Outdoor Party Season- Part Two

Outdoor Party Season- Part Two

I'd Rather Bring a Salad

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In my last post, I explained how I much rather bring a salad or side dish to an outdoor party.... So when I have the chance to say, "I would rather bring a salad, is that ok?" I hope the answer is yes....

Mustard-Dill Tortellini Salad Skewers

From Southern Living

Ingredients

• 
  Preparation1 (9-oz.) package refrigerated cheese tortellini
• 1 (8-oz.) package frozen sugar snap peas
• 68 (4-inch) wooden skewers
• 1 pt. grape tomatoes, cut in half
• Mustard-Dill Vinaigrette*

1. 1. Cook tortellini according to package directions. Rinse under cold running water.
2. 2. Place sugar snap peas in a small bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Microwave at HIGH 2 minutes. Let stand, covered, 2 minutes. Rinse under cold running water.
3. 3. Thread each skewer with 1 sugar snap pea, 1 tortellini, and 1 tomato half. Place skewers in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Pour Mustard-Dill Vinaigrette over skewers, turning to coat. Cover and chill 4 hours. Transfer skewers to a serving platter; discard any remaining vinaigrette.

Outdoor Party Season - Part One

Outdoor Party Season- Part One

"Oh Just Bring a Dessert if you like...."

Late spring then into summer is what I like to call outdoor party season. It is more casual and impromptu than Holiday party season.  BBQ's, luaus, afternoon get-to-gethers and swim parties galore! More often than not, these parties tend to be potluckish in style. The norm is to take a salad, side dish or dessert to go with the hosts main dish. My first outdoor party invite is for this weekend, and it gave me an idea to do a series in my blog on outdoor parties. So I asked the host of this weekend's shindig... What should I bring? "Oh just bring a dessert if you like..." I normally prefer to bring a salad or side dish... but if they need dessert I am happy to bring it... desserts just are not my specialty so... I had to go looking for something casual, that can travel, be yummy and survive the outdoors... so this week I will share what will probably become my go to outdoor party dessert!  I wanted something, easy, unqiue, easy traveling and something both kids and adults would love.....

Martha Stewart's No Bake Birthday Cake

I am giving it a more sophisticated look ....

Ingredients

• Vegetable-oil cooking spray
• Crispy Cake Basic Recipe
• Chocolate-Marshmallow Frosting
• Flower- and ball-shaped cereal pieces

Directions

1. Coat two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans with cooking spray. Prepare crisp-rice mixture; before pouring into pan, reserve 2 tablespoons for patching cake, and set aside, covered. Divide remaining crisp-rice mixture among prepared cake pans. Press into pans with greased fingers to level. Let cool until set, at least 30 minutes.
2. Run a knife around edges of cakes to loosen; unmold onto parchment paper.
3. While frosting is still warm, pour onto center of 1 cake layer, and spread evenly to edges. Let stand 10 minutes. Place second cake layer on top; press down gently. Using reserved pieces of crisp-rice mixture, patch edges where frosting is visible.
4. Decorate with cereal, arranging pieces around top,middle, and bottom edges. Let cake stand until firm enough to slice, at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. After 2 hours, wrap cake in plastic wrap to prevent it from getting too hard to slice.