Of all the seasons of the year, it is summer that presents the most possibilities for throwing great parties. You have the warm sun on your back, the brilliant colors to dazzle your eyes and the sounds of nature coming alive in a vibrant way. Add in the lazy days, cool breezes and great company and you have every reason to celebrate the season with a party.

The trick is in knowing how to host a summer party for less cost, less effort and less time. Well, this should be easy enough with the following three ways.

Sun, Sand and Sea
Summer is equated with the sun, sand and sea. Thus, it is logical that the beach is the best way to hold a party in summer without the hassle of thinking about elaborate decorations, complex cuisines and formal ambience. Just bring finger foods, barbecues and cool drinks to the nearest beach - coupled with your bikinis and sunscreens, of course - and off you and your guests on a lazy day of sunbathing, swimming and just lazing around.

But of course, if the beach is far away or it is too polluted with oil slicks, then the pool is the best alternative. Your decorations can include inflatable floats on the pool, colored lanterns on the trees and a few palm plants. Your menu can be as simple as the one on the beach, with many of your guests probably going potluck. Think mango and tomato salsa with nachos and chips, hotdog and marshmallows on a stick, iced tea and lemonade and even a homemade cake, all of which require less expenditure.

Fly Me to the Moon
An imaginative way to host a summer party for less is to take advantage of the clear black sky during the season. The full moon with its diamond stars are the perfect backdrop to a night out with family and friends while enjoying the food brought in picnic baskets.

Again, you can ask everybody to bring potluck food for sharing with everybody although you can always prepare the majority of the menu. Your food choices can include sandwiches, fried chicken and apple pie with lemonade on the side. All of these food items are comfort food in many ways - just the right thing to enjoy under the starry skies.

You need not even worry about the venue. Go to the local park and hold your summer party there for free.

Garden of Eden
If you want to host a summer party for less, your garden is probably the best place to do so. You already have the decorations in the form of the plants and flowers. You already have the natural ambience. You already have the venue for free.

Now, all you need to do is to take out the tables, cover them with your favorite tablecloths and set it with your summery cutlery. Your menu can be anything that your kitchen can cook up - just dress up your everyday recipes with special touches and you can become the new chef on the block. Your favors can be seed packets of your favorite summer blooms.

You can host a summer party for less money, less effort and less time. Use your imagination, use your available resources and use your family and friends’ generosity by asking for assistance even if it means going potluck.

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Preparing a meal get-together can be great fun with adequate, advanced planning, and a great menu. The tendency for persons to stress when planning one of these events is quite common- not realizing that there is no need to worry. Studies have shown that people, who get invited to parties, assign more importance to the positive emotions experienced when they receive a party invitation. The next important thing to them proves to be the opportunity at having fun, de-stressing, and networking.

Meal get-togethers can be best described as “a no-frill, low-budget gathering of friends, family and acquaintances”. Some examples of occasions for which meal get-togethers are suitable are: birthdays, celebrating new baby, an office promotion, or a house warming. Even when the circumstances are as remote as “when the moon is in the 7th house- and Jupiter aligns with Mars”* party-people will always find excuses to host get-togethers, or much larger parties. However as the date rolls around, many are guilty of rushing around at the last minute, because they fail to plan adequately ahead of time.

There are many ways that preparing a meal get-together can be made interesting. Why not invite your best friends or some of your closest friends over to help you organize the menu, the décor and the entertainment. Getting them involved will empower them to actually take over some of the planning duties, freeing you from some of the responsibilities.

Treat yourself to at least 1 month of TV meals. Doing this would enable you to catch some great meal ideas on The Food Network. Even the day-time talk shows on cable may sometimes include a special meal guide feature on certain days.

As you get it, spend it! Why safe your pennies for a rainy day, when you need them now? Any money that you get now should be the excuse you use to go window shopping and pick up some useful stuff. Invite your friends (aka planning committee) over at least once a week to discuss how all pet projects are progressing. This is also a great opportunity for you to hone your skills as a master party-planner or seasoned party host.

With all pet projects successfully underway, this leaves you unfettered and able to focus on the very critical menu. The dishes that are to be served should be planned at least 1-month ahead of time, giving you the time needed to ensure that the quantity of ingredients necessary would be adequate to prepare enough servings for the party guests. If ordering food from a restaurant, the same rules apply. Also, it is advisable to order enough boxes of meat dishes and sides that seemed to have been popular from the last get-together. If in doubt, it is always best to err on the side of caution, and having over budget the party menu, to ensure that all guests are adequately fed.

