What’s Your Favorite Holiday Pie?

Hey Ya’ll,

I’ve often heard it said, that there’s nothing more American than apple pie…

So I guess it makes sense that during the American holiday season, pies become the grand finale and shining star of Thanksgiving dinners and holiday spreads all over the United States.

Get this pie recipe here: http://noblepig.com/2008/11/the-pilgrims-would-approve/

In fact, the Pilgrims and early settlers brought their pie recipes with them to America, adapting to the ingredients and techniques available to them in the New World.

The very first American pies were based on berries and fruits pointed out to them by the Native North Americans.

As a kid growing up in Texas, I remember my mom having these great pie plates that had a different recipe for different pies printed on them. Now they are being sold as vintage on websites like Etsy! Anyhow, we had a set of three and the cheesecake was always my favorite… yum!

So, on the heels of Thanksgiving Day, I thought it would be fun to do a “Pie Poll”, by having all of you answer a few questions in the comment section below.

1) What is your favorite kind of pie and do you like to bake it yourself or buy it from a specific store?

2) Do you like to eat your favorite pie à la mode (with a scoop of ice cream) or all by itself?

I can’t wait to hear about your favorites and find out how each of you and your families celebrate the holidays with classic American pies. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving, everyone!
-Brian

Image credit: http://www.glutenfreespinner.com

P.S. Click HERE for the recipe to make this DELICIOUS looking pie that I found on a Gluten-Free baking blog called, www.glutenfreespinner.com. Enjoy!

Friday Favorites: Coral and Fuchsia!

Hey Ya’ll,

TGIF! I have been living it up in Vegas, but I am ready for a relaxing weekend at home. Until then, I’m dedicating today’s post to two equally bright, fun and cheerful colors for summer: Coral and Fuchsia!

I was shopping at Target the other day and they had a ton of stylish platters and summer entertaining products in this color combo, so I knew that it was time to make this a Friday Favorite.

As you can see from the photo above, we used coral and raspberry for my business partner Jaime’s wedding. Now, five years later, this color combination is making a come back!

When looking for accent colors, ivory is a great addition to play around with and gold makes for the perfect metallic sparkle.

Image via herecomestheblog.com

I love this combo because it is bold and vibrant and makes a huge impact while still remaining feminine, which is great for a summer wedding.

Image via harveydesignsevents.wordpress.com

If you are trying to make decisions about about what flowers to use, this combination offers so many choices from the “Queen of Flowers” the peonies (pictured above), dahlias the size of a dinner plate, classic roses or orange calla lilies.

Image via http://www.womansday.com

Last but not least, if you’re looking for a dessert that goes with this color combination, I highly recommend the Woman’s Day recipe that I found via Ceci New York (pictured above):

Orange-Raspberry Dreamsicle Cake

Ingredients:
2 pkg (13 oz each) coconut macaroons
3 cups (1 1/2 pt) raspberry sherbet
2 pt vanilla ice cream
3 cups (1 1/2 pt) orange sherbet

Directions:

1. Line a 13 x 9 x 2-in. pan with foil, letting foil extend about 2 in. above pan at both ends. Lightly coat with nonstick spray.
2. Line bottom of the pan with macaroons; press to flatten and form a layer. Freeze 20 minutes, or until firm. Meanwhile, refrigerate raspberry sherbet and 1 pt vanilla ice cream to soften slightly.
3. Drop spoonfuls of softened sherbet and ice cream into crust, alternating flavors and packing them down as you go. Freeze 2 hours, or until firm.
4. Repeat with orange sherbet and remaining vanilla ice cream. Freeze 30 minutes to set, then swirl surface decoratively. Freeze 6 hours, or until hard, and serve, or wrap airtight and freeze up to 2 weeks.
5. To serve: Lift foil by ends onto cutting board; remove foil. Cut in 9 bars; cut bars in half diagonally to make wedges.

Let me know if you attempt this recipe, it sounds absolutely delicious! Thanks, Ceci.
-Brian

Featured Items:
Wildflower Linen – Lily Pad Orange with Fuchsia Floral
La Tavola Linens
TIBI colorblock dress
Kate Spade woven handbag
Cuff Bracelet
Warm Tone Wine Glasses- Set of 4, Target
Hot Pink Vases Cylinder Glass Magenta Fuchsia 3 Sizes
Fuchsia Pink Place Card Holder (ribbed glass bauble)
Cupcake Toppers Orange and Pink
Preppy Monogrammed Plate – Orange and Hot Pink Ric Rac from the Palm
Fuchsia Pink 24 Inch Square Printed Parasol
Orange and Hot Pink Indian Arch Print Custom Announcements
Hot Pink and Orange Woven Striped Ties

Break Me Off a Piece of That!

Image via annies-eats.net

Hey Ya’ll,

Everyone has their favorite when it comes to cookies. Sometimes it’s a
specific brand, like Nabisco Oreos and sometimes it’s a type of cookie,
like classic chocolate chip or peanut butter. Me? I’m a Funfetti kinda
guy!

