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By Shindig_Spot, May 31, 2009 11:21 PM

So I have been bit by the BBQ bug. Last week I had family over for a Memorial Day BBQ. The menu consisted of hot dogs, sausages, burgers, chicken breast (which was AMAZING), pasta salad with peppers, onions, cucumbers, and asparagus (which people didn’t know was made of wheat pasta), and corn on the cob. I had so much fun that I had to do it again this weekend, although on a much smaller scale, with me and my daughter. We dined on more corn on the cob, BBQ pork, and shrimp with peppers and onions.

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I think the reason I had to BBQ again was because of a few lessons learned. They all boil down to one tip.

1. Start early.

It sounds like a no brainier, I know. I tend to have a plan in my head, but not execute it until the midnight hour. This has caused me to be a bit more frantic than I’d like. Planning ahead gives to time to work out all the logistics; items you need outside, what to serve the cooked food in and how to keep it warm. The lists can go on and on, but starting early lets you figure all that out before the guests arrive and allows you to enjoy more of your shindig.

By planning early you can have most of the food prepared, or at least the first wave. With most of the food prepared guests are able to self-serve and you have time to replenish without guests hovering like vultures around the grill.

In the end it’s all about having fun, for the guests and for you as well. If you’re not having a good time, what’s the point?

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By Shindig_Spot, May 11, 2009 12:12 AM

While I should be working on figuring out how to configure my website, the Williams-Sonoma catalog came last night and I got inspired.  Since the weather is warming up I am getting the itch to plan my Annual Summer Solstice BBQ, and this catalog has me drooling.

Invitations

So,  as I mentioned before, this is an annual event, however, I wasn’t completely honest.  I have only had one of these BBQs before since moving into my house and I am hoping to make this an annual event; this will be my second year.  Last year I invited just about everyone I knew, literally.  I also included my neighbors since I was new to the area.  Between using evite and passing out fliers I had over 30 people attend my first BBQ shindig.  For a more intimate BBQ, try this invitation from invitationbox.com.  For more of a splurge, try these invitations from impressinprint.com.  They are on the pricey side, but they are fun  and different.  Save money on both styles by writing the information on the invitations yourself.

Menu and Serving

I kept the menu easy, burgers, dogs, chicken, sausages (hot and mild), pasta salad, corn on the cob, and chips and dips.  I was feeding over 30 people!   For something a bit more impressive, take a look at how you can transform a typical BBQ menu into something worth toasting a Margarita to.  These  outdoor grilling tools from Williams-Sonoma can help turn Jalapeno peppers into roasted poppers, chicken into roasted chicken with veggies, and chips and dips into ultimate nachos.  For the serving items, it might be time to dig out those housewarming gifts.  One thing that I have found key for any event, especially for an outdoor shindig, is to have a utensil caddy.  This one from Oriental Trading is affordable, decorative, and even has an area to keep napkins safe from those outdoor breezes.

Decorations and Accessories

Outdoor shindigs don’t usually require much in the way of decorations, the outdoor scenery usually takes care of that.  However, there is room for some finishing touches.  Mexican Oil Cloth that can be used as a chalkboard tablecloth can also double as a quick table dressing that is decorative and easy to clean.  Candles and outdoor party lights can provide lighting for those late night guests who stay well after the last of the summer sun.

Depending on the theme of your party, some of these small accessories from Oriental Trading Company will be the icing on the cake!

Try these Palm Tree Straws or Mini Margarita Shot Glasses for a Margaritiville theme.

Try these Hibiscus Flower Picks for appetizers or these Bright Flower Petals for your Luau theme table scape.

Try these Chili Pepper Straws and Inflatable Cactus Cooler for your spicy Fiesta theme.

Whatever you try and however you serve it, enjoy these few months of warm weather and long days. Enjoy the company of friends and family and have as many BBQ shindigs during this great summer season!

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By Shindig_Spot, April 29, 2009 1:25 AM

Today I attended a tea party bridal shower at the cutest place, Amelia’s Teas and Holly.  While I have not yet hosted a tea party, I have had the idea brewing for some time.  In my mind, this would be a smaller shindig, harking back to a time of refinement and etiquette.

Invitations

I think that a tea party deserves something a bit more formal than my usual evite invitation.  Due to the time involved searching for just the right accessories, I’ll have the forethought covered, and because of the smaller gathering, I’ll have the cost covered as well.  Mailed invitations it is!  While the following invitation doesn’t scream refinement, I had to include some of my kitchness into the event.  These teapot invitations from Plum Party are fun and are the perfect price at $16.00 for a box of 10.

