New Years Eve Party Menu Ideas For A Fantastic New Years Eve Party

By Gail Leino

Hosting a New Year's Eve Party can be great fun. It's a way to reminisce with friends, and to look forward to what the new year will bring. Here are some ideas for food and drinks to start you off:

New Year’s Eve offers plenty of parties with friends and family to celebrate another year. You will find there are many menu options for New Year’s Eve. Most of these options include a lot of champagne, wine or beer depending on your preferences. You will also want to include plenty of items to eat. If you are having an informal party you may just get cold cut platters, cheese platters, vegetable platters, and many chips and dips to share. Or you could have a full scale meal with a potluck dinner for you and your friends. Here are a few other ideas:

A typical dip you may find at a New Year’s Eve party will be ranch. You can make the ranch from scratch or you may just buy a jar of pre-made ranch dip. My favorite ranch dip is created with sour cream. You can find the powered ingredient you need for ranch at any store. I prefer Hidden Valley combined with a little sour cream to make a sturdy yet tasty dip.

A great recipe for hors d’oeuvres includes Little Smokies in a beer sauce with a cheese dip. First you need a package of Little Smokies and a bottle of beer. Any beer will do. You heat the sausages in the beer while you create a cheese sauce. Typically a cheese sauce will include a little milk, flour, and your favorite cheese. It can be cheddar, Monterey jack, or even Colby. The idea is to have something that works well with the beer flavor, but also not over power the beer flavor.

Catering for your New Year’s Eve party need not be difficult. Try to prepare as much of the food ahead of time as you can; microwave-friendly food will make your party MUCH easier. Above all, however, enjoy spending time with your guests and ushering in the New Year in style.

Mrs. Party... Gail Leino takes a common sense approach to planning and organizing events, celebrations and holiday parties with unique ideas for New Years party supplies and fun party games. She explains proper etiquette and living a healthy life while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. The Party Supplies Hut has lots of party ideas with hundreds of free holiday printable games and free birthday party activities. Over 100 adorable Themes including Party Supplies to fit your birthday celebration, holiday event, or "just because" parties. Party themes include cartoon characters, sports, movie, TV shows, luau, western, holidays, and unique crazy fun theme ideas.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gail_Leino
http://EzineArticles.com/?New-Years-Eve-Party-Menu-Ideas-For-A-Fantastic-New-Years-Eve-Party&id=686642

Labor Day Party Menu Ideas for a Summer Labor Day Party

By Gail Leino

Labor Day is one of the last chances you and your family will get to enjoy a summer barbeque, and it really is a nice way to celebrate all the hard work you and your loved ones put in for the rest of the year. It was created by the Central Labor Union to give working men the day off; now, many people see it as a paid opportunity to enjoy spend time with loved ones! Here are a few catering ideas:

A menu you may create for Labor Day is barbeque ribs, potato salad, coleslaw, watermelon, and cupcakes for dessert. Any simple, tasty, picnic-friendly food that your family loves will be suitable though.
Broccoli salad is another healthy dish you may find for Labor Day. All you need is a 1-2 large heads of broccoli, ½ red onion chopped, 10-12 slices of cooked bacon broken up (substitute bacon bits), ½ cup of raisins, 1 cup of mayonnaise, ½ cup of sugar, and 2 tablespoons of vinegar. You just combine all of the ingredients and you have a salad to eat along with your barbeque.

Another great recipe is ham and cheese salad. You take 1 cup of chopped ham, 1 cup of chopped cheese (preferably to types of cheese, any kind), ¼ chopped onion, ¼ chopped red pepper, and 1/2 cup of mayonnaise. You may need to add more mayonnaise to make it creamier, but that will be your choice. You combine all the ingredients in a bowl until the ingredients are well coated with mayonnaise.

Dips and other salads work great with crackers or chips depending on your preference for Labor Day.

It’s a good idea to keep your food options for Labor Day simple. And just because food is fairly quick and easy to make, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t taste good too. Before you know it your guests will be coming back for more.

Mrs. Party... Gail Leino takes a common sense approach to planning and organizing events, celebrations and holiday parties with unique ideas for Labor Day party supplies and fun party games. She explains proper etiquette and living a healthy life while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. The Party Supplies Hut has lots of party ideas with hundreds of free holiday printable games and free birthday party activities. Over 100 adorable Themes including Party Supplies to fit your birthday celebration, holiday event, or "just because" parties. Party themes include cartoon characters, sports, movie, TV shows, luau, western, holidays, and unique crazy fun theme ideas.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gail_Leino
http://EzineArticles.com/?Labor-Day-Party-Menu-Ideas-for-a-Summer-Labor-Day-Party&id=685882

Memorial Day Menu and Recipes

By Richard Dupont

This Memorial Day cook up some lip smacking delicacies for your friends and family. Show off your culinary calibers and soak in all the praises showered on you. Its summer!!! And Memorial Day is the right occasion to treat your taste buds to some sizzling barbecue, steaks, grilled potatoes, pies, desserts, salads and much more. Barbeque undoubtedly tops the list. If you’re planning a Memorial Day cookout or a special Memorial Day barbecue party this year here’s a list of items to include in your menu.

