How to Enjoy Your Own Dinner Party – Part II

Tags

Dinner Parties, Easy entertaining, entertaining, Kitchenbug, Party Planning, Party tips

Don’t be intimidated by entertaining – today, in Part II of her guest post, blogger Rachel Myerson from Kitchenbug shows you more of how a little bit of planning can help you relish a lovely evening with friends in your own home.

Planning a dinner party is never an easy task but it doesn’t have to be stressful. Read on for more tips about how to enjoy your own party (for Part 1 click here).

Step 3: Prepare

Preparation is inextricably linked with planning, but let’s break it down a little.

1. The week of the party:

•  Consult your Kitchenbug box containing all your pre-planned dishes and prepare as much as you can in advance of the big night. The freezer is your friend so research which elements of your menu can be frozen. Soup is my savior – you can make it months in advance, stick it in the freezer, defrost it the night before your party and heat it up 15 minutes before you intend to serve it.

• Shop for your food 2 – 3 days in advance. This will ensure that everything stays fresh for your dinner party, but also allows you to see if you forgot to buy something, and fix it without a last-minute panic.
• Don’t rely on your guests bringing things (wine, flowers etc.), it’s best to have bought them yourself so you can cross things off your to-do list, and avoid any panics if the guests forget.

2. The day of the party:

• Busy yourself in the morning with final food prep, set the table and cross as many things as you can off your list (see my check-list below for inspiration).
• If you discover you’ve bought the wrong ingredients, or a recipe flops, search Kitchenbug by ingredient or recipe to view other options or adjustments.
• Write a Timings List, particularly for the few hours before and during the dinner party to allow yourself time to be with your guests, as opposed to running to and from the kitchen. e.g.: 6:30 pm put chicken in the oven, 7:00 pm chop salad etc…

A final word of advice: The point of a dinner party is to spend time with your friends, not to prove yourself as the next Martha Stewart. Do not apologize or point out flaws in your food, they won’t notice. If all else fails: alcohol and laughter are your friends. Bon Appetit!

Dinner Party Checklist:

• How many guests are attending?
• Menu (consult Kitchenbug.com for inspiration!)
• Decor
• Playlist
• Drinks (for before and during dinner)
• Canapes (if applicable)
• Starter
• Entrée
• Dessert
• House Cleaned
• Table set (correct amount of cutlery, crockery, place mats, chairs, serving spoons, seating cards)
• Place to hang coats
• Dishwasher empty
• Decor assembled (flowers in water, candles lit etc.)
• You are showered, dressed, wined!

How to Enjoy Your Own Dinner Party – Part I

Tags

Dinner Parties, Easy entertaining, entertaining, Kitchenbug, Party Planning, Party tips

Many people I talk to say that they avoid entertaining because they never feel relaxed enough to enjoy their own parties. Today, in Part I of her guest post, blogger Rachel Myerson from Kitchenbug shows you how a little bit of planning can help you relish a lovely evening with friends in your own home.

Dinner parties can be the cause of grey hairs and lost sleep, but guess what? This doesn’t have to happen.

With planning, realistic expectations and asking the right questions, you can enjoy your own dinner party as much as your guests.

Pre-Party Planning

• Step 1: Ask Questions

First, ask yourself:

1. What is my budget?
2. Do I want my dinner party to be formal or informal?
3. Who do I want to invite?

Once you know who is attending, ask your guests:

1. Do you have any allergies, dietary requirements, or foods you dislike?

Yes, that is the only question they need to answer. Your job as host/ess is to spoil them, not annoy them with questions.

• Step 2: Plan

The most important step to enjoying your own dinner party. Done well, you can minimize surprises that may occur during cooking or at the party, and feel calmer on the night of.

1. Plan your menu.

• Pick a theme: Spanish, Italian etc, to help shape your menu.
• I found the perfect planning tool to help me shape my ideas: Kitchenbug, an online recipe platform which can instantly analyze the nutritional information of any recipe on the web.

Kitchenbug allows you to organize your collected recipes in boxes according to theme, course, food type – anything that helps to organize your ideas. For instance, I created an “Indian Vegetarian Feast” box to plan an informal Indian themed dinner party, and a “Brunch!” box to inspire me when I need to feed people on a lazy Sunday morning. Kitchenbug can help you find the right recipes for your guests specific health needs such as gluten free, dairy free etc..

Make your life easy!

2. Plan the ambiance.

• Continue your food theme with decor. A Moroccan theme could involve draping scarves over your ceiling to create a tent effect, and sitting on the floor on colorful cushions.
• Or, keep it classy with flowers (nothing too high, or it could stunt the conversation around the table), candles or a pretty table runner etc.

