Easter Champagne Cocktails

Your Gay Husband Drink of the Day :

Ritz Fizz 1 and Ritz Fizz 2

Champagne Cocktails

Ritz Fizz 1
1 dash blue Curacao
1 dash lemon juice
1 dash Amaretto
Champagne, to top up
lemon zest spiral, to decorate
Pour the Curacao, lemon juice, and Amaretto into a glass and top up with Champagne. Stir gently to mix and decorate the drink with a lemon zest spiral.

Ritz Fizz 2
ice cubes
1/2 part creme de cassis
1/2 part Poire William liqueur
chilled Champagne, to top up
pear slices, peeled, to decorate
Put some ice cubes into a mixing glass with the creme de cassis and poire William liqueur and stir to mix well. Strain into a champagne flute and top up with chilled Champagne. Decorate with peeled pear slices.

These are so good ! They would be great if you are doing BRUNCH for Easter. Give it a try and let me know how you like them. They are super easy to make and have a WOW factor. Perfect for a party.

Hoppy Easter !
Til Later,
Your Gay Husband

Easter: Egg Shaped Cookie as Seating Tag/Gift

Your Gay Husband Tip of the Day :

Edible Gift to Celebrate Easter

Sugar Cookie

Egg Shaped Cookie as Seating Tag/Gift
It is so much fun setting a table for a party. Part of that is assigning seats. This year I am using a 6" Egg Shaped Sugar Cookie as their Name Tag for seating. I used Yellow frosting with Yellow sprinkles. If you can't tell yellow is my accent color.
COST - $10 for 12. I made 3 batches and served small egg cookies on a plate for snacking
TIME - 1 hour
LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY - 2 on scale of 1-5

Supplies

For this project you will need...
Sugar Cookie Dough and Frosting
6" Egg Template
Paper Name Tag
Sharpy Pen
Easter Grass
Hole Punch
Clear Bags big enough for cookie to fit.
I bought these bags at the Dollar Tree 12 for $1



Sugar Cookie Dough

For these Yummy Sugar Cookies you will need...
1 3/4 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder [check expiration date]
1/2 cup butter room temperature
3/4 cup white sugar 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla





Beat butter and sugar 3-4 minutes till fluffy, add egg and vanilla and mix til Incorporated, add dry ingredients and mix til it forms crumbs. It will smoosh together. Cut it in half and wrap in Saran wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degree. Roll out dough onto a slightly floured surface to 1/4 of an inch. This make a PERFECT cookie. Cut out Egg shapes using you egg template. Print Egg Template here. ad place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 13 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.
PERFECT Frosting
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 tsp vanilla
1-1 1/2 Tbsp milk
Add whatever food coloring you like and mix until incorporated.

Egg Cookie with Frosting and Sprinkles

For the best impact I used Yellow Frosting with Yellow Sprinkles. Now just take your cookie and put it in the bag. Make a hole with the hole punch in the corner of the blank name card then using your Yellow Easter Grass tie your name tag at the top of the bag. Write the name on it with a sharpy pen and place it on the designated plate. Your Guest will love these cookie. I recommend suggesting that everyone take them home to enjoy later that day. Tell them to think of the great time they had at your Easter party while the are in decadence heaven.




I hope this inspires you to make a gift for your guests that can also double as their Name badge for seating.
Hoppy Easter !
Til Later,
Your Gay Husband

Easter: Drinks Anyone ?

Your Gay Husband Tip of the Day :

Serve "Virgin" Drinks and Cocktails at Your Easter Party



Virgin Cocktail

 Easter Cocktails
I found a few really good Cocktails and a Virgin Cocktails for your Easter Party. I hope you like them.



Laila Cocktail

 Laila Cocktail
2 lime wedges
2 strawberries hulled
4 blueberries, plus 3 to decorate
1 dash of mango puree
2 parts raspberry vodka
ice cubes






Muddle the lime wedges, berries, and mango puree in a cocktail shaker. Add the vodka with some ice cubes and shake vigorously. Double strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with the extra blueberries impaled on a toothpick.

Bombay Punch

Bombay Punch
ice cubes
5 cups brandy
5 cups sherry
2/3 cup Maraschino liqueur
2/3 cup orange Cuacao
5 quarts chilled champagne
2 1/2 quarts sparkling mineral water
fruit in season, to decorate
mint sprigs, to decorate



Put plenty of ice cubes into a large punch bowl with all the other ingredients and stir gently. Decorate with fruit and mint sprigs. Keep the punch bowl packed with ice. Serves 25-30



San Francisco

 San Francisco "Virgin" Cocktail
3 ice cubes
1 part orange juice
1 part lemon juice
1 part pineapple juice
1 part grapefruit juice
 2 dashes grenadine
1 egg white [optional]
soda water, to top up
lemon and lime slices, to decorate
maraschino cherry, to decorate
orange zest spiral, to decorate








Put the ice cubes into a cocktail shaker and pour in the fruit juices, grenadine, and egg white. Shake well, then strain into large goblet. Top up with soda water and decorate with lemon and lime slices, a maraschino cherry impaled on a toothpick, and an orange zest spiral. Serve with straws.

