Making Your Food Look Good

By Jerry Leung

Most people are eating with their eyes. It is very true that we are always attracted by something that looks beautiful and tasty. And as a result we will be very inclined to eat food which looks tasty.

On the other hand, we should also eat with our mind. We have to understand what kind of food is good for us and what kind of food is not. In fact, when we are trying a new dieting plan, we have to eat with our mind and at the same time understand that we will eat with our eyes.

As a consequence, you have to make sure that the food of your diet looks good and tasty. This is very important since you will not want to eat something which looks bad. If the food looks bad, it may probably ruin your dieting plan.

So the question here is, how you can make your food look good. The first thing you would want to pay attention to is the color. Human beings are essentially visual creatures. As a matter of fact, food usually looks bad in terms of color when they are over cooked. Consequently, you should never over cook your food otherwise you will not want to eat it.

We will also be very inclined to eat something which is very colorful. In fact, vegetables and fruits come with different colors. As a result, you can try different combinations of fruits and vegetables in order to make them look colorful.

We also love food which smells good. There are people who think that food which is low in fat content will not taste good. However, the fact is that there is always ways to make your food taste good. You can add some herbs and spices to your food so that you can make your food tastier.

The texture of the food is also very essential. Yet a lot of people will not really pay attention to this part. It needs to be feeling good in your mouth otherwise you may not want to eat it. Again, you have to make sure that the food is not over cooked. The texture of over cooked food will usually be very bad. It is especially true for vegetables. Over cooked vegetables feel very bad in our mouth.

Of course you will have to eat with your mind. However, you also have to remember that you will also want to eat something which looks very tasty. As a result, you should try your best to eat with both of your mind and your eyes!

About The Author

The author has a website on Health, Fitness and Wellness. Be sure to check Healthy Weight Loss Plans and the article Weight Loss Pills Review.

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The Best Way to Cook Your Freshly Caught Fish

By Uchenna Ani-Okoye

A freshly caught fish can be cooked in a thousand and one ways. Any fisherman worth his salt has his own unique way of cooking a freshly caught trout, salmon or whatever fish he caught. So fisherman all across the country has been handed down methods of cooking fish. Here are some tips to get the best out of your fish.

1. Frying

Breading and frying a freshly caught fish is as good as it gets. The smell of butter emanating from the frying pan and the flair a fisherman puts in flipping his catch is worth its weight in gold, almost. For the novice fisherman, make sure that the butter is extra hot but not yet burning. Also, make sure that the fish is well coated in batter. Season your batter to your heart’’s content, salt and pepper never goes wrong. You may want to try other herbs and spices with the batter for a more delicious fish.

2. Grilling

At first glance, grilling would seem to be the easiest way to handle your fish. A newbie might assume that grilling fish is the same as grilling steaks or burgers. Unlike fowl or cattle, fish tends to secret most of its own juices when cooked. On a grill the delicious juice drips into the coals.

To prevent losing the moisture, first coat the fish with oil. The oil will seal a part of the moisture inside. Second, keep an eye on the fillets and turn them as soon as a cut would reveal that the fresh fish is cooked halfway through. After being flipped, watch the fish carefully. Remove the fish as soon as it is cooked through.

An option to basting the fish with oil is to wrap it in aluminium foil. The aluminium foil will keep the moisture and marinate the fish in its own moisture. Placing herbs and spices inside the foil with the fish enhances the grilling process and the fish itself.

3. Baking

Baking is the best option for the fisherman who does not want to watch over the fish during cooking. The fisherman can prepare the marinade and pre-heat the oven, then pop the fish into the oven for a predetermined amount of time. You may want to check on the fish from the time to time, ensuring that you don”t overcook the fish.

Whatever fish you caught, a good recipe and proper cooking will for sure enhance the catch. Take time to prepare for cooking, a badly cooked fish will no doubt spoil your day. Remember the first rule of cooking, don”t overcook your fish.

