Many individuals do not see the logic behind the giving of host and hostess gifts by the guests to the party. Their rationale is that the host and hostess invited them to be guests at the party and, hence, their presence is the gift in and of itself. Also, their viewpoint is that the host and hostess may be offended by the gift - no gift, no mistake, so to speak.

Miss Manners will the first person to rebuke these individuals about their lack of good manners as guests to a party from the first get-go. These gifts are tokens of appreciation by the guest to the host for the latter’s graciousness in inviting the former to the special occasion. After all, the host can always choose to snub any prospective guest.

And since the host and hostess gift is a token of appreciation, its monetary value is secondary to the sincere thoughts behind it. Of course, it will be a nice gesture when you choose the gift with a practical value or a sentimental significance or both. Just don’t settle for the cheapest one on the shelf either since you also want to be proud of your host and hostess gifts.

The following are a few good ideas about excellent gifts for the host and hostess, no matter the theme, reason and venue of the party:

• A bottle of wine with good vintage is always welcome. We suggest giving wine that you may also like to drink with your own meals.
• A homemade or gourmet treat will be appreciated, too. Just make sure that it can be saved for later use as the menu may have been set. Think wrapped gourmet food, chocolate treats and pastries.
• A bouquet of flowers or a small potted plant may also be given to the host. These gifts can brighten up the atmosphere well after the party has ended.
• Other gifts like candles, stationery and even knickknacks are also suitable gifts. The trick is in knowing your host’s preferences but it should be easy if and when you are a member of the family or a friend.

After deciding on the host and hostess gifts, the next decision to make is when to give them. You have two choices - send it ahead before your arrival to the party or give it upon your arrival to the party. Your choice will depend on factors like longevity of the gift, distance between your home and the venue, and the element of surprise.

When giving the gift to the host, you should also remember certain good manners. For one thing, you should not expect your host to parade the gift in front of other guests and to even say something positive about it. Your host will greet you at the door, receive your gift and then move on to other party responsibilities.

For another thing, you must not expect your host to actually use the wine, serve the food and display the flowers. Your gift is just that - a gift that the recipient can choose to open and use when and where desired.

On a final note, host and hostess gifts are your thank-you gifts for the invitation. As such, don’t expect to receive a thank-you note from your host. Instead, you should give a thank-you note after the party.

Posted by admin under Gifts & Hostessing | No Comments »

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).

Posted by admin under Hostessing & Party Food | No Comments »

When planning any event, it is really like taking a quiz as you, the event planner, have a list of questions to be answered. The summer party menu planning quiz is pass or fail with extra credit given if the party is held outside and it doesn’t rain that day. Don’t peek at the answers until you have completed the quiz. Neatness and spelling count. All correct answers are worth one point. You need at least 4 points to pass.

Do you have your thinking caps on? Let us begin. Keep your eyes on your own paper.

1. Q: Will this party be held outside or inside?
   A: Acceptable answers are either outside or inside, preferably outside. It is summer and we want to be out in the fresh air and sunshine. (This was an easy question to help get you rolling with the quiz)
2. Q: What kind of food will be served?
   A: I hope you gave this question a lot of thought before answering. Food at a party is very important. The kind of food will be a combination of hot and cold. The hot food will be grilled and the cold food will be refrigerated prior to serving.
3. Q: What will the hot food be? (Please describe any marinades, sauces or gravy that might be involved
   A: The hot food will be grilled shrimp, steak tips, corn on the cob, onions and peppers and chicken wings. The shrimp will be marinated in butter and garlic, the steak tips will be marinated in steak sauce, honey and a couple of dabs of hot sauce, corn on the con will be grilled in tinfoil with a little butter, onions and peppers will be grilled a little butter and chicken wings will be grilled plain.

(We will now take a five minute break from the summer party menu planning quiz)

4. Q: What will the cold food be? (please describe any dressings or stuffing’s that might be involved
   A: The cold food will be garden salad, macaroni salad, stuffed celery, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the kids and chips and dip. There will be a variety of dressings for the garden salad such as oil and vinegar, peppercorn, blue cheese, thousand island and plain mayonnaise. The macaroni salad will have a little mayonnaise but some will available if you want a dollop or two more. The celery will be stuffed with the traditional cream cheese and pineapple filling. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches will be plain. The chips will be whatever is on sale and the dip will include onion dip, clam dip and horseradish and bacon dip.
5. Q: What kind of beverages will be served?
   A: There will be soda, beer and wine for the adults and soda, juice boxes and Kool-Aid for the kids.
6. Q: Will there be desserts?
   A: Yes. We will serve brownies, cookies and flavored snow cones. Later in the afternoon we will toast marshmallows and make S’Mores.
7. Q: Did I ask how many guests will be invited?
   A: No you didn’t but that is a very important question. Do I get an extra point because you forgot it? My guest list will include 3 brothers and 4 sisters, 6 in laws, 18 nieces and nephews between the ages of 0 and 23, 5 aunts, 7 uncles and a partridge in a pear tree.