Well I think I covered all the bases with individual cocktails, a cocktail punch that serves 25 and a virgin cocktail. Enjoy the Fun being around those you love this Easter and treat your self to a Cocktail and make it a little easier.
Hoppy Easter !
Til later,
Your Gay Husband

Easter: Dying Eggs Using Onion Skins

You Gay Husband Tip of the Day:

Being Creative Makes Art

One of a Kind Easter Eggs

Dying Eggs Using Onion Skins
I can't remember where i learned how to dye eggs using onion skins but Thank You who ever you are. I think they are so striking. They look like little organic works of art. Give this a try and WOW your friends with one of a kind Easter eggs. They make nice gifts or if you have kids this would be a great item for show and tell.
COST - $5
TIME - 30 minutes including cooking time
Level of Difficulty - 2 on a scale of 1-5 

What You Will Need

You will need 1 cup of white vinegar, 1 dozen eggs and enough onion skins to cover each egg about 6, 3-4 knee high stockings and an 8 quart stock put filled 3/4 way with water. I used Red and Yellow Onions. The red gives a deeper color [really more of a deep purple].

Wrapping Egg with Onion Skin

Cover the eggs with the onion skins. Make sure to only use the dry skins or color won't transfer. If you miss a spot it will stay white which can be a neat effect.

Ready for Water

Now carefully put the egg in the bottom on the nylon stocking and tie a knot [like sausage] and repeat. You can fit up to 5 eggs per leg, just be careful. I used 3 per stocking to error on the side of caution.

Remove Eggs from Stocking

After they have been in boiling water and vinegar mixture for 15 minutes remove. Let sit for 5 minutes and unwrap the skins of the eggs. You really want to do this when the are still moist other wise the skins might dry to the eggs. Don't worry the stain has already set so you can't mess it up.

Finished Dyed Eggs

Viola ! you just made Art out if Eggs and Onion skins. Who would have thought ? I love all the intricate details in each one and how no 2 are alike. Let me know how you liked this project and what your friends and family have to say.










Hoppy Easter !
Til Later,
Your Gay Husband

Easter: Simple Place Settings for your Table

Your Gay Husband tip of the Day :

Use a Simple Color Pallet for Greater Impact

Mellow Yellow my Chickadee

Yellow and White
For some reason I have gone crazy for YELLOW this season.  I love setting a table for a party. I get this from my Mother. She would set a table the day before a party so she would be ready and be able to spend the time it would need to create her desired look. Place settings and serve ware are my guilty pleasure. I find that when you put creative energy into your table setting your guest will feel special and relaxed. When adding color for Easter make sure to not go crazy. Pick 1 or 2 colors then go for it. Layer as much as you want but just make sure to only use those colors you chose and nothing else. Here I use Yellow and White but really build off of what you already own.

Egg Seating

Here I used a small terracotta vase that I bought 3 for $1 at the Dollar Tree. I also picked up some yellow Easter grass. I colored all of my eggs in yellow to keep with my theme then used a sharpy to write the guests name on it. I love having preset seating, it really mixes up the conversations and prevents clicks...such an intense sports conversations that have nothing to do with an Easter meal. Get to know each other better. It's good to have some questions prepared such as....what is your most memorable Easter....what was you Easter tradition growing up. Believe me it helps keeping people connected.


How To Set a Simple Place Setting

Informal settings generally have fewer utensils and dishes but use a stereotyped layout based on more formal settings. Utensils are arranged in the order and the way a person will use them. Usually in Western culture, that means that the forks, bread plate, spreader, and napkin are to the left, while knives, spoons, drink ware, cups, and saucers are to the right.

Green and White Place Setting

Green and White

When using a table cloth make sure that your napkins are the same color. Here I used white. I really like using white as a staple in my table setting collection. You can always add a pop of color, even a plate of limes or lemons will freshen the table with something organic. Everything including flowers will be green or white only. This will make for an elegant yet casual table. Run your flowers, candles and condiments like butter and salt and pepper down the center of the table and repeat if necessary depending on length of table.



Veuve Cliquot Pansardin Champagne

 I always have a water glass and either a wine glass or champagne glass depending what is being served.



Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne is my favorite for parties. This is the Champagne that Patsy and Edina would drink on Absolutely Fabulous. They were truly Fabulous !

I hope this gives you inspiration for your Easter Celebration this year. If not anything else you will know where the fork goes.

Hoppy Easter.

