newsletter

Transporting Food

How many time have you sat in a car with a towel in your lap and a hot casserole wrap inside? You pray at every turn that you are not wearing that casserole by the time you reach your destination. Here are some tips that will keep your blood pressure down and your pants clean.

Hot casserole

Place a box on the floorboard of the car. On the bottom of the box put a folded towel and place the casserole on top of the towel. Then ring the casserole, sides and top, with another towel. This will protect against shifting and soak up any spills that may happen.

Hors d'Oeuvres

Take a clean dish towel and tape it to a a baking pan. Place the individual items on the towel and then cover the entire pan with plastic wrap. To keep the pan from sliding all around the trunk, try sitting it on a nonskid rubber mat.

Pie

If you don't have a cake or pie carrier try this set up - a little complicated but it protects the crust. Using double sided tape to attache the pie plate to a baking sheet. Cover the pie with a bowl large enough to completely surround the pie without touching it. Then tape the bowl to the baking sheet so it doesn't budge.

Cold items

The best insulator for cold dishes is newspaper. Place your cold dish in a box or insulated bag and surround it with crumpled up newspapers. It you have ice packs, place them on top of your dish. Cold air sinks and this will help keep the dish refrigerated.

Thanksgiving Guest Etiquette

Don't add to the stress level of your host by scrambling around in their kitchen looking for what you need. Follow these simple rules of potluck etiquette.

1. Make sure you know the guest count and prepare an appropriate amount of food.

2. Assume that the kitchen will be in use when you arrive, so try and arrive with your dish fully prepared and ready to serve.

3. Make sure you have all of the necessary utensils to serve your dish. Don't forget serving spoons, cake plate, knives etc.

4. Now step back. Allow the host to orchestrate and simply follow their directions.

How to Carve a Turkey

1. Place the turkey on a board or platter. Make sure to catch all of the juices.

2. Separate the leg and thigh from the breast by cutting through he skin that connects the two until you reach the joint. Cut through it to remove the leg.

3. Try to remove the breast meat in one piece. Start at the center line and slice down one side as close to the breast bone as possible. Slip the knife under the breast meat and remove it from the carcass.

4. Now you can easily slice the breast meat for serving. Just thinly slice the meat the transfer to your serving dish.

5. Separate the thigh from the leg (drumstick) and place them on the platter. Detach the wing and transfer it to the platter. 

6. Now repeat for the other side.

Rings and Crumbs - A Big Slice Newsletter for September, 2008

Welcome to our September edition of Rings and Crumbs - the new and improved A Big Slice Newsletter. A Big Slice is proud to introduce A Year of Wine. These radio spots are chock full of information on wine and food pairings, including the recipes! Please take a listen. Clare gives you three recipes this month: Chicken Parmesan, Cornmeal Crusted Grouper and these exquisite little cookies from Paris, macarons (not to be confused with macaroons). Ted has some tips for a successful yard sale and a quick guide to making sure you get the freshest fish at the market. Pass the word! And Grab A Big Slice!

Clare and Ted

Seven Tips to a Successful Yard Sale

Yard sales are a great way to get rid of some of those things that you had to have, yet, somehow never used. Plus make a little gas money to boot. If you are serious about it, you can make a chunk of change. But preparation is key. Here are a few tips that might help you turn those rags into riches.

1. When choosing items to be included think quality over quantity. This gets the traffic there and keeps them. People are more likely to stop if they see other shoppers perusing your goods. Start the process a few weeks to a month ahead of time and begin sifting through, setting the better stuff aside. Items that tend to sell well are cds, dvds, books, radios, vases, lawn mowers, tools, most furniture and baby items. Consider this: do you have enough "quality" to make it worth the effort?

2. Packing is everything. How do you want to display your items? Group in categories. That way if someone is in the market for baby items, they are all displayed together and not spread out all over the yard. Make sure everything is clean and in working order. Most of the time shoppers will not dig through boxes, place the items in clear view on a table. You need to make it as easy as possible for people to find what they want without having to ask you for assistance. Clearly price each item. Or have a table marked "Everything 50 cents". Good signage is a must.

3. Now the big question, are you doing this to rid yourself of clutter, or are you trying to make money. If you are clearing out the basement, then price things as low as your dare. If you are unsure as to what to price certain things such as furniture, it might be worth your while to visit some yard sales and see what is the going rate. Towards the end of the day, have "Make your best offer" signs on the ready and place them around the yard. Be willing to bargain.

4. If you are just going to have your sale on one day, then Saturday is the best. If you have the time to stretch it out you may be surprised to learn that the second best day is Friday. This brings out the serious shoppers, ones that want to miss the crowds. These are the real bargain hunters and they want to deal.

5, Announce your yard sale on web sites like Craig's List. The familiar hand lettered posters are great, and can direct cars to your exact location. Spread them out around the neighborhood. Make sure the signs are in public use areas.

6. Have plenty of change on hand. $25-$50 in quarters and enough ones, fives and tens to make change. The checkout should be clearly marked. Keep a calculator, pad and pencil close by. Invest in a fanny pouch to keep your earnings close at hand and safe.

7. Go ahead and tell yourself that the leftovers are going to charity. You spent this much time trying to rid yourself of this clutter, don't let it creep back into your house.

Now get out there and sell!

Planning the Perfect Family Reunion

Late summer is the perfect time to begin thinking about getting together with the family. Plan a family reunion. These tips are reprinted from about.com. Not all of these work for every reunion. Pick and choose the ones that feel right for you.

1) Which family? It may seem obvious, but the first step for any family reunion is to decide who is family. Which side of the family are you inviting? Do you want to include only close relatives or all descendants of Great Grandpa Jones (or other common ancestor)? Are you inviting only direct-line relatives (parents, grandparents, grandkids) or do you plan to include cousins, second cousins, or third cousins, twice removed? Just remember, every step back on the ancestral tree adds a ton of new potential attendees. Know your limits.

2) Create a guest list. Start by assembling a list of family members, including spouses, partners and children. Get in touch with at least one person from each branch of the family to help you track down contact information for each person on your list. Make sure to collect email addresses for those that have them - it really helps with updates and last-minute correspondence.

3) Survey attendees. If you're planning to include a lot of people in your family reunion, consider sending out a survey (by postal mail and/or email) to let people know that a reunion is in the works. This will help you gauge interest and preferences, and ask for help with the planning. Include possible dates, proposed reunion type, and a general location (discussing possible costs early on can discourage a positive response), and politely ask for a timely response to your questions. Add the names of interested relatives who return the survey to your reunion list for future mailings, and/or keep them up-to-date on reunion plans via a family reunion Web site.

4) Form a reunion committee. Unless this is a get-together of five sisters at Aunt Maggie's house, a reunion committee is almost essential to planning a smooth, successful family reunion. Put someone in charge of each major aspect of the reunion - location, social events, budget, mailings, record-keeping, etc. Why do all the work yourself if you don't have to?

5) Select the date(s). It's not much of a reunion if no one can attend. Whether you plan your family reunion to coincide with a family milestone or special day, summer vacation, or a holiday, it helps to poll family members (see step 3) to avoid time and date conflicts. Since family reunions can encompass everything from an afternoon barbecue to a large affair lasting three or more days, you'll also need to determine how long you plan to get together. A good rule of thumb - the farther people have to travel to reach the reunion location, the longer the reunion should last. Most importantly, remember that you won't be able to accommodate everyone. Choose your final date(s) based on what's best for the majority of attendees.

6) Pick a location. Aim for a family reunion location that is most accessible and affordable to the majority of people you want to attend. If family members are clustered in one area, then select a reunion location that's nearby. If everyone's scattered, then choose a central location to help cut down on travel expenses for far-flung relatives. 


7) Develop a budget. This will determine the scale of the food, decorations, accommodations and activities for your family reunion. You can choose to have families pay for their own overnight accommodations, bring a covered dish, etc., but unless you have another source of income, you'll also need to set a per-family registration fee to help with decoration, activity and location costs. 


8) Reserve a reunion site. Once you've chosen a location and set a date, it's time to select a site for the reunion. "Going home" is a big draw for family reunions, so you may want to consider the old family homestead or other historic site connected to your family's past. Depending on the size of the reunion, you may be able to find a family member who will volunteer to have it at their home. For larger reunions, parks, hotels, restaurants and community halls are a good place to start. If you're planning a multi-day reunion, then consider a resort location where people can combine reunion activities with a family vacation. 


9) What about a theme? Creating a theme for a family reunion is a great way to interest people and make them more likely to attend. It also makes things more fun when it comes to being imaginative with food, games, activities, invitations and just about every other aspect of the reunion. Family history themes are especially popular, as are reunions which celebrate a very special family member's birthday or anniversary, or the family's cultural heritage (i.e. Hawaiian luau).

10) Determine the menu. Feeding a large group of people with different tastes is perhaps one of the trickiest parts of planning a reunion. Make it easy on yourself by selecting a menu that relates to your theme, or perhaps one that celebrates your family's heritage. Organize a group of family members to prepare the food for the family reunion or, if you have a large group and your budget allows, find a caterer or restaurant to do at least part of the work for you. A tasty menu makes for an unforgettable family reunion.

11) Plan social activities. You don't need to occupy everyone all the time, but planned activities and ice-breakers at your family reunion will provide an easy way for people who do not know each other well to comfortable spend time together. Include activities that will appeal to all ages and further family knowledge of shared heritage. You may also want to award prizes for special distinctions such as oldest family member or longest distance traveled to attend.

12) Set the stage. You've got a bunch of people, now what do you plan to do with them? It's time now to make arrangements for tents (if an outside reunion), chairs, parking decorations, programs, signs, t-shirts, goodie bags and other reunion-day requirements. This is the time to consult a family reunion checklist! 


13) Say cheese! While many family members will no doubt bring their own cameras, it helps to also make plans to record the overall event. Whether you designate a specific relative as the official reunion photographer, or hire a professional photographer to take photos or videos, you should prepare a list of the people and events that you want recorded. For spontaneous "moments," purchase a dozen disposable cameras and hand them out to volunteer guests. Don't forget to collect them at the end of the day!

14) Invite the guests. Once you have most of your plans in place, it's time to invite the guests by mail, email and/or phone. You'll want to do this way in advance to make sure and give everyone time to get it on their calendar. If you're charging admission fees, mention this in the invitation and set an advance deadline by which at least a percentage of the ticket price is required (unless you're wealthy enough to cover all of the costs yourself and can wait until the actual reunion for reimbursement). Tickets purchased in advance also means people will be less likely to cancel at the last moment! This is also a good opportunity to ask people, even if they can't attend the reunion, to provide family trees, photos, collectibles and stories to share with other family members.

15) Fund the extras. If you don't want to charge admission fees for your reunion, then you'll need to plan for a little fund raising. Even if you do collect admissions, fund raising can provide money for some fancy "extras." Creative ways for raising money include holding an auction or raffle at the reunion or making and selling family hats, t-shirts, books or reunion videos.

16) Print up a program. Create a program that outlines the lineup of scheduled reunion events to provide to family members as they arrive for the reunion. You may also want to send this out via email or your reunion Web site in advance of the reunion as well. This will help serve as a reminder to people of activities which may require they bring something with them, such as a photo wall or family tree chart.

17) Decorate for the big day. The big day is almost here and now it's time to make sure it goes smoothly. Create catchy, easy-to-ready signs to point arriving guests to registration, parking, and important locations such as bathrooms. Purchase or make a guest book to collect signatures, addresses, and other important information, as well as serve as a permanent record of the reunion. Purchase pre-made name badges, or print your own, to facilitate mixing and mingling between unacquainted family members. Family tree wall charts are always a big hit as reunion attendees always want to know where they fit in to the family. Framed photos or printed posters of common ancestors or past family reunions are also popular. And, if you want to know what everyone thought of all your reunion planning, print up some evaluation forms for people to fill out as they leave.

18) Keep the fun going. Designate a volunteer or volunteers to create and send out a post-reunion newsletter with stories, photos and news items from the reunion. If you collected family information, send along an updated genealogy chart as well. This is a great way to get people excited about the next reunion, as well as include less fortunate family members who were not able to attend.

10 Steps to Building Better Sandcastles

1. Decide on the kind of castle you want to make. This doesn’t have to be an elaborate blueprint or rendering. Something as simple as, “I want a big, walled castle with a moat”, or “I want a tower fit for Rapunzel!” Once you have your vision, the work begins.

2. Now you need to pick a suitable spot on the beach. You want to be near the water, but not so near as to lose your creation to the relentless waves. On the other hand, as a kid, some of my favorite beach memories are my cousins and I desperately trying to save the castle from the onslaught. The best time is right after high tide. The water is receeding and you will have plenty of time to create your architectural masterpiece. Once you have found the perfect spot, draw a basic outline on the sand of you castle.

3. Nearby, dig a hole down to the water table. The sand there is dense and moist. The stuff from which the best castles are made. Often as you dig you will go through layers of tiny shells. These are not good to build with, but they are great to drip over the castle in strategic places, walls, roofs, etc.

4. Begin to shovel the wet sand from the hole into the middle of the outline that you have drawn. If you are lucky enough to have a team of architects, one person can be the scooper, and one can pack the sand as it in placed in the outline. Trade off from time to time to give the scooper a break..

5. You need to work as fast as possible. The beach is a windy place and you will notice that the windward side of your castle will begin to dry out rapidly. As it dries out it will begin to blow away.

6. Start in the center of your outline first. If you start with the walls you will constantly be stepping over them to work. If you desire a tower style castle, begin stacking the sand in layers as you would stack pancakes. The sides should be slightly sloping, wider at the bottom, more slender toward the top. Sprinkle water on the sand from time to time. A spray bottle is a great tool to keep the sand moist.

7. Starting at the top begin to shape your castle. Use anything available. Butter knives for walls and roof lines, spoons for windows and doors, forks for interesting texture, plastic molds and buckets are great too. Small sand shovels make wonderful stairways. Start with a ramp, and working from the top down, insert the shovel in vertically about a half inch, and pull it straight out horizontally. Work your way down step by step. Steps always add a certain quality to the overall look!

8. Castles can be any shape or size. Don’t feel pressured to produce Cinderella’s Castle if all you have in you is an Indian burial mound. But also don’t be afraid to go all out. However, if you ever feel that any part of your creation is unstable, do what the architects of old did…buttress it! Add angled supports her and there, it all adds to the gothic feel.

9. Now begin working on the walls. Add entrances on each side for trade and tourism.

10. Finally the moat, the one castle necessity! After all, it must be protected at any cost! A deep surrounding moat is just the ticket and a sure show stopper. Make sure that each of your entrances has a bridge across the moat. Use sticks or shells, or simply build up from the base of the moat to create a path.

Then, stand back and soak in all of the praise from the peasants content to simply walk up and down the beach.

As you can tell, I love making sandcastles and would spend hours and hours working on them. So parents, be aware. Make sure there is enough sunscreen to go around.

Here are some great sandcastle sites for inspiration:
Sandcastle Central
US Open Sandcastle Competition
Sandcastle Building 101

Summer Travel Tips - Driving

The price of gas is soaring. Funny how that always occurs in the summer right when we are looking to drive away from it all. Here are some tips for you and your car... before you pack.

1. Check your tires - Maintaining proper air pressure in the tires is important not only for your gas mileage, but also for your safety. Make it a habit to check them with each fill up.

2. Keep an eye on all of the fluids. This means oil, transmission and coolant. In hot weather your oil will thin out, check the owner's manual to make sure you are using the proper weight for the summer season. If you think you might need to add coolant, remember to let the engine cool before opening the radiator.

