Choices abound when looking for books and resources about cooking and entertaining. The Food Network has fueled renewed interest in cooking and home entertaining to an astonishing level. Television shows present celebrity cooks/chefs who give weekly creative ideas and know-how to viewers. Internet cooking sites and blogs are bursting at the seams with creative entertaining ideas and recipes available to their visitors.

How does someone new to cooking and entertaining assimilate all of the information? Is it possible for a beginner to wade through the phenomenal amount of information without being completely overwhelmed? Does the landslide of information on invitations, decorations, menus, tablescapes, theme parties, wine lists and party planning tend to discourage some rather than encourage?

While all of this information is a virtual cornucopia of lovely, fresh ideas, those new to entertaining and cooking need to concentrate on doing a few important things well rather than to make the mistake of thinking they need to master all of the above at the outset in order to be successful. In other words, beginners need to concentrate on the basics. They will gain skills and confidence and will be able to pull off enjoyable dinner parties from the very beginning.We will get into specific in my next post.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there who labor every single day to do the best for their kids.

Happy Entertaining!

Host a Mother’s Day Brunch!

If you are on a tight budget this year consider hosting a brunch at your home rather than taking your mom out to a restaurant. Brunch is generally less expensive than dinner but that does not mean yours cannot be a luxurious meal you will all enjoy. Purchase an exotic fruit juice such as guava or passion fruit and champagne and serve guava mimosas in sugar-rimmed stemmed glasses. If you prefer a non-alcoholic beverage, simply mix the juice with lemon-lime soda for a refreshing spritzer. Serve croissants, cinnamon rolls or muffins with butter and jam. Add a platter of sliced, fresh fruit and freshly brewed coffee.Try this absolutely delicious recipe for  my Tuscan Sunrise Omelet  and Italian Sausage Crescent Roll for this special occasion.

Tuscan Sunrise Omelet

Makes 2 omelets

1 red pepper

3 tablespoons pesto sauce, purchased

¼ cup sliced brie

4 eggs

2tablespoons milk or half & half

4 teaspoons butter or oil

Cut the pepper into 4 slices, wash and remove seeds. Place the red pepper quarters, skin side up in baking pan under broiler for 4-7 minutes until peppers are roasted, skin is blistered and somewhat blackened. Remove and place in brown paper bag & close tightly. Let steam for 5 minutes. Remove from bag and with a paring knife, remove the clear skin from the peppers and discard. Chop pepper quarters coarsely.

For each omelet: Using a fork or whisk, slightly beat 2 eggs with 1 TBS. milk or half & half. Add egg mixture to omelet pan coated with 2 teaspoons melted butter or oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes and carefully turn. Immediately, spread ½ of omelet with 1 ½ tablespoon pesto sauce, 2 tablespoons roasted peppers and 2 tablespoons brie. Fold omelet in half. Remove from heat and plate. Prepare 2nd omelet in the same manner. Season both with salt and pepper to taste.Shortcut: You may use ¼ cup purchased, roasted red peppers instead of roasting your own.

Toast your Mom!

Giving a toast to the person of honor at any special occasion adds a meaningful element to the day. Sometime toward the end of the meal, simply stand up, raise your glass, and     announce that you would like to make a toast.You can briefly share what you appreciate most about your mom, a special memory you have of her, or attributes that you admire about her in her presence with your guests. Everyone will in turn raise their glasses and say, “Cheers!” I can guarantee it is something your mother will never forget. It seems as though we always mean to tell people why we admire them, but all too often those things aren’t shared. Even if you are not accustomed to speaking in front of others, I encourage you to try. You are in your own home, with those you care about in attendance.Use a 3-by-5-inch card to write down some notes if you need to. Your toast does not need to be long, but say what you want to say to honor her. We are alive today. Make the most of every opportunity to build others up and share your generous hospitality.