• You can plan a playlist weeks in advance and cross something of your list. I prefer jazz, something upbeat but that fades into the background.
• A seating plan is only necessary if you are throwing a large party, or the guests don’t know each other.

Stay tuned for Part II – advice on preparation, and how to conduct yourself on the big day.

 

Teatro ZinZanni – Hail Caesar! Forbidden Oasis

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Chef Erik Carlson, dinner theatre, Groupon Seattle, Hail Casear! Forbidden Oasis, Teatro Zinzanni, Theater

I cannot fully express to you just how thrilling it was for me to have the opportunity to speak with Chef Erick Carlson at Teatro ZinZanni and get a chance to spend some time in his kitchen during dinner service for the current show, Hail Caesar! Forbidden Oasis.

As a theatre geek and food lover both, I am so enamored with what they do on a nightly basis to marry food and art.

Take a look at my most recent Groupon Seattle post here to see more of my photos and read what Chef Erik had to say about how he brings this magic to the diners in the tent each night!

And be sure to get your tickets to Hail Caeser! Forbidden Oasis – what a fun show! Especially the tapdancing number, a la Fred and Ginger!

Hail Caesar! Forbidden Oasis

WHEN:

Now – January 26, 2014

Thursday-Saturday, 6:30pm

Sundays, 5:30pm

Select Sunday matinees, 11:30am

Select Wednesdays, 6:30pm

Matinees:

These afternoon delights feature a delicious 4-course feast and a two and half hour version of the magical evening show. Senior, child, and student discounts apply.

WHERE:

Teatro ZinZanni

222 Mercer Street, Seattle

TICKETS:

Dinner Show tickets start at $108 (All Ages)

Matinee Show tickets start at $50 youth / $86 adults

Date Night tickets start at $78

Discounts available for seniors, military, students, and youth

Box Office: (206) 802-0015

dreams.zinzanni.org

I’m Writing for Groupon!

Tags

Dining with a view, Groupon, mag, Seattle, Seattle Restaurants, Writing

I am so thrilled that I can finally make this exciting announcement! My first post on Groupon just went live today!

I will be contributing posts a few times each month, bringing you all the best places to find wonderful food in our fair city.

What a beautiful day it is here in Seattle! A great day to see all the magnificent views that we are so proud of here in the great Northwest. Dine out tonight and see for yourself! For a few of my favorites, check out my first Groupon post, “Quite a Sight – Seattle Restaurants with a View”.

Hope you enjoy!

Stick Food! Pancake & Sausage Minis

Tags

Allrecipes.com, breakfast, brunch, buttermilk pancakes, coffee, entertaining, Food on a stick, House Party, Keurig, minis, Party ideas, pork sausage, Potluck, recipes

Food on a stick brings me so much joy!

I am really excited to share with you all the details of my Keurig House Party Coffee Brunch that I hosted last weekend. And I will reveal all soon! Today though, I wanted to inspire you to consider food on a stick for your next gathering.

When Allrecipes.com asked me to write a guest post for their #RecipeForHappiness campaign, celebrating their 15th Anniversary, I knew exactly what kind of recipe brings me (and more importantly, my guests) happiness!

I just want to shout from the rooftops how thrilled I am have a guest post featured on Allrecipes.com Fresh Bites Blog!

Go over to Allrecipes.com and read for yourself my ideas for incorporating food on a stick items into your entertaining. Trust me – people will love it!

And if that’s not enough “stick food” for you, today I am also sharing my lastest creation – I had so much fun making these Pancake & Sausage Minis on a Stick for my Keurig House Party Coffee Brunch. Let me tell you – they were a hit!

All I did was form mini sausage patties from fresh ground pork sausage – sort of like making miniature sliders. 🙂

I grilled the sausage minis on my griddle and then made the smallest buttermilk pancakes I could using my favorite family pancake recipe. It’s always a crowd-pleaser!

Then I simply layered, onto a skewer, three sausage patties in between two pancakes.

I only wish I had made the pancakes first so that I would know just how small I could get them. I would have then formed my sausage patties to match the diameter of the pancakes.

But I think they still turned out rather cute. And served up with some real maple syrup and powered sugar on the side for drizzling and dredging, they were the perfect brunch one-bite (or so!) potluck item!

What is your go-to brunch potluck item? Do you like to make food on a stick too? What do you like to layer on a skewer or toothpick to jazz it up and make it more fun to eat?

