Ready Bell Home Loans @ Mason McDuffie Mortgage » party tip

Julie’s simple summer salad

readybell — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:41:58 +0000

Looking for a quick summer salad that’s filling and healthy …. Heirloom tomatoes, feta , English cucumber, green onion, kalamata olives and a bit of mint hits the spot every time.

Chop all of your ingredients …

Wisk a simple dressing of olive oil, balsamic, kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper and you have lunch

A simple lunch with a great bottle of wine.

The Great Chicken Cook off

readybell — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:39:18 +0000

I like to have a good dinner party. Most of the time though my guests would prefer if I did not cook. Cocktails, wine, dessert, cheese I have proven skills in that arena. Cooking for 10….not so much. So how do you have a great dinner party without cooking? Order takeout? Hire a chef? Although both of those are fantastic ways to throw a dinner party without cooking I have another trick.

The Great Chicken Cook off:

We do this once a year and invite a few of our friends over to compete for tastiest chicken. It can be any variation of Chicken. Chicken salad, whole chicken, chicken pot pie etc… It is up to the contestants to choose. We have a fun competitive group of pals that relish any chance of bragging rights over the group.

The host provides, dishes, a salad and plenty of wine. With the wine selection it is key to have a variation because you have no idea what type of chicken is going to come. For sport we started with a Petit Syrah, Riesling and Pinot Noir. We added a Chardonnay and Zinfandel later.

Every year everyone has a great time and the food is plentifyul and divine. See below for pics of the most recent cook off food.

Wine Of The Week: La Crema Anderson Valley Pinot Noir

readybell — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 23:34:50 +0000

My favorite wine this week is La Crema’s 2007 Anderson Valley, Pinot Noir.

La Crema is famous for their Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir but what many people do not know is that La Crema makes small batches of appelation designated Pinot Noirs from other areas. These wines are designed to showcase the best attributes of the appelation. The Anderson Valley production is fairly limited at a case production of about 1800 cases. It is worth seeking out.

The wine has concentrated flavors of black and red cherries with hints of toasted oak intermingled with aromas and flavors of bluebrries and floral notes.

Recommend: Drink now and for the next few years. Pairwith salmon slow cooked on the grill.

Buy here: La Crema

Auntie Paula’s Mixed Nuts Brittle with a twist

readybell — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 15:30:16 +0000

I love brittle. Rich, buttery, scrumptious brittle. Add mixed nuts and I am in heaven as is anyway who tries this great recipe. Keep in mind buying at a store any form of handmade brittle is pretty pricey. Making it at home is very inexpensive and it can be a great treat to have on a large platter for guests to nibble on after dinner. I make brittle for friends and family who need a little taste of home.

What you will need

Pot, candy thermometer,2 cookie sheets,

2.5 cups Mixed nits (almonds, pecans and peanuts)

1 1/4 cup light corn syrup

2 1/2 cups of sugar

5 tbs butter

1 tablespoon vanilla(the twist) (good stuff not imitation)

2 teaspoons of baking soda

1 cup of water

1 tablespoon salt

How To:

Start by greasing your cookie trays with butter. Next add sugar, corn syrup, water and salt to pot. Stir infrequently while sugar dissolves. Once the temp hits 290 add nuts and butter. Stir constantly until temp hits 300. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and baking soda. Stir well and then pour on to cookie sheets. Use spatuala to drag mixture along cookie sheet. This is crazy hot so be careful. Let sit for two hours. Break and enjoy!

For a variation you can add just one type of nuts.

Saving the world one tasty glass at a time

readybell — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 02:57:39 +0000

Recently my husband and I watched the documentary Tapped. If you have not seen it, you really should. It is habit changing. It is all about the bottled water industry and the impact it is having on our health and our resources. I have seen a lot of documentaries hoping they will change my habits (fast food nation anyone?) and none have until now.

I have been a bottled water girl forever. My parents were pro bottle water and I have carried that tradition on. Problem is the bottle water I was drinking that I thought was cleaner and safer apparently is not and to add insult to injury it is destroying towns and peoples health. The cherry on top is that I have been basically paying for filtered tap water.

Immediately after the documentary I double checked to make sure the water in my area was good quality. In Healdsburg the local tap water is good so game on. Next, I visited amazon.com to get the supplies I would need to transition from my families bottled water existence. I bought a couple glass water bottles that I could refill at home and a basic filter for our kitchen sink. The key item though was the water infuser. I love flavored water. Hint is one of my favorite bottled water brands but since I was giving up bottled water I also would need to give up Hint.

The water infuser is basically a pitcher with a core. The core you can fill with fruit etc.. to infuse your water. I generally will put in fruit and it will last in the pitcher for 3 days. I just keep refilling with water and enjoying.

A few ideas:

Add strawberries and blueberries

Add cucumbers and mint (spa classic)

Add pineapple and mint

Add lemons,oranges mint

You will be amazed how great water can taste and you are not hurting anyone or anything by drinking it.

PARTY TIME:

On a side note for a party you could fill container with vodka and then the core with raspberries or pineapple. Let refrigerate for 48 hours and enjoy. The raspberries/pineapple will be amazing for the more daring of your group. Each raspberry/pineapple will be the equivalent of half a shot. If you do the pineapple vodka: mix with lime juice and a splash of coconut for a truly fun cocktail.