Summer Eco-taining Essentials
Memorial Day is THE party kick-off event of the summer entertaining season. Get the party started right with my Summer Entertaining Essentials for Summer entertaining on-the-go or on demand.
I will share my picks for this summer’s entertaining must-haves that will take you through every summer holiday and every day summer entertaining whenever they pop up. Also, I will ensure that you’ll be entertaining in style as he brings the latest fashions to your tabletop with his “colors of the season” entertaining décor tips… And throw away those paper plates, for good, because I have great tips on environmentally friendly, sustainable entertaining for your summer eco-taining arsenal.
https://vimeo.com/42851366
Setting the table for the perfect summer entertaining on-the-go or on demand is as simple as 1-2-3!
First, start with the perfect bag of party tricks! I believe that keeping all your Summer entertaining essentials in one convenient and easy accessible place is key. My go-to Summer tote is make of Land’s End canvas and is the perfect eco-friendly Summer carrying bag made by Lands’ End. It is water resistant with plenty of storage for all your essentials.
Beach towels do double duty as picnic blankets or tablecloths. Fun vintage inspired pattern help set the festive tone. This beach towel, provided by Lands’ End is the perfect Vintage pattern tying in the color palette from the entire table.
Second, throw away those paper plates, for good! and opt for Bamboo plates, silverware, and serving pieces. These items, made by Core Bamboo, are made from 100% organically grown bamboo. They are finished with natural oils to make them food safe and the lacquer comes from natural cashew trees. If and when you do throw them away, they are 100% biodegradable and compostable, leaving you guilt free!
Thirdly, bring the hottest fashion colors to your Summer party with re-usable and disposable napkins. MY DRAP tear-off napkins are the only 100% cotton napkins on a roll that come in a variety of colors and sizes that can be mixed and matched for a mega dose of fashion colors. Guests get the feel of cloth napkins in a disposable that are good for the environment, making you “look marvelous” (and feel marvelous too)! The best part about these napkins is they can be washed and reused up to six times!
The perfect compliment to the MY DRAP napkins is the Table Chameleon Napkin Rings, which I designed and produced and are the perfect summer entertaining essential! The Table Chameleon Napkin Rings are designed to bring a bit of character to your table in whatever way you please with a variety of colors and styles. Easy to use, the 3/4″ thick hand-cut acrylic rings are held together with magnets and feature inserts in four different designs – London, Ada, Saturn and Miami – in the colors, red blue, orange, and green. To switch out the inserts, there are four simple steps: slide, slip, snap and create! All you have to do is slide the pieces apart, slip in the insert, snap the two pieces together and create the look you want for your table! For more information or to purchase The Table Chameleon, go to my website!
To be the ULTIMATE Eco-tainer, make sure you party like a Local-vore!
A local-vore is a person dedicated to eating food grown and produced locally. There are a lot of reasons to eat locally grown and produced foods.
- Less resources (primarily fossil fuels) are expended packaging and easy transporting from Farm to Table.
- It supports the local economy – more money remains in our local community.
- It is healthier – processing and preservatives are less important since the food doesn’t have to travel so far.
- It is safer and thus local-vores are less susceptible to foodborn illnesses.
- It is more honest – honesty in terms of the food source and the growing/producing process.
- And last but not least – it tastes better!
Here are a few examples for shopping for like a local-vore that I incorporated into this segment by shopping right here in NYC:
Asparagus – NJ Native
Beef – PA Native
Mushrooms – NJ Native
Cheese – NY Native
Crab Cakes – NJ Native
Tomatoes – NJ Native
“Like Us” on Facebook and “Follow Us” on Twitter for more of Mark’s recipes, tips and tricks!
Stilton Cheese Balls
- 2 lbs Green Seedless Grapes (washed and separated)
- 2 lbs Stilton (Blue Cheese) *
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 3 cups of shelled and chopped pistachio nuts
Pick and wash grapes, drying completely. Combine the Stilton cheese and cream cheese until smooth. To make cheese balls, evenly coated each grape with the cheese mixture, then roll in pistachio nuts to completely cover. Chill in refrigerator until cheese has hardened. Serve slightly chilled.
*if you don’t like Stilton, replace it with goat cheese and try coating fresh or dried fig quarters and roll in chopped dried cranberries or dried cherries.
For links to all The Golden Harvest recipes and tips, click here!
1980′s Theme
The 1980′s was a decade of excitement. It was a decade of speaking out and fighting for what you believe in.
