Do you work outside the home? Have you in the past? If so, then you already know what happens when a co-worker brings food into the office. People suddenly act as if they are on the verge of starvation and have not eaten in a week. Even if you have never worked in an office, you have still witnessed this phenomenon before… at Costco… or anywhere there is FREE FOOD!

There was a bunch of food leftover from the appetizer portion of our party this past weekend and I sent it all into Dave’s office on Monday morning. I can just imagine the food frenzy that day!  The thing is, I can’t blame the people in my husband’s office. These dear souls deserve a treat.  Dave is a CPA, and at this time of year… coming down the homestretch of another  “tax season”… their days are long and stressful! Enjoy and eat up, people!

Turns out, I didn’t send in everything after all. Yesterday morning I found a bag of extra dippers for the fondue.  One of my favorite items to add to a cheese fondue or crudites platter is new potatoes. The potatoes are left unpeeled and larger ones are cut into halves or quarters and then boiled in salted water until easily pierced with a paring knife. The potatoes are now perfect to cook up for breakfast too.

Dave usually prepares oatmeal and an apple for breakfast, but yesterday I made him an extra special meal, which he richly deserves! Thank you, my sweet husband, for all you do – especially this time of year! xoxo

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Groovy Flowers + Lemons = Stupendous Centerpieces!

My Bestie, Amy, who you already know from Amy’s Famous Taco Soup – is always in charge of making cute name tags for our neighborhood soirées  – love those blinged out peace signs, Amy!

More peace signs along with smiley faces, a flower power table runner, and 70′s album covers were the decor at Rainy and Trent’s ultra cool and “Mod Squad-esque” home.

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Today I’m going to focus on the appetizer portion of our annual Progressive Dinner… which so happened to be held at my house. There will be some of the decor (yes, we had a disco ball!) and a couple classic 1970′s recipes.

Then on Tuesday, I’ll share with you a few more recipes and the super creative decor and tablescapes from two of our dinner host homes – Let me tell you – the two featured couples know how to set a theme table!

When you imagine decorating for the ’70′s, you have a bunch of choices to throw into the mix; Peace signs, the iconic Smiley Face, Flower Power, Hippy, and Disco. So much color and a little too much fun!

I’d recently purchased a case of vintage Pop Shoppe bottles online and had planned on serving a couple “signature” cocktails in them… but the bottle openings were too small to get the ice cubes into.  So instead, they served as a centerpiece.

For the cocktails, I pulled out my crate of antique individual milk bottles – not all that easy to get ice into either, but they worked.  (Note: the photo was taken prior to filling the bottles with ice or beverage.)

Here are the recipes for a pitcher of each:

Tom Collins
2 cups Tanqueray gin
1  1/2 cups lemon or lime juice
1/3 cup sweet and sour mix
1/4 cup club soda

Harvey Wallbanger
2  1/4 cups  Smirnoff vodka
3 cups orange juice
1/2 cup Galliano

Both cocktails are classically served with an orange slice.  Speaking of orange…

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I’ve long known that we live in a totally awesome neighborhood. For one thing, we have always had a couple local sports celebrities who live here; an Arizona Diamondbacks/World Series hero, a Phoenix Suns basketball coach, a Los Angeles Angels/World Series star, etc. But what I didn’t know was that a few of our neighbors had connections and friendships with big time Hollywood celebs.

Yep, look who showed up at our ’70′s Progressive Dinner last night!

Jackie!!! And she was on the arm of…

Kelso!

Yes indeed, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, at my house – for appetizers! That 70′s Show, right in my living room!!!

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Look at the crazy weather forecast! A blazing 93 degrees today and then a drop of 20 degrees by Sunday, and a lovely 73. What the heck is that?!?! 

This does not bode well for our neighborhood party, this evening.  The screen shot you’re looking at above was taken last night (Friday) at 10:00 PM, and it was still 82 degrees outside, at 10 PM!! That is seriously hot when you’re planning on wearing a black polyester bell bottoms and a long sleeved polyester disco top!  And when you have made a lovely hanging flower arrangement consisting of delicate roses and ivy.

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As I cook up a storm today for our 1970′s Progressive Dinner, I am listening to music from the decade of my youth. Let’s see, in 1970, I was in 3rd grade and by the end of the decade, in 1979, I was graduating from Saguaro High School.

The ’70′s was not ALL disco, as most people seem to think. In fact disco didn’t hit it really big until the end of ’75 (Donna Summers’ Love to Love You Baby) and early ’76 (Disco Inferno by The Trammps)

Here is a list of the number 1 songs from each year. As you can see there’s a mix of good old rock and roll, rhythm and blues, disco, and even a little reggae.

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What to make for a 70′s themed dinner party? The choices are endless, but are they really great choices? That depends on your level of nostalgia compared to your level of good taste!

Honestly, there were some yummy foods that were popular in the 1970′s. Quiche. Fondue. Fruity Discotheque Cocktails. OK, that’s all I got!

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I’ve shared with you several times before that our neighborhood hosts a Progressive Dinner at least once a year. You don’t remember that? Check it out HERE, Here, and HERE.

The next dinner is this Saturday night and our theme is The 1970′s.  Why the ’70′s? Because that is when our community, Equestrian Manor, was developed.

It’s a pretty fun theme – especially if you’re over 40 and remember some of it first-hand. Does this image of a avocado kitchen bring up scary memories?

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Yesterday I told you that I found the recipe I posted on Pinterest and that it was pinned by my friend, Gwen. Coincidentally, while I was whipping up that batch of Lemon Rolls, Gwen emailed me.  When I responded, I let her know I was making the rolls she had pinned and that she NEEDED – NO, not just needed, but actually owed it to me, to come by and take some of them off my hands.  She refused! Imagine that! Refusing free Meyer Lemon Rolls…OK, she had a good excuse as to why she could not, but still…

So today, in retaliation, I’ve decided to make one of Gwen’s most famous recipes… a version of her granola. Yes, Gwen is famous for her granola, you can check out her blog post HERE to find out why and see Gwen’s recipe.  But the real honest-to-goodness reason Gwen is famous for her granola, is because it is so darn good.

Below is my version of Gwen’s Granola with a few tweaks of my own.  I’ve taken the name of the of the Good Witch of the North, from Broadway’s Wicked, which also happens to be a combination our two names – Gwen and Linda… and named it…

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I found this recipe on my friend, Gwen Walter’s, Pinterest page. I immediately repinned it and knew I’d be making them someday – today is that day! I have revised the recipe a bit, re-writing the confusing parts and eliminating 1/4 cup of butter… now they are so much healthier … NOT!

No, these are a once a year (at the most) treat… super high in fat and calories, but over the top delish!!! As in, “OMG – those are flipping amazing!” They would be perfect for an Easter brunch. They are made like a cinnamon roll, but without a drop of cinnamon.

You will only use 3/4 cup of the nearly 2 cups of Meyer lemon curd you make. (Don’t have Meyer lemons? Just use regular lemons, it will still be fab!) Cover and refrigerate the rest of the curd and use on your morning toast and try to keep yourself and family members from sneaking in and devouring it with a spoon. To eliminate this serious threat, I used what was left to make a half batch of THESE lemon bars and have frozen them for when Connor comes home in a couple weeks.  To do the same – just make half the amount of crust the recipe calls for and use an 8×8-inch baking dish. Then substitute this leftover lemon curd for the filling in the original recipe… yum!

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