YumSugar

Would You Eat This Paté?

YumSugar — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 13:11:31 -0800

I've found us the perfect item for a special holiday edition of Would You Eat This. You may have heard of duck or goose paté, but how about reindeer paté? It's a paté made from cuts of Swedish Artic Reindeer meat, cognac and spices. It's supposed to go great on buttered toast with a glass of brandy. It makes me sad to think I'd be munching down on Dancer, Prancer or one of Santa's other reindeer, however it probably wouldn't stop me from trying it. How about you guys, would you give it a try?

Christmas Fun Facts!

partysugar — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 01:03:39 -0800

Feliz Navidad! I hope everyone is having a fabulous Christmas. To celebrate the season I've compiled a list of fun facts that are related to Christmas. These useless tidbits are great conversation starters. For example, when you are put on the spot by your nosy old aunt, you can mention that if she received all of the presents in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" she would receive exactly 364 gifts.

For more interesting facts about Christmas, read more.

Holly berries are poisonous.

Charles Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol" in just six weeks.
Coca-cola was the first beverage company to use Santa as part of their winter promotion. The character that we know as Santa was the one they used on their Coke cans.
Swan, goose, and peacock were all once consumed at lavish Christmas meals.
Over 1.76 billion candy canes are produced during Christmas.

Christmas was banned in Boston in the late 1600s because the Pilgrims believed it was too decadent. Anyone spreading Christmas cheer was fined.
The story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was originally written as a sales gimmick by the Montgomery Ward Company in 1939.
Gingerbread houses came into popularity after the Brothers Grimm wrote the story of Hansel & Gretel.
Candy canes were originally given to children during mass. The treat was rewarded to kids who behaved while in church.

Got a fun fact about Christmas? Please share with me below!

Source

What's Yummy This Week - YumSugar Weekly Recap

YumSugar — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 09:13:10 -0800

We asked you to submit your gingerbread houses and you guys really impressed us. We had 30 entries including this one from Jessica in Australia. Thanks to everyone who participated!
Still looking for some last minute gifts? This week we've uncovered gifts for your neighbors, a white elephant exchange, newlyweds, your boss your co-workers, and their holiday stockings.
Need a little inspiration for your holiday meal? Check our ideas for a traditional Christmas dinner.
Ever wonder who won Glad's Steamiest Chefs contest?

We want to know, can you tell the difference between real food songs and fake ones?
Go behind the scenes at the Sugar Holiday party and learn how to throw your own bowling alley party.
Get a great recipe for golden beet soup, as well as one for orange ricotta poundcake and Santa's Martini.
Would you eat reindeer paté?
Is a new Rachael and the return of Jamie enough to save the Food Network?
We've started recapping our Best of 2007 polls and posts. Come find out more about:
- Our favorite sides
- This year's favorite foodie film
- The best cakes of the year
- My favorite of the 52 weeks of baking
- This year's most interesting polls
- Our favorite restaurant chef
- The year's best invites
- The best new magazine
- Your favorite cooking show, food reality show, and foodie tv show
- The year's favorite male and favorite female celebrity chefs

Yum Market Finds: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

YumSugar — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 11:01:31 -0800

I told myself that I would wait until Thanksgiving had a little time in the sun before I went into full-swing Christmas mode. However, after glancing through the Yum Market, it became pretty clear just how impossible that would be. You guys have already started gearing up! There were Santa hat place cards, holiday cake pans, reindeer martini glasses and more! Personally, I was really excited by the book I'm Dreaming of a Chocolate Christmas that TeamSugar member ishop2much bookmarked. Scroll through below to see some of the great Christmas themed items!

Interested in learning how to bookmark? Check out geeksugar's explanation.

Come Party With Me: New Year's Eve - Decorations

YumSugar — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 07:01:01 -0800

New Year's Eve is just around the corner and so is my New Year's Eve party! I've already sent the invitations and prepared the food, so today is all about the decorations. Black and gold are the colors of my party and I want
everything to be over the top! To see how I'll transform my room from everyday to party day, read more

As Christmas was hardly a week ago, all of the decorations: tree (sadly, minus the presents), lights, reindeer, candles, and wreaths will still be intact for New Year's Eve. However, the red, green, and candy cane themed table setting totally must go. Instead, I'll take the leaves (extensions) out of the center of my table to create more space for guests to boogie down during the party.

Next, dimension will be added to the table by placing various sized boxes on top of it. It doesn't matter what kind of boxes you use as they will be covered by layers of sparkling gold and black velvet fabric. I love the coupling of glittering gold and rich dark velvet as it enhances the texture and illusion.

