Summer Night Galaxy Party: What To Craft, Make & Wear!

I'm dying to throw a moody night-sky themed party. Imagine this: Sparkly star-print decor, Insta-worthy milkshakes, slinky black dresses, glitzy earrings & too much champagne! Who wants to come over!?

Modern Bright & Sunny Bridesmaid Brunch!

First post of 2016, hooray! I start each New Year ready to (finally) master balance, who's with me? Work hard AND set aside time for friends. Eat mostly clean...but with a few indulgent treats. My grandma taught me, "It's good to be a little bad!" And with that in mind, I invite you into my apartment for a beautiful, boozy bridesmaid brunch…

Easiest New Years Eve Sparkle DIYs!

You just got through the holidays, don't stress over New Years Eve! Here are four easy ideas for creating a sparkle party on the fly. Seriously, anyone can pull these off...

3-Ingredient Fireball Ice Cream Floats!

When you're craving apple pie but have no desire to turn on the oven, this easy float recipe will serve you well! Three ingredients is all it takes to recreate your favorite fall flavors via this boozy dessert. Need a last-minute Thanksgiving idea? Hey, it works for that too...

Champagne Coupe Corsages! Fun Floral DIY

A champagne toast is the best way to kick off any party. Look at you so classy! But real talk: Flutes are for fools, coupes totally rule and dressing 'em up with flowers takes things to the next gorgeous level—you want that! Here's how it's done...

DIY Boozy Bridesmaid Proposal

Planning the perfect bridesmaid proposal doesn't have to be elaborate. If a typical girls-night-in involves a pitcher of margaritas and a marathon of The Bachelorette, this is the DIY proposal idea for you! I mean, nothing puts you in the wedding "spirit" quite like tequila...

2-Ingredient Creamsicle Cocktail!

Summer evenings are for all-night fun having! Skip the obligatory fruit salad finale and keep the party going with a boozy treat that's more cocktail than dessert. That's what your friends really want. Take a screen shot. Pin it to your drink board. This trick's about to make your summer...

3-Ingredient Saucy Southern Iced Tea!

Real talk: I hate serving cocktails you have to measure during the summer. I want a drink I can eyeball, stir up in one pitcher and easily refresh without having to leave my lounge chair. That's why this 3-Ingredient Saucy Southern Iced Tea is my new go-to for summer sipping and it should be yours, too...

The 3-Ingredient Tiki Punch That Puts All Other Summer Cocktails To Shame—MAKE IT!

I was going to wait until tomorrow to post this but I thought you might want to plan for happy hour. If you love pineapple...and booze...and making a statement with your drinking vessels, this is the 3-ingredient cocktail for YOU!

Hit The Bottle, Ladies: The Celery Gimlet—Super Refreshing & Chic!

Here's something to get your Saturday night going: Celery Gimlets! Friends came over for happy hour yesterday and I whipped up this drink as an experiment. Turns out the sweet-and-slightly-savory combo of fresh celery juice, gin and elderflower liqueur makes for a highly refreshing treat!

Easy Entertaining: My Easiest Ever Eggnog—3 Ingredients & No Raw Eggs!

Happy Friday, lovely friends!! I know we're all super busy right now, so I'll keep this short. After years of testing out eggnog recipes—and never finding one that I loved—I developed (literally) the easiest eggnog recipe ever for Good Housekeeping and I am obsessed with it!

Easy Entertaining: Slow-Cooker Peppermint Bark Hot Chocolate—LOVE!

Baby it's cold outside...here in New York City! I was going to hold off sharing my new Peppermint Bark Hot Chocolate recipe—one of the easy Christmas cocktails I developed for Good Housekeeping this year—but I feel like it's a cocoa kind of a day, right?

5-Ingredient Easy Blue Cheese Gougeres—My Latest On Freutcake!

If you stop by Leah Bergman's blog—Freutcake!— this morning, you'll find my super-easy recipe for these Blue Cheese Gougeres. I love to adopt a "cocktail party" mindset even when I'm hosting a big dinner, like Thanksgiving, especially during the first few hours guests are over...

The Downtown Brooklyn Sour—Two Toned Tipple!

