The Simple Guide to Spring Entertaining

Hello my pretty ladies!  I love to be the hostess with the mostest… whatever that means.  My translation means that you have all of your bases covered.  From my favorite appetizer and drink, to a beautiful dessert, I’ve got the 411 on SIMPLE spring entertaining!  I love to entertain but I dislike that sometimes you feel like you’re stuck in the kitchen and can’t even enjoy your guests.  The best part of this guide is that everything here is all incredibly simple and the finishing touches are sure to impress!

The Hors D’oeuvre-

This hands down is the best and most impressive looking appetizer I’ve ever made.  It looks so pretty and the ingredients complement each other beautifully.  Mike and I were at a wedding last spring where this was served as an hors d’oeuvre and we fell in love with it.  Since then, I’ve made it numerous times and every time people ask me for the recipe.  Today I’m excited to share it with you!

• Slice a french baguette into 1/4 inch slices.  Brush the tops with olive oil and bake on a baking sheet at 400 degrees for roughly 5-8 minutes.  Remove from the oven once they are golden and the edges begin to toast.  Allow to cool for a few minutes.
• In the meantime, thinly slice strawberries and brie cheese, and julienne some basil.
• Take the cooled crostini slices and drizzle some honey in a zig zag shape on top.  Next, put on a slice of brie, then strawberry slices, top it off with basil, repeat!  Garnish plate with the left over basil and serve immediately.  Enjoy!

I love to serve these on my beaded edge Lenox tray.  It’s on a closeout sale here so get it quick!

What to Drink-

Let the party begin!  Champagne St. Germain is my absolute favorite drink.  It has only two ingredients and is always a crowd pleaser.  If you haven’t tried St. Germain, it’s a sweet, floral liqueur.  Here’s the simple recipe.

• Pour a champagne flute half way full with the champagne of your choice.  I typically use Korbel Brut.
• Fill the remaining half of the glass with St. Germain Elderflower Liqueuer.
• Garnish the glass with a fresh fruit, or you can put a slice of lemon or orange directly into the glass.  Never has such a delicious beverage been so easy!  Cheers!

I use these stemless flutes for entertaining and they feel so fancy in my hands!  I love the clean look of them too!

The Dessert-

I saved the best for last!  This cheesecake has been in my family for generations and I just love its sweet, nostalgic taste.  Because of how rich it is, one cheesecake will feed about 15 people and I serve a thin slice to each person.  It’s truly heavenly.  The best part about it, is that you don’t have to bake it.  Just refrigerate it for 4-5 hours prior!  To be honest, I prefer to make it a day in advance so its nice and cold and refreshing.  This also leaves me with even less to do on the actual day of the event.

• The crust consists of 1 stick of melted butter (I never said it was healthy!)
• 1 & 1/3 cups of graham cracker crumbs (I use  the Honey Maid brand of graham cracker crumbs in a box from the baking aisle of the grocery store)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 tspn. cinnamon

Mix these together in a bowl with a fork.  Once incorporated, press mixture into an ungreased round glass pyrex dish and pack mixture down flat to form your pie crust shape.  Set aside and now it’s time to make the filling!

• 1 pkg. (8 oz.) creamed cheese (leave out to soften first)
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/3 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tspn. vanilla extract

Mix these together with a hand mixer until smooth.  Pour mixture into pie crust and place in the fridge for 4-5 hours or overnight.  Once set, garnish with fresh fruit or edible flowers, as I did here.  The edible flowers take it to the next level.  I picked these up from the produce aisle in Whole Foods.

I hope you ladies enjoy these recipes as much as my friends and family have.  Happy spring entertaining!

Love Always, Kimberly

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