Guests can use small black appetizer plates and champagne glasses for the cava and pink elephants. The food will be laid out on large gold plates that reader Moni B found (and placed in the Yum Market, thanks Moni B!). After I put them on the boxes (which are now covered with pretty fabric), the plates will be at varying heights adding a touch of glamorous sophistication. Candles must be lit and I'll add some Christmas lights to the living room for extra mood lighting - this way I won't have to turn on any of my real lamps or chandeliers. Black and gold NYE confetti will be scattered on all of the tabletops and the railings along my stairway will be lined candy cane style with black and gold metallic ribbon.

Got some incredible black and gold decoration ideas that you are just dying to share? Send them to me or add your delish designs to the Yum Market. Stay tuned because tomorrow I'll discuss the final part of my New Year's Eve party plan (with a little help from BuzzSugar): music!

Come Party With Me: Red and Green Themed White Elephant

YumSugar — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 00:08:15 -0800

When I was little, my parents always threw a White Elephant Christmas party. I ran around in my Clara (from the Nutcracker) pajamas and watched quietly as everyone fought over the best gifts. The most memorable parties were the ones when my dad would let me pick his gift. Now that I'm all grown up I'm planning my own version of a White Elephant party with a red and green theme. Not only am I asking guests to bring a wrapped gift, I'm asking them to come dressed in red, green or a combination of both colors. To carry the theme throughout the party, I'm only making red and green food. Wanna host this party too? read more

Definition: For anyone who doesn't know exactly how a White Elephant works, here's a quick definition: a White Elephant is a type of gift exchange in which each guest is asked to bring an anonymous wrapped gift. During the party guests draw numbers to reveal the order in which they select the gifts. The person assigned with #1 picks, unwraps, and displays a gift. Next the person assigned with #2 has the choice to either steal #1's gift (#1 then must select and unwrap a gift from the pile) or open a wrapped gift. For each subsequent number, players can choose between any of the opened gifts or any of the unopened gifts. Read more on how to host a white elephant.

Invites: I am going to create an elephant stencil using the picture of this elephant (I will remove the elephant's tusks because I want a friendly elephant). Next I will cut out elephant shapes on white card stock to create an elephant shaped invite that will fit in a regular 5x7 card envelope. To make him festive you decorate with red and green glitter, sequins, ribbon, shiny paper, and thread. I'm going to give mine a necklace of red and green sequins with red and green thread. I'll make sure to put sequins on both sides of the card, then leave one side blank and put the party information on the other. At the bottom of the invite I'll write, Red and Green Attire Requested, to let guests know I want them to come dressed in bright reds and merry greens. I'll send the invites in red or green envelopes written in contrasting green and red ink.

Menu: Although you may think I'm crazy to create a whole menu with only red and green ingredients it's actually a lot easier than you realize. Tons of foods are red and green. Make three little appetizers for people to nibble on while unwrapping gifts. The first is bruschetta: the red ingredient: tomatoes, the green ingredient: basil. The second is an Italian quesadilla with roasted red peppers. The recipe calls for regular white tortillas but to get a green ingredient I'll substitute green spinach tortillas. The third and final appetizer will be meatballs in a red sauce served with green toothpicks. Put out bowls of red cherry tomatoes and green olives for guests to snack on. Red velvet cupcakes with green frosting (tinted with food coloring) and bowls of red and green M&M's round out the food. Note: Don't arrange all the food on one table, spread it around the room to create a flow for the party that promotes mingling.

Decorations: Red and green everywhere! Red and green candles, plates, napkins and tablecloths. See if you can get a few bouquets of fresh poinsettias-if not, use the fake and sparkly kind to add a super Christmasy feel. Designate a spot for guests to place their presents when they arrive. Write out the number of guests on green paper and place in a Santa hat. Place chairs together to form clusters for guests to sit on during the White Elephant.

Music: Create a red and green play list with a compilation of old and new CDs by Red Hot Chile Peppers, Green Day, or Al Green. Toss in a few Christmas classics like Green Christmas and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Drinks: Serve Heineken or Heineken Light for green and red wine for red. For a red cocktail make a red apple martini (recipe below), for a green cocktail shake up dead grasshoppers, and for a nonalcoholic option serve Shirley Temples (Sprite with grenadine).

Red Apple Martini
From Instyle (December 2003) magazine

1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 cup finely crushed candy canes
5 cups vodka
5 cups sour-apple schnapps
7 cups apple juice

Dip martini-glass rims into a bowl of fresh lemon juice, then into a dish of finely crushed candy canes.

Mix vodka, sour-apple schnapps, and apple juice; chill several hours until start of party.

When ready to serve, mix in ice-filled shaker. Pour into glasses; garnish with apple slices.

Serves 20.