While enjoying all of the tasty bites and sips at last week’s Party Ready Boot Camp, I missed a few of the great tips and tricks from Kelly and Tom. Thankfully, the nice folks at Electrolux provided me with a quick recap and some how-to instructions from the event.

I’m psyched to share this information with you guys, and I will definitely bookmark this post for my next get-together. I loved all of the recipes and they were soo easy to make!

Antipasti: Cheese and Charcuterie Preparation

• Keep a variety of cheeses, cured meats and spreads on hand (or in your Perfect Temp™ Drawer!) to present as an easy antipasti.
• Tom used Scharfe Maxx, Gabietou and Monte Enebro cheeses along with Saucisson, Glenchall and Fennel sausage. The possibilities are endless!
• Even master chefs use prepared goods every once in a while!  Don’t be afraid to use quality jarred olives, spreads and artichokes on your antipasti plate.  Try jams, honey and relishes as well.
• Nuts and dried fruit add color and crunch.
• Let your friends have fun trying all the different combinations of tastes and textures.
• Pair this dish with Vouvray, Domaine Huet Petillant, 2005, Loire Valley, France

Pasta: “One Pot Pasta” – Pasta with Broccoli, Garlic and Parmesan

• This “one pot wonder” is a breeze and requires only a few ingredients: store-bought dry pasta, broccoli rabe (or any vegetable in the refrigerator), garlic, black pepper parm!
• Throw the pasta into boiling salted water.  Add uncooked broccoli rabe, strain, add back to the pot with garlic and olive oil, and then finish with a bit (or a lot) of cheese and black papper.
• And there’s only one pot to wash when all is said and done!
• Pair with Grüner Veltliner, Högl, Ried Schön, Federspiel, 2008, Wachau, Austria

Entrée: Roasted Chicken with Roasted Pepper Relish and a Green Salad

• To create this dish in under twenty minutes, either roast a chicken ahead of time, or have a prepared chicken in your fridge.  You can re-roast the prepared chicken quickly with olive oil and lemon or serve it room temperature with a cold relish and a fresh salad. 
• To make the roasted red pepper relish, julienne an onion and caramelize in a sauté pan, add jarred piquillo peppers, julienned (or any kind of jarred red pepper) to the pan. Soak golden raisings in warm water to plump, then add to onion/pepper mixture, add sugar until caramelized, then sherry or red wine vinegar.  Reduce down to relish consistency and serve warm or cold.
• Serve dish with a side salad (arugula, romaine, spinach)—whatever is in season, dressed simply
• Pair with Pinot Noir, Au Bon Climat, La Bauge Au-dessus, 2007, Santa Maria Valley, California

Dessert: Biscotti with Whipped Mascarpone, Orange peels and Pistachios

• Biscotti are a great store-bought option that pair well with mascarpone whipped with sugar and vanilla.
• Soak orange peels in simple syrup.
• Top with pistachios or another crunchy pantry item, like slivered almonds or hazelnuts.
• Pair with Vin Santo, Castellare, S. Noccolo, 2005, Tuscany, Italy

Boy, am I feeling party ready now!!!

Yesterday afternoon, Kelly Ripa and award-winning chef and restaurateur Tom Colicchio hosted a group of bloggers in New York City at the ultimate party ready boot camp, demonstrating quick and delicious food and beverage ideas and offering other helpful last-minute entertaining tips.

The event was part of a campaign by Electrolux to support The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. When people visit www.kelly-confidential.com and take Kelly’s ‘Are You Party Ready?’ challenge, $1 will automatically go to OCRF as part of Electrolux’s $750,000 commitment to the cause. You’ll also be entered for a chance to win a new Electrolux French Door Refrigerator, which makes pyramid-shaped ice! Apparently, it melts slower than regular ol’ ice. Who knew!?

Before the event started, I mingled with PR folks and other bloggers. The space where the event was held was absolutely beautiful, and rumor has it that the Kelly’s Cake Off was held in the exact same place. It looked a lot different yesterday!

While waiting for the event to start, I sipped on a fruity beverage.

