Posts tagged Holiday Entertaining
Make This Year’s Mid Week Valentines Day Extra Sweet

This year, Valentine’s Day falls on a Tuesday.  So, having a romantic night out might not be in the cards. However, there is nothing stopping you from giving your love(s) a mid week treat that shows them how much you care.

If you have ever been out to eat on February 14th, there is a very good chance chocolate lava cake was on the menu.  Many times, the server will even point it out when you order your meal because if you want it, the kitchen needs to be told in advance.  So, of course, you commit before you have even sipped your cocktail to that delicious little cake that oozes molten chocolate out all over the dish.

While it might seem like magic, it’s really just an undercooked brownie and it only has five ingredients! So, if you are staying in this year, and might even be serving a ho hum dinner as it’s a weekday and the kids have activities and homework, you can still dazzle everyone with this spectacular little dessert. 

Read More
Don’t Be Chicken On Turkey Day! Tips For a Stress-Free (and Delicious) Thanksgiving...

Holidays are rough.  So much to do, so little time and most of the time, the brunt of the cooking will inevitably fall on one person.  However, if you create a solid game plan and are wiling to begin a few days early, the day of will turn out great and most importantly, enjoyable for you.

I love that Thanksgiving falls on a Thursday.  That means, I have a crazy week but then three days after to recover physically and … mentally.  My Thanksgiving dinner begins the weekend before, yes, Saturday before Thanksgiving is when I get it all down on paper.  My holidays and big dinners all begin with food magazines for inspiration, Google and a trusty notebook with the last ten years of my menus. 

Read More
How-To Tuesday: Throwing A Smashing Cocktail Party

Not to toot my own horn but I know how to throw a successful party.  Phil and I share a love for entertaining, so we try to throw at least three to four parties annually. 

Having an entertaining party isn’t difficult, but a little planning can make your party better and stress-free.  After all you want to be able to mingle, laugh with friends and enjoy the fruits of your labor, right? Read on for a few tips on throwing an A+ affair along with a killer recipe for my mother's stuffed mushrooms - perfectly bite-sized and guaranteed to impress your guests!

Read More
Social Saturday: Brie En Croute

Grab a bottle of nice wine, put the kids to bed; it’s time for the annual run of holiday parties.  I love going to holiday parties.  Its great to see friends, have a few laughs and toast the upcoming year.  My cocktail party stand by is Brie En Croute.  That’s a super fancy way to say wheel of brie covered in puff pastry.  I also cut mine in half, fill it with brown sugar, dried fruit and nuts.  Trust me, make this baby and it will disappear before you can say, “God, that’s an ugly sweater!”

Read More