A Thyme to Cook’s owner, Linda Sample, shared with us some insight into planning your next party in our December Issue of A Jubilee Event. Have you subscribed? Find two of their favorite recipes below– and thanks to Linda and her chef’s for sharing!

Crabby Patties

2 lbs lump crab meat
2 tsp lemon juice
3 eggs
2 tbsp mayonnaise
8-12 oz plain bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1/8 th tsp ground white pepper
½ red bell pepper
8 oz red onion
1 tsp ground mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup milk
1/8 th tsp red hot sauce
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp chopped chives
salad oil for searing

Combine all wet ingredients and seasonings in food processor then place in a mixing bowl. Process red pepper and onion till fine minced then add to wet ingredients. Pick through crab meat to make sure there are no shell fragments then pulse in processor to a fine shred consistency. Add to remaining ingredients in bowl and mix well by hand. Add bread crumbs to mix until mix will hold its shape. Scoop crab cakes with a ¾ oz ice cream scoop onto parchment paper. Lightly press down tops to form a cake that is flat on top. Heat a thin layer of salad oil in a non stick pan oven medium heat until if you drop a little piece of cake mix pan it bubbles around the edge. When your pan reaches the proper temperature place crab cakes in pan with the side that was on the parchment facing down. This will be your presentation side. Cook cake till lightly browned then turn and repeat on second side. Cakes can be finished on pan sprayed sheet pans in the oven heating to 155 degrees internal temp.

Serve with your favorite aioli – some suggestions would be chipotle, lemon, or tomato basil.

Other options: substitute half the crab meat with lobster meat and add a little tarragon.

Bill’s Famous Marshmallows

1 cup 10X sugar – for dusting and coating

½ cup water
2 ¾ tablespoons powdered gelatin

½ cup water
2 cups sugar
½ cups corn syrup

¼ teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla

Grease bottom and sides of a 13” x 9”. Coat with 10 x sugar. Whip whites with salt to just soft peaks. Set aside. In electric mixer bowl, sprinkle gelatin over ½ cup water. Let bloom. In 3 qt sauce pot, combine sugar, corn syrup and ½ cup water. Cook to 240 degrees. Remove from heat and pour over bloomed gelatin. Add vanilla. Whip at high speed for 6 minutes. Should be tripled in volume and cool. Fold whipped whites into whipped sugar mix. Mix evenly. Pour mix into prepared pan, coat with 10 X and spread evenly into pan. Recoat top with 10X. Let set at room temp for 2 hours. Put in refrigerator uncovered for 2 hours. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until needed. Cut to size after completely set. Use plenty of 10X to dust cutters or knife.

Some Variations:
Add the following to the 1 cup of 10X

• Gingerbread, – 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon clove
• Cocoa Ancho – ½ cup cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons ancho chili powder.
• Cinnamon – 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• Fruited marshmallows – add ¼ cup of compound and color with appropriate food tint to the sugar, water and corn syrup mix. Follow directions for the basic marshmallow recipe.

 

 

 

Porter Creek Winery will always have a special and meaningful place in my heart! My husband and I spent a week in the Russian River Valley on our honeymoon at the tremendous Farmhouse Inn which was only a mile away from Porter Creek. We had the most memorable afternoon there driving up the dirt driveway to the tasting room, playing with the wine makers dog who sat outside at the front door, and of course, tasted quite a bit of wine! We had several special bottles shipped home to us and always reminisce over our trip whenever we uncork one. So, for our first series of Friday Favorites I thought we would share our love for Porter Creek with you! I hope you are all getting together with family and friends over the weekend so bring a bottle of Porter Creek with you wherever you go!

I chose a lovely 2005 Fiona Hill Pinot Noir– which I am obsessed with. It is SO yummy! From the winemaker: This meticulously planted, steep hillside vineyard is situated along Westside Road at the entrance of Porter Creek with an ideal southern face. Hard clay top soil with a fractured stone bedrock places continual stress on these Pinot vines, resulting in a very expressive, unique vineyard designate wine. The nose has aromas of wild berries and forest floor, a weighty mid-palate and long silky finish.

