ROYAL TART – Forum/Blog

Oktoberfest was originally a wedding celebration and what a celebration it was! It was such a great party that people all over the world still celebrate Oktoberfest. Because we love to celebrate ourselves, Royal Tart has put together a great menu of traditional, quick & easy Oktoberfest favorites.

First, the beer, there are so many great breweries out there these days. It’s so easy to pick your favorite micro brewery, give them a call and pick up a growler of their Oktoberfest brew. It seems that almost every brewery has an Oktoberfest or autumn beer. No microbrewery near you, check out your local grocery as there are a ton of specialty beers to choose from. In fact, you might choose a couple of Oktoberfest beers and a couple of regular German beers.

Menu:
Oktoberfest Beer
Oven Fresh Pretzels (optional appetizer)
Various grilled sausages
Sauerkraut
Various Mustards
Beet salad
German Potato Salad
Gingerbread Cookies

Menu Tips:
The morning of the party or the day before
Head to the microbrewery to pick up your beer then head to the grocery to pick up beer…whilst you are at the grocery check out the butcher and the hot dog/sausage isle; choose a few different types of wurst such as bratwurst, etc or add in any kind of sausage you like. Now pick up some fresh sauerkraut and beet salad from the ready made section along with some German potato salad and don’t forget to pick up a couple of gourmet or interesting mustards. If you are doing the oven fresh pretzels check the frozen food isle for them or go for it and make your own. Homemade pretzels fresh from the oven can’t be beat.

Now for the gingerbread cookies; you may need to make these or plan ahead and order them from your local bakery. If you have kids coming over have them ice the cookies as an activity. If it is adults only you will want to decorate them before arrival.

Not only are the gingerbread cookies a perfect dessert which you can enjoy with your beer they will make a fabulous party favor.

The day of the party:
Ice the beers in a beverage tin before your guests arrive. Place your various side dishes and salads into serving bowls and platters. Fire up the grill and pop open a beer it’s party time!

Cheers,

Tricia

Delivering Complete Prepackaged Designer Parties to Your Door

Check out Royal Tart’s October 2009 Newsletter at the below link…we are introducing a ton of new products, ideas and services:

Royal Tart Newsletter

Check out our new payment plan–Party Now, Pay Later.
Our new Halloween Parties.
Our new Handmade Items including invitations and party banners.
Our new Thanksgiving Tabletop& Fall Celebrations.

Cheers,
Tricia

Delivering Complete Prepackaged Designer Parties to Your Door

I am so excited to share our new celebrations, services and products!

First, if you haven’t noticed, Royal Tart’s Halloween Celebrations are now available for sale. We have something for every hostess’ style. We love them all! I suspect that there will be more than one of you that purchases multiple Halloween Celebrations. We have already sold more than we expected to sell in September.

This year we will also be selling not one, but two Thanksgiving Updater Sets. We have designed one tabletop with the classic Thanksgiving dinner table in mind and the other with a modern look. Either way you go you will update your china or buffet dishes beautifully and easily. And the celebrations are great for all fall your fall parties. Purchase yours now so you don’t miss out. Our Bountiful Table Runner is extremely limited.

We are expanding our gift selection and entertaining section with great hostess gifts and Celebration Add-Ons for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

We are also very excited to offer our exclusive Party Now, Pay Later option on all Celebrations for eight or Celebrations for twelve purchases. We are offering this option now on a test basis. So if you head to our site and make a purchase during checkout please indicate “Party Now, Pay Later” in the comments section so that we may process your order appropriately.

You will also see a new “Handmade” link on our homepage. Since our inception we have designed and created handmade invitations and banners and included them in our Celebrations for that special one-of-a-kind effect. Now, because you asked, we are adding more items to our handmade offerings including cupcake toppers, keepsake boxes, seasonal decorations, countdown calendars and more banners. All of which will be available a la carte. Look for new handmade items to be added every week.