There you have it, the summer party menu planning quiz. I hope you all passed.

Posted by admin under Hostessing | 1 Comment »

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.

Posted by Myriam under Hostessing & Occasions & Party Food | No Comments »

Chances are no matter where you were yesterday for Thanksgiving, you have leftovers. Even if you didn’t host dinner, you probably had a bag of leftovers packed up and sent with you. Relatives and friends alike love to think they’re helping us out. Especially when they are overwhelmed with leftovers themselves.

You could heat and eat the same old meal. Or you can think of each dish as a single ingredient and create some new dishes in a mini Iron Chef competition with yourself. By creating new dishes you’ll stretch your food budget, and surprise yourself with your creativity.

Have a pizza shell in the fridge or some dough in the freezer? Try making pizza with some of your leftovers. Try bbq turkey with shredded turkey, pre-made bbq sauce, chopped onions and bell pepper. Add some drained, canned pineapple if you’re feeling adventurous. You could also toss some turkey in pesto sauce spread over a crust, top it off with crumbled goat cheese and some leftover cranberry sauce. Make a vegetarian pizza with sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce on a crust covered in a garlic butter sauce.

Pasta is another great option. You could make a left over casserole with whole wheat ziti, turkey, leftover veggies, Use leftover gravy or a mushroom sauce to bind everything together. Toast leftover dressing and crumble over the top.

Turkey lasagna with a sweet potato cream sauce and spinach is another favorite. Or try egg noodles combined with turkey and green bean casserole - add a little milk to loosen it up if needed.

Have some leftover creamed corn? Try mixing it with diced pepperoncini peppers, and some turkey or grilled shrimp. Toss the mixture with angel hair pasta. Creamed corn is also the perfect base for a corn chowder. Just add milk, diced red peppers, cubed potatoes, more frozen corn if needed, and some fresh thyme. It’s my favorite cold weather soup.

If you made the turkey at your house this year, you can use the carcass to make turkey broth. It freezes great. You can put it in quart containers, or freeze in ice cube trays and store in Ziploc bags. It’s great to be able to take out a few cubes of stock at a time. Much better than opening a carton of stock for a few tablespoons worth.

Don’t forget the power of omelets. Any of the mixtures above would work great. Turkey and goat cheese is one of my favorites, but you can use any cheese you have on hand. Omelets are perfect for using up the tiniest leftovers.

Take these ideas and invite some of your friends over for a Thanksgiving leftover party. It just may be the least expensive party you’ve thrown all year!

Posted by Myriam under Fall Entertaining & Holiday Entertaining & Hostessing & Occasions & Recipes | No Comments »

No cool weather gathering is complete without a toasty drink. Kids and grown-ups alike love a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

Having 20 children over for a pumpkin carving party? Get ahead of the game by making a batch of hot chocolate in your slow cooker. You can make large amounts, and it’ll be ready when the thirsty herd is.

For a smaller gathering you can still prepare it in advance, just use a thermal carafe to keep it warm or use a little dipper sized slow cooker. I do this before a fancy sit down dinner with coffee and tea. It lets me enjoy the company of my guests instead of staying hidden away in the kitchen.

Let the kids add their own touch to their drink. It’s amazing how easy it is to have so much fun. Create an area filled with little bowls of goodies to add to their cocoa. Decorate the table with a tablecloth and a few mini pumpkins.  You can also use flame-less candles to add a special touch with no danger to the little ones.  My hot chocolate goody bar usually includes whipped cream, chocolate shavings (milk, dark, and white), crushed peppermint candy, mini peppermint patties, mini marshmallows, and anything else I have on hand that seems like a fit.

If you will have older kids or adults around, try a mixture of ground chili, ginger, and cinnamon for a taste similar to what the Aztecs drank. It can have a kick, so keep an eye on the kids when you let them use this topping. Also try infusing the hot chocolate with a cinnamon stick and some cardamom pods when you make it for a delicious drink that needs no topping at all.

Flavored syrups like vanilla, hazelnut, and almond are another great addition. You can use them in fancy coffee drinks you make at home too. If there will be a lot of adults, bring out the liquors. Bailey’s, Amaretto, Frangelico, Grand Marnier, and even spiced rum make great grown up additions.