It was also an age where people found interest in debates, and solving problems.
During the 1980′s, Billy Bush was going to St George’s Academy in Newport, RI where he played Lacrosse and Hockey for his school. I was inspired to take a few of America’s favorite foods found in the cafeteria of any school and turned them into miniature snack bites with a 80′s inspired signature cocktail from the icon candy, The Astro Pop.
Pac Man and Cheese
Ingredients:
4 cups cooked elbow macaroni, drained
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
3 eggs, beaten
½ cup sour cream
4 tbsp. butter, cut into pieces
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
peanut oil
flour
1 egg
plain bread crumbs
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 35o degrees Fahrenheit.
- Once you have the macaroni cooked and drained, place in a large bowl and while still hot and add the cheddar.
- In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and add to the macaroni mixture.
- Pour macaroni mixture into a casserole dish and bake for 30 to 45 minutes.
- Top with additional cheese if desired.
- Chill macaroni and cheese in the refrigerator overnight.
- Cut into pieces using a round cookie cutter.
- Heat 2 inches of oil in a large heavy duty Dutch over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Dredge each circle in flour then egg, and then coat with bread crumbs.
- Fry for about 1 minute on each side until golden brown.
- Drain on paper towels before serving.
Truffle Tater Tots
Ingredients:
1 large bag frozen tater tots
truffle salt
Directions:
- Follow the instructions on the back of the package to bake the tater tots.
- Sprinkle with truffle salt.
Mini Pizzas
Ingredients:
Frozen Pizzas
Directions:
- Heat the oven to the temperature as instructed on the frozen pizza.
- Using fun shaped cookie cutters, cut the frozen pizza into small pieces.
- Bake as instructed.
Astro Pop Cocktail
Ingredients:
1 oz. Absolut ® Raspberri vodka
1 oz. sweet and sour mix
½ oz. grenadine syrup
½ oz. Blue Curacao liqueur
Directions:
1. Add vodka and sour mix into a tumbler with ice to chill.
2. Shake ingredients and pour in a large shot glass.
3. Use Grenadine and allow to sink to the bottom of the glass (pour slowly
down the inside of the glass)
4. Allow Blue Curacao to sink to the middle of the glass (it will sit on top of the
grenadine if poured slowly down inside of the glass)
5. The finished product will be red, blue, then white from the bottom to top.
1980′s Inspired Playlist
Here is a great playlist to immerse your guests in the 80′s theme.
1. Rick Springfield – Jesse’s Girl
2. The Bangles Walk – Like an Egyptian
3. Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is a Place on Earth
4. UB40 – Red Red Wine
5. Starship – Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now
6. Daryl Hall – Kiss on My List
7. Steve Winwood – Higher Love
8. Cyndi Lauper – Time After Time
9. Kool & the Gang – Celebration
10. Boston – Amanda
11. Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
12. David Bowie – Let’s Dance
13. Simple Minds – Don’t You (Forget About Me)
14. Escape Club – Wild, Wild West
15. INXS – Need You Tonight
16. Olivia Newton-John – Physical
17. Phil Collins – Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)
18. Lionel Richie – Truly
MYO Tablecloth Super Hero Cape
Using the same plastic tablecloths as the table setting cut them into four triangles by folding them in half (cut in two) and fold the halves into triangles (cut in two). You can use either rectangular or circle tablecloths and you should get at least four capes from each tablecloth. Attach self-adhesive Velcro attach it to the top of the triangle to make a closure. Using the foam remnants from the invitation project, cut fun shapes and allow the children to decorate the capes and masks with quick dry glue sticks, washable markers, etc.
To download the Super Hero Cape Shields, click here!
Like us on Facebook for more tips and trends!
DIY Colorful Table Settings
Use inexpensive party supplies in multiple colors to set a festive tone to your table setting. For our Super-Kids theme, I am using red, blue, yellow and lime green tablecloths with complimentary cups, plates and flatware. Plastic party tablecloths can be cut to fit any shape tape and can be taped together for extra large table. Cover all surfaces that the kids will eat or play on for quick clean up and to protect your furniture.
Like us on Facebook for more tips and trends!
MYO Candy Bags
Using small candy bags, (yellow, kiwi, red, blue,) decorate the bags with colorful markers “Kai’s 1st Masked Super Hero Birthday Bash!”. At the end of the party, place small scoopers into the vases and allow the children to select the candies of their choice to bring home to enjoy.
To download the Make Your Own Candy Bag Shield, click here!
Like us on Facebook for more tips and trends!
