My Pledge

I pledge allegiance to this KPK blog and the United . . . . . HI EVERYONE! Really, on this beautiful July morning, I am making a pledge of fidelity to my blog and my blog family because I have been gone way tooooo long! I love to share my current favorite things with you and let you know what's been happening in KPK as well as the rest of Katie's life.

"Summer Summary" 2009 thus

far . . .

On June 14th, we celebrated Betty & Norm's 50th Wedding Anniversary

with a party at their home. Lots of friends and family enjoyed good food

and libations in celebration of this

momentous occasion. 50 Years! Pictured at left is a peek at the fresh flowers and traditional 50th gold that was used to decorate for the occasion. Tiny bottles of wine were personalized with small mosaic style collages of vintage pics of BJ & Norm over the past 50. The labels were bordered in gold and the bottles were dressed with custom Happy Anniversary cards attached with blue and gold ribbons. Each little favor was embellished with an irridescent gemstone on the top of each cap. Guests went home with Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and BJ's fave, White Zinfandel as mementos of the day.

Happy Anniversary Norm & Betty!

In early July, Norma hosted a Book Club dinner party and wowed her fellow book club members with a creative and delicious menu to enjoy over discussions about her recommended book selection, Freakonomics. I created these fun bookmark menus for her special night and themed the menu as a Table of Contents with special links and references to the book. Bookmark edges were cut using decorative edge scissors and each were embellished with red, purple and green fabric ribbon. Norma's hostess skills definitely raised the book club bar.

I hosted a Girls BBQ Night last week as a fun and interactive way to introduce virgin grillers and grill fearers to some delicious, nutritious and exciting ways they can use their grills all year long. I love grilling so much that I even have grilling soundtracks like "Winter Barbecue" and other compilations to energize and enhance the grilling creativity and experience.

Everyone joined in as we snapped asparagus, prepped red and green bell peppers, patted dry sea scallops, oiled up some eggplant and zucchini slices, wiped portabellas, sliced onions, grilled bread, sampled cheeses, drizzled olive oil, squeezed lemons, all while consuming a respectable

number of pomegranate martinis and fruit-filled glasses of homemade red sangria. Now, that's what I call multi-tasking. Actually, I was amazed at how cool it was to show someone how I wanted something done, for example, how I wanted the peppers sliced for the grill . . . and a mere five minutes later, it was DONE! The power of numbers! I am really amazed at how fast things get done with extra helping hands! I think I need a party crew every night. There's nothing more beautiful than everyone working together for fun and entertainment with a lot of laughs along the way. It was really a fun night and my new favorite party concept. Talk about no pressure on the hostess. It was an "all hands on deck" night. Thank you to all of the willing and efficient party guests who made "Girls BBQ" a really great event! At left, check out Stephanie's avocado love, as evidenced by the traces of green, smack dab on each boob in the pic. At right, Gianna demonstrates her snapping skills. Ladies, light up those grills!

More about what I've been doing lately...... Sheesh, can I fit all of this in? Yes I can...... Quick recap (I know, I know, quick , my _ _ _ is what you're thinking). LOL. I'm just throwing this out there . . . Ready? OK. Stuffed Sardinian style eggplant - Check me out, showing off the big fat beauties before they're popped into the oven. These babies were filled with a mixture of sauteed eggplant, onion, garlic, ground veal, bread crumbs, eggs, and fresh herbs. Topped with hand crushed tomatoes and freshly grated Pecorino Romano.

Um, yeah, they rocked. Also, check out the tooty fruity cupcakes I brought to my co-workers last Monday. Sugar cookie flavored cupcakes were topped with cream cheese frosting (my personal fave) and fresh fruit. They were colorful and summery. How do you like my green tinted piped frosting? Too cute.

I am also throwing in a few pictures of my garden (pre-deer smorgasbord).

Damn, I LOVE basil.

Hey, you don't have to tell me I'm all over the board. LOL.

Here's wishing you a passion-filled summer of love, food, wine, friends, family and everything that keeps YOU all over the board.

With love from Katie's Passion Kitchen,

Katie