It's not to early to plan for Father's Day!

Father's Day is still a few weeks away but it's never to early to plan!  Since my kids are too young to plan their own event and I happen to have the best Dad in the world, I hope to make it special for both of them (not to mention it's another chance to plan an entertaining event!!).

There are lots of themes for Father's Day but here are a few to spark some ideas.  I'd love to hear your ideas - just go to the "Share Your Ideas" tab and fill out the form and I'll post!

While looking for the supplies for each of these I found a GREAT new site!  Save-On-Crafts.com. I found candy jars (for candy tables), lights to enhance your tablescapes all for at least 50% off of retail.  Make sure to check it out!

In the next week I'll put together some great menus to go with this decor!  Make sure to check back!

Start the day out right!

It's always great to start with breakfast in bed.  Consider setting up a few guys and sons (if they are old enough) for a round of golf for their big day, a trip to a baseball game or a short fishing trip and include a home made ticket on his tray.

Love these other free printables.  There are a lot of great ideas on Etsy and Avery.com.


Breakfast doesn't have to be an elaborate affair - let the kids make something they can do themselves.

For the Golf Lover Dad

For the dad that is the lover of golf - here are some cute ideas to make his day all about him!

Gear the table and decor toward golf with some easy decorations.

Golf-themed tablescape decorations.

- For the centerpiece, you can use a wire or wicker basket you have around the house or get an inexpensive one here.  Love this one. Fill it golf balls.  Flags can be printed at home with a template I found on Etsy.
- Simple white circle placemats, white plates and blue napkins to complete the look.

Golf ball basket

I'm not crazy about the napkin/plate decor - would probably substitute some of these.  I also love the addition of a grass tablecloth some simple pots with grass and golf clubs/balls to add to the look.  Goodies are available at Sweet Temptations.

For the Baseball Lover Dad

My husband is a HUGE baseball fan.  It's a little uncomfortable to even mention any other team than the SF Giants in my house...so excuse the Giants motif.  You can substitute any other team to make the dad in your life happy!


Love this as a centerpiece for table. You could have your kids write a reason they love their dad on each ball.  Balls can be purchased pretty inexpensively on Amazon.

















The use of green faux grass is a great way to create a baseball field candy table or food table. I would replace the strawberries with these great chocolate covered baseball themed strawberries to complete the look.  You can get meltable chocolate in the produce section of your grocery store, then with red food coloring from the baking aisle these are not as daunting as they look!

Another super easy idea is to make the "cupcake glove."  Make 25 chocolate cupcakes and frost with chocolate frosting.  For the center cupcake, frost with vanilla frosting and add red candies to create the baseball look.

 Another cute table idea. I love the napkin rings! 

Don't forget the Giants! All available at Oriental Trading!

Happy Father's Day to all my favorite Dad's out there - Dad, Mike and Scott to name a few!

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Summer Time Drinks!

I can't let a three day weekend go by without posting about great summer time drinks. Our family loves our cocktails - from super simple mixed cocktails to great wine - we always find a way to incorporate a great drink! Here are some great summertime drinks to add to your menu.

The Classic Margarita 

There are so many margarita recipes out there - this is just a baseline. If you like it a little more tart, add more lime juice? Not sweet enough - add a little more Agave Syrup. It's all about how you love your margaritas. Make sure to have salt on hand for the glass rims.

2 ounces 100% agave tequila
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce agave nectar syrup (1 part agave nectar to 1 part water)
1 ounce Cointreau (not triple sec)
Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Delicious Sangria

The secret to great Sangria is great fruit!  I love Sangria packed with seasonal fruit. For summer time Sangria I have started really loving white sangria to keep it a little lighter.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons sugar
3 shots Calvados or other apple liquor
1 lime, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
2 ripe peaches, cut into wedges
3 ripe green apples seeded and cut into wedges
8-10 strawberries, cleaned and sliced
1 pint raspberries
1 bottle white Rioja Spanish wine or other dry white wine
Sparkling soda water, for topping off glasses of sangria at table


Directions

Combine sugar, Calvados, lime, lemon, peaches and apples in a large pitcher. Cover with 1 bottle of Rioja wine and chill sangria several hours. To serve, spoon fruits into glasses or goblets, adding a few fresh raspberries in each glass, pour wine over top of the fruit. Top glasses of sangria off with a splash of soda water and serve.