Boyfriend got me hooked on New York Sours this past spring: a sweet-sour combination of rye whiskey, lemon juice, and simple syrup with a layer of fruity red wine floated on top. It's striking!

Carrot-Beet Juice Shrub Cocktail For Fall Drinking!

Ladies! I have a new cocktail recipe to share with you. I developed this Carrot-Beet Juice Shrub recipe for a vinegar-spike cocktail post I wrote for Good Housekeeping this week—eeks!—and it turned a test kitchen full of veggie-cocktail skeptics into believers.

Summery Peach–Basil Whiskey Smash Recipe!

I tend to lose interest in making a cocktail if it calls for a million ingredients (especially on a weeknight). I'm talking 4 or 5 ingredients tops! That's why I love a good whiskey smash. You can tweak the basics—lemon juice, simple syrup, whiskey—with whatever herbs and/or fruit you have on hand.

Tequila-Soaked Watermelon with Basil-Salt!

Happy almost 5 o'clock, my lovely friends! I have a special after-hours treat for you: Tequila-Soaked Watermelon with Basil-Salt. Think of this as a sweet-and-salty edible cocktail of sorts. 

Cucumber White Wine Spritzer

I have big-batch summer cocktails on the brain—you know the standards, sangria, rum punch, mojitos—and I'd love to share a new one with you if you're interested. This Cucumber White Wine Spritzer is super fresh, easy to make and budget-friendly.

Hit The Bottle, Ladies: Host a Rosé Wine Tasting with Treats and Friends!

Happy Friday, lovely friends! We made it through the week—amen, right? Not sure what your plans are this weekend but if you're in the mood to play the casual-chic hostess, why not host a last-minute rosé tasting party? It's super easy (and deliciously educational, too)!

Simple Summer Appetizer: Cherry Tomato Crostini with Whipped Feta!

Hello, hello! Happy Monday morning. I hope you all had a fabulous long weekend and a very happy 4th of July. It was refreshing to have a little time off, right?

Boyfriend and I spent a few days out on Long Island visiting my family. My godmother, whom you may remember as the woman responsible for these outrageous brownies, hosts a mammoth July 4th party each year. My favorite thing on the menu: Cherry Tomato Crostini with Whipped Feta (above). Good lord, they were tasty! And so super simple. 

As I mentioned to BuzzFeed Food, we're a diehard Ina Garten family—perhaps it's the Long Island connection (we used to go to the Barefoot Contessa Store in East Hampton all of the time)! This crostini recipe is from Ina's Barefoot Contessa Foolproof cookbook. If you can't find pine nuts or if they're too expensive, just omit them, that's what we did! Also, you can prep the crostini, tomato mixture and whipped feta ahead of time and store separately until you're ready to serve. Here's how you do it...

INA’S TOMATO CROSTINI WITH WHIPPED FETA
SERVES: 8
6 ounces crumbled feta
2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons minced shallots (2 shallots)

2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 pounds cherry tomatoes, halved

3 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves, plus more for serving

20 to 25 (1/2-inch-thick) diagonal baguette slices, toasted

2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (optional)

1. Make the whipped feta: Put the feta and cream cheese in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse until combined. Add 1/3 cup olive oil, the lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and process until smooth.

2. Make the tomatoes: An hour before serving, combine the shallots, garlic, and vinegar in a medium bowl; set aside for 5 minutes. Whisk in the remaining 1/3 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the tomatoes, stir gently, and set aside for 10 minutes. Stir in the basil and taste for seasonings.

3. To assemble the crostini, spread each slice of bread with a generous amount of whipped feta. With a slotted spoon, place the tomatoes on top. Put the crostini on plates and scatter with the pine nuts, if using. Sprinkle with more basil.

Oh! And, if you're interested, here are a few fun photos from our holiday weekend at the beach. What did you do for the 4th? Go anywhere exciting? Cook anything delicious? I'd love to know! xo Erin

Lobster with Curry Butter about to go on the grill. Greek oregano in my parents' garden.

Long Island Sound at sunset.

Fourth of July bonfire. Grilled asparagus with shallot vinaigrette.

Peach pie ready to bake. Lambrusco in the backyard (below)!

[Crostini recipe from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Foolproof cookbook 2012 Crown Publishing Group]