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Fall Dinner Party

Prepping for a dinner party tonight and can’t get over these colors!

Two takeaways from lunch today. 1. Leftover pork tenderloin with pineapple salsa will def be on our menu this week at home. 2. Chilito- a mix of chili powder, salt, and lime juice is amazing and especially good on guacamole. Something else I’ll be experimenting with this week

3 Step Salad

My idea of the perfect salad comes in 3’s. You don’t have to have specific ingredients and you can be creative with it! 1. Toss in your favorite kind of cheese. What do you have on hand? Goat cheese, feta, or parmesan..are all great ideas. 2. Add fruit or veggies. Pear, apple, leftover asparagus? They all work! Cut them into different shapes and sizes for look and variety. 3. Add any nuts or seeds that you have in your freezer or cabinet. Cashews, pecans, or pistachios are all great ideas (make sure to toast them). Nuts keep great in the freezer so I always have at least four varieties on hand (same with cheeses). Finally, I always use at least 2 kinds of lettuce. I love the different texture and flavors it gives to the salad. In this case I used 3; spinach, arugula, and baby bibb lettuce. Your perfect salad can be done in 1,2,3!

Garlic tip

Ok, the risotto was phenomenal but in no way “just a dash”. There were a ton of measurements and it took over an hour to make, so I’m going to share with you one of the takeaways from my class. Remove the “green germ” from your garlic. The germ is bitter and creates a bad aftertaste. The chef insisted it makes a big difference and indeed it does! After reading and doing more research, I found that a lot of chefs and cooks agree. I’m not saying I’ll do it every time but if I’m adding raw garlic to something or cooking up something with a lot of garlic I’ll take the 30 seconds to take out the green germ.

Think, Read, and Learn about Food!

A lot of people ask how I have gained my inspiration for cooking and how I can be creative without using recipes. The answer is that I think, read, and learn about food all the time! The more you read recipes, watch your favorite cooking shows, and pay attention to meals at your favorite restaurants YOU TOO can become more creative with the ingredients in your kitchen. Go off on a limb without a recipe this week! Try it out, it’s fun and will help you gain confidence in the kitchen.

Favorite Things Party Prep

Prepping for a big party tonight! TIP- I seep my drinks for many hours before the guests arrive so they have full flavor.

Favorite Things Partay

Thanks for your responses! Tonight was a raging success and I look forward to sharing my tips, timeline, and recipes with you. I’ll be posting all food and drink recipes over the next week.

Party Inspiration and Planning 3 months out

My “Favorite Things” Party was all inspired by a Navy and Orange bag I saw in a catalogue a couple of months ago. Pick a date that will work best for your family and guests. Be very thoughtful around school events, community happenings, and sport programs in your area. Talk to friends to make sure you’re not forgetting about anything important. The biggest party planning mistake is scheduling your party on a very busy night for your friends. I find Thursday nights are the best for girlfriends and Saturday night for a couples or family party. Pick your guest list. It may be a small dinner party, a larger girls night, or family BBQ. Make sure that each family or guest knows at least 1-2 other guests. I often bring many different groups of friends together and as long as they know a couple of other people it will all run smoothly. Everyone DOES NOT need to know each other. I love bringing different sets of friends together. ** As nice as it would be, you can’t invite everyone. Period….

Party Planning 2 weeks out

Send out invitations to guests. Paper invitations are my favorite (order a month out) but evite, paperless post, or email/text work as well. If you’re using your own dish-ware make sure you have enough of everything. In my case I often use sturdy plastic plates in cool shapes and colors as well as dessert and appetizer plates, nice plastic glasses, and silverware. When party time comes, you will be so glad you’re dumping everything in the trash and not loading the dishwasher. Trust me. So, buy all paper products, glasses, plastic utensils, dessert/appetizer plates, etc. Check to make sure you have drink dispensers, platters, utensil holders, place mats, tablecloths, candle holders, vases, and anything else you might be using for the party. If you don’t have it, order or get it now. Don’t wait until LATER. Later = Stress Have you come up with any new ideas, fun food thoughts, or anything that might require some planning. Get that all done now. When I entertain I actually want my friends to be entertained and have something to do. Set up…

Life is not all Chili Dogs

Life is not all chili dogs. I often get asked how I am able to eat so much. It’s all about moderation. This is breakfast today. No carbs. Leave the muffins, croissants, and pastries unless they look amazing. I split the chili dog with my husband last night and probably only ate 1/4 of it. The 10th bite is not as good as the first. If I eat grilled doughnuts, I eat half of one and not three. I eat really well 90% of the time and leave that 10% for food that is worth it. Last night they served a cobbler that was pretty average for dessert so after one bite I put my fork on the floor (crazy lady) so I wouldn’t eat anymore. If it was amazing cobbler I would have eaten the whole bowl. Be picky about your splurges. And of course EXERCISE!! Six days a week no excuses. First thing every morning with very few exceptions. I love it, crave it, and can’t live without it. I’m a better mom, wife, and foodie once the…