About The Author

Uchenna Ani-Okoye is an internet marketing advisor and co founder of Free Affiliate Programs

For more information and resource links on fish visit: Eating Fish

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Wedding Cakes Decorating Ideas

By Bercle George

To go with the trends, wedding cakes are taking on so many new and different points of view. Some wedding cakes are covered in butter cream, rolled fondant, fondant lace, or in white or dark chocolate to make the perfect canvas for the beauty of your wedding cake to emerge. Wedding cakes are the main focus, however, other celebration cakes are featured also for special occasions such as anniversaries, birthdays and engagements.

Wedding cakes are not made to be jostled when somebody walks by, the surface on which the cake table is set must be firm and unyielding. Wedding cakes are as much a traditional part of weddings as the bride being late and the best man fluffing his speech. These are not only utilized to feed guests, but they are used for the purpose of decoration. And thus, cake decorating tips are important if you want to have a design on your own.
Cake flavor and filling can be personalized to your liking. Cakes today are more emphasized than they have ever been and you need to follow if you would like people not forget your cake for the upcoming years. Cakes are as delicious as they are beautiful, so truly express yourself with your wedding cake. These come in an assortment of shapes, sizes and frostings and are decorated with a white chocolate sash and ribbon around the side with white chocolate cones on top.

Chocolate wedding cakes are not like traditional wedding cakes. Chocolate wedding cakes began to gain a considerable popularity within the last couple of decades. Chocolate wedding cakes also offer several options for more variety — from chocolate cheesecake to chocolate-truffle-adorned white cakes. Chocolate wedding cakes are equally elegant and sophisticated, and can be designed to custom orders by professional cake bakers suitable for every taste.

While there are many essential components to planning a wedding, wedding cakes are certainly one of the most important. Precisely because, the wedding cake is the centerpiece of the wedding reception, and certainly the most essential of all foods at the wedding. Wedding cakes, after all, are much more than a dessert; it is a memento of a very special occasion, and how the wedding cake looks is just as essential as how it tastes.

That does not imply, of course, that the taste of the wedding cake has no consequence, and the wedding cake must first and foremost be a delicious dessert. It is essential to choose a baker who is known for his or her quality cakes, and also one who has experience supplying cakes for weddings.

About The Author

For more information, visit http://www.cakedecoratingabc.com/

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Gifts for a Wine Lover

By Steven Beckerman

Nothing says elegance more than the gift of wine. If you aren”t a connoisseur and don”t wish to embarrass yourself by giving the wrong kind of wine, cheer up. There are websites devoted to fine wine that educate you into sophistication. However, a bottle of wine isn”t the only thing available in wine gifts. There are glasses, carafes and wonderful wine racks and coolers that make you the star when it comes to appeal of the gift.

To create unique gifts, you can spend as little or as much as you like. Shop for crackers and cheese. Combine the flavors of the cheese with the appropriate wine and create a basket with a two glasses, the cheese, crackers and your selection. If you don”t have time, there are sites on line that create the basket for you. Use the same idea but use a picnic basket. Put a note in the basket, ”A little wine, a little cheese, and thou.” This makes a great gift for your spouse for an anniversary.

Hunt for a private winery that offers unusual choices that you normally wouldn”t find in local stores. Some of the companies actually create wine to your specifications. If you want to give the gift that keeps giving, look for smaller specialty vineyards that offer a wine club. Memberships to the clubs vary with the company but often include newsletters, upcoming events and bottles of wine.

Delightful and unusual decanters bring smiles to the face of the ardent wine lover. There are great varieties of designs that range from simple to elegant, and some cross over to lavishly decadent. The gracious host always will display the decanter with pride and thank you’’s for years to come.

If cheese and wine isn”t exactly what you wanted to give, perhaps some truffles or rich imported chocolate and wine that compliments them, is more to your taste in gift giving. Fresh strawberries and champagne sound like an intriguing gift that you”d love to give or receive. Great combinations of glass wear, food or accessories are wonderful, but a simple bottle of wine says a lot as a gift also.

At one time the corkscrew was a ”must have” for every home. Today many people seldom have one in the kitchen. If your recipient is a novice in the wine appreciation area, give them a beautiful corkscrew that lasts forever. Nothing is more disappointing than to receive a bottle of wine and await its fragrance and aroma, only to find, there’’s no way to open it. A decorative corkscrew also makes a wonderful gift for the seasoned wine lover.

