My Big Fat Mah Jong Party Flop

It was my turn to host Mah Jong.  A snow storm hit.  Nobody came to my party.  Well, that’s not exactly true.  Two people out of ten came from the group.  We didn’t play.  We tried to make a dent in all the food and drinks I prepared.  I have lots of leftovers.  Lots.

On the bright side, I have some new and wonderful recipes to show for it.  Here they are.     

Limes.  I just really liked my photo and wanted to post it.  :) 

 

The limes made a great garnish for the Cherry Cosmopolitans.

Here is the recipe:  Cherry Cosmopolitans

2 parts Cherry Vodka

1 part Triple Sec

3 parts Cranberry Juice

Limes.

I made these up in advance in a pitcher.  For the pitcher, my “parts” were “cups”.  For an individual drink, my “parts” would have been “shots”.    Mix these up and keep in the refrigerator.  When the party starts, pour into a shaker filled with ice.  Shake, pour into Martini Glasses,  add a splash of sparkling water like Pellegrino or some lemon lime soda and garnish with a slice of lime.  Cheers!

 

My new Mah Jong set was set up and ready to play but alas, it saw no action on this night.  :(

Mmm, these were very good.  Ham and Cheese in Puff Pastry from the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. You can never go wrong with a Barefoot Contessa recipe.  These were very easy.  Click on the link for the recipe. 

 

Feta Dip.  OMG this is good.  I am so grateful to Sarah over at Clover Lane for sharing this recipe.

Here is how I made mine. 

Fabulous Feta Dip with French Bread

8 oz. container of Feta Cheese

Olive Oil

1 bunch of green onions, diced

1 glove garlic, pressed

Dried Oregano and Basil

Salt and Pepper

3 large Roma Tomatoes, diced

Pour approximately 1/3 to 1/2 cup of olive oil on a platter.   Stir in the pressed garlic, Oregano and Basil, salt and pepper.  Add the tomatoes and onions.  Add the Feta cheese and mix well.  Serve with sliced French Bread.  I added a couple of spoons to the platter to help make serving it easier.  I LOVE THIS!

And of course you always want to have a little something on the sweet side.   : )   Were three choices too many?

I served Orange Creamsicle Cookies (I made these in advance and they keep really well in the freezer). 

And Salted Carmel Brownie Bites!  These are unbelievably good too!  Big Thanks go to Inside Brucrew Life for this fantastic recipe. 

You only need 4 ingredients:

Your favorite Brownie mix

A bag of Rolo chocolate covered caramel candies

Chocolate coating

Sea Salt

Bake your favorite Brownie Mix.    Let cool.  Smush a small scoop of the Brownie around a Rolo candy and roll into a ball.  Dip the balls in melted chocolate.  Set on a cookie tray line with Parchment Paper and sprinkle with Sea Salt.  Let cool.  I store mine in refrigerator.  Soooo delicious!

And finally, I made another batch of  Chocolate Clementines with Sea Salt and Red Pepper Flakes.   I’ll be making these for as long a Clementine season lasts.    So there you have it.  My Big Fat Maj Jong Flop Party.    At least I am off the hook until July. :)

And one nice thing did happen to me today.   TRIAD MOMS ON MAIN is featuring a blog post that I wrote on their site today!!!  It’s called The 8 Things That I Am Glad I Did And The 8 Things I Wish I Had Done Differently.    Click on the link and browse around their site.  It’s chock full of great ideas and geared to family life.  And Rachel Hoeing, one of the editors there is one of the nicest people you will ever meet!  Thanks Rachel and Triad Moms on Main!