For the holidays Antique Bar Party Ice Bucket, Antique Silver Snack Bowl:
http://ping.fm/sDIMG

Easy Ways to Make Your Holiday Party Greener

If you're planning a holiday party this year, here are some easy ways to make your party greener, or more eco-friendly, and still have a chic gathering.

• Recycle any wine or liquor bottles--make this easy to do by having an attractive container near your bar or beverage area, such as the Susty Party Pop-Up Bins (www.sustyparty.com ), a decorative large cardboard box, a wooden wine box (available at wine shops), or even an extra empty beverage tub.
• Speaking of Susty Party...They have excellent prices on packets of attractive off-white compostable disposable plates made of bagasse, or sugarcane residue--for example, $7.99 for 50 plates or $65 for 500 plates.  The larger size package is a great choice as you can continue to use these plates for any party or just for meals at home or office after the holidays.  And look for attractive compostable cutlery too if your holiday cocktail party or non-seated gathering will use forks, for instance.
• If you don't want to order plates online, you can go to Whole Foods and buy their World Market line, also made from bagasse; but these plates are a light brown color, so this color doesn't go well with every decor.  Or you can buy bamboo plates, which are a dark golden color and tend to look better with a variety of home decors, at Sur La Table.  If your party isn't too large, it makes sense to buy these smaller packs of eco-friendly plates from Whole Foods or Sur La Table in store (but they are more expensive).
• Buy at least one local or regional wine or beer, if you'll be serving alcohol--the local wine and beer industry has grown explosively, and many wonderful varieties are now available.
• Buy soy candles if you decide to use candles--soy candles are now very available at many retailers, and are not made from petroleum
• If you have leftover food, donate it to a shelter or church instead of eating it for a few days after your party and then throwing the rest away--or leave some to eat after your party but donate the rest, or give it to someone you know will eat it, such as a friend or neighbor.

Enjoy!

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com

Louisiana satsuma jelly--regional citrus:
http://ping.fm/UVmd3

Tabletop and Decor Ideas for the Holidays

Since Thanksgiving is over and the holiday season has now officially begun, today we offer 7 ideas for tabletop and holiday decor for your gatherings this season.

Most of these ideas take minimal time and effort:

• If your home and decor are more traditional, decorate large mirrors and paintings with garlands and bendable organza ribbon, intertwined among the garlands.  Add metal or glass bead strings if you want to go all out.
• If you have a mantel or sideboard, whether your decor is traditional or more modern, you can decorate these with greenery garlands and fresh or faux fruit, even gold fruit, perhaps mixed with Christmas balls
• Speaking of organza ribbon, if you're pressed for time you can buy beautiful ready-made organza bows and combine with organza ribbon to decorate doorways, staircases, chair backs, tied around vases or candlesticks or topiaries, or added to Christmas trees.  A word of caution: after you've decorated with organza bows and/or ribbon, count how many of these you've put out.  If too many, subtract a few or it will look overdone.
• A modern home decor looks nice with a variety of white pillar candles, gold and/or silver Christmas balls, and gold and/or silver curling ribbon woven among the candles and Christmas balls as a centerpiece of a dinner or buffet table or on accent tables or even to decorate a bar area
• Another idea for a very modern home decor is to put gold and/or silver Christmas balls in a large glass bowl; or put the balls on a very sleek silver or chrome or gold tray lined with greenery.  The latter looks especially nice if you extend or fan the greenery out a bit from the edges of the tray.
• An easy way to decorate your seated dinner place settings is to lay Christmas crackers on them--these are so fun and cool and SO EASY--just buy them and lay them across the dinner plates. They come in decorative colors to suit many decors.  And the merriest in your group will want to wear the paper crowns inside the crackers at your gathering!
• Keep the proportions of your home in mind--a large home with high ceilings looks weird with small decorations, and vice versa.  After you decorate, ask a friend to walk in the front door and give you an honest opinion, then fix whatever.

Enjoy!

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com

Wines for Thanksgiving that non-wine aficionados will like too:
http://bit.ly/9OepuP

Wines for Thanksgiving

Today we'd like to offer several ideas for serving wines that will appeal to a wide range of folks with your Thanksgivng dinner.

One thing we've found is that, often, suggested wine pairings utilize wines that are really too strong for the food and that are primarily geared toward people who already drink wine, alone or with food.

For those, like my family and some of our friends, who aren't really wine drinkers, a careful pairing will make your Thanksgiving meal relaxed and merry without being either too strong for the food or overwhelming your guests.  I didn't grow up drinking wine as Chef Jesús (and most other Europeans) did, though my Spanish-born father always had wine or sherry before dinner every night to "unwind" from his tax law practice. 

