How to Throw a Winter BBQ

Want a Great Way to Chase Away Those Winter Blues: Host a Winter BBQ:

The idea of a winter BBQ might seem a little strange at first, but with some planning this could be one of the best casual parties you throw all year. A great time to have a winter BBQ might be during the month of January or February after the holidays. A creative theme can make that get together even more fun. Use these ideas or add some of your own to host your first Winter Barbecue this year. This might become an annual event for you and your friends.

 Make a Guest List:

Use a combination of BBQ and winter themes to make invitations to this event, but remember you’re your winter barbecue will be just as casual as a summer barbecue. The best thing about a BBQ is that you can invite more people than a sit down formal dinner. A great way to provide more seating for your guest is to bring your patio chairs inside if you have that space, since you really don’t need a table. You can use either paper plates or your casual dinnerware set. If you want to use your dinnerware set, but don’t have enough ask some of your guest to borrow their sets than mix and match them to create fun color scheme for your party.

Outdoor Cooking, Indoor Eating:

There are two ways that you can prepare the food for your Winter BBQ. The first is to use your outdoor BBQ grill, but remember to dress warmly and leave the grill covered while you cook to keep the heat inside the grill. The second is to use an indoor grill like the Foreman or Cuisinart 5 in1 grill.  The best meats to prepare are the same ones you enjoy in the summer like chicken, hamburgers and ribs, but you might want to try something new like a Turkey or steaks with a heavier sauce. The sides can include all your favorite summer BBQ dishes like Potatoes Salad, baked beans and coleslaw or you can add some of the fall or winter fruits and veggies for a new twist. 

 Party Decorations:

Add a couple strings of Christmas lights to dress up your patio area outside, but bring most of the decorations inside. A fun idea is to put scented candles on the dinning table that remind you of either summer or winter. Instead of the normal checker table clothes find one that have a fall or winter theme and make a center piece out of apples, pine cones and bare branches. Another party idea is to make it a summer party in the winter by using beach balls and picnic items as a center piece, beach pails to hold the silverware and plastic pitcher that hold the fruity tropical drinks.

Drinks and Munchies: Make dips that remind you of summer or experiment with new ingredients that are available in winter. Going potluck is another fun way to  let your guest be part of that traditional barbecue feeling. Fill a cooler with beer and soda, but end the party with hot chocolate and rum so that your guests can warm themselves before heading back into the cold. A great dessert idea fun that summer feeling, but still keeping your guest warm is roasting marshmallows around an outdoor fire pit and making smore’s.

Entertainment:

Play music that reminds you of carefree summer days at the beach. Bring the Party inside with fun games like twister, charades or other board games that remind you of your childhood vacations. For those souls who are brave enough to face the winter cold set-up a badminton set and play it in the snow.

 Surprise your family and friends this year by throwing a winter barbecue! They will love the chance to socialize, eat great food and forget all about the cold winter days for a few hours.

Delicious Traditional Salsas of Mexico

The title salsa is affiliated with a variety of distinct dishes from all over the world. More often than not though, the title is linked to a unique type of Mexican sauce. Although there are many different types of authentic Mexican salsas, most include tomatoes. Based on the kind of salsa prepared, the tomatoes can be combined with a variety of ingredients, often onion, cilantro, garlic, and chile peppers. Salsas can be created by cooking or fresh with the use of raw ingredients. The components in the recipe can also be grilled, roasted, or sauteed before introduction into the recipe.

In Mexico, salsas are used as relishes or as dips. Classic salsas from Mexico balance the unique flavors in Mexican dishes with their moderate but flavorful tangy taste. Salsas can both enhance the satisfying effects of tortillas and temper the rich flavors of ground meat, beans, and cheese. The authentic style salsas have also gained popularity because of their clear health benefits. Standard ingredients in salsas like peppers and tomatoes are known to contain nutrients and disease combating substances such as phytochemicals and capsaicin. Salsas are crafted as appetizers, dips, side dishes, and toppings, and regarded as healthy and flavorful. Salsas are often served with fish, meat, or poultry; or with tortillas or Mexican style rice. Due to the enormous liking of salsas, there are countless deviations to the original salsa recipes. Salsas are now savored with tropical fruits, western herbs and spices, and even things we wouldn't have thought of before. Nonetheless, nothing can beat the flavor of an original Mexican salsa, with simple, veggies.

Fresh tomatoes and some other salsa components were once created utilizing a traditional Mexican molcajete. Blenders and food processors have replaced this technique in modern kitchens. It's true however that the use of molcajete still brings out a noticeably strong aroma and flavor that is distinct from using modern day kitchen appliances. In green salsas such as salsa verde, tomatillos are utilized instead of tomatoes. Although similar in look and feel, the tomatillo is not a green tomato. They are clearly unique. Tomatillos are related to fresh tomatoes but have a distinct genus. A husk that feels much like paper encompasses the tomatillo. Tomatillos deliver a decidedly tart taste. Genuine Salsas from Mexico are usually not scalding hot. This is a common misconception about the dish. The addition of some jalapeno or serrano pepper is normal, but usually not overly so. Adding one, maybe two peppers, perhaps a jalapeno or serrano pepper is enough. You can adjust the heat level in respect to your individual taste.

