EVENT PLANNING BOOKS

For centuries and still today, our significant focus has been and is on the autumn harvest, as a preparation for the upcoming winter. Our modern lifestyle shows no difference from our ancestors noting that many of us continue to stock up on hard-to-find items due to the projected shipping challenges in 2021. Our harvests also provide a way of being grateful for the bounty. Autumn squash and pumpkins represent the autumn showcase of meaningful bounty. Acorn squash rings are a delightful culinary treasure when cut into rings, seasoned, and baked until tender. Classic yellow squash can be split vertically, hollowed out, and filled with colorful squash ratatouille. Zucchini offers flexibility when fried, baked in a casserole, or added to a salad. Spaghetti squash is delicious and entertaining, especially for young children. Bring your harvest home to your table, as you recall the important vitality that comes from being appreciative of wholesome goodness. We are all genetically inclined to gather – sustenance and also with others. © Kelly McBride Loft

There are no supply change challenges at autumn festivals and specialty glassware shows, which abound during this time of year. Handmade items make thoughtful gifts which are meaningful and last a lifetime. Also, one has the ability to chat with the artisan, with no shipping delays but rather instant on the spot delivery. Seek out your local art shows and festivals for a fun afternoon of stress-free holiday shopping. It is also a good time to seek vastly interesting centerpiece designs. Explore antique shops which offer vintage French epergnes with hand-blown flutes, Fenton glassware, milk glass, and Depression glassware to dress-up or gift-up your holiday entertaining season. Sometimes when the crowd is heading one way, it is best to pursue a more intriguing, different creative path to inspiring solutions. © Kelly McBride Loft

It’s pumpkin time – decorating is fun but pumpkins make delicious delights, too. Pumpkin soup is so easy if you empty 1 large can of pumpkin into a sauce pan and slowly stir in chicken broth to the desired consistency. Use a hand-held blender to completely puree the 2 ingredients. Then, adjust your spices of salt, pepper and nutmeg. It’s autumn wholesomeness at its best without a fuss. © Kelly McBride Loft

Oh, hearth and home – bring on the aromas that make us embrace wholesomeness!
The versatility of chicken lends to the autumn dining concept. Whether baked, seared, or boiled, when paired with an outstanding herbed hollandaise sauce, poultry can be your path to seasonal excellence for your deserving family. Prepare the chicken, in your favorite style. To make the sauce, use a double-boiler or a large pot quarter filled with water and sauce pan with a handle set on top of the simmering water in the large pot, which is below. Prepare 3 egg yolks in a bowl and reserve. Cut 1 and ¼ sticks of butter into small pieces and reserve. Squeeze fresh lemon juice and reserve. You just need 1 tablespoon. Now make the sauce with 1 and ½ teaspoons of white wine vinegar into the small sauce pan over the double-boiler. Whisk in the egg yolks, a little at a time. Add the butter pieces, a little at a time, while whisking. Add a tiny dash of salt and a couple of dashes of dried basil. Still whisking, add the 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Serve immediately over the cooked chicken selection, a fresh basil garnish, for a grand dining experience! © Kelly McBride Loft

It’s not autumn without apple pie and a phyllo dough crust can enhance any autumn pie, when filled with your Mom’s apple pie recipe. Classic crusts wave the September flag, too, be it the lattice style or artistically crafted. My Mom used 8 Red Delicious apples, with the peel removed and sliced. She melted 2 sticks of butter; then, she coated the apples with some of the butter. Then, she mixed in a large bowl, ¾ cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of flour, and 3 tablespoons of cinnamon. With a double pie crust prepared, she filled the pie crust shell with a layer of sliced apples. Then, she sprinkled, evenly, the sugar mixture. Then, she layered with apples again and then, the sugar mixture. Gently pouring on the remaining butter and topping with the cover crust, she sealed the edges and cover the edges. The pie is to be baked at 400⁰ for about 40 – 50 minutes. When almost brown brush the pie with an egg white wash. Bake until the crust is brown. One of Mom’s secret was to brown the crust with evaporated milk, if you don’t wish to do an egg wash. Explore the vast flavors that autumn pies offer and find your fall favorite! © Kelly McBride Loft

We all love a good salad and there are two that come to mind, which are great. One is a quinoa salad with diced carrots and herbs. The other is a fresh spinach salad with diced boiled eggs. Even a good fruit salad can make an outstanding meal. Sliced fresh peaches and strawberries with poppyseed dressing pop with color. A classic pea salad is good pick. When I make this, I prep the salad with a well-drained can of tender peas and gently place those in the bottom of a large bowl. This salad is made with crisp wedge lettuce trimmed into small bites, which I set directly on top of the peas. Then, season the lettuce with salt and pepper. Top that with a small bit of drained diced pimentos and about a half cup of shredded cheese. Keep all this in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Just prior to serving, add dollop(s) of mayonnaise, little by little, and toss the salad with plastic gloves on. It’s a family pleaser with minimal effort. With such a spectrum of greens and produce – your salad exploration is your canvas to create and it’s your favorite to find! © Kelly McBride Loft