Menu and Serving

This is where the fun part comes in, the prepping and presentation of the food and drink.  At Amelia’s Teas and Holly we were served our own teapots of their loose tea in dainty tea cups, some atop saucers, and some atop of a snack set plate.  These vintage snack sets are practical and quaint and are perfect for dainty treats.  If you aren’t familiar with how to properly prepare loose tea, you can always go the route of the traditional teabag.  The tea from  Tea Forte not only has a great taste, but a different look.  If the snack sets are too traditional for you, Tea Forts also provides various contemporary tea service sets.  Their Dolce Vita collection provides an updated service for your tea party that still demands a sense of decorum.

Our meals were served on vintage 3-tiered desert stands; each tier filled with mini crusttless sandwiches, scones, quiche, pettifours and truffles.  You can switch out the mini crust-less sandwiches for other savory bites such as Pasta Frittatas or Mini Crab and Lime Quiches.  Swap out the pettifours for Goat Cheese and Apple Tarts or Peach and Almond Strudels.  No need to switch out the truffles, there is no substitution for chocolate.  All of the recipes can be found in one of my favorite appetizer cookbooks, The Essential Appetizers Cookbook.

Accessories

Lace tablecloths, linen napkins, and fresh flowers is all that is necessary.  However, for something fun and slightly less formal, try these low key cocktail napkins from Plum Party and this tea cosy from Eden & Eden to add some lightness to the formalness of it all.

Just like  fondue, a successful tea party depends on a good mix of conversation that will sustain several pots of tea.

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By Shindig_Spot, April 24, 2009 1:02 AM

February 14th, Valentine’s Day.  Whether you are paired up with  someone or going solo, it doesn’t mean that the day still can’t be sweet.  Gather the girls, or your one and only and skip dinner; go straight for dessert.

Invitations

If you’ve been reading, you know what I used as my regular invitation standby, evite.  As I have said so many times, “One of these days I’ll get my act together.”    Had I had the time, money, and forethought, I would have gotten something along the lines of Lollipop Love by tiny*prints.  They are informal enough for a fete with friends, convey the theme of the night perfectly and don’t have to be reserved for Valentine’s Day.  For something a little less pink and red and a bit more DIY, check out this Print-and-Mail Dessert invitation template from Real Simple.

Menu and Serving

This was another potluck shinding, everyone brought their favorite dessert and we gorged ourselves on sweet treats all night long.  While I like to cook from scratch rather than bake from scratch, I can do some damage to box mixes.   I provided 2 options for the night; brownies and gingerbread.  The Ghirardelli Brownie Mix, Ultimate Fudge was a hit and looked delicious in the heart shaped tin.  The gingerbread was courtesy of Trader Joe’s.  Their Trader Joe’s Deep, Dark Gingerbread Cake & Baking Mix went well with their lemon curd.  The spicy and the sweet went surprisingly well together and looked amazing in the matching heart shaped tin.  If I didn’t wait till the last minute to prepare for my parties I might prepare a couple (or all) of the desserts from Paula Deen’s “The Lady & Sons: Savannah Country Cookbook“.  If I had to pick just two they might be my favorite cookies, Snickerdoodles (pg. 144), and the Gooey Butter Cakes (pg. 125), who can resist gooey butter??

Decorations and Accessories

The decorations were limited, focused on the dining room table, and were pink and red.  The center piece consisted of some festive pink mums and the food and drink filled the table from end to end.  Chocolate candies, red wine, pink wine, sparkling cider, and those great wine tumblers I talk about here.  Seasonal heart paper plates (yes, paper plates.  I’ll get to the cool plates soon enough.) and matching napkins rounded out the decorations.  Simple homemade red and pink construction paper chains can be fun decorations as well, and can get the kids to decorate all on their own.  Additional decorations and accessories can also provide mood lighting.  A candle-scape can be romantic, but for something that can provide the same effect with less flame, try these Green Organza Gems from PartyLights.com.

Be it for Valentines Day or for friends to get together to share sweet secrets, just skip the main course and go straight for the sweet course.

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By Shindig_Spot, April 19, 2009 12:36 AM

A few months back I had a fondue party.  While I am working towards getting to a point where I have enough time and moolah to send out really great and memorable custom invitations, I am not there quite yet.  In the meantime, I stick with my old standby, evite.   I planned for a party for 6, 5 guests including myself.  The couple with 2 cats  between them, the couple with a daughter between them, and my date for the night, a most interesting woman who is much younger looking than her years.  The conversation went from Beaujolais to kilts and just about everything in between.  With fondue, the hardest part isn’t coming up with a menu mix, it’s coming up with a good conversation mix.

