Comfort Food Potluck Party

Get Comfy!

With the weather still very chilly outside, it make me want to stay home any eat things that are warm and comforting. So, how about a Comfort Food Potluck Party.


Here is a list of the Top 25 comfort foods:
• Apple Pie• Baked Beans• Banana Pudding• Beef Stew• Brisket Pot Roast• Chicken & Dumplings• Chicken Pot Pie• Chicken Soup• Chili• Chocolate Chip Cookies• Corn on the Cob• Fried Chicken• Gelatin• Green Bean Casserole• Hot Dogs• Ice Cream• Macaroni & Cheese• Mashed Potatoes• Meatloaf• Potato Salad• Pumpkin Pie• Shepherd's Pie• Spaghetti• Tomato Soup• Tuna Casserole.


Have each of your guests bring a dish from this list or have them bring their own favorite comfort food.
The list is endless as far as what type of invitation to send depending on the amount to time you have. Some suggestion are: A cutout of a bowl of chicken soup with the information about the party in the middle. Wrap up a chocolate chip cookie in a small cellophane bag with a tag tied to it with all the party details.
You can go one step further and have your guests arrive in their most comfortable clothes (sweats, flannel pants, pajamas, robes, slippers etc...)
For the table, keep it simple. Use a very warm colors to set an soothing ambiance. If it is a girls friends gathering occasion, create a spa like ambiance with lots of candlelight, soft colors of orange, yellow, light blue, soft pink etc. Fresh flowers could be a nice touch too, but don't over do it.


The whole idea of this gathering is to create a warm and cozy ambiance for your guest to enjoy while they are warming their sole with comfort food.
Send us your favorite comfort food idea or recipe!


Stay tuned to more ideas on gathering during the winter season. Visit us at www.tableambiance.com for table setting and entertaining ideas.

Warm up With Hot Cocoa

The weather in Northern California has been constistently cold for weeks. So what better way to warm your body and heart with good ole hot cocoa. Here are some of the recipes we've tried and like.

Mocha Hot Cocoa: Phyllis Hoffman

Ingredients:

3 cups milk

3 cups half-and-half

8.8 oz dark chocolate hot cocoa mix

1/4 cup expresso powder

1/4 cup coffee-flavored liqueur

Garnish: Whipped cream, expresso powder, chocolate covered coffee bean.

In medium saucepan, combine milk and half-and-half. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Whisk in cocoa mix and espresso powder. Add coffee liqueur, stirring to combine. Garnish, if desired.

Fluffy Hot Chocolate: allrecipe.com

Ingredients

• 8 teaspoons sugar

• 4 teaspoons baking cocoa

• 4 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: In a saucepan, combine the first four ingredients. Cook and stir over medium heat until the marshmallows are melted, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Ladle into mugs.

Hot Chocolate: Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk

• 2 cups half-and-half

• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

• 4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped

• 1 tablespoon sugar • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon instant espresso or coffee powder

• 4 to 5 vanilla beans or cinnamon sticks, for garnish

Directions : Heat the milk and half-and-half in a saucepan on medium heat to just below the simmering point. Remove the pan from the heat and add both chocolates. When the chocolates are melted, add the sugar, vanilla extract, and espresso and whisk vigorously. Reheat gently and serve immediately. Use a vanilla bean or cinnamon stick to garnish each serving.

We hope these help ease those cold winter days. Happy sipping!

Oscar Party Ideas

Set The Stage For A Glamorous Evening

Here are some ideas to add a glamorous ambiance to your Oscar Party. As you know we are all about the table. And for this occasion, we suggest doing a buffet. This allows your guests to nibble throughout the evening. Cover your buffet table with a white or black tablecloth. You can place large gold stars on top of the table or purchase star shaped confetti to sprinkle all around the table. Another fun idea is to purchase movie memorabilia and have them on display on your buffet table. Although paper products are the easiest, it might be easier to have your guest use regular plates. The plates can be salad side, but being that most guests will have them on their laps while eating, it would be easier and steadier to eat from. Plastic utensils and themed paper cocktail napkins would be appropriate however.

This is another opportunity to ‘Fake The Food.’ Costco, Trader Joes and Whole Foods all have wonderful ready-made appetizers and finger foods that require minimal effort. Stay tuned for more food/recipe ideas. To make it even easier for you have each guest bring their favorite finger food to your party.

Because the Oscars signify class, glamour and elegance - requests that your guest come 'dressed up' for the evening. Roll out the red carpet at your entrance to your home (visit a carpet store and ask for any remnants or use a red runner). Snap a picture of each guest as they arrive (the photo can be put into a simple silver or gold frames and made into a party favor for them to take home). Give each guest an Oscar party pool ballot and have them select their choices of winners. At the end of the awards, tally up the ballots to see who had the most correct and send the winner home with a little parting gift for the highest score. Stay tuned for more Oscar Party Ideas to make the evening memorable.

For a finishing touch, load your CD player with academy award winning sound and have the songs playing in the background to enhance this hollywood ambiance.

If you have a suggestions, we would love to hear from you. Please feel free to contact us at advice@tableambiance.com.

Super Bowl Party Ideas

Throwing A Super Bowl Party

This year’s Super Bowl takes place on Feb. 1st in Tampa Bay, Florida where the Pittsburg Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals will face off for Super Bowl 43.

A Super Bowl party is the simplest party to organize and do with minimal cost.