For folks who would like to try wine with their Thanksgiving meal but who aren't wine aficionados, so to speak, we recommend any of the following:

• A Vinho Verde (delicious with white meats and low in alcohol)
• A Riesling on the less acidic side
• A South African Semillon Chardonnay
• A Gewurztramminer
• A Moscatel-based wine on the less acidic side
• A Spanish or French alcoholic cider, also delicious with white meats

And you can also seek out wines made with fewer or no sulfites (often of local origin), and these have less of a strong taste and a strong effect on guests.

Of course, also offer at table or on your beverage table a non-alcoholic option--not only water, but maybe some fresh juices or Italian fruit sodas. Or iced tea, if you're Southerners like my family :)

Enjoy!

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com

Love the beautiful serveware in this year's Neiman Marcus line:
http://bit.ly/sS2cDE

Using Glass Pedestals for Parties This Season

Lately we've become fond of using glass pedestals, or cake stands, as serving "trays" at our events (which we'll often mix with trays, too), and these type of serving pieces offer many advantages to party givers.  

Among their advantages:

• They add height to an hors d'oeuvres display with little effort (no risers or draping of risers)
• They add a touch of lightness to the presentation of your food because they're made of glass; even opaque cake stands lend a lightness to the display just by virtue of being made of glass
• Your hors d'oeuvres, especially on clear glass pedestals, look more "artistic," again, with little work on your part.  For the best presentation, don't overcrowd the food on the glass pedestal.  We took a wonderful idea from an LA caterer and use large flat blooms on a cake stand with hors d'oeuvres or tapas arranged around the bloom (see photo of our Spanish Honey-Lemon Chicken Brochettes Tapa, above), either in a circle or square, depending on whether we use a square or round glass cake stand (and BTW you can use this idea of the bloom with flat trays too!)
• Glass cake stands don't obscure the table that they're put on, which is important to some folks, who want guests to be able to see their table.  Nor do glass stands scratch delicate table surfaces like silver or metal trays do.

And glass pedestals or cake stands lend themselves to many types of decor, from modern to traditional, depending on the type of stand chosen. 

Clear glass stands are very adaptable to any decor while vintage glass stands go better with traditional or eclectic decor.  Using doilies with glass stands is optional; if your party space has a modern decor you can skip doilies for a more modern look and put the hors d'oeuvres directly on the cake stands (again, don't overcrowd them or you'll spoil the look).

Here are some more ideas for using glass stands at your parties this season:

• On a long rectangular dining table, you can put glass pedestals with hors d'oeuvres on the table and then if you're having a seated dinner party, leave the pedestals there on the table for guests to continue enjoying them.  This looks great because the height of the pedestals makes them decorative and almost as if they were centerpieces.  If you also have centerpieces, say candles, you can put the glass pedestals with the hors d'oeuvres on either side of the centerpieces and it will look dazzling.
• You can also stack, or buy sets of stacking, cake stands, making "tier stands" as we call them in the industry.  This would be best for less casual events.  In any event, be careful if small children or pets will be running around as they might knock over the stacked stands.

Enjoy!

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com

Gourmet cones in several sizes & flavors + earth-friendly edible cups:
http://ping.fm/DO3XZ

New photos in photo gallery:
http://ping.fm/ChAkW

Ideas for a Tasting Party

Tasting parties are popular now, and today we offer several ideas for organizing one. 

The whole idea behind organizing a tasting party is that you sample a large variety of foods, but only small portions of each type of food.  At least 5 or more types of food should be provided for guests to sample.

For convenience you'll want to serve all cold or room temperature foods.  And you can have a tasting party even in winter as you can serve cold and room temperature foods and also serve a hot drink or some wines and spirits to warm you up! Or how about small cups of hot conommé, self served from a coffee urn? Or you can serve coffee or cappucino if your group is into that.

If you really want to go all out, buy or rent tasting dishes, including any of the following:

• Small square or round plates
• Rectangular plates
• Porcelain tasting spoons or half holders
• Mini martini glasses (we serve our new Garlic- and Black Pepper-Roasted Shrimp Cocktail Martinis this way)

But these special tasting dishes aren't, strictly speaking, necessary.  What's more important in organizing a tasting party is that no serving pieces be piled with food.  Put out fewer pieces of food and spread them out a bit.  You'll then need to refill with food as needed.  For this reason, a tasting party is best for small groups, no more than 40, say.  So if you don't want to refill too many times (or pay someone to do it for you), don't invite more than around 20 guests.

And you can also mix the specialized "tasting" dishes with small to medium-sized regular trays or platters. 

One idea we like and use, and it's always very appreciated by guests, is to put one bloom in the middle of a tray and then put the tasting hors d'oeuvres or tapas around it in a circle or square (see photo of Shrimp Martinis, above).