Happy Haunting,

Tricia

www.RoyalTart.com

Delivering Complete Designer Parties in a Box Delivered to your Door

Calling all boys and ghouls—young and old. Let’s gather and meet for some trick or treat! Celebrate Halloween night with a pre-trick or treat dinner party filled with a nostalgic Halloween setting complete with black scaredy cats and witches beware. The Halloween eats menu couldn’t be easier—with a nod to a Royal Tart pre-trick or treat family dinner tradition. So fly on in for this celebration that’s all about fun pure and simple.

…Or if trick or treating is not on your agenda then create an old fashioned Halloween Carnival complete with nostalgic games and food: think popcorn balls, pin-the tail-on the scaredy cat, a broom flying contest and a pass the pumpkin game.

Celebration for 8-12 $177.00

Celebration for 8-12 contents:

10 x Nostaligic Invitations
1 x Velvet & Houndstooth Scarf Runner
50 x Purple Paper Napkins
16 x Paper Plates
24 x Purple Paper Cups
1 x Glitter Scaredy Cat Centerpiece
2 x Witch Boot Taper Candle Holders
2 x Purple Taper Candles
1 x Decorative Hanging Scaredy Cat
1 x Ceramic Black Bat Candy Dish
1 x Hand Crafted Banner & Decorative Paper Maché Banner Box
1 x Set of Halloween Shaped Cookie Cutters
1 x Trick or Treat Cards
1 x Royal Tart’s Get This Party Started Blueprint with Suggested Menu, Recipes and Celebration Tips
1 x Free Ground Shipping

Cheers,

Tricia

Royal Tart

Delivering complete designer parties in a box to your door!

So, even though I had a super easy and super quick party menu I still had the lovely task of cleaning up. So I washed margarita glasses and serving bowls and cracker boats and mini taco plates and a pedestal plate and margarita pitchers and…you get the picture. I cleaned up a lot—really it was one of the easier party cleanups as it was a small get-together but while I was facing down the sink I was a bit grumbly.

As I finished up I put my clean-up sponge in the dishwasher on the top rack. Mom taught me that trick when I was in middle school. The dishwasher sanitizes and cleans the sponge like nothing else. No more mildewy smelling sponge and I know it is germ free when it comes out of the dishwasher. Try it whenever you run the dishwasher.

Cheers,

Tricia

Delivering Complete Prepackaged Designer Parties to Your Door

I hosted a last minute party for 12 last night. We had a great time and no one even knew I had to pull together a menu and pull it together fast but I did with a little help from my grocery store, items from my pantry and El Indio (yes, I have mentioned El Indio in a blog or two in the past). If you don’t have El Indio– gourmet tortilla chips and bean dip will work just fine. But do spend a bit more for the good stuff as it elevates the everyday to something special.

Before I mention the menu, I want to impress upon you that it was super simple. But it was somewhat themed which always makes the party planning and menu purchasing easier and faster. So before I set out I put together a quick party menu so I knew where I needed to stop and what I needed to purchase. I literally stopped at two places on the way home from work—it took about 45 minutes to stop and go in total and then another 30 minutes to make the cocktails and organize my purchases in pretty serving platters & dishes.

The Menu:
Margaritas (Margarita mix, tequila, Grand Marnière, ice)
World Famous El Indio Chips (two bags but only needed one)
Salsa
Pre-made guacamole
El Indio bean dip
Frozen food aisle mini tacos
Machego cheese
Garlic & herb gourmet crackers
Brownie bites
And a bag or Halloween M&Ms—can you say cash-register impulse buy?

Directions:
I placed the tortilla chips in a recycled wood centerpiece available at Royal Tart. I took out a matching set of fall colored serving bowls. Placed the guacamole, salsa & bean dip into the three matching bowls. Popped the mini tacos into the oven to crisp. Set out the chips and condiments and left a space for the tacos—basically I created a mini chips & taco bar as my guests could reach all the condiments, which did double duty for both the mini tacos and the chips.

