entertaining

Use Photos To Enhance A Place Card

2:00PM Angus Kidman | Traditional place cards often don’t consist of much more than the name of the guest and perhaps a reference to the event. Jazz up your place settings by adding a montage of photos on one side. More »

1st Choice Helps Plan Party Drinks, Kids Included

3:00PM Angus Kidman | There’s lots of options online for planning how many drinks you need for a party. On the heels of our write-ups of how to calculate that number by hand and an automated option from Dan Murphy’s, readers pointed to another useful site, this time from liquor retailer 1st Choice. More »

Dan Murphy’s Event Planner Calculates Your Drinking Needs

11:00AM Angus Kidman | Throwing a party and not sure how much booze you’ll need? Liquor retailing giant Dan Murphy’s offers an on-site calculator to ensure you keep your guests happy. More »

Stock Up On The Right Amount Of Alcohol For A Party

7:30AM Azadeh Ensha | Alcohol can cost a pretty penny, especially if you’re stocking up for a party. Next shindig, keep the liquid refreshments flowing with a simple formula. More »

Show Off Your Cooking Skills On TV

4:00PM Angus Kidman | Earlier this year we directed fame-hungry ubergeek readers to one potential TV outlet in the form of Beauty And The Geek. If your skills fall more in the kitchen and dining room (another staple Lifehacker topic), then you might want to apply for pay TV network LifeStyle’s new local production of Come Dine With Me. More »

Follow The “Rule Of Three” When Entertaining

3:30AM Azadeh Ensha | Whether you’re planning an informal get-together or fancy sit-down meal, striking the right balance between too many and too little guests can make or break a party. Here’s a quick rule of thumb to follow. More »

Create A Quick Infused Olive Oil Before Dinner

9:30PM Kevin Purdy | If you’re looking to impress the folks, the significant other, or your friends with a fancy-pants dinner, you only need a few hours to whip up a quick-infused olive oil that seriously boosts your offerings. Search around the web for recipes to infuse olive oil with herbs, citrus peel, garlic, or other flavors, and you’ll typically be looking at a mash-bottle-wait-and-wait affair. An Atlantic magazine food blogger, however, suggests that mashing up your flavors in a bowl a few hours before serving, then adding just enough olive oil to use, pays off well: Coarsely chop herbs, zest and/or garlic, and place in mortar or an unbreakable bowl with a with a pinch of salt; pound to a coarse mash with a pestle or a rounded rock. Stir and mash the flavorings with the pestle as you slowly drizzle in the oil. Set aside to infuse one hour before using; if too strong, add more oil to taste. Hit the Atlantic link for a few flavoring ideas, and note the commenter’s simple tip for speeding up the process even further with a microwave. What kind of olive oil could you imagine making for your own hoity-toity dinner ordeal? Spill the inspiration in the comments. Photo by fdecomite.Making Your Own Flavored Oils [The Atlantic Food Channel] More »

Recycle Wine Corks Into Place Card Holders

6:00AM Jason Fitzpatrick | Add some novelty to your dining room table for your next dinner party with some DIY placecard holders, made from recycled wine corks. At home and entertaining blog Casa Sugar, one writer was horrified at the high price of fake cork place card stands, so they put together a simple guide on making your own. All you need is enough corks for all your place settings, a razor, some cardstock, and a swanky pen for scripting the names. If you want to get super fancy, there’s a variation that involves a thin magnet to keep the place cards anchored to the table cloth. If you’re short the necessary corks, it’s time to throw a party, or maybe check with a craft or liquor store. DIY: Wine Cork Placecard Holders [Casa Sugar] More »