Browsing all posts in May, 2010.
We Didn’t Start the Fire: BBQ Tips
Are you fired up? It’s Memorial Day weekend. It’s the official start of the Barbecue season. Roll out those grills, get your fires started, and marinate some meat. Weber Grill has all sorts of fun stuff on their website to help you get the most out of your grill. You can even download their Weber’s On The Grill iPhone app.
Here are a few more highlights featured on Weber’s website:
Weber has a Recipe of the Week. This one got my mouth watering:
1 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons honey
Finely grated zest of 1 lime
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh mint
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon pure chile powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1. In a small saucepan combine the orange juice, honey, lime zest, lime juice, ginger, and salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer gently until the mixture thickens to a syrupy consistency and 1/2 cup of the liquid remains, 20 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool. Add the mint.
2. Place the pork in a medium bowl. Add the oil and mix to coat evenly. In a small bowl mix the rub ingredients. Sprinkle the rub over the meat and mix to coat the chunks evenly.
3. Thread the pork cubes and the mango chunks alternately onto skewers. Allow the skewers to stand at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes before grilling.
4. Prepare the grill for direct cooking over high heat (450° to 550°F).
5. Brush the cooking grates clean. Grill the kabobs over direct high heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until the pork is barely pink in the center, 6 to 8 minutes, turning once and swapping their positions as needed for even cooking. Remove from the grill and serve warm with the sauce drizzled on top.
If you need more barbecue tips be sure to check out these websites:
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The “Deal” is in the “Bag”
This month the “deal” is in the “bag.” At Moments of Elegance, we have some super satin bags that make the perfect alternative to favor boxes. Whether you need favors for your wedding, baby shower, graduation or Bar Mitzvah, you won’t want to miss these deals.
Bar Mitzvah Photo Scroll Personalized Satin Bags($1.15) – these gorgeous drawstring favor bags are the perfect alternative to standard favor boxes. They’re made of a soft quality Satin with a very sharp, full color imprint. Mazel Tov! These personalized Bar Mitzvah party favors will look beautiful on your tables. An elegant scroll frames your photo of choice, with your name and date. Made of soft satin with superior quality personalized imprint. Fill your bag with candy, chocolate coins, jordan almonds or that special favor waiting for the perfect packaging.
Baby Shower Pea in the Pod Personalized Satin Bags ($1.15) – these gorgeous drawstring favor bags are the perfect alternative to standard favor boxes. They’re made of a soft quality Satin with a very sharp, full color imprint. Celebrate the new bundle of joy with this adorable baby shower themed design, uniquely printed onto your favor bags. Made of soft satin with superior quality personalized imprint. Fill your bag with candy, chocolate coins, jordan almonds or that special favor waiting for the perfect packaging. Personalized with your name and date or two lines of personalization, what could be a better way to thank your guests?
Here’s another fun deal…personalized flip flops!
Personalized Flip Flops ($39.99) — Check out these adorable and practical personalized leather thong sandals for your wedding party favors, Bridal Attendants, Destination Weddings, Company party events, Corporate events and more! We can take the couple’s formal first names, nick names, Mr. and Mrs. Names or special quotes such as “I DO”, “Just Married” and emboss it into the sandals heel tab. We can also use your company logo (with provided artwork) and emboss your logo on the shoes. If no personalization is selected, the word “Love” will appear on the heel.
For more fun deals and favor bags, please be sure to check out Moments of Elegance Close Out Catalog.
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The Best Burgers EVER
Fire up that grill! It’s grillin’ season for sure and the editors at the Food Network Magazine created 50 Burgers for you to try out this summer. But before we list a few of our favorite recipes, here are some quick tips to help you grill the perfect burger.
HOW TO GRILL THE PERFECT BURGER
- Chill your meat before forming your patties.
- Start by forming a ball with the meat, about the size of a baseball, in your hands, press into a flat cake and then press again on a clean surface.
- Take a spatula, and pull in the sides of the patty.
- Form patties about 1/2 – 3/4 inch thick, and make them about 1/2 wider than the bun to allow for shrinkage.
