EVENT PLANNING BOOKS

Need a vastly interested pizza? Here’s how. Purchase a package of Naan bread, a large eggplant, a jar of spaghetti sauce, goat cheese, an onion and a green pepper. I like to sauté the julienned onion and green pepper first because it flavors the olive oil. Remove the cooked vegetables, leaving the oil. Add 1 stick of butter to the olive oil. Linear slice the large eggplant about ¼ inch thick. Dip the eggplant slices in an egg batter and then into flour. Pan sear the eggplant in the skillet. Remove and drain. Coat the Naan bread with a thin layer the spaghetti sauce. Top that with an eggplant slice per Naan. Top the eggplant with the cooked vegetables and then top with dollops of goat cheese. Bake until thoroughly heated. It’s pizza in the international fast lane! © Kelly McBride Loft

Making the most of a pot roast (or left over pot roast) is easy when you want to stretch a dish. It may be that everyone is hungry including the children’s friends who need a meal. Here’s the trick to staying in a budget and making everyone happy. Bake potatoes the night before and refrigerate those. Slice white onions, into thin rings and julienne cut a green pepper. In a large skillet, in olive oil, sauté the onions and green peppers. Add the left over pot roast to the skillet. Add the pre-cooked baked potatoes, with or without the skin. Boil corn on cob and shave it off the cob.  Toss the cooked corn into merry mix.  Season with fresh ground pepper, kosher salt and paprika. Heat and toss. In a separate skillet, poach an egg per person and set the cooked egg on a mound of Kelly’s Hashed Potatoes! For an extra flair add crumbled bacon on the top. Yumm! Just wait to hear, “May I have more, please?!” © Kelly McBride Loft

Go for the goal with an ice cream party! Even better – make it a fund raiser for your favorite school project. Gather some favorite flavor recipes. Print the recipes on half sheets of paper and sell the recipes for $5 each. If your group is willing, charge a cover fee upon entry to the amazing chill-down flavor fest. If is for a good cause, maybe the local grocery store will donate a few gallons of ice cream. Set the chill down stations, have your servers, containers, spoons and toppings. Then, step it up with a competition for the best homemade ice cream, as a sure event winner. What’s not to like…cool sweets, charity, friendly competition and happy people. Life is so good just as the sun sets on an ice cream sundae summer! Have fun – © Kelly McBride Loft

Summertime beckons a Grille Party!  The secret to good BBQ ribs is to follow through on a 4-step process. 1) Whether beef or pork, the protein needs to be marinated overnight. Make a rub of molasses, red pepper, paprika, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Coat the ribs with the rub and seal in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours. 2) In a large gumbo pot on the stove, boil the ribs until tender, in hot water mixed with honey mustard. This will get the ribs to the point of “falling off the bone.” 3) Now, on the outside grille, smoke the cooked ribs on a grille safe tray with multiple holes for 6 minutes. Coat the ribs with your favorite BBQ sauce and smoke for 5 more minutes. Remove the ribs from the grille to dish that is oven proof. 4) When the guests arrive, within an hour, just heat the delicious ribs in the oven. Never waste a good fire, when utilizing charcoal, seafood appetizers taste fantastic when smoked with corn husks. So, peel the corn husks, without the silks (and reserve the corn). Carefully, toss the corn husks directly onto the coals and place the grille rack on top. Then, set your seafood selection, on a grille safe tray with holes onto the grille rack. Cover. Corn infused smoke will bellow and flavor the seafood.  This only takes a few minutes.  (Try crab claws, fish strips and/or shrimp.) It is grandly delicious! Boil the corn cob on the stove and you have a hands on, roll-your-sleeves up, summer party! Menu review: Arrival corn smoked seafood, BBQ ribs, corn on the cob and friends who love good home grilling! © Kelly McBride Loft

Think like a kid again with some whimsical fun. Serve some upside down ice cream cones and odd cuts for bread, miss-matched with miss-matched cold cuts. Nothing is better than homemade lemonade, too. This is my mother’s, mother’s recipe: 2 portions of lemon juice, 1 portion of orange juice and 1 portion of cherry juice with Maraschino cherries. Whether is broiling hot outside or an indoor picnic, having a little unexpected joy is always appreciated. © Kelly McBride Loft

