Dinner Party – T.W.O.

Name that Apple

Published on November 25, 2014November 24, 2014 by T.W.O.Leave a comment

With Thanksgiving this week everyone is scrambling to get their grocery shopping done and the house ready for the guests. Forget anything….I am sure you did. What about name cards? If you did, don’t stress. T.W.O. has the perfect and affordable name cards you can use on your Thanksgiving table. You can even pick up some of the supplies while at the grocery store. Check out how we made these fabulous gold apple name cards.

Supplies:

– Apples (T.W.O. used Granny Smith apples)
– Gold spray paint (or any other metallic color depending on color scheme)
– white paper
– scissors
– pen

A Masquerade Dinner Party

Published on May 16, 2014June 6, 2014 by T.W.O.2 Comments

We recently hosted a Masquerade Dinner Party at our home. It was filled with good food, fabulous masks and mostly, wonderful company. Check out some pictures from our night and our homemade invite above. DIY Dinner Party!

Cheers,

7-Bone Chuck Roast

Published on January 30, 2014January 28, 2014 by T.W.O.Leave a comment

T.W.O. has served this dish for many Super Bowl parties, birthday parties and family reunions. It’s an easy, one pot process with minimal ingredients that have a whole lot of flavor. The secret ingredient…dark beer! Let’s start cooking!

Ingredients:
4-6 pound 7-bone chuck roast
1 package Lipton Onion Soup mix
1 bottle dark beer*
1 large Maui sweet onion- cut into wedges
2 cups whole pepperoncini
Montreal Steak seasoning
Water
*Lagers work the best, but if you don’t have one lying around grab a Budweiser! It won’t disappoint!

Directions:

Season the roast with Montreal steak seasoning. Let roast sit at room temperature about 15-20 minutes.

In a large pot, sauté seasoned meat over medium heat. Brown each side about eight minutes. After browning meat, put cut onions onto bottom of pot under meat. Sauté onions until slightly golden. Sprinkle onion soup mix over the meat. Finally, add the pepperoncini to the pot.

Add enough water to the pot half way up the thickness of the roast. Evenly pour the beer over the meat.

Bring the liquid to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cover. Cook 2 ½ to 3 hours over low heat. The longer the meat cooks, the more tender it becomes. Not to exceed 6 hours…..unless you want beef jerky! The meat will fall off the bone! Of course, you must sample the meat prior to serving!!

Serving suggestions:

Make beef dip sandwiches on French rolls or your favorite roll. Cut meat into chunks. Add mustard, horseradish, or whatever your pallet’s crave. Serve with coleslaw or a side of home made potato salad. Plate the sandwich with a kosher pickle. Enjoy!

Or, serve meat accompanied with your favorite vegetables. Top with the pepperoncini.

First and ten, do it again!

Twice Baked Potatoes

Published on January 23, 2014January 22, 2014 by T.W.O.2 Comments

It’s almost Super Bowl Sunday…do you have a menu ready? If not, don’t worry! Between now and February 2^nd, we will be featuring some delicious recipes that will be perfect options for your spread! Today–twice baked potatoes!

Ingredients
-6 large Russell Potatoes, washed
-1/2 cup 2% milk
-1/2 cup sour cream
-2 garlic cloves, diced
-1/2 cup butter, softened
-2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
-4 Tablespoons dried basil leaves
-Green Onions
–Krazy Salt
-Pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Using a knife, poke holes in the potatoes prior to putting in the oven. This allows the potatoes to breath and the heat to spread evenly inside. And so they don’t burst!

Bake the potato for about 30-40 minutes. You will know when the potatoes are done when you can easily put a butter knife through each of them.

Remove the potatoes from the oven and let them sit for 5 minutes. Using a sharp knife. Slice the potatoes in half, long ways.

Using a spoon, scoop the inside of the potatoes out and place into a big mixing bowl. Scrap as much out as possible without breaking the skin. Once complete, add the butter to this warm mixture to melt. While melting, add sour cream, garlic, milk, 1 1/2 cup cheese, basil leaves, salt and pepper. Mix with a hand mixer or a wooden spoon. Once all the ingredients are combined, add the potato mixture to the potato skins.

Top the stuff onions with the remaining shredded cheese. Place in the heated oven for 10-15 minutes. Then turn the oven to broil and let the potatoes broil for 1-2 minutes. The cheese should melt and the tops should get a little brown. Remove the potatoes from the oven. Top with green onions/ chives and serve!

