature" drinks these days.  So I decided I, too, could have a "signature" drink for summer entertaining.

Have you ever heard of this vodka?

I have seen it all over the net. It tastes like vanilla cake.  People were raving about it.

When DH saw it,  he asked me if I would like to try it.  Remembering all the good reviews, I thought I would give it a try.

I have to admit, I hated it. I had to dump out the fresh watermelon puree vodka martini I made with it.

Not one to waste, I had to come up with something to use this for. So I decided to try a version of my Christmas Frozen Slush drink.

I mixed one big can of pineapple juice, one can of coconut milk and one can of lemonade with the entire bottle  and then froze it. It's been waiting in the freezer for about a month.  Tonight I finally had the opportunity to test it.

I had a Father's Day BBQ and served the slush out on the deck before dinner.  YUM. It tasted so much better as a fruit slush with ginger ale added just before serving.  It really did taste like a pineapple cake.

After dinner my sister and mom finished watching NASCAR. They are both HUGE fans of #88.

I grabbed my camera when I heard yelling, clapping and jumping...

My 77-yr. old mother was doing jumping jacks! I guess they were happy that Jr. won (I think that is the name. I never watch NASCAR).

So Touched

I came home from work this afternoon to find this card in my mailbox:

I think it is the most beautiful thank you card I have ever received.

As lovely as the outside is, it was the inside that really made my day:

It is a card from one of my sisters-in-law who attended the dinner I cooked last Sunday.   This SIL is a caterer. She cooked for a school for many years and has done a gazillion weddings, etc.

I don't think I have ever received a thank you card for making dinner for someone.  I cannot tell you how good I felt when I read this card.  To know that someone enjoyed my dinner that much really made my day!

Valentine Dinner Party is Over

I have to say  I enjoyed most of the preparations, but it was a lot of work   DH was a big help today. Without him I would never have gotten everything done on time.

Just look at this mess from this morning:

and it's only for the dessert!  I even did some of the dessert prep last night and I still had all of these dishes this morning.
I used Karo syrup to rim the martini-turned-desert-serving glasses

and then rolled the rim in red and white sugar.

The syrup and sugar hardened and gave a fun sweet crunch to the dessert. We were all eating it off the rim!
Just before everyone arrived, I snapped a few pictures. It's a good thing I did because I never even thought of the camera after that.

Here are some shrimp cocktail filled shells that I made for an appetizer. There are only two left, so I guess they went over well.

I also made these cheesy biscuits topped with garlic butter and chives:

That's about it for food pics. Unfortunately I never thought to take a picture of the main items:

Chicken Stuffed with ham and Muenster cheese

or

Chicken Florentine
Hearts of Romaine & Strawberry Salad

Oven roasted maple-glazed carrots

Hasselback Potatoes

Everyone but DH chose the Chicken Florentine.  I made two choices so I could have lots of leftovers to freeze for a later meal.

At least I did get some pics of  that mixed berry mousse dessert that nearly did me in.

Everyone raved over it. I thought it was good, but I don't think I want to do that much work again just for dessert.

Here is the centerpiece(s) I decided to use.  I had a problem keeping the diamond floating candles lit. 
They only burned a few minutes and then went out. 

My quick napkin ring--just a piece of  knotted wired ribbon with a heart tied to it.

Look how the dessert matches the table. I could not have done better if I planned it that way....Oh, yeah, I did plan it! :)

And here's the full table with the red glasses.



I am now done entertaining for a while. 

I have already striped the table down and everything has been cleaned up and put away.

Next weekend I am just going to take it easy.

Beginning my Dinner Preparations for Tomorrow

I was up earlier than normal this morning and after checking out a few blogs, I decided to wash all of the dishes for my table setting tomorrow.

I bet some of you were wondering something along these lines:
Is she really going to eat off those plates that have been sitting out for three weeks?

LOL.  By now most of you should know I am a borderline germ-a-phobe.

So the answer is an unequivocal NO! I was just setting things out as I thought about how to do the table.   I have so many dishes, that they don't all get used very often and they collect dust just sitting in the cupboard, so I always wash everything just prior to the dinner.

I was not thrilled with the martini vase centerpiece-- I thought I needed  something that took up more space.  While down in the basement, I found something different that I forgot I bought about two years ago.

They were still in the same bag that I carried them home in.

I have 12 stems of a pink flower that is a nice match for my table.  I plan to submerge the flowers underwater with a floating candle.  Assuming this new idea turns out, I will show you tomorrow what they look like when I finish the trio of vases.  Yes, I am using 3 glass cylinders with flowers instead of the single martini glass.  I also decided to change the purple glasses. I am now using the red glasses. You will see the whole table later.


About noon, I  brought up my frozen mixed berries to thaw for my mousse dessert.

The berries need to be pureed and then strained to remove the seeds.  It's an easy, but time-consuming procedure.

I have never made this dessert before, so I hope it turns out. I did make a lemon mousse for my dinner last month and it went over well. I am hoping this one does, too.

I also brought out my Valentine quilt and draped it over the living room sofa. I was not going to bring it out this year, but then I thought why not? As long as I have this stuff, I may as well use it.

It just so happens to have some patches of the exact same color as the sofa cover.  Gotta love when that happens.

It is very cold here this weekend--single digits. Yesterday we got about 3 inches of snow. I think the snow is done. The cold does not bother me because I don't intend to leave the warmth of my kitchen & computer room until I go to work Monday morning.

Hope you are all warm and toasty this weekend, too.