Alice "Tea" Partay!

A couple weeks ago, my friend and I decided to throw a little "tea party" in honor of the premier of Alice in Wonderland. More than likely, this is not the first Alice-themed party you've seen in the last month or so, but I just had to share a couple of the decorations and recipes we used, just to show you how easy it can be to throw together a last minute fete... the party started at 7 p.m., and we got things rolling around 5.

We wanted the table to feel eclectic (think Mad Hatter), but we didn't have a ton of supplies on-hand so we brought out a various assortment of glassware and platters from our cupboards. This is when the random wedding gift of apertif glasses from Aunt Mildred comes in handy - that broad knows what she's doing.

These are miniature wine bottles I picked up at Safeway, they come in sets of four... too cute! I just cut up some squares of scrapbook paper and used double stick tape to cover up the labels. And of course we had to add a little "drink me" tag... Alice wouldn't have it any other way!

This brings us to appetizer #1 of the evening:

Prosciutto, Manchego & Strawberry Crostinis from The Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen site. {VERY IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE: if you've been living under a rock and don't know who The Pioneer Woman is, do yourself a favor and find out here. Guarenteed new obsession - you will thank me, your boss may not.} Here's the recipe! Hint - manchego is not the easiest to find if you live in a small town with one grocery store... I subbed in goat cheese, which was mighty tasty.

Recipe #2 just happens to be my favorite appetizer of all time: Crab Cakes. I truly believe I was meant to live on the East coast, where all crustaceans and sea creatures are abundant and plentiful. I could eat seafood all day, everyday. Crab cake benedict for breakfast, a lobster roll for lunch, finished with a nice balsamic glazed salmon for dinner... but I digress. Crab cakes are actually pretty easy to make, but they are not cheap or tidy. Be prepared to throw down some cash for the lump crab meat, but don't skimp! I've heard horror stories of claw meat being substituted, and the result ain't pretty folks. Make the crab mixture ahead of time and fry them up right before your guests arrive...

Voila! So delish. Find the recipe here from Paula Deen via the Food Network site.

Thanks to my friend Abby for the pics!