Til Later,

Your Gay Husband



Easter Dinner: Pork Rib Roast

Your Gay Husband Tip of the Day :

Try Something other than Ham for Easter

Easter Dinner

Pork Rib Roast [BBQ]
I am so excited that Easter is almost hear. All the things I love wrapped up in one day...friends, family, food and fun ! I can Hardly wait. Here is a Great Meal for Easter. The entire meal consists of Pork Rib Roast, Roasted Carrots, Potatoes, and Onions with an Apple Cranberry Compote and Steamed Asparagus and Broccoli. This recipe is for 4 people. You can just double it if to serve 8 and so on depending on hour big your Easter Party is.
COST - $20 [I got the Roast on Sale for .99lb]
TIME - 4-5 hours including cook time
LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY - 3 on a scale of 1-5 several steps for each dish

BBQ Cooking

For a 5lb roast, I cooked it on the BBQ for 5 hours at around 200-250 degrees. It breaks down to 1-1/2 hour per pound. Cook away from coals. This is for the LOW and SLOW way to BBQ. It will be smokey, tender and juicy. If you want to cook this in an oven it will take 30-40 min per pound at 325 degrees or till internal temp is 165 degrees. It will continue to cook after you remove it from the heat. Let it rest for 10-15 with foil lightly covering before serving. I seasoned this with a generous amount of Salt, Pepper, Ginger and dried Thyme.
RUB seasoning into Pork Roast and let marinade for at least 2 hours.

Roasted Veggies

One of the sides is Roasted root Veggies. Talk about easy. Cut  5 potatoes, 5 carrots and 3 onions into quarters and add to a large mixing bowl. Add 4 Tbsp Olive Oil, salt and pepper to taste and 4 Tbsp of your favorite herb. I used Rosemary. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread veggies on a cookie sheet in a single layer and cook for 20 minutes. Remove and serve.

Apple Cranberry Compote

What goes better with Pork than Apples. Here I made an Apple Cranberry Compote. Peel and cut 5 apples into eight pieces each, juice of 1 lemon plus 2 lemon wedges, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1 cup Crazins [dried cranberries] and 1/2 cup sugar. Add these ingredients to a 4 quart pot and simmer for 15 minutes until fruit is almost fork tender. At this point make a slurry with 2 Tbsp cornstarch and 1 cup of water. Add to the mixture and bring to a boil for 1 minute and turn off heat. This can be served warm or cold.

Steamed Veggies

To finish this meal, I steamed some Broccoli and Asparagus and served them in a side dish for each guest. It  doesn't seem like a well balanced meal until you add something green and you can go wrong with this.

Easter Dinner

To plate this just cut down between each rib bone 1 per serving and add your compote and roasted veggies. Keep your steamed veggies in their side dish and serve with your favorite beverage. Click for Drink recipes.







I really Hope you enjoy your Easter dinner with your loved ones and WOW them with how delicious this meal is.
Hoppy Easter !
Til Later,
You Gay Husband

Fashion Friday : Color For Your Nails

Your Gay Husband Tip of the Day :

Color is not Gender Specific

1970's Christian Dior Nail Color Ad

Color For Your Nails

There seems to be a trend happening today that is stirring up healthy conversation. Nail polish.

As you walk thru the cosmetic area of any luxury store, each brand has joined forces in offering nail polish within their product offerings. This is nothing new to the cosmetic world, the add shown above is a Christian Dior ad from the 1970”s. As you can see the use of color was a trend of self expression.

J Crew Nail Polish ad

The trend continues today, however the conversation of men wearing nail polish is a conversation now talked about in confidence. Recently in the news a controversial ad from JCrew has brought additional interest in this non issue. The sad part of this controversy is the blindness to the reality of the captured moment, a mother enjoying a special moment with her son.

John Stewart had made a good comment about it on his show recently, “Its Pink nail polish not a “I love cock” tattoo.”Again we are talking about a snapshot of a mother and son playing: the quintessential American story, not some insidious revolting image” said John Stewart. His statement so bold and so true has made headlines all over the news.



Justin Bieber Nails



Biebers Nail Polish

Talking about all over the news…Have you heard that Justin Bieber has a collection of nail polishes. It is said that the singer has partnered with Nicole by OPI to design a collection of nail polishes inspired by all his hit songs. The picture shows the variety of color offerings, masculine and feminine for both men and women.

"The Iceman" Chuck Lidell

And if that ain't tough enough…On John Stewarts show the other night during the same conversation about the JCrew ad, he reminded us all that Chuck Liddell, The Ultimate Fighter, is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Light Heavyweight champion, also known as "The Iceman" and his masculine stature, is also known for wearing nail polish. I dare you to confront that…

Putting all the controversy aside, nail polish, is a trend both of the past and current. This spring the color options are out there. Match it up, be expressive, your nails deserve the attention.

Let it Shine !

Til Next Friday,

Your Gay Husbands Husband