Hey Girl, Hey. We are in love with the friend-filled holiday trend of Galentine’s Day. This fun event dates back to season two, episode 16 of Parks and Rec when character Leslie Knope gathers a group of her closest gal pals – “Ladies celebrating ladies.” We couldn’t agree more. Here’s a delish menu for your Galentines gathering.

Start things off with a Sip – French Kiss

Light, bubbly and fruity, this French Kiss cocktail is quick to make and fun to sip. Raspberry Patch Tea gets an extra long steep – a great side benefit of Herbal Teas – you can’t oversteep them! Add in Chambord, bubbly and lemonade, and you’ve got a crisp libation that’s beautiful to boot!

The Perfect Nibble – Smoked Salmon Potato Cakes with Pink Peppercorns

This nibble falls into the “perfect bite” category. Crispy potatoes. Smoky salmon. Cold sour cream. A pop of heat. This fun app does it all. Our Spud Spice is the perfect addition to sour cream, greek yogurt or creme fraiche and is at home on any spud. Baked potatoes, mashed potatoes or an air fryer filled with tots. We add in the pop of heat with a sprinkling of Pink Peppercorns – Fun Fact: Pink Peppercorns aren’t peppercorns at all. Pink Peppercorns are semi-ripe, dried berries from the Peruvian pepper tree. Pink peppercorns deliver warmth and a light, sweet note.

A Terrific Tapas – Shrimp with Sofrito

Sofrito is a combo of aromatic ingredients is found in Mediterranean, Latin American, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese cooking. While there are versions of Sofrito that are ground aromatics, blitzed in a blender, most often Sofrito is cooked. Hop over to our blog to learn all about Sofrito, Mirepoix, Trinity and more aromatic mixtures. For this delicious dish, we prepare the Sofrito in advance, reheat it and slow simmer the shrimp just before serving. Serve with lots of crusty bread for sopping up the delicious sauce.

Not Your Average Broccoli – Broccolini with Sambal Cashew Cream

This recipe from Bon Appetit caught our eye because of…well, everything. Cashews whip up into a luxurious sauce that is the perfect blank canvas for big flavors from sambal oelek and soy sauce. Broccolini gets a dunk in our Harissa Extra Virgin Olive Oil then it’s roasted – blistered (don’t you just love that word?) – until tender-crisp and ready for dredging through the spicy velvety sauce. That’s what we mean by everything – this recipe does all the things.

A Sweet Finish – Crinkle Top Brownies

Cakey? Fudgy? Chewy? What’s your brownie type? We are partial to just about any brownie that heads our way! Crinkle top brownies seem to get a lot of buzz – what makes the top so perfectly crinkly? According to Half Baked Harvest, it’s all about the type of chocolate and whisked eggs. In our adaptation, we bring in a little Espresso Extract alongside the Vanilla Extract for a tiny twist on a very, very chocolate-ly classic!

For Parks & Rec Fans…
Leslie Knope celebrated Galentine’s with her gal pals with waffles. If you’re looking to keep it traditional, here’s the recipe for you!
Overnight Yeasted Waffles