For some prepared salsas, roasting the ingredients is a necessary part of the procedure. To help improve the natural tastiness of the salsa components, toasting tomatoes, pepper and onions on an open fire produces a smoky taste and brings out the natural sugars for caramelization. Nowadays most roasting is done using an outdoor grill or in the oven. Barbequing your ingredients will also make it easier for you to skin your ingredients.

Salsas from Mexico have a rich historical past dating back to the local population of Mexico. Handed down through the generations, there were no ready-made salsa ingredients available at the time that salsa recipes were conceived. For your traditional style salsas, you should thus ignore the urge to use ingredients that are not fresh. Stay away from tomato paste and bottled or canned tomatoes as well as hot pepper sauces. Always use ingredients that are fresh.

Tips For Throwing A Perfect Wine Tasting Party

A Fun Way to Entertain at Home is to Throw a Wine Tasting Party:

 

If you and your friends enjoy wine, a casual wine tasting party is a great way to enjoy wine together and test your palates. You can hold blind tastings if you really want to test your skills and the skills of your friends, or you can just get together and try out the different types of wines that you and your friends enjoy.

Many formal wine tastings do not allow you to swallow the wine. The tasting is simply to savor the taste, smell the bouquet and enjoy the overall experience of the wine, but at your casual wine tasting party you can allow your guests to drink the wine, but there may be sobriety issues if you do this. It is also important to realize that you may not get the full flavor and effect of the wine as you get deeper into the tastings.

Either way you hold your tasting you will want to have clean wine glasses for each person and each bottle. You will also need a clean white tablecloth. The white tablecloth will allow you to get a good view of the wine. The tablecloth allows you to see the wine’s body and any sediment that may be in the glass from an aged wine. Candlelight will also allow you to see the wine clearly and any sediment that may be in the bottle or decanter. Clean glasses are extremely important, as any residue in the glass will cause your wine to have an impure taste.

To help keep the event easy, ask your guests to bring a bottle of their favorite wine. You may also need them to bring their own glasses if you do not have enough. You will also need some crackers or bread to help cleanse the palate as well as room temperature water. Cold water will shock your taste buds.

You will want to decant your red wines. If you cannot decant them all at once, you may want to pour a small amount in each glass and allow them to breathe a bit. The more air contact red wine has, the better they will taste. You may also choose to explore the difference that decanting makes. Taste the wine at ten and fifteen minute intervals. White and blush wine should be chilled slightly before serving.

When you taste your wines, it is a good idea to have a paper and pencil available so that your guests can take notes and rank their wines. You will also want to start with lighter and simpler wines and then move on to the drier and heavier wines. You will not taste your white wines as well as if you drink the heavier and dry wines first. If you must reuse a glass, swirl some water around in it and dry it with a clean cloth so that the water does not dilute the wine.

Begin by looking at the wine and observing its clarity and color. A wine is judged on its color, aroma and taste. Hold the wine up to a light and note the color of the wine. The wine should also appear to be clear and cloudy. Next, tip the glass slightly and swirl it gently. The wine flows around the glass and if the wine clings and dribbles down the side in “legs” or stripes, this mean that the wine is a medium bodied wine. If the wine forms a sheet, it is a full-bodied wine.

Next, tip the glass and swirl the wine around while holding it a little bit away from your nose. This helps to increase the amount of scent that is available for your nose to smell. Inhale the wine deeply and then move it away, this will keep you from becoming overwhelmed by the aroma. You may be able to smell fruit, yeast, grass, or earth in the wine.

The last step is to taste the wine. Take a small sip and push it up in front of your mouth and then inhale through your teeth. Slosh the wine around in your mouth and cover your tongue with it. You are going to want to taste the predominant tastes at first and then the secondary tastes that appear. Is the wine’s taste complex? Does it have a wood-taste?

Take a moment between wines to rinse your mouth and take a bite of unsalted crackers or bread. This will help to clear the taste from the previous wines. If you hold a blind tasting, place the bottles in brown bags or remove the labels. Have your guests make notes and guess what the varietals and brands are.

Wine tastings don’t have to be formal affairs.They can be very casual get together with friends. One way to keep the wine tasting casual and  fun is to combine it with a potluck. Just bring out your casual dinnerware set, place silverware into wine holders or mason jars with label that match your favorite wineries and add colored napkins that match the wines to tie the whole party theme together. There are even wine tasting kits that you can buy to supply you with the necessary bags, tags and other wine information that you may need.