How To Throw A Dinner Party

March 19, 2019

Throwing a dinner party can be a fun, yet incredibly stress-inducing experience. Every decision that you make, from those on your guest list to the music that you play, can be a source of anxiety. As a host, you will need to approach this task with a clear sense of determination. Whatever type of party you plan to throw, you need to be driven to maintain good relationships, entertain and, of course, impress. To make this easier, here are six things that you should do.

Invite A Select Group

You may not be hosting the Met Gala, but those on your guest list should still be a select group. After all, you don’t want to give yourself too much work or invite people that don’t get along. Make sure that you select individuals with similar interests, or, at the very least, people that need introducing. When you send out invitations, remember to ask about guests’ dietary restrictions.

Cook What You Know

As tempting as it can be to cook something new and exciting for your dinner party, you should avoid this at all costs. The last thing that you want to do is to try and fail at cooking some exotic dish. Instead, you should choose one that you’ve cooked before and are confident in preparing. There are many stress-free mains to consider, which look fancy, but take very little effort.

Check Your Kitchen Inventory

Before the night of your party, you need to check that you have all of the necessary dishes and tools to prepare and serve your meals. If you don’t, checking your inventory early gives you plenty of time to research and stock up. This allows you to take a look at, Cut It Fine, for example, for advice on purchasing boning knives. Remember to check all of these again on the day.

Get An Early Start

Cooking a meal for more than just your family is no small feat. For this reason, it helps to get an early start and prepare as much as you can before your guests arrive. Certain items, like baked desserts, can be made a few days prior to your party, while veggies can be peeled and chopped the day before. Your table can also be set a few days back so that you have less to do.

Go Easy On Appetizers

Everyone knows that a charcuterie board is a must for any dinner party. However, that doesn’t mean that you should go overboard on it and other appetizers. If you do, your guests will fill up on cheeses and meats, which means that they won’t be hungry by the time your meal is presented. To avoid this, you should limit them to only a few options and don’t replenish the supplies.

Ask For Some Help

You may be the one hosting the party, but that doesn’t mean that you should be doing all of the work. If you want a little time to enjoy yourself too, then you may need to ask for some help. This could be having reliable friends bring their own side dishes or desserts to contribute to the meal. If guests ask how they can help, find them an easy task to complete.

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Hosting a dinner party can be a lot of work, but, with these tips, you should find the task a lot more enjoyable.

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Random Fodder

Best of Charleston 2018

April 25, 2018

OMG you guys! For 4 of the past 5 years, I’ve had the honor of being voted a runner up as Best Blog in Best of Charleston! If I’m going to lose to anyone, I’m thrilled I lost to my friend Christian, because I know how hard he works (although I still maintain his site is not a blog, but I digress).

In honor of this great, well… honor, I wanted to take a minute to highlight some of my favorite things in Charleston!

The Queen’s Best of Charleston 2018

Best thing to order for lunch on UberEats when I don’t feel like leaving my desk

Dell’z Uptown

My biggest food obsession of 2018

Poke Tea House

Best Sandwiches

Persimmon Cafe

Best Biscuits & Gravy

Lost Dog Cafe

Best Indian

Sambar

Most Addicting Mac & Cheese

Crave

Craziest milkshakes

Betty’s Eatery

Best place to get brunch at 6:30 pm

Millers All Day

Best craft cocktails

Gin Joint

Best sushi

Zen Asian Fusion

In queso you’re in doubt… order the queso.

Best queso

Minero

Best tots

The Alley

I have also been known to lick this bowl.

Best whipped ricotta

Le Farfalle

Best happy hour

Burwell’s Stone Fire Grill

Best Mount Pleasant Restaurant (aka best restaurant that’s also the furthest away from my house)

On Forty One

Best Mexican Restaurant

Carmen y Juan’s

Best brussels sprouts

Sorghum & Salt

Best pop-up restaurant

The Castejons

Best food blogs that aren’t my own

Cookin’ With Booze
Basil & Bubbly

Now that’s a cheese board

Best Pimento Cheese

1Kept

Best Deep Dish Pizza

Famulari’s

Martini glasses are so versatile.