The week of the event is not the time to be doing all the cooking. If cooking is to be done, it would be far easier to cook and store the dishes 2-weeks in advance. Finally, a few day before the meal get-together, call all invitees to confirm that they are coming.

• Reference taken from song: “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In”, performed by: The 5th dimension (1969).

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A summer party must have is family and good friends. This is the perfect time to connect with the folks you know for an afternoon of relaxation and fun. Catch up with your brothers and sister, their kids, cousins, aunt and uncles anyone you may or may not see very often. You probably have friends you don’t see as often as you would like to as everyone seems to have busy schedules these days. Take the opportunity to invite co-workers and socialize outside of the office for an afternoon. Forget the water cooler talk and talk sports, hobbies, recent or upcoming vacations - anything other than what a dope the boss is. The collection of family and friends might require a softball game be played or a horseshoe tournament might break out. Or maybe a volleyball or badminton game might erupt. Don’t forget games for the kids. You want them to have fun and not be tugging at your hand out of sheer boredom. It is doubtful the competitive spirit will be doused, unless it rains.

A summer party must have is good food. Whether it is pot luck or host provided, have a variety of food on hand. If your grilling skills are up to par, cook up 2 or 3 of the following: burgers, hot dogs, steaks, chicken wings, ribs, corn or shrimp. Have some appetizers ready when your guests arrive. Maybe some crackers and cheese, pretzels and dip, deli meat roll ups, bite size grilled pizza, shelled peanuts or red pistachio nuts. Provide plenty of drinks to keep your guests hydrated. In tubs or coolers full of ice, chill soda, water, juice boxes, beer and wine. After your guests arrive and before you offer them appetizers point them in the direction of the drinks. Cups are optional but straws might be helpful for the kids. Don’t forget the watermelon and s’mores. It is practically the law those two items be on any summer party menu. Oh, yes. Be environmentally conscience and recycle everything you can.

A summer party must have is fun. As the host it is up to you to make sure everyone has a good time. Introduce your guest to those they don’t know. Find common ground for them to discuss if necessary. Introduce the kids to each other and encourage them to play a game or two together. When it is time to eat, the kids just might like each other enough to take their lunch and sit off by themselves and chat, leaving the adults to do the same. Introduce some games into the afternoon or evening. In addition to horseshoes and volleyball, a fun idea might be to write down on slips of paper famous lines from movies. Each guest that wants to play picks a slip and then works their movie line into the conversation. Keep track of how many lines each participant guesses. Perhaps a prize can be awarded at the end of the day for the winner.

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Whether you are a wine enthusiast or just like a good glass of wine once in a while, wine tasting with a group of friends can be a fun experience. Organizing a wine tasting event isn’t difficult. There are wine connoisseurs that will bring a wine tasting program right to your door or you can do it yourself. Unless you are a hardcore wine drinker always searching for the philosophy of the bouquet contained in a bottle of wine, you may want to host a wine tasting at home.

You may want to plan a theme for the evening such as the wines of the 1970’s from Napa Valley or the best red wine from a winery in the southwest. Or it can be an eclectic collection of wine picked just for the heck of it. Perhaps ask each participant to bring a bottle of their favorite wine. A 750 ml bottle of wine contains about 25 ounces and if your tasting quantity is 2 ounces, a bottle will accommodate about 12 people. Keep that in mind when planning your event and deciding the number of guests you want to invite.

To host a wine tasting at home determine how many people your home can accommodate. If the weather is nice consider hosting your wine tasting out of doors. Inside or outside, make sure there is room enough for everyone to sit or stand comfortably. Have a table or counter area for the wine and the glasses separate from the guest area. That will eliminate confusion and prevent bottles of wine becoming mixed up. Determine ahead of time how many wines will be tasted. The number of bottles required will depend on the number of guests. Also determine if each guest will bring their own tasting glasses or if the host will provide them.

It will be up to the host what refreshments will be served. If the wine tasting is a onetime deal, maybe everyone can bring a little something. If hosting will rotate, the host can provide whatever they wish. Refreshments do not have to be anything extravagant. Perhaps the host will serve or the group will bring crackers and cheese, bread and cheese or a simple entre or two.

