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
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Super Bowl XLVI with Billy Bush and Kit Hoover on Access Hollywood LIVE
Super Bowl is usually all about pizza, wings and beer, but I have decided to focus on a different Super Bowl fare for my Super Bowl Party. The theme for my Super Bowl XLVI is “Location, Location, Location!” in which I will be focussing on some home town favorites from Indianapolis, Indiana and the two competing teams, New York and New England.
I have decided to incorporate some hometown favorites from Indiana and infuse them with flavors from New York and New England. Three hometown favorites from Indiana are Pork, Popcorn and Pierogies and my guests will wash them all down with the hottest new 2012 bar trend, Beer Cocktails using the BeerTender, made by Krups, which is the perfect addition to any man cave.
Pierogies are celebrated each year with an annual Pierogi festival. Thousands of attendees gather together to taste the different flavors of pierogies topped and prepared with traditional flavors. One of my favorite things is a baked potato bar, so I have decided to create a pierogi bar with spices, sauces, and topping to create your own signature pierogi.
Pork is another hometown favorite in Indiana. I have prepared three different pork recipes all of which include one of my favorite Tabasco sauces; Chipotle Pepper, Green Pepper and Buffalo Style.
Orville Redenbacher invented popcorn in Indianapolis, Indiana. I have concocted six different popcorn recipes infused with hometown flavors from New York and New England.
For recipes please click the links below!
Pork Recipes
Tabasco Buffalo Style Pork Wings
Fried Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches topped with Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce
Beer Cocktails
For more of Mark’s Tips and Tricks, “Like Us” on Facebook or “Follow Us” on Twitter!
Super Bowl XLVI with Mark Addison on The Better Show
The Super Bowl is the most watched annual sporting event of the year and has been noted a defacto American National Holiday called Super Bowl Sunday. Each Year, Super Bowl is held at a different stadium throughout the United States and this year it is being held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
When planning a Super Bowl Party, football fans usually focus on the standard Super Bowl fare, wings, pizza, beer and seem to forget the host city. I have decided that the theme of my Super Bowl Party is “Location, Location, Location!” incorporating a mix of traditional New York and New England flavors with some home town favorites from Indiana: Pork, Pierogies, and Pop Corn!
I used three of my favorite Tabasco sauces to spice up Indiana’s favorite pork recipes: Tabasco Buffalo Style Pork Wings, Fried Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches with Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce and Chipotle Pulled Pork.
Pierogies are a hometown favorite in Indiana and are celebrated each year with an annual Pierogi festival. Using Mrs T’s Pierogies, which are found in the freezer section of your local grocery store, I created three great recipes that everyone will enjoy, Pierogi Pesto Bites, Zesties and Traditional Pierogies with Butter and Onions.
Indianapolis, Indiana is also the birth place of Orville Redenbacher Popcorn. Using traditional flavors from New York and New England, I created six delicious popcorn recipes: Deli Mustard, Everything, NY Pizza, Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie, Boston Baked Bean and Seafood Boil.
The hottest new 2012 bar trend is the Beer cocktail. Using hometown favorites from New York and New England, I created six beer cocktails that everyone will enjoy! The Tom Brady, Cape Ale, Berry Patriotic, Hail Manning Mary, Big Blue and Hopps to it!
Click here for links to all of my recipes!
Pork Recipes
Tabasco Buffalo Style Pork Wings
Fried Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches topped with Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce
Chipotle Pulled Pork
Beer Cocktail Recipes
Tom Brady
Cape Ale
Berry Patriotic
Hail Manning Mary
Big Blue
Hopps to It
For more of Mark’s Tips and Tricks, “Like Us” on Facebook or “Follow Us” on Twitter!
