Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘entertain’ Category

Mess-Free Entertaining

Posted in entertain, Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, tagged , , on October 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »

cutting boardI am in love! And yes, Hubby is aware of the infatuation.  This love affair is with the next best thing since sliced bread – crock pot liners!

OK, so I can get pretty excited about some very simple things but I just tried the liners for the first time yesterday and absolutely loved them. No mess, no scrubbing out baked on food. Just lift out the liner, toss, and rinse out the crock pot. So quick and simple.

When you are entertaining at home, make your prep work as quick and simple as possible. It will take less time and energy to clean up and give you more of both to devote to enjoying your guests.

Line pans with foil or parchment paper before baking (depending on what you are making) for easy clean up afterward.

Use resealable plastic bags for mixing messy ingredients, marinating meat or veggies. You can mix just about anything in a bag my massaging it. It also works great for squeezing our frosting and fillings. Just fill the bag, seal, trim off a corner and you are ready to roll.

Invest in at least one quality piece of heavy-duty cookware and one top-drawer piece of cutlery. The cookware will not only cook better and faster, it will also be easier to clean up. The cutlery will make your prep work go faster and you might even have more fun doing it.

Have a couple of good cutting boards. Keep the one you use for raw meats separate from the one you use for everything else. When you purchase a cutting board, look for one that has a gutter around the edge – it will keep runaway juices contained and save time on clean up.

Keep a bowl handy in which you place all peelings, trimmings, etc., in when you are doing prep work. It saves cleaning out the sink or scraping piles off the counter later.

Use paper cupcake liners to grease pans, or save the wrappers from cubes of butter to use when you need a pan greased.

Make clean up after the party simple, too, by having adequate containers out for guests to toss their garbage. If you are entertaining outdoors, you can even have a container to collect flatware, plates and glasses.

Think about the things you can do that will save time on clean-up and make entertaining even easier. If you have a favorite mess-free tip, please share it here!

Read Full Post »

Fall Party Themes

Posted in entertain, Entertaining Ideas on October 13, 2009| Leave a Comment »

When you entertain during the fall, think about creating an added element of excitement with a fall party theme.apples

The possibilities are only limited  by your imagination, so have fun with it!

Your theme can be something as simple as Halloween or choose something a little more off the beaten path like a Pumpkin Carving Party, Harvest Celebration, Leaf Wrangling Party, Apple Festival, Pumpkin Bash, or Pasta Potluck.

For an Apple Festival, you could begin incorporating the theme with your invitations. If you are printing invitations, make sure there are some apple graphics on the invite. Or take it a step further and hand deliver an apple with an invitation attached to the stem. Use a variety of apples for your decorations at the party. Cored apples work great as candle holders. A mini basket of apples makes a fun and simple centerpiece.

Serve a variety of fun dishes including several that include apple as an ingredient. You could have cheese and apple slices for an appetizer,  apple slaw or Waldorf salad, pork with apples for a main dish and applesauce cake or apple pie for dessert. Don’t forget to have hot apple cider available as well. Mix in some other non-apple dishes to round out the meal.

You can even incorporate some apple-themed games like who can peel an apple the fastest or in one continuous peel, apple bowling, or a blindfolded taste-test with several varieties of apples.

However you decide to entertain this fall, add a theme and ramp up the fun.

If you would like to receive a complimentary set of fall party cards, please email me at shanhat@yahoo.com and I’ll send you a set.

Read Full Post »

Autumn Entertaining

Posted in entertain, Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas on October 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »

When the air turns crisp, fallen leaves begin to crunch beneath my shoes and mother nature paints the landscape with inspired hues of rich, golden color, I know autumn has arrived.

Fall is my favorite season. It is the deep breath of contentment between the hurried, hot days of summer and the cold, gray days of winter.

I love to entertain in the fall when the food, decor and atmosphere all reflect the bounty of harvest. Tangy tart apples, creamy pumpkin and loads of fresh produce demand to be made into something warm and comforting.

Think about how you can incorporate autumn into your next entertaining venture. Bring the outdoors in with bouquets made of fall leaves and the last flowers of the season. You can also use pine cones and nuts for accents. Dress your table in nature-inspired colors of amber, gold, cranberry and green. Use all one color of china and serving pieces and create the feel of fall with your table coverings and centerpiece. Or mix and match pieces in fall colors such as brown, yellow, cream, green and red.

Or take the indoors outside when you entertain, soaking up the last warm rays of sunshine while the weather is still cooperative. Provide moveable heaters or build a bonfire. Set a very casual buffet table, again using the colors of fall, and have piles of blankets, extra sweaters and plenty of hot beverages available.

Focus your food on the flavors of fall. Whip up a pumpkin soup or pumpkin bread. Apple anything  – from apples with caramel dip to baked apples or apple cobbler – is sure to be appreciated this time of year. Think of having some friends over for a “comfort food” potluck. Have them each bring their favorite comfort food and pool your efforts for a fun and unique meal.

However you plan to entertain this fall, remember to keep it simple and keep your focus on connecting with those gathered in your home. 

What is your favorite comfort food? Please share your response here!

Read Full Post »

Delicious Carrot Cake

Posted in Easy Recipes, entertain, tagged , on September 11, 2009| 10 Comments »

We just celebrated Hubby’s birthday and every year he requests the same dessert – carrot cake. It is moist and delicious, especially when topped with cream cheese frosting.

This recipe for carrot cake comes from my grandmother. You could always count on finding some delicious baked goodie at Grandma’s house, especially when she baked carrot cake. It is easy to put together and makes the whole house smell yummy while it bakes.

Ingredients for Carrot Cake

Elsie’s Carrot Cake

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

4 eggs

2 tsps. baking soda

4 cups grated carrots

1 tsp. salt

1 cup walnuts, chopped

2 tsp. cinnamon

Cream together eggs, sugar and oil. Mix in remaining ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until edges begin to pull away from the pan. Top with Cream Cheese Frosting. Garnish with halved walnuts.

Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 box powdered sugar

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine all ingredients until smooth and creamy.

Enjoy!

Carrot Cake - Yum!

Have a favorite recipe from your grandmother? Share it here!

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »