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Recipes

Gift Baskets, Uncategorized

5 Glamorous Appetizer Recipes for Your 2013 Oscar Party

January 30, 2013

Creamy Brie CheeseAnd the award for best Oscar party feast goes to … you! The glitziest night in Hollywood is less than a month away, so now’s the perfect time to start planning your showstopping menu. Just pick your favorite cheese from our gourmet food gift baskets, and pair it up with one of these scrumptious appetizer recipes from the party experts at Celebrations.com. Whether you’re hosting a few gal pals or a full-on cast and crew of friends, everyone will love noshing on these delicious finger foods while they guess the night’s big winners!

Kentucky Hot Brown SandwichOscar Party Snack No. 1: Kentucky Hot Brown Sandwich

An all-American delight with serious flavor, this sammie is the ideal appetizer for all those Zero Dark Thirty fans in your crowd. It’s also a picture-perfect match for our smooth and creamy Baby Swiss Cheese.

Aged Cheddar and Applewood Bacon Potato SkinsOscar Party Snack No. 2: Aged Cheddar and Applewood Bacon Potato Skins

Put some Django Unchained–style zing into your awards night fare: When they’re made with Fiscalini Aged Cheddar Cheese, these tater skins are smoking hot fun.

Brie and Pear BaguetteOscar Party Snack No. 3: Brie and Pear Baguette

Give a nod to your Les Miserables–loving friends with this French hors d’oeuvre. Our delicate Creamy Brie Cheese plays an outstanding supporting role alongside the sweet apricot and pear spreads.

Mac and Cheese BitesOscar Party Snack No. 4: Mac and Cheese Bites

For something rich and comforting—a la Silver Linings Playbook—treat your guests to these bite-sized snacks made with Vella Mezzo Secco Monterey Jack Cheese.

Easy Gourmet Grilled Cheese SandwichOscar Party Snack No. 5: Easy Gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Fans of the epic film Lincoln will rave about this White House–worthy delicacy. Sierra Nevada Classic Aged Goat Cheddar is sure to steal the spotlight in this presidential recipe.

Check out Celebrations.com for even more great tips on how to host a 2013 Oscar viewing party!

What main courses will you serve with your awards night appetizers?

Father's Day, Feedback, Fruit Club, Summer Time Gift, Thank You Gifts

Sweet & Succulent Summer Bing Cherry Gift Box

June 12, 2012
cherries gift summer

cherries gift summerA 1800Baskets.com exclusive gift, our bright and succulent Bing cherries are the perfect gift for Summer! Keep a healthy gift in mind without compromising on great taste.

The Sweet & Succulent Summer Bing Cherry Gift Box was definitely a delicious surprise to receive. The box was still cold when it was delivered and inside was the largest, most flavorful farmer’s market cherries I’d seen this summer. Varying in hues of bright red to deep maroon, all cherries were packed with decadent juicy flavor. Obviously I needed to sample a handful of the cherries as soon as I opened the box. They were too good to pass up. And you’re all lucky I stopped myself in time to grab at least one picture.

This makes such a great gift for any health-minded friend and leaves them with endless possibilities to use their gift. They can be enjoyed as is, benefitting from the high antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. You can bake them in a pie, cobbler, or in any of your everyday cooking. Add them to any dessert for an additional treat; dipped in chocolate or with whipped cream, they’re bound to please!

I’ve never been one for cherry pies, but this cherry cobbler recipe looked too good to not share!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 cups pitted sour cherries
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the butter in a 9×13 inch baking dish, and place in the oven to melt while the oven is preheating. Remove as soon as butter has melted, about 5 minutes.
  • In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sugar, and baking powder. Mix in the milk until well blended, then pour the batter into the pan over the butter. Do not stir.
  • Rinse out the bowl from the batter, and dry. Place cherries into the bowl, and toss with the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of flour. Distribute the cherry mixture evenly over the batter. Do not stir.
  • Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the cobber should come out clean.
Customer Appreciation, Father's Day, Feedback, Summer Time Gift

Father’s Day Gifts and Summer Grilling

May 24, 2012

Welcome back gift basket readers!