Make sure to ask the parents if any of the children have food allergies, before you decide what to put on your topping table. For someone with a milk allergy make your favorite hot chocolate recipe and use vanilla soymilk or almond milk in place of the dairy. Most mixes contain dairy, so you will need to make yours from scratch. It’ll be worth it and you may find yourself doing that for all your cocoa parties. It doesn’t take much time or effort, but it has a huge party payoff!

Posted by Myriam under Drinks & Fall Entertaining & Hostessing | 2 Comments »

Pears are my favorite autumn fruit. Delicious, richly textured, and perfect to use in both sweet and savory dishes. They are a wonderful ingredient to plan a fall party around. You can create a cocktail or a full dinner menu incorporating this luscious fruit. If you have a big kitchen and a well stocked pantry, you could throw an Iron Chef style party. Your guests and you can make the dinner course by course.

If you want to plan your menu in advance and cook yourself, take a look at a few of the following menu possibilities. You’ll be surprised with how versatile the pear is.

Start your guests off with a pear cocktail. Ahead of time peel few ripe pears and puree the flesh in a blender with the juice of a lemon. Strain if you want a thinner syrup or add some water. Use this in your usual martini, or mojito recipe. Liven up the typical mojito by using basil in addition to the traditional fresh mint. If the pear is sweet enough, you may be able to leave simple syrup out of your usual recipes all together.

Assemble a pear-brie bruschetta on top of lightly toasted bread spread with a little pistachio-thyme pesto. It’s a beautiful appetizer. Make a silky pear winter squash soup with a hint of port wine. Serve with a spinach salad topped with dried fruit and goat cheese tossed in your favorite vinaigrette for a complete meal. (Hint: make your own vinaigrette using pear puree, lemon juice and balsamic vinegar. Incorporate some fresh herbs that you happen to have on hand.)

Create a quick and easy pear main course by getting a pre-made pizza shell at the grocery. Spread the crust with garlic butter or a your favorite pesto sauce, then a layer of thinly sliced pears, top with some truffle oil and sliced fresh mozzarella cheese. You can either bake it in the oven or cook it on top of the grill. As another option, Trader Joe’s has an Italian truffle cheese that makes a great panini combined with sliced pear and crusty ciabatta.

You probably already have a pear dessert recipe in your arsenal. But try a pear sorbet. It’s a snap if you have an ice cream maker. Just puree ripe pear flesh with a little of your favorite sweetener as a base. The pear makes it the perfect ‘ice cream’ consistency. Add fresh or frozen berries and a tablespoon of your favorite liquor to amp up the flavor.

Remember pears need to be stored at room temperature and should ripen within a few days. Throw them into paper bag when you bring them home from the store to speed the ripening process up a little. Once they are ripe you should use them immediately.

Posted by Myriam under Fall Entertaining & Recipes | No Comments »

When you have a houseful of guests, it is a good idea to make sure you have coasters displayed on your table tops. Encouraging guests to place their drinks on coasters rather than your nice stained table, will save you clean up and the frustration of trying to get those “rings” to disappear. I am liking this do it yourself coaster project from Martha Stewart. Pressed flowers dress up an ordinary coaster and table top. With Fall approaching, you can even try this with pressed leaves.

Posted by Myriam under Holiday Entertaining & Hostessing & Table Setting | 1 Comment »

There are many reasons to host a dinner party, and one of them is for the chance to get creative with a “themed” dinner party. One  theme you can try for your next dinner party is a mystery dinner. The whole dinner party would be focused around finding out “who done it” and each dinner guests will be a part of the mystery. You can send out murder mystery invitations online which will allow you to send each guest unique information. Tell them what character they will be playing so they can dress the part (dressing up will add to the fun). Check out these murder mystery online invites from My Punch Bowl.

They also have other fun tips to plan your murder mystery dinner party, so get planning!

Posted by Myriam under Hostessing & Occasions | No Comments »

Do you like to entertain but not are not too fond of the party price tag?Personally, I always find myself “doing too much” in an attempt to make every party detail just perfect for my guests. Though these days, it is not so easy to splurge on all the party essentials. Here is one way I have rethought my party drinks in order to save more money without cutting out the style:

 Skip the individual cocktails.

I still recommend serving your guests a party cocktail or signature drink however, but rather than puring individual glasses, opt for a cocktail punch instead. Your drink dollars will stretch much further if you switch to serving your drinks out of punch bowls, allowing guests to fill their own cups. Think about it: If you were serving Mimosas, how many could you make using one bottle of champagne? Now, consider the fact that you could make an entire punch bowl of Mimosas with that same one bottle.

Brilliant, I know.

photo via Yum Sugar

Posted by Myriam under Party Food | No Comments »