How to Plan a Memorable Party

Party fails. We've all experienced them. You know, the ones where you're sitting on a couch with a couple people you're only semi-acquainted with but they all seem to know each other well? There's a bowl of generic, mildly stale chips on the table next to a questionably orange bowl of queso and you're lactose intolerant. After a few awkward glances out of the corner of your eye you make contact with someone and you ask an uninteresting yes or no question which leaves you with a monosyllabic answer and no follow-up. Or, worse yet, you're the one throwing this monstrosity. As a host, how can you ensure that the party you're throwing is memorable for all the right reasons?

1). Set a theme: This can be as simple as Birthday Party or Movie Night but having a clear picture in your mind is key to all the other steps.

2). Know your guests: Who have you invited? Do they all know each other? If they all know each other then you probably don't have to worry about those awkward conversations about the weather. If you've invited people from a few of your friend groups, make sure you think about some conversations starters involving things that your guests might have in common (besides yourself, of course). Sometimes just breaking the ice with a little fact of commonality is all people need to strike up an enjoyable conversation.

3). Plan an interesting menu: Anyone can lay out chips and dip so be thoughtful about what you want to serve. Is there something that goes along well with your theme? Even if you're not a good cook or don't like to make things from scratch, there are so many options at your grocery store that can be heated up or combined together with just a little imagination. I've thrown a S'mores party and instead of just offering graham crackers, marshmallows and Hershey bars, I tossed in mini snickers bars, specialty chili chocolate bars, chocolate with sea salt, crushed pineapple, and maraschino cherries.

4). Plan your drink menu: Is alcohol appropriate for the guest you've invited? Beer or wine is great to have on hand, but what about a specialty cocktail? Have two options and make them ahead of time so all your guest have to do is pour it into their glass (unless you want to play bartender which is also a fun party trick). Another option would be to write out recipe cards for the drink options so that your guest can make one up themselves. I threw a Movie Night party where the feature film was Casablanca. I had three difference gin cocktail recipes written out and people had a great time trying them out, especially when it went right along with the movie! Make sure you also have something fun to drink for those who might not want alcohol. Can the cocktails be made virgin? Always make sure you have a pitcher of water out as well.

5). Plan some activities: Sometimes activities aren't necessary. If everyone's talking, laughing, having fun then don't stop that momentum. Go with it. But in case you start to sense a lull, make sure you have some back-up options that you can introduce to get people connected again. Party games on the Wii are great. Multi-player board games like Pictionary, Gestures, or Balderdash can also get big laughs. If you plan some options ahead of time you'll be able to move seamlessly.

So above all, plan, plan, plan and be creative!

Chicken Piccata

Tonight I wanted to do a dinner that was a little more involved than my Ravioli with Spicy Sage Butter from yesterday. I had recently seen an episode of the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network Channel and Ina Garten was making Chicken Piccata for her husband as he was on his way home from work. I was mildly envious of Ina's beautiful white kitchen and the fact that her husband was able to be home from work while it was still daylight, and while I knew those were two things I might not be able to have right now, I could still make a delicious Chicken Piccata.

For some excellent tips on ensuring you cook your chicken to perfection, check out my earlier post.

Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tablespoon water
• 3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Sliced lemon, for serving

Gather together your ingredients for dredging the chicken - flour, egg, water, bread crumbs, salt and pepper.

 Mix 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper with the flour on a plate. Then beat together the egg and water and put it on another plate. Set aside.

Put your chicken between two pieces of parchment paper or saran wrap and pound thin. I usually use my rolling pin for this.

It should be of even thickness now.

Now's the time to put your pan on the heat (no oil yet!).

Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour.

Dip in the egg wash.

Then coat in the breadcrumbs.

Now, your pan should be nice and hot so go ahead and add some oil. It should swirl around and steam a bit. Place your chicken in the pan and watch it closely. The seasoned breadcrumbs can burn easily if you get distracted.

It should only take a minute or two on each side.

Now set the chicken aside on a lined cookie sheet and put your second chicken breast in the pan. If you noticed that you have some burned bits in the pan, go ahead and wipe it out with a paper towel and add more oil before putting your next chicken breast in.

Once all your chicken is seared and on the cookie sheet, pop it into your pre-heated 400°F oven and cook for 5 minutes.

Now, it's time for the sauce!

Gather the lemons, white wine, butter and salt and pepper.

Wipe out any burned bit from your pan and melt a tablespoon of butter in it. Add the wine, lemon juice, lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.

Reduce the liquid by half, about 3-5 minutes.

Remove the lemon halves and any seeds that might have fallen out. Remove the pan from the heat and swirl in the remaining two tablespoons of butter.

Plate your chicken with a spoonful of sauce and a twist of lemon. Enjoy!

How to Cook the Perfect Chicken Breast

Have you ever tried to pan sear a chicken breast in a skillet and have it stick to the pan, burn, or get all dried out? I've had that happen more times than I can count. However, I've finally figured out the perfect way to cook chicken breast and would love to share with you now how I do it.