Italian Sausage Crescent Roll

Serves 4
½ pound bulk sausage (spicy or regular)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon ground oregano
¼ cup purchased pizza sauce
1 pkg. refrigerated crescent rolls
1 egg, beaten

Heat oven to 350 degrees and brown sausage in frying pan and drain well. Add garlic powder, oregano and pizza sauce; mix well.
Unfold crescent roll dough onto ungreased baking sheet. There will be 8 triangles of dough. Pinch all seams together to make 1 large piece of rectangular dough. Spoon sausage mixture down the middle of the dough and roll.  Pinch long seam together and place seam side down on middle of baking sheet.  Cut 3 slits on top and brush with beaten egg and bake for 16-18 minutes. Slice and serve hot.

Free Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Coupons for Mom: Go to www.mothersdaycentral.com to print out free coupons that you can customize for your mom.

Act of Love:Wash her car, clean the house, play an instrument, write a poem, act out a skit, share a special memory. Take the opportunity that you have THIS Mother’s Day to express your love and gratitude to your mom.

Fun Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Customized Photo Album: Take a trip to your local craft store. Most stores have a great selection of scrap booking supplies and many carry kits to make a special album. Assemble one for your mom with a theme. Your theme can be: Grandmother, Childhood Memories, Mom as a Young Woman, Special Vacations, etc. She will cherish it.

Personalized Gifts such as Birthstone Necklace I have one and I love it! www.ThingsRemembered.com

Warm Weather Shawl: Shawls are beautiful, inexpensive and functional gifts. You never have to worry about the size and lightweight shawls dress up casual outfits and take the chill out of a spring or summer evening. Most discount stores have a wonderful assortment of absolutely beautiful shawls.

Dinner-of-the-Month Club:www.AmazingClubs.com has many great clubs that you can enroll your mom in. They deliver a gourmet meal with specialty pasta and have a month-to-month Dinner-of-the-Month Club for $24.95 per month, a 3 month club (delivered once a month) for $71.85 or a 3 month Dinner-and-a-Movie Club (they deliver a movie with dinner) for $89.95. They also have other clubs such as: Dessert-of-the-Month, Tea-of-the-Month and Wine-of-the-Month.

This year’s Superbowl features the Indianapolis Colts versus the New Orleans Saints. This gives you an opportunity to get together with your friends and lift the winter doldrums with a casual party. You can please fans from both sides by incorporating food from both cities into your menu.

• Ask guests to bring food for the buffet/snack table that represents the team’s city they are rooting for.
• Set up a buffet table and make a large pot of Spicy Seafood Gumbo. This classic gumbo contains crab and shrimp and is served piping hot over steamed rice. If you have always wanted to try Cajun food, this recipe will not disappoint and is easy enough for a beginner to accomplish.
• The Colts’ team colors are blue and white and the Saints’ team colors are gold and black. Incorporate these colors into your party ware and decorations.

Keep it simple and have fun. One of the great aspects of a Superbowl Party is the casual feel and approach.

After choosing my menu, I shopped for the items and prepared the recipes  several times before the show. There are no teleprompters or cue cards on set, so I needed to have everything memorized and be very familiar with all the ingredients. The day before the taping and the morning of, I prepped all of my ingredients and packed everything to be transported to the set location. The producers of this show have won awards for their productions and they have everything pretty much down to a science.

When I arrived, the make-up girl does her magic. Her goal is to make me look GORGEOUS on camera. Well, actually, her job is to make sure I don’t look like a glow worm on camera, but I prefer my version! She does a great job, but just between the two of us, I needed a jackhammer to get all that make-up off my face later. Yikes!

Then, it is on to prepping the kitchen and setting up all the ingredients for the recipes. I demonstrated how to make Coconut Salmon with Pineapple Salsa, Aromatic Herbed Rice and Broccoli with Parmesan.

Next, comes the grips. They set up the lighting and make adjustments to the set so the finished show will look great. The sound technician then sets me up with a wireless mike. The three camera guys get set up for their angles and close-ups and the producers outside in the trailer are watching everything from there. These shows are a real team effort to pull off and everyone on set was professional and good at what they did. In this photo I am chatting with the producer, Jin about oven temp, stove set-up, etc.