Decide how you want the wine tasting to function. Will it simply be tasting and comparing notes or will scoring be involved? It depends how serious the group is about their wine and how much time the group wants to spend on the event. The host should supply note and tabulation sheets for each participant. If the group decides to rank each wine or just jot down notes for each wine for later use, the sheets will be helpful.

The group may decide to taste each wine blindly. That is the name and type of wine isn’t revealed until after it has been tasted and discussed. Before each round the host will provide a short introduction with general information for each wine. The information may include the price, the year and they type. The group will taste the wine, make their notes and discuss the wine. After all the wine has been tasted and discussed, break the refreshments and enjoy the rest of the evening and discuss who will host a wine tasting at home next time.

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Appetizers are tidbits of food served before the main meal and are intended to stimulate the appetite. They can be hot or cold and are usually finger food. Appetizers sometimes make a meal all their own and can be better than the entre. Bars will often serve salty appetizers to make customers drink more. When I was a kid, the only time we had appetizers was when dinner was ready but dad was late getting home from work. Then we might get a few crackers with peanut butter. I don’t know why we didn’t just start eating dinner.

Appetizers don’t have to be complicated. Easy appetizers can be as simple as a bowl of pretzels or cracker and cheese. The level of appetizer difficulty can be raised slightly by adding pepperoni to the plate of cheese. One of my favorite restaurants serves a bowl of buttery, salty popcorn upon being seated. Another of my favorite restaurants serves bowls of shelled peanuts while waiting for your meal and encourages throwing the shells on the floor.

Here are a couple of my favorite easy appetizers.

First up is “Ranch Oyster Crackers.” In a large bowl combine ¼ teaspoon each of garlic powder and lemon pepper, ¼ cup of vegetable oil, ½ teaspoon of dried dill weed and a 1 ounce package of Ranch dressing mix. Add in 5 cups of oyster crackers and mix until coated well. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes in an oven preheated to 250 degrees. Let cool a bit before serving.

Next we have “Salsa Crackers”. In a bowl mix 1 cup of cottage cheese, 1 cup of Salsa (mild, medium or hot as desired), and chill for about an hour in the refrigerator. Top Triscuit crackers with a teaspoon of the mixture and eat immediately. (Mixture will cover approximately 36 crackers)

“Ham Roll Ups” is another easy recipe and sure to become a favorite. In a bowl mix 8 ounces of softened cream cheese, 1 can (2-1/4 ounce) chopped olives, 1/3 cup of thinly sliced green onion. Spread over thinly sliced ham. Roll up jelly roll style. Chill for at least an hour before serving, and then cut into bite size pieces. Mixture will cover 8 to 10 ham slices.

If you like shrimp, you will love “Barbara’s Shrimpie Spread”. In a bowl mix softened cream cheese, ½ cup sour cream, ¼ cup mayonnaise, 1 cup cocktail sauce, 2 cans (4-1/4 ounces each) of shrimp (rinsed and drained), 1 cup of chopped green onion, ¾ cup of finely chopped tomato. Put the mixture into a serving bowl and top with2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese. Chill in a covered container the refrigerator at least 2 hours then serve with your favorite crackers of pita chips.

Here is one more easy appetizer recipe. “Spicy stuffed celery” will compliment any dinner table. In a bowl mix 8 ounces of softened cream cheese with a tablespoon of Tabasco or your favorite hot sauce, a tablespoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and 1 finely chopped jalapeno pepper. Wash and cut celery sticks to the desired length and fill each stick with mixture. Shake on celery salt, if desired. Be sure to have a glass of milk handy if you eat these easy appetizers.

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There is nothing more refreshing than the first salads of the season. After being pent up inside the house with warm stews and possibly more Swiss chard than one can or should consume, new veggies are definitely a requirement.

Salad becomes my default meal in the summer once it’s too hot to bear turning on the stove. In spring it seems more like a privilege to have a salad for my main course. Especially when I’m harvesting the lettuce from my own home garden. I have several varieties such as iceburg, Romain, deer tongue, red oak leaf, red romaine, mesclun mix, and spicy baby Asian green mix. If you don’t have any space to grow your own, a quick trip to your local farmers market will give you even more choices. Try as many heirloom varieties as you can. You won’t find them in your supermarket because they don’t ship well and some are only available for a short time in the spring and fall.