Summer salads don’t have to be comprised of mostly lettuce. With just two ingredients, you can make a stellar appetizer, salad or dessert substitute. With a mandolin slicer, slice a pear, per person, length wise. Lightly coat the pear slices with fresh squeezed lemon. Arrange the pears, artfully, by creating a spiral shape. Pile fresh blueberries in the center and top the chilled pear salad with poppy seed dressing. For a little more adventure, make a pear shaped stencil to cut fresh sliced cheese in the same shape as the pears to alternate pear and Cheddar or pear and Jarlsberg. You will have happy guests with minimal effort. © Kelly McBride Loft

The temperature is rising and the only way to cool down is with cool beverages and chilled food.  Crisp salads are great; however, there is a way to improve a boring salad with amazing, chilled, hardboiled eggs. Egg salad is great with 6 boiled eggs, ½ cup of sour cream, a dash of honey mustard, 1 tablespoon of chopped dill, kosher salt and white pepper. Scoop the egg salad onto shredded lettuce.  Top with crumbled bacon and ranch dressing for a winning combination. Another fast and delicious salad scoop is to debone canned, red salmon. Squeeze a half of a lemon on the salmon. Add 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke, 1 teaspoon of horseradish (optional) and 2 tablespoons of sour cream. Mix well and add chopped (boiled) egg whites (not the yolk).  Serve cold.  It is fantastic and flavorful. Who doesn’t love a great deviled eggs in the heat of the summer? Boil two more eggs than you wish to serve. This will give more yolk volume for the filling.  To the cooked yolks add sweet pickle relish and equal parts of yellow mustard and mayonnaise. Then, add a dash of salt and pepper.  Pack the yolk mixture back into the egg white casings and sprinkle with paprika.  I’ll bet that you can’t eat just one. Now, for fast hydration, brew some fresh mint tea to serve over ice with a mint sprig. It’s time to sip, scoop and splash your way through the summer! © Kelly McBride Loft

During the summer, we want fast but delicious meals. Classic marinara sauce with pasta fits the fast request; but, did you know that it can be flavored to taste wonderful? In a pot, cook your favorite pasta and set it aside. In the same pot, add 2 jars of your favorite marinara sauce. Rinse each jar with red vermouth. Stir and add another dash of red vermouth to the marinara sauce. Add 4 tablespoons of sugar to tone down any acidity. Then, add 1 stick of butter. Heat thoroughly. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce. (Cooked ground meat and chopped black olives can be added, too.) When serving, top the pasta dish with fresh shaved Parmesan cheese. Now, with the cooking time saved, enjoy the joyous time with your family. It’s a delicious home-cooked meal packed with dining time! © Kelly McBride Loft

America’s east coast is the keeper of America’s beginning history. Along with the patriotic sights to see and interesting museums, the east coast is the keeper of traditional recipes that represent our heritage. Seafood Chowder is one of those specialties. We recently toured Bar Harbor, Maine and enjoyed lobster and blueberry pie. It is from that visit that I created my Americana Chowder. Happy 4th of July!© Kelly McBride Loft
Kelly’s Americana Chowder
Peel, dice and boil red new potatoes until just tender (don’t over-cook). Pour off the water; but, don’t rinse. Reserve the cooked potatoes to the side. Boil and cut up a fresh lobster. Reserve to the side. In a pot on the stove, par boil diced carrots, diced celery and sliced leeks until tender. Remove and rinse.  In the same pot, pour in 2 parts whole milk and 1 part half and half milk (enough to just cover the main ingredients). Add the cooked diced potatoes, the diced carrots, celery and leeks. Add chopped basil, fresh cracked pepper and kosher salt to taste. Add 1 stick of butter. Gently stir, with a wooden spoon, the Chowder as it is heated. Just before serving, add the lobster meat and fresh blueberries for a red, white and blue grand Americana Chowder! © Kelly McBride Loft

Summer treasure scavenger hunts are delightful. These themes do well for museum parties, with air conditioning and a contained space range. In one of my previous blogs, I recommended a progressive dinner scavenger hunt with the last location “hiding” a stellar dessert. Treats can be tucked away inside food, too, for a fun surprise. Try my Sweet Potato Balls with a marshmallow tucked away. Summer fun is just a mix it, bake it tray away! © Kelly McBride Loft
Kelly’s Sweet Potato Balls – Combine 4 cups of cooked mashed potatoes with 4 egg yolks, a dash of kosher salt, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1/4 cup of sugar. (Reserve 1/4 cup of melted butter.) Mix the sweet potato mixture thoroughly. Divide the mixture into thirds. Roll the first third into small flattened circles onto wax paper. Put a small marshmallow in the center of each round. Fold the sweet potato mixture up over the marshmallows. In a separate bowl, crushed corn flakes cereal. Moisten the sweet potato balls with drizzle of the melted butter on the outside of each ball and then roll the balls into the cereal. Freeze the balls until ready to use by baking the sweet potato balls on a cookie sheet at 350°F for about 20 minutes until thoroughly heated. © Kelly McBride Loft