Once all the technical end is set up and tested, we are ready to tape. This is where the host comes in. Tanya is an important part of the show and her job is to make sure the show not only moves along, but is also fun and informative for the viewers. We start taping and Tanya and I interact as I demonstrate how to make these scrumptious recipes. I also like to give entertaining tips and shortcuts.  It takes roughly 30 minutes to tape the show. The food is plated and photographed and then the crew gets to sample!

You might wonder how you overcome nerves speaking in front of cameras , interact with the host AND actually effectively demonstrate recipes and cooking techniques. First of all, I put in the preparation time to make sure viewers are going to get delicious recipes and tips. My secret is simple: I like to have a good time with it. I actually envision myself in your kitchen, just talking to you. I love to cook and host dinner parties for family and friends. I think it adds quality to life!

Community Cooking airs on Time/Warner Channel 1 in Torrance at 9:30 am on weekday mornings. The producers also post shows on their website several months after airing on television. For those of you who live outside of Torrance, once I receive the link to the show, I’ll post it on my website for viewing.

The Food:

1. I thought about my menu before I invited my guests and chose some special occasion recipes that would reflect my appreciation for the friendships. I served Crudites, Crostini and Goat Cheese Dip as an appetizer and roasted Beef Tenderloin, Savory Sauce, Autumn Salad, Parmesan Rolls, Potato Sage Gratin, Haricott Verts with Garlic & Almonds and Apple and Pumpkin Crunch pies. I also served Apple Martinis and wines.
2. I organized and paced myself by writing down my shopping list and purchase items in advance. I also made my menu managable by purchasing frozen bread dough that I thawed and customized for the Parmesan Rolls. I purchased the pies freshly made Saturday morning from a great bakery and I buzzed through our Farmer’s Market to pick up the Haricott Verts Saturday morning so they would be at peak flavor. I get really excited about this stuff when I know my guests are going to love it! I also prepped the Goat Cheese Dip on Fri.
3. On Saturday morning, I made myself a To-Do list which really helped keep me on track. I find this helps immensely so I am not too tired to enjoy my guests’ company when they arrive. It also helps me have everything done on time so I’m not flitzing around the kitchen in a frenzy.
4. This meal tasted so yummy! Everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. I find so much satisfaction when I know I can serve my guests a meal that would rival a delicious meal in a fine restaurant.

The Table:

1. As you can see from the photo, I kept things simple. An inviting dining table need not be extravagant. I purchased scrap booking paper to use as faux chargers/place mats. I used my set of 12 white dinner plates that I topped with inexpensive, decorative salad plates. Cloth napkins added to the “Special Occasion” feeling I wanted to portray. I used simple candles in votives for sparkle and chrysanthemums in clay pots for the centerpiece.
2. I set up the bar on my Baker’s rack in the background.

The Tone:

1. The host sets the tone for the party. By pacing myself, writing down my To-Do list and prepping recipes in advance, I had plenty of time to get dressed and ready before guests arrived. I was ready to greet them at the door when they arrived. Since I was relaxed, I was able to set the same type of tone for my dinner party.

The result was we had a fantastic time with each other. Nothing beats enjoying each other’s company along with great food/drink in an intimate environment. This gives all who attend something to look forward to  and it just rejuvenates the soul!

Happy Entertaining!

Patricia Mendez

Do you need some easy tips for fall entertaining? Check out this article in the Chicago Tribune written by their Food & Wine Critic, Bill Daley. I contributed tips and recipes to this helpful article. Click here to view.

Happy Fall Entertaining,

Patricia

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tablespoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) butter, cut into small pieces
¾ cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
Maple Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon real Maple syrup
1 tablespoon milk, plus up to 2 teaspoons more

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. In bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, baking powder pumpkin pie spice and slat. Add butter, cut with pastry cutter or two butter knives in a criss-cross motion to form pea-size crumbs.

In a separate bowl, mix pumpkin and milk together. Add to flour mixture and stir until moistened. Knead on floured board about 5 times. Do not over mix or the scones will not be tender. Form dough into 6 inch round, about 1 ½ inches thick and cut into 6 equal-sized wedges. Bake on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray for 18-20 minutes.

Cool and prepare icing by mixing ingredients in small bowl. Drizzle on cooled scones and serve.