Menu and Serving

The menu is quite simple.  I created a platter of Old Bay shrimp, Jamaican spiced chicken, and soy marinated beef on a large platter separated by celery stalks. The veggies included baby potatoes, baby carrots, mushroom caps, and broccoli florets. The fondue was a broth fondue made with equal parts soy sauce and chicken broth.  I have heard this recipe is killer with Saki instead of the broth that I have to try sometime.

The fondue set I used is by Trudeau.  It is similar to the one pictured below;  it has pots for both broth/oil and cheese/chocolate fondue.  Regular dinner plates were used, but these fondue plates I will have to keep on mind for next time.  I am continuing to increase my inventory of serving ware, but when you are with friends, anything is suitable.

Drinks included selections from Moore Brothers Wine Company.  The one big hit of the night was a Beaujolais-Villages from Georges Trichard.  It’s a part of my Moore Brothers wine portfolio and I have to make a point of returning and picking up a few more bottles for the next shindig.  The wine glasses I used were from Michael Chiarello’s line, Napa Style.  I had been coveting the Venetian Style Wine Tumblers for some time and finally had a chance to use them for this informal gathering.

Accessories

The great thing about fondue is, the accessories needed are limited.  Everything needed is included in the fondue set, all that is really necessary are the people.  A selection of dippers that I used included cocktail sauce, barbecue sauce, Sirrachi sauce, spinach dip, vegetable dip, and hummus.  A mini bamboo strainer made for quick retrieval of meat and veggies that fell off the skewers and a tablecloth for quick tabletop cleanup.

A fondue shindig is definitely something on the smaller scale, the amount of food included.  I seemed to have cut up enough food for an army, and had leftovers for General Tso’s Chicken,  Shrimp Scampi, and Beef Stroganoff.  Sometimes the food is secondary when you are having such a good time with friends.

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By Shindig_Spot, April 18, 2009 2:51 AM

Whether it’s your first move or your fourth move.  Be it a house, apartment, or condo.  It is a space of your own that you will call home.  What better way to christen your new home than to throw a party, a housewarming.

A housewarming might be one of the most stressful parties you’ll throw.  Between this being the first major event in your home and you still being in some stage of unpacking, it can be overwhelming.  Also, chances are, if you are anything like me, you might not have a ton of entertaining items to properly host an event, not to mention enough time to prepare enough food for family and friends.  It’s understandable, you did just move!  So let’s make it easy on ourselves, shall we?

Invitations

While mailed invitations are a nice surprise for guests, they are an expense and do take some forethought.  You can save these great return address labels  from horchow.com which are much more stylish than the labels you find in the coupon ads.    Time and money might not be something you have an abundance of at the moment, so my favorite invitations site is evite.com.  Not only does the site let you choose from a number of its themed templates, you can also design your own.  Not only can you can easily manage your guest list and inform them of changes, but you can also take polls and and even request that guests help out with the spread.  Which brings me to the next topic.

Menu and Serving

There is nothing wrong with having a potluck for your first shindig.  Order some chicken and a pasta salad or a fruit and veggie tray for your contribution to the event and have your guests help out with the rest.  Another way to personalize the day is to have each guest include the recipe for the dish they made so you can incorporate it into a custom cookbook.  Your friends and family supply the recipes and tastebook.com will produce the cookbook.

You can lighten your load even more by using paper and plastic products.  There is some plastic ware out there that at fist glance you’d swear was silver.  Find your luxury, inexpensive dinnerware at dontdodishes.com.

Decorations and Accessories

Your entertaining decoration and accessories may be lost in a jumble of boxes, or if this is your first move, you haven’t yet started acquiring items.  No need to worry.  At a housewarming people are more interested in the new space rather than the stuff inside.  Besides, it’s a chance to add some great basics to your registry.  Glasses are versatile and can go from mixed drinks to juice cocktails.  A clean profile an good grip make these inexpensive items ones that will last for many events to come.  Chip and dip trays can be used for chips, fruit, vegetable, and nuts.  The one, two, and four sectioned choices below should provide enough options for any size and style of party.  Below are a few selections from two very accessible retailers.  Once you have some dollars saved you can start to add appetizer plates and serving trays to your inventory.

curved and comforable

classic and crisp

fun and colorful

1 section in glass

4 sections in wood

2 sections in porcelain

After it is all said and done, the main thing is to enjoy yourself.  If you are starting over or starting out for the first time; your finally home and that is really something to celebrate.