Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! For all the hopeless romantics out there, this day is for you! Whether you're celebrating with friends, family, or a loved one, make sure it's a decadent day. Today is the day to forget about your diet and the gym. Live a little! Today's ingredients consist of chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. I'm serving up my mom's mouth watering chocolate cake. It's simple, elegant, and delicious! Kisses from the kitchen. -XO

Mom’s Chocolate Cake

Serves 8

• • 4 oz semisweet chocolate
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 7 oz cake flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup boiling water
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 ¾  cup sugar
  • 12 oz butter
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons dark rum

  Put chocolate, cocoa and sugar in Food Processor and mix it. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and process. Take it out. Add boiling water to machine and then add eggs- process one at time. Next add sugar, butter, sour cream and dark rum. After you process all those ingredients add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together.

  Spray pan, put in parchment, spray again.

  Bake at 325 F.

  12” Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes

  8-9” Bake for an hour or less (50 min)

  Glaze

  • 6 oz semisweet chocolate
  • 4 tablespoons of water
  • 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) powdered sugar, sifted
  • Pinch salt
  • 4 tablespoon (2oz) butter
  • 2 teaspoon dark rum

  Mix in double boiler, semisweet chocolate, water, powdered sugar and salt until there are no lumps. Stir constantly. Add butter. Take off heat and stir in rum.

The First Lady Cocktail

"The Michelle"

This drink is in honor of Mrs. Obama and her overall fabulousness. Cheers to you Michelle,  amazing wife, mother, and philanthropist. 

• 4 ounces patron silver
• 2 ounces each fresh lime and clementine juice.
• 2 oz patron citronage
• A piece of jalapeño muddled with 1/8 cup cilantro leaves.

Put all ingredients into a shaker and shake shake shake.

2013 Presidential Inauguration

Let's raise a glass for the 44th President of the United States! We're all so thrilled for him! Here are two sneekys inspired by him and his right hand woman, The First Lady, Michelle Obama. Cheers!  

"The Obama"

I made this drink specially for the Commander-in-chief at a party in his honor. 

• 2 oz vodka 2 oz champagne
• 2 oz grapefruit
• Splash st Germaine

Put all ingredients in a shaker and shake shake shake!

Happy Hour Handbook

Autumn is officially upon us and the holidays are right behind, so I'm in full-on entertaining mode. Festive fall fetes and glamorous wintertime gatherings call for a cocktail spread that's in ship shape. Stock up on my essentials for a season's worth of happy hours, from sleek decanters and colored glassware, to my secret for hosting in small spaces (hint: it's all about the collapsable table!). You can find all of my favorites for holiday hosting and sneeky necessities on my Open Sky page.

Below you can find a few of my favorite holiday sneaky recipes!

Apple Cinnamon Sangria

When I think of Sangria It brings me way back to working for my mom (patty Powers) in her catering business in Weston, Ct.  When I was a kid we were taught how to do everything from opening a bottle of wine, to setting the table to even lighting my dad his daily cigar. Not quite of age yet I learned how to make a tasty batch of sangria.

2 bottles of one white wine and one of red (Don’t pick something too good because it will be getting mixed with all of the items below)

2 Granny Smith apples

2 mangoes

2 peaches

3 lemons

3 limes

2 cups apricot brandy

½ cup brown sugar

1 T cinnamon

Slice fruit and put in bowl or 2 gallon Ziploc bag with brandy, brown sugar and cinnamon.  Soak overnight.

Frostbite Spritz

3 oz champagne 1/2 oz Aperol 1/2 oz St. Germaine 1/2 oz Meletti amaro 1/2 lime squeezed

Pour champagne over ice. Add Aperol, St. Germaine, Meletti and lime.

Top off with: Frozen cranberries, a homemade ice cube, frozen grapes or a small candy cane

Lulu's Kir Royale

My clients love this festive and flirty drink. Garnish it with a few pomegranate seeds.

Serves 1 

1 tablespoon Chambord

6 ounces Champagne or sparkling wine, well-chilled

Pour the Chambord into a Champagne flute and add the Champagne.

Lulu’s Tip: I like to garnish this drink with a dressed-up ice cube. I use long ice cube trays that I find at IKEA. I fill them with filtered water, add pomegranate seeds and sprigs of fresh thyme or rosemary, and freeze. They look beautiful floating in the drink. Another fun garnish is a sugared rim: simply moisten the rim of the Champagne flute with water, turn it upside down, and dip it in a bowl of superfine sugar.

Happy Holidays friends and remember, drink responsibly!

Chocolate Pumpkin Layer Cake

Adapted from John Down, Christopher Norman Chocolates Time: 1 1/2 hours plus cooling

20 tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) soft unsalted butter, more for greasing

2 cups flour, more for dusting

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 cup plain pumpkin purée, canned, frozen or fresh

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans

2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

10 ounces unsweetened chocolate, preferably 99 or 100 percent, melted and cooled to room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Use a little butter to grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment paper. Butter and flour the paper. In a large bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.
2. Using an electric mixer, cream 8 tablespoons butter and the granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in pumpkin purée. Mixture may look slightly curdled. Stir in flour mixture about half a cup at a time until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips and pecans.
3. Divide batter into pans and bake in middle of oven until springy to the touch and a tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes, run a knife around edges, invert onto racks and peel off paper. Let cakes cool completely.
4. In a large bowl, blend remaining 12 tablespoons butter and confectioners’ sugar together. Blend in chocolate and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
5. Place one cake layer, smooth side up, on a platter. Ice top. Place second layer, smooth side down, on top; ice top and sides of cake.

Yield: 8 to 12 servings.

To make ahead: For fully frosted cake, put in freezer unwrapped; when frozen hard, wrap in plastic, then foil. Remove wrapping before defrosting.

Unfrosted cake layers out of their pans can be wrapped first, then frozen up to three weeks.

Frosting can be made up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated, then brought to room temperature for at least one hour.

Thanksgiving Countdown

Thanksgiving is the one meal each year than never fails to induce drama, anxiety and other seasonal stressors.

Relax!

Stock up on my essentials for festive table decor that will put your mind at ease and smiles on your guests faces at my  Open Sky page. And let this checklist be your guide to a stress free and thankful holiday. The key is to prepare ahead of time. The more you get done before the big day, the more time you'll be able to spend with your guests the day of.