The final element in a tasting party is to have a written menu of some type, printed or on chalkboard, and to put it on the food table somewhere.  Guests enjoy tasting the food and matching up what they're tasting to the foods listed on the menu.

Enjoy!

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com

Cocktail Ideas for the Holidays

As we approach the holidays and start planning our gatherings, one way to add distinction to your event is by having one or more cocktails that appeal to your guests.  I said "appeal to your guests" because often such cocktails don't.  Truth is, cocktails with a lot of hard liquor don't appeal to many besides perhaps very young men and women (still in college drinking mode?).

Here are some great cocktail party beverage ideas for the holidays that will please a wide range of folks:

• Bellinis--Remembering our days in NYC, when Chef Jesús would work the Sunday brunch at the Stanhope Hotel where the Bellinis flowed like the proverbial water...Mix 1/3 amt. of Prosecco with 2/3 amt. of peach nectar for the classic Italian Bellini; or, our take on it, which is wildly popular with guests at our events, 1/3 amt. of Spanish cava with 2/3 amt. of imported Mexican peach nectar.  For many, domestic U.S. peach nectar is too sweet, but the imported juicelike Mexican peach nectar is just right for a Bellini.  At one of our events last week several guests mentioned that after tasting a Bellini they no longer want mimosas!
• Striped Mimosa--Pour 2 oz. passionfruit juice in a flute or goblet, then 3 oz. champagne, Prosecco, or cava, then 1/2 tsp. grenadine, pom, or cranberry juice.  Don't stir if you like the striped effect, or shake in a shaker for an iridescent effect.
• Juice Spritzers--Create a cool juice spritzer bar with fresh organic juices and champagne, cava, or Prosecco.  Mix as for a mimosa.  You must try this! And to up the cool factor, put the juices in carafes in a beverage tub with ice, and in another tub put the champagne, Prosecco, or cava, also on ice. 

Set out cool glasses like martini glasses or, trendy now, round or square low tumblers, and mod, monogrammed, or linen on a roll napkins (the latter from MyDrap, for example).  And if any guest wants only any of these juices with no alcohol, no problem.

Enjoy!

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com

4 hliday ckg unbleached prchment, wax paper chlorin free bkg cups 100% rcycld alum foil BPA, PVC free plstic wrap:
http://www.sustyparty.com

4 Cool Ideas to Add Flair to Your Thanksgiving Meal

If you're looking for ideas to add flair to your Thanksgiving (or any festive fall) meal this year, read on.

You can still keep the tradtional feel that many people like in Thanksgiving dinner and add an interesting touch or two just to spice things up.  Here are four ideas to do this:

• Use real small pumpkins with decorative real or paper leaves attached to the stems as place/name cards, or lay the leaves across the plates if you're doing a sit-down dinner.  Or, edgier: use quinces, a relative of the apple that comes in shades ranging from pale to deep yellow (legend has it that the quince was the apple in the Garden of Eden). Or alternate pumpkins and quinces.
• Add touches of gold, bronze, or deep, not pastel, peach to the decor with serving pieces, a runner, or decorations.  These touches add warmth and a fall-like feel with a more contemporary slant.
• Set out or serve a trio (or at least a duo) of pumpkin desserts rather than a pumpkin pie.  Pumpkin mousse, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin bars, chocolate-pumpkin pie, pumpkin roll..And you can include a pumpkin pie as part of this too if you want to please the traditionalists.  Why not?
• Try some wine pairings--If you've not done this before at a Thanksgiving meal, please do try it.  Ask your wine store for recommendations for your menu, and also serve non-alcoholic options with the meal.  You'll be surprised how much more festive and relaxed your meal becomes!
•  Set out a tray of orange and yellow sorbets or gelatos in small glasses or goblets.  Even if you serve baked desserts, people love anything in the ice cream family even in winter! If you like, decorate the tray with small pumpkins or gourds.

Enjoy!

Kristina

(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com

Cool tool: Kuhn Rikon Vase Spice Grinder to grind spices or pepper w no grinding dust on your counter or stove:
http://ping.fm/yEg9I

Young friend: hors d'oeuvres 4 my dinner party 2nite? Seafood & cheese blender mousse piped in tartlets, frittata bites on skewers

Using Cones at Parties

Food cones are very popular at events now, whether cocktail or dinner parties or other types of events, and can be used to add interest to your gathering.  Guests like food cones because they feel like they're receiving a lovely packaged gift of food. 

Types of Cones for Events
There are several types of cones that can be used at events, including:

• Paper cones
• Sweet (waffle or plain) cones
• Savory (waffle or plain) cones

Cones for parties and dinners can be filled with all manner of foods including:

• Popcorn
• Candies
• Fries
• Mini hot dogs
• Non-drippy hot or cold small bites such as shrimp or fish bites or balls or fresh fruit and cheese cubes (make sure the fruit has been dried off before putting in the cones) or gougeres (puff pastry cheese puffs)
• Cake pops or other small sweet treats
• Mini wraps
• And many more!