A second choice of mine but Lindsay’s choice would be the 2009 Chardonnay: The growing conditions of this terraced, hillside vineyard, with mature vines and low yields produces a very unique Chardonnay. George’s Hill vineyard extends from the hilltop down a steep terraced slope of approximately 30% grade. The soil profile consists of Franciscan, metamorphic hard clay with a bedrock of fractured stone material. The bedrock layer allows the roots to penetrate, but only slowly over time. Parts of the vineyard yield only one and a half tons per acre. The grapes are harvested in the early morning hours in order to preserve and capture the fruit at perfect ripeness. The wine undergoes natural fermentation in barrel as well as natural malolactic fermentation, and is aged sur lees. The 2009 vintage is extremely well-balanced. Aromas of lemon, lime and pear. Richness and mineral notes on the pallet, yet restrained with a long finish.

Diana’s 2009 Zinfandel pick would be a wonderful choice for your Thanksgiving dinner table: A classic example of Sonoma County Zinfandel. Aromatically, it has the explosive cherries and berries jam and on the palate it is rich and textured on the finish. Produced from hillside grown vines and blended with 10% Carignane for texture and overall harmony.

Cheers! xoxo

Our friend, the brilliant Nina Healy, sent me a special recipe that I wanted to share with you all– I especially love it’s tag line.

Jubilee Martini Recipe

A festival in a glass!

2 oz. Grey Goose Vodka
1/2 oz. Cointreau
1 oz. Fresh sour mix
2 Mint leaves, crushed
Mint sprig for garnish

Combine vodka, liqueur, sour mix and leaves in mixing glass. Add ice and shake. Strain into your martini glass and garnish.

Yum! Think we should start serving these at The Studio?

Happy Memorial Day! I love summer holidays — tiki torches, barbecue, summer dresses and cocktails with little umbrellas in them — I love it all (especially the cocktails!) Here are some fun recipes for your memorial day party this afternoon or for any summer soiree you may be hosting.

Bing Cherry Mojitos

via Martha Stewart
Ingredients
Serves 12
* 1 1/4 cups sugar
* 1 1/4 cups freshly squeezed lime juice, about 9 limes
* 3 pounds Bing cherries
* 18 ounces best-quality black cherry or plain vodka (www.beekmanliquors.com)
* 1 bottle sparkling water (750 mL)

Directions
1. Bring sugar and 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat; let cool completely. (Makes about 2 cups syrup.) Syrup can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 month.
2. Put lime juice into a medium nonreactive bowl. Halve and pit cherries; add to lime juice. Stir in syrup. Refrigerate at least 1 hour (up to overnight).
3. Stir cherry mixture and vodka in a large serving bowl. Fill 12 glasses with ice. Spoon 1/2 cup cherry-vodka mixture into each glass. Top off with sparkling water. Serve immediately.

New Orleans Hurricane

via Allrecipies.com
INGREDIENTS
* 1/2 cup ice
* 2 fluid ounces light rum
* 2 fluid ounces passion fruit flavored syrup
* 1 cup lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage
* 1 ounce lime juice
* 1 fluid ounce 151 proof rum

DIRECTIONS
1. In a shaker, combine ice, light rum, passion fruit syrup, lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage and lime juice. Shake well and pour mixture into a Hurricane or other large specialty glass. Float the 151 proof rum on top of the drink.

I came across this delightful etsy store via Swanky Tables a long time ago. Whimsey & Spice is the creation of Jenna and Mark, an art direction and a pastry chef living in New York. They specialize in making sweet food with a dash of spice. I have to admit, I haven’t tried Whimsey & Spice personally, but I can tell you that if it tastes only half as good as it looks, I might develop an addiction!

Among their products, my favorites have to be the pillows they call marshmallows, butterscotch bars, and the gorgeous earl gray sandwich cookies. Yum! For more delicious goodness, visit their etsy shop. They also have a wonderful blog, sweet fine day, where they share insight into their business and family. It is one of my favorite daily reads in my rss feed!

