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Archive for the ‘Entertaining at Home’ Category

Summer Party Ideas for Keeping Cool

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, Party Theme, tagged , , , , on July 12, 2011| 2 Comments »

If you are like me and sitting in the bliss of ocean breezes is not on your near or distant horizon, you can at least keep your cool as temperatures rise.

Did you know certain foods can help you beat the heat?

Why not host a summer party with a theme of “Keep Your Cool?”

Go Green

As in salad greens. This is an obvious and easy choice for summer meals. Lettuce contains a lot of water as do cucumbers, celery and carrots. The added liquid helps cool you down and keep you hydrated. Set up a salad bar with some basic toppings and make entertaining this way a breeze.

Think Spicy

Food in the tropics are often spicy. The reason for this is because “hot” food such as chili peppers lower your body temp because of capsaicin, a chemical that causes skin to prespire (or glow, as I prefer to call it). That glow cools you as it evaporates. Add a few spicy additions to your salad bar and see how popular they will be. (Except to those of us you have an aversion to spicy foods. I’ll just eat some chocolate to make up for it.)

Hint of Mint

Both peppermint and wintergreen contain menthol which has a cooling effect. Add mint to salads, side dishes, desserts and drinks. My BFF thinks I make peppermint iced tea just for her but I really enjoy it, too.

However you decide to entertain this summer, remember to relax, enjoy your guests and have fun.

She Who Now Craves Peppermint Tea

 

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Super Easy Patriotic Dessert

Posted in Captain Cavedweller, Desserts, Easy Recipes, Entertaining at Home, Fast Recipes, Holidays, tagged , , , , , on June 29, 2011| 3 Comments »

If you are looking for a dessert that is so simple and effortless it practically makes itself, let me know when you find it.

All kidding aside, this dessert is super fast and easy and delicious so if you aren’t exactly Betty Baker, whip this together then stand back and listen to the ohhs and ahhs as your guests like their plates clean and ask for more!

Start with a pre-made pound cake (I used Sara Lee’s frozen pound cake). Slice into about quarter to half-inch slices – depending on if you want hearty or more delicate slices.

Wash raspberries and stir in a spoon or two of sugar. Set aside and let the sugar work its magic on the raspberries while you rinse the blueberries.

I used freshly whipped cream, but you can also use frozen whipped topping if you aren’t into beating defenseless cream into a frothy pile of deliciousness.

Put the cake in a fun serving bowl or platter. I just picked up this blue beauty (and the little blue bowl) last week at Sur la Table – one of my new favorite stores. I kept wandering around in there so long Captain Cavedweller finally agreed to come back and pick my drooling self up half an hour later. It was a good thing he came when he did or I’m not sure I could have restrained myself from buying approximately 37 more things that I really, really wanted. But I had to have these! Had to!

Use red, white and blue dishes for your berries and whipped cream. It looks fun and festive without being a lot of work!

Enjoy!

She Who Really Likes Finding Favorite New Stores!

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Fourth of July Party Ideas

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Holidays, Party Theme, Quick and Easy, tagged , , , , on June 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »

The rest of this week, I’ll be posting Fourth of July party tips and ideas. You may even get a recipe or two if you stick around.

Today, I wanted to post a few cute and fun ideas I came across last week in my travels. Please keep in mind Hubby and I were on vacation and I got to go to at least 75 stores which is about 74 more than I usually do a month let alone a week so I don’t remember exactly where I found what.

This was one of the first things I found and had to have. I think I grabbed it at one of those outlet mall kitchen stores. I think. It is silicone and works really slick. I strongly advise against putting it in the dishwasher. Even the top rack warped it. Still makes the mold just fine, but it doesn’t sit flat or straight.

I used juice to make the cubes. That way when added to punch or pop on a hot day, you aren’t diluting the liquid. Freeze fun colors like red juice or blue Kool-Aid for an unexpected patriot pop of color.

You can also use this mold for jello, mints, chocolate  – all sorts of fun and entertaining items. I was most entertained by the frozen juice stars. They were pretty yummy.

