By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
When Anne-Marie’s family and mine got together in Chicago earlier this summer, Pig of the Month offered to supply us with an evening of BBQ bliss. Bliss it was!  The ribs arrived already cooked and frozen. We simply defrosted them overnight in the fridge. The next day we set the table and put on the barbeque. The precooked ribs and artichokes were placed on the hot grill and within minutes the dinner was ready. We were sent a choice of Get Lei’d Hawaiian and Love Me Tender The King of Memphis barbeque sauces. I love [...]

When I host a party, whether it is one of my children’s birthday parties, a New Year’s Eve party or just a casual get-together, I like to keep it simple. Sure, it’s easy to head to one of those party destinations that do all the work for you, but I find there is nothing like having a party in your home. It takes a bit more effort but it is so much more rewarding and guests really appreciate the effort!

August 10 is National S’Mores Day. Thankfully, this “holiday” is an easy one to digest (pun intended in every way, because really, the last thing I need is another holiday to plan for).
Why celebrate S’mores? Tradition and pure yumminess. If there is anything that instantly elicits the thought of a summer camping vacation is has to be S’Mores. It’s an American campfire tradition that dates back to the 1920’s and it is rumored to have been started by the Girl Scouts.  In it’s most basic format the S’mores consist of two pieces of graham crackers which sandwich a layer of [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
We have given GoPicnic ready-to-eat meals a mention in our Concert in the Park story but felt that this great product deserved to be featured on its own. Created by Julia Stamberger, in 2006, while working as the Business Development Manager at United Airlines. She saw a need for an alternative to the costly but poor quality in-flight meals (you know the kind. Ewww.). The GoPicnic solution? Healthy, ready-to-eat boxed meals – that are no bigger than a hard cover book – that also reduced waste and required zero prep time, thus increasing flight attendant efficiency [...]

By Tara Riceberg, Guest Contributor – Party Planning & Entertaining
The success of a party is completely dependent upon the hostess.  Be happy and well prepared to eliminate stress and ensure a fun time for all.
Here are 5 tips to guide you:
1. Be mindful of guests’ concerns. Some times, attending parties is just as stressful as throwing them.  Eliminate your guests’ fear of what to wear or what to bring by giving directions on the invitation.

Suggest a dress code from costume to white-only to super casual. In addition to alleviating stress, this actually creates anticipation and excitement for the party.

Request a [...]

Sure, we try hard to be as health conscious as possible, but when Audrey and I get together, cocktails abound (thankfully, Audrey is 2000 miles away, so our martini abuse is not so frequent). And, Audrey will be here next week. Martini glasses are sure to be put in use. Unfortunately for us, now that we are both trying to fit our not-so-young bodies into little bathing suits, caloric intake counts. It’s painful to admit, but a regular mojito will cost us about 200 calories, a margarita about 325 calories and an appletini about 175 calories. With zero nutritional value, [...]

Move over cupcake craze. It’s Marshmallow Madness now. I love this foodie fervor that we are now all developing, revisiting old favorites and modernizing them. We indulged in cupcakes in the last few years. That’s not over yet. But what’s coming up on the horizon? Marshmallow. No, not the type that you buy in bags at your supermarket. No, no, no. We are talking lovingly handmade confections in a rainbow of flavors – and colors. These are handmade delights are fantastic for gift giving and for serving at parties.

Truffle Truffle – Still being in Father’s Day gift idea mode, we [...]

Our review of fancy grilling gear this past week combined with the – finally – warmer weather got us in the mood to fire up the BarB. And I wanted to propose a super simple recipe for you. When I serve these marinated grilled vegetables, I invariably get “wows” and then get asked how I prepared them. They make for a beautiful presentation, are truly delicious (& healthy) AND leftovers, if you are so lucky, are fantastic in panini sandwiches, frittatas (add pancetta!), or salads.

If you haven’t grilled your vegetables this way before, you’ll just go “duh” once you find [...]

By Tara Riceberg, Guest Contributor – Party Planning & Entertaining
Now is THE best time to have friends over to your home, as it has just been deep cleaned for spring!  What? You don’t like to entertain?  Worried that you can’t afford to host a party? You’ve never thrown a bash and have no idea how to do it?
NO EXCUSES!  Don’t let laziness, or fear, stop you from entertaining.
All parties, no matter how large or small, must be fun: fun to plan, fun to give and fun to attend. You must plan well and pay attention to details so that your [...]

We don’t mean to be stepping on our soapbox every time we praise the merits of eating healthy (Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution or Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation and Food Inc among others), but we really can’t help but be very passionate about the issues relating to food quality and consumption in this nation where one third of our population is now overweight… and that’s not just the adults. As we well know, this has translated to explosive, record rates of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and strokes and other degenerative diseases.
The Forks over Knives film [...]