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Come Party With Me: Tree Trimming - The Look

partysugar — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:53:50 -0800

With lights, ornaments, and the tree, Christmas is a busy holiday in terms of decorations, but if you let the tree be your focal point, it's easy to create a clean look for any holiday cocktail party. Set a red table runner down the middle of a banquette. Place the appetizers on large gold chargers and arrange on the runner. On another table set out a clear punch bowl, wine, beer, and versatile stemless glasses. The minted brownies look scrumptious when displayed on a three-tiered dessert tray.

Stick the brownies on the bottom two trays and fill the top with candy canes. Stack shiny green appetizer plates and Christmas tree napkins near the food. Gold candles in various shapes and sizes and mini poinsettias are finishing touches to this elegant and sophisticated look.

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Come Party With Me: Tree Trimming - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:00:59 -0800

The holidays are a great time to break out the old punch bowl. I'll be dusting off mine Friday for a tree-trimming party and filling it with this sparkling pomegranate punch. Made with Prosecco and no hard alcohol, this red-hued concoction is a sublime blend of pomegranate juice, fresh squeezed orange juice, and limeade. You can mix the ingredients in advance and stir in the bubbly the moment guests arrive. Since it is the holidays, consider getting a sparkling jasmine tea for those who don't drink. Also have beer, water, and eggnog on hand. To look at the punch recipe, read more.

Sparkling Pomegranate Punch
From Food and Wine

Ingredients

1 quart pomegranate juice
2 cups fresh orange juice, strained
2 cups chilled limeade
One 750-milliliter bottle Prosecco
Lime and orange slices, for garnish
Ice
1 cup pomegranate seeds

Directions

In a punch bowl, combine the pomegranate juice, orange juice and limeade.
Pour in the Prosecco; float lime and orange slices on top. Ladle into 12 ice-filled glasses, sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and serve.

Serves 12.

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Come Party With Me: Tree Trimming - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:30:09 -0800

The best dessert for a holiday cocktail party? Something indulgent and chocolatey that can be made in advance.

This brownie recipe is perfect because it incorporates the festive flavor of mint and can be made the night before a party. To make the celebration even more sweet, I'll fill bowls with red and green M&Ms.

For the brownie recipe, read more.

Mint Chocolate Brownies
From Everyday Food

Ingredients

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
25 small (1 1/2 inch) peppermint patties

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on all sides; butter foil. Set aside.
Place chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of gently simmering water. Stir occasionally just until melted, 4 to 5 minutes.
Remove from heat. Whisk in sugar and salt until smooth; whisk in eggs. Gently whisk in flour and cocoa powder just until smooth (do not overmix).
Spread 1/3 of batter in prepared pan. Arrange peppermint patties on batter in a single layer, leaving a narrow border on all sides. Top with remaining batter, and smooth surface.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 45 to 55 minutes.
Cool completely in pan. Use foil to lift from pan; peel off foil and discard. Cut into 16 squares (4 rows by 4 rows).

Makes 16.

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Come Party With Me: Tree Trimming - Menu

partysugar — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 10:41:43 -0800

I've invited some friends over this Friday for a holiday cocktail party. Since everyone (including moi!) will be attending a jewelry sample sale before, the snacks must be prepared in advance. Crostini with lentil and green olive spread can be made the night before the party. My dad will bake the brie with mango chutney twenty minutes before we arrive, so it's warm and gooey the second we walk in the door. A smoked salmon platter with dill sour cream waits chilled in the fridge and mini beef slider patties cook quickly.

To look at these recipes, which would be awesome for any holiday event, read more.

Crostini With Lentil and Green Olive Salad
From Food and Wine

Ingredients

1/2 pound lentils, preferably from Abruzzi, rinsed and picked over
1 small onion
1 garlic clove
1 bay leaf
1/2 dried red chile
1/2 pound green olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
1 large celery rib, thinly sliced
1 large shallot, minced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
24 small thin slices crusty country bread
1 small fresh red chile, very thinly sliced lengthwise

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°. In a medium saucepan, generously cover the lentils with water. Add the onion, garlic, bay leaf and dried chile and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Drain the lentils, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid; discard the bay leaf and chile.
In a medium bowl, mash 1 cup of the lentils with a potato masher, then stir in the remaining lentils.
Add the olives, celery, shallot, 1/4 cup of olive oil and the vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the reserved 1/4 cup of cooking liquid.
Arrange the bread slices on a cookie sheet and bake for about 8 minutes or until thoroughly crisp. Drizzle the crostini with olive oil and generously spoon the lentil salad on top. Garnish the crostini with slivers of red chile and serve.

