Two favorite books that we pull out every year in the beginning of October are Halloween from The Best of Martha Stewart Living collection and Play with your Pumpkins by Joost Elffers and Saxton Freymann. Martha Stewar’ts book has great ideas for Halloween decorations, pumpkin carving, party treats, and costumes for adults and children. Play with [...]
Entertaining
Several years ago when my husband and I were in our mid thirties, we started to become friends with another couple with young children about the same ages as ours. Before having children, we all had become so accustomed to going out with friends or entertaining friends on Friday or Saturday evenings in our homes. It was [...]
Last weekend one of our friends had a Mexican themed birthday party for another mutual friend. It was such a festive event! Matt, the Guest of Honor, before this awsome celebration, claimed that he wasn’t a big fan of home made Mexican fare. Well, leave it to our friends Jason and Shawn, host and hostess of the fiesta, his [...]
Since we are just upon the Labor Day weekend when many people like to celebrate with a laid back outdoor cook-out, we thought it would be helpful to explain how to use a gas grill as a smoker and put together a list of tools and accessories that every person that is serious about grilling or [...]
Grilling outside on the gas or charcoal grill has as many endless creative possibilities as cooking over a gas or electric stove in the kitchen. Summer is the perfect time to have friends over and fire up the grill for an all outdoor party. The sky is the limit when it comes to what you [...]
If you live in Florida or any part of the southern U.S., you are probably rolling your eyes and thinking that it’s too hot for a picnic. Not necessarily! If you live near the beach, a lake, a river, own a boat, or even have a community pool membership, summer is a great time for a picnic. [...]
As we get older and more experienced and proficient at doing something, we naturally want to take things to a new level. As you become more at ease in the kitchen and a more experienced cook, it’s not enough anymore to serve up a casserole in a 9×13 rectangular Pyrex glass dish and call it [...]
Summer’s almost here and we are all moving from our kitchens to our outdoor grills and pool decks to cook and entertain. Isn’t it great to be able to have several families over to cook out? One of the most fun and tasty things to grill and share with friends is a large rack or [...]
The hot “dog days of summer” are quickly approaching, and with them comes a need to keep friends and family well hydrated! In the past few weeks I have found some great beverage recipes that are extremely more exciting than the same old hum-drum usual offerings of lemonade, ice tea, soda, beer, and wine. When [...]