Wine making kits titillate the imagination of the true wine critic. When you purchase a wine making kit for them, they get to make wine and add just the hint of what they believed was missing.

The list is endless. There are books about wine, mini travel bars and everything online that you never knew existed. Once you begin your search for the perfect wine gift, you”ll find so many you love; you”ll have to search for more people to receive them.

About The Author

Author is an expert on wine related gifts and keeps an index of wine gifts online.

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Brilliant Banquet or Culinary Catastrophy?

By Patrick Omari

One of my favourite foods is cheese; cheese on toast, macaroni cheese, cheese on crackers, jacket potato and cheese. Whatever the dish may be, i usually find one way or another to make sure this delicious product is included in my meals. The “posher” cheeses such as Brie, Camembert, Stilton and Roquefort are all delicious although usually costly. However, my love is blind and i am not deterred by the most basic Baby Bells, Philadelphia or even Cheese Strings.

One evening last week i began watching Gordon Ramsey’’s F Word, not realising that i was about to view something that would test even the most fanatic of cheese fan’’s stomachs. Casu Marzu. If anyone asks you casually if you want Casu Marzu on your Spaghetti Bolognese think very carefully before giving an answer. That is unless you want to have Maggots crawling around over your plate. Casu Marzu literally means “rotten cheese” in Sardinian and is colloquially known as “Maggot cheese”. It is considered a delicacy in that part of the world, something which i found very hard to comprehend, as i watched the cheese almost wriggle off the table.

Seeing something that seemed so strange being enjoyed by many people got me thinking about how food tastes differ between countries and cultures across the world. In England today it would be a great shock to open the menu and see monkey toes- deep fried, eaten off the bone, bats, or seal flipper pie. Nevertheless, these dishes are seen as the ultimate delicacy in some places. The thought of serving up fried cockroaches, reindeer blood dumplings, or dog would not cross my mind let alone dishes cooked with human breast milk or even placentas.

It can be incredibly easy to look at many of the different types of foods available and instantly regard them as “disgusting” or “inedible”, even if we have not tasted them ourselves. It seems that food acts as a cultural marker, as people become accustomed to what they have grown up with- usually what is available to them. Therefore, anything that is not familiar, has never been part of life, or which has become renowned for being detestable seems too strange to consume.

Many of my friends are from Zimbabwe and i have been continuously ridiculed by them about my favourite meal of Macaroni and Cheese. They used to be served it in their schools and told me that it was a very unpopular option, as they always wondered where the meat was or how fat and starch combined could be a healthy meal. The concept of me choosing to eat such a bland, meat free dish was incomprehensible. I could never really understand what was so wrong with my choice of food seeing as i had grown up with it being so popular and had never valued how easy it was to buy meat in comparison to Zimbabwe. However, my own disgust at the Casu Marzu helped me understand the idea that things can seem grotesque if you are not used to them, or can not understand the logic behind them. Interestingly, although i was so used to enjoying cheese, the concept of fly larvae feasting on a chunk at the same time as me literally turned my stomach.

The Zimbabweans later told me a story which confirmed my belief that food, culture and familiarity go together. One of the things they commonly cook to accompany meat and vegetables, adding starch to the dish is Sadza. Sadza is the name of a cooked pulverized grain meal and is actually the stable food in Zimbabwe. I have eaten it and it simply tastes like thick porridge. Although fairly bland it makes a meal more filling and well balanced. However, a popular way to eat Sadza is with curdled milk. Living in England today a few of them still travel all the way to London to pick up some proper sour milk to add to their maize meal.

I could never imagine eating something which i automatically assume is sour and stodgy despite never having tasted it, yet i eat Macaroni and Cheese which has very similar ingredients- dairy and starch. On the other hand, the Zimbabweans ridicule my Macaroni Cheese, as many can not understand the concept. However, a plate of Sadza and curdled milk is delicious to them. Therefore, maybe we should be more accepting of what other people chose to eat, as whether we think so or not, we all have weird and wonderful dishes.

About The Author

Patrick is an expert Research and Travel consultant. His current interest is in Coventry Hotels.