Paper cones offer the widest possibilities for serving as they can be used either with sweet or savory foods and are much less trouble to make.  If you want to make sweet or savory food cones there are now electric cone makers that make 4-6 cones in 10 minutes or so; or you can also buy food cones from some gourmet suppliers online or in stores (they won't be as good as freshly made, though), or you can have a baker or caterer make them for you.

How to Display Cones
There are special stands to serve cones but you can also use any round or square container deep enough to hold the cones, you can lay them across a tray on their sides, or you can use a stacked tier stand (lay the cones around the perimeter) or put a filled cone in each cup of a cupcake holder or in round or square tumblers.

Making Paper Cones
You can buy sheets of heavy cone paper at craft stores (they're used to hold flower cones at weddings too) or buy paper sandwich wrappers at a restaurant supply store (you may want to use 2-3 sandwich wrapper sheets if they're very thin). 

Roll into a cone shape, staple the cones closed on one side, then cover the staples with stickers.  Colorful paper or more elegant gold or silver or textured or embossed white cone sheets are also available at craft and paper stores.  Avoid tissue paper as it tends to bleed when moist.

Enjoy!

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com

Why Some Parties Look Boring

One of the things people hire caterers and event planners for is the fact that we know how to create a design for any event, no matter how small or large.  And we also know how to avoid the visual "blahs" at a gathering--by using simple design principles that anyone can learn.

No, you don't have to become an interior decorator to add visual interest to your party or gathering, though of course the most high-end affairs do require that level of design skill.

For smaller or less over-the-top gatherings, it's not at all difficult to avoid your party looking boring. 

Start by deciding a color scheme.  This is the easiest way to avoid your party looking blah.  If you want your party color scheme to complement the color scheme in your home or wherever your party will be held, remember that you don't want your party decor to be the same color exactly as your home decor or it won't stand out.  It's better to have a complementary color (or two) rather than to try to match your party decor to your walls or furnishings. Or at most use one of the colors in your home and then add in a complementary color for your gathering.

Another quick way to add color and interest to your party table(s) is with the use of greenery.  We use greenery at most of our events as our supplier raises wonderful climbing vines such as passionflower most of the year, but you can pick up several types of greenery even at the supermarket these days.  Lay it on the tables, leaving room for the serving pieces with the food, then put the serving pieces with the food down (some do it the other way around but we've found the final effects to be better if we lay the greenery out first, and it also forces you to see whether you're overcrowding the party table with food and thereby losing any nice visual, non-blah effects).

Or go to a gourmet supermarket and buy baby vegetables or champagne grapes and put them on a pedestal by themselves as a centerpiece or on serving pieces with food on your party table(s).  Or mix in the baby vegetables or small fruits among the greenery leaves.  And then if you don't want to eat this produce, donate it to a shelter rather than throwing it away.

Or buy a few fresh flowers and put just a few or even just one large bloom on your food trays or serving pieces--looks great if the flower is in the middle of the tray with the hors d'oeuvres around the bloom. 

Any of these ideas add color with little work or previous design experience, saving your party from looking boring. 

Enjoy!

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com

Moscatel vinegar nice alternative to balsamic for sauteeing, drizzling, even over desserts at specialty shops and http://www.latienda.com

If u don't make ur own Fromage Blanc-no fat & can be used for sweet or savory dishes- at supermarkets:
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Decorating for a Fall Party

People often entertain more in the fall, and if you're looking for ideas for creating a warm, fall-like feeling for your fall gathering without resorting to orange, read on.

There's nothing wrong with orange (sienna, terracotta, pumpkin, etc.), of course.  It's just that it's used so often to signal "fall party" that it's become a little over-used.

If you'd like your event to stand out and still evoke the warm tones associated with fall, here are our suggestions:

• Warm shades of cream mixed with a few touches of gold or any metallic with a bronze-y or coppery sheen (or actual bronze or copper)--Touches can be things like trays, candlesticks or candelabras, a runner, serving bowls or dinner plates, or a table statue or other decorative piece.
• Deep, not pastel, shades of yellow, also nice with accents of gold or copper
• Shades of brown with touches of gold or a coppery shade, or brown mixed with deep yellow--Remember, too much dark brown without any lightening touches looks depressing and dark
• Very dark (burnt) peach mixed with gold or cream accents (or both)--elegant but friendly and adds a lot of warmth to your gathering, sort of an orange-without-being-orange

All of these ideas will add a great fall warmth to your gathering but are more elegant and less tiring on the eyes and nervous system than orange.

Enjoy!

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com