Entertaining

Entertaining: Picnic at the Beach + Potato Burgers

~ Paris

With today being national picnic day, an entertaining idea I wanted to share for celebrating properly is: a picnic at the beach, complete with potato burgers!

Years ago, I decided to throw a picnic at the beach. We tend to always eat out whenever we go out of town, but there’s something so charming about bringing your own favorite snacks to enjoy al fresco. During a trip to Bodega Bay, we wandered up to the ocean side of the southern tip of the bay – Bodega Head – where we settled down in a picnic table, assembled our burgers, snacks, and drinks, and attacked our lunch before wandering north on the Sonoma coastline. It was the perfect way to end the summer, and while I adored the potato burgers we made – a throwback to a high school trip we made where we picked up potato patty burgers to snack on while visiting Alcatraz – the best part of the whole thing was enjoying our lunch with the prettiest view of the water. And the seagull posing for our photographs was just icing on the already indulgent cake {as you can see in the final picture}.

Snacks:

Potato Burgers
Potato Chips – we used plain + sour cream & onion
Shortbread Cookies
Strawberries
Apple Mango Sparkling Cider
Water

Ingredients
{Makes 1 Burger}
One Hash Brown Patty
One Potato Burger Bun
Garlic Herb Lemonaise, ~ 1 Tablespoon or to taste
Butter Lettuce, 1 Leaf
Tomatoes, sliced – 2 slices

Recipe

1. Grill your hash brown patty the morning of your picnic to keep it warm.

2. Spread the lemonaise {which is a lemony mayonnaise} on one side of the bun.

3. Top the other bun with a butter lettuce leaf, tomato slices, and the hash brown patty.

4. Top off with the other bun and serve with your favorite snacks such as chips, berries, and cookies.

5. Enjoy!


  x Paris

Entertaining: Afternoon Tea & Palmier Cookies

~ Paris

My favorite part about studying abroad in London was definitely visiting the various tea houses for afternoon tea. There’s just something so classic about spending an overcast, rainy day with a hot cup of tea and cookies {preferably of the French variety, such as a macaron, Palmier, or a madeleine, though those are technically a cake}. After discovering that I could make Palmier cookies with only two ingredients required {sugar and puff pastry}, I knew that I would have to try my hand at making some. I paired it with a strawberry & chocolate flavored tea for an indulgent afternoon pick-me-up. The sweet, caramelized cookies, paired with the refreshing hot tea, was the perfect combination on a stormy afternoon, and felt like such a grown up way of having an adult approved tea party.

Ingredients:
1 sheet all-butter puff pastry
1/4 cup sugar {or to taste}
Recipe:
1. Sprinkle the granulated sugar through each layer of the puff pastry. Editor’s Note: A quarter cup of sugar went a long way for me, but I know many people may want a sweeter, more caramelized cookie. Please add more sugar as needed for your personal preference.
2. Allow the sugared puff pastry to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
3. Add some sugar around the tray to dip both sides of the cookie. Editor’s Note: Be careful as too much sugar can cause the cookie to get a bit over-caramelized/ burnt.

4. Slice the puff pastry and then shape them by hand into the classic heart shape.
5. Leave plenty of room for the cookies to expand as the bake or they will expand and stick to each other.
6. Bake for ~7-8 minutes at 425 degrees. This may vary depending on your oven, so keep an eye on the cookies as they are being made.
7. Enjoy!

x Paris