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Do You Have This Food In Your Pantry?

By Jerry Leung

To many people, they do not have a really well stocked pantry. This can in fact cause problems to your health since you do not stock some good and healthy food in your pantry. An even worse case is that you only stock food such as fast food, chips and fries in your pantry. This article will tell you what kind of food you should store in your pantry.

You are storing this food in your pantry not only because you will need them when you are hungry. The food recommended here will also help to ensure that you will be eating healthily. This is very important if you do not want to develop into diseases such as heart attack.

First of all, you should make sure that you will always have some fruit in your pantry. Of course they should be fresh fruits. They will be very good snacks. I know that many people will eat chips as snacks. However, this is certainly not good for your health and it is better to eat fresh fruits as snacks.

You should also have some yogurt in your pantry. They are perfect in the summer. Some people will tend to eat ice-cream in a hot summer day. However, you may be taking too much sugar in this case. And yogurt can be a perfect substitute to ice-cream in a hot summer day.

Fruit juice can also be something good. People nowadays are drinking too much soft drink. Fruit juice can be a better alternative. Again, you can put the juice in the refrigerator so that you can keep it cool. When you feel that you want to drink something other than water, you should try to get some fruit juice instead of soft drink.

It is also very important for you to have some bread in your pantry. You will need crabs to provide your energy. Your body will not be functioning normally without crabs. As a result, some bread is a must in your pantry. It will also be a good idea to use the bread to make some great sandwiches for your lunch or even dinner.

In fact, you should also have some other food such as milk and peanut butter in the pantry. They are all good for your health. Remember, we want to live a healthy lifestyle. And the first step to do so is first of all storing some healthy food in our pantry!

About The Author

The author has a website on Health and Fitness. Be sure to check Healthy Weight Loss and the article Weight Loss Pill Reviews.

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Poor Personal Hygiene Practices in a Restaurant and How to Prevent a Food Poisoning

By Michael Doom

The kitchen staff and food handlers of a restaurant, deli, cafeteria, meat market, bar etc. are a common source for bacteria and viral contamination in your food, that can very readily cause you be become ill. What can you do then to protect yourself and determine if the business is practicing good health and safety, and the staff good personal hygiene?

There are a number of subtle and obvious signs, practices etc. that the consumer can and should look for in a restaurant related to the personal hygiene of the food handlers. The following list of practices or requirements (by law) are designed to prevent or minimize contamination of food, either directly from the food handler, or from cross-contamination from other sources. Review each one and make a mental note to remember to look for these the next time you are patronizing your favorite restaurant or market:

- Look for clean clothing and aprons and hair restraints, either a hat or hairnet to hold all the hair in place for anyone handling or processing open, exposed foods. Clothing must be sufficient to cover the entire body including arms if necessary to block body hair from getting into the food. Fingernails of food handlers must be kept clean, cut or trimmed and well manicured. Hair, skin, and fingernails are common sources of bacteria that if given the right conditions for growth in food, very readily and commonly do cause illness.

- Food handlers should be wearing clean aprons and should not wipe their hands on their aprons (paper or single-use disposable towels is the requirement). Aprons must be changed frequently as they become soiled or contaminated.

- If the food handlers are wearing gloves, do not automatically consider this a good sign. Gloves are generally not required and at most establishments you will not see cooks or kitchen staff wearing gloves. Gloves are not a guarantee against food contamination. They can become contaminated just as easily as bare hands and the person wearing the gloves may not even realize their hands have been contaminated, whereas they would normally feel a splash or liquid contact on bare hands. Gloves are also not a substitute for washing hands. Hand washing is still required or recommended both before donning gloves for working with food, and between replacing gloves.

- Gloves are still required when contacting food or food contact services if the food handler has cuts, sores, rashes, artificial nails, nail polish, rings (other than a plain ring such as a wedding band), orthopedic support devices, or fingernails that are not clean, smooth or neatly trimmed.

- Utensils are also either required or recommended when processing or handling food. A utensil, instead of the hands, should be used as much as possible during processing.