Funfetti Birthday Cake style cookies via http://leahsthoughts.com

Funfetti cookies are my fav because they’re fun to look at and eat!

This Downtown Cookie Co. version is so buttery and delicious,
it’s impossible to have just one. Also, these rainbow sprinkled morsels
are a great way to add color to your next event’s menu!

What’s your favorite type of cookie? If you have a great cookie
recommendation or recipe be sure to share it in the comment section
below.

-Brian

March Wedding Series: Grooms’ Cakes Galore!

Hey ya’ll,

As promised, today I’m posting all about the delicious and oftentimes outlandish southern tradition of groom’s cake! For those of you unfamiliar with this tradition, the groom’s cake is a gift from the bride to the groom. The groom’s cake is usually served at a separate table from the wedding cake at the reception, although, many people serve this cake at their rehearsal dinner.

Even if you weren’t aware of the tradition until now, you are still probably familiar with the most famous groom’s cake of all-time… the bleeding armadillo cake from the 1989 classic “Steel Magnolias”:

Due to the movie’s popularity, replicas of this cake began popping up at weddings left and right…

… And this adorable yet disgusting cake will undoubtedly continue to be spotted at weddings for years to come. But if a bleeding critter cake isn’t your thing, here are a few other fun ideas for your groom’s cake:

If you decide to do a groom’s cake at your wedding, I hope that you have fun with it! I always like to think of the groom’s cake as an inside joke between the bride and the groom. And while it doesn’t have to be funny, the cake should say something about the groom’s personality and hopefully make him smile on his wedding day!
-Brian

March Wedding Series: Let Them Eat Cake!

Hey Ya’ll,

Get ready to drool because today’s post is all about cake! This time honored tradition has always been a delicious one, however, cakes these days are anything but traditional…
Modern cakes are more like beautiful works of art that incorporate the theme, colors and design of the wedding. I’ve designed cakes for my clients that are exact replicas of the bride’s wedding dress—right down to the Swarovski crystals and intricate lace details. And during the height of the cupcake craze, I did tiers of cupcakes with mini brides and grooms on top and various shades of icing to match the wedding decor. Here are some lovely examples of modern works of edible art:
When it comes to the traditional bride and groom cake toppers, I’ve ditched them on several occasions and instead opted for something more creative. For example, at a Moroccan themed wedding, I used a Moroccan lantern as the topper and filled it with flowers to match the centerpieces. To determine what kind of cake topper is right for you, think about something that shows off your personalities or says something about you as a couple. When in doubt, go with something funny or unique! Here are a few fun examples:

As you can see, a lot of thought and money goes into creating the perfect wedding cake, and yet, oftentimes dinner will last too long or “The Business”, as I like to call it, takes over and your beautiful, expensive cake becomes an afterthought served to straggler guests and the wait staff at the end of the night! But fear not, here are a few tips to help make your cake dollars go further:

1. Work with the bakery and have the larger bottom layers of your cake made out of foam and decorated to look like the top tiers. I know this may sound weird, but trust me; you have been to many weddings where this has been done. A tall cake looks impressive, but a tall cake also costs more, so stick with a layer of foam and watch your budget and cake grow.
2. If your guest count is constantly growing, use TIP #1 to make the cake larger, but rather than paying for the decorated cake to be based on a per person price, have the bakery create a couple of sheet cakes with same flavors or even a few different flavors. Then, when they are cutting the cake in the kitchen, have the sheet cakes served along with the decorated cake. Once you cut into the cake, all the slices look the same and no one will know the difference!
3. Rather than serving a dessert with dinner, use the cake as the dessert. I have had many clients who insisted that we serve dessert as well. Last time I checked, cake is dessert! I don’t see any reason to double up. If you serve dessert with dinner, then your guests are usually full by the time the cake is cut and you just wasted a lot of money.
4. Like I mentioned above, every wedding has certain things that I like to call, “The Business” that have to be completed. The ceremony, first dance, the toasts, etc., and if “The Business” takes too long then you start to lose your guests. You can only keep your guests captive for so long, and even if they are there to celebrate you, they will grow tired and start to leave. When this starts to happen, that beautiful cake usually gets ignored. I suggest getting all “The Business” out of the way as soon as possible and then cutting into your cake right after dinner as dessert. Then all that’s left to do is party!
5. This last tip may seem like an odd one, but I like to always give options. There are now companies that make entire cakes out of foam, decorate them, and leave just a slice that is made of real cake for you to cut into. This is a combination of TIP #1 and TIP #2. You cut into the real cake, they roll it away and there are sheet cakes in the kitchen that are cut for your guests to enjoy!

via http://funnyweddingphotos.net

Lastly, while the tradition of cutting the cake is an old one—symbolizing the first task you will do as husband and wife—whether you feed each other like civilized adults or smash the entire thing in each other’s faces at your modern-day wedding, is entirely up to you! 
-Brian

P.S. Check back Wednesday for my post all about the long standing, southern tradition of groom’s cakes!