Serves 6-8.

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Brie With Chutney
From Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients

1 8-ounce round Brie cheese
5 tablespoons mango chutney
Assorted crackers

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F. Split brie in half horizontally.
Snip any large pieces of chutney. Place bottom half of cheese in a small shallow ovenproof dish. Top with 4 tablespoons of the chutney. Top with remaining cheese half. Spread remaining 1 tablespoon chutney over top of cheese.
Bake, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is softened but not runny. Serve with crackers.

Serves 4 - 6.

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Smoked Salmon Platter with Dill Sour Cream
From Bon Appétit

Ingredients

1 pound sliced smoked salmon
1/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons chopped shallots
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
Crackers or bread

Directions

Arrange salmon slices on large platter.
Mix sour cream and dill in small bowl to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spoon sour cream mixture in center of salmon. Sprinkle shallots and capers over salmon. Serve salmon platter with crackers or bread.

Serves 8.

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Mini Beef and Sage Sliders With Gorgonzola
From Every Day With Rachael Ray

Ingredients

12 mini dinner rolls, split
1 garlic clove, halved
Extra-virgin olive oil for liberal drizzling
1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
10 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cups baby spinach, thinly sliced
3/4 pound Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

Directions

Preheat broiler to high. Place the rolls on a broiler pan and toast until golden. Rub with the garlic and drizzle with olive oil.
In a medium bowl, combine the beef with the Worcestershire sauce, sage, shallot and parsley; season with salt and pepper. Divide into 4 equal pieces and form 3 sliders from each piece, 12 mini sliders total.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with a drizzle of oil.
Cook the sliders for 3 minutes on the first side and 1 to 2 minutes on the other side for medium.
Top each bun bottom with some spinach, a slider and a few cheese crumbles. Place under the broiler to melt the cheese a bit, about 30 seconds, then set the bun tops in place.

Makes 12 sliders.

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Come Party With Me: Tree Trimming - Invite

partysugar — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:15:11 -0800

This weekend my girlfriend is hosting a holiday sample sale for her jewelry line. After the sale, I've invited everyone over to my house for a tree-trimming party. The event will kick off the holiday season, so I want it to be festive and fabulous in everything from the invites to the specialty cocktail. Since many of you are probably hosting your own holiday soirée, take my ideas and convert them into your own party. I've already made and sent the invites. To learn how I created the one seen here, read more.

To make a similar invite you will need the following supplies:

image of a Christmas tree
transparent paper
red cardstock
glittery red paper
rhinestone brad
scissors
glue
computer and printer

To assemble the invite:

Create a new document in Microsoft Word. Drag and drop the Christmas tree image into the document.
Insert a text box next to the tree and write out the details of the party. I used the font Big Caslon in size 14 Bold to write this message:

Please join me for tree trimming, cocktails, and hors d'oeuvres to celebrate the season!  Friday, December 5th, 2008  Party to follow the Robindira Unsworth holiday sample sale  
PartySugar’s House, Petaluma, CA

Print out on plain paper and have someone look over it, checking for grammar and spelling mistakes. Once satisfied with the look of the text, print on the transparent paper.

Cut down to size and set aside.
Glue the red sparkly paper to the cardstock and cut off any excess paper.
Stick the rhinestone brad through the transparent paper on top of the Christmas tree. Jam through the sparkly cardstock to attach the two pieces. Close the brad.

Cut the sparkly cardstock down to size. Slide into an envelope and send.

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Paperless Post Gets Holiday Parties Started

babysugar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:30:29 -0800

This holiday season, go green, go cheap, and go beautiful! Instead of sending out a tree's worth of paper invitations for your holiday soiree, consider using creative and gorgeous online invitations. While e-vitations have been around a while, few are as sassy, simple, pretty, and well-organized as the custom stationery from the Paperless Post.