- Employees serving or placing ready-to-eat food on tableware or containers, or assembling ready-to-eat food should always use tongs, forks, spoons, paper rappers or gloves rather than bare hands. Bare hands, under the law in many areas, can be used if they have been just previously washed. Although as a customer, seeing bare hand contact with any ready-to-eat food would likely cause me to look for, or order something else.

- Makeup, perfume and jewelry can also contaminate your food and should be kept to a minimum on all food handlers.

- Bad habits to look for while checking out the food handlers (which includes servers, as well) are any use of tobacco, spitting, rubbing or picking the nose, ears, pimples or boils, licking their fingers, or eating while working or just eating or chewing gum in the kitchen area. All of these habits can potentially contaminate your food with hazardous germs (bacteria and/or viruses.

- Smoking, or any form of tobacco use, by employees is definitely not allowed in any area where food is prepared, served, or stored, or utensils are cleaned or stored, for two important reasons. (1) A person smoking can easily pick up saliva on his or her hands by touching his or her mouth or touching the cigarette that just came from their mouth. This saliva is then passed on to your food as soon as this food handler touches it; (2) The ashes and cigarette butts left behind may be dropped or spilled and thereby mixed into and contaminate your food.

- Obviously ill employees cannot work in any way with exposed food, clean equipment, utensils or linens or unwrapped single-use utensils. Symptoms to look out for are persistent sneezing, coughing, or runny nose, or discharges from the eyes, nose, or mouth.

- Look for cross-contamination. If you can see into the kitchen or processing area, you can observe how the employees handle raw products, especially meat, chicken and seafood products in relation to cooked or ready-to-eat products, such as salads. They should never use the same utensils, cutting boards, plates, platters or their hands for handling raw product and then turn around and use the same utensil or equipment or hand for handling cooked or ready-to-eat products (known as cross-contamination) without both washing and sanitizing in between. I have witnessed this both as a customer and while working as an inspector. The instances as a customer were observed at various barbeque restaurants where the employee used the same set of prongs and fork for putting the raw chicken on the grill as for taking off and processing the cooked chicken. Cross contamination is a very common and serious hazard and is a leading cause of food-borne illness.

- Lastly, in California it is now state law that if the facility prepares, handles or serves non-prepackaged potentially hazardous foods (ready-to-eat foods), there must be an owner or employee who has successfully passed an approved and accredited food safety certification examination. Unfortunately the law in California does not require the certified owner, manager or employee to be present during all hours of operation. Check with your local Environmental Health Food Inspection Program.

This certificate with the individuals name is usually posted (though not required to be) on a wall near the entrance or where the consumers can view it. Look for it and even inquire if this person on the certificate is present. If they state that this person is no longer working for them then it’’s time to make inquiries to the manager and even to the Environmental Health program. I have seen both restaurants where everyone working was certified and all their certificates were posted on the wall, and the other extreme, where no one was certified.

When I do see a certificate on the wall, while as a customer, I take note of the name on the certificate and then just ask the waiter, waitress or server if this person is working today. If they are, then I take this as at least a positive sign (no guarantee of course) of improved safety. If they aren”t, I might be a little more cautious or alert that before; or even worse if they say something to the effect that this person no longer works here, I would then bring it to the attention of the manager or owner stating that that they need to replace him or her and take down this certificate. I would also contact the local Environmental Health Food Inspection Program for further investigation.

If you observe any of these hazards or potential violations you have really 3 actions you can take:
1. Immediately notify the manager and request the problem be remediated at once (washing hands, discarding the contaminated food, providing a utensil, etc.) and then determine whether to stay depending of the how well the manager reacts.
2. Say nothing and leave without ordering anything.
3. Say nothing, and proceed as if nothing had happened and hope for the best. I would hope that most of us who have experienced the pain and symptoms of a food poisoning, would not take this approach.

Regardless of how you immediately act, I would recommend you still get on the phone or internet and contact your local Environmental Health Food Inspection Program and make a complaint. Believe it or not, one main function and responsibility of the local food inspection and enforcement agency is to respond to and address complaints received by the public. These local government enforcement agencies depend on you to be a second set of eyes and ears as to what is happening in your neighborhood. Most facilities are inspected perhaps on average, and at best, twice per year, and the inspector is only there for an hour or so at most. Therefore, you, being a regular or even occasional customer, may very likely see and experience things that the inspector will never see.