First off, let me give you a little insight into the mechanics of cooking. Have you ever burnt your finger? What happens? You get a blister. The skin sears and stops moisture from getting through. While this is sort of a gross comparison, it's exactly the same procedure with searing the chicken. You want to sear the outside quickly so that it traps the moisture in the chicken, keeping it juicy.

Conversely, what happens when you have a lot of water in the pan you're cooking in? You end up steaming the food. It is very important that the meat you are cooking is completely dry if you're going to get a good sear. Always pat your meat dry with a paper towel before cooking. Also, dredging your meat in flour or cornstarch will help to draw our the remaining moisture and gives and excellent sear. 

Another key to ensuring a good sear is to warm up your stainless steel skillet first before adding any oil (if you're using non-stick, you'll need to have oil in the skillet while it's warming up so you're not overheating the chemicals in the Teflon). You can put a little bit of water on the surface while it's heating up and when it all evaporates you'll know it's the right temperature. Once it's hot, pour some oil into the pan. You'll see it swirl around the pan immediately and steam a bit as hot oil does. Now is the perfect time to put your prepped chicken breast in.

And as a side note, pounding your chicken breast thinner so it is an even thickness will ensure it all cooks at the same time.

Cook your chicken until it's lightly browned on both sides and then pop it into a pre-heated 400°F oven for 5-10 minutes. Voila! Perfection!

Ravioli with Spicy Sage Butter

Hubby has a late night at work today so I need a nice, easy recipe to make while I juggle a very cranky nine month old who's just getting over the nasty stomach bug that's been going around. A favorite go-to recipe is Giada de Laurentiis' Ravioli with Spicy Sage Butter. It takes less than 15 minutes and tastes great!

Ingredients

• 1 pound ravioli
• 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
• 16 fresh sage leaves, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Fill a large pot with water and salt generously. Salting the water will add a little seasoning to the pasta as it cooks. You can add a little olive oil as well to keep the raviolis from sticking together.

Boil the pasta for 3-5 minutes until the raviolis float (start your sauce during this time).

Drain the pasta and set aside.

Meanwhile, melt the room temperature butter in a separate skillet.

Chop up the fresh sage. 

Add the Sage, Paprika and Red Pepper Flakes.

The butter will brown quickly (in less than a minute) so make sure you're stirring and watching carefully. Brown butter doesn't mean burnt butter! Once it browns, take it off the heat and stir in the salt.

Add the raviolis to the sauce and stir to coat.

Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top and scoop up some spicy, buttery goodness for your plate!

Baby Colic

A colicky baby. Wikipedia defines it as "a condition in which an otherwise healthy baby cries or displays symptoms of distress frequently and for extended periods, without any discernible reason."I define it as a condition where the sweet, cuddly baby you brought home from the hospital is possessed by an evil monster bent on the utter destruction of his parents. In the hospital, Caleb was the sweetest, calmest child I'd ever met. He didn't cry once the whole three days we resided in the hospital. It was a different story once we brought him home. The nurses had joked that they installed the baby's batteries upon leaving the hospital. They weren't kidding.

We've progressed a long way since those initial months of constant crying but every once in a while we encounter an inexplicable evening where Caleb will flip out at bedtime and a marathon of crying commences. The other night, as I leaned over the railing of his crib, patting his back as he screamed, crocodile tears running down his face, I wondered, "How do you do it?" How do you handle the inconsolable crying? The cries that pull at your heartstrings and the tears that turn your insides to mush. There's a war inside of me. A war between the part of me that desperately wants to curl up in my nice, warm bed and catch a few hours of sleep before the midnight feeding and the part of me that just wants to scoop him up, rock him, and tell him that the world really isn't the cold, scary place he seems to think it is.

It boils down to the fact that you don't really have a choice in the matter. Your baby has to be cared for whether you're feeling up to it or not. He's totally dependent on you. He's not even able to calm himself without the help of his parents. And that's how I did it. That's how I was able to put myself aside and pour into my little sweetie when I didn't feel like I had anything left to give. Seeing a situation from another person's point of view can give you that extra jolt that you need to see it through.

How many other inter-personal situations can you apply that to! Make the choice to see a situation from another point of view other than your own. In Toba Beta's book, Master of Stupidity, he says, "We begin to learn wisely when we're willing to see world from other people's perspective.”

Hi! Nice to meet you!

Thanks for taking the time to give a read! Let me tell you a bit about myself. My name is Rebekah, yes, with a "K". Why, thank you! I'm kinda partial to that spelling too :)

As I have just embarked on my third decade, a lot of things have changed for me. My wonderful husband and I have welcomed our first child, Caleb, into our lives. He was born Easter morning, 2012. He was conceived through IVF after 4 hard, unsuccessful years of trying on our part. We decided that I wouldn't return to my full time job once my maternity leave was up. Now I work from home part time. Being a work-at-home-mom is far more difficult, time-consuming and rewarding than my previous career in music publishing ever was. I have no regrets.

I have a passion for many things and enjoy figuring out the most efficient and best way to do them. I hope you'll join me as I journey through all the things I love and discover, along with me, how do you do it?