So much to do and so little time…it’s Portobello time. Portobello mushrooms are fast to cook. Just sauté and season. Fill the Portobello with ratatouille – which is cooked diced vegetables, usually with a tomato base. Cheese is the final topping to crown this fast dinner that is a feast. © Kelly McBride Loft

Many throughout the world rely on spaghetti with marinara sauce as a staple for a hearty meal. Step it up by boiling large 3” shell pasta, filling each with a mixture of ricotta cheese and sautéed spinach. Then, top each shell with marinara drizzle and Parmesan cheese. Another variation is to take the cooked lasagna noodle, layer it with ricotta cheese and herbs and roll it into a roulade shape. This can be set on its side and repeated. Then, top the roulades with marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese. Alter the presentation and suddenly the same dish is a new dish. The cooked pasta shells can also be filled with goat cheese and cooked diced chicken. Then, topped with tzatziki sauce for another pasta variation. Vary the shape and the new presentation becomes a new dish! © Kelly McBride Loft

Treat your family to a pontoon party. Pontoon boats are rentable and fun for the whole family. Select your boating venue and pack a luncheon. Plantain chips with peach salsa are the perfect starter. Gourmet sandwiches are consistently a big pleaser, when boating. Always use interesting bread such as focaccia, artisan, fresh hoagie buns brushed with butter and garlic, or mini slider buns. Offer a tapenade of crushed olives. Pre-select the proteins and pre-assemble that for faster service to your family. Try combining honey smoked turkey, ham, salami, and prosciutto, with baby Swiss cheese. Have condiments of balsamic vinegar, mayonnaise, honey mustard and spicy mustard available. For a side treat offer chilled shrimp cocktails! Sailors are known for stocking a grog locker; however, stay safe with plenty of fun flavored teas and hold off on the alcoholic beverages until you are ashore. Desserts should be frozen pops. The surprise for your boating excursion is to pull out a new fishing tackle box…filled with decks of playing cards, cribbage, and other games. That’s the moment your clan knows that you have thought of everything! © Kelly McBride Loft

Throw a back-to-school get-together with“Sunshine in Mind & Happy Thoughts Party”. These days it is so easy to take the negative side – so, take the drudge details and turn these into opportunities. Begin with lemonade, of course, and the famous saying to turn lemons into lemonade. Top your lemonade stand off with cherries and orange slices on picks to make each glass super appealing. Set your table centerpiece with a wide-brimmed sun hat and decorate the hat with fresh fruit and chilled fruit cups. Try hulling out oranges and fill the oranges with this colorful treat. Fruit flavored Jell-O (set) and whipped with whipping cream with a high-speed mixer. This light and flavorful treat will put the group into a cheerful mood. Create a station of Bananas Foster – with ice cream! Read excerpts from literature and poems and have your guests guess the writer or poet. For prizes and door prizes offer a backpack and other scholastic goodies for a prospective on looking for the good in education and reading. © Kelly McBride Loft

Nothing sweetens August more than a butterscotch treat! We so need and deserve a treat, too! Try my Butterscotch Refrigerator Pie for the perfect chilled dessert in this hot month of transitions. In a heat-proof rectangle dish, mix 1 stick of lightly melted butter, 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of minced pecans. By hand, mash the mixture to form a crust in the heat proof dish and bake at 425⁰ for 10 minutes and no longer. Remove and let cool completely. In a large bowl, mix 10 oz. of cream cheese, 1 cup of powdered sugar, and 1 cup of whipped cream – pre-beaten stiff. Reserve. In a 2nd large bowl, with a mixer, mix 2 packages of butterscotch instant pudding, 1 package of vanilla instant pudding with 3 and ½ cups of milk (not the milk directions on the boxes). Mix well. Then, onto the cooled baked pie crust layer on the cream cheese mixture smoothing it to an even layer across the crust. Then, top that with the butterscotch pudding layer. Then, top the pudding mixture with heavily whipped cream. Keep refrigerated until serving. The top of this wonderful Butterscotch Refrigerator Pie can be decorated with peach slices, which form daisy flowers for a floral garden design budding the family’s summertime smiles. © Kelly McBride Loft

