What better way to get some much needed time with the girls, without ruining your duds in the snow than to have a Girls Night In!?!?!?
All you need is a living room, a group of your best girlfriends, a t.v., some girl-power movies on D.V.D, and these recipes for treats and cocktails, guaranteed to make it a great night in!
Funky Garlic Cocktail
Recipe Courtesy of Drinks Mixer
Ingredients:
32 oz white wine
32 oz Coca-Cola®
32 oz Sprite® soda
Directions:
Chill all ingredients prior to serving. Pour into a highball glass, and stir well.
Garlic Shrimp Bruschetta
Recipe Courtesy of Woman's Day
Recipe Ingredients
24 thin slices French bread
Olive oil cooking spray
1 cup diced plum tomatoes
1 T bsp olive oil
3⁄4 tsp minced garlic
1⁄4 tsp each salt and pepper
24 medium shrimp
1⁄4 cup pesto
Garnish: small basil leaves
Recipe Preparation
1. Heat broiler. Place bread on baking sheet; coat with cooking spray. Broil 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until lightly toasted.
2. Put tomatoes, 1 tsp of the oil, 1⁄2 tsp of the garlic, and the salt and pepper in a bowl. Toss to coat.
3. Heat remaining 2 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add shrimp and remaining 1⁄4 tsp garlic. Saute 2 minutes or just until shrimp are cooked through. Remove from heat.
4. To assemble, spread each piece of toasted bread with 1⁄2 tsp pesto. Top with about 1⁄2 Tbsp tomato mixture, then one shrimp.
Tip: You can prepare the toasted bread and the tomato mixture 2 hours before serving.
Grilled Chicken Skewers with White Wine Garlic Sauce
Recipe Courtesy of Food.com
Ingredients:
1 1/2 ounces coconut oil or 1 1/2 ounces butter
3 onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed As always, adjust garlic according to taste
250 ml dry white wine
salt
pepper
1 ounce flour
1/2 pint milk
1 kg chicken
Directions
1 Melt 1/2 oz (15gm) coconut oil in a pan, add the 1 chopped onion and cook gently until soft and golden. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the wine, turn up the heat and reduce the volume a bit. Remove from heat.
2 In another pan melt the remaining 1 oz (30 gm) of butter. Add the flour, stir and cook for about five minutes.
3 Now add the milk to the flour. Add the milk slowly while continuing to stir! You will end up with a nice thick sauce.
4 Mix in the onion and garlic and the sauce is ready.
5 Cut the chicken into rectangles as much as possible. Shouldn't be too thin so it can go onto the skewer, but too thick and it takes a long time to cook, I'd say 3/4 inch (1cm pieces).
6 Put the chicken into the sauce and let sit in the fridge over night. (If your in a rush, 2-3 hours in the fridge.:).
7 Cut the remaining onions into pieces.
8 Skewer the chicken/onion. (You can other veggies here if you like, depending on what your side will be).
9 Grill and enjoy!
Crab Cakes with Lemon-Dill Sauce
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen, Food Network
Ingredients
Lemon Dill Sauce:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
Crab Cakes:
3 tablespoons butter
1 green onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
Cayenne pepper
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 pound white or claw crabmeat, picked free of any bits of shell
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Directions
To make the sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Refrigerate until chilled. The sauce will thicken as it chills.
To prepare the crab cakes, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion, bell pepper, and garlic until the pepper is limp, approximately 3 minutes. Add the cream, mustard, 1 egg, parsley, cayenne pepper and 1/2 cup bread crumbs, to taste, and mix well. Gently fold in the crabmeat.
Form the mixture into 8 patties, about 1/2-inch thick. In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of bread crumbs with the Parmesan. Pat this topping onto both sides of the patties. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
Using a skillet, combine the oil and remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Saute the crab cakes in the hot oil-butter mixture for approximately 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. These crab cakes can also be baked for 7 to 10 minutes in a 400 degree F oven.
To serve, spoon a dollop of the lemon dill sauce along side each crab cake
Chocolate Sorbet
Recipe Courtesy of Ina Garten, Food Network
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup very good cocoa powder (recommended: Pernigotti)
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups water
1/4 cup brewed espresso (1 shot)
11/2 tablespoons coffee liqueur (recommended: Tia Maria)
Directions
In a large saucepan, mix the sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in 2 cups water and the espresso. Cook over low heat until the ingredients are dissolved. Off the heat, stir in the coffee liqueur. Transfer to plastic containers and refrigerate until very cold.
Freeze the mixture in an ice cream freezer according to the manufacturer's directions. The sorbet will still be soft; place it in a plastic container and freeze for 1 hour or overnight, until firm enough to scoop.
Claret Lemonade
Recipe Courtesy of Food.com
Ingredients:
3/4 cup lemon juice (fresh is best)
orange slice
1 quart red wine (Bordeaux, Merlot, or Shiraz)
Simple Syrup
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
Directions:
1 Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a heavy medium saucepan over high heat.
2 Reduce the heat to medium-low.
3 Simmer, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved, 6 to 8 minutes.
4 Let cool completely.
5 Half fill a glass pitcher with ice cubes or cracked ice.
6 Add the lemon juice and a few slices of orange.
7 Fill the pitcher nearly full with claret and add sugar syrup to taste.
8 Let stand 20 minutes to blend and ripen.
9 Serve over ice. Garnish each glass with Lemon or Orange slice and fresh raspberries (optional)
Now that we have some tasty treats for FANTASTIC Girls Night In, all we need are the friends and of course some great movies. What would be on YOUR movie list?!?!?
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