- Lightly oil your grill with vegetable oil, put the oil on a paper towel and wipe the grill.
- Place patties on the direct heat. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes per side.
- Do NOT press down on the burgers, you’ll lose all the yummy juices.
- Check temp with a meat thermometer or you can take your spatula and cut into your patty.
Here are a few burger ideas for you from the June issue of the Food Network magazine:
Classic Burger
Lightly mix 6 ounces ground beef chuck with a big pinch of kosher salt. Form into a ball, then into a 3/4-inch-thick patty; make an indentation in the center. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat; sprinkle the skillet with salt. Cook the burger 4 to 5 minutes per side. Serve on a soft bun.
Thai Pork Burger
Mix 1/4 cup lime juice and 1 tablespoon each fish sauce and olive oil; season with salt and sugar. Toss half of the dressing with shaved carrots, sliced red onion and cilantro. Make Grilled Burger (No. 26) with ground pork; baste with the remaining dressing. Serve on a roll with mayonnaise, chili sauce and the slaw.
Creole Crab Burger
Mix 1 cup sliced cabbage, 1/4 cup each sliced red onion and chopped parsley, 3 tablespoons mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon each Creole mustard, lemon juice and honey; season with cayenne and salt. Fry your favorite crab cakes. Serve on rolls with the Creole slaw.
Turkey
1 pound ground turkey, 1 grated green apple, 1/2 cup minced scallions, 1/4 cup panko, and salt and pepper. Form into four 1-inch-thick patties, make an indentation in the centers and cook 4 to 5 minutes per side on an oiled grill. Serve on whole-wheat buns.
Mediterranean
Make Turkey Burgers (No. 39). Serve on grilled multigrain bread; top with goat cheese, olives, grape tomatoes and arugula tossed with vinaigrette.
Veggie Burger
Fry a store-bought veggie burger; top with mozzarella in the last minute of cooking (cover to melt). Serve on a roll with basil, tomato, salt, pepper and olive oil.
For more burger ideas, go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes-and-cooking/50-burgers-1-10/index.html.
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Your Wedding: Is it a toss up?
Here’s a quick wedding tip to help you personalize your wedding bouquet from Moments of Elegance:
Personalize your wedding bouquet by wrapping it in a photocopied love letter, a note written during your courtship, or even a copy of your wedding vows. For the music lover, consider wrapping the bouquet in classic music sheets. This is also a great idea to use for petal tossing cones if you plan a petal toss – collect antique and weathered but classic music sheets and roll them into cones for your petal toss. Attaching a family heirloom such as a special pin is also a great way to incorporate a special personal touch.
For more wedding planning tips, check out Moments of Elegance’s Wedding Tips Page.
Are you tossing petals at your wedding?
Beautifully decorated cones filled with fresh or freeze dried rose petals is a unique way to add a touch of elegance a wedding reception, bridal tea or luncheon. Each petal cone is hand rolled and ready for you to fill with flower petals, herbs, seeds, your favorite recipe or special treats! Cones will hold 1/3 to 1/2 cup of your selected surprise! If your tossing petals at your wedding, you’ll want to check out these elegant petal tossing cones:
Elegant Paper Petal Cone with Hang Tag ($2.50) — Elegant paper cone with Hang Tag, These elegant paper cones are made of heavy cardstock, come fully assembled and are great for wedding ceremony. Simply hang them on the back of your ceremony chairs for an elegant and practical display. The bride and grooms name are personalized directly on the cone and the hang tag is printed with: At the end of the ceremony, as the newlyweds proceed down the aisle, please shower them with these petals of good wishes.
Modern Wedding Paper Cones ($1.99) — Modern Vellum Wedding Paper cones. These cones are great for after the ceremony or after the reception, fill these cones with wedding rice, rose petals or even birdseed. Your guests will enjoy showering you with joy at the end of the wedding. Each card stock paper cone has the brides initial, grooms initial, and last name initial, along with the wedding or event date. The cones measure 8 ½ L”x 3 ½ W”. Available color are white, ivory and light pink. Cones are sold empty and ready for you to fill.