And enjoyed a few appetizers, which were courtesy of Colicchio’s ‘wichcraft.

A little while later, it was time for the party ready boot camp!

If you’re at all like me, impromptu entertaining makes me panic– even though I really love to entertain. Kelly and Tom showed us how to make last-minute entertaining less daunting (and more fun!) no matter what the occasion.

Here are a few of Chef Tom’s tips to keep in mind for easy entertaining:

• Don’t bite off more than you can chew. You don’t need to wow your guests with five dishes, do it with three. That way you’re not spending too much time in the kitchen, and you can entertain your guests.
• Pasta is a quick and easy go-to dish, plus it feeds a full house. Make sure to have an array of pastas in the cabinet so it’s easy to prepare a delicious, satisfying dish anytime. 
• Trying to impress? Grilling a steak is quick and can be easily dressed up with a simple, store-bought (or easily prepared at home) relish, sauce or tapenade. Add in some grilled or marinated vegetables for a complete meal.

The first dish that Colicchio prepared was a tasting plate of cheeses, artisan meats, nuts, and dried fruit. He paired these items with sliced French bread and all sort of jams, spreads, and tapenades—pretty much anything goes.

Chef Tom highly recommended this type of dish for last-minute gatherings because it doesn’t require much preparation and you can use what you have on-hand in your kitchen. Colicchio explains:

The secret to being ready when friends and family drop in is to keep the right staples on hand. I always have several bottles of my favorite wine chilling in the fridge and a host of go-to edibles in my pantry so I can pull together a quick bite or even a light meal at a moment’s notice.

While Tom and Kelly prepared their tasting plate, Allie and I shared our own cheese plate and sipped on some champagne.

I felt so fancy!

Chef Tom is a big fan of pasta for a quick and easy dish, so he showed us how to make a wonderful springtime pasta. I don’t know the exact pasta recipe that Tom used, but I can tell you the gist of what he did to make it.

While waiting for the water to boil, he chopped broccoli rabe and minced some garlic. Once the water was boiling, he threw in the pasta, and, a little while later, he added the broccoli and the garlic.

Once the pasta and broccoli were finished cooking, he drained the majority of the water, but left a little bit in the pot to coat the pasta. Chef Tom then added freshly grated cheese to the pasta. (He says you taste more of the cheese flavor by allowing it to coat the pasta instead of adding it to the sauce.) Finally, Tom added some minced black olives and anchovies to the dish. 

Mmm… I loved this so much! This dish was so easy to make— even I could do it! I’m excited to try this one at home for myself.

The next Party Ready dish that Chef Colicchio prepared was a simple roast chicken with thinly sliced red peppers and golden raisins, which were sautéed in olive oil and sugar. So delicious!

For dessert, Colicchio served pistachio biscotti with a dollop of Mascarpone cheese with chopped pistachios and candied orange rind. Marcarpone cheese is a-mazing! How did I not realize this until now!?! Colicchio said he also enjoys it on toast for breakfast. Yum!

Group shots with Kelly and Tom!

Allie and me!

A big thank you to Electrolux for inviting me to such a fun (and helpful) event! It was absolutely amazing sharing an afternoon with Kelly and Tom!

What are your tips for last-minute entertaining?

I had such a blast tonight! Let me tell you, the Electrolux people know how to show us food bloggers a good time!

Our evening started with a welcome reception at the Spotted Pig, the famed Gastropub in the West Village.

At the Spotted Pig, we mingled with fellow bloggers and the Electrolux team, and enjoy a wonderful cooking demonstration by the restaurant’s chefs.

The menu for the evening was quite impressive– and, of course, delicious!

• Devils on Horseback (bacon wrapped prunes stuffed with pears)
• Onion & Thyme Tarts with Ricotta
• Chicken Liver Parfait with Onion Marmalade
• Cheese Beignets with Smoked Paprika
• Seared Beef Filet with Horseradish & Arugula
• Hummus with Feta, Olives & Flatbread
• Broccoli Rabe & Roasted Garlic Frittata
• Crispy Duck Confit with Cabbage
• Six Root Vegetable Soup

I pretty much ate one of everything!

