Figi's Gourmet Market

Although we are disappointed our Green Bay Packers did not make it to the Super Bowl again this year; we are excited to watch the New England Patriots and New York Giants battle for the Super Bowl XLVI Championship title.

Photo Credit to Figi's Gifts in Good Taste

Some may say that Super Bowl Sunday is the easiest “holiday” of the year.  You don’t need to buy presents for loved ones or decorate your home with seasonal trimmings.  All you need to do is provide enough comfortable seating and tasty snacks.

When it comes to snacks, Buffalo wings and 7-layer dip may be the first munchies to come to mind, but both require a lot of work to prepare.  Cheese is one of the easiest appetizers you can serve at your Super Bowl party.  Use the following tips to create a victorious game day cheese assortment.

Choose Your Cheese Selection

The best cheese platters have variety.  When deciding which cheese to use, choose blocks from different categories.

• Semi-hard: Cheddar, Colby, Gouda and Swiss
• Semi-soft: Brick, Monterey Jack and Ricotta
• Soft-ripened: Brie and Camembert

Broaden Your Pairings

Here at Figi’s, we love cheese and sausage, but we also know that there are many more excellent pairings.  The most popular cheese partners are fruit, vegetables and nuts.  To discover winning cheese combinations, check out the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board Cheese Pairing Guide.

Make Your Cheese Platter Unique

Who says cookie cutters are just for cookies?  Break away from typical sliced cheese tray by adding different shapes.  If you are really in the Super Bowl spirit, take a look at these football-shaped cookie cutters.

Remove Tray From Refrigerator Before Serving

Take your platter out of the refrigerator about an hour before your hungry guests arrive.  Cheese tastes outstanding at room temperature.

Cheese may be the MVP of Super Bowl appetizers, but when you serve it, you will be the MVP of Super Bowl party hosting.  What else will you be serving your family and friends on Game Day?

Photo Credit to Frits Ahlefeldt-Laurvig

After our last post, Fun Facts About the Top Christmas Songs of All Time, we learned from our readers that we missed quite a few popular Christmas songs.  So we have decided to write a sequel.  Here are more fun facts about popular Christmas songs.

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree

Although “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” was first released by Brenda Lee in 1958, it did not hit the charts that year or the following year.  By 1960, Lee became well known for other hits such as “I’m Sorry” and “Sweet Nothin’s” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” finally caught on to become a Christmas classic.

Frosty the Snowman

“Frosty the Snowman” was first recorded by Gene Autry as a follow-up to his successful recording of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”  It is considered to be a Christmas song; however, Christmas is not mentioned once in the song.

Jingle Bells

The words and music for “Jingle Bells” were written by American Composer James S. Pierpont in 1857.  The original title was “One Horse Open Sleigh.”  The song contains a third verse which is rarely sung

Now the ground is white
Go it while you’re young,
Take the girls to night
And sing this sleighing song;
Just get bob-tailed bay
Two forty as his speed.
Hitch him to an open sleigh
And crack, you’ll take the lead

All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)

Donald Gardner wrote the story in 1944 while substitute teaching for a second grade class.  His inspiration for the song came after asking his students what they wanted for Christmas.  He couldn’t help but notice that nearly all of his students were missing at least one front tooth.  He wrote the song in only 30 minutes.

Silent Night

The story of “Silent Night” began in modern-day Austria in December 1818.  A parish priest named Josef Mohr was upset that his church organ broke and would not be fixed by Christmas.  He told his friend, Franz Gruber who just so happened to be a headmaster and amateur composer.  He took a Christmas poem that Josef had written him nearly two years prior and set it to music.  That Christmas Eve, the church had music after all.  Josef played his guitar and the pair sang the first “Silent Night.”

Did we miss any more popular Christmas songs?  What are your favorites?

Photo Credit to Gardener's Supply Company

December is here and by now children and adults alike are beginning to count down the days until Christmas.  There are several different accessories used to count down to Christmas including ornaments, signs and even screensavers, but by far the oldest and most popular form of holiday countdown is with Advent calendars.

The Advent calendar tradition began in Germany in the late 19^th Century and was not a calendar at all.  Families would count down the days by drawing a chalk line above the door every day until Christmas.

The first printed calendar was produced by Gerhard Lang in the early 1900s, the exact date remains unknown.  He came up with the idea after his mother gave him a piece of cardboard with small candies attached.

Lang’s first calendar contained 24 small pictures that would be added to a piece of cardboard each day closer to Christmas.  The calendars were sold up until World War II when production stopped due to shortages caused by the war.

Photo Credit to Richard Sellmer Verlag

Richard Sellmer resumed producing calendars after the war.  Many say this is when the Advent calendar custom truly began.  Sellmer, himself, credited the Eisenhower family for the growth of the tradition after a newspaper article showed the First Grandchildren with the Little House Advent calendar.

The Advent calendar has undergone multiple modifications throughout the past one hundred years.  You can now find calendars fit for anyone: wooden calendars, felt calendars, everyone’s favorite chocolate calendars and our very own, Christmas Traditions Advent Calendar.

Are you counting down the days until Christmas?  What is your family’s holiday countdown tradition?

Photo Credit to Good Housekeeping

If you’ve hosted a holiday meal at your home in the past, you know preparing for guests can be a big job.  Whether it’s the cleaning, planning or cooking, preparing for a holiday celebration can be stressful and overwhelming.  While you aren’t able to cook the turkey today and save it until next week, there are other ways you can prepare yourself today.

1. Coordinate entrees with family

Just because you are hosting the dinner does not mean you have to be responsible for the entire meal.  Ask for help from relatives.  Have each family bring a side dish to pass.  Communicate ahead of time so there will be no surprises, i.e. three green bean casseroles.

2. Take inventory of your pantry

Plan your shopping trip.  See what you currently have on-hand and create your master list of what you still need.  This way you will avoid multiple trips to the grocery store throughout the next week.

Don’t forget about the spice rack, especially if you’re not a regular baker.

3. Get your knives sharpened

A sharp knife is the safest knife for carving a turkey.  If you haven’t had your knives sharpened in over a year, now may be the time.

4. Clean out your refrigerator

If you missed the most recent post about Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day, you’ll want to go read it now.  Toss out all the expired food and make room for all of those delicious dishes.

5. Get crafty with dinnerware

The majority of us probably do not have 30 matching bowls.   Instead of going out and buying a new set of dinnerware, Real Simple suggests you find a new use for an old thing.  Use coffee filters as the perfect-sized snack servers.

6. Decorate your table with inexpensive centerpieces

Centerpieces bring life to holiday tables, but why not use what you already have?  Good Housekeeping proposes gathering up all of your glass containers, placing candles inside and filling them with items such as cranberries, hazel nuts or autumn leaves.  Get creative with your own ideas.

Although we all look forward to the upcoming holidays, it is not unusual to feel overwhelmed.  Hopefully, a little planning ahead can help relieve that feeling.  How do you prepare yourself for the big Thanksgiving feast?