Invites: The fastest and simplest way to get the word out about your party is to send it via evite.com. They offer a wide variety of super bowl invitations. Encourage your guests to wear the colors of the team they want to win (Steelers – black, yellow, white or Cardinals – red and white).

Decoration and Table Setting: Again, keep it simple….. Typically a table setting for a Super Bowl party should be buffet, because your guests will want to graze before, during and after the game, and a full buffet table is the best way to accommodate them. That being said: Create a football field on your table. Purchase a disposable green table cloth and with masking tape, create lines for yardage and end zones, you can also make numbers or purchase numbers (at your local craft store) to mark the yardage on the table cloth.
Purchase paper products for easy clean up. You can keep it neutral with just brown, green and/or white, OR have a combination of the team’s colors.

Food and Beverage: You know by now our favorite thing to do is “Fake the Food, and this party is perfect for doing such a thing. Costco or Trader Joes is the ideal place to purchase the “Fake the Food” from chips/salsa, pizza bites, fried mozzarella sticks, hot wings, chicken tenders, variety of cookies and nuts, a deli platter etc….
However, if you wish to make the food yourself, knock yourself out! You can make a big pot of chili with all the toppings to feed a large group or have a variety of finger foods such as a layered dip with chips, breadsticks with deli meats around them, green salad, pasta salad, fruit salad, cupcakes, brownies shaped as footballs etc…...
The typical choice of beverage for a football game is beer. However, you can also serve nonalcoholic drinks such as soda, sparkling water, or a fun punch.

Games: The football game is the obvious entertainment, but you can offer your guests to participate in a football pool: Click here to see how you can create a football pool.

Visit us at http://www.tableambiance.com/ for all your entertaining needs featuring a variety of themes and occasions. Table Ambiance is the place to go to find all you need to set the table and the mood!

Stay tuned for more Super Bowl Party Tips and Food Ideas.

The Lunar New Year

The Year of the Ox

January 26th marks the beginning of the Year of the Ox on the Lunar New Year.

Here at Table Ambiance we have some suggestions for table settings and entertaining this lunar holiday.

Make an edible invitation: Purchase fortune cookies and replace the fortune with an invite. Place the invite fortune back into the cookie and place it inside a small take-out container and leave it at the guest's doorstep.

This is the perfect time to "Fake The Food" for this occasion. Call up your favorite Asian restaurant and place an order for take out. Place the food onto your own platters or keep it in their original containers, it is entirely up to you.

Set your table: Red is the traditional color for entertaining the beginning of the New Year. So start with a red table cloth. From there, you can use disposable tableware or your own. Place an red envelope (a red envelope with money in it, which symbolizes luck and wealth) at a each place setting for the favor and or place card. Have the option for your guest to use chopsticks or a fork to dine with at each place setting.
Centerpiece:A simple centerpiece can be a variety of paper lantern hung from the ceiling or placed down the center of your table. If you don't have electricity to illuminate the lanterns a good tip is to place a glow stick inside them to add a safe ambiance to your table. Or as shown above, fill a glass bowl with fortune cookies to create a fun and edible centerpiece.

To keep it simple and add more texture to your table add a bamboo or natural placemat at each place setting and/or colored candles to add to the mood of your table.

If you have any ideas for entertaining the Lunar New Year we would love to hear from you.

advice@tableambiance.com.

For other table setting and table top decor, visit us at http://www.tableambiance.com/

Fake The Food on Thanksgiving

Here is our first fake the food idea. If you have a Trader Joe's in your area, stop by and pick up a box of their pumpkin bread mix, it is a seasonal item. It is very moist and easy to make. You can be a little creative and add dried cranberries and walnuts to the mix before baking. Make pumpkin cupcakes for the kids and add mini chocolate chips to the mix. The kids at your Thanksgiving feast will love them. Stay tuned for more "Fake the Food" ideas.

Still need ideas for your Fall table setting? Visit us at http://www.tableambiance.com/ to view our Fall table setting selections.

Fall Table Setting Ideas

If you want your Thanksgiving to go smoothly this year, you have some planning to do. Thanksgiving should focus more about the people you gather with then the food you serve them. Do you honestly think that your guests really on come just for the food?
Of course not, they have come to visit, reminisce about the ole days, create plans for the future, and hopefully give thanks for being in the company of such wonder family and friends.
So here are some of our ideas to make this Thanksgiving at bit more hassle free. You probably already know what we are going to say first. Set your table a few days before; don’t wait until the last minute.

If you are looking for ideas for a fall table setting visit us at http://tableambiance.com/home.php?cat=65, to see what we have created for this holiday. Unless you are using perishable items for your centerpiece or accents, set your table early. If you are worried about dust or little fingers, once you set it cover it with a light weight material. The plastic covers you get from the dry cleaners are perfect.
If you absolutely enjoy making everything from scratch by all means go for it! However, there is nothing wrong with “Faking the Food” a bit (check back with us in a few days for ideas for “faking the food”). Or have each guest bring something to contribute to the meal. We know that most people are happy to bring at least one thing toward a Thanksgiving dinner.
We are huge list makers. Our biggest suggestion is to write it all down, that way nothing is forgotten. You can even do an hourly schedule to keep you on track. For example: 1:00 make stuffing, 1:45 place bread or biscuits in basket, 2:45 take butter out of refrigerator etc…
We hope some of these tips make your Thanksgiving Holiday a bit smoother so you too can enjoy the gathering.

Visit us at http://www.tableambiance/ to see all of our selection of table setting ideas.