Day 20: Summer Entertaining GIVEAWAY from National Pork Board
Thanks for joining me in my “30 Days of Summer Entertaining” series. (Scroll down to the bottom for previous posts in this series) :)
Grilling is a big part of summer entertaining, so today’s post is a very exciting one!
Back in May, I was invited by my cute and inspirational friend, Marla Meridith, from Family Fresh Cooking, to attend a wonderful evening with … the National Pork Board. It was called a Pork Crawl, hosted by Jaden Hair from Steamy Kitchen. Basically, a group of bloggers went to some of the finest restaurants in Atlanta, where chefs created pork recipes in ways I’ve never experienced before.
Lori @ Recipe Girl, Angie @ Bakerella, Jenny @ Picky Palate, Jaden @ Steamy Kitchen, Sandy @ Reluctant Entertainer, Georgia @ Georgia Pellegrini, Marla @ Family Fresh Cooking, not pictured Carrie Minns @ La Pomme De Portland, and photo credit by Amanda @ Kevin & Amanda
And the night didn’t end there … when we got back to our hotel room, we were given a gift of great cooking tools and spices for making our own pork chops when we arrived home. (Items in very top photo – my favorite? The grilling pan and juicer! Both awesome!)
Yesterday I shared this fantastic recipe that our family enjoyed for an early Father’s Day celebration using fresh pork chops and glazed apricots.
Today I am sharing with YOU the exact same items I received from the National Pork Board, to give away here at RE to ONE LUCKY WINNER!
As the generosity continues … here are the items I’m giving away here on RE today:
Pork Be Inspired brand Apron
Pork Be Inspired Brochure
Digital Meat Thermometer
Cuisinart CCJ-100 Citrus Pro Juicer
Vacu Vin Pineapple Slicer
Norpro Grip-Ez Jalapeno Pepper Corer
Cuisinart Grill Pan (I’m most excited about this!)
Dry Ingredients (Salt, Light Brown Sugar, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Chili Powder)
If you are interested in receiving this generous gift from the National Pork Board, leave a comment and tell me:
What is it about summer entertaining that stressed you out?
Extra ways to win, 1 point each, and please come back and share the link.
-Tweet this giveaway (@SandyCoughlinRE)
-Share this post on your Facebook page
-Post this giveaway on your blog
-Become a brand NEW follower of RE Facebook page
-Become a brand NEW follower of ReluctantEntertainer.com (Brand NEW folks, easy to sign up with your email)Contest ends Wednesday at midnight, 6/22/11. Winner announced Thursday, 6/23/11 on RE.
(Very top photo credit of giveaway items from Carrie, La Pomme De Portland.)
If you’ve missed the last 19 days of this series, you can catch up now:
Day 1: Summer Entertaining is About the People
Day 2: When Perfect Robs You of Something Good
Day 3: Who To Invite to Dinner
Day 4: Planning the Menu for Outdoor Entertaining
Day 5: Setting the Table Using What You Have
Day 6: Using One Classic Water Glass
Day 7: Napkin Options for Summer Entertaining
Day 8: When You Feel Like Canceling the Party
Day 9: Leave Your Technology at the Front Door
Day 10: Candles That Enhance Good Conversation
Day 11: Serving Flavored Herb and Fruit Water
Day 12: Leafy Greens and a Tiny Bit of Agave
Day 13: Keeping Nut and Fruits and Cheeses on Hand for Easy Appetizers
Day 14: Move Your Table to a Different Space
Day 15: Greek Salad on a Stick and Getting the Kids Involved
Day 16: Three Lies of Perfectionism that Ruin Entertaining Moments
Day 17: Be Creative When You Run Out of Linens for Your Dinner Party
Day 18: Gather Around a Fire for Intimate Summer Entertaining
Day 19: Last Minute Father’s Day Invite and Pork Chops with Glazed Apricots
Feel free to grab my button and share it with your readers :).
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
I am a brand new fan of the Reluctant ENtertainer’s FB page.
What stresses me about summer entertaining is nothging more than the weather. Triple digits here and being outside isn’t a fun task for everyone, ice cream melts as soon as it hits the summer air LOL!