One way to dress up your salad is to serve it on Noritake colorwave plates. My favorites are the accent plates. Make sure to garnish the salad with a few surprises such as fresh strawberries and goat cheese, or toasted nuts and dried berries.

My favorite way to elevate a salad is by adding edible flowers. Make sure you are buying culinary grade or eating ones you grow yourself. If they were not grown as food, they may be sprayed with chemicals that you do not want to ingest. I grow nasturtiums which is a beautiful vining plant with edible leaves and flowers. The leaves add a peppery taste to the salad and the petals add so much color that you can even make a side salad out of just lettuce and nasturtiums.

Don’t underestimate what you can add to a salad. Use leftover steak, chicken, even steamed asparagus to make it a heartier meal. A salad doesn’t have to always be dainty. You can serve black beans, pulled chicken, avocado and salsa on top of a crunchy lettuce and even the biggest working man can fill up on it!

One thing I love to do is serve a salad that I toss in a dressing, rather than serve the dressing on the side. I find you can use so much less dressing that way and it allows the flavors to meld in a magical way when each lettuce leaf is perfectly coated. It’s great for dieters too, since you can easily triple the amount of calories with extra dressing.

Posted by Myriam under Garden & Hostessing & Party Food & Spring Entertaining & Summer Entertaining | 5 Comments »

Hot dogs are the perfect cookout foods and they work great for parties too. I always plan a few parties a year around them. I like to have campy parties and weenies scream campy!

Have your friends wear their best touristy gear for a fun costume party addition. It’s easy to forget the stress of your week once you’re in plaid Bermuda shorts, sandals with socks and have binoculars or a camera around your neck.

Make sure to have a tropical fruity drink to accompany your festive fare. Something that looks good with an umbrella straw tucked away in it. I usually choose a pina colada or strawberry daiquiri. They may be predictable, but everyone loves them.

You could even go red-neck gourmet and make a hot dog enchilada casserole. Spread about 2 cups of pre-made chili over the bottom of a greased rectangle baking dish. Wrap a tortilla around each hot dog and arrange on top of chili. Top with the rest of the chili and shredded cheese. Cover with foil and bake in a 400 degree oven between 30 - 40 minutes. Serve topped with crumbled Fritos.

If you go for the traditional hot dog feast, make sure to have tons of toppings for your guests. Ketchup, mustard, and pickle relish are requirements. Make a Carolina dog by topping it with cole slaw and chili. You could also make a Greek salad dog with feta, olives, chopped tomatoes, red onion, and touch of Greek dressing. Feel free to add gourmet extras like roasted garlic, red peppers, goat cheese or even nacho cheese.

If it’s raining or you just don’t feel like cooking outside, use your slow cooker. I have a Crockpot trio that has 3 small slow cookers on one base. If you have lots of time you can heat the hot dogs up in the slow cooker. Personally I like to heat them on the stove and keep them warm in the slow cookers. I put veggie dogs in one, turkey dogs in another, and veggie chili in the last one. This way everything’s ready for people as they drop in.

Posted by Myriam under Drinks & Hostessing & Party Food & Spring Entertaining & Summer Entertaining | 5 Comments »

Parties come in all sizes from giant to just your own little family. A snow day is a perfect opportunity to have a family party to celebrate the day off school and work.

Bundle up and get outside and enjoy the white stuff. Find a nearby hill and take the whole family sledding. Make sure everyone is bundled up tight, and you might want to bring an extra pair of  mittens along for the youngest of your tribe.  Make sure to bring a thermos full of hot chocolate just in case it gets too cold.

Once you walk back home make sure to decorate your yard with some snow sculptures. You could make a few traditional snowmen or really get creative. Who knows, you may have a modern art piece that the whole neighbor will miss once the temperature starts to rise.

Don’t forget to make some snow angels while you’re at it. Once you stand back up go ahead start a snowball fight. You might even be able to get some of your neighbors involved. Just make sure to call a truce before anyone gets too worn out.