Mixed up two batches of margaritas. Poured myself one as a taster. It was good.

Placed the cheese and crackers on a cheese board and called it finished.

Arranged the brownie bites in a pleasing manner on a small pedestal plate.

Dumped the M&Ms in a decorative bowl. Checked to see if the funky Halloween colors tasted different. They didn’t –I knew they wouldn’t.

Fluffed my hair. Added a fresh coat of lipstick.

DONE!

Hello, Party!

Cheers,
Tricia

Delivering Complete Prepackaged Designer Parties to Your Door

Now that it is (unofficially) autumn, I feel like we can really, really start talking fall . With so much to do to get the kids ready for school and celebrate the last days of summer I find it hard to really plan for the —fun fall events don’t you?

Fret no more; Royal Tart has planned exciting new Halloween Parties and Fabulous Fall Gatherings. Check out our Halloween Celebrations now at www.RoyalTart.com. We have created a little spooky something for everyone from a sophisticated dinner noir to a wowie witches picnic complete with a cast iron cauldron. We also have a delightful Trick-or-Treat party designed with your little darlings in mind.

So check us out now…and check back later this month for our Harvest Gathering and our Bountiful Thanksgiving tabletop. We think you will love them. And let’s not forget the Christmas, Hanukah and New Year’s Eve Holidays. We will release those Celebrations for sale in October.

Royal Tart has designed easy and elegant celebrations for the holidays; fun and fantastic fall parties and gorgeous Thanksgiving gatherings so you can skip the trip to the store and simply enjoy. Yay for autumn and all the fun it now brings!

Cheers,
Tricia

Delivering Complete Prepackaged Designer Parties to Your Door

Toast goodbye to the hot summer months over this long holiday weekend with this hip-hot highball–The Long Hot Breeze.

Highball you say…it sounds like a cocktail to me. I agree, but a Royal Tart staffer came across a very fitting potential differentiation between cocktail and highball on Wikipedia. “Fitting” as this cocktail would be a great drink while you are entertaining around the pool during this long holiday weekend.

According to Wikipedia a cocktail is drunk in the evening before dinner, a highball is drunk in the afternoon when the sun is high (ball referring to the sun) and should be light and refreshing. O.J. and Ginger Ale certainly are refreshing and with a bit of heat from the vodka your entire party will be frolicking in the cool pool in no time.

Ingredients:

1 oz Pepper Vodka

3 oz Fresh squeezed orange juice

3 oz Ginger Ale

Optional Garnish: fresh jalapeño pepper slice float or if you have time make jalapeño pepper ice cubes.

Directions:

Fill a highball glass with ice cubes; pour in the vodka and the O.J. then top the glass off with the Ginger Ale. Enjoy the delicious taste and great feel of a hot summer breeze. Garnish with a slice of fresh jalapeño or if you have time make jalapeño ice cubes before the barbeque: place a slice of fresh jalapeño in a set of ice cube trays; fill each tray with water; freeze; add a few jalapeño ice cubes to each glass along with regular ice cubes for a hot happening look.

Enjoy this holiday weekend, kiss the summer breeze goodbye and say “hello” to autumn.

Cheers,

Tricia

Delivering Complete Prepackaged Designer Parties to Your Door

It’s getting to be that time of year…autumn that is.

This weekend while you are celebrating the last vestiges of summer take a few minutes between bites of potato salad and hamburger to daydream about the next celebration or event you might have to celebrate the fall. Is the next occasion a back to school tea or perhaps an afternoon in front of the fireplace with a juicy book and some warm apple cider? Are you going to host a Halloween carnival? Spooky dinner? Cozy brunch? Crisp afternoon lunch?

Anyway you slice it (the apple pie that is) you can delight in all things autumnal with a few minutes of party planning while you’re in the party mood.

Enjoy the weekend, kiss the summer goodbye and say “hello” to autumn.

Cheers,
Tricia

Delivering Complete Prepackaged Designer Parties to Your Door