Guest Post: A Paint Party

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MyPartyPlanner, Paint, Paint Party, Party ideas, Party Planning

This week is a bit harried for me with school starting, a couple of birthdays in the household, a huge event at work and getting new flooring installed in our house!

I will be be back next week with more fun parties and posts but in the meantime, please enjoy this guest post from MyPartyPlanner.com, “a FREE website created especially for you, the visitor, searching for an entertainment service for your event in your area, and all your party planning needs.”

A paint party is perfect for a fall celebration while the weather is still warm but not too hot to be outside!

It takes a certain amount of bravery to host a party, especially if you are inviting the closest of friends. People will rate, and later talk about the party, so it is important to make sure they are well entertained.

With all of the usual party themes having been worn out, finding a new theme, a unique theme, perhaps even a crazy theme can be difficult. Thankfully exciting new party themes such as paint parties can help a host throw parties that will be remembered for years.

A paint party theme is one of the hottest new themes to hit the party scene in a long time. Party goers absolutely love an opportunity to be free from worries, and will have a blast throwing and rubbing paint on each other, and everything else. Is it messy?

Well of course it is, it is delightfully messy!

When combined with a DJ spinning tunes, party lights, and a group of great friends, it is certain that not one guest will leave paint free, or disappointed.

When planning a paint party there are a few things a host must do to ensure all who enter the ‘carefree paint zone’ will have a great evening:

• Planning the number of guests, the space needed, and the amount of paint to supply guests, are the hardest parts of hosting a paint party. (Actually, these really are not difficult things to do, most likely finding a DJ who will show up on time, and of course with all the latest hits may be the worst part of any party planning.)
• Once the number of guests is determined the paint can be purchased. Getting colors that will pop under party lights is definitely important.
• Having enough paint is also important, so be sure to carefully plan it out.
• Just how enthusiastic will the guests likely be? Are they going to go crazy and make certain the entire party zone is covered? If so, it is wise to have some extra paint to make certain guests never run out, that is until the plug is pulled and the party is over.
•  An important thing to do is ask guests to wear white or light colors and bring a change of clothes. After all, a host could not possibly loan out all of their clean clothes, now could they?
• When throwing such a messy party it is wise to make sure there is an area for guests to clean up, it might not be a bad idea to invite a few of them to help clean up.

Though paint parties are messy, the fond memories of making the colorful mess will live on for years.

Inspiration at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show

Tags

decks, drinks, entertaining, gardening, herbs, NW Flower & Garden Show

I am so over this wet, cold, snowy weather we’ve had here in the Pacific Northwest! How about you?

I visited the Northwest Flower & Garden Show this weekend, courtesy of the Seattle Homes & Lifestyles Magazine, and began dreaming of that early spring that the groundhog promised us this year.

It’s almost time to get out there and start planting and I cannot wait!

This fairy-tale inspired one is a little fancy, but I love the idea of a living wall. I may just have the perfect place on the side of my house.

I think I need to spend more time scouring the roadsides for free items I could use in my garden. Recycling old materials for the garden is something I have been wanting to try more of. This idea gives new meaning to the term garden “bed”.

I don’t think I’m quite crafty enough for this…

But this I could do!

I am really digging these stone faces. Do you like these or do you think they are creepy? I kind of think both myself.

Beautifully creepy!

What bright colorful mushrooms these are. I don’t usually go for this look, but these really caught my eye.

I am especially looking forward to the plantings that we get to enjoy at the dinner table. I’m planning on trying tomatoes yet again this year (even though my husband says I am a glutton for punishment) and of course planting more herbs, and maybe even a vegetable garden finally.

Wouldn’t these recycled silverware markers be so much fun in the garden? Right up my alley!

I didn’t realize that the show would make me so hungry 😉

Most of all, I am looking forward to entertaining.

Is this a little over the "top"? So adorable!

I just love entertaining – especially outdoors. From a bbq with the family, to a sweet brunch in the garden with my girlfriends.

This summer I am finally going to dig out, clean up, and use this beautiful antique garden cart I got for a steal at a rummage sale a few years ago. I think it would make a perfect bar cart for the bloody Mary bar at Alexandra Hedin’s Garden Brunch I guest blogged about over at Girl Power Hour. Read about it here.

Now if I can just get my deck finished…

Mixin’ It Up

Tags

blueberry muffins, cake, chocolate, cornbread, figs, pork, salmon, seafood boil

Each time I’ve watched the batter attachment on my stand mixer whiz round and round repeatedly over the last couple of weeks, I can’t help but think of it perfectly mimicking what life has been like around here lately – a whirlwind of a good times; birthday celebrations, out-of-town guests, school starting. With all the entertaining we’ve been doing, there’s not only been a lot of cooking, but much baking as well, and my mixer has been quite busy whipping up some fun!