Leave your name and phone number so they can contact you with their findings after the inspection. (Most departments have a strict policy of maintaining complainants information confidential.) They may not observe what you observed but they will bring the complaint to the attention of the manager or owner and will be alert to it at future inspections.

About The Author

Mr. Doom has worked as a Environmental Health Specialist for more than 20 years. He has conducted thousands of inspections and educated more than a thousand, food facility owners, managers and employees on food sanitation and safety, and how to prevent food poisoning hazards. To learn more visit http://www.FoodPoisoningPrevention.com.

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Going About Finding Cooking Schools In Your Area

By MIKE SELVON

There is just something about food that brings people together. It is the festivity of gathering with family and friends around a big meal that sparks memories of good times and friendships that can last a lifetime. Think back to all of your family gatherings over a huge Thanksgiving dinner. It was great times with great food.

But you can take your cooking skills to the next level by attending one of the cooking schools in your area. Just choose the one that is right for you and continue on with your dream of being a world class chef.

To find cooking schools in your area, you can simply do a web search of the top culinary schools found throughout the country. One great website to visit is “Chef 2 Chef”. There you will find a listing of schools in the culinary community. Culinary schools in the United States are easy to find, so take a look at the list to get a general idea of where they are and whether or not you want to relocate.

The California School of Culinary Arts offers the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary program. It is a fantastic program found at many of the top culinary institutes within the United States. You will not walk away empty handed from this program. The culinary degree offered here will ready you for the kitchen through a culinary arts program, baking program and a program of Hospitality and Restaurant Management.

If achieving a certificate or diploma is not what you are after and you just want to learn the basic skills, then you may want to consider a Boston cooking school. You can take a short series of classes that will teach you the basics of cooking, such as terminology and methodology. You will not receive a culinary degree but you will learn what it takes to be a chef, while preparing tasty dishes for your family.

There are sure to be any number of cooking schools in your area. Some may be at junior colleges or trade schools. They may not offer a four year degree but you will have the benefit of learning skills of the trade.

At the very least you can learn signature dishes to prepare for your friends and family. Learning how to cook is not hard and you have it in you to succeed. So get into the kitchen and start experimenting and soon you will be a world class talent.

About The Author

Enrich your knowledge further about cooking schools in your area from Mike Selvon portal. We appreciate your feedback at our cooking school blog where a free gift awaits you.

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How to Grill With Marinades - Tips on Grilling

By Dee Power

Marinating meat before grilling helps tenderize it and adds wonderful flavor. Tenderizing agents often used in marinades include acidic ingredients such as vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice, yogurt and even wine. Fresh papaya, ginger and pineapple contain tenderizing enzymes, and they add exotic flavors as well. Marinades are wonderfully versatile flavor enhancers for the outdoor chef. The marinade recipes you can come up with are only limited by your imagination. You start by selecting your acid or tenderizing ingredients, and add additional ingredients. Popular choices include herbs (oregano, thyme), garlic, shallots, brown sugar or honey, soy sauce, cumin, black pepper, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste and mustard.

You can also take something you already have in the refrigerator, such as standard Italian salad dressing, and build additional flavor through adding fresh herbs like cilantro, or spicing it up with chili powder.

Timing is important to get the most out flavor out of your marinade. Marinating for too brief a time doesn”t allow the flavor of the marinade to penetrate the meat. Overlong marinating time results in softening the texture of the meat too much. Here are some guidelines:

Tender beef cuts can be marinated for as short as 15 minutes, or up to 2 hours. These include Porterhouse, top loin, tenderloin, ribeyes, top sirloin. Less tender cuts need to be marinated at least 6 hours or as long as overnight. These include flank, skirt, top round, and chuck shoulder steaks. If you marinate longer than 24 hours, the surface texture of the meat can be softened more than you want. Meat with a mushy texture when you cut into it is not what you”re striving for.

