Product Placement Wednesday - Crate & Barrel Stacking Acrylic Wine Glasses

If you have read my previous posts over the years, you know that I LOVE picnic season! Yes, I realize it is January and picnic season seems very far off to many of you but GREAT deals on picnic items don't wait for the sun to shine!

You may already be familiar with some of my other picnic favorites from the past such as Steady Sticks and the Table in a Bag. Well this little steal goes perfectly with those items.

Crate & Barrel Stacking Acrylic Wine Glasses

These glasses great for picnics, pool side, or anywhere you don't want to take glass wine glasses. The alternative of drinking wine out of a red Solo cup just doesn't work for me! They fit perfectly on a Steady Stick for all of you fellow picnic lovers out there! Also, they are stackable so they take up very little cabinet space!

So why am I sharing this item in January? Because Crate & Barrel has them on super sale! Normally they are $3.95 a piece but right now you can get them for a fraction of the cost! Clear and blue are marked down to $.97 and green & red are just $.47!

Of course you don't have to save these cute glasses just for outdoor use! With the colors available they also lend themselves nicely to both Christmas and Hanukkuh. At this price you can pick up enough for next year's holiday party or any other occasion!

I personally picked up some blue glasses - which color are you getting?

Don't forget to check out my picnic recipes here, here and here!

It's Picnic Season!!!! - Part 2

As I mentioned last month, Cinespia was showing one of my favorite films of all time - Heathers!

For this screening, the food was done potluck style (well, organized potluck) with everyone bringing an item to share. Items included a gorgeous salad, many cheeses, fresh fruit, gourmet cupcakes in addition to the items below. We shared a picnic area with another group of friends who also brought a fabulous picnic so really we had more options than we knew what to do with!

Antipasto & Caprese Skewers

(Note: All ingredients are from Trader Joe's but similar items can be found at any market.)

1 8oz container ciliegine mozzarella, each piece cut in half (or fresh mozzarella cut into 1/2 cherry tomato sized pieces)

24 pieces of salami

1/2 roasted red pepper, approximate

24 kalamata olives, pitted

48 sugar plum (grape) tomatoes

4 basil leaves, approximate

balsamic reduction

Antipasto Skewers

1. Cut red pepper in to bite sized pieces large enough for your skewer.

2. Spear kalamata olive, folded piece of salami, red pepper and mozzarella onto skewer. Repeat for all 24 skewers.

Caprese Skewers

1. Tear or cut basil into appropriate sized pieces for skewers.

2. Spear tomato, basil and mozzarella onto skewer. Repeat for all 24 skewers.

Serve with balsamic reduction (click here for instructions).

Makes 48 skewers

Before

After

Lentil Cashew Pate

(Note: This is a recipe created by my friend Katie. She can be quite the culinary wizard and just made this recipe up as she went. Heathers is known for such lines as "Great pate but I've got to motor if I'm going to be ready for that funeral." so pate was a must have for this event. With a lot of vegetarians in the house, this was an ideal option!)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup cashews

1 cup lentils

1 tablespoon lemon juice

rosemary, salt, & pepper, to taste

crackers

apples, sliced

1. Heat olive oil in skillet and saute garlic and onions until lightly browned.

2. Place garlic and onion mixture, cashews, lentils and lemon juice into a food processor. Pulse until mixture is smooth yet is still retaining texture.

3. Add rosemary, salt & pepper to taste and lightly pulse to mix.

4. Serve with crackers and apple slices.

This event was perfect to use the Steady Sticks! Here is a (slightly overblown) action shot.

We still don't have the Table in a Bag but I am hoping to acquire one soon since they are currently on sale! This is the perfect picnic item for cemetery screenings.

Product Placement Wednesday - Steady Sticks

Keeping with last week's theme of picnic friendly items (as well as my next post), I am pleased to introduce you to Steady Sticks! Steady Sticks are stainless steel in-ground stakes that hold your wine glass. They are perfect for a picnic or even at the beach (don't forget to use a plastic wine glass like these). I am wishing we would have had them for last week's Cinespia cemetery screening of Vertigo. Let's just say that one of our picnic blankets is going to need a visit from a serious stain remover.

While the site above sells the Steady Sticks, I have found better pricing as follows:

Crate & Barrel - $9.95

Amazon.com - $10.07 (available for Super Saver Shipping)

Also offered on Amazon, is the Steady Sticks holder for your wine bottle. This sells for $10.07 and is available for Super Saver Shipping too.

The best deal is the full set by True Fabrications. It is not officially "Steady Sticks" brand but you get two wine glass holders and the bottle holder. It is available via Amazon.com at is $14.99.