Easy Entertaining: Endive Leaves with Herbed Goat Cheese

Need an idea for an easy appetizer for Thanksgiving or your holiday parties? Try this one--- it is so simple to make and everyone always asks for the recipe. You can use this base recipe of goat cheese and cream cheese for so many things. You can use your favorite herbs or flavors along wtih chicken, shrimp or salmon for example. You can omit the herbs and make it sweet by adding chocolate. There are just so many variations and possibilities with this recipe, you will want to put it in your go-to file any time guests pop over.

ENDIVE LEAVES WITH HERBED GOAT CHEESE SPREAD

Endive is a leaf vegetable in the lettuce family. If you can’t find it, you can substitute another lettuce or almost any other vegetable. The goat cheese spread can be spread on toasted bread or served with crackers. It is an easy, go-to appetizer recipe for almost any occasion and looks really festive on the endive leaves.

Two or three heads endive

6 ounces (3/4 cup) goat cheese, softened

2 ounces (1/4 cup) cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together (except the endive) with a fork, stirring until fluffy. Spread on the base of the endive leaves, crackers, celery or almost anything else. Yum.

Easy Centerpiece Idea

Want an easy idea for a centerpiece for your next party? Check out this fish bowl idea. It's an easy and fun addition to your table. It was inexpensive but added a lot of impact and a little whimsy. I put the vase on a candle holder with a wide base and used mounting tape to secure it.   

Fish $5 each (Pier 1)

Round Vase: $6 (Wal-Mart)

Sea Glass $6 (Target)

Check out the rest of the images from this Mexican Riviera beach themed party on MSN

Photo credit: Arden Photography

Another Vote for Best Summer Drink: The Double Bubble

The Double Bubble! All you need is sparkling Italian soda  and Prosecco. You can find the Prosecco at any wine store and the sparkling soda at Target, Whole Foods, or World Market. I love the Target brand---and it is only $2.50 a bottle. It comes in several different flavors but I used the blood orange for this recipe. 

The Double Bubble

3 ounces sparkling Italian soda

1-2 ounces Prosecco

This refreshing cocktail is my spin on the traditional Mimosa but you serve it on the rocks. All you have to do is pour the sparkling Italian soda over ice and float the Prosecco on top. Delish!                                          

Photo credit Arden Photography

Outdoor Movie Night Party Preview

Looking for something a little different for your next party? Why not host an outdoor movie night? It's a little like a drive-in movie. Everyone brings their lawn chairs, quilts, and sets up camp right on the lawn for this party.

This party is great for date night with other couples or it can be fun for kids of all ages. All you need is one of these awesome inflatable movie screens, speakers, a snack bar and you're good to go!  We want to thank Laurie and Mike Pitts for allowing us to come over and help them create an outdoor movie night party for 50 of their friends.It was a lot of fun.

Geoff Carlisle from Jamm Entertainment made it a real party with a huge sound system and great music!  Thanks, Geoff!