Tiny Dancers

Clockwise, from top left: Miss Kaleena and the kids; Miss Gigi and the girls; Mary Ashley and Emma Cate; and Miss Gigi and Emma.

Dinner at the Ballet

In the midst of a busy day preparing for the girls' spring recital, I treasure sitting down with family and friends for dinner before the show. This year we enjoyed iced raspberry mousse, chicken a la king in puff pastry shells, wild rice, spinach salad and a white chocolate fruit tart.

Joe's parents, my grandmother and our sweet friend and former babysitter, Kaleena, joined us for the evening. It meant so much to all of us to share this exciting evening with loved ones! 

 

Iced Raspberry Mousse

Emma helped me make this refreshing recipe days before the recital, a pretty pink frozen treat from the Usborne Fairy Cooking cookbook the girls got for Christmas. Find this great gift for little girls for only $6.99 here.

6 ounce tub raspberries
4 tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted
4 tablespoons vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup whipping cream
4-5 meringues
Fresh raspberries and mint leaves
4 (1/2-cup) ramekin dishes

Mash raspberries with a fork until squashed, then add sugar. Add yogurt and stir until everything is mixed well. Whip cream in a separate bowl until thick and points form when you lift the whisk or beaters. Add yogurt mixture to cream, and gently fold until the mixture is pink. Bake meringue cookies,  Break meringues into small pieces, and gently fold them into the mixture. Spoon into ramekins, and freeze for at least 2 hours or until frozen solid. Garnish with fresh raspberries and mint leaves before serving. Serves 4. (Note: I purchased meringues for this recipe from the Publix bakery.)

Chicken a la King

I got this recipe years ago from my sweet and stylish friend, Kelly Ferguson. I admire Kelly's flair for entertaining, so always feel extra confidence when I serve one of her recipes.

3 cups chicken broth
Small jar diced pimento
2 cups diced onion
Diced green pepper
1 cup diced celery
1 can mushrooms (or fresh)
1 stick butter
5-6 tablespoons flour
Small carton half-and-half
1/4 cup cooking sherry
Cooked chicken breasts (1 per person, plus 1 or 2)

Saute vegetables in 1 stick butter over medium-low heat to reach desired tenderness. Gradually add 5-6 tablespoons flour, stirring constantly to incorporate. Turn up heat. As mixture thickens, add chicken stock and half-and-half. Then stir in chicken, pimento and sherry. Spoon chicken mixture into puff pastry shells, and serve with wild rice. Serves 8.

White Chocolate Fruit Tart

This recipe from Allrecipes looked so pretty on the table and provided a refreshing end to our meal.

CRUST:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

FILLING:
1 (10 ounce) package vanilla or white chips, melted and cooled
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks, undrained
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained
2 kiwifruit, peeled and sliced
Assorted berries

GLAZE:
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

In a small mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioners sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour; mix well. Press into an ungreased 11-inch tart pan with removable bottom or 12-inch pizza pan with sides. Bake at 300 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

For filling, in a small mixing bowl, beat melted chips and cream. Add cream cheese and beat until smooth. Spread over crust. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Drain pineapple, reserving 1/2 cup juice; set juice aside. Arrange fruit over filling.

For glaze, in a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in lemon juice and reserved pineapple juice until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Cool; brush over fruit. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.

Tomorrow, photos from the recital!

Recital Ready

The stage is set for dinner at the ballet; recipes for our ballerina-perfect menu tomorrow!

Ballerina Kisses

We can't kiss this season goodbye without remembering the ballerinas and baseball players who kept us on our toes this spring. More to come this week!

Baby Gender Reveal Party

Our family has faced many health challenges lately, and we have all needed to focus on something positive. My sister, Jennifer, is expecting a baby in July, and this little one has given us cause to celebrate. I love the new trend toward gender reveal parties and was thrilled when Jennifer agreed to share her happy news with the family at our house over the weekend.

Pink roses, blue hydrangeas and white gardenias set a lovely and fragrant table. Teacups full of flowers served as place markers, with white doily tags announcing each guest.

When 8-year-old Christian saw our dining room table, he surmised that Aunt Jennifer must be having a girl because boys don't like flowers. I assured him that this party was for Aunt Jennifer and mommies love flowers. Over lunch, we encouraged everyone to share their gender predictions. The girls voted "girl" and the boys voted "boy."

Left to right, me, Jennifer and my grandmother.

I didn't tell the children how the surprise would be revealed for fear that someone would peak, but the two-tier cake that served as our centerpiece during the meal held the secret.

I found "It's a boy" and "It's a girl" charms at Michaels and tied the appropriate charms to pink and blue ribbons. Before lunch I tucked the charms into the flowers on top of the cake, and the ribbons looked so pretty cascading down the cake.

After lunch we let all the children grab a ribbon. Family members who could not make it down for lunch waited on the phone to hear the children announce the joyous news.

It's a ...

My 9-year-old nephew, David, was ecstatic to learn that he will have a little brother! This baby will be my parents' eighth grandchild, bringing the count to four boys and four girls.

With the exciting news revealed, it was time to cut the cake. To carry the pink-and-blue theme into the cake, I baked pink and blue layers and cut them in half horizontally to give each tier four layers of pink and blue. The pink layers were strawberry cake, and the blue layers were white cake tinted with blue food coloring.

Since I was in on the secret -- a perk of being the party planner -- I surprised Jennifer with a baby gift after the reveal. All the guests kept a charm -- perfect to tuck in a scrapbook, add to a bracelet, or use as a bookmark. And I encouraged Jennifer to keep the pink and blue floral teacup at her place.

My parents were not able to attend the party because of my mother's health issues, so we visited them the next day. Jennifer let Mother open a package revealing her baby's name:

Jonathan Page Driver 

I am so relieved that I can talk about Jonathan now! I was so afraid I would accidentally reveal the gender before the party that I felt I could not talk much about him. But now I can ask for prayers for my nephew-to-be, who has growths in his lungs. Although Jennifer's doctors have differing opinions on what they are, they all agree that the growths will probably need to be removed surgically after birth. We pray that Jonathan will be healthy and strong -- a beautiful blessing who has already brought so much joy to our family!

"A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on." -- Carl Sandburg

I'm linking this post to Show and Tell Friday at Cindy's Romantic Home.

Nana's Garden

I always feel inspired when I view my mother-in-law's yard. Hydrangeas and lilies bloom in profusion at their Georgia home this month. Below are images of Nana's flowers taken on Memorial Day.

I will be the gladdest thing

Under the sun!

I will touch a hundred flowers

And not pick one.

-- Edna St. Vincent Millay, "Afternoon on a Hill"

Tomorrow I will share images of the luncheon and gender-reveal party we enjoyed over the weekend in her honor of my sister, who is due in July.

Memorial Day Memories

We enjoyed spending Memorial Day with Joe's parents at their lakeside home.

Skies were overcast as the day began, but the sun came out -- allowing the children to enjoy a full afternoon of swimming and fishing with cousins Hollis and Reese.

Pop helped all the children fish. In the center photo he holds the catch of the day; this little guy was caught and let go a couple of times during our fishing expedition.

Tomorrow, a peak at Nana's award-winning flowers.