Celebration for my Niece

My niece, LeeAnna recently graduated from high school, so my sisters and I, threw her a graduation party with all the trimmings. We had tasty pizzas from the red roof Pizza Hut and mild, oops hot wings from a local eatery. My niece chose what she wanted to eat. Thank goodness, she didn't ask me to cook as I can't boil water without having a fire. That is a true story. I could write a book about my kitchen capers that would give Rachel Ray the vapors and then some.

My good friend, Kristine, who is a chef extraordinaire and who graduated from the CIA-not what you are thinking- Culinary Institute of America, made me my own personalized cookbook with no fail recipes tried and tested in her own kitchen for my wedding present. I was so deeply touched by her one of a kind recipe book that was created just for me. She must have spent hours compiling all these delicious, easy recipes so that I could fool my guests most of the time.

When Kristine was staying at my house, she cooked our dinners and packed my lunch for me every day and boy was I in seventh heaven. My waistline wasn't, but my taste buds sure were. Kristine is a super chef with a tremendous amount of talent that she displays daily. I envy her ability to create and when I say create, I mean she can create the most tasty, delectable, mouth watering dishes you can't even begin to imagine until her sumptuous speciality hits your tongue. And then look out because you will become hooked on her cuisine. As I mentioned, I packed on the kilos-it sounds better than pounds, but enjoyable kilos, none the less. Her appetizers, entrees, desserts are objets d'art that you want to admire, but you just can't wait to take your first bite and relish it. Ah........!!!!!!

So, my niece "missed" my fine cooking. Ah....:( But, we had banners, congratulations balloons and a beautiful cake made by our expert cake maker, Phyllis, who supplies us with outstanding cakes for all occasions with unbelievable decorations. She is the miracle worker of cakes. I just love their looks, taste-the frosting is not too sweet, so I don't have to sneak it to the dog to give it a sugar high, and the price is so reasonable for all of the care and work that goes into Phyllis' cakes. She is a gem.

My niece's cake was in her school colors of maroon and white, along with a young girl in a maroon gown with a diploma and a key chain that was a graduation hat. What a neat idea!! It took me awhile to figure out that the graduation cap was a key chain. What a lovely idea. My niece was delighted with her cake, pizza, wings, balloons and her banners.

My sister, Helen bought her a photo frame that was exclusively for a graduation picture with glitter, the year and a graduation cap that was cute. It fit the occasion perfectly. Also, Helen made graduation caps out of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, chocolate covered graham crackers and a myriad amount of colored Twizzlers that served as tassels. They were adorable and of course, edible. What gets better than that??? Not much.

Well, our party for my niece was a great success, but more importantly was the success of my niece, LeeAnna receiving her diploma. Yeah, LeeAnna! She has much to be proud of as we are proud of her accomplishments.

May your food not be cooked by me, but by talented folks like my good friend, Kristine, who is a member of our family and Phyllis, our cake maker beyond compare. Bon appetit et bonne sante!!