The art of summer entertaining with Raina Seitel
Raina Seitel is an Emmy-award winning broadcast journalist. She is a host, writer and producer, currently seen on NBC’s daily lifestyle program, “New York LIVE!” and now she joins The Hype magazine to talk about how summer time is a great time to get outside to enjoy the sunshine, fire up the grill and spend time with family and friends. That means of course tasty snacks and refreshing beverages to help create a memorable atmosphere for your friends and family. The Hype Magazine caught up with entertaining expert Raina Seitel to discuss some simple entertaining tips, so you can enjoy the festivities, such as the must-have snacks and beverages and the do’s and don’ts of summer entertaining.
When it comes to hosting a get-together, we all want it to be as effortless as possible. What are a couple of tricks to creating a great party
Well, a few tips! First, I like to start with a theme, so a great theme makes a great party and it really sets the tone when it comes to planning, the decor, the food and the beverages. I also like to plan ahead. So, go to that party supply store weeks in advance, stock up on little knickknacks, your centerpieces, tablecloths, utensils, you name it, get all of that together, bring it home, organize it, put it away, and then about a week up leading up until the party go to the grocery store, make that to do list for groceries, flowers, etc. The day of, make yourself a timeline so that you are ready and relaxed to greet those guests when they walk through that door.
You’ve got a lot of great options in front of you. What are some of the must-have snacks and beverage ideas all your friends and family will enjoy?
Sure. Well, I’m thrilled to be teaming up with PepsiCo to bring you some of my summer must haves as they relate to food, and beverages. I want to start with the drinks because of course everybody wants a refreshing cocktail on a hot summer night and I’m loving the Tropicana Coco Blends. Now it’s a fruit drink mixed with a splash of coconut water – two flavors, Pineapple and Peach Passion Fruit. Again, a splash of that coconut water is super refreshing. you can serve these as is or you can make a fun, easy breezy cocktail like we have right here in front of us. Now I am no mixologist, but this is super simple, so I took the Pineapple Coco Blends. I’m mixing it with lime juice, grenadine, soda, water, ice and rum. So, you mix it together and you serve to your guests as they walk through the door.
They will love it! I’m a huge fan of iced tea all season long, but especially in these hot summer months, and I’m loving this. It’s the Pure Leaf Tea House Collection. It is brewed with real tea leaves, so you taste that really delicious freshness, organic flavors. I’m highlighting the Organic Black Tea Strawberry and Garden Mint which tastes as good as it sounds, and if for some of your guests have a sweeter tooth, you might want to try the Pure Leaf Sweet Tea. Again, we have a really fun cocktail or calling the pomelo twists.
You can see that right in front of us. So here we have this sweet tea poured over ice mixed with fresh squeezed grapefruit, muddled grapefruit, and you can see the salt on the rim of the glass, which gives it an extra kick and we garnish it with cilantro and a grape fruit wedge, which is super delicious and you can’t forget about the food because everybody wants to eat when they’re at a party. I’m loving the Lay’s Poppables today. I’m featuring the Honey BBQ because I think they go so well with summertime and BBQ fair. Also, a big fan of Doritos and I love this flavor. It’s called Doritos Blaze. It’s fiery, it’s spicy. It gives you that great kick.
Sounds delicious! What are some other tips to help keep the party going without adding stress?
I think also a good proponent of a great party is music, so I’m a huge fan of the classics and this summer Pepsi has horned their past and present musicians with these really cool retro cans featuring Britney Spears, Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, it’s a great conversation starter when it comes to a party also really delicious obviously. What’s really also pretty neat is there’s a code on specially marked packs of Pepsi and you can win Pepsi Stuff, so you enter online, and you can win Pepsi Stuff like this cooler right behind me, which is great. For those who are asking what’s a definite do? A definite do when throwing a party is, is making sure the yard is sprayed so that those mosquitoes don’t come in and eat your guests alive. That would be a big no, no. Also keep snacks at the ready. I love this Chocolate Chip Flavor Quaker Chewy Bites. They’re really easy to snack on. Granola in bite sized form, 100 percent whole grains and a lot of delicious ingredients.
Where can we go from more information?
About the Author
David Morales is the Executive Editor of The Hype magazine. A graduate of Eastern Michigan University, David has a background as an artist manager, writer, blogger, drummer, and in the human services industry. He is passionate about helping others, learning and has a deep empathy for the creative process. You can follow his social media @dcypherstudios
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