There were a lot of great graduation gift ideas in the comments this week (and obviously a lot of calls for cash!). I really liked the ideas for the personalized blanket for someone going away to school and the photo album. Of course we have a few gifts to get out for our lucky and random commenters. Congratulations to Donald Hayes (May 17, 2012 at 4:51 pm), Lori (May 17, 2012 at 7:13 pm), Claudia (May 21, 2012 at 10:04 am), Suzanne (May 24, 2012 at 10:02 am), and Ed (May 24, 2012 at 3:38 pm)! Send your shipping information to me at amariscal@1800flowers.com and I’ll send out your wine backpacks!

We have Memorial Day weekend about to begin with June and Father’s Day on its tail, and all I want to do is enjoy the warm weather instead of finishing all this work I have to do! Also, I’m (trying) to get a head start on my Father’s Day gift ideas…thankfully I have your comments to help me out with that last part.

I have a large gift I bought for my dad, but he won’t be getting it until September, and instead of me putting a bow on an email confirmation, I’d like to have something fun or delicious to present him on the day of…I just haven’t decided on what. Food gifts are always a safe bet for me with my dad.  And for me, Father’s Day is always synonymous with summer grilling. It’s probably because the only meals my dad knows how to cook are all meat-on-a-grill-or-slow-cooker related. I usually try to pick up interesting spices or seasonings for him whenever I go somewhere. I brought home a Cajun seasoning home for him when I was in New Orleans, and he loved the Budweiser sauces I got him before. I think this year I’ll be going with our Award Winning Stubbs® Authentic Barbecue Gift Set. It’s great for summer, upcoming family barbeques and it will give him something new to try when it’s his turn to cook dinner.

If I wanted to win “Daughter of the Year” award, I’d probably pair it with some of our new Stock Yards® steak gifts (which are AMAZING by the way). We had an impromptu work barbeque the other week to sample these and I could cut my steak with a plastic knife; definitely impressed.

Stock Yards® is one of our new sister brands and we’ve picked up a few of their most delicious gifts for Father’s Day. Stock Yards® has been providing the very best USDA Prime and Choice steaks  to America’s finest restaurants including: Chicago Chop House, Gibson’s, Morton’s, Tavern on Rush and Wildfire. Previously they were exclusively sold to restaurants but now are available for home ordering, which is great news for those who like to dabble in cooking restaurant quality meals!

I love that they only sell Prime and Choice; since I know the steaks and cuts I’m ordering will be top quality instead of sketchy meat from other companies who use their own terminology for “ratings” instead of “USDA Prime” or “USDA Choice” like Stock Yards does.

My picks for Father’s Day:

I found a few recipes for cooking a premium NY Strip Steak here, here & here that I am literally drooling over. And I found a great Filet Mignon recipe here. I love anything to do with Filet Mignon and may very well be trying out the recipe soon (plus YUM chive butter!).

As I said earlier, I’m looking for all your great answers and gift ideas for Father’s Day! In the comments section (1-2 paragraphs), tell me what you think a great Father’s Day gift would be! FIVE lucky and random winners will receive our Award Winning Stubbs® Authentic Barbecue Gift Set.

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend! 

Customer Appreciation, Feedback, Gift Baskets

Picnics!

April 12, 2012

Welcome back readers,

I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter and didn’t eat their way into an early coma like I did! I asked that if any of you had some great desserts or decorations you made for Easter to send me a picture and thankfully one reader, Sharon, sent me a picture of some creative and delicious chocolates she made! Seriously awesome decorating skills on these chocolates!  It’s never too late to send it your own pictures if you still have them, especially if you tried out any of the recipes we’ve posted. Now, on with the show…

Last week I asked you all to vote in the comments section on what you wanted me to write about and the clear winner for the week has been picnics! Coffee and tea came in second with fitness following close behind, but clearly everyone is very excited about this nice Spring weather and can’t wait to get out and enjoy it (without breaking a sweat that is).