Best “touristy” restaurant that’s actually worth going to

Eli’s Table

1 Comments

Random Fodder

How To Build The Perfect Charcuterie Board

March 28, 2018

Whether you’re planning a dinner party, a holiday soiree, or just having friends over, every party is made better with a charcuterie board! They’re easy to put together and always a crowd-pleasing hit. Here are some tips for how to put together the perfect charcuterie board.

This little slice of heaven brought to you by Elise Devoe

Pick Your Cheeses.

Everyone loves cheese! Pick 2-3 different varieties for a well-rounded tray. Brie, cheddar, Swiss and smoked Gouda are most-loved choices. Either leave the blocks whole for guests to cut themselves, or cut the cheese into triangles, or rectangles for easy grabbing.

Choosing Your Meats

A variety of salamis make for an excellent tray. Try Meatcrafters Skinny Salamis or Artisan Salamis for a perfect pairing, as their salamis, cured meats, and sausages are made for charcuterie lovers everywhere! Other good options include prosciutto, dry-cured chorizo, or a capicola. Aim to have an equal distribution of meats and cheese on your tray.

Don’t Forget the Extras!

Dried nuts and fruits, such as almonds, pecans, dried apricots and pitted dates add a bit of pizazz. Tangy options, such as pickles and olives work well too.

Carbs

Italian rustic bread, focaccia or a French baguette would be good possibilities. Cut some slices and place in a basket nearby. Or simply open a box of ritz crackers or saltines for guests to enjoy.

Arrangement

Last, but not least, arrange your items on a platter. Leave room between each item for a visual appeal. Use the extras to space out the meats and cheeses. If you’re feeling lost, you can look to Pinterest for a plethora of party platter arrangement options.

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Random Fodder

5 Ways in Which You Can Keep the Weight Off in 2018

March 21, 2018

(image: Pixabay)

The world’s weight issues are becoming increasingly worse, with the World Health Organization calling for widespread action. Their plea came shortly after the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation found that 603 million adults and 107 million children from around the world are obese. That is about 5% of all children and 12% of all adults on the entire planet.

Overweight people tend to face many difficulties when trying to lose weight. Thankfully, there are certain steps that can help address the situation. Based on the suggestions of the following medical experts as well as actual health studies, here are 5 ways in which you can keep the weight off this year.

Avoid crash diets

Fitness expert Jillian Michaels advises against crash dieting when trying to keep the weight off. She stressed that weight loss programs such as trendy diets, fasting, and juice cleanses are not sustainable when it comes to losing weight. They might mess up your metabolism in a way that will lead you to gain back the weight once you’ve finished a program.

Don’t stress eat

Food should never be used for anything, else but nourishment – or occasionally, enjoyment. Treating it as a coping mechanism will only lead to more weight gain and a higher risk of obesity. Even if you’ve successfully lost a lot of excess weight, it could return once you depend on food to make your troubles go away. Find other means to de-stress such as a picking up a new hobby.

Healthier snacking

There are times when you won’t be able to control your hunger, which is why many people develop habits like eating midnight snacks. Of course, you can still make it healthy by whipping up nutritious alternatives of your favorite treats. For instance, Leesa suggests putting a twist on the traditional peanut butter and jelly sandwich by incorporating ingredients like fresh fruits. This way, you can avoid sleeping on an empty stomach, and circumvent the extra calories.

Love exercise

The important thing about exercise is to find a pursuit you enjoy because you’re more likely to be consistent with your workouts. “Instead of worrying about calorie expenditure, focus on [finding an] exercise that you love doing,” explains dietitian Alexandra Caspero.

Eat home-cooked meals

Finally, take control of your diet by making your own food. Cornell University’s Global Healthy Weight Registry found that people who find it easy to lose weight often eat home-cooked meals. By preparing your own meals, you can take control of what you consume, which may include monitoring your calorie intake. Even if you don’t have exquisite kitchen skills, there are tons of easy and healthy recipes out there which you can follow.