3. Don't forget the belts and hoses. Have a mechanic give your car a quick once over and save yourself some headaches later on.

4. Just in case, have an emergency kit ready. Include a flashlight, first aid kit, jumper cables, blanket or towel to protect your clothes should the need arise, paper towels, jug of water and basic tools.

5. Only pack what is necessary. Easier said than done, huh? Make a list before your leave of the places you will visit and the clothes you want to pack. This will help you not forget anything, and keep you from last minute panic packing.

6. When packing the car, give yourself a clear line of sight.

7. Don't allow yourself to become drowsy while driving. Falling asleep at the wheel is one of the leading causes of highway accidents.

8. If you are towing a boat or trailer, follow all of the suggested rules for safety. Make sure you have the proper mirrors, and that your car is capable of handling the load.

9. Interstate highways are often the fastest way from a to b. But don't forget about c, d, e, and f. Take the scenic route.

10. Be respectful of other drivers. Remember all of the stupid stunts that you have pulled while driving and be a little more tolerant when others make the same mistakes.

As the tiger used to say, "Happy Motoring!"

Summer Travel Tips - Flying

Flying is not the romantic experience it once was. Out of necessity it is filled with stress and often long waits and numerous hassles. These ten tips should make your air travel easier.

1. Book your flight early. The best deals go to the early bird, and this includes flights, seats, hotel and car rentals.

2. If possible, avoid the peak travel times of early morning and late afternoon. The airport is busier and lines longer. Also, try traveling on the weekdays and not on the weekends. You would be surprised what a difference this makes.

3. Pack you bags keeping security and airline restrictions in mind. This means thinking almost exactly the opposite of a few years ago; toiletries in the checked bags, clothes in the carry on. Also, it is a good idea to carry a small half-filled bag or backpack with you. That way should your checked luggage weigh too much you can easily shift things around and avoid the ridiculous overweight charges. (for more information on the Travel Safety Administration's policies click here.)

4. Put your ID on your bags, but do not lock them. The one exception is if you can purchase TSA approved locks that can be opened only by security.

5. As far as check in, there are many options available to you. If possible, check in hours in advance online. Most major carriers will email you and let you know that you can check in as much as 30 hours in advance. You will also be able to print your boarding pass and seat assignment at this time.

6. Arrive at the airport early. Follow this simple rule: 60 minutes if you are checking no luggage, 90 minutes if you are checking luggage, and 120 minutes for international flights. The automated kiosks at most major airports are a godsend and can greatly shorten your waiting time.

7. Dress to get through security, not to win fashion awards. Don't deck yourself in metal unless you want to receive scowling looks from the people behind you in line. Do not take wrapped gifts through security. Ship them ahead or wrap them once you arrive.

8. Have you ID and all necessary documents at your fingertips. Don't start digging through your purse or backpack once you get up to the security gate. Make sure that your boarding pass and your ID have the same name.

9. When the boarding announcement is made, stay put and wait to be boarded. That is not the time to shop duty free or buy a smoothie.

10. Take a deep breath. This is your vacation - don't have a coronary and miss the flight. Things happen and keeping your cool will help with your blood pressure, and make the airport staff more responsive.

Have a nice flight!

Hosting Your Own Seven Course Formal Dinner

We all know that society, in general, has become less formal over the years. There are plusses and minuses. Casual dress at work can be a good thing and we seem to mix more with different types of people these days. But, unfortunately, this informality has left us lacking in the manners department. When was the last time you dressed to the nines and entertained with style? We at A Big Slice want to bring back the formal dinner, but with a few changes. Most of us don't have a squadron of servants to cook and clean for us. So this means that with your hosting duties, you have to do everything else as well. You won't be fit to entertain anybody.

But with a little organization, and a little help from your friends, you can master the art of the formal dinner. For a complete menu, check out our New Year's Formal Dinner here. And watch the following video for some great tips.