29. June 2011 · Comments Off · Categories: Cupcakes and Food

Recipes
Chinese starter recipes can be a great option whether you are catering for a dinner party or a buffet. You can serve a Chinese starter recipe before any main course cuisine and you might even want to serve a Chinese starter before a traditional western main meal.

Examples of tasty Chinese starters recipes include spring rolls, prawn crackers with a homemade dipping sauce, wonton soup, chicken and sweet corn soup, Chinese stuffed mushrooms, steamed dumplings and more. Stuffed mushrooms or zucchini work well and you can use spiced rice as the filling. Chinese chicken wings are great at a buffet and you can add Chinese ingredients like water chestnuts, oriental mushrooms or bamboo shoots to any salad recipe to give it a flavour of China.

Recipe for Chinese Crepes

These tasty crepes are filled with spring onions, black bean sauce, fresh coriander and more for an authentic Chinese flavour. This recipe makes one Chinese crepe, so double it as many times as necessary, making one crepe at a time.

You can find these crepes on Chinese street corners, cooked fresh to order, and they also make a great starter before any kind of meal. They are hot, flavourful and spicy without being too spicy. If you prefer a mild flavour you can leave out the chili sauce.

You will need:

How to make them:

Whisk the soy milk with the vegetable oil and millet flour to make a batter. Add a teaspoon of water if it is too thick. Stir a teaspoon of water into the black bean sauce. Mix another teaspoon of water into the chili sauce. Double the crepe over so the crackers are on top of each other. Serve hot.

So many people associate venison with chili and stew, it never occurs to them that there are such things as venison oven recipes. I thought that too, and then I discovered that I could actually cook my venison inside the oven and not just on top of it.

All you have to do it get a 3 to 5 pound bag of coarse salt (table salt won’t work). Mix the salt with some water so you can mold it. The salt will form a hard crust around the meat. Chisel it away for the most tender roast you’ve ever had.

My favorite Venison Casserole harkens back to my childhood. You’ll need 1 box of egg noodles, 1 lb of ground venison, 1 can to cream of mushroom soup, frozen peas, and regular potato chips. Brown the meat and cook the noodles. Somehow when it came to your home filing system you just never got to the kitchen. Now is the time to take action and get all those recipes organized!

Paper Recipes: As I’m sure you have found printed recipes come in many shapes and sizes. In order to begin your recipe home filing system collect all your recipes together in one place. You will then begin by sorting them into categories. You can follow a similar layout to your paper recipes by creating categories with folders on your computer.

Storing your recipes in this way on your computer you have the benefit of making your recipes entirely portable. If you have your computer with you, you can access all of your recipes, no internet connection needed.

27. June 2011 · Comments Off · Categories: Cupcakes and Food

Cupcake Party Planning

So you’ve decided to a cupcake theme party. Aren’t your guests lucky! Of course we know what you’ll serve for dessert but what else can you do to incorporate the theme into your party.

You can set the stage for your party by sending out cupcake shaped invitations. In it request that they bring a short ‘ode to the cupcake’ with them to be shared at the party, such as my favorite: “small and sweet I do desire, just big enough for one. Unfortunately I eat 10 at a time and now I weigh a ton”. Make sure you give them an example. And once they arrive have everyone write down their ‘fantasy cupcake’. At some point in the party hand out pencil and paper to everyone and as each one is read aloud (by the host) ask your guests to write down who they think authored it. The one who guessed the most correctly wins a small prize. And also vote on which poem is the best and that person will also win a small prize.

Investing in a cupcake stand will not only showcase the party’s dessert in a beautiful way – but it can also serve as your centerpiece!

At the party you can have everyone decorate a cupcake to take home with them (not necessarily the gorgeous cupcakes you have planned to serve – you want those to steal the show!).

Provide unfrosted cupcakes, 2 or 3 frosting choices and LOTS of embellishments (sprinkles, nuts, candies, nuts, etc.). Don’t forget to have cupcake boxes on hand so that guests can take their creations home).

If you’re not sending your guests home with cupcakes, then send them home with cute cupcake party favors. These can easily be found and can include cupcake shaped bookmarks, faux cupcake photo holders, cupcake shaped candles to just name a few.

You can even present the favors in a small cupcake shaped favor bag!

Wishing you delicious fun at your cupcake party!

Diva Entertains, Copyright 2009

Deb Rosenberg is a party planner, avid home baker and recommends these incredible cupcake photo holders offered at DivaEntertains.com as well as these adorable cupcake party bags