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Bedrest Bash: Order In

babysugar — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 07:00:09 -0700

Everyone has arrived in pajamas and the diaper cake and balloons are festively placed around the room.

Things are looking more like a sleepover than a baby shower. Stick with that vibe and order food to be delivered.

To see what I recommend, read more.

Since you're in the home of the bedrest mama–to–be, the last thing you want to do is make a big mess. Of course you'll be there to tidy up after the soirée, but the guest of honor will probably be pretty wiped out and ready for some R&R.

Keep things clean and maintain order by calling up the expectant mama's favorite pizza place, sandwich shop, Greek taverna, or whatever her cravings dictate.

By ordering in, you're saving yourself oodles of time, lots of prepping and maybe even some money. As long as you supply the utensils, plates and napkins, your party will be set to go. And, forget the dishwasher - you just need a good old recycling bin to take care of those pizza boxes!

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Heirloom Baby Shower: Food and Beverage

LilSugar — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 05:00:37 -0700

lilsugar is celebrating mamas-to-be all month with extensive baby shower coverage that will help you put on awww-inducing, unique, socially relevant, and hip fetes. This week, we are planning an heirloom-themed party that pays homage to cherished childhood moments and passing down treasured items or advice instead of consumer goods. We've mapped out the theme and invitations, as well as ways to set a nostalgic ambiance and décor, which means it's time to address delicious vittles! Evoke tasty memories with the mom-to-be's favorite childhood recipes (this requires a call to grandma or a close family member) or dish up a classic, no-frills menu that's light and easy to create.

View 5 Photos ›

Spread: Serve heirloom tomato tarts, mango caprese salad, French bread, and a cheese plate.
Drinks: Italian fruit punch made with limoncello, champagne, sparkling water, and cappuccinos.
Treats: If you don't have time to bake, pick up colorful macaroons or any cookies grandma might make (like oatmeal raisin or chocolate chip). If you're willing to put on your baking hat, try simple Rice Krispie Treats on sticks.

Don't forget to enter our fabulous April Showers Giveaway for a chance to win a $2,500 gift card to put toward your babe's nursery and/or necessities for your child at Pottery Barn Kids! And, check out the baby shower invitations we've created exclusively for pingg! Pingg allows you to email invites to a guest list or print and mail, and send reminders via SMS, online, Facebook, Twitter, and more!

Yummy Links: From Sugar Cookies to Food Charities

partysugar — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 07:45:59 -0800

Tips for making the best sugar cookies. - Serious Eats
Fashion designers and models share their holiday recipes. - Style
How to roast and peel beets. - The Kitchn
A big top theme is perfect for a baby shower. - Hostess with the Mostess
The cheese clock makes pairing cheese with wine or beer easy. - The Epi-Log
This holiday give back: Here are 10 food charities to contribute to. - Chow

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Sip and See Baby Shower: Food and Beverage

LilSugar — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:00:00 -0700

We’re continuing to celebrate mamas-to-be this month with our extensive baby shower planning guides. This week, we fete the mama and newborn who were not ready to be the centers of attention before the birth with a sip and see shower. We've created our guest list and downloaded free invites, and decorated our space so, now its time to map out a little sustenance for our guests. Keeping the theme and guest list in mind, we've created a menu that involves a lot of sipping throughout the shower.

Open houses tend to run for long periods of time with guests coming and going so serving a hot meal isn't really an option. Instead, opt for food that is easy to eat while standing or while balancing a plate on your lap.

View 5 Photos ›

To see our entire menu, read more.

Spread: Serve a "make-your-own" caesar salad, with a platter of grilled chicken, shrimp or salmon available for a more filling main dish. A large bowl of chilled gazpacho can be self-ladled into accompanying mugs to help bring the "sip" concept to the buffet bar.
Drinks: Given that very concept, offer guests a wide variety of beverages. For non-alcoholic drinks, consider Jones Soda Company's colorful and fun flavors that complement the shower's blue and orange color scheme. Their blue bubblegum and orange and cream flavors look great on the table. Be sure to have some coffee and tea available for those arriving later in the day. For those looking for a little more punch in their cup, offer up white wine and champagne in some beautiful glasses.
Treats: Continue to celebrate the guest of honor with a selection of sweets featuring the lil one's monogram. From petit fours and mini cupcakes decorated in the blue and orange color theme to mugs filled with pudding and fruit.

