EVENT: Fall In Love with Big Girls, Small Kitchen
VENUE: Thompson Hotel, Lower East Side
PARTY SIZE: 500 of our closest friends
TYPE: Valentine’s Day-Themed Celebration of the New and Improved BGSK Website
MENU: Eat-Your-Heart-Out Make-Your-Own Cupcake Station; Brownie Petit Fours; Assorted Heart- and Lip-Shaped Sugar Cookies; Pearled Oyster Crackers; Sweet-Sexy-Zesty Crostini
It took us the whole weekend to recover from Friday night’s festivities. We were so thrilled with the turn out-over 500 friends, fans, and fabulous strangers who came to support us, buy us glasses of pink champagne, and wolf down all of our aphrodisiac-themed treats in about a tenth of the time it took to make them.
Perhaps it was all the dozens of heart-shaped sugar cookies we ate, but we woke up the next day feeling very warm and fuzzy (in addition to completely exhausted). We figure our treats had a similar effect on you all and that, therefore, the party was a huge success.
In case you missed it, here’s what we served: There were potato crisps with caviar and creme fraiche which we perched atop of oyster shells courtesy of Flex Mussels and called “Pearled Oyster Crackers;” Sweet-Sexy-Zesty Crostini with the double-trouble aphrodisiac blend combination of truffle oil, honey, and lemon zest; neat little rows of Brownie Petit Fours; and hundreds of heart and lip-shaped sugar cookies which Cara iced and decorated in neon pinks and purples. There was also a make-your-own mini cupcake station, complete with every kind of pink sprinkle money could buy, for decorating. The idea was guests got to design a cupcake and then gift it to a crush at the party-and it was sponsored, naturally, by the dating site How About We.
It was amazing to see faces new and old and to get to connect at last with some of you readers we’d previously only heard from via the comment form. About an hour or so in we noticed that all the food had been demolished, and our friend Wendy of Apt4 Food and Wine had taken the liberty of starting a dance party. The rest is sweet delicious history.
Everything in between was captured by Antwan of I Think You’re Swell. Here are a few of his images-you can find the full slideshow on his site.
Sugar Cookie Lips, expertly frosted by Cara
Raffle station where everyone chose which jar to place their ticket in. Don’t forget to check the prize winners here.
The QLC’s themselves, decked out in Jordana Warmflash and Jay Godfrey
Customized cupcakes that were easy on the eyes.
Our favorite Small Girls, who were responsible for putting the whole shebang together
From our kitchen, where we’ve fallen in love with all our fans, to yours,
Phoebe and Cara, THE QUARTER-LIFE COOKS
**Recipes**
“Pearled Oyster Crackers” i.e. Potato Crisps with Creme Fraiche and Caviar in Oyster Shells
Makes about 50 bites
1 bag Kettle sea salt potato chips
One 8-ounce container creme fraiche
1 oz black caviar
Chives for garnish
50 oyster shells, scrubbed and rinsed thoroughly (optional)
Spoon a small dollop (1/2 tsp) creme fraiche onto each potato chip. Top with a few beads of caviar, and a sprinkle of chives. Fit each potato chip into an oyster shell of matching proportion. Serve on platters.
Sweet-Sexy-Zesty Crostini
Makes 30-40 bites
Ingredients
1 ficelle, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon white truffle oil
1 1/2 cups ricotta
zest of 1 lemon
Lemon slices for garnish
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Arrange the bread on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 3-5 minutes, until lightly browned on the top, but not hard.
In the meantime, place the honey in a small mixing bowl and heat in the microwave for 5-10 seconds, until slightly warmer than room temperature. Mix in the truffle oil until well combined.
Rub the tops of the crostini pieces with the garlic cloves.
Top each round of bread with a smear of ricotta, a drizzle of truffle honey, and sprinkle of zest. To serve, arrange on a platter and arrange the lemon slices on the side.
Eat-Your-Heart-Out Make-Your-Own Cupcake Station
Makes about 50
Follow the directions for make-your-own cupcakes here. Bake the batter in mini cupcake pans lined with mini liners for 12-15 minutes, until puffed and golden. Frost with the icing from the same recipe, then put out loads of red, pink, white, and metallic sprinkles and candy. Decorate and gift to someone you love!
Heart- and Lip-Shaped Sugar Cookies
Makes about 50, depending on the size of the cookies
Cookies adapted from Martha Stewart
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons meringue powder
2 cups powdered sugar
assorted food coloring and sprinkles
In a medium bowl combine flour, salt, and baking powder. In a second bowl, cream the butter and sugar with a handheld mixer for 3-5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla, and mix again. Slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing until combined.
Scoop the dough into plastic wrap and flatten into a disk. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Roll the dough out on a floured surface, rotating and flipping often so it doesn’t stick. You want it to be about 1/8-inch thick. Cut the dough into desired heart and lip shapes and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gather up the scraps and roll them out one more time. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until just faintly golden. Let rest on sheets for 1 minute, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
When cool, make the icing. Combine the meringue powder with 1/4 cup of water and beat with a handheld mixture until frothy and hold soft peaks. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Divide into several small bowls and color the icing as you wish. Frost the cookies using a thin offset spatula or a knife, and decorate immediately with sprinkles. Let the icing air dry, then store the cookies in an airtight container.
