Pumpkin Cooking Club

Yumi, Summer and I hosted cooking club tonight at my house. Our theme was "Pumpkin." Since Halloween is right around the corner, I put out a few spooky decorations.



I started us off with a bourbon pumpkin smash cocktail, with a spiced sugar rim! These were amazing. And they tasted even better in my new unicorn glasses!



Yumi made a salad with arugula, roasted pumpkin pine nuts and feta. This was a hit and we ate it ALL!



She also made savory pumpkin scones that were amazing.



Time to eat!









I made pumpkin soup, and served it in pumpkin bowls! I topped the soup with sage blue cheese pesto and spicy pumpkin seeds. These beautiful pumpkins came from Primaterra Farm at the Athens Farmer's Market. I've gotta say, pumpkin soup tastes extra pumpkiny when you eat it from a pumpkin!



For dessert, Summer made pumpkin sweet potato pierogis with marshmallow sauce and pecans.



These were fabulous, and the marshmallow sauce was so fun!



Mmmmm. Three cheers for pumpkins!

Happy First Birthday, Jasper!

Today we celebrated Jasper's first birthday!



Look at that little (almost) one-year-old boy!



Joe made a MASSIVE birthday cake.



Birthday feast!



Mmm.



The kids played pin the tail on the fox.



They got to decorate their own fox tails!









Vana explaining the rules.



Pin it!



Jasper enjoyed watching the game. Look at his foxy little red hair!



Jasper!



So many tails.



Then it was time for birthday cake. All eyes on Jasper!



Whoa, look at that cake.



Grandpa and baby Jasper!



Jasper had his own special baby cake. He had never had cake before! He was very timid and gentle at first.



He was fascinated with the texture for a long time before he even realized he could eat it!






First taste!



He got pretty into it.



And the grownups got pretty into the chocolate cake!






Excellent job, Jasper! May you enjoy many cakes for many years to come.



Time for presents!



Jasper had fun with the papers and ribbons.












A little fox outfit for Jasper! And one for momma!



Having a blast!



Happy birthday, sweet boy!

Apple and Pear Cooking Club

Emily, Nancy and Valerie hosted us tonight for Apple and Pear Cooking Club! Nancy made amazing apple butter, which we ate with bread and cheese for an appetizer.



We did an apple tasting featuring twelve varieties from the Athens Farmers Market!



Pear bellinis. Cheers!



It was fun, and we found good things to say about pretty much all of them. Yum, apples!



Time to sit!



Nancy started us off with a butternut squash and apple soup, topped with toasted pepitas and diced apple. This was a little bit spicy, and a lot delicious!



Emily poached salmon filets in apple juice, and Valerie roasted brussels sprouts with roasted pears and dried cranberries. The fish turned out so juicy and tender, and the brussels sprouts paired perfectly with it!



For dessert, Valerie made oatmeal cookies with apple and gouda cheese. We paired that with a caramelized pear ice cream that Emily made. And, of course, we played Apples to Apples.



It was really special and delicious to focus the night on these two wonderful fall fruits. Yay for apples and pears!