Ladies' Paint Night at the Snap Dragon Lounge

Ladies' Painting Night at the Snap Dragon Lounge 

5:30pm (ish) Friday, November 7, 2025

Menu:

Bluebird Cocktail, wine, ridiculously fabulous cheese, fat cocktail shrimp with spicy red sauce, wavy chips, various chocolate treats, cranberry crumble bars-GF (see recipe below) and butternut squash soup with roasted peppers- a little bit on the spicy side!

Bring your own art supplies or share mine- water color paint, etc.

Prepare to vent, laugh, indulge and imbibe.

 Jam Bars 

(makes 16 squares)

1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2/3 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

grated zest of 2 lemons

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups AP flour OR 2 1/4 cups King Arthur Measure for Measure GF Flour

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 cup jam of choice

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray/butter a square 8x8 inch baking pan and line both ways with parchment leaving at least 1 inch overhang on each side.

Melt butter and allow to cool. Meanwhile, add sugar, salt and lemon zest to stand mixer and mix on low until sugar is moist and smells of lemon.- about a minute or so. Add the melted, cooled butter and mix just to combine. Add vanilla extract. Add flour and oats. Mix to just combine. 

Line a baking pan with parchment. Remove 1 cup of mixture and crumble over line pan. Spread out the mixture to create the crumble topping. Do not press down- you want to creates chunks of crumbly topping here.

Take the rest of the mixture and press evenly into the square baking pan using your hands.

Place both the square baking pan and the baking sheet with crumble topping into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. 

Remove both from oven. Gently spread jam over the base in the square pan. Top the jam with the par-baked crumble. Place back into oven and bake for 25-35 minutes until the crumble and crust are lightly browned and the jam is bubbling up on the edges. (If using GF flour, it will likely take the full 35 minutes, less time for AP flour.)

Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack until firm. Remove bars from pan with parchment and cut into desired size pieces to serve.

Variations:

Substitute vegan butter for regular butter. 

Sub out jam for cranberry sauce. Spread out cranberry sauce onto par-cooked dough, sprinkle with nutmeg, cinnamon and a pinch of clove.

Spread room temperature goat cheese over par-baked crust and top with jam before topping with crumble for a more savory taste- great with cocktails!

Dining Al Fresco- Deconstructed "Pizza"

 "This is my Italian summer!" Ava announced as she devoured another slice of prosciutto. I laughed and we set the table- al fresco- on the deck: cushions on the wooden chairs, floral printed cloth napkins, salt and pepper. Ready to relax after a day of working indoors on a beautiful summer day.

Our favorite meal to eat on evenings like these- a cast iron pan filled with roasted cherry tomatoes: charred and bursting, doused with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Seasoned with a sprig of fresh rosemary nestled into the softened fruit. 

Once the tomatoes are removed from the oven, we tuck cold balls of burrata into the tomato "jam" and slit the tops of the fresh, creamy cheese open to reveal the oozing soft interior. We slice chunks of fresh crusty baguette and spread the soft tomatoes and silky cheese over them and use the crusts to sop up the juices on our plates. A perfectly deconstructed "pizza" to share as a leisurely dinner sitting amongst the flowers and potted herbs. What could be better?

Roasted Tomatoes with Burrata 
Serves 2 for dinner

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for finishing

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

a few grinds black pepper

1/8 teaspoon (pinch) of sugar

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

2 balls burrata

1 loaf fresh crusty bread/baguette, sliced

In an oven proof pan (cast iron is great for this), combine cherry tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar. Heat mixture on stove on medium high until tomatoes begin to blister. (about 10 minutes).

Heat broiler in oven. Nestle rosemary under the tomato mixture and place the pan in the oven under the broiler for 5-10 minutes until the tomatoes begin to char and the juices reduce a bit and get thicker. Carefully remove from oven. Remove and discard rosemary. Nestle burrata in the tomato mixture and slit the top of each cheese ball. 

To serve, place pan on table along with bread on the side. Dig in- be careful that pan is HOT! Best devoured with someone else and served with your favorite Italian style summer beverage such as Campari and soda and/or Hugo Spritz.

Campari and Soda

Serves 1

Ice

Campari

seltzer

3-4 lemon wedges

Fill a rocks glass with ice. Pour a couple of fingers of Campari over the ice. Top with seltzer

Gently mix. Squeeze 3-4 lemon wedges over the top. Enjoy!

Hugo Spritz

Serves 1

Ice

1 oz. Elderflower Liqueur- St. Germaine

2  oz. seltzer water

6 oz. Prosecco

lime wedges

Fresh mint

Fill a wine glass with ice. Crush mint leaves over glass of ice and add them to glass. Add St. Germaine, seltzer and gently stir. Top with Prosecco. Garnish with lime wedge and more mint.