Gazpacho Push Pops
Layer 1: Gazpacho
Layer 2: Guacamole
Layer 3: Crème Fraiche
Gazpacho
Ingredients:
- 6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1 purple onion, finely chopped
- 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
- 1 sweet red bell pepper (or green) seeded and chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1-2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tsp. sugar
- 6 or more drops of Tabasco sauce to taste
- 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 4 cups tomato juice
- White bread
Method:
- Combine all ingredients.
- Blend slightly to desired consistency.
- Place in non-metal, non-reactive storage container, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight, allowing flavors to blend.
- Using a circular cookie cutter, cut white bread into small circles a bit smaller than the mouth of the push pop container. Place the piece of white bread as the bottom layer of the push pop.
Guacamole
Ingredients:
- 2 ripe avocados
- ½ red onion, minced (about ½ cup)
- 1-2 serrano chiles, stems and seeds removed, minced
- 2 tbsp. cilantro leaves, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp. of fresh lime or lemon juice
- ½ tsp. coarse salt
- a dash of freshly grated black pepper
- ½ ripe tomato, seeds and pulp removed, chopped
Method:
- Cut avocados in half. Remove pit. Scoop out avocado from the peel, put in a mixing bowl.
- Using a fork, mash the avocado. Add the chopped onion, cilantro, lime or lemon, salt and pepper and mash some more. Chili peppers vary individually in their hotness, add the amount of your choice.
- Keep tomatoes separate until ready to serve.
- Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole to prevent oxidations from the air reaching it.
- Refrigerate until ready.
- Just before serving, add the chopped tomato to the guacamole and mix.
For more information on Mark’s Easy Breezy Summer Entertaining, click here!
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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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2000′s Theme
The 2000′s were the age of technology and economic growth lifting millions out of poverty.
During the decade of 2000′s, Billy Bush is all grown up and living and working in LA. During this time, he and his wife, Sydney welcomed their three daughters into the world. Billy was also the host of Lets Make a Deal and Numerous Miss America and Miss Universe pageants during this time. During the 2000′s Billy became the host of Access Hollywood. Billy’s favorite restaurant in NYC is an Italian restaurant and loves to savor red wine.
Creaser Salad on a Skewer
Ingredients:
Romaine lettuce
Grape tomatoes
Parmesan cheese, cubed
Croutons
Caesar dressing
Directions:
- Using a small skewer, slide on the romaine lettuce, parmesan cheese cube, crouton, and grape tomato.
- Drizzle with Caesar dressing and serve.
Bruschetta
Ingredients:
6 or 7 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 ½ lbs.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread
¼ cup olive oil
Directions:
- Prepare the tomatoes first. Parboil the tomatoes for one minute in boiling water that has just been removed from the burner and drain.
- Using a sharp small knife, remove the skins of the tomatoes and cut the tomatoes, remove the seeds and juice from their centers.
- Make sure there is a top rack in place in your oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- While the oven is heating, chop up the tomatoes finely. Put the tomatoes, garlic, 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Slice baguette on a diagonal about ½ inch thick slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. Toast for 5-6 minutes or until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.
- Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up.
- Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread or place some topping on each slice of bread and serve.
Shrimp Risotto served on an Asian Spoon
Ingredients:
1 cup risotto rice
3 tbsp. butter
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1 cup dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc)
8 oz. clam juice or fresh seafood stock
2 cups of the smallest pink shrimp you can find
1 tbsp. finely chopped parsley
1 tbsp. finely grated lemon zest
salt
Directions:
- Add the clam juice to 4 cups of water in a pot, heat until steamy. Do not let it boil.
- In a separate pot (thick-bottomed), heat 2 tbsp butter over medium heat, and sauté the minced shallot for 2-3 minutes, until translucent.
- Add the rice to the pot. Stir-fry the rice for 2-3 minutes, until all the grains are well coated in butter and are beginning to toast.
- Increase the heat to high and add the white wine.
- With a wooden spoon, stir the rice vigorously. Once the wine boils, turn the heat down until the wine is just simmering gently. Stir almost constantly. You are doing this to agitate the rice, which releases its starch and creates the creamy sauce you want in a risotto.
- When the wine is almost cooked away – under no circumstances should you let the rice sizzle on the bottom of the pot – pour in two ladles of the hot clam broth-water mixture. Stir well to combine, and add a healthy pinch of salt.
- Stirring almost constantly, let this liquid reduce until it is almost gone, then add another ladle of broth. Continue this until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Take the spoon to see if it needs more salt, if so, add a small pinch.
- Now add in the shrimp, parsley, and the remaining tablespoon of butter. Stir constantly until this last cup of broth is about half gone: Remember you want this risotto to be loose and creamy.
- Right before you serve, add lemon zest and serve at once. Best served with bowls and spoons rather than plates and forks.
Red Wine
Barbera d‘afti Wine
2000′s Inspired Playlist
Here is a great playlist to allow your guests a taste of the new decade.
- Black Eyed Peas – Let’s Get It Started
- Kylie Minogue – Can’t Get You Out of My Head
- Avril Lavigne – Complicated
- Nickelback – How You Remind Me
- Nelly – Hot In Herre (Clean)
- Sean Paul – Get Busy
- Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc
- Dirty Vegas – Days Go By
- K-Os – Crabbuckit
- David Usher – Black Black Heart 2.0
- Len – Steal My Sunshine
- TLC – No Scrubs
- Snow – Everybody Want To Be Like You (Edit)
- Usher – U Got It Bad
- Coldplay – Yellow
- Norah Jones – Don’t Know Why
