Semi Homemade - Lilly Pulitzer!

Last weekend, I happened to catch an episode of Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking on the Food Network that featured a Lilly Pulitzer tablescape!

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The table was a beautiful array of pink and green and feaured all of our favorite Lifeguard Press items including the party pom poms, pinwheels, cocktail napkins, and melanine plates and bowls.

Sandra Lee even wore a pretty pink Lilly dress! Perfect!

The episode, which was called "Garden Fresh" featured some really wonderful sounding recipes that you can find on the Food Network website. Here were my favorites:

Caprese Mozzarella Salad Bites

Ingredients
2 endives
1 large green zebra or yellow tomato, chopped
1 cup grated mozzarella
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Directions
Separate the leaves of the endive and set aside the larger leaves.

In a bowl, gently mix together the tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and dressing, and season salt and pepper, to taste. Fill the leaves with the mixture and sprinkle with a little Parmesan. Arrange the bites on a serving platter and serve.

Blushing Strawberry Cupcakes

Ingredients
1 pound strawberries, washed and hulled
1/4 cup water
1 box white cake mix
3 egg whites
1/3 cup canola oil
Frosting
2 egg whites
1 cup sugar
Reserved strawberry puree
1 tbsp light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
Red food coloring

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (24-count) mini muffin tins with paper liners.

In a blender combine the strawberries (reserve about 12 small strawberries for garnish, slicing each into 4) with 1/4 cup water and puree until smooth. Puree should equal about 1 3/4 cups, if not add more water. Set aside 1/4 cup of the puree for frosting.

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil, and 1 1/2 cups of pureed strawberries for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of bowl to make sure all the batter is well incorporated. Using a mini ice-cream scoop, fill the muffin tins about 3/4 of the way to the top. Bake until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the tins from the oven cool slightly before removing the muffins. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Frosting
In a mixing bowl that fits over the top of a pot of boiling water, combine all of the ingredients, except the vanilla and food coloring. Beat with hand mixer on medium speed, while mixture cooks, until peaks are formed when the beaters are lifted out of the bowl, about 7 minutes. Remove the bowl from the heat and add vanilla and red food coloring to the desired pink shade. Frost the cupcakes with the colored frosting and garnish each with a strawberry slice.


Don't these just sound delicious? I think I may try making the cupcakes next week. I'll let you know how they turn out! Did anyone else catch this episode?

Happy weekend!
xoxo

{All recipes courtesy of FoodNetwork.com)