It all started with some lovely cornbread I made to go with this simple salmon dinner the first night of  my father-in-law’s visit from Boston.

After many years of trying box mixes and several cornbread recipes, I’ve gone back to the basics – I simply buy Alber’s cornmeal and use the recipe on the box. It tastes just like we used to have when I was a kid – why mess with that? Most times, simple is better 🙂

The next morning my mixer was back in action making these incredible blueberry muffins. My father-in-law loved them so much he even asked for the recipe, so that he could make them for his wife when he returns home. How sweet is that? Imagine my surprise, after all these years, to discover that he was a baker. What wonderful things we learn about each other over food.

These really are the most ridiculously delicious blueberry muffins – the streusel on top adds just a little bit of crunchy sweetness to the spongy, yet moist, muffin that is not overly sweet itself. To enjoy these beauties year-round, I bought a flat of berries when they were a great price at the supermarket and froze them in resealable freezer bags in two cup portions, ready to go for whenever I get a craving for Blueberry Streusel Muffins (I like a LOT of berries so I use TWO generous cups of berries for this recipe!)

While I always (both times I have made them now) get wonderful compliments on these muffins, I really can’t take all the credit. I found this recipe here on one of my favorite recipe sites, Allrecipes.com.

The mixer was still going strong days later when I made a cake for my son’s 13th birthday party (wow a teenager! I cannot believe that I am the mother of a teen, but that’s a WHOLE other post!) I needed a chocolate cake that I could prepare in a 9″x13″ cake pan for easy transport. I came across this cake, again on my beloved Allrecipes.com, titled “The Best chocolate Cake You Ever Ate” . How could I resist that? I don’t remember every chocolate cake I have ever eaten, but it is definitely the best chocolate cake I have ever made. Go ahead, make it, and let me know if YOU think it’s the best chocolate cake YOU’VE ever eaten. (Please forgive me for the paper plate presentation – it was a 13 year old’s birthday party at a Family Fun Center after all… ) One note on the recipe: I left out the cinnamon based on my own preferences.

Of course that was the second chocolate cake we had eaten – it was my husband’s birthday a few days earlier and my father-in-law – remember the baker? HE actually made my husband’s cake! For my husband’s birthday dinner we had

Baking and Blogging (with a little help…)

A couple of weeks ago I posted here about Stacey Edwards’ Bake-n-Blog virtual baking party and her invitation to other bloggers to join her in baking and blogging about this selection of enticing Ming Makes Cupcakes. Well, the choices are made, the cupcakes are all baked, and today is blogging day!

Those of you who know me, may also know that I am more of a cook than a baker. Not that I am bad at baking, or even dislike it, I just prefer the creative freedom that cooking affords me. There is an awful lot of precise measuring that goes into the baking process and I tend to be more loose with ingredients than allowed in baking, mostly using recipes as more of a “guideline” than the gospel truth. When I’m cooking my self dialogue could go something like this:

“Was that 1 or 2 teaspoons?”

“Ummmm…”

“Oh well, just eyeball it. And let’s just throw in a little of this too. Oh, and maybe some of that…”

Not such good words to speak while baking.

But I do love a nice homemade baked good, especially when it’s chocolate! And Sis’s Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting are an absolute dream for a chocolate lover like me!

I have always encouraged my children to join me in the kitchen, and my younger son seems to have taken to it with great intensity. But lately, he has been distracted by other fun things to do than act as my sous chef.  So when the time came to make my chosen cupcake,  I was a little surprised that he wanted to help. His disposition is perfect for baking, he is a budding engineer – spending hours in his room, working diligently, with precision and creativity, on his latest LEGO creation.

So while I directed, and snapped photos, he perfectly measured…

and poured…

and stirred…

and “stirred”…

and baked.

And of course he had to build!

This guy ( the older brother) only appeared in the kitchen when there were spoons to be licked!

The best part about this challenge was hearing the words, “I just love being in the kitchen and helping you make stuff, mom.”  I just smiled and said, “Me too.” Though I don’t really think he helped me at all…

Did I mention that I ADORE baking? 😉

Day Tripping

Last weekend I used food as an inspiration to plan a road trip to Orcas Island with my best girlfriend, Stacey.  To read about my fun jaunt, check out my latest guest post at the Girl Power Hour Blog, Fabulous Feasting: A Food Adventure – Orcas Island.

Mmmm! Don’t those beets look great? I think I had a few of those for lunch on my salad at Allium!