Fruit drinks are so perfect during the summer. Michael is a gifted mixologist and I love his fruit drinks. Try a toast to the summer and Father’s Day with these chill-down:

Michael’s Apricot Fusion
2 oz. vodka
1 oz. apricot juice
1 oz. sparkling water
1.5 oz. simple syrup
Shake ingredients vigorously in a shaker with ice. Strain into martini glasses and garnish with a thin slice of fresh ripe apricot and a mint sprig. © Kelly McBride Loft

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify. Bring the seaside home with a tasty Alaskan King Crab. Simply boil the frozen crab legs and claws until thoroughly heated. Serve with a simple lemon butter sauce and a baked potato on the side. It’s hands-on “gourmet” dining.  If you need a quick starter, simply serve an avocado half or grapefruit half drizzled with a light Champagne vinaigrette dressing . It really is a 15 minute meal considered to be fine dining! © Kelly McBride Loft

It’s Picnic Season!  Start with a simple plastic tarp, to cover any dampness in the ground.  Cover the tarp with an amazing quilt or favorite blanket and the magic happens!  Your picnic space becomes a joyful respite illuminating joyful togetherness.  All you need is your little blanketed corner of the universe, a picturesque view and a picnic basket filled with great food.   Will it be cheese paired with wine?  Will it be tasty tidbits of sundried tomatoes mixed with hearts of palm?  Try cooked chopped chicken breasts mixed with mango chutney.  Small loaves of banana bread or Kelly’s Poppy Seed cake can add to the home-baked essence of a lovely day in the sun. © Kelly McBride Loft

Kelly’s Poppy Seed Cake

Grease a Bundt pan.  In a large mixing bowl combine 6 egg yolks (reserving the egg whites), 1 cup of buttermilk, and 2 sticks of butter.  Blend until creamy.  Add 1 teaspoon each of these flavorings: butter, lemon and almond.  Then, add 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds.  Add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, 3 cups of sugar and 3 cups of flour.  Blend well.  Now, is a separate bowl, beat the 6 remaining egg whites until stiff.  Fold the egg whites into the batter and pour into the prepared pan.  Bake at 350°F for about 1 hour.  Glaze the cooked cake with a mixture of:  ½ cup of orange juice, 3 tablespoons of orange marmalade and 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar.  Add 1 teaspoon each of the flavorings:  butter, lemon & almond.  Poke holes in the warm cake, plated, and pour on the glaze. © Kelly McBride Loft

Minimize your multi-tasking with a fast dessert that is both an artist palette and delicious!  Over your favorite coconut cake (can be frozen for racing speed), drizzle homemade strawberry sauce made from thinly sliced strawberries tossed with Chambord liqueur.  Then, adorn the dessert plate with an array of stellar fresh fruit that is glazed with melted orange marmalade or melted strawberry jam!  It only takes 5 seconds to toss the fresh fruit, with a wooden spoon, in the melted marmalade.  I put in the sturdy fruit in the pot first, such as whole strawberries.  Then, I add fresh blueberries.  Follow this with some canned pitted Bing cherries and some canned Mandarin oranges!  The glaze brings out the colorful brightness which impacts the plating design.  It’s a wow with very little effort.  Enjoy! © Kelly McBride Loft

Good friends don’t need a grand-stand meal. I love to serve appetizer platters in the casual sitting area. Pop some Champagne and let the fun begin. For a great appetizer platter create a tray of blues – the finest blue cheeses! With gloves, roll some Stilton(from Britain) into small ball shapes and then roll the cheese in chopped walnuts. Then, roll some Gorgonzola (from Lombardia and Piedmont in Italy) into small ball shapes and roll that cheese in chopped almonds. Next, roll some Roquefort (from the Mid-Pyrénées region of France) into small ball shapes and then coat with chopped pecans. And last but not least, roll some Danablu (from Denmark) into small balls and coat with poppy seeds. Your divine selection of four cheeses can be showcased on individual skewers, nicknamed lollipops or as a cheese kebab. The fun part is that each person needs to receive a flight of four honey selections to dip the marvelous indulgent blues into. It is a cheese connoisseur’s delight or a novice’s teachable moment. Embrace the camaraderie; embrace your friends for the love of cheese and to find your rhythm with blue cheeses! © Kelly McBride Loft