Howerton+Wooten Events Blog. The musings of a Maryland Wedding and Event Planner

Peanut Butter Pie: An Easy Fall Recipe

This has got to be one of the lightest peanut butter pie recipes I own!

Before my family faced the challenge of living with peanut allergies, this recipe used to be a favorite for my husband.

I found it more than 10 years ago on the back of a postcard from Mount Vernon Realty Inc. in Northern Virginia.

Ingredients

1. Four (4) ounces of cream cheese

2. One (1) cup of confectioners’ (powdered) sugar

3. One (1) nine-ounce package of whipped topping

4. One-third (⅓) cup of peanut butter

5. One-half (½) cup of milk

6. One (1) 9” graham cracker crust

Recipe

1. Whip the cheese until it is soft and fluffy.

2. Beat in the sugar and peanut butter.

3. Slowly add the milk, blending thoroughly.

4. Fold the topping into the mixture.

5. Pour it into the pie shell.

6. Freeze until firm.

7. Before serving, drizzle with chocolate syrup or top with chocolate curled shavings.

 

Enjoy!

 

Love & Soul Always, Kay

Pink Ribbon Chocolate Covered Berries

I think chocolate-covered strawberries are a small piece of heaven!  I especially love it when they are served at the end of a wedding reception dinner.  They go very well with champagne.

The next time you serve a "sweet treat" at the end of your dinner, consider serving these Pink Ribbon Berries.

These gigantic, hand-dipped strawberries are super sweet and 10% of the revenues goes to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Love & Soul Always, Kay

Howerton Handbook: Wedding and Event Planning Calculators

 

Some of my most popular blog posts are the posts I call, “Calculator Posts.”

 

These are the posts that help you figure out if you have enough of what you need for your wedding day or for your big event.

I have listed some of my most popular calculator posts below –

· Event Beverage Calculator

· Wedding Reception Ballroom Size Calculator

· Wedding Reception Dance Floor Calculator

 

· Portable Restroom Calculator

Looking for another type of planning calculator?  Let me know – I am happy to help!

Love & Soul Always, Kay

 

 

 

(Photo: Freefoto.com)

Easy Black Forest Trifle for a Bridal Shower Luncheon

This trifle recipe is almost perfect for a bridal shower luncheon -- It has plenty of chocolate; it gives a pretty presentation, and it is incredibly easy to make!

Ingredients

1. One (1) standard box of chocolate cake mix

2. One (1) one-ounce box of chocolate instant pudding mix

3. Two (2) cups of milk

4. One (1) 21-ounce can of Lucky Leaf Cherry Pie Filling

5. Two (1) cups of frozen whipped topping, thawed

6. Chocolate curled shavings (optional)

Recipe

1. Prepare cake mix according to package directions in a 13” x 9” cake pan.

2. After you let the cake cool in the pan, remove it and cut it into cubes.

3. Prepare pudding mix according to the package instructions, using two (2) cups of milk.  Chill the pudding at least 30 minutes.

4. Place half of the cake cubes in a three-quart trifle bowl.

5. Spoon half of the cherries over the cake

6. Spread one (1) cup of the pudding over the cherries, and top with half of the whipped topping.

7. Repeat the layers.

8. Top with the chocolate curls, if desired

9. Cover and chill for at least eight (8) hours.

I found this recipe on the back of a can of Lucky Leaf Cherry Pie Filling.  The Lucky Leaf web site has a lite version of this recipe.  I am sure that it doesn't taste the same, so I would probably just reduce the size of my serving with the original instead.

Enjoy!

Love & Soul Always, Kay

Friday Happy Hour: An Arnold Palmer for the Kids

 

Tomorrow is our 4th annual slip and slide party.  So today's happy hour drink is a neighborhood favorite!

The Arnold Palmer!

This unconquerable mixture of iced tea and lemonade was a southern classic way before Arnold Palmer entered the world!  But who cares – Calling it an Arnold Palmer makes it  taste better!

Ingredients –

· Ice

· One-half (½) cup Lemonade

· One-half (½) cup of Iced Tea (my guys prefer sweetened Iced Tea)

Recipe –

· Place the ice in a tall glass.

· Fill the glass halfway with lemonade

· Top with the with iced tea

· Throw in a straw and a sprig of fresh mint and you are good to go!

 

Enjoy!

 

BTW: If the grown-ups prefer to have a little more kick in their Arnold Palmer, consider making a second batch for the adults and adding a little rum.  Yum!

 

Love & Soul Always, Kay

(Photo: Baking Bites)  <-- Check out Baking Bites for a more detailed recipe of the Arnold Palmer!

Fresh Fig Tarts for a Late Summer Engagement Brunch

 

Now that figs are in season, I cannot resist sharing one of my favorite tart recipes.

I found this recipe almost 10 years ago in an Elle Magazine recipe card <does this magazine still provide recipes?>.

 

And I must tell you that these little tarts are a favorite at my "end of the summer" parties every year.  I think they would be great for a late summer engagement party or brunch.

Ingredients

1. Seven (7) ounces of puff pastry, cold

2. Two and one-fourth (2¼) pounds of ripe figs (green or black)

3. One and one-fourth (1¼) cups of sifted confectioners’ (or powdered) sugar

4. One-fourth (¼) teaspoon of cinnamon

 

Recipe

1. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the cold pastry into a 7” x 10” rectangle (approximately ⅛” thick).

