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The Surprise Gourmet Gab Party

0 · Aug 31, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Today I’m celebrating seven years of writing Gourmet Gab! It is so amazing to look back on the journey, read old posts, watch some of my first videos and think about how far the blog has come. Thank you for being a part of this journey with me! To celebrate all things Gourmet Gab, my best friends in Indianapolis threw me a surprise party a few weeks ago. You might have seen the Instagram Story video, but I was completely caught off guard because I thought we were going to a Friday night barbecue! I walked into my friends’ house and saw the Gourmet Gab lemon everywhere, big gold balloons, and everyone anticipating my arrival as I walked up the stairs. This surprise party was such a sweet send off as I moved from Indianapolis to Phoenix last week as I am prepping for my next adventure (more details to come, I promise!).

Each of my friends brought a Gourmet Gab recipe to the party and it was honestly the most amazing feeling to see all my dishes brought to life by my friends! My friend Kira even did little calligraphy signs for each of the dishes with the date that the blog post was published.

Israeli cous cous salad with orange, dried cherries, cucumber and feta is one of my favorites.

This bruschetta is such an easy entertaining snack! It’s sweet, savory and crunchy.

My friend Marlee dug way into the archives of Gourmet Gab from 2012 and found my favorite macaroni and cheese!

We ended the night with individual s’mores burritos and they were such a hit! It is so fun to watch them cook in the microwave.

I love these healthy carrot cake cookies and when my friend made them in a bite size version, I think they were even cuter!

I was having so much fun throughout the night that I feel like I barely took any photos – the sign of a great night, right? – but here are some snapshots of the party, even though they’re a little blurry. My friends went literally all out with the theme and the details. Lemons everyone, lots of Prosecco to pop, ingredients to make the Aperol Spritz drink I’m obsessed with this summer and more. As you can see, I was literally all smiles!

Molly is the queen of the soft smile, and I can literally never pull it off. I love this photo because it 100% captures our personalities.

Props are a must in photos…especially when they matched Kira’s dress perfectly!

I’ve known Elizabeth since I met her when I was a sophomore in college. Our friendship has grown so much ever since!

Sean is like a big brother I always wanted! King of the grill, the biggest Cubs and Mizzou fan I know, and my go-to person for an honest opinion.

I didn’t get photos individually with everyone, but below is the iPhone self-timer photo we got to snap! I just love it so much, especially since my friend Marlee’s puppy Charleston made it into the photo. I am so grateful for these friends who have become my Indy fam over the last few years. Like you all, they have been so supportive of my Gourmet Gab endeavors. They let me film videos in their houses, gave me recipe feedback, participated in photoshoots and listened to me film a lot of Instagram Stories and Snapchats talking to the camera. Hah!

The last seven years of Gourmet Gab have been such an amazing journey and I can’t wait to see where the next seven take me! Cheers to lots of great food, fun travel and adventures, meeting new people and cooking together. Thank you again for being a part of this Gourmet Gab community!

Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela

Wine Tasting Tournament with Wine Bracket

0 · Jun 12, 2017 · 1 Comment

I may not be that into sports, but if there’s one kind of tournament I am invested in, it’s a wine tasting tournament. A few weeks ago my girlfriends and I got together to celebrate our friend Erica’s 26th birthday complete with a cheese board, dessert and wine tasting. Once everyone arrived, we snacked, caught up and then headed to the table to start our Wine Bracket game!

Wine Bracket is a wine tasting party in a box. Using the kit, you can host a complete wine tasting tournament in your home. The game allows you to taste your way through eight wines in a bracket style, almost like you’re creating a bracket for March Madness. Everything from tiny sampling glasses to voting brackets to color coordinated pitchers are included in the kit, plus the game can be reused until you run out of voting brackets!

Here’s How it Works

First, I set up the table so everyone had their little station: two tasting glasses (a purple and gray), a voting bracket, a pencil and voting card. I also brought some crackers and snacks over to the table to cleanse our palates between tasting the wine.

The host (who also gets to play the game!) pairs up the wines by similar features to help guide the comparison and writes it down on the Master bracket. It was fun to evaluate what everyone brought and decide which wine should compete against the other. We didn’t set a price range so of course you know I had to throw in a Two Buck Chuck from Trader Joe’s to see how it competed.

One tip – be sure to decide what temperature everyone is going to bring the wine because the difference in chilled versus not did have an impact on our tasting!

Starting with the first round of wines paired in the “North” section of the bracket, the host pours the two wines into the two color coordinated pitchers and heads to the table to pour all the guests a sample of each.