For more petal tossing cones, please visit Moments of Elegance’s Petal Cones Catalog.
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Spring Party Ideas
Smell those lilacs? Then breathe in that fresh cut grass. Spring is in the air! It’s time to dust off your dinnerware and invite some friends and family over to celebrate S-P-R-I-N-G!!! We have scoured the web looking for fun ideas for your next spring soiree. Here are a few quick tips to help you plan your spring party:
- Let’s think theme — there’s lots of stuff to celebrate in the spring — butterflies, flowers, gardening. So put on your creative hat and host a Flower Power Party, Spring Fever Party, Picnic Party, Green Party or a Spring Break Party.
- Ask the experts – Once you settle on that theme, check out how the big guns entertain like Colin Cowie or Martha Stewart and create an inspiration board for your spring themed party.
- Incorporating your theme — Just go for it! If you fancy a Flower Power Party, then go all out go with floral beer, edible flowers, if it can hold water put some fresh flowers in it.
To host a great spring party, all you need to do is focus on the three d’s:
- Decorations
- Drinks
- Dinner.
Here are some decorations, drink, and dinner ideas from Martha Stewart.com:
Let a flock of colorful paper butterflies loose, and you’ll instantly give party decorations a lift.
- Trace the template onto a folded piece of paper, cut out the shape, and unfold the wings. (For different sizes, photocopy the template, reducing or enlarging the image.)
- Attach some to paper lanterns with tape or glue dots (sold by the roll at crafts stores), then fold the wings upward for true-to-life flutter form. For topflight cocktails, make 2 slits in the center of a butterfly cutout, and then slide a straw through.
Drinks:
Serves 8
Martha’s Tip: If you don’t have limoncello, an Italian lemon liqueur, you can make a similar tasting drink-increase the vodka to 1 1/2 cups and add 3/4 cup Lemon Syrup.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup chilled vodka
- 1 1/2 cups chilled limoncello liqueur
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- Seltzer
- Lemon zest, cut in thin strips for garnish
Directions:
In a large pitcher, whisk together vodka, limoncello liqueur, fresh orange juice, and fresh lemon juice. To serve, divide among 8 ice-filled glasses and top with seltzer Garnish with lemon zest.
Dinner:
Serves: 6 to 8 people
Martha’s Tip — You can use two 4 1/2-pound birds: Stuff a half garlic head into each cavity, arrange chickens side by side in a large roasting pan, and reduce the cooking time to about fifty-five minutes.
Ingredients:
- 1 large whole chicken (about 7 1/2 pounds)
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 garlic bulb, halved horizontally
- 60 garlic cloves (do not peel)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425. Let chicken stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Remove giblets and excess fat from cavity. Rinse chicken; pat dry. Brush outside with butter, and season with salt and pepper. Place garlic bulb in cavity. Transfer chicken to a roasting pan. Tuck wing tips under; tie legs with kitchen twine.
- Roast chicken, basting occasionally with pan juices, 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and arrange garlic cloves around chicken. Continue roasting until skin is deep golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of the thigh (avoiding bone) registers 165 degrees, about 1 hour.
- Transfer chicken and garlic cloves to a platter. Let stand 15 minutes, then remove garlic bulb from cavity, and discard. Carve chicken, and serve.
For more spring party planning ideas, check out Martha Stewart.com for decorations, party themes and menu ideas.
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Featured Favorite Wedding Favors from Moments of Elegance
These days you want to get the most for your money…you want to get more bang for your buck. We totally get it. Here are our featured favorite wedding day favors from Moments of Elegance, with these elegant wedding day favors you’ll certainly get the most for your money. You can take that to the bank. We promise.
Spring Flower Basket Cookies (starts at $7.95) — These cookies are as delicious as they are gorgeous!! These Orange Vanilla Spice Cookies are decorated by hand with baskets and spring flowers. Each cookie measures about 3-1/2″ in diameter.