Don't forget to enter our fabulous April Showers Giveaway for a chance to win a $2,500 gift card to put toward your babe's nursery and/or necessities for your child at Pottery Barn Kids!

Homemade Baby Succotash

Lil Community — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:00:32 -0800

This recipe comes from the group The Children's Table from member lauren.

I have an amazing brother and sister-in-law, who had their first child this last year and in hopes to make sure my niece's diet is full of healthy and tasty things, they have been making homemade baby food. They received the Beaba Babycook as a shower gift and trust me they have been using this handy contraption nonstop! I am sure you could make the same recipe on the stove but this definitely, in my aunt opinion, makes it much easier!

To get the recipe, read more.

Homemade Baby Succotash
Recipe from Cooking for Baby: Wholesome, Homemade, Delicious Foods for 6 to 18 Months

Ingredients

1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup lima or butter beans, frozen
1 cup corn kernels frozen
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt

Directions

With the beaba babycook, steam the frozen lima beans and corn kernels. Save the liquid in case, so it can be added back for a smoother texture.
Remove the stemming bowl from the beaba and place the cooked beans and corn in blender portion. Add the butter, salt and paprika and stemming liquid, if needed. Quickly blend to the desired consistency.
Let cool and feed your cute babe!

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Do you have a favorite product or recipe that your tots love? Share it with other lunch making mamas in The Children's Table group over in the LilSugar Community!

Come Party With Me: Baby Shower - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:00:09 -0700

After a rich, savory brunch have the young mother open up her gifts. While guests shower the lady of honor with baby toys, set up a small Belgian waffle bar. Place the batter in a pretty pitcher and plug in several waffle irons. Stack plates and arrange toppings - chocolate sauce, whipped cream, fresh berries, maple syrup, etc. - buffet style near the waffle irons. Once all the presents have been opened, invite everyone to Belgian waffles. For a more diverse spread, purchase dainty pastries from your favorite bakery. To see the waffle recipe I'll be using for Denise's baby shower, read more.

Belgian Waffles
From Food and Wine

Ingredients

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Belgian Chocolate-Fudge Sauce (recipe below), for serving

Directions

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water.
In a large bowl, stir the flour with the salt. Whisk in the yeast mixture, milk, butter, egg yolks, and vanilla until smooth.
In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold them into the batter and let stand for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 225°F.
Heat and grease a waffle iron. Pour 1 1/4 cups of the batter into the iron and cook until the waffles are golden, 6 minutes. Transfer the waffles to the oven. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Dust the waffles with confectioners’ sugar, drizzle with the Belgian Chocolate-Fudge Sauce and serve.

Makes 4 waffles.

Belgian Hot Fudge Sauce

1 cup heavy cream
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

In a saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate.
Let stand for 2 minutes, then stir until the chocolate is melted.
Add the confectioners’ sugar and whisk until smooth.

Makes 2 cups.

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Come Party With Me: Baby Shower - Menu (Dessert)

partysugar — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 14:28:31 -0700

A decadent dessert is a must for any all girl party and my baby shower definitely falls into that category. After a soup, salad, and sandwich lunch, I want a light yet delectable sweet treat. Anything that involves a lot of chocolate feels too rich and heavy, I prefer a dessert that screams spring. A lemon cake with raspberry filling and smooth white frosting sounds divinely heavenly. The cake can be sliced up after the presents have been opened allowing the mother-to-be time to meet, greet, and thank each of her guests. For the recipe, read more