Picnics should be fun and easy, something you can throw together in a few minutes. So I have a couple of sandwich recipes that would be perfect for a Spring picnic, as well as a few suggestions to make your time outdoors a little more comfortable.

Peanut Butter Banana Sandwiches

This is an absolute favorite of mine! All you need is some bread, peanut butter (I prefer smooth), sliced bananas and you’re good to go. I like to add a few extras to my sandwiches for more flavor and components. I usually add some honey and granola mix, gives it extra flavor and a little extra crunch.

Peanut Butter Apple Sandwiches

Are you sensing a theme or my love of peanut butter? You can always substitute peanut butter for any other nut butter (almond, sunflower, etc.) or if you want to make it a super sweet treat you can add Nutella. For this “sandwich” I don’t actually use bread, instead I slice apples to be the holders. You spread peanut butter (or whichever you prefer) on the apple slices, add granola or chocolate chips (or both!) and stack the slices together to form a sandwich. It’s a fun and healthy treat that is very easy to make!

For picnics, you can generally use any kind of outdoor blanket or mat and you’ll be fine, but the problem always lies with where and how you’re sitting. Sitting outside is probably one of the more uncomfortable things since the invention of the sofa, so it’s hard to get used to (especially if your knees are about 40 years older than you are like some blog writers). So I have two cheap options for outdoor seating to make your picnic a bit more comfortable! Our first one is from Target, a reclining picnic seat. It seems like it would be nice for back support and easy to pack up and go with. I’m probably the clumsiest person around though, so I would find some way to keep falling back on myself. So I have a second option from IKEA for us…balance challenged people out there. It’s technically a stool, but it’s also very sturdy, wide and doesn’t seem like it would fall over on you! All the makings of an easy picnic seat (for me at least!).

If you want some great picnic gift baskets that are all ready to go, we have some seriously amazing picnic options on our site right now! My three picks:

Well I hope you all enjoyed this picnics post and have some more ideas for the rest of us! In the comments section (1-2 paragraphs), tell me some of your picnic ideas and recipes! FIVE lucky and random winners will receive the Impromptu Picnic Cooler & Snacks Tote Gift Basket!

Happy Picnicking!

Party!

DIY Easter Party Part Deux

March 29, 2012

Welcome back readers!

LOVED all your cute Easter party ideas, recipes and traditions! I think I might have to try the hidden jelly bean in the cupcake idea for my younger cousins. And five you lucky and random commenters will be able to have your own fun with this Easter basket prize. Congratulations to Lucy (March 22, 2012 at 3:06 pm), Sharmila (March 24, 2012 at 6:39 pm), Will (March 27, 2012 at 6:32 am), Arvind (March 27, 2012 at 1:19 pm), and Ben G (March 29, 2012 at 10:27 am)! Please send your shipping info to me at amariscal@1800flowers.com and I can send over your Flowers of Spring gift basket!

We have another week of Easter to talk about! Last week we pulled together some fun DIY activities and decorations to try out for your own Easter party, so this week I was thinking that we would talk about one of the more important aspects to any party: the desserts. Of course, this is mostly because I had a mini Cupcake War marathon the other day and have since been living on The Food Network website and drooling over every idea I see.

The way I see it, traditional and easy is always best. We can all go crazy on the decorating part after it’s made, but I think an easy to make yet incredibly delicious carrot cake would be a great main dessert for any Easter party (also this recipe is from Alton Brown who’s show Good Eats happens to be one of my absolute favorites).

Alton Brown's Carrot Cake

Alton Brown's Carrot Cake

What you need:

  • Unsalted butter (for the pan)
  • 12 oz. (approx. 2 ½ cups) all-purpose flour, plus extra for pan
  • 12 oz. grated carrots (medium grate)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 and 1/3 cup sugar
  • ¼ cup dark brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 6 oz. plain yogurt
  • 6 oz. vegetable oil
  • Cream Cheese Frosting (store bought or see recipe below)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 9-inch round and 3-inch deep cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.

