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Archive for the ‘Entertaining Ideas’ Category

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.

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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!

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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!

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Please RSVP

Posted in Desserts, entertain, Entertaining at Home, tagged , , , on September 1, 2009| 2 Comments »

invitationHave you ever received an invitation that asked you to RSVP and you:

1).  Ignored it.

2). Forgot about it.

3). Had every intention of calling the host but didn’t get around to it.

I think we have all been guilty of one of the above at some point in time. However good the intentions, the fact of the matter is when we are invited to an event and the host asks for us to RSVP and we don’t respond we cause all sorts of problems for the host and become one of those guests.

RSVP, Répondez s’il vous plaît, is a French term with a variety of definitions, but the most common is “please reply.”  That is what the host really wants – for the invited guests to please reply. I’ve seen hosts try everything from “Please RSVP” to “please call me with a yes or no” to try and get an idea of who will be attending their event.

Let’s walk through a scenario: you have decided to host a casual dinner party. You send out 20 invitations with “Please RSVP” two weeks before the event and get three  immediate responses. You send out an email reminder a week before the event and get two more responses. Two days before the party you make reminder phone calls to those you haven’t heard from and get one more response and leave a bunch of messages that get no return calls. So of those 20 invitations you only have six responses. How much food should you prepare? How many chairs should you have ready? How much service ware and table ware is needed? Hard to figure out, isn’t it?

When someone invites you into their home, it is truly a compliment. They are offering you a very special gift: of their time, of their food, of their home and their hospitality. It is our duty as recipients of that invitation to let the host know as soon as possible if we will or won’t be attending. If you are unsure due to a hectic schedule, tell the host up front. Then if your schedule works that you can attend, give her a quick call to say “I’ll be there.”

Hosts would rather hear your “no” or “maybe” than not hear from you at all. The next time you receive an invitation, be a good guest and respect the gift the host is extending to you. Whether you accept the gift or not, be courteous, say “Thank you for the invitation” and let her know your plans for attending.

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