2. Divide the pastry into six rounds and use one round to line each of the six 3” tartlet pans.

3. Place the pans on the baking sheet and refrigerate for one hour.

4. While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 475° F.

5. Rinse and peel the figs.

6. Mash the pulp together with the sugar and cinnamon until it is smooth and well combined.

7. Remove the baking sheet from the refrigerator.

8. Fill each pastry shell with an equal portion of the fig mixture.

9. Place the baking sheet in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.

 

By the way, you can probably purchase the little pastry shells at the grocery store (instead of making them yourself).  No need to wear yourself out!

 

Love & Soul Always, Kay

 

 

A little background information about figs: This mildly sweet fruit is believed to be indigenous to western Asia and to have been distributed by man throughout the Mediterranean area.  Remnants of figs have been found in excavations of sites that trace back to at least 5,000 B.C.

Sweet Potato-Praline/Vanilla, Bourbon-Butterscotch Layered Cake

That was the wedding cake flavor of the Biggest Loser couple, Nicole Brewer and Damien Gurganious.

I don't get excited about many cake flavors, but this one did it for me.  Everything about this cake makes my sweet tooth ache.  Oh!!!

There are no pictures available of their wedding cake yet, but I found a similar recipe worth sharing on the Serial Cooking blog.

Congrats Nicole and Damien!  I wish you a lifetime of happiness, good health and plenty of good lovin'

Love & Soul Always, Kay

(Photo: NBC)

Bananas Foster is Perfect for a Dessert Reception

 

Over the years, I have probably planned more than 15 events in New Orleans.

One of my favorites was a private dessert reception held at midnight.  The chef prepared Bananas Foster upon request. Yum!

Bananas Foster is probably one of the most famous desserts in New Orleans.  If you are headed to The Special Event in January, be sure to stop by Brennan’s in the French Quarter, and enjoy a really good meal.  And be sure to top off that meal with the Bananas Foster dessert.

For those of you that cannot make it to New Orleans any time soon, I noted the Brennan’s recipe below.

 

Ingredients –

· ¼ cup (or a ½ stick) butter

· One (1) cup brown sugar

· ½ teaspoon cinnamon

· ¼ cup banana liqueur

· Four (4) bananas, cut in half lengthwise, then halved

· ¼ cup dark rum

· Four (4) scoops vanilla ice cream

Recipe –

1. Combine the butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a flambé pan or skillet.

2. Place the pan over low heat either on an alcohol burner or on top of the stove, and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.

3. Stir in the banana liqueur, then place the bananas in the pan.

4. When the banana sections soften and begin to brown, carefully add the rum.

5. Continue to cook the sauce until the rum is hot, then tip the pan slightly to ignite the rum.

6. When the flames subside, lift the bananas out of the pan and place four pieces over each portion of ice cream.

7. Generously spoon warm sauce over the top of the ice cream and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Love & Soul Always, Kay

(Photo: www.family.go.com)

Friday Happy Hour: Frozen Waterberry Batida

I found this recipe on the Fine Living Network web site and I couldn't resist.  Why?  It's made with ice cream!

According to the web site (and the cocktail creator, Stephen Phillips), the condensed milk in this cocktail makes it sort of like an ice-cream sundae – with cachaşca, a Brazilian liquor made from distilled sugar-cane juice, giving it a grown-up kick.  Yum!  Perfect for summer!

Ingredients

Two (2) cups of watermelon (seedless)
Six (6) strawberries chopped (freeze and chop in advance if possible)
Two (2) ounces of Cuca Fresca Cachaça
Two (2) ounces of condensed milk
1 tablespoon of superfine sugar
One and one-half (1½) cup of crushed ice
Sprig of fresh mint for garnish

Recipe

Mix all ingredients in a blender.

Add ice and blend until smooth.

Garnish with a mint sprig.

 

Enjoy!

Another great reason to try Cuca Fresca Cachaça.  The makers of this spirit donate a portion of the proceeds to nonprofit groups dedicated to helping preserve the Brazilian rain forest.

A nice cool cocktail and a donation to a good cause at the same time.  What a Friday!

Love & Soul Always, Kay

(Photo and Recipe: Fine Living Network)

Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake for a Summer Brunch

I love anything Lemon!

 

Now that we are in the throes of the dog days of summer, I have an excuse to prepare anything lemon for the guys in my house.

This lemon poppy seed pound cake would be a favorite in my house if my guys could get past the poppy seeds.  Ha!  So I save this recipe for my girlfriends when I have my twice yearly Girlfriends’ brunch.

 

Ingredients

1. One (1) cup of butter, softened

2. Two and three-fourth cups of sugar

3. Six (6) eggs, separated

4. One-fourth (¼) teaspoon baking soda

5. One-half (½) teaspoon salt

6. Three (3) cups of sifted flour

7. One (1) cup of sour cream

8. Two (2) tablespoons of poppy seeds**

9. Two (2) teaspoons of lemon extract

10.  Confectioners’ (powdered) sugar (optional)

Recipe

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350° F.

2. Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg yolks, one at a time.

3. Combine soda and salt with flour and sift twice more.

4. Add flour mixture and sour cream alternately to butter and sugar mixture.

5. Beat egg whites until they are stiff.  Fold them into the batter with the poppy seeds and the lemon extract.

6. Bake in a greased flour tube or Bundt pan for 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours – make sure that the tester comes out clean.

7. Serve warm or, when cool, sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

 

Enjoy!

 

Love & Soul Always, Kay

 

 

**According to the Snopes web site, the myth about Poppy Seeds and drug tests is true.  If your school or job requires you to participate in regular drug testings, you might want to check this out before you try the cake.