What stresses me out is making sure I have everyone’s needs and likes accommodated and also have kid-food and activities covered.
The heat really stresses me out! It’s too hot to get outside and enjoy doing family activities!!
I am stressed out about trying to manage the preparation/cooking/timing of the kitchen and outdoors cooking.
What stresses me out is the heat, humidity, and trying to figure out what to serve that a) is light and refreshing, and b) keeps me away from a hot stove! Thanks for the great giveaway!
i am a new fan on facebook!!
The one thing I become stressed about with summer entertaining is making sure I have the right food – food that people will like and taste good.
I’m new to the blog, but I joined your FB page and became a follower of your blog!
Summer entertaining stresses me out in the planning stages. I want everything to be perfect and it just seems like such an overwhelming task to clean, cook a meal I think is “impressive” and have it ready on time!
The thing that stresses me out with summer cooking is the heat! I am always worried about food spoiling!
New Follower on Facebook!
Tweet http://twitter.com/#!/yourpotofgold/status/82828483360862208
The one thing that stresses me out about summer entertaining is keeping the food nice and cool and fresh outside, especially over an hour or two.
Ahh, that’s a good one too. I live in Florida and I admit that being outside right now isn’t much fun! Let me know if you figure that one out. LOL!
Hmm…I was trying to reply to Jessica’s comment. I guess I didn’t do it right. *sigh* I need coffee! LOL!
Now I’m talking to myself. Feel free to delete these Sandy! I’m starting to sound a little nuts! Ha! Ha!
I like you on facebook!!
What stresses me out about summer entertaining— Keeping the house and outside in order— hard to do with a 2 yr and 4 yr old!!
What a great giveaway! I found your website through a Twitter link, so I’m a new subscriber via RSS and a new Facebook liker and I retweeted you!
Summer entertaining is the most fun I think because it’s easy to potluck. The things that stress me out though? Heat and bugs! I never want people feeling gross or thinking I’m gross!
summer entertainment stress: home & food presentation.
What a lovely giveaway, Sandy! Very generous of you and the National Pork Board to offer this package to one of your readers.
The thing that stresses me out most about summer entertaining, or entertaining at any time for that matter, is conversation. I’m a naturally very quiet and shy person so keeping up interesting conversation is a true trial for me. That’s the one reason that I don’t entertain very often.
I shared this post on my FB page.
Summer entertaining stresses me out because not only does the inside of the house have to look nice but my husband expects me to have the outside of the house nice looking too. It just adds to the amount of work that I have to get done besides the cooking.
We use a charcoal grill – which imparts the most amazing flavor – but the set-up takes forever. This is what stresses me out. I would love to grill more, but the thought of prepping the coals usually detracts from wanting the grill and then I just cook inside instead…
My house is never as straight and has organized as others. I love to entertain but feel I should be better organized before having others over. I am also always worried that people may not show. I love having get togethers and parties!! Games and ice breakers are the funniest part!!
My husband and I just had my dad and my husband’s dad over to celebrate Father’s Day last night and the meal was a full 1 hour late! As my husband sat in the living room keeping the slow conversation going, I was racing all over my kitchen, trying to be as quiet as possible so those in the next room wouldn’t know I was frantic. It seems like this is how entertaining goes for me…it is never the relaxed, at ease, relational event that Sandy inspires me toward. Inevitably, there are a number of details I have forgotten until the last moment or I misjudged the time everything will take (and with our elderly fathers, I couldn’t invite them into the kitchen to help with the chopping, etc. making one big, happy event.)
I will say, though, that I haven’t had both dads together for a meal for a very long time (we will often take them out or have one or the other in for frozen pizza). I attribute the courage to do this on this special day, to Sandy’s encouragements. Also, once we were f-i-n-a-l-l-y able to sit down, the rest of the evening ended up very relational. : )
I don’t usually get stressed out when entertaining and I love entertaining outdoors but we live in Florida so I would have to say it’s the heat that stresses me out. I hate for my guests to be uncomfortable but I love to be outside.