A Galentines Party spread of pasta and pink sauce, heart-shaped pizza, a waffle tower cake, sparkling rose and homemade ice cream sandwiches

How to host a flawless Galentine's Party!

The most wonderful day of the year is upon us, Galentine’s Day! And no worries, because there’s no wrong time to start celebrating! This year, Galentine’s day is all about treating yourself, whether you’re a dinner party queen or more of a brunch gal. We’re highlighting these delectable recipes as well as some amazing female winemakers. 

An image of a table with pasta, a waffle cake, delicious appetizers, ice cream sandwiches and a heart shaped pizza.

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

  • Galentines day is February 13 (preceding V day because who run the world? Girls.)
  • It’s a celebration of ladies celebrating ladies
  • Leslie Knope recommends waffles and mimosas be served but most importantly, female friendships be cherished

Recognizing that the most important thing is that you bring your circle of women together to cheers each other for the entirety of the party and not where or when this takes place, I’ve put together ideas for a few different styles of Galentines Day festivities- for the low maintenance gals, for the dinner party queens, for the brunch squad and for the healthy bunch- as well as a Galentines gift guide: 

FOR THE LOW MAINTENANCE GALS:

A heart-shaped pizza with pepperoni on a heart-shaped cutting board

How low maintenance can you go? How about pizza and ice cream? Done. Buy some premade pizza dough, sauce and all your fave toppings and have fun making heart shaped pizzas together. 

A two-tiered platter with ice cream sandwiches made with Halo Top ice cream and homemade cookies

Complete this delightfully easy party menu with a few packages of cookies and a couple varieties of ice cream (I recommend Black Cherry Halo Top, no I’m not sponsored by them but I wish I was, because can you even imagine?) and slap some ice cream cookie sandwiches together.

FOR THE DINNER PARTY QUEENS

This party option is perfect for those who love to wine and dine over several courses and and linger for hours. Here’s a main course suggestion to get your menu started. I recommend pairing it with McBride Sisters 2019 Red Blend.

A bottle of McBride Sister's 2019 Red Blend

 

Pasta with Pink Sauce

This sauce is so good that I literally eat it by the spoonful and would drink it like a smoothie if no one was watching.

A bowl of pasta with pink sauce topped with fresh basil and parmesan

Make it:

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

½ cup vodka

1 small yellow onion, diced

¾ cup heavy cream

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

½- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Let’s do this!

  • Coat a large skillet with olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Sauté onion for 5-6 minutes. Then add garlic and sauté for another 3- 4 minutes.
  • Add crushed red pepper flakes and vodka and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.
  • Add the crushed tomatoes and oregano and simmer on low until you’re ready to eat your pasta, stirring occasionally.
  • One minute before you want to serve the sauce, add the heavy cream and fresh basil, stir to combine and then remove from heat.

FOR THE BRUNCH SQUAD

In true Leslie Knope fashion, wow your besties and center your brunch menu around a towering waffle cake, and of course, the Rose.

A glass of Rose wine next to a can of wine with a colorful label

For the rose, we recommend female-owned Maker wine and for bubbles we love female-founded Yes Way Rose.

A tower of 5 layers of waffles, strawberries, and whipped cream

Waffle Cake with Maple Whipped Cream

  • Beat 2 cups whipping cream and ½ cup dark maple syrup in mixer until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use, at least 30 minutes.
  • Use your favorite waffle mix to make a batch (or 2 if you want it to be really tall) of waffles.
  • Place waffles on a baking sheet in the oven set at 200 degrees while you make them to keep them nice and warm and fresh. You want them to be fairly crispy so they don’t completely absorb the whipped cream
  • Spread a few tablespoons of whipped cream in between each layer of waffle.
  • Top with 1-2 cups fresh strawberries, quartered (or substitute any other fruit of your choice)
  • Optional: dust with maple sugar and/or bacon bits

 

 

FOR THE HEALTHY BUNCH

For the plant-based girlies, I’m sharing a few recipes that are both healthy and delicious. First up is my Kale Salad with Avocado Balsamic Dressing, Cherries and Sweet and Spicy Pecans, with its creamy avocado dressing and pop of red cherries. Then, enjoy vibrant Beet Noodles with Sage Pesto and Goat Cheese to complete the deep red theme.  Cheers with organic Pinot Noir 2021, made by female-owned Oeno. 

A bowl of kale salad topped with red cherries and pecans

Kale Salad with Avocado Balsamic Dressing, Cherries and Sweet and Spicy Pecans

1 bunch or 3 – 4 cups Kale, stems and ribs removed and roughly chopped

¾ cup cherries, pitted and halved (frozen is fine here as long as you let them come to room temp first)

1 cup spicy pecans (recipe follows)

For the Dressing:

1 avocado

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

2/3 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper

1-3 tablespoons water as needed

For the pecans:

1 cup raw pecans, whole or halved

1.5 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce

1 tablespoon melted butter

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon brown sugar

  • Start by roasting your pecans. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl then toss the pecans in the bowl to coat evenly. Bake on a parchment paper lined baking sheet at 350 for 8-12 minutes, flipping the nuts halfway through. Keep a very close eye on them and when they start to smell roasted, remove from oven as they can go from roasted to burnt in a matter of seconds. Allow to cool before using in salad (you can flash chill them in the fridge or freezer to speed up the process)
  • To make the dressing, blend up all ingredients except the water. The mixture might be quite thick, so add the water tablespoon by tablespoon until it gets to the consistency of a creamy Caesar dressing.
  • Place chopped kale in a large salad bowl and drizzle a small amount of olive oil over it (about a teaspoon). Massage the oil into the kale leaves briefly, attempting to get most of the leaves covered. Massaging the kale helps to break down the tough exterior and make it more edible.
  • Add the dressing to the massaged Kale, tossing to evenly distribute. I let my salad rest in the fridge once dressed for about 30 minutes before serving. Top with the cherries and pecans to serve.

 

 

A bowl of beet noodles with goat cheese next to a bunch of pink flowers

Beet Noodles with Sage Pesto and Goat Cheese

2-3 raw large red beets, peeled and spiralized

1 small yellow onion, diced

4-6 oz goat cheese

3 tablespoons Olive oil

For the pesto:

½ cup walnuts

½ cup packed, fresh sage leaves

1 cup packed, fresh basil

1 cup packed, fresh parsley

Juice of half a lemon or 3 teaspoons white vinegar

3-5 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

  • Start by making your pesto. Blend the walnuts, parmesan, garlic, sage, basil and parsley with the lemon juice and a few tablespoons of olive oil. Gradually add more olive oil until it gets to your desired pesto consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat and add onions. Cook for 5 minutes until slightly softer.
  • Add beet noodles and cook for another 10 minutes, flipping the noodles partway through. If you don’t have a large enough pan to accommodate all of the noodles, just work in batches
  • Add in pesto so that it coats the noodles as evenly as possible. Cook for about a minute so your pesto warms up to the same temp as the noodles.Top with goat cheese crumbles to serve.

 

 

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