Oh How Nifty, Look Who’s Fifty!

8 May

Johnna is 50! She is also my godmother. When I was little, until age 4, we lived across the street from each other. I grew up with her kids. Emil was in my grade and we went to school together from pre school until high school graduation. We were very best friends all through childhood. Stephanie was two years behind us. Johnna has been at every birthday, graduation, and family party that I can remember. So when Stephanie asked my sister and me to help out with her mom’s fiftieth we were both more than happy to help host.

My sister made a chocolate cake for the shindig. I love the daisies and how the white 50 pops out against the dark chocolate.

My contribution was three appetizers. I found all the recipes on Pinterest (of course) and just had to try them out. First I made sesame chicken wings. They were flavorful and crispy.

I also made Pioneer Woman’s stuffed mushrooms. I love that they are low-carb. Instead of bread crumbs, she uses cream cheese. The hot sausage adds tons of flavor.

My absolute favorite appetizer was the bite-sized baked brie! I used the linked recipe, but modified it slightly. The cherry preserves got switched for apricot, and I made them about half the size that the recipe calls for. These were so delicious that I wanted to keep them all for myself. A pop-able snack and a perfect bite.