So much to do as school is beginning; yet, every meal is special because your family comes first. Lettuce wraps to the rescue! There are many variations. Begin with my favorite, poached salmon, chilled, then topped with chopped chives and fresh ginger. Drizzle the salmon with soy sauce. Boston Bibb lettuce is bendable and this is the lettuce that I recommend; however, Romaine and Iceberg leaves make good wrap covers, too. Always top your protein choice with hues of spectacular finely julienned vegetables including carrots and bell peppers. Alfalfa sprouts add a fluffy texture. Serve the wraps extremely cold, to crisp the lettuce. A great accompaniment to this dish is a charcuterie tray, for an interactive meal. Explore this hands-on meal to let the table conversation expand – and isn’t that what family dining is about? © Kelly McBride Loft

Who doesn’t love the results from the potting shed? It’s where hands-on with the earth’s soil embraces the planting of seeds and small plants to blossom and grow. Garden it up with a Potting Shed Party! Begin with fresh mint tea or Mint Julips with freshly grown mint for arrival. Invite your guests to tour your backyard garden…and serve hors d’oeuvres of crostini topped with goat cheese and sprinkled with chopped fresh herbs. For lunch serve a fresh garden salad from a large floral iced salad bowl. This is done by pouring water into a large bowl and sprinkling the water with fresh edible flowers. Insert a smaller bowl onto that and tape it down securely. Freeze the two bowls pressed together and unmold the ice to reveal a floral filled ice bowl. It is extraordinary! For your Potting Shed lunch entrée take a bit of a short cut with pre-roasted chickens. Cut the cooked chicken breasts from the bone and place the cooked breasts in a skillet with a dash of olive oil, outside breast down. Sear and flip the breasts. Cover with raspberry vinaigrette and loosely chopped sage. Steam in the skillet when ready to serve the chicken with summer vegetables. Your guests will be thrilled and you will be energized with the ease of this dish. Ah, dessert, it can only be the flower pot surprise! Prepurchase small plastic pots, per person, and wash each well. Fill the pots with alternating layers of chocolate wafers and whipped cream. Refrigerate the pots overnight, which turns the wafers into cake. Finish the pots with a live edible stemmed flower inserted into each pot and sprinkle some crushed chocolate wafers on top of the pots to complete the look of a flower pot growing a flower. (The edible fresh flower can be substituted with a silk flower.) While lunch is being served, have a demonstration of potting seeds and small plants. Provide the results from the demonstrated potting showcase as party favors to your good friends! © Kelly McBride Loft

Ahoy, Mates! It’s shrimp season and cooked shrimp is delightful when served chilled. For the classic shrimp cocktail, peel and devein your choice of shrimp. Briefly, boil the shrimp in seasoned water and strain onto ice. Drizzle with fresh lemon juice and keep chilled. The classic red sauce is ketchup with horseradish sauce. There are other fantastic chilled shrimp concepts, too. Sauté the peeled and deveined shrimp with butter, lemon juice, and garlic. Then, skewer the shrimp for presentation and chilled-down. Shrimp salad is another classic with lots of variations on the theme. The trick to making a grand shrimp salad is to served it very, very cold. Of course, you need the starter – deveined and boiled shrimp. Lightly chop the cooked shrimp and place into a bowl. Lightly season with celery salt and lemon juice. Add a mixed portion of mayonnaise and sour cream, just enough to cover the shrimp. Stir well and add chopped celery and freshly chopped dill. Some prefer to add a little mustard powder to a mayonnaise version of shrimp salad. Another version is to only mix the chopped shrimp with thousand island dressing. If you wish to add some crunch to your shrimp salad, add sliced water chestnuts, or pecans just prior to serving. I like to serve my shrimp salad in hollowed-out green bell peppers, cut in half. It is artful and it ensures that when having a group, that a hungry, lone guest doesn’t focus on that item and suddenly the last person, which could be you, has none. Another, fine finish is to top each portion of the shrimp salad with a whole boiled shrimp. You’ll be the rave of the waves – surf’s up and the shrimp abound! © Kelly McBride Loft

Chill-down with summer chilled soups. These are always colorful because the base is fruit. For chilled Watermelon Soup, begin with the pulp (no seeds) of watermelon. Mince this in the food processor and slowly add some pomegranate juice to the desired consistency. Then, to taste, adjust the seasoning with a dash of salt and, if desired, a dash or sugar. Chill the soup thoroughly before serving and garnish with fresh mint. This technique can be utilized with cantaloupe, apricots, plums, mangos, etc. as the soup base. Mince and add a small amount of fruit juice to the desired consistency such as apricot nectar, peach nectar, or mango nectar. I like to add a dollop of condensed milk to sweeten the summer fruit soup, prior to chilling. It’s a kaleidoscope of culinary opportunities, just waiting to be explored and enjoyed by your family! © Kelly McBride Loft