Raspberry-Lemon Cake
From Food Network

Cake:
3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 1/4 cups sour cream
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 1/2 lemons)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
5 large eggs, room temperature
Icing and Filling:
1 1/4 cups sugar
5 large egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch fine salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup seedless red raspberry jam
candied almonds, pastel sanding sugars, optional for garnish

For the cakes: Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Lightly brush 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with shortening or butter. Line bottoms with buttered parchment paper and dust with flour.
Sift the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt into a medium bowl; whisk to combine evenly.
Stir the sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla together in a liquid measuring cup, and set aside.
Beat the butter in a standing mixer with the paddle attachment on high until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Stop and scrape butter off the sides of the bowl.
Continue beating while gradually adding the sugar-- it should take a couple minutes to add all the sugar.
Continue beating until very light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes more.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the lemon zest. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
At low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the sour cream in 2 parts, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and smooth the top with a knife. (Lightly tap the pan on the counter so the batter settles evenly.)
Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 20 minutes; then turn cakes out onto the rack to cool completely.
For the Icing: Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a mixer's bowl above the water.
Whisk the sugar, the egg whites, lemon juice, cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl by hand. Set the bowl above the boiling water and continue whisking until the mixture is hot to the touch and the sugar dissolves, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Transfer the bowl to a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the whites at medium-high speed until they almost holds a stiff peak and are cool, about 10 minutes.
Beat in the butter, a little at a time, until the icing is smooth and spreadable. (If the icing separates, just keep beating and it will come back together.)
To assemble the cake: Slice each cake in half horizontally with a serrated knife, to make 4 even layers, taking care that they are as flat and straight as possible.
Set a large flat plate on a large inverted bowl or bottom of a salad spinner (of course, if you have a cake stand, use that), dabbing a little frosting on the bottom of the plate to secure it. Place a cake layer top side up on the plate.
Using an offset spatula spread about half of the jam in a thin layer over the first cake layer, leaving about 1/4-inch border along the outside. Lay the second cake layer on top, stacking it as straight as possible. Using an offset spatula spread about 1 cup of the icing on the top layer. Place a third cake layer on top. Spread remaining red raspberry jam over the cake layer and place the final layer on top, pressing down lightly to secure all 4 layers together.
Spread about 3/4 of the remaining icing around the sides with a knife or offset spatula, then ice the top of the cake. Use an offset spatula to smooth icing as much as possible.
If desired, garnish with candied almonds and sprinkle the top of the cake with pastel colored sanding sugars.

Serve immediately or set aside at room temperature for up to 2 hours before serving. If refrigerating the cake, bring to room temperature 30 minutes before serving.

Serves 8-10.

Make ahead: double wrap the cake in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.

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Have a baby shower friendly dessert recipe? Tell me your ideas below! Stay tuned there is more on this party plan to come.

Get Involved in the YumSugar Community!

partysugar — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:50:55 -0700

Have you checked out our recently relaunched fabulous YumSugar Community? It's a great place to post and share recipes, cooking tips, and everything in-between. There's already a ton of groups you can join and explore, or feel free to start some new ones! Here's a taste of what the community has to offer.

Kitchen Goddess: This group is older than YumSugar, making it the original PopSugar Network recipe exchange suite. Post your favorite recipes or browse for meal inspiration.
Wedding Talk: The one-shop stop for discussing everything about the big day. Here you'll find ideas on the ceremony, stationary, flowers, hair, dresses, etc.
Super Special Occasion: This group is my baby, and I invite you to post pictures of the parties you attend and host. Discussion is welcome, so if you need help locating the perfect plates for an upcoming baby shower you're planning, this is your place to do it.
Savory Sights: Eat something wildly delicious looking? Snap a photo and post it in this group. Check out this insanely mouthwatering breakfast YumSugar had last weekend at Ad Hoc!
What's For Dinner?: Wondering what to make for dinner? This is your location to chat about quick chicken meals, one-pot wonders, and everything else fast and easy.
Burning Question: What foods are aphrodisiac? Why does brown sugar form clumps? This is the ultimate forum for asking and answering those food-related questions. We pick the most intriguing ones and answer them here.