Put the carrots into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process for 5 seconds. Add this mixture to the carrots and toss until they are well-coated with the flour.

In the bowl of the food processor combine the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and yogurt.

With the processor still running drizzle in the vegetable oil. Pour this mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes or until the cake reaches 205 to 210 degrees F in the center.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow cake to cool 15 minutes in the pan. After 15 minutes, turn the cake out onto a rack and allow cake to cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting after cake has cooled completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • 2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and butter on medium just until blended. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. With the speed on low, add the powdered sugar in 4 batches and beat until smooth between each addition.

Place the frosting in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes before using.

Makes approximately 2 cups

If you’re feeling daring, try out these two other cake recipes from The Food Network and maybe send in some pictures! I’m really interested to see if anyone can pull off the Peeps cake!

Since you’ll be doing everything else on your own from the decorations, games to this awesome cake, I have a few suggestions of unique treats to order in as fun side desserts or table sweets!

My top Easter dessert picks:

Rich Easter Egg-Shaped Mini Brownie Cakes: So rich and “egg-cellent” (I’m sorry, I had to!) little cakes. They come in orders of 6 confection-dipped, Easter decorated brownie cakes and are easy to share and leave out as fun and festive treats.

Rich Easter Egg-Shaped Mini Brownie CakesHappy Easter Truffle Cake Pops: Just as delicious as the brownie cakes, these are our chocolate truffle cake pops decorated for Easter. They come in orders of 6 and you’ll be lucky if they last more than 6 seconds once you set them out!

Happy Easter Truffle Cake PopsHappy Easter Belgian Chocolate Covered Oreo® Tin: So cute, so festive! These Oreos® are decorated in bright Spring colors and topped with egg and bunny designs. So rich and delicious, they’ll be hard to share. Come in an order of 16 cookies.

Belgian chocolate oreos
Hope this has you feeling a little inspired (and mostly really hungry)! Tell me in the comments section (1-2 paragraphs) what kind of Easter desserts you’ll be trying out. FIVE lucky and random winners will receive the Easter Truffle Cake Pops!

Happy Baking!

Gift Baskets, Holiday Gift Baskets, Party!, Summer Time Gift, Uncategorized

Be the “Hostess with the Mostest” at your own Fourth of July celebration!

June 30, 2011
Summer Shrimp Salad Recipe

Hello readers!

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week’s contest, we always love bringing you the best information and hearing what you have to say. As far as this last contest goes, there can only be one winner. Congratulations to our random winner, Bob (posted June 23, 2011 at 4:25 pm)! Please send your full name, address and gift basket selection (from the “gift baskets” gift type page) to amariscal@1800flowers.com and we can help you claim your prize. To our other readers, stick around at the end for another contest!

My grandma

my grandma

The excitement is far from over though, so don’t navigate away from me! (See? I can do internet humor). Are you all still with me? (Phew). This week we’ll be changing things up and featuring some hot summer food trends and ways to solidify your reign as “hostess with the mostest” (Martha won’t even know what’s coming). Fourth of July and summer in general, usually mean a lot of outdoor parties, grilling, and trying to come up with foods that won’t melt or make you melt in the sun. Usually I like to gather with friends or stop by my grandparents for a family party especially for my grandma’s Spanish rice and steak (we got half the holiday right). My grandma (pictured) is the one who typically does all the cooking, even the grilling (if she delivered, I would be set). At one particularly infamous family BBQs she was making her usual home-made salsa and chips and additional sauces for the meat, in which she cooks and adds a hot pepper or two, some cilantro, and usually chills the salsa (it normally helps cool you off). I guess she had too many dishes going at one time and didn’t realize how many peppers she added because what was normally a tasty and refreshing meal had nearly everyone red and drowning in their own sweat (even with the air conditioning). Eventually it became a challenge to see who would “sweat” it out the longest to please her. Needless to say, there is more taste testing during the cooking process now.

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