New York and New England Flavored Popcorn
New York Giants Flavors
Deli Mustard
- 2 tbsp Dry Mustard Seasoning
- 2 tbsp Honey Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Everything Bagel
- 1/4 cup Black Sesame Seeds
- 2 tbsp Minced Onion
- 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
- Combine ingredients together in Cuisinart on high for approximately 30 seconds
NY Pizza
- 1/4 cup Mrs Dash Garlic Tomato and Basil Seasoning
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
New England Patriots Flavors
Boston Baked Bean
- 1 tbsp Onion Powder
- 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup bacon bits
- Butt Rub to taste
- Combine ingredients together in Cuisinart on high for approximately 30 seconds
Seafood Boil
- Old Bay Seasoning
- Sprinkle until each piece of popcorn is covered
Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie
- 1/2 bag Wilton Chocolate Candy Melt
- Melted in microwave for 2 minutes in a Wilton Plastic Piping Bag
- 6 Tates Chocolate Chip Cookies, broken into small crumbs
- * Sprinkle popcorn with cookie pieces while on a baking sheet, squeeze melted chocolate from piping bag onto popcorn
- * Place popcorn in a plastic freezer bag and toss until each piece is covered, refrigerate to harden chocolate for approximately 10 minutes
For more of Mark’s Access Hollywood LIVE or The Better Show Super Bowl Recipes and Tips, click the links!
For more of Mark’s Tips and Tricks, “Like Us” on Facebook or “Follow Us” on Twitter!
Big Blue
Serve in a 23 oz Pilsner
- 1 oz Blue Curacao
- 4 oz Apple Cidar
- 18 oz Harp Lager
- Garnish with an Orange Slice
For more of Mark’s Access Hollywood LIVE or The Better Show Super Bowl Recipes and Tips, click the links!
For more of Mark’s Tips and Tricks, “Like Us” on Facebook or “Follow Us” on Twitter!
Hail Manning Mary
Serve in a 14.75 oz Porter/Stout Glass
- 4 oz Tomato Juice
- Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
- Dash of Tabasco Sauce
- 10 oz of Harp Lager
- Garnish with cocktail onions, olives and a lime wedge on a Bamboo Skewer
For more of Mark’s Access Hollywood LIVE or The Better Show Super Bowl Recipes and Tips, click the links!
For more of Mark’s Tips and Tricks, “Like Us” on Facebook or “Follow Us” on Twitter!
Mark’s Holiday Must Haves
Three of my “Holiday Must Have’s” this season are Champagne with the accompanied by a great homemade cordial to mix a signature champagne cocktail and a selection of Scandinavian inspired homemade chocolates.
I had the pleasure of sharing my Holiday Must-Haves with Audra and JD from The Better Show at their Holiday Special at Rockefeller Center. The holiday special will air on December 23rd, 2011. Check your local listing for scheduled show times in your area.
Click the links below for recipes, tips and holiday must haves.
Holiday Must Haves:
Champagne and Sparkling Wine for the Holidays
MYO Holiday Haute Chocolaut
MYO Holiday Cordials
For more of Mark’s tips, recipes, and trends, “Like Us” on Facebook or “Follow Us” on Twitter.
Vote for me as New York Designer of the Year!
BizBash New York Event Designer of the Year
This award will be presented to an individual that effectively communicates the message and goal of corporate and/or nonprofit events through innovative decor.
Share with colleagues and friends by clicking “Campaign for me” after casting your vote!
Must-Have: Zabar’s Simply New York Tote
This is what New Yorker’s nosh on while waiting in line for broadway tickets at TKTS in Times Square, or sharing a Sunday afternoon in Central Park’s Sheep Meadow. Two silky lox and cream cheese sandwiches on kettle-boiled hearth-baked New York bagels, Zabar’s famous cinnamon rugelach, and an I Love NY cookie. This is the perfect walk down memory lane if you’ve been away from New York City and feel a little homesick.
Best of all, the Simply New York gift set comes with a gorgeous signature Zabar’s canvas tote. Nothing says “I LOVE NY” like this great gift set…