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 cups ice

¼ cup caramel sundae syrup

1 can whipped cream

Combine all ingredients into electric blender and blend until drink is smooth. Serve in coffee cups and top with whipped cream and drizzle with caramel syrup.

Café au lait
Warm milk on stovetop or microwave until hot, but not scalded. (Do not bring to a boil). Prepare in a cup with equal quantities of hot coffee and milk.
Austrian Coffee
Pour a freshly brewed cup of coffee. Top with whipped cream and ground cinnamon and serve.

Belgian Coffee

Add 1 square of chocolate to a 1 cup of hot coffee.

People are always looking for ideas for entertaining. I have been a bit behind in my blog posts because I have been concentrating on planning, prepping, hosting AND taping 4 cooking demonstrations for use on the internet. (I still have 2 more to go!) If you have ever considered taping your own cooking show or just curious about how one is produced, here are the steps I took:

1. I chose the recipes and tips that I would highlight on each show.

* Since I specialize in helping beginners learn to host casual entertaining, I chose recipes from my book that are easy and delicious.

2. I organized myself with shopping lists, recipes and a loose script for the show.

* I cannot stress enough that the prep stage the week before is one of the most important. There are a lot of details that need to be present and pulled off well to make the cooking  demo part of it look easy.

3. I practiced, practiced and then practiced some more!

* There is a balance needed with this part. Yes, you need a script that you have mostly memorized, but you also want to be spontaneous and be yourself!

4. Shopped for props and organized all kitchen utensils, bowls, tools needed. Chose my wardrobe. Did all grocery shopping.

* This takes some time and focus, so whatever you do, don’t wait until the day before taping to do this part. Pacing yourself will really help relieve stress.

5. The morning of the shoot, I set everything up in the kitchen. Applied  my makeup with special matte finish makeup to minimize shine from camera angles.

* This is crunch time. Just walk yourself through the entire demo. This will help you catch anything you may be missing. I have a very fair complexion, so I needed to purchase a special make-up. My husband, Augie says that light skinned people are the hardest to light. Your wardrobe needs to be a darker color; blue works well. I found this part right before taping, challenging. You are trying to focus on your part (hosting) when there is a lot of movement/conversation from crew going on around you. I was trying to focus and not to sweat all my makeup off! Very different than teaching before a class or group of people. Now I know why many tv chefs have a live audience. It is a bit easier to know if you are connecting the way you want.

6. Augie works in the motion picture business and with the help of some friends also in the biz, provided professional lighting, camera, sound and direction. This took about 2 hours to set up.

* All these guys were so professional and know exactly what they were doing. Because of this we were not slowed down with loads of technical problems.

7. Taped each show (2 per day)  with many angles and close-ups.

* This part is a lot harder than it looks. Being able to walk and chew gum at the same time helps! Having energy, smiling, being yourself and accomplishing your goal to give great information and encouragement to potential viewers is a lot to remember. We had our share of bloopers and multiple takes and it was a team effort! I’m excited that we have produced quality shows.

* I have appeared as a guest chef on cooking shows before, but those shows always had a host to help guide. In this show I was the host and chef so it was much different.

8. An additional 2-3 hours to clean everything up. Whew! Were we tired.

* As you can imagine there is a lot of equipment, food, props, dishes.  Dang, my fairy godmother wasn’t around to wave the magic clean up wand!

Now, the raw taping will go to an editor who will have the important job of putting it all together. This has been a great experience and I can’t wait to see the finished products!

Happy Entertaining!

Patricia Mendez

6-8 oz. New York Strip Steaks

BBQ Rub

2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons seasoned salt (such as Lawry’s)
1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
1 ½ teaspoons garlic salt
½ teaspoon oregano, ground
½ teaspoon thyme, crushed
¼ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

Mix all ingredients together for rub. Store leftover rub in airtight container for future use. Rub on both sides of steaks and let marinate in fridge for 30-60 minutes. Grill over a very hot grill rubbed with oil for 4-5 minutes per side for 1 inch thick steaks for medium doneness. Do not overcook. Remove to platter, cover with foil and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

TIP: When grilling steaks, use a timer and do not leave the grill!