Losing weight can be a very challenging journey. But as long as you keep a positive attitude and stick to the methods approved by reputable health experts, chances if you stay consistent and motivated you will be successful in the long-term.

This is a contributed post from Alexander Morris

Charleston, SC Random Fodder

Charleston Speedboat Adventures

March 14, 2018

So in addition to eating all the food I possibly can, I also spend a lot of time traveling and going on wild adventures all around the world. Sometimes, I forget that Charleston is in and of itself kind of an adventure, and we locals should take the opportunity to treat it as such. In that vein, I decided to do something a bit out of my comfort zone and try the Charleston Speedboat Adventures tour!

hyperlapse harbor from Sydney Gallimore on Vimeo.

It starts out at the Harbor Pointe Marina in West Ashley, kind of near where California Dreaming is. When we arrived, we were greeted by owner Graham pulled out a big laminated map of the Charleston harbor and explained the route we were going to be taking.

TBH I was pretty excited about the laminated map.

Since I’m a big ole wuss when it comes to boating, I brought Elise (aka Cookin’ With Booze) along with me, since she grew up around boats, and the closest I’ve come to driving a boat is reenacting Titanic on the bow of a cruise ship whilst on spring break in college.

RIP Elise’s hat!

How The Tour Works: Graham gave us a quick (but thorough!) tour of the boat and how to work it, and pointed out where to find the safety equipment & lifejackets and how to put them on. Graham drove a boat on his own in front of us as our tour guide, and we were 2 to a boat.

(although Graham says you can fit 3 to a boat… but I think that would be pretty snug unless you’re all Elise-sized)

(how it works, continued) Your job as captain is to keep up with Graham. He communicates via hand signals (which he teaches to you before you get on the boat) the lets you know when to speed up or slow down. Since we were just the 2 boats, he gave the tours by just speaking to us from his boat, but the boats are equipped with radios, so he could potentially communicate with you that way if you’re with a bigger group.

Easy peasy. Just avoid the sandbars and sunken boats littering the harbor.

We passed The Battery and stopped at White Point Gardens for a quick history lesson from Graham. Luckily, it wasn’t super windy, so although we were going pretty fast (and Elise lost her hat!), it wasn’t too choppy!

were having too much fun from Sydney Gallimore on Vimeo.

We kept going and stopped in front of the aquarium (where I used to work in college and where this blog was born!) and Graham gave us some facts about the aquarium and the harbor.

Like how it’s illegal in SC to hold a dolphin in captivity, hence no dolphins at the SC Aquarium!

Then we went around Drum Island and under the bridge, which is a really cool perspective if you’ve never been underneath it!

It’s more impressive from this angle than directly below, trust me.

We also stopped in front of the Yorktown where we got another history lesson (although, since I just visited the Yorktown in December, this was mostly a refresher for me).

Seriously, if you haven’t taken a tour, you really should!

After the Yorktown, we attempted to get close to Fort Sumter, but it got a bit choppy, so we swerved into Shem Creek for a quick trip and Graham gave us a few facts about Ft. Sumter and Shem Creek.

No birds were harmed in the filming of this photograph. Mostly because I wasn’t driving.

On our way back to the marina, we stopped at Castle Pinckney for another quick history lesson, but also mostly so I could take some primo pics of the Cooper River Bridge.

That’s the ticket!

All in all, it was an awesome adventure. It was so much fun to skim along the water and have the wind whip my hair around for 2.5 hours, and my excitement definitely drowned out my fear for most of the excursion. Graham was an awesome tour guide and it was so much fun to see these quintessential Charleston landmarks from a new point of view. If you’re looking for a fun and unique way to explore Charleston, I can’t recommend Charleston Speedboat Adventures (and Graham) enough!

Charleston Speedboat Adventures
56 Ashley Point Dr
Charleston, SC 29407
(843) 800-6003

Note: I received a free tour in exchange for editorial consideration. All thoughts and opinions are my own

1 Comments

Charleston Restaurant News Random Fodder

Charleston’s Own Megan Deschaine Wins National “Make It Exotico” Cocktail Competition

July 26, 2017

Earlier this summer, I had the honor of judging the USBG “Make It Exotico” cocktail competition at Mex 1 Coastal Cantina, at which the other judges and I crowned Megan Deschaine the Charleston winner for her take on a “margherita pizza-inspired margarita.” At the competition’s final round, held July 19 at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, a four-person judging panel crowned Charleston, S.C., mixologist Megan Deschaine the overall winner with her cocktail, “The Napoleonic Complex.”