The guests taste test, write notes and pick their favorite throughout each round. The group votes on their favorite wine to determine which of the two wines moves to the next round. It gets a little competitive when you find out which of the wines wins from each pairing and it keeps the guessing going. With a process of elimination and tasting the winners each round, you end up with a final favorite wine of the group!

And the winner is…

You guys! After trying eight different wines, all reasonably priced, actual bottles that we would bring to a party or buy for ourselves – the Two Buck Chuck (technically Charles Shaw Chardonnay) WON! I still cannot believe it. Our group had some legitimate wines – Meomi is one of my favorite wines and it’s almost $20 a bottle – but still, the $4 Trader Joe’s wine pulled through as the group favorite! It’s such a great example of how the blind taste changes everything. Our runner up was a chardonnay called Sunday Funday that I would totally buy again.

What Did They Think

My girlfriends loved the game and are already asking when we can play again with red wine. We enjoyed the challenge of thinking of ways to describe the wine. One of my favorites quotes was Erica saying, “First I thought grape, and then I thought….wine.” Ha! The game really does help you determine your preferences and may even surprise you on wines you didn’t think you would like.

Wine Bracket is a new product, a sister brand to the original Brew Bracket for beer lovers. You can purchase it here! It would be a blast for summer parties, birthdays, girls nights and more. As you can see, my girlfriends and I loved it and I am still laughing about how Trader Joe’s Two Buck Chuck made it through as the winner!

Thanks to Kira and Danielle for hosting the party, and to Kira for hand writing the adorable cheese name cards!

Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela

Thank you to Wine Bracket for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own and I only collaborate with brands I genuinely believe in – so give this one a try.

How to Host an American Beer Tasting Party

0 · Mar 30, 2016 · Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago I was telling my friends I wished I had a go-to all-American beer. Whenever we are out I always order a Stella or try the local beers recommended. With summer coming up and things like baseball games, the Indianapolis 500 and pool parties on my agenda, I decided I needed to find an official preference on light beer. I have always wanted to taste all the classic American beers at once so I could distinguish which taste I like the best.

My roommate really ran with this conversation and decided we should host a blind taste test. We invited a small group of friends over to participate. Each brought a six-pack or so of one of the six beers we decided to taste: Bud Light, Budweiser, Coors Light, Michelob Ultra, Miller Lite, Natural Light. I created a little tasting worksheet for everyone to fill out as we went. You can download yours here and print it out for friends. Of course we had to have classic yellow pencils for writing. I really believe hosting parties is about the details!

The Prep
For the prep, I took over the food while Danielle, my roommate, organized for the tasting. I have been wanting to make homemade queso forever and it sounded like the perfect pairing with beer. The green chile and cheese combination was a hit. Scroll down to get the recipe! While I was cooking, Danielle wrote the numbers 1-6 on plastic cups for each person to taste each beer. Then, we set out pretzels rods to have between tastes. Crackers or chips can act as “palate cleansers” for your guests and make it feel like an organized tasting.

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The Taste Test
Danielle chose a random order for the beers that our tasters did not know. She poured a little bit into each cup for us and then delivered them to be tasted. We all drank the beer sample, thought about it, took notes and wrote guesses for what each one was. We all could definitely tell the difference when we tasted Miller Lite and of course, the good old Natty Light. At the end of the tasting when Danielle read out which beer was which, the fan favorite ended up being Bud Light!

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I am so happy the beer tasting party ending up being a hit. Plus, now I officially have a story to tell behind why I chose to drink Bud Light. If you post pictures of your American beer tasting party on social media, tag me on @Gourmet_Gab or #gourmetgab so I can see! Cheers to the all American beer!

Chile con Queso

1 tablespoon butter or oil
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 tablespoon flour
1 small block of pepper jack cheese, shredded or cut into small cubes
1 small block of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded or cut into small cubes
1 cup shredded cheese (Colby jack, mozzarella, your choice)
3 tablespoons canned green chile, chopped
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Mince shallots and garlic. Warm oil in nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallots/garlic to pan and sauté for a few minutes until light golden brown. Careful not to burn!
Add half and half. Whisk in flour.
Simmer until the mixture thickens and little bubbles form.
Reduce heat to low and add cheese little by little. Add chopped green chiles and stir.
Add nutmeg, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste.
If the texture is too thick for your liking, add half and half to loosen.
Transfer to a small slow cooker to keep warm on low.

Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela

Menu for a Last-Minute Oscars Party

0 · Feb 24, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Every year when it’s time for the Oscars I always want to throw together a quick party with girlfriends to watch the red carpet arrivals, talk about the fashion and listen to the acceptance speeches. What holds me back every year is the menu planning. To make things easier for you I pulled together a effortless cocktail, simple Academy Award themed straws and five treats you can easily make in 30 minutes. To start off a spontaneous Oscar party this Sunday, transform a glass of Champagne with a rock candy stick and just like that you’ve got a sparking cocktail that doubles as dessert.

Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere posted these Academy Awards straws two years ago and I haven’t forgotten about them since. Just print off pictures of the nominees for best picture, best actress and actor, or your favorite category. Cut into small shapes and glue to a paper straw. Use to sip champagne or a special cocktail.

These Strawberry Balsamic Crostini couldn’t be easier. I love the red color of the strawberries for the red carpet event, plus the combination of sweet and savory will make these the perfect appetizer. If you would rather buy a balsamic glaze instead of making it yourself that would be time saver too.

My roommate Danielle loves bacon more than anything in the world, so this appetizer goes out to her and all the bacon-lovers you will have over for your Oscar party. These 3-Ingredient Bacon-Wrapped Dates will impress your guests and be a fun one-bite snack. P.S. You read that correct — they only have three ingredients!

Think this Baked Brie Puff Pastry looks too fancy for your spontaneous Oscar party? Think again. This appetizer is as easy as wrapping a wheel of Brie with store-bought puff pastry and baking until the inside turns gooey. Serve with baguette slices and red grapes for an elegant appetizer this Sunday.

You could easily serve some buttered popcorn, or you could take it up a notch with this Truffled Popcorn. Truffle Oil, Asiago cheese and chives will make this snack something you’ll keep reaching into the bowl for.

Last but not least, one of my favorite sweet and savory desserts: these easy Rolo Pretzel Turtles. You can make these in a big batch, just work quickly to press the pecans into the melted Rolo candy! If you have leftovers, pop them into the freezer or the fridge for later.

I hope these quick and easy ideas for the Academy Awards this Sunday will inspire you to host a spontaneous little get together. Whether you are in your PJ’s or a Gucci dress, this menu will help you toast to Hollywood’s year of film!

Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela

The Ultimate Super Bowl Sunday

0 · Jan 31, 2012 · Leave a Comment

With a few great dishes and a rocking group of friends and family, you will be the hostess with the mostess this Super Bowl Sunday. I’ve searched the web to find 10 winning recipes that you should add to your menu. Plus, I’ve added some recommendations to make entertaining or party-going effortless.

These 10 RECIPES are inexpensive, easy and full of flavor. It’s guaranteed that they will impress the crowd.

Nachos | This video shows a simple, gourmet recipe for nachos. Keep in mind that the trick for making ultimate nachos, though, is layering. First put down your chips, then some meat and some toppings, and repeat until all the ingredients are gone.
Avocado Pico de Gallo | In this Gourmet Gab video you’ll see that it only takes a few fresh ingredients to make a great dip.
Chipotle Chicken Chili | This chicken chili will kick up the intensity of the game.
Don’t-Miss-The-Meat Vegetarian Chili | If you’re watching the game with veggie lovers, try this hearty vegetarian chili.
The Best Chili of Your Life | Your carnivore acquaintances will thank you for making this chili. It’s loaded with 5 pounds of meat!
Tacos in a Bag | Let everyone serve themselves! Make a batch of taco meat and set out a buffet of toppings. Everyone grabs an individual bag of Doritos chips and stuffs in what they want.
Sloppy Joes | Don’t be afraid to get a little messy. The deliciousness is worth it.
Giada de Laurentiis’ Caprese Burgers | Burgers get an Italian spin with tomato, mozzarella and basil.
Baked Brownie with Pretzels & Toffee | Sweet and savory make an awesome team.
Caramel Chocolate Popcorn | Make a big batch of this no-bake dessert. Leave it out and watch it disappear.

When it comes to entertaining and party-going for the Super Bowl, it’s all about having a fun time and getting into the game.

Prepare either parts or a whole dish ahead of time. Mostly all of the recipes above can be prepared well in advance. Plus, flavors often taste richer after they mix and mingle together.
Ask friends and family to pitch in with some ingredients, a dish or cash to reimburse you. Team work!
Surround yourself with people who will make it a memorable day, not a stressful one. After all, you’re just watching the game, not competing for the trophy!
Sport the gear or colors of your favorite team. Who’s it gonna be? Giants or Patriots?
Leave a comment below with the dish you’re most excited to make this weekend.

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Here’s How it Works

And the winner is…

What Did They Think

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