I also enjoyed two glasses of white wine at the event.

The Six Root Vegetable Soup was absolutely outstanding! It was the perfect winter comfort food. Rumor has it that the Spotted Pig will share the recipe with us!

Holy yum!

It was great meeting a bunch of new food bloggers tonight and hanging out with some of my old favorites: Sabrina, Meghann, and Megan.

I’m psyched that I finally met Megan of Megan’s Munchies! I’ve been a long-time reader of her blog. She’s so sweet and down-to-earth in person.

Until tonight, I had no idea that I liked duck. The Crispy Duck Confit was soooo tender and delicious.

After the event at the Spotted Pig, we headed to Plunge for a regional gift exchange, a fantastic idea from Sandy of No One Puts Cupcake in the Corner. Since all of us bloggers traveled from different parts of the country, she thought it would be fun to exchange food items that were specific to our region of the country. Best idea ever!

We had a great time exchanging gifts with one another. Everyone had a fun story to share.

At Plunge, I enjoyed a Grapefruit Cosmopolitan, which was really sweet, but still yummy.

For my exchange gift, I brought a pound of Dunkin Donuts coffee. In return, I received a bag of Uncle Jerry’s Handmade Whole Wheat Pretzels from Sabrina.

I’m looking forward to breaking into this bag!

Diana of Spain in Iowa scored with her goodies from Hershey, Pennsylvania! Lot of chocolate!

She and her husband were really cool people to meet. I loved chatting with them.

I also enjoyed a couple of Dove chocolates while the gift exchange game went on.

At the end of the night, the remaining bloggers shared a bottle of Dia De Los Merlot that Joseline brought from California to share with the group. It was an awesome (and affordable!) red wine. I highly recommend it!

After two glasses of white wine, a cosmo, and a few sips of red wine, it’s definitely time for me to go to bed. We have an early morning ahead of us! Breakfast is at 6:30!

Good night!!!

Ahhhh! I’m so excited to be here!

The Electrolux people hooked us up with an amazing hotel called the Hotel Gansevoort in the Meatpacking District, and I’m totally obsessed! Well, actually, I’m obsessed with every fancy hotel that I encounter!

I’m going to sleep like a baby tonight!

Love the silk robe! I’ll definitely use that!

Swag!

The view from my room!

After spazzing out with excitement, I met up with Sabrina for lunch.

We walked over to Chelsea Market, a funky enclosed food court, to find some eats.

Sabrina and I walked around and checked out our options before deciding on Friedmans Lunch.

Friedmans Lunch serves traditional American food in a laid-back, cozy setting. I loved the decor– an open kitchen, dark wood tabletops, chalkboard menus, and vintage wallpaper.

With lunch, Sabrina and I drank water from an old wine bottle. It was very hip.

For lunch, I ordered the Vegetable Sandwich on sourdough. Inside was lots of veggies– carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, sprouts– and a nice thick layer of hummus.

The sandwich was served along side some field greens and a delicious pickle.

It was an excellent lunch!

After lunch, we headed back to our hotel. Our first stop was the roof deck that overlooks the city. Check out this view!

Randomly, we ran into Meghann up there, so we took the opportunity to snap a photo together.

I’m going to squeeze in a quickie workout then get ready for a cocktail party!

It was so hard saying goodbye to my boys this morning. I’ll only be away for 3 days, but I’m really going to miss them! I’m already looking forward to giving them each a big hug when I get home.

Of course, it was tough to say goodbye– look at those adorable faces!

I made it to the airport in no time at all. (I’m really going to miss living so close once we move.) I also checked-in and made it through security in record time. I’m getting so much better at this travel stuff. Although, tall boots aren’t the easiest option for going through security. I prefer traveling in flip-flops!

While waiting to board my flight, I snacked on a peanut butter Cinch bar.

On the plane, I drank some water, read a magazine, and blogged this post. The flight from Logan to JFK was less than an hour, so it was over before I knew it!

Taking a photo of yourself on a plane is weird, but I did it anyway. It was for the blog.

