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Entertaining Queen DeeAnn McArdle (Unleash Your Inner Foodie) shares her holiday entertaining tips!
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Serve from your strengths!
Recipes for Sweet and Savory Carr’s Whole Wheat Crackers and Cheese:
Savory Version:
Great snack for unexpected guests!
1. Carr’s whole Wheat Crackers; One box will serve 4-6
So yummy, they taste like a cookie.
2. Alouette Herb and Garlic Soft and Spreadable Cheese; One tub
3. Place the Alouette Soft and Spreadable Cheese tub (it looks like a ceramic ramekin so why not serve from it!) in the middle of a basket and add the Carr’s crackers around the cheese. Place a spreader in the cream cheese and that’s it! Serve with your favorite wine.
Sweet Version:
1. Carr’s Whole Wheat Crackers; One box
2. Philadelphia Whipped Cream Cheese; one tub
3. Orange Marmalade; one small jar
I love Bonne Maman Orange Marmalade – amazing flavor!
I also like Stonewall Kitchen’s Mimosa Jam – great flavor and a fun name!
4. Scoop out the whipped cream cheese, place it in the middle of a small platter and spread some of the orange marmalade or mimosa jam on top. Spread the cracker’s around the cream cheese, add a cheese spreader and I guarantee your guests will be delighted!
Bonus tip! The sweet version is also amazing with those crisp Ginger Cookies that you buy at the market. I am in love with the ones from Trader Joes!
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DeeAnn's success secret--the TIME IT! tool!
For a limited time, she's made her Time It tool available for listeners...click here to see a sample and learn how to fill it in, and click here to download your own copy to fill in!
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Three Great Cheese Platter Ideas for your Holiday Entertaining:
1. Brie Cheese, St. Andre (a mild triple cream) , and St. Agur Blue Cheese (a great mild, creamy, blue cheese),great with honey drizzled over it. Serve all three on a large white platter garnished with dried fruit like apricots, or figs, and a basket of assorted crackers – I’ve found most people like Carr’s Water Crackers and Rosemary … Remember to place a cheese knife or spreader next to each cheese.
2. Prima Donna (9 month old gouda with hints of caramel and butterscotch), Roaring 40’s Blue Cheese (stronger in blue cheese flavor than the St. Agur), and a Pave d’affinois (a French double-cream cheese, mild and creamy taste) serve with warm thinly sliced baguette. Garnish the platter or cutting board with fresh pears sliced thinly, and Marcona Almonds.
3. Gorgonzola Dolce(a young creamy and sweet blue cheese), Taleggio ( a nutty, slightly salty, fruity flavor), Parmigiano Reggiano ( a sharp and savory classic parmigiano cheese). Serve with warm baguette, sliced thinly, Carr’s water crackers, Rosemary crackers. This selection looks awesome served on a rustic bread board garnished with a big bunch of red grapes.
How much cheese per person/cocktail party?
3-5 ounces per person.
Serve an assortment of 3-5 different types of cheese
Place a separate cheese knife or spreader next to each cheese
Garnish your cheese platter with greens or dried fruit
Condiments are great with cheese platters. These are some of my favorites: Fig spreads, Apricot jam, Orange Marmalade, Mimosa Jam, just to name a few!
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Must- Haves for Easy Entertaining:
Vacu Vin Wine Saver; a cool gadget you can buy at your local liquor store. It’s a rubber stopper that removes all the air from a wine bottle, preventing it from spoiling and works so much better than all those pretty wine stoppers. This would be a great hostess gift if you’re bringing a bottle of wine.
Paper napkins; I have a fetish for cocktail size paper napkins – in fact I have a large wire basket that sits on my counter filled to the brim with napkins that are colorful, and beautiful designs. It not only looks great on my counter but I never have to rush out and buy cocktail napkins I just look in my basket for the ones that match my appetizer, cocktail or glass of wine!
Williams Sonoma Pecan Pumpkin Butter; makes the best pumpkin pie in the world! Seriously, it’s amazing and only requires a couple of other ingredients. This is a must have product for your pantry. The other cool thing is that it comes with several recipes attached to the top of the jar. You need to buy two jars because the recipe calls for 1 ½ jars. Not to worry, you can spread the leftovers on your bagel, or mix it in with the whipped cream cheese and serve it with the Carr’s Whole Wheat Crackers or the Trader Joes Ginger Snaps – yummy!
My other favorite holiday item at Williams Sonoma is the Turkey Gravy Base. All you have to do is add milk and some of the turkey drippings, its so yummy and easy! One jar makes 4 cups of gravy.
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Music List for Creating Memorable Experiences:
Thanksgiving dinner:
This holiday is all about tradition so I’ve found my guest’s really enjoy hearing the classics like Nat King Cole (The Very Best of Nat King Cole is my personal favorite), Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra and of course Bing Crosby.
Our Thanksgiving weekend tradition always includes watching White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. We know all the lines, sing along, while sipping Egg Nog or a glass of wine!
Holiday Cocktail Parties:
It’s the holidays so people will be expecting holiday music, why not mix it up by starting the evening with your favorite holiday CDs and then change it up with Barry White’s Greatest Hits, add a little Marvin Gaye, Colbie Caillat, Jason Mraz, or Dean Martin is always a hit especially if you are serving cocktails! Trust me, your guests will always comment on the great music you played!
Wine, Cheese, and Chocolate party:
This is a real Unleash Your Inner Foodie type of party; it’s both casual and chic! Music will help you create the mood for both so begin and end the night with smooth jazz…very chic. My favorites are: Renee Olstead, her album A Love That Will Last is perfect! I also love Chantal Chamberland, the Dripping Indigo CD is gorgeous. Then move onto casual with something like Kenny G. everyone loves his Breathless CD. And Lyle Lovett and Bonnie Rait are always great alternatives.
Bonus Music Tip!
Pandora Radio.com is a great way to play music it takes away the worry of replaying the same CD over and finally your guests ask if you have anything else to play.
Pandora is a FREE internet radio alternative and YOU get to create your own stations based on the songs or song writers that you like. It’s amazing, this is one of my secret’s to creating memorable experiences for my guests. It’s so easy, it feels like cheating!