For tender cuts of beef–Porterhouse, top loin, tenderloin, rib eyes, top sirloin-the marinade will do its job in as little as 15 minutes, or you can go as long as 2 hours with the marinating process. Less tender cuts need substantially more marinating time, at least 6 hours or preferably overnight. Flank steak, skirt steak, top round and chuck shoulder steaks all benefit from longer marinating.

You should marinate the food in the refrigerator, never at room temperature. Never reuse a marinade. It should be discarded after you remove the meat from it. Some marinades do make great sauces to serve with the dish. But do not use the marinade that has been in contact with the meat. Simply reserve some of the marinade for use in the sauce, and use the rest as the marinade.

The goal of marinating is to have the liquid in contact with as much of the surface of the meat as possible. If you are using a food-safe plastic bag for marinating, make sure that it is a fairly tight fit over the meat, so the marinade will be forced over more of the food’’s surface. Similarly, it you prefer to use a nonreactive container like a glass dish, make sure it is large enough so the meat can lie flat, but again is a tight enough fit so the marinade will be in contact with as much of the meat as possible. It’’s a good idea to turn the plastic bag over several times or turn the meat in the dish, in order to have uniform exposure to the marinade.

About The Author

More grilling tips, techniques, recipes, and menus. Dee Power is the author of several nonfiction books and an avid grill master. She also loves to garden and uses many of her homegrown herbs in her marinades.

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Fourth of July Party Ideas - Mini Meals Make Mealtime Fun For Kids

By Dee Power

For adults portions that are bigger are better but kids like the little stuff. Mini meals are fun and tasty. Try these ideas at your Fourth of July Party. The kids will love you for it.

Salad to go. Wash endive leaves. Fill the broad end with a teaspoon of your kid’’s favorite prepared salad. Wash butter lettuce leaves, selecting the smaller more pliable leaves. Spread out the lettuce leaf and put a tablespoon of salad on the end nearest you. Roll the leaf forward covering the salad. Tuck the ends of the leave under as if you were rolling up a burrito. Lightly fill celery stalk with cream cheese. Press dried cranberries or raisins into the cheese. Cut into child bite sized pieces. For a change use flavored cream cheese.

Child sized pizzas. Use refrigerator biscuits. Lightly flour a board. Roll each biscuit flat doubling the size of the biscuit. Place biscuits on cookie sheets. Spread with a teaspoon of tomato sauce, pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce. An alternative is to use a slice of fresh tomato. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake as package directs.

A veggie platter and dip can be made special by using baby vegetables. Carrots, summer squash, patty pan squash, string beans, both yellow and green should be blanched by immersing in boiling water for one minute and then in immediately in an ice bath. Add snap pea pods, grape tomatoes, both red and yellow, and boiled baby potatoes.

Mini tacos are fun and easy. Use the corn chips that are made for dipping and have a bowl shape. Fill with a teaspoon of cooked taco meat, a bit of refried beans and top with shredded cheese. Bake until the cheese just melts.

Usually the challenge with kids and desserts is to stop the kids from only eating the sweet stuff. Here are a few suggestions to carry the mini theme forward. Use small cookies like vanilla snaps or mini chocolate chips cookies. Place a tablespoon of ice cream on the flat side of one cookie and cover with the flat side of another cookie to make a sandwich then freeze in a plastic container.

Use a medium size sugar cookie, about a 3 inch diameter. Frost with vanilla pudding and top with slices of fresh strawberries for a mini strawberry tartlet. Make different varieties: Use chocolate pudding and raspberries, lemon pudding and fresh blueberries.

Jello jigglers are always a hit. How about a jigller flag? Make up three batches of jigglers, one of blue, and two of red. The blue jigglers should be set in a square pan about 9 inches by 9 inches. Using a star cookie cutter, cut out star shapes and remove from the square pan. Carefully place the pan in warm water to loosen the jello from the pan. Then put the square shape with the cut out stars on a white rectangular serving plate.

The red jello should be cut into stripes and placed on the serving plate leaving white spaces between the stripes. Place the cut out stars on a separate plate.

Children will love you for making them feel special at your Fourth of July party

About The Author

More grilling tips, techniques, recipes, and menus. Dee Power is the author of several nonfiction books and loves to come up with party ideas for kids.

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