oh, how posh! daily blog

Impress your friends by throwing an Asian Style Dinner Party, invite them over to experience a small plate affair of authentic flavors from the East! How can you  go wrong with a perfect themed party, great food and good friends to share the fun with.

For most Asian families it has a daily ritual to share delicious dishes at a communal table and by throwing a small plate party, you will give your guest the opportunity to sample more dishes by sharing little tastes of each one that they love, it’s a great way to entertain.

Setting The Scene:

How gorgeous is this Asian Affair Tabletop, and it’s exactly the table you want to welcome your guest to their Asian feast.  With sliver charger plates atop of bamboo place mats, wooden chopsticks and orange paper fans, your guest will appreciate the extra effort, to create a true Asian ambiance.

On The Menu:

This small-plate feast begins with Sesame Noodle Salad, and Sweet-Hot Coconut Shrimp. Serve with a carafe of chilled, Nigori sake.

Rounding out the menu with: Hot Sichuan-Style Green Beans, Soy-Braised Mushrooms, Thai-Style Cabbage Slaw, Hoisin Pork with Hot Mustard, Drunken Chicken and for dessert  Mandarin-Berry-Almond Floats.

Wow, what a great celebration this will be, your friends will definitely enjoy the journey to the East!

Enjoy.

celebrate life in style…

Jump into your spring decorating by adding some color with green accents throughout your home. Say goodbye to the winter blahs and hello to some very stylish and sleek “spring greening” ideas.

For some beautiful vases, I love the Assorted Acid Green Vases by Tozai Home. The vases will add a fun pop of color to any room’s decor. These are ideal for small to medium flower or branch arrangements.

For a great centerpiece go with the Lenox Dinnerware Botanical Boutique Peony Bowl. The crystal bowl, encircled by a rich green band, will add a touch of beauty to any room.

1. I love these placemats and it shows that lace is in and a trend to follow. The fashionista trend hits the table with the Pressed Vinyl Dot Placemats.

2. How cool are these lanterns! The Green Outdoor Solar Powered Lantern are elegant and festival lanterns with accordion openings. The lanterns collect sunlight all day and turn themselves on to cast a beautiful glow by night.

3. Beaded detail enhances the comfortable appeal of earthenware of this chic and stylish Emma Dinnerware.

4. Bubble Margarita Glass and Salter Set – Whether you are south of the border or on your own back porch you will love the Bubble Margarita Glass and Salter Set.

5. Add a dramatic fountain to your garden with ease using the Ceramic Solar Cascade Fountain. The moving water will add style any environment.

Enjoy your “spring greening” decorating!

celebrate life in style…

Need some cool ideas for some fabulous DIY centerpieces, check these out. Instead of heading out to the craft store, open up the fridge and the pantry. Rather you’re entertaining a crowd or planning a nice casual dinner these very easy DIY centerpieces will stand out and impress.

Here’s the plan on how to put all of your old spices and salts to use as eye candy for your next dinner party and create the Spice It Up centerpiece. Make sand-art-style decorations using spices that are past their prime (most start losing flavor after a year on your shelf). Spoon or funnel spices and salts one at a time, alternating colors and textures, into glasses. Vary the height of the layers depending on the amount of each spice you have.

Need to dress up your table in seconds? The Fresh Squeezed centerpiece is as easy as one, two three. Here’s the plan: Drop some lemons and limes into clear glasses and vases— whatever you have around the house—and top with water.

Have some extra asparagus on hand? Then serve up a Veggie Garden topiaries. Just wrap the stems with aluminum foil and anchor them in a flowerpot with mixed unshelled nuts.

How cute is this? We’ve seen it jiggle for decades—finally, Jell-O gets to play a bigger role at the dinner table. To create the Wiggle Room, combine six boxes of Jell-O powder with half the amount of water specified, chill the mix in a glass vase for half an hour, then just push flowers into the semi-firm gelatin. Design your own — in any color!

So which is your favorite? I like the Fresh Squeezed, it’s so cute and easy to make.

Enjoy!

celebrate life in style…

Luscious and Yummy, the Mango Tart is a perfect spring dessert. It takes a tropical turn with its lime pastry cream and sliced mango and kiwi.

Here’s the recipe:

Makes: 8 servings

Ingredients

Crust:

1 1/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour

1/4 cup(s) confectioners’ sugar

1/4 teaspoon(s) salt

8 tablespoon(s) cold butter (no substitutions), cut up

3 tablespoon(s) (or more, as needed) ice water

Lime Pastry Cream:

1 cup(s) whole milk

3 large egg yolks

1/3 cup(s) granulated sugar

2 tablespoon(s) cornstarch

2 tablespoon(s) butter (no substitutions)

1 teaspoon(s) grated fresh lime peel

Fruit Topping:

2 mangoes, peeled and thinly sliced

1 peeled slice kiwifruit (optional)

Preparation

1. Prepare crust: In food processor with knife blade attached, combine flour, confectioners’ sugar, and salt; pulse until blended. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about 1 hour. (If chilled overnight, let dough stand 30 minutes at room temperature before rolling.)

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll disk into 11-inch round. Transfer dough round to 9″ by 1″ round tart pan with removable bottom . Press dough onto bottom and up side of pan. Trim dough level with rim of pan; discard trimmings. Refrigerate or freeze tart shell 10 to 15 minutes to firm dough slightly before baking.

3. Line tart shell with foil and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and weights, and bake about 15 minutes longer or until golden. (Cover rim of tart with foil if browning too quickly.) If center of crust puffs up during baking, gently press down with back of spoon. Cool in pan on wire rack, about 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, prepare Lime Pastry Cream: In 2-quart saucepan, heat milk to simmering on medium. In small bowl, whisk yolks and granulated sugar until blended. Mix in cornstarch until smooth. While constantly beating with wire whisk, gradually pour about half of simmering milk into egg-yolk mixture. Pour egg-yolk mixture into remaining milk in saucepan and cook, whisking constantly to prevent lumping, until mixture boils and thickens, about 1 minute. Boil 1 minute, stirring. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in butter and lime peel. Transfer pastry cream to small bowl; cover surface directly with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming, and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour.

5. Spoon pastry cream into baked tart shell and spread evenly. Arrange mango slices on top; place kiwifruit slice in center. Remove tart from side of pan. Place tart, still on pan base, on serving plate. If not serving tart right away, cover and refrigerate up to 2 hours.

Tips & Techniques

For a bakery perfect–looking crust, the easiest and neatest way to trim dough even with the rim of a tart pan is to run a rolling pin across the top of the pan so that the metal edge cuts through the dough.

Enjoy!

celebrate life in style…