#GirlBoss

Along with the trophy, Deschaine receives an all-expense paid trip to Exotico Tequila’s distillery – Destiladora González González – in Jalisco, Mexico. While there, Deschaine will visit the agave fields in the highlands of Jalisco and tour the distillery, which is located in the heart of Guadalajara.

“I think the partnership Exotico Tequila has created with the USBG is so enriching to the whole bartending community, giving us bartenders a platform to meet one another,” Deschaine said. “I am so excited to go to Mexico, because I actually paid for college with bartending, to be a Spanish high school teacher.”

Deschaine’s “The Napoleonic Complex” cocktail recipe

Ingredients:

1.5 oz. Exotico Blanco Tequila
.75 oz. lime juice
.5 oz. agave syrup
4 dashes Bittermen’s Hellfire Bitters
2 dashes Scrappy’s Celery Bitters
1 ripe roma tomato, quartered
8-10 basil leaves

Instructions:
Rim half of a rocks glass with salt and pepper. Muddle tomato quarters and basil in a mixing tin, then add remaining ingredients and shake vigorously with ice. Double strain cocktail into dressed rocks glass over one large ice cube. Garnish with a skewered mozzarella ball and basil leaf.

The USBG “Make It Exotico” cocktail competition invited mixologists from across the country to submit their best cocktail recipe using Exotico Blanco or Exotico Reposado 100% agave tequila as the base spirit. The six finalists competed against 47 other contestants in semifinal events in Nashville, Tenn; Philadelphia, Pa.; Denver, Colo.; Portland, Ore.; Seattle, Wash.; and Charleston, S.C.

As with the semifinal events, at the final round, finalists had a maximum of seven minutes to make their cocktails live for a panel of judges, who judged the cocktails on appearance, aroma, creativity, taste and overall impression. Judges included USBG professionals, tequila and cocktail experts, and local media personalities.

This is the kind of cocktail party you definitely don’t want to miss.

Earning second place was Elizabeth Powell with “Play in the Sunshine,” and in third place was Brandon Paul Weaver with “Piñata Punch.” The other finalists and their cocktails included Ryan Williams with “Bigly,” Katie Loeb with “Javelina,” and Nate Maston with “Beber Esta.”

The USBG “Make It Exotico” Cocktail Competition is organized by the United States Bartenders’ Guild and sponsored by Exotico Tequila. This is the competition’s inaugural year.

Random Fodder Recipes

Poogan’s Smokehouse Spiced Banshee Cocktail Recipe

August 19, 2016

I don’t usually drink cocktails when I’m eating BBQ (beer feels more right to me), but I was talked into trying one of the fabulous cocktails last time I visited Poogan’s Smokehouse, and boy am I glad I did! Their cocktail menu is varied to please any palate, and artfully crafted so you know you’ll enjoy whatever you order.

Photo Credit: Holger Obenaus

I was fortunate enough to get the inside scoop on one of their amazing cocktails, the Spiced Banshee (their take on a Painkiller). It features locally-made Striped Pig spiced rum, banana sherry, pineapple, housemade curry bitters, and nutmeg. Garnished with nutmeg and a few slices of banana chips, the cocktail offers the perfect balance of sweetness and spice made for sipping on the beach – or simply from an air conditioned barstool to escape Charleston’s humid summer weather.

Photo Credit: Tammy Davis

In the words of cocktail ace (and beverage director at Poogan’s Smokehouse) Kyle DeGolyer,

“We wanted a tropical drink that didn’t fit the mold of the typical painkiller or pina colada. I glanced at a chef’s recipe one day and saw all of the spices that went into our dry rub and bbq sauces and that got me going. We don’t use an abundance of curry anywhere but that is where I ended up after figuring out the drink needed some body and spice. There weren’t any curry bitters readily available on the market and honestly the curry bitters are the best part. I have used them with gin and peaches, lime and scotch, you name it. It’s fun to see where a drink can go off of just one flavor.”