Mini Flower Monograms (starts at $2.25) — Our mini flower monograms are the perfect touch for your favors, gifts, and gift baskets. The possibilities are endless! Each solid wood letter is handmade and adorned with dainty paper roses in your choice of lavender or pale pink. All letters are available. Please choose one of the following backing options: no ribbon, satin ribbon tie, or magnet. Each letter is 2 inches tall and 1.2 inches wide.
Zoe Damask Personalized 2 CD Holder (starts at $2.89) — These elegant custom made zoe damask cd holders are the perfect way to present a CD favors with your favorite songs on them for your guests. Getting married? Make a CD of love songs and put into these beautiful sleeves. Having a shower? Make a CD of the bride or mommy to be’s favorite songs.
“Love Rocks!” Favor Boxes — (starts at $2.95) — Who says love doesn’t rock?! Thank your guests in your own style with these rockin’ favor boxes! Each box comes filled with two gold foil milk chocolate hearts. The boxes are finished with the design of a heart with the phrase “Love Rocks!”. The standard phrase at the bottom of the box is “Thank You”, but you may personalize the label with your names and wedding date with a minimum order of 30 favors. The boxes are finished with your choice of black or red satin ribbon. Each box measures 2 5/8” x 2 ½” x 1 ¼”.
To see more of our featured wedding favors, please visit our on-line catalogue. Why shop at Moments of Elegance? Not only do we have the most elegant wedding and party favors on-line, we also provide FREE ground shipping (for all orders $149+) and the lowest price guarantee. That’s why.
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Mother’s Day Gift Ideas
A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~Tenneva Jordan
What to get the woman who would let you have the last piece of pie? Here are some Mother’s Day Gift ideas to help you select the perfect gift for your mother. Here are some fun gift ideas:
Red Envelope’s Mother & Daughter Loungewear Set (starting at $29.95) — Like mother, like daughter. Outfit them in these matching loungewear sets and they can flaunt the family resemblance. Designed for optimal comfort, they feature stretchy 100% cotton tank tops. Bottoms have a pretty-in-pink floral pattern.
Red Envelope’s Hand In Hand Family Frame (starting at $9.95) – Their whimsical hand in hand frame represents the truism, “The family that plays together stays together“. Each frame portrays a member of the family. Family members can hold hands together magnetically or stand individually. The frame may be personalized by labeling the name or nickname of the family member with the included erasable black marker.
Red Envelope’s Envirosax (starting at $34.99) — Render the “paper or plastic” debate stylishly moot. This set of lightweight mod-print totes includes five colorful polyester bags packed in a pouch small enough to tuck into a glove compartment or handbag. Roomy proportions and reinforced seams allow each bag to hold as much as two plastic grocery bags.
Brookstone’s SmartShopper Deluxe Grocery List Organizer($79.95) — Simplify your shopping with SmartShopper Deluxe, the voice-activated grocery list organizer that records, sorts and prints your list. No more scribbled notes! No more forgetting things! Just tell SmartShopper™ what you need, press print, and go get it. This speech-recognizing grocery list assistant records, organizes and prints up to two separate lists at a time. Add items anytime, as you run out or think of them—even kids can help out!
Uncommon Goods The Hookup Purse Holder ($42.00) — A must-have for any woman, this elegant platinum-finished heart untwists into a secure S-shaped hook to hang your purse from a door or a table and keep it off the dirty floor. When not using, simply clip the heart around your purse handle for an stylish accessory. Perfect for bars, restaurants or even the office. Holds up to 30 lbs. Embroidered pouch and white presentation gift box included.
Moments of Elegance’s “For My Mother on My Wedding Day” Journal ($28.99) — Are you looking for a wedding thank you gift for your mother? This is the perfect gift for a bride OR groom to give to their mother on their wedding day. Sure to bring tears to your mother’s eyes as she reads your thoughts and feelings that you have recorded specially for her. Includes places to record your thoughts about being married and starting a new life, as well as special thoughts and memories about your relationship with your mother.
Moment’s of Elegance’s Silver Ladies Celeb Executive Personalized Watch ($189) — Scratch resistant and magnified mineral glass crystal inside to protect the secret compartment.
Be sure to get those on-line orders in TODAY! Happy Mother’s Day from Moments of Elegance!!!