Vodka Fresca

This is a super simple - but super refreshing drink to enjoy by the pool or out in the sun. 

Ingredients:
4 oz Fresca
1 oz Vodka (Absolute works well)
1/2 squeezed lime
1/2 sliced lime

Pour Fresca and Vodka into a glass. Squeeze lime and then add the slices. Enjoy!

Mouth watering BBQ menus to Celebrate Memorial Day!

I love BBQs - from the food to the entertaining.  An added bonus that much of the cooking is done outdoors so there is less clean up!  (Right now is where most of my friends are saying "but your husband does the dishes"...yes, less clean up for him!)   Here are some of my favorite menus and recipes for a great Memorial Day BBQ.  Every BBQ needs a few signature drinks - come back and check out my separate blog post on great drinks for a BBQ'ing weekend!

Please comment with your favorite menus too (please include the recipe - a great sounding dish without the recipe just makes our mouth water!!)

Traditional BBQ Menu

     Marinated and Grilled Shrimp

A long standing BBQ favorite in my household.  It's important to get the right shrimp for this recipe. I generally get the frozen - size 21-25 or 16-20 (depending on where I am shopping).    These are often labeled as Jumbo.  Make sure to get raw and deveined.  If you are only able to get shell on - it is easy to remove the shells - just thaw and pull from the top of the tail toward the meat of the shrimp. It comes right off - make sure to do this before you marinate below.





Ingredients:
- 25-30 Jumbo shrimp
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 3 tsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro (sometimes I cheat and get the squeezable cilantro from the produce section)
- 1 tbs fresh garlic
- Skewers




Combine shrimp, sea salt and olive oil in a bowl.  Let sit in refrigerator for 1 hour. Remove and rinse thoroughly.

Add chopped cilantro and fresh garlic to rinsed shrimp. Let marinate in fridge for 3-4 hours. Skewer about 4-5 shrimp per skewer.   BBQ on medium heat until the shrimp just turn pink. Watch closely as they will get very chewy if cooked too long.

 Potato Salad with Dill

Boil 8 lbs large red potatoes with peel, let cool and dice. Add 16 oz sour cream and 3-4 cups mayo or more based on desired creaminess. Add 2 cups of chopped celery, 3 pinches chopped fresh dill, 1 small chopped red onion, garlic salt and pepper. Add 6-8 pieces of bacon and 2 eggs chopped.  Garnish with dill and bacon. Enjoy!

Honey Beer Ribs

Honey Beer Ribs

The main course.  Credit for this recipe goes to Taste of Home with one major change. The only BBQ sauce used in our house is Sweet Baby Rae's.  I've tried making sauce, tried a ton of other brands, but this is our family favorite.  If you have a favorite feel free to substitute!  No matter what - keep the wet wipes close by! The recipe can be found here.

Herbed Corn on the Cob

Herbed Corn on the Cob
What's a summer BBQ without Corn on the Cob.  Don't forget to get some cute corn holders! 

Recipe:

6 ears of fresh corn, cleaned
6 tbs sweet butter, softened
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp fresh basil
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp fresh parsley
1 tsp fresh rosemary

Directions:
Place one corn on each foil.  Mix ingredients together (grind the herbs together if you have a herb grinder) and rub onto each cob.  Wrap foil around the corn and grill for 15 minutes - turning often.

Cute Corn Holders!

Cherry Pie

What do you do when your cherry tree goes CRAZY?  Make pie of course! I've never really followed a recipe for cherry pie - but here goes!  If you are going to make many cherry pies or other cherry desserts I totally recommend a cherry pitter. You can get a pretty inexpensive one here.  Great job if you have a little helper (granted my little helper got a little cranky by the end of the pitting!)