Ingredients

1.5 oz. Striped Pig spiced rum
.75 oz. banana infused sherry
4 dashes housemade curry bitters
1 oz. pineapple juice

Method

Shake hard and strain into a collins glass. Garnish with banana chips and cinnamon.

Photo Credit: Leslie McKellar

2 Comments

Giveaway Random Fodder

National Chicken Tender Day Giveaway!

July 27, 2016

National Chicken Tender Day: A saucy, totally-not-made-up holiday celebrated on July 27th every year.

This year, I’m doing a chicken tender lovers giveaway by offering you a $25 gift certificate to PDQ, a delicious chicken restaurant with locations in Greenville and Columbia (hopefully they’ll come to Charleston soon, because they are delicious).

Even if you don’t win the giveaway, you can sign up for their Fan Club and receive 3 Free Tenders now through July 31!

To enter to win the $25 gift card, comment with your favorite chicken tender dipping sauce, or go like my Facebook page (or do both for additional entries!). Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Product Review Random Fodder

Product Review: Southern Breeze Sweet Tea

June 10, 2016

In honor of National Sweet Tea day, I decided to review a cool new product I was introduced to whilst shopping at my local Publix store (where I always spend too much money…that’s not just me, right?). I’m a Southerner at heart, but it took me well into my college years to finally develop a love for the South’s great nectar: sweet tea. Although I’ve never been able to brew my own version that tastes as good as Chick-fil-a, that doesn’t stop me from trying (although I never seem to be able to get the sugar ratio right).

Like this kid.

Which is why I was so intrigued when I learned about Southern Breeze Sweet Tea, which claims to “sweeten as you steep” so you don’t actually need any sugar. Even better, the teas are all zero calorie so I can drink as much as I want without worrying about breaking my diet! Excited, I bought all the flavors I saw to go home and try them. You start the same way you would with any other tea: boiling water.

I may not be a 5-star chef, but this I can do, no problem.

Once you boil your 2-quarts of water, you let 2 tea bags steep for about 3-5 minutes.

*turns on Gilmore Girls*

Then you remove the tea bags. I put mine in the fridge for a little while to cool down a bit so it didn’t get too watered down when I added the ice. Once it’s cool, just pour over ice like your normally do and enjoy!

Ahhh… tastes like home!

Here’s a rundown of the flavors, in order of my favorites:

Original Sweet Tea

There’s no beating a classic!

It has that classic flavor you look for in a sweet tea. Refreshing, cold, full bodied, and sweet enough to make you smile.

Raspberry

Fruity and delicious.

Raspberry tea is my guilty pleasure. I love the one that Turkey Hill makes because it has enough sugar in it to rot your teeth out immediately. This one has a similar flavor without me feeling like I need to brush my teeth immediately afterward.

Lemon

Think “Arnold Palmer”

I like this one because it packs a pretty strong lemon punch. It’s a little stronger than just squeezing a lemon into your tea, but not quite as strong as an Arnie Palmie is. If you’re not a fan of lemon with your tea, I’d try one of the other flavors.

Peach

Like the Mario character, Peach tends to be my least favorite.

To be fair, peaches are one of my least favorite fruits (betraying my southern roots again), so this shouldn’t really be a surprise. I also felt that this was the one that tasted the least authentic. But that may just be my peach bias.

So many flavors, so little time.

General comments: they use artificial sweetener, so your first sip has that tinniness that tends to come along with that (think about diet coke). Once you get past that, it’s delicious; you can’t even tell the difference. I’ll be bringing this along to Sean & Christine’s Annual Farmstravaganza Fourth of July party, so people can enjoy it regularly (or maybe with a little liquor mixed in).

