In the Kitchen // Entertaining Simply

Very rarely do I turn down an excuse to host a get together, and when Simply Orange asked if we’d like to share an evening of sips and snacks with a few friends (their treat!), I jumped at the chance.  Opening our home to others is something that I truly love, and in keeping with the “Simply” theme I knew I wanted to make things easy and casual, but still totally delish.

Keep reading for the full spread and find out how to make the yummy “Simply” cocktails we’re drinking out of my new vintage ship tumblers. :)

G created our summer cocktails of the evening, featuring two of the newer additions to the Simply Orange family: Simply Grapefruit and Simply Cranberry.  Again, you can’t get much easier with these few key ingredients and one quick step.

• Chihuahua Margarita:  2 oz. tequila, 2 oz. Simply Grapefruit & 3 dashes of bitters
• Pink Lady:   2 oz. rum, 2 oz Simply Cranberry & a splash of lemon juice

Both were served shaken on the rocks, and for fun (and the yummy smell), we garnished them with fresh basil leaves.

As you can see, the snacks were a hodge-podge of finger foods and a delicious entree-worthy (and dude approved) salad made by Christine’s husband, Jon.  Morgan brought fresh veggies and hummus and I made a quick couscous and black bean salad and then a batch of my healthy chocolate chip cookies to bring things to a sweet close at the end of the night.  Wish you all could have joined us!!!

Do you like to entertain in your home or are you more of a great guest?  When everyone is bringing their summertime favorite to share, what’s your go-to dish or drink?