Ingredients:
- Pre-made pie crust (if you are especially good at making crusts go for it - I go for ease)
- Pitted and sliced cherries
- 1/2-1 cup of sugar - depending on the sweetness of the cherries and how tart you want the pie
- 1 tbs cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 cup of flour
- 1 cup applesauce 

Press one of the pie crusts into the bottom of a pie plate. Combine all the dry ingredients. Add the cherries and applesauce until well mixed. Put into the pie crust.  You can either do a criss cross type crust or you can just put the 2nd crust over the top of the pie.  I like the look of the criss cross version.  Cook for 25-30 minutes or until brown. I generally cover the edges of the pie with foil until the last 10 minutes of cooking so that they don't brown too much.  Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Around the World BBQ

Traditional BBQs are great - but it's always fun to try new things and experiment a little.  Here are some great recipes if you want to try an around-the-world BBQ theme.

Mexican Bruchetta

Ingredients

½ loaf French bread
1 clove garlic
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 tomatoes, medium chopped
2 avocados, medium chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Slice the French bread on the diagonal into ½" rounds and place on a baking sheet.

Toast the slicebread in the oven for 3 minutes, then flip each piece over and toast an additional 3 minutes.

Remove the toasted bread from the oven and immediately rub with the clove of garlic (it works best to first cut a small tip off the garlic clove so that the oils will seep out).

Brush the tops of the garlic-rubbed toasts with olive oil and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes, avocado, onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. Mix together gently making sure the avocado is well coated in the lime juice.

Spoon a portion of the mixture onto each of the garlic toasts and serve.

Ceviche

Ceviche

Admittedly, I was totally baffled at how you could "cook" fish with just lime juice. Now, I'm hooked! This is a wonderful, light salad that can be served as a salad or an appetizer.  The recipe can be found here.

Grilled Curried Peanut Chicken

Mix it up a little bit with this main dish!  Curry and peanut butter make a rich and delicious main dish.  Serve over rice.  Recipe can be found here - credit goes to Taste of Home.

For the rice I prefer Jasmine - cooked just until sticky.

Cold Peanut Sesame Noodles

I served this as a side dish but it's filling enough for a main dish on a warm summer night.  Great compliment to the curry chicken!  Credit goes to Food Network and could be found here. 

Ice Cream with Cinnamon Tortillas

This is a nice light dessert - and if you are feeling especially adventurous you can mold the tortillas into a bowl.  Recipe is simple. For the tortilla: Brush both sides with  melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.  Put into a sprayed cupcake tin or ramekin and bake for 15 minutes until set.  When cool, add ice cream and carmel sauce.  Enjoy!

Memorial Day - Patriotic Crafts

Welcome to Live to Entertain!

Thank you so much for visiting our community of entertainers - whether you entertain huge groups, your family or just someone you love - your ideas (and most importantly) your images are welcome!  Looking forward to a fun Memorial Day Weekend!

Who said Memorial Day was not a weekend for entertaining? It's not just a BBQ anymore!  Check out some of these great ideas I found and am so excited to try out.

Warning!! A lot of work. The cutouts of the stars alone takes days. But I think the final product is beautiful and a lot of fun!  The details are here.

Don't forget the kids! I love this patriotic wreath - great for their bedroom doors!

This one is easy, requires a lot of cutting but is great to keep those kids busy over a 3 day weekend! Details and how-to are all here!

Don't forget the treats!

Don't be fooled - these are not as easy as they look! My first attempt was a big FAIL - with the liquid leaking out of the bottom of the push pops. My second attempt, sans letting the jello set a bit, was much better, but my advice is to make sure to clean the sides with each layer. Also, a little bit of side advice...a shot glass with a small bottom is PERFECT for push a layer down! (Those shot glasses come in handy so often, for so many reasons!).

More to come! Can't wait to show you my table and other treats to celebrate this 3-day weekend! Please let me know how you are celebrating and what is on your menu!