Tiny Tips by Gooseberry Patch

Have you heard about the new Tiny Tips books by Gooseberry Patch? These books are ADORABLE- like anything coming out of the Gooseberry Patch farm isn't adorable, right? Oh I digress but as always I'm a huge fan of their cookbooks and now a new fan of their Tiny Tips books.

I had the pleasure of reviewing Tiny Tips for Get-Togethers and Tiny Tips for Gifts to Make & Give. These are 100 page books, jammed packed with quick & creative tips and quotes complied for their given subject.  As always, I brought out a pack of sticky notes to go through the Tiny Tips books. These are hard back books, just the right size to stick in your purse to have something handy to read when you have a few minutes here and there.

The Tiny Tips for Get-Togethers was a perfect book for me because whenever possible I do love to toss together a get-together. I'm always looking for new ideas to try and to share with others.  

Here are a few of my favorite new tips:

• *A good rule of thumb for appetizers...serve 6 to 8 per person if dinner will follow. Plan for 12 to 15 per person if its an appetizer-only gathering. (Good to know. I always have plenty of food for my parties BUT never know what to tell someone when they ask how much to have per person.)

• *Toss a bundle of cinnamon sticks or orange peel into a crackling fire for a delightful fragrance. (I'm trying this this weekend for our first bon fire of the season!)

• *Peppers make garden-fresh servers for catsup, relish and mustard! Just cut a slice off the bottom so they'll sit flat. (YES and it is beautiful! Here is my example that my 11 year old made when she was in charge of the veggie tray.)

• *Be sure to have some plastic containers and labels on hand to send everyone home with leftovers...if there are any! (Super tip. I love sending home leftovers. Next time I will have containers ready to go!)

• *For a party favor they'll "flip" over, copy family favorite recipes onto 4" X 6" index cards and slip into a mini photo album. (I do this for myself and now I know to do this for others. My picture is of mini photo albums where I slid in pictures and recipes for recipes that I want to try. Once I try them and find that they are worth eating again I then put them on an actual recipe card. Sometimes, if there is room, I tape/glue the photo to the back of the recipe card.)

How about you? Do you have any "tiny tips for get-togethers?" I'd LOVE to hear them. Leave a tip and then go enter the Gooseberry Patch Big Book of Home cooking Giveaway. Hurry it ends 9/23/2011. 

Don't forget to pick up these Tiny Tips books for yourself or for gifts for others!