This one is easy – you can get patriotic cupcake papers just about everywhere right now. They are in grocery stores, departments stores, kitchen stores. I think I got these at Wal-mart last year.

The point of all this rambling is do something fun with these besides cupcakes. Arrange them on a serving tray and fill with a patriotic snack mix like Chex Mix with red, white and blue M&Ms. Use them to hold solid berries like blueberries or strawberries. Raspberries can get a little smooshy on you in the heat. Fill them with grapes, nuts, bits of fresh veggies. Put battery-operated tea lights in them and place them around for decorations on your buffet table. Place a Tostito’s scoops chip in each one and fill with cheese, taco-seasoned meat and olives. Put a brownie bite inside and finish with a dollop of whipped cream (use Reddi-Whip in the heat to keep a swirled shape the longest.)

I loved this mini patriotic pinwheels. What I’m going to do with them exactly I don’t know, but the possibilities are so exciting! You could tuck them in a salad or dessert for a fun accent. Put a piece of rectangular florist foam in a long container, cover the top with moss, then poke in stems of red,white and blue flowers and use these little gems for a final accent for your centerpiece. Use them to mark dishes that are extra hot or spicy.

Think outside the box and have fun with your Fourth of July entertaining. You’ll be a savvy entertaining!

She Who Needs to Get Crackin’ on Her Own Fourth of July Buffet Plans

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Cream Puffs with Vanilla Pudding

Posted in Desserts, Easy Recipes, Entertaining at Home, Recipes, tagged , , , on June 24, 2011| 3 Comments »

It had been half of forever since I  made cream puffs so when the mood struck the other day, I jumped right into preparations.

They aren’t hard to make and are so tasty when stuffed with a delicious, creamy filling and dusted with sugar.

Make a batch this weekend and see if your family doesn’t act a little bit appreciative of your efforts.

Ingredients for Cream Puffs

 

Boil the butter and water

 

Add flour all at once.

 

Stir until it forms a ball then cool for 10 minutes.

 

Add eggs one at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon.

 

Drop onto a greased baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment) about three inches apart.

 

Bake until golden brown and lovely. Set aside and let cool completely.

 

Ingredients for pudding.

 

 

Stir together dry ingredients, mix in milk then cook until thick and bubbly.

 

Add milk mixture, gradually, to beaten eggs. Mix completely.

 

Pour egg mixture back into pudding.

 

 

Cook until bubbly, but not boiling, remove from heat then add butter and vanilla.

 

Pour pudding into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to serve.

 

Split cream puffs open and remove any soft dough in the middle.

 

Fill with pudding.

 

If you are a chocolate freak like me, drizzle with chocolate before dusting with powdered sugar and devouring.

Cream Puffs

1/2 cup butter

1 cup flour

1 cup water

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

powdered sugar (for dusting)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter and water and salt. Bring to a boil. Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball that doesn’t separate. Remove from heat. Cool 10 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating with a wooden spoon after each addition until smooth.

Drop batter by heaping tablespoons, three inches apart, on a greased baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment). Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack. Split puffs and remove any soft dough from inside . Fill with pudding, dust with sugar, serve and enjoy. You could also fill with whipped cream, ice cream, sherbet or fruit.

Vanilla Pudding

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3 cups milk

2 beaten eggs

1 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and flour. Stir in milk then cook over medium hit until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Stir constantly.  When it starts to bubble, cook for two minutes more. Remove from heat and gradually stir about one cup of the mixture into the beaten eggs. Return the egg mixture to the pan and cook until nearly bubbly but do not boil. Reduce heat and cook for two additional minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat, stir in butter and vanilla. Pour into a bowl, cover the top with plastic wrap, pressing it down to the surface of the pudding and chill until ready to serve cream puffs.

If you are a chocolate addict like me, you can drizzle chocolate sauce over the top before you dust it with sugar.

Enjoy!

She Who Loves Cream Puffs Entirely Too Much

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