Looking for something to celebrate?  How about because it’s friday… it’s summer… and it’s the first day of August?!  Still not excited? What about the fact that today is National Raspberry Cream Pie Day… yep, thought that would get your attention!  Today we celebrate beautiful raspberries in a delicious pie crust resting inside (or out) of a delicious cream pie filling.  Okay, I have to be honest, I’ve never made a raspberry cream pie before, so I had to look for an easy recipe.  And here’s the good news… I found one! I had to tweak it a bit, but it worked out!   I created mini-pies, that way I wouldn’t have to cut into it and everyone would receive a beautiful little mini-pie instead of a piece of pie that tends to get a bit sloppy!  I think they worked out and I highly recommend the recipe!  Enjoy…

INGREDIENTS:

2 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
4-5 tablespoons lemon juice
12 oz fresh raspberries
6-8 ounces cream cheese, softened
12 mini graham cracker pie crusts

PREPARATION

1. Whisk sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice together in a bowl; gently fold in raspberries.
2. Gently spread cream cheese onto the bottom and sides of graham cracker crusts using a spatula or the back of a teaspoon.  The secret here is to make sure you purchase good crusts and that your cream cheese is WELL softened.  Otherwise, your pie crust will crack.  Divide raspberry mixture between the mini pie crusts… about 2 Tablespoons per crust.  Top with some fresh raspberries.
3. Refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours.

Each year, an incredible event takes place at the Ritz Carlton in St. Louis.  The Children’s Hospital Table Tops Annual Spring Event.  This stunning event is the most talked about event of the spring with very elaborate table tops created by local designers. Best of all, proceeds benefit the Friends of St. Louis Children’s Hospital Endowment Fund for Camp Rhythm, a summer camp specially designed for children with heart problems.

Here are a few photos from some of my favorite designers who participated this year.  There were a lot more table tops, but these are some of my favorites!!

Mary Tuttle’s – The Art of Living is a stunning store in Chesterfield Commons, which may just be the most amazing experience you will have, shopping for beautiful home decor, flowers, and fine china.  If you are in Chesterfield, make sure to stop by their beautiful store.  Their table-top was a garden theme with a variety of potted flowers and plants.  The Juliska china was a show-stopper!

The St. Louis Service Bureau – Is a beautiful non-for-profit boutique in Ladue, Missouri that benefits local charities.  If you love unforgettable stationery, unique home decor items, gifts, and jewelry, this store should be on your list to visit!  And the fact that it benefits local charities, is icing on the cake!  Their theme at the Table Top Event was the May Pole.  It was colorful, stylish, and a breath of fresh air!  Just looking at this table makes me happy!  I especially loved the mint julep cups and the long tapered candles.

Cosmopolitan Events is a St. Louis based special events planning company.  The team at Cosmopolitan Events are incredible at making their clients’ vision a reality! This year, they created a beautiful table with the most stunning color platte.

Wildflowers, a custom floral designer in St. Louis, created this gorgeous design… need I say more?!  It’s no wonder their  floral masterpieces grace the halls of the St. Louis Art Museum.

Last, but certainly not least, is Belli Fiori’s wedding jaw-dropper!  The entire design is dripping with opulence!  Orchids, hydrangeas, diamonds… seriously, what else can a girl ask for? Are those sequins on the tablecloth? I’m in LOVE!

For some people, when Easter comes, it’s time to dye the eggs!  In our household, it’s time to buy the PEEPS!!  We don’t eat a ton of them, but we LOVE to craft with them!  I have made a lot of fun PEEPS items over the years.  This year, we made a PEEPS bouquet out of sugar that we colored.  The result, was a fun sugar design and a fun PEEPS bouquet.  I demonstrated how to make this bouquet on Better Kansas City, a local TV show.  If you would like to see a step by step tutorial, just go to my VIDEOS page and look for the EASTER PEEPS VIDEO.

I was inspired by a similar recipe off a Manischewitz Matzah box.  I’m not sure if this is Kosher for Passover, but if you’ve never had Matzah / Matzo before, and you are not keeping kosher, this is a great way to enjoy it! If you need this to be Kosher, I would do a little more research or ask your Rabbi if modifications need to be made. I did read that they sell kosher for Passover caramel, as well as chocolate.  Someone told me that “Kosher” and “Kosher for Passover” may be different.  The Cool Whip tub does have the circle K on it, to say that it’s Kosher, but I don’t know if it’s kosher for Passover.  My goal with this recipe was to have my friends, who are not Jewish, try Matzah / Matzo for the first time, so keeping kosher was not the goal.  I also think this is one of those “surprise” desserts which can be eaten year round and the fact that it is made out of Matzo is the best part!!

MATZO / MATZAH CAKE

2 pkgs Matzo / Matzah
1 extra large tub – Cool Whip
1 bag of crushed or slivered almonds
1-2 bags dark chocolate bars or chips
1 jar caramel  (you can purchase the kosher variety available on-line)
1 bottle of grape juice or wine

Melt the chocolate bars/chips in a double boiler. In a bowl, empty out some of the melted chocolate and fold in 1/2 the tub of the cool whip. Keep folding until most of the chocolate is mixed in with the cool whip. You can play with the amount of chocolate by your preference. Add more chocolate for a chocolatier taste and less for less chocolate. This process doesn’t create a very smooth spread, but, once you spread it on the matzo and cover it up with another matzo, no one will actually see the cool whip and chocolate spread. Reserve the other 1/2 tub of cool whip for your layering.

Place a pile of matzo in a container and pour wine or grape juice over it. Give it about 15-35 seconds to soak in.

It’s time to layer. Take your matzo (which has been soaking in the wine/grape juice for 15-35 seconds) and spread the chocolate/cool whip frosting on top. Sprinkle some almonds on the frosting. Place another matzo on top and spread just cool whip on it. Take your caramel and pour a few drops on the corners and in the middle of the second layer. Place another matzo on top and repeat with the chocolate cool whip mixture with the almonds. Repeat with the plain cool whip and caramel. Continue with these steps until you have reached your desired height. On the very top matzo, spread just the melted chocolate and top off with a couple of strawberries.

Your last step is to refrigerate the matzo cake for at least 4 hours.  I actually had mine in the refrigerator for 24 hours and it came out great.  In fact, we even ate it 2 days after I made it and it was still delicious!!

For impact, I surrounded my matzo cake with strawberries.  But you can do raspberries, or any fruit!

I am absolutely in love with this recipe!  It is perfect in every way!  I love that people who are watching their carbs can enjoy this.  As a low carb eater, I find it hard, at some parties, to find items I can enjoy.  However, now you can create a beautiful appetizer without having to worry about your carb count.  If you don’t like endives, this recipe is great as a side dish as well!!!

CAULIFLOWER AND BACON BOATS

1 Head of Cauliflower
5 Strips of Bacon
1/4 -1/2 cup of chopped onion
3 Garlic Cloves – chopped
1 Tbsp of your favorite fresh herbs
1 Tbsp nutmeg
1/2 stick of butter of 1/4 cup of olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons
1 Tsp of lemon zest
salt and pepper to taste
1 endive
2 Tbsp of your favorite salad dressing (I love ranch)

Cut the cauliflower into small pieces and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Arrange on a baking pan and roast in your oven for 15-20 minutes or until the cauliflower becomes tender.  Once the cauliflower is done, heat butter or olive oil in a pan and saute the onions and garlic.  Throw in the bacon and continue until its ready.  For the last step, add the cauliflower to the mixture in the pan and add lemon juice, lemon zest, nutmeg, herbs, and salt and pepper.  Arrange the endive leaves on a plate and add a drop or two of your favorite dressing.  Fill with the cauliflower mixture.  Sprinkle dried chives, or any herb you adore and serve immediately.

The cauliflower mixture can also be prepared a day ahead! Or served as a side dish without the endive boats.

The grandparents are in town and wanted to celebrate my son’s birthday early. But he gave up cakes and candy for lent. Thank goodness for Pinterest! I got inspired to make a fruit birthday cake with a fireworks theme. So easy and it made his day!!!

I love walking through my favorite stores and seeing the latest trends in tablescapes and entertaining. Pottery Barn Kids never ceases to amaze me with their beautiful designs for childrens’ tables. This Easter table is just adorable!

Here is a beautiful table from William Sonoma. It is from their Provencal collection. Very different from the pastel colors you tend to see in the spring, but I love it!

I had a great time on Better Kansas City showcasing some super easy recipes for St. Patrick’s Day.  My favorite, has to be the Rainbow Sangria!  All of the recipes are available in our “recipes” section and I also included links.

IRISH FLAG TRIFLE

RAINBOW SANGRAIA

Valentine’s Day is either a hit or miss for me!  Sometimes I go all out, and sometimes I just tell my husband to take me somewhere special.  This year, we decided to have another couple over for dessert, so I created a chocolate fondue buffet with a Valentine’s twist.  I found heart Peeps at the store, which is a HUGE treat for me, since I shamefully admit, I love Peeps!  I created Peeps heart-kabobs with Little Debbie marshmallow treats, brownie bites from the Target bakery, and heart Peeps.  The rest of the items were cut-up fruit and some other goodies to dip in a super easy chocolate fondue. I loved that this party required little prep time.  For drinks, we made champagne cocktails, which are simply glasses of champagne with an added sugar cube.  I also added a strawberry to every glass.

For my fondue, I kept it simple with a half a bag of bittersweet chocolates and 1/4 cup of condensed milk.  Worked out beautifully! Seriously, I wish all parties were this simple!

Absolutely loving this gorgeous table design from Mary Tuttle’s for Valentine’s Day!