Traveling Sans Babies Has Its Advantages

babysugar — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:30:48 -0700

Look ma, no kids! Last weekend, mama got a break from pureed baby food, stinky diapers and bath time duty. The grandparents came to the rescue and watched my wee ones as I took off on a beach adventure with my hubby. While I missed the lil ones, there were certainly plenty of perks traveling as a childless passenger that I will never take for granted again.

Packing: For starters, instead of washing, folding and packing clothes for three people, I just tossed my clothes in a bag. Usually I skimp on my own wardrobe to ensure enough room for diapers and pajamas. This time, I packed extra dresses, a sun hat, more than enough shoes, and two, yes two, books!

Getting Ready: When the alarm went off, I showered, kissed the tots goodbye and walked out of the house. There was no race against the clock to clean, dress and buckle everyone. Also left behind? Prepared bottles, sliced fruit, crackers and a bag full of cartoon DVDs.

Getting There: When we pulled into the long-term parking lot, my husband and I jumped out of the car, grabbed the suitcases and ran to the shuttle. With kids, mama's got to unleash the car seats, strollers, and added baggage.

To see the rest of the reasons I look forward to adult travel and what bums me out, read more.

Security: Getting through security as an adult traveler is a breeze. It's as easy as taking off the shoes, putting the laptop in the scanner and walking through the detector. Add a toddler or two to the mix and mommy's tossing liquids left and right, de-robing wee ones, shoving car seats on X-ray machines and then putting it all back together again.

Flying: Ahhh... mum is seated, got her best book in her lap and her ear buds plugged in tight. She may even get to enjoy a glass of wine and a movie. If she's got baby with her, she's got someone tugging on her shirt, begging for a story, snack or a movie. Let's not even discuss diaper changing in the lavatory and keeping a screaming child quiet while other passengers glare at her.

Now that I sound like an ungrateful mother, let me tell you all the ways I missed my children terribly before I even left the house. The night before I left my babies with my parents, I took loads of pictures of them so I could stare at them on my camera during my trip. I also had to cuddle and love them to pieces. I snuck into my daughter's bed and cradled her before I finally crept into my own bed. I would have jumped in my son's crib if I didn't think it would wake him up. When I arrived at the airport, I ogled other tiny travelers wishing mine were with us. And, at the risk of sounding pathetic, I'll admit that I listened to the Dragon Tales soundtrack on my iPod because it made me feel closer to them. In the end, they had a terrific time with my parents and I'm 100 percent positive I am a better mother after a reinvigorating relaxing trip.

Do you have tips for traveling with or without the kids? Join our Mommy Club group and share your stories and tricks.

You Know You're a Mother When: Date Night Preparation

babysugar — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:25:26 -0700

Remember when a "date" used to get a woman all hot and bothered? Before hitting the town, she'd take a long shower, deep condition her hair and shave her legs. Maybe even blow out her hair and flat iron it for a sleek look. After lotioning up and spritzing herself with her favorite perfume, she'd apply makeup like the MAC artist showed her at the mall. Then she'd slip into her tightest pair of denims and a slim fitting top that showed off her best curves. When she walked out the door with her man, she felt like a million bucks.

Fast forward three years and that same dolled up babe has got a different idea for "date" night. Now a mother to an infant, she only has time to strip out of her baby food splatted tee and hop in the shower for a quick rinse. After jumping out of her 60-second blast, she realizes she forgot to shave her pits, which haven't seen the likes of a razor in days. A quick application of soap to the underarms, a swift blade down the flesh and she's ready for deodorant and her wet pony tail. She grabs a comfortable pair of leggings and a billowy blouse that reveals nothing of her muffin top or hairy legs. She slaps on a bit of lip gloss and reaches for her bag, which doubles as a diaper bag and rushes to open the door for the babysitter. Not wanting to waste a second of her precious date night time, she and her man head to their favorite restaurant only now she feels like two million bucks with her beau in tow and her wee one sleeping soundly at home.