“Special occasions should feel special.”

When I’m hosting a birthday, shower, or any other festive family occasion, I want it to look like I have tried. But, on the other hand, I don’t want to give up my entire week or weekend making that happen. These recipes are company worthy and easy—a winning combination.

For all you Birmingham folks, the recipes in today’s post ran in the May/June issue of Birmingham Home and Garden magazine. So, if you subscribe, I apologize for the duplicates; but if you don’t, or have misplaced your issue, don’t fret—the recipes are all here. Well, almost all. I’m saving the Overnight Cinnamon French Toast for maybe Father’s Day. Stay tuned.

Cucumber-and-Petal Tea Sandwiches

Makes 36 (approx)

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

3 tablespoons grated cucumber, excess water removed

1 tablespoon grated onion

¼ cup fresh dill

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

¼ teaspoon salt

1 loaf very thin white bread

Garnish with radish and cucumber slices, edible flowers, and fresh herbs

Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl; set aside. Trim crusts from bread to desired size. (I used a fluted pastry cutter. A cookie cutter will also work.) Spread cucumber mixture evenly on the bread, and garnish away!

This makes a nice appetizer to serve before lunch.

“And speaking of lunch…”

Celebration Shrimp Salad

Serves 4 to 6 (recipe easily can be doubled)

1 pound shrimp

1 cup finely chopped celery

3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped

¼ cup green pepper, finely chopped

2 tablespoons pimiento or 2-ounce jar, drained thoroughly

1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion, (reserving tops for garnish)

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Sour Cream Dressing

1 cup sour cream

½ cup ketchup

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon grated onion

1 teaspoon horseradish

½ teaspoon dry mustard

Place shrimp in a medium saucepan of boiling water. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Pour into a strainer, and rinse with cold water. Peel and place into a medium bowl. Set aside.

Add next 5 ingredients to the shrimp. (Note: With a paper towel remove excess moisture from the pimientos and tomatoes before adding them to the shrimp mixture.)

Sour Cream Dressing:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, mixing thoroughly. Immediately before serving, toss shrimp mixture with half of Sour Cream Dressing.

Serve shrimp salad on lettuce cups. Pass remainder of the dressing if desired. Garnish with reserved green onion tops.

Sweet Corn Pudding

Serves 4 to 6

6 ears fresh corn, kernels removed

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Lightly grease a 1 ½-quart baking dish.

Stir together all ingredients in a medium bowl. Pour into prepared dish. (Place baking dish inside a larger baking pan; fill pan halfway up with water. This “water bath” will keep the pudding moist.) Bake for 45 minutes or until set.

“And for the moment you’ve been waiting for…”

No-Churn Strawberry Shortbread Ice Cream

Serves 6 to 8

2 cups fresh strawberries, plus extra for garnish

2 tablespoons sugar

2 cups whipping cream, chilled

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

12 shortbread cookies

Fresh mint

Wash and hull strawberries, and place in a medium bowl. Sprinkle strawberries with sugar; set aside.

Beat cream with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form; add sweetened condensed milk, combine thoroughly; set aside.

Place strawberries in a food processor, and pulse 2 or 3 times.

Place cookies in a ziplock bag, and pound until crumbly.

Layer cream mixture, strawberries, and cookies in a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, repeating twice. Swirl the layers with the blade of a knife after each layer. Top with remaining strawberry slices.

Cover tightly with several sheets of plastic wrap. Freeze for 5 to 6 hours or overnight. (Carefully press plastic wrap onto ice cream mixture to prevent any ice crystals from forming.)

Remove from the refrigerator 10 to 15 minutes prior to serving. Garnish with strawberries and fresh mint.

Leslie Likes: Lorna Doone Shortbread Cookies

Fabulous Find

Also, special thanks to Grace Register for taking time out of her busy work schedule to index all of my past blog posts for me. She is one smart cookie!

Since October when I launched dearpartydiary.com, I’ve managed to come up with some pretty tasty recipes—65 to be exact, so if you may have skipped a week or two, take time to go back through the posts and see what all you have missed! It should be a “piece of cake” now, thanks to Grace!

“The finishing touches…”