Almost there! I can’t wait to say ‘hello’ to New York City!

Let the packing begin!!!

Mal and I have just 11 days to pack-up our entire apartment before our move. Eleven days might seem like enough time, but I’ll be in New York City for 3 of them and we have two very special guests staying with us for 4 of them, so really, we have just 4 days. And, that, my friends, is a tad overwhelming.

But, Mal and I are super planners, so we’ve mapped out our plan of attack. We made a list of things that need to get done and divided them up. Hopefully, this list will keep us on track.

In addition to creating a game plan for the next 11 days, Mal and I have also embarked on Project Eat It So We Don’t Have to Move It. Basically, you’re going to see some weird meals on Carrots ‘N’ Cake– probably a lot of canned foods, like soup, beans, tuna, and other relatively heavy items.

Hopefully, we’ll save some money by doing this, too. After the Move from Hell, we hired movers for moving out of this apartment and they’re sort of expensive!

I also spent part of my morning packing for my trip to New York City on Monday. I’ll be there for a cake decorating event with Electrolux and Kelly Ripa, which will benefit the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Obviously, I am super excited!

I’m terrible at packing, so I figured that I might as well get a head start on the process. So far, so good!

Breakfast

After making a considerable dent in packing, I made myself a much-needed iced latte with non-fat milk, agave nectar, and cinnamon. It was just what I needed.

A little while later, I cooked-up an egg white sandwich with cheddar, buffalo sauce, broccoli, and mushrooms on toasted whole wheat Sandwich Thins.

I just threw in some raw broccoli and mushrooms to make the veggie egg white patty. After all of that cheesecake last night, it felt pretty good to put some vegetables into my body!

Valentine’s Day Scavenger Hunt

Thanks to everyone who entered! It seems like you guys had a fun time doing my little scavenger hunt!

And, here’s your winner: Aimee Scott!

Congrats, Aimee! Please email me with your mailing address, and I will hook you up with a sweet Valentine’s Day prize and something from my Carrots ‘N’ Cake shop!

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Pack, pack, pack! See ya!

Hi, guys! How’s your Monday evening going so far?

I’m actually really tired tonight– much more than usual. It must be the Body Pump, which definitely kicked my bee-hind! I’m going to sleep like a baby tonight.

Snack

After the gym, I headed to Starbucks to do some writing. While there, I enjoyed a decaf nonfat sugar-free vanilla misto. How’s that for an order? I’m so high maintenance sometimes!

Mmm! My high maintenance misto hit the spot!

When I got home, I snacked on a bowl of chopped grape tomatoes with crumbled gorgonzola and ground pepper.

And a little while later, I dug into these babies:

These are the BEST salt & vinegar chips ever! I ate one handful of chips, then another… and then another. I finally just stopped myself in my tracks. I folded up the bag of chips, put an elastic band around them, and put it in the way back of the cabinet. Disaster averted.

Dinner

Mal had a late day at school today, so when he arrived home, I whipped up a quick pizza + salad for dinner.

We had salad topped with balsamic vinegar.

And homemade pizza with red pepper, red onion, ground beef, garlic, tomato basil marinara, and shredded cheddar cheese.

The pizza was so, so, so delicious!

After chowing-down a bunch of chips this afternoon, I thought it would be best to skip dessert tonight. Plus, I ate a million cookies yesterday, so I definitely didn’t need any more sugar. I thought nixing dessert would be really tough for me to do, but the craving for something sweet has actually lessened quite a bit.

Ok, ready for my exciting news!?!

Electrolux Program

I was recently selected as one of 15 Foodbuzz Featured Publishers for the Electrolux program! We’ll join Kelly Ripa in New York City for a special cake decorating event to generate support for and awareness of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, whose mission is to fund research to find a method of early detection and ultimately a cure for Ovarian Cancer.

Obviously, I am VERY excited about this opportunity. I’m a huge fan of Kelly Ripa and, of course, cake, so combining those two elements into an event that generates support and awareness for ovarian cancer is a dream come true! THANK YOU, Foodbuzz!

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I’m poooooooped! Good night!