It is still so surreal to me that I am planning my own wedding! I have to be honest – this doesn’t happen often in the wedding industry and it is mostly the other way around – bride turned planner. Yesterday, my fiancée and I along with his dad attended our tasting at the Gershon Fox Room in downtown Hartford. The chef from Marquee Catering was so generous to work with us on some additional menu choices in addition to their standard selections. Food is a huge deal for us and the one important detail that my fiancée has taken seriously (as most men do!), so we had high hopes and expectations for today. Can I just say it was so amazing for me to be on the opposite side of the tasting? I always attend tastings for my full service and partial planning clients so I know the routine – but it was just so special to be in the other team this time! The chef and staff behind Marquee Catering put out an amazing spread and everything was delicious.

We tasted three yummy salads (yeah… I totally forgot to take a picture so use your imagination!):
Baby greens with seasonal tomatoes, grilled asparagus, sliced romano cheese tossed with a balsamic honey vinaigrette
Endive salad with blue cheese vinaigrette, and
Baby arugula salad with cannellini beans and pancetta with a lemon vinaigrette

And there was some yummy homemade, warm bread:

Our entrees were:
Filet with a Pinot Noir buerre rouge, truffled parisian potatoes and asparagus

Truffle crusted filet mignon with sweet summer peas, whipped potatoes and grain mustard bordelaise.

Herb seared breast of chicken with sautéed spinach fingerling potatoes and wild mushroom jus

Chicken with pan fried gold potatoes, mustard pancetta jus, and baby squash

Salmon with lemon grappa glaze, toasted almond rice and grilled asparagus

So what did we choose? You’ll have to wait to find out! But everything was so super yummy and the decision was TOUGH. A big thank you to all the staff at the Gershon Fox room and Marquee for making our tasting amazing!

This cocktail was a huge hit at our holiday party (so was the Gingersnap), and even my sugar fearing self took a tiny sip of it and have to admit, it was totally delish!

Ingredients:
* 4 oz eggnog
* 1/2 oz white chocolate liqueur
* 1 oz Southern Comfort
* edible gold flakes or chocolate flakes for garnish

Preparation:
1. Build the ingredients in to snifter glass and stir lightly.
2. Sprinkle gold or chocolate flakes on top.

Enjoy!

If you are attending a holiday party this season you cannot arrive empty handed! There are so many fabulous gifts to give in honor of your hostess and wine is on the top of my list for every occasion. It is easy to pick up and everyone I know appreciates a good bottle of wine. I asked our friend Anu at Swirl Events to give us her top picks for wines in three different price points

$15 and under
* Monte Velho, Red Table Wine, Alentejo, Portugal $12
* Crios, Torrontes, Salta, Argentina $11
* Ben Marco, Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina $18
* Sorrelle Branco, Prosecco, $14

$25
* Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir, Marlborough, New Zealand $30
* Seghesio, Zinfande, Sonoma, CA $24

$50
* Ridge Pagani Ranch, Sonoma, CA $35
* Orin Swift Cellars, The Prisoner, Napa, CA $37
* Montinore, Parsons’ Ridge Estate, Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, $35
* Argyle, Reserve Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR $42

I am going to pick up a few of her recommendations. Can I just say that I love the Argentina wine that she has chosen? The wine from that region is absolutely delicious!

And if you are feeling a bit more generous consider giving a Swirl gift certificate. Swirl is so fabulous — they come with everything one needs in order to host a wine tasting event. I know of so many people who would LOVE this as a gift (myself included!). To learn more, visit Swirl’s website.

I believe this is a martini that even Betty Lou Who would approve of. It is super fun and sounds absolutely delicious. There is a ton of things you can do, like adding a heart ice cube to the glass.

ingredients:
• 2 oz. Midori
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice (fresh)
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup

Mixing instructions:
Mix all ingredients with ice in a shaker. Strain into a chilled martini glass.
Option: Garnish this green drink with a red cherry or candy cane.

Recipe source: Thatsthespirit.com