A cinch to figure out, and party queens can choose between traditional, contemporary, modern, and casual templates and add the perfect touch with an embossed design, colorful trims, a grosgrain ribbon, or even their own photos. New members get 25 free virtual stamps (good for 25 email addresses) when they sign up and pay an additional fee when they want to send out their notice to more guests. If a hostess wants to blast the invitation out to 100 people, she would only pay the $8 fee for 100 e-stamps as opposed to a $44 bill at the post office. For an extra $5, mama can make the envelope fancy and add a liner. In the end, an $8 stamp fee and $5 envelope liner are peanuts compared to the snail mail option, and she never has to wait in that dreaded line! The bonus is it makes managing the party details as easy as one, two, three. Mommy can tell who has opened the invite, replied to it, and made comments on it.

So the next time mum's throwing a bash - holiday or otherwise - she should consider Paperless Post. The guests will be impressed by her fabulous and savvy eco-friendly ways, and it will give her the opportunity to spend the money on wine and music, 'cause that's what will make her party legendary.

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Would You Like to Have a Topiary Garden?

CasaSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:00:13 -0800

I've always been fascinated with topiary gardens. They seem so magical. It amazes me how gardeners create such tailored shapes from something as unruly as trees - and then keep up with trimming them. I can't even grow a Chia Pet or remember to get a haircut. I would love to have a topiary garden, but obviously I'd have to hire someone to keep it in shape. Would you like one?

Source: Flickr User Arthur Chapman

Lil Links: Heartbreaking Photo of Soldier and His Daughter

babysugar — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:30:29 -0700

Don't leave me daddy - ParentDish
The Rutherford girls are already trimming the tree - Celebrity Baby Blog
A batty front door decor - CafeMom
Kourtney Kardashian gets stripey - Celebrity Baby Scoop
Preparing for vacation - Momologie
Moms boozing out of bottles - The Mommy Files
The dreaded postpartum hair - Alpha Mom
The award for happiest Hollywood offspring goes to... - The Laughing Stork

How-To: Stay Safe During a Wildfire

CasaSugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:00:24 -0700

Since the breakout of the August wildfires north of Los Angeles, at least 53 buildings have been destroyed, and 4,300 people have been evacuated. As of this writing, more than 12,000 homes are under threat.

While some families have been reluctant to leave their homes, in the end, your home is just a house. It's the nonmaterial things you fill it with - namely your family, pets, and memories - that make it truly a home. This is why I urge readers to listen to firefighters' warnings, and to leave their homes if a mandatory evacuation is issued. Your life is much more important than any piece of property, no matter how much you love it.

Want to know how to protect your family and your home from a wildfire? Check out these smart pointers from the City of Napa, CA's fire safety page:

Maintain a "defensible" space around your home by clearing all flammable vegetation a minimum of 30 feet around all structures.
Clear dead leaves and branches to leave widely spaced ornamental shrubbery and trees.
Clean all needles and leaves from the roof, eaves, rain gutters, and yard.
Trim tree limbs within 10 feet of your chimney and trim all dead limbs hanging over your house or garage.
Cover your chimney outlet or flue with a spark arresting half-inch mesh screen.

To see the rest of the tips, read more.

Make sure your address is clearly visible for easy identification in an emergency.
Check to see if a fire hydrant is located near your home. If not, you should have a water storage supply of at least 2,500 gallons for use in an emergency situation.
Stack woodpiles at least 30 feet from buildings, fences, and other combustible materials.
Clear all vegetation and other flammable materials from beneath your deck. Enclose undersides of elevated decks with fire-resistive materials.
Remove "ladder fuels." They link the grasses and the tree tops.
Create "fuel breaks" - these can be driveways, gravel walkways, or well-maintained lawns.
Maintain your irrigation system regularly.
Prune tree limbs so the lowest is between 6-10 feet from the ground.
Dispose of cuttings and debris promptly, according to local regulations.
Keep at least two means of escape (either a door or window) in each room.
Mark your driveway and access roads clearly.
Keep ample turnaround space near your house for fire equipment.
Prevent sparks from entering your house by covering vents with wire mesh no larger than 1/8 inch.
When possible, use construction materials that are fire resistant or noncombustible.

How to Deck the Halls and Trim the Tree Safely

PetSugar — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 04:00:00 -0800

It's nearly Christmas and I've gathered some of my best tips and tricks to making your festive house also friendly to Fluffy and Fido. Even if you've already put up your tree, refresh your memory on dangers the decorations bring into your home.

Picking Out Your Tree	Food On Your Tree	Ornaments On a Tree
Tips for Christmas Lights	Tips for Potted Plants	Tips for Hanging Plants