Your football crowd will be pleased!

Ready, Set, Hike, TOUCHDOWN!

Berry Lemon Cheesecake

Published on January 16, 2014July 8, 2014 by T.W.O.5 Comments

Berry Lemon Cheesecake – It’s fluffy, light, refreshing, and savory! Most cheesecakes are dense and filling, which bad, but it’s nice to not feel stuffed after dessert. T.W.O. loved the combination of the lemon, berries, cream cheese and eggs that created a light, mousse-like treat and are excited to share this masterpiece with our readers. We guarantee that this will be a hit at your next dinner party, family barbeque or date night. Cheers Lemon Week!

Ingredients:
 3 cups graham cracker crumbs
 1/3 cup butter, melted
 ½ cup granulated sugar
 2- 8 ounces packages of cream cheese, softened
 2- 8 ounce packages of Neufchâtel, softened
 1 cup granulated sugar
 4 large eggs
 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
 zest from 1 lemon
 ¼ cup corn starch
 2 cups fresh blackberries
 Fresh whipped cream for topping
Preheat oven to 300ᴼF.
In a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Mix until the crumbs are sticking together. Press crumb mixture in a 9” spring form pan. Make sure that the crumbs are evenly distributed on the bottom and sides. Set aside.

Using a KitchenAid mixer, cream together the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing for about 1 minute each. Before adding an egg, make sure you scrape the sides of the bowl. Add lemon juice and zest and mix for about 3 minutes. Next, mix in cornstarch and beat for an additional 3 minutes until fluffy.

Using a flexible spatula, carefully mix in the berries. You don’t want the berries to break.
Pour the cheesecake mixture in over the graham cracker crust.

Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. Set on a wire rack to cool for about 40 minutes.

Cover the cheesecake and place in the refrigerator overnight.
When you are ready to serve, add a layer of fresh whipped cream to the top of the cake along with some mixed berries and a lemon garnish!

Happy Lemon Week and Happy Baking!

Leg of Lamb

Published on December 9, 2013December 8, 2013 by twinswithoriginality3 Comments

With the holidays in full swing, there are parties to attend and parties to host. And with hosting a party, it might mean that you are responsible for the meal. You are in luck-T.W.O. has a fabulous recipe for your main entrée- Leg of Lamb! We absolutely love this dish- it is easy, full of flavor and perfect for a group of people. Plus, it makes for great leftovers!

Ingredients

-4 ½ lb. boneless leg of lamb
-5 garlic cloves, halved
-Montreal Steak Seasoning
-Apricot preserves

Preheat oven to 425°F. Begin by washing the leg of lamb. Place leg of lamb in a roaster pan. Using a knife, poke holes in the leg of lamb for the garlic cloves. Make sure to do this for the bottom of the lamb. Take garlic and stick into each hole.

Next, season both sides with Montreal Steak seasoning.

When the oven has reached its temperature, place the lamb in. Roast for 15 minutes at 425°F. After 20 minutes, turn heat down to 325°F for the remainder of the time. Leg of lamb should be roasted for about 20 minutes per pound or reach an internal temperature of 145°F. A 4 ½ pound lamb takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes. About 15 minutes before the lamb is ready, cover spread apricot preserves on the lamb. Make sure to put a good amount on the top and sides.

Once the lamb has reached an internal temperature of 145°F, take it out and cover with foil. Let the lamb sit for about 10 minutes.

After it has had time to sit, you are ready to slice and service!

Bon appetite!

French Silk Pie

Published on December 4, 2013December 3, 2013 by T.W.O.Leave a comment

Are you a chocolate lover? Are you a pie lover? Well, you are in luck! T.W.O. has the perfect recipe for your –French Silk Pie. It’s a rich, fluffy, dense mousse pie that will be great for your next dinner party!

Ingredients:

-4 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
-1 teaspoon butter or shortening
-1 cup unsalted butter, softened
-1 ½ cups granulated sugar
-2 tablespoons vanilla extract
-4 eggs, room temperature
-1 fully pre-baked 9 inch pie shell (See recipe HERE)
-3 cups whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a microwave safe bowl, head the chocolate and butter/shortening in 20-second intervals, stirring between each interval until completely melted. Cool for 10 minutes.

With a KitchenAid or handmixer, cream together butter, sugar until fluffy. Add the melted chocolate gradually until mixed well. Add vanilla.

