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Jessica at Home

Jessica at Home

Category Archives: Dessert

Gourmet Group

17 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by Jessica in Baking, Cooking, Dessert, Entertaining, Gourmet Group, Living Room, Recipes, Recipes, Table Design

≈ 1 Comment

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Entertaining, Gourmet Group, La Duni, Mexico: The Cookbook, Pamela Straub Interior Design

After a 6 month break, I’m back to blogging with Gourmet Group!

I hosted the dinner with a Mexican Theme.

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I wanted the night to feel casual and laid back, with really delicious food – and still some elegance.  One of the guys makes yummy guacamole, so we started with chips & guac, and my Dad’s famous margaritas.

The main dish was a barbacoa recipe that I have made for years.  It is so flavorful.  (I usually make extra so we eat it for several nights – the first night over rice, and then next over a big green salad with simple lemon vinaigrette.)  All of the sides:  citrus salad, re-fried beans, and saffron rice with peas, are all from the beautiful Mexico: The Cookbook.  To keep it casual we served them all together on piled-high plates.

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My husband added a sipping tequilla served with homemade Sangrita as a digestif.

And then, my favorite part of all…Cuatro Leches cake with arequipe sauce!!!  Our wedding cake was a cuatro leches cake and and the recipe from La Duni in Dallas seemed similar, so I put it on the menu.  My friend did an amazing job on this masterpiece and it tasted even better than it looked!

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It was a wonderful evening with great friends and great food.

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Cake for Breakfast

18 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by Jessica in Baking, Dessert, Entertaining

≈ 1 Comment

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baking, Breakfast, cake, coconut, Ina Garten

What’s better than starting your day with a slice of homemade coconut cake?

Coconut Cake

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

30 Saturday May 2015

Posted by Jessica in Baking, Dessert, Healthy

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baking, banana, cacao, cookies, oatmeal

Because another loaf of banana bread seemed excessive, this week I made healthy banana oatmeal cookies with my leftover ripe bananas.  I hadn’t made them in over a year and forgot what a great treat these are!  These cookies are packed with nutritious ingredients, taste good, and make the house smell great while they’re baking.  I first found them on Lori Bregman’s blog, and I’ve since seen similar versions with added ingredients like dates and walnuts.  I stuck to the original this time – with a little extra vanilla.

Healthy Banana Oat Cookies

The Perfect Brownie

13 Tuesday Jan 2015

Posted by Jessica in Baking, Dessert, Entertaining

≈ 1 Comment

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brownies, Smitten Kitchen

When I was asked to bring brownies to a Halloween party this year, I made it my mission to find a really delicious basic brownie recipe – nothing fancy.  Not surprisingly, I found it here on the Smitten Kitchen website.  These brownies really are perfect – chocolatey and chewy.  I like to cut them into bite sized pieces to make them easy to eat.  They freeze really well, too!

Brownies

Gourmet Group

07 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by Jessica in Baking, Cooking, Decor, Dessert, Entertaining, Flowers, Gourmet Group, House, Recipes, Table Design

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deepest dish apple pie, Gourmet Group, Oktoberfest, Riesling

We hosted our last Gourmet Group in October, and even thought it has come and gone, I wanted to share some of the highlights.  We celebrated Oktoberfest!

Oktoberfest inviteThe atmosphere was festive and casual.  We started off with a warm beer and cheddar dip, which I served with pretzels and lots of vegetables to add freshness and color.  Beer and a Dr. Loosen sparkling Riesling cut through the heavy but delicious cheese dip.

Cheese BoardMy favorite part of preparing to host this night was learning about German Riesling.  I’ve always incorrectly associated Riesling with sweetness, and while they can be sweet, neither of the wines we served were.  In fact, the wine that we paired with dinner, also a Dr. Loosen, was quite dry and really complemented the food.  I printed out some information on Riesling to share with our dinner guests, which I think they enjoyed.

Oktoberfest Table flowers
Oktoberfest Table 2
Oktoberfest flowers

The most challenging part of the planning was the food presentation.  Almost all of the dishes I chose were the same color, which is why I served so many colorful vegetables with the appetizer, and fresh green beans with dinner.

We ended the meal with this amazing Deepest Dish Apple Pie from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook.  It did not disappoint with 5 pounds of apples and a delicious 3+ inch tall crust.  It’s an impressive dessert, and although my friend made the pie for Gourmet Group (pictured), I made it for Thanksgiving dinner and the crust is fairly easy as long as you are not rushed.

Oktoberfest Pie

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