When you come in make everyone’s favorite snowy afternoon lunch - tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Make some homemade croutons and they can go straight form the oven into the steaming bowls of soup. Really, any soup is the perfect way to warm up. My friend loves to make a huge slow cooker of vegetable soup in the coldest weather and eat from it almost everyday.

Keeping the kids busy will prevent them for the dreaded boredom. A perfect activity is baking. Kids of almost tan age can help with cookies or decorating cupcakes. Older kids may even be able to invent new cookies. Make a basic sugar cookie dough and get out all your extras like nuts, chocolate chips, even cocoa and crushed peppermint sticks.

After they eat more than a few cookies, you may find your whole family sacked out in the living room. The end to a perfect snow day.

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Now is the time to get your fondue pot out of hiding. If you don’t have a fondue pot, go to your local thrift store. You’ll usually see a few inexpensive ones there. Mine gets packed up and trekked off to the shed, a friend of mine puts hers in the attic. I’d be interested in hearing form any of you that manage to store it were you can easily get to it. Maybe you could change my ways. One of the reasons I have fondue less often is that it’s so inconvenient to go and get it.

Another reason you may be avoiding fondue night is your cholesterol. You know your doctor doesn’t want a big pot of steaming cheese on your table for dinner. But there is another way! A non-traditional way, but I always love twists on the original.

White beans are the new main addition. Once they are pureed they actually create a perfect fondue every time. The other change is to use low fat or 2% cheese instead of full fat. Combined with the beans it still creates a richly textured fondue. No one will know the difference. Try a porter beer cheddar version, or the more traditional white wine and Gruyere and emmental. Set the table with a colorful array of dinnerware. My favorite for fondue is Sengware blueberry for the place settings with the white bistro ones to hold the food waiting to be dunked into the cheese. In addition to lightly toasted bread, try steamed broccoli and cauliflower, whole baby carrots, even thickly sliced baked potatoes or sweet potatoes.

Make sure to save room for a little chocolate fondue too. I make mine when I start the cheese fondue and keep it warm in a small Crockpot until I’m ready for it. Cut up some cheesecake, vanilla cake, and an assortment of fresh fruit. Try pineapple - it’s one of my favorites.

This is a good opportunity to have a period themed party. You could do the 60’s with smoking jackets and cocktail dresses. Or even the 70’s with polyester outfits complete with clashing colors. Pick the one your friends will have the most fun with.

Posted by Myriam under Party Food & Recipes & Winter Entertaining | 2 Comments »

I’m not a sports fan, but even I am waiting to find out if the New Orleans Saints are going to the Super Bowl. I lived in New Orleans for 12 years and everyone loves an underdog.

Now that I’ve told you just about everything I know about sports, let me talk party food to you. That’s something I really have a knack for. If the Saints do make their way to the big game, make your party center around the food of New Orleans. Have a big slow cooker full of gumbo and another of jambalaya. This way, your guests will be eating the best food of all the Super Bowl parties on your block.

Most large supermarkets have frozen crawfish which adds an exotic touch outside of Louisiana. Use it in the dishes above or in a dip in place of crab. Also, change up the spices a little. You can try some of Emeril’s Essence, which is also available nationwide. Add a little cayenne or Tabasco to spice it up a bit. You can also do it all the easy way with Zatarain’s Mixes. It’s really all up to you.

If the Saints let us down, you can still do better than a table of chips and pre-made dips. Get out your little dipper Crockpot and make a fondue instead of the usual nacho cheese. Even if you use cheddar and beer in it, it’s still a step above. Have lightly toasted bread hunks, steamed veggies, and you can still have a few tortilla chips out for the die hard junk food fans. Turn a plain old bean dip into something special by adding some goat cheese in place of the usual Monterrey jack and puree some chipolte chilies in adobe sauce to replace the jalapenos.

Create a make your own sandwich buffet. Use your Sengware platters to put out an array of thin sliced meats and cheeses. Have and array of interesting rolls - ciabata, oat, whole grain, sunflower and more. Have a few unusual cheeses, including goat cheese, so the vegetarians have something yummy too. Put out smoked mustards, basil aoili, and even steak sauce, they all make a sandwich more interesting.

Have cute mini cupcakes in place of a big cake. You can make them easily at home and even healthy them up with whole wheat pastry flour if you want to. Make sure to put out a fruit tray so your friends can keep their new year’s resolutions at least a little longer.

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