Note: I received free product for this review, but all opinions are my own

Random Fodder Recipes

Molli Sauces Review

June 2, 2016

One of our goals for the summer is to try and cook more & post more recipes on the blog. We’ve been practicing honing our cooking skills by ordering Blue Apron to learn to cook with new techniques and styles. So when we were offered an opportunity to try Molli, a new brand of authentic Mexican cooking sauces available at Southern Season, we jumped at the chance to try cooking something new! We both tried the sauces and are offering our take below:

Yucatan Mojo Marinade

All of my favorite carbs.

Dish: Grilled Pork with Fried Yucca, Tostones, and Rice & Beans

The Yucatan Mojo Marinade was described as being a “unqiue medley of European, Mexican, and Caribbean flavors.” The ingredients were simple, “Water, Fresh Garlic, Lime Juice, Orange Juice, Salt, Cinnamon, and Spices.” Although the website has a number of recipes available, I was really craving fried yucca, so we decided to create our own recipe. We marinated the pork overnight in the Yucutan Mojo Marinade and then put it out on the grill.

Big grill, little pork.

I followed a few recipes I found on Pinterest for the Fried Yucca and Tostones, put rice in the rice cooker, and opened up a can of black beans (which I added a few spices to in order to make it feel more homemade). It’s the easiest dinner I’ve ever made.

Even though deep frying things terrifies me.

The pork was really juicy and flavorful and I liked that there was a nice hint of cinnamon and lime juice without being overpowering. Overall, I thought it was a perfect complement to our dinner menu, and since it was extremely easy to make, I can see myself making this a lot more over the summer.

-Gallimore

Morelos Cooking Sauce

Why is Mexican food so hard to look pretty?

I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to read the ingredients of something and not see it wrap around the entire package. I’m excited that Molli is not only using natural ingredients, but they are also trying to stay as true to the authentic recipes. I love that each sauce/marinade comes from a certain region/area of Mexico and highlights a recipe from the area.

Dish: Beef Picadillo with Quinoa and Avocado

I cooked with the Mölli Morelos Cooking Sauce that’s based off of the State of Morelos, Mexico. The recipe I made was beef picadillo and was SO easy. I used a recipe that they suggested, but I modified it a bit (I didn’t have a potato and I cut it in half since I was just feeding me instead of 6).

Does anything smell better than cooking onions and garlic? No.

I had it with quinoa because I didn’t have any rice and I had a side of avocado because, AVOCA-DUH.

Beef. It’s what’s for dinner.

The ease of this dish alone would make me make it again. But the flavor was great, not too spicy even though it has chipotles in it. I think this dish would be great in a taco or with some eggs over it. One of the other recipes they suggest is Huevos Rancheros, which I bet would be delicious. I only used half of the bottle in this recipe, so I will definitely be using it in another recipe.

Flavorful without being too spicy!

-Turnquist

Mexico City Cooking Sauce

Get in mah belly.

Dish: Chicken Grillers with Spanish Rice

The Mexico City Cooking Sauce, made with Arbol chile and tomatilla was marketed as being “full of fire & spice,” much like Mexico City itself. Since I was really craving a wet burrito-type dish, and I had a lot of flour tortillas that I needed to use, this seemed like a match made in heaven. We sautéed chicken and onions in a pan and then simmered them with the Mexico City Cooking Sauce for about half an hour.

Simmering things is my favorite cooking method, because it is super easy and 100% effective.

Once that was done, we divvied up the chicken/onion mixture into flour tortillas, folded them up, and put them on a hot cast iron skillet and used a grill press to keep them together while it grilled. We took them off after a few minutes and topped with some of the leftover sauce from the pan, along with some cheese, sour cream, and a squeeze of lime juice. We cooked the rice in the rice maker with a jar of salsa so that it got a pretty red-orange color. I had been a little worried about how spicy the sauce was going to be, but it ended up being very mild. I actually put a little hot sauce on the burrito to spice it up a bit. Although not as spicy as I thought it was going to be, the tomatillos gave the sauce a nice citrusy and sweet flavor which worked really well with the chicken.

-Gallimore

All in all, we thought these sauces were a good find for making some easy and flavorful dinners. Using them as a base is a great start for a homecooked, Mexican-inspired meal. Check ’em out!