Entertain with Ease

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Tips for stress-free entertaining!

Use a large green pepper as a cup for dips. Cut off top, scrape pepper clean of ribs and seeds, then fill with dip.
Cucumbers make excellent holders for dips. When cutting, leave a handle in the middle, like a basket.
Used halved, or hollowed out melons, oranges or grapefruits as a cup to fill with cut up fruit bits.
Before your guests arrive, give your home that "something's baking" fragrance. Just sprinkle cinnamon and sugar in a tin pie pan and cook it on high heat slowly on the stove for a few minutes.
When making finger sandwiches use an electric knife to cut them and the filling will not run all over the counter.

To keep ice from melting, place a container of dry ice underneath the ice.
Champagne is best if not chilled for too long a period in the refrigerator.
To save leftover wines, freeze them in your ice cube trays. They can be used for any dish that you would season with wine or use in coolers.
For a flaming pudding, soak sugar cubes in orange or lemon extract. Place them on the pudding and light.
Cottage cheese can be used in place of sour cream when making dips. Just place it in the blender until it is creamed.
Cream cheese can be colored with powdered or liquid food coloring as filler for dainty rolled sandwiches. Try a different color for each layer and slice as you would a jelly roll.
To stop hard holiday candies from sticking together, just sift a little cornstarch on it.
Freeze red and green maraschino cherries in ice cubes. Also, cocktail onions, mint leaves or green olives for martinis.
Freeze different colors of grapes to use in punches.
Freeze lemon peels in ice cubes for use in water glasses.
Use large ice cubes made from milk cartons for punch. The larger the ice cube the slower it melts.

If you ever wondered how much ice you will need for a party, the rule of thumb is one pound per person.
Use crescent dinner rolls as a quick and easy pastry to prepare a Beef Wellington.
To make quick and unusual dips or spreads, try pureeing a can of well drained white beans and a package of herb flavored soft cheese together.
Place a piece of aluminum foil under your napkin or paper towel in a bread basket to keep the bread or rolls warm longer and protect the bread basket from stains.
Place a damp paper towel over Hors doeuvres, meat or cheese platters to help retain the moistness and slow the drying out time.
To remove a cork from inside an empty wine bottle, pour some ammonia into the bottle, set it in a well ventilated location. In a few days he cork will be disintegrated.
For attractive individual butter servings, squeeze butter through a pastry bag or plastic bag onto a cookie sheet; set into refrigerator to harden.
Salads and dips can be kept chilled by using two bowls. Place the salad or dip in the smaller bowl, partially fill the larger bowl with water and freeze. Then place the smaller bowl onto the larger one and serve.
When using a tray, place a damp napkin under the dishes to stop them from moving around.
If red wine is spilled on a carpet, it may be cleaned with shaving cream, and then sponged off with water. Club soda may also work.
If vodka is kept in the refrigerator, it will be more flavorful.
Champagne should only be ice-chilled up to the neck of the bottle. Any higher and the cork may be more difficult to remove.
Since most dips for chips contain a milk product that may spoil easily, it would be wise to place one-half to one-inch of water in a bowl that is slightly larger than the dip bowl, then freeze the water and place the smaller bowl on top of the ice when serving. This will slow down spoilage time.
If a watermelon needs to be removed from the refrigerator and sit for a while before being cut, try placing it in a double brown bag to keep it cool longer.
To fancy up the top of a cake, cookies or pie, try placing a wide-patterned doily on top then sprinkle powdered sugar over it and remove.
If your table is set with candles, it would be wise to place a small amount of salt around the top to eliminate wax droppings on the tablecloth.
When barbecuing, place herbs on the coals to enhance the flavors of meat and poultry. Try using stalks of savory, rosemary or dried basil seed pods.

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