• A succulent barbecue

• Steaks

• Bacons
• Delicious Chicken preparations (anything will be gorged on)

• Grilled Asparagus

• Corn on the Cob

• Roasted potato salads or shrimp salads

• Grilled Zucchini

• Cream and cheese sandwiches

• Baked beans

• Strawberry Melon Wedges

• Pork Ribs

• Hotdogs

• Burgers (lamb, chicken…anything!)

• Strawberry Cream Pie

• Lemonade (a real refreshing idea)

• Sundaes

• Special Memorial Day Cake (top it with blue syrups, white cream and red cherries to give that patriotic flavor in it)

• Memorial Day pies (don’t forget the blueberry and raspberry toppings)

• Tomato Tarts

If the kitchen is your lab and you love to experiment around with some cool recipes this summer, here are a few you might just try out. What’s better than to start off with a yummy salad recipe –

Spinach & Strawberry Salad

Ingredients:

• One 9 ounce package of baby spinach leaves

• 1 1/2 cups of sliced strawberries

• 1/3 cup toasted almonds

• 3-4 sliced green onions

• Olive oil

• White Balsamic vinegar

• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper ( to taste)

Instructions:

• Toast the almonds on a pan in the oven at 300 degrees F for a few minutes (they brown quickly) or place the almonds in a small skillet over medium heat until toasted (shake the skillet a few times while over the heat to toast evenly)

• Make sure to remove any stems from the spinach and place the leaves in a salad bowl with the green onions

• Drizzle with a little olive oil (just enough to lightly coat the spinach)

• Place the bowl in the refrigerator until serving time
To serve:

• Rinse the strawberries just before tossing the salad, dry them and slice them

• Add the toasted almonds and sliced strawberries to the salad bowl and sprinkle with white balsamic vinaigrette to taste

• Add a little salt and fresh ground pepper and toss the salad and then plate

And who can ignore a BBQ recipe on Memorial Day. Here’s one to check out –

BBQ Steaks

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon onion powder

salt ( to taste )

1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring

1 pinch cayenne pepper

2 (1/2 pound) beef rib eye steaks

In a medium bowl, combine the vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, olive oil, ground black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, salt, liquid smoke and cayenne pepper.
Place steaks in a shallow, nonporous dish, and pour marinade over steaks. For optimum flavor, rub the liquid into the meat. Cover, and let marinate in the refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours.
Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high to high heat. Grill steaks for 7 to 8 minutes per side on a lightly oiled grate.

And here’s one for the burger lovers –

Wasabi Salmon Burgers

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

• 1 1/2 teaspoons wasabi powder

• 1 pound salmon fillet

• 2 each scallions

• 1 each egg

• 2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger

• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Cooking Instructions

Whisk soy sauce, wasabi powder and honey in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside.
With a large chef's knife, chop salmon using quick, even, straight-up-and-down motions (do not rock the knife through the fish or it will turn mushy). Continue chopping, rotating the knife, until you have a mass of roughly 1/4-inch pieces. Transfer to a large bowl. Add scallions, egg, ginger and oil; stir to combine. Form the mixture into 4 patties. The mixture will be moist and loose, but holds together nicely once the first side is cooked.
Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the patties and cook for 4 minutes. Turn and continue to cook until firm and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Spoon the reserved wasabi glaze evenly over the burgers and cook for 15 seconds more. Serve immediately.

Richard Dupont writes on holidays and global events like Memorial Day, Father's Day, Mother's Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, valentine's Day etc. He also writes on family, relationships, religion, love and friendship.

He is a writer with special interest in ecard industry and writes for 123greetings.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Dupont
http://EzineArticles.com/?Memorial-Day-Menu-and-Recipes&id=575888

New Years Eve Party Menu Ideas For A Fantastic New Years Eve Party

By Gail Leino

Hosting a New Year's Eve Party can be great fun. It's a way to reminisce with friends, and to look forward to what the new year will bring. Here are some ideas for food and drinks to start you off:

New Year’s Eve offers plenty of parties with friends and family to celebrate another year. You will find there are many menu options for New Year’s Eve. Most of these options include a lot of champagne, wine or beer depending on your preferences. You will also want to include plenty of items to eat. If you are having an informal party you may just get cold cut platters, cheese platters, vegetable platters, and many chips and dips to share. Or you could have a full scale meal with a potluck dinner for you and your friends. Here are a few other ideas:

A typical dip you may find at a New Year’s Eve party will be ranch. You can make the ranch from scratch or you may just buy a jar of pre-made ranch dip. My favorite ranch dip is created with sour cream. You can find the powered ingredient you need for ranch at any store. I prefer Hidden Valley combined with a little sour cream to make a sturdy yet tasty dip.