Using a whisk or the whisk attachment, add one egg at a time. Each egg should be beat for 5 minutes, totaling 20 minutes. The filling should be thick and fluffy. Once you get the consistency, add the filling to a pre-baked pie shell.

Place the pie in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until a butter knife comes out clean. Let the pie cool for about 30 minutes. Once cooled, place the pie in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours. It’s best to make this pie the night before.

Just when you are ready to serve, put the whipped cream on top of the pie. Garnish the top of the pie with shaved chocolate.

By this time, I am sure you are ready to taste this delectable, chocolaty pie!

Happy Baking!

DIY Wine Glass Charms

Published on December 3, 2013December 1, 2013 by twinswithoriginalityLeave a comment

Ever been to a party, put your wine glass down and come back confused on which glass is yours? It probably happened over Thanksgiving to a lot of people, right? Well, it happened to T.W.O.! We decided to come up with something creative to solve this problem. And that we did! T.W.O. added some foliage to our wine stems to not only give the glass some style, but also as a perfect identifier for everyone’s glass.

T.W.O. and company decided to make this a DIY craft event! We gave each person some raffia and allowed each person to pick his or her own “identifier.” Some of these items were flowers, wine corks, leaves, and twigs. It was a hit and not one glass was mistaken for another’s!

This is a great way to decorate wine glasses when you have a large number of guests using the same wine glass. You can either decorate them ahead of time or allow guests to decorate their own after their arrival! T.W.O. will be decorating their wine glasses this Christmas with some holiday decorations….stay tuned!!

Happy crafting!

A San Francisco Weekend

Published on November 5, 2013November 4, 2013 by T.W.O.Leave a comment

T.W.O. reunited in San Francisco this past weekend and had a great time with friends and family! Below are some highlights of the fabulous three days.

Ferry Building

A marketplace, office space, meeting spot and event space – this building has it all. Not only is the architecture of the building spectacular with its high ceilings and natural light, it is also an iconic building to the city with its 245-foot tall clock tower that was designed after the 12th-century Giralda bell tower in Sevilla, Spain. In the 1930’s, the Ferry Building was the second busiest transit terminal in the world, but with the construction of the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge, it has become less of a transit terminal and more of a marketplace.

Chili Night Dinner Party

Being the first day of November, T.W.O. deiced to cook chili and cornbread for their small dinner party. In addition to the Fall menu, T.W.O. created a tablescape that gave the small city apartment a cozy feel. It was a wonderful night of good food, views and people. The cornbread recipe can be found HERE and we will be featuring the chili recipe on Thursday.

Golden Gate Bridge Runs

On the weekends, T.W.O. likes to start off the day with a great exercise. It helps that there is a spectacular view along the way! (Well sometimes…if it’s a typical San Francisco morning, you might not see the bridge, yet alone the water.)

Sonoma County Afternoon Drive

Forty-five minutes across the Golden Gate Bridge and you are in wine country! T.W.O. + family took a day trip to get out of the city and enjoy the beautiful scenery, food and wineries. They went to three wineries – VJB Cellars, Imagery and Ram’s Gate. In the next couple of weeks we will be highlighting each winery individually. Stay tuned!

Stuffed Piquillo Peppers

Published on November 1, 2013October 29, 2013 by twinswithoriginality2 Comments

Four months ago, T.W.O. traveled to Spain and enjoyed pintxos daily. We felt nostalgic this past week and decided to re-create one of our favorite pintxos we had in Madrid- stuffed piquillo peppers! We ordered them at Lateral the first night in Madrid and loved them so much, we ordered them again on our last night of the trip! This pintxos dish is a great appetizer to serve at your next dinner party and can be prepared ahead of time so you can enjoy socializing with guests. Ole!

Ingredients

-1 can of piquillo peppers
-0.5 lb ground beef or turkey
-1/2 cup of goat cheese*
-1 cup of Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper Soup**
-1/4 cup of Greek yogurt
–Crazy Salt
-Garlic Powder
-Pepper
-Chili Powder

*T.W.O. has also used cream cheese, which makes for a creamier mixture
**T.W.O. would suggest Trader Joe’s Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper Soup

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a sauté pan, begin cooking the meat over medium heat. Season with salt, garlic powder, pepper and chili powder.

While meat is cooking, take the peppers out of the jar and separate. Pour the soup into a sauce pan and heat up. Add the Greek yogurt and reduce heat to low.