A great recipe for hors d’oeuvres includes Little Smokies in a beer sauce with a cheese dip. First you need a package of Little Smokies and a bottle of beer. Any beer will do. You heat the sausages in the beer while you create a cheese sauce. Typically a cheese sauce will include a little milk, flour, and your favorite cheese. It can be cheddar, Monterey jack, or even Colby. The idea is to have something that works well with the beer flavor, but also not over power the beer flavor.

Catering for your New Year’s Eve party need not be difficult. Try to prepare as much of the food ahead of time as you can; microwave-friendly food will make your party MUCH easier. Above all, however, enjoy spending time with your guests and ushering in the New Year in style.

Mrs. Party... Gail Leino takes a common sense approach to planning and organizing events, celebrations and holiday parties with unique ideas for New Years party supplies and fun party games. She explains proper etiquette and living a healthy life while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. The Party Supplies Hut has lots of party ideas with hundreds of free holiday printable games and free birthday party activities. Over 100 adorable Themes including Party Supplies to fit your birthday celebration, holiday event, or "just because" parties. Party themes include cartoon characters, sports, movie, TV shows, luau, western, holidays, and unique crazy fun theme ideas.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gail_Leino
http://EzineArticles.com/?New-Years-Eve-Party-Menu-Ideas-For-A-Fantastic-New-Years-Eve-Party&id=686642

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Anti-aging Fruit!

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Christmas Eve Recipe Ideas

By Dominique Halet

Christmas is quickly approaching and the time has come to soon send our invitations to the Christmas Eve or Day dinner.

Special occasions are a great time for friends and family and, in order to please our guests, we have to be creative when it comes the time to create our menu. But... if the Christmas turkey is a delicious meal, we would sometimes change our habits and eat something else.

Here is a Christmas menu idea including four different dishes from soup to dessert; which are simple to make special occasion cooking recipes but include a nice alternative to the Christmas turkey.

The portions are calculated for 8 guests.

Soup:

Tomato Cream

Ingredients:

2.2 lb peeled and chopped matured tomatoes
200 g chopped carrots
250 g chopped celery
120 g chopped onions
Chopped garlic (to taste)
1 small box of canned tomatoes
200 ml cream
salt and pepper to taste
Thyme, bay
Oil
2 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoon red wine vinegar
200 ml water

In a large saucepan, melt sugar with a little water and pour vinegar until reducing
Add the vegetables
Cover and simmer 20 minutes
Mash the canned tomatoes and add them in the saucepan
Simmer 30 minutes
Salt and pepper to taste
Add 200 ml water and then the cream
Blend the soup
Serve hot

Starter:

Avocado cream

Ingredients:

2 chopped avocados
2 lemons (juiced)
2 chopped shallots
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Use a fork to mash the avocado
Stir in lemon juice
Add the chopped shallots
Blend all the ingredients
Serve cold in small glasses
Decorate with lemon zest

Main dish:

Christmas Goose

Ingredients:

8 to 10 lb. whole goose
1 chopped onion
1 chopped apples
1 tablespoon dried grapes
Oil
100 ml red wine
500 ml chicken broth
Thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 365 degrees F

Put the oil coated goose in a shallow roasting pan
Tuck the wings and tie the legs together with kitchen string
Put the apples, onions and dried grapes around it
Cook for 3 hours, basting regularly with the cooking juices
Remove the goose from the oven
Pass the cooking juices through a strainer

In a saucepan, combine the fat from the roasting pan, the red wine, the Chicken broth and the red wine
Let cook until boiling and then add floor, stir constantly, until the gravy thickens
Serve with steamed potatoes.

Dessert:

Baked Apples

Ingredients:

10 mashed speculaas
120 g almond paste
40 g dried grapes
2 tablespoon rum
4 tablespoon grounded hazelnuts
1 tablespoon honey
8 apples, washed, cored and halved
sugar glace

Preheat the oven to 365 degrees F

Combine the mashed speculaas, the almond paste, the dried grapes, rum, hazelnuts and the honey
Put the apples in a baking dish
Garnish with the mixture
Bake for 15 à 20 minutes
Serve warm with ice cream and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Prosperity66 is an European History, Holidays and Tarot cards passionate. She writes articles and creates websites dedicated to these subjects.

For more Christmas Costume, Christmas Cards, Christmas Recipes, Christmas Traditions Information, feel free to visit Christmas Time Guide.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dominique_Halet

http://EzineArticles.com/?Christmas-Eve-Recipe-Ideas&id=864188

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Anti-aging Fruit!

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