Quaintrelle Weekender

Four ways to a better weekend

Welcome to Quaintrelle Weekender.

This is a short list of things I am currently loving to make eating, drinking, and hosting easier and a lot more interesting.

I will be finishing off August at the cottage.

Well, that’s the working plan, anyway. Ontario has been so. rainy. this season that I’m not optimistic our hiking, kayaking, and beaching plans will really be the fun in the sun we envision.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Mother Nature might bless us before we tumble back into the cool, misty fall.

With my cottage firmly in my thoughts, this week’s recommendations are focused on solutions for elegant gatherings, even in the wifi-less wilderness.

If you have any party tricks of your own, do leave them in the comments, I think we could all benefit from an easy entertaining hack or two.

Just Chill

A brilliant solution for ice buckets!

No one ever has enough ice. Ever. And even when they think they’ve bought enough bags, those one-inch ice cubes melt in a flash in the muggy heat of summer.

This is a party trick, that we discovered in smouldering Avignon, or should I say Oven-gnon, solves that problem. Our rental did not have a proper wine bucket, nor a huge amount of ice, as it doesn’t seem the French are not really into ice. C’est dommage!

As necessity is the mother of all invention, we froze water in a small sauce pot to get a gigantic block of ice that was slow to melt. If you have silicone cake molds or loaf pans that would be even better for easy removal. But if not, do what we did in the heat-blanketed south of France: freeze the water in a sauce pot overnight, take it out in the morning to thaw slightly, by lunch it’s loosened up enough to plop into a larger bucket and keep your bottles cold all day.

This trick also works for floating in punch bowls when you want to keep drinks chilled, not waterlogged.

Hostess Gift Idea

Pre-Batched Cocktails.

Remember when I shared my “first dinner at the cottage” menu a few weeks ago? (If not, it’s linked below.)

I also like to pre-batch a pitcher full of cocktails, so when we finally arrive at our destination – tired, hungry, not overly energized to do anything more than jump in the lake – I can simply pour out a drink and enjoy.

Of course, this is also a banger of an idea to bring as a hostess gift, or to a potluck. Check out these recipes for pitcher margaritas, daiquiris, sangria and more.

Glow Up

Dollar Store Glow Sticks

A friend brought a pack of these with him to the cottage when he came for a visit, and it was ingenious.

You know when you wake up in the middle of the night, needing to pee or get a glass of water, or, ironically, both, but you don’t want to fully wake yourself, and everyone else, by turning on the lights or using the harsh, blue light of your phone? Glow sticks to the rescue. The soft, but far reaching, light helps you navigate dark corners with ease.

When you’re walking down a country road in the early morning or late evening dusky hours, glow stick bracelets let people see you easier – especially in a place where joggers and walkers aren’t common, and drivers don’t expect anyone on the road.

Even taking in a community movie night in the park or fireworks on the beach, glow sticks let you find your tribe easier. Just hope it’s the right tribe… a lot of people read this.

No spills!

Wet paper towel serving tray

Like any civilized group of individuals, we all take turns hauling ourselves off the beach lounger to make the next round of drinks (presuming we didn’t use tips #1 and #2 to bring the drinks with us.)

However, the pesky detail of bringing all the cocktails in one trip can be a bit tricky – especially when a proper serving tray is nowhere to be found.

Fret not, use your cutting board and a damp paper towel. The paper towel will both stick to the board and provide a non-slip surface for the glasses. (You can also use a jumbo muffin tray, but it only works if the glasses fit in the slots.)

Thanks for reading Quaintrelle Weekender. I hope you found this edition of use for your remaining summer soirées.

To keep Quaintrelle buzzing, please consider subscribing, sharing this post with a friend, and checking the little heart below to give us some energy in the algorithm.

Also, let me remind you of my all you can taste event with Wines of Argentina on October 3 in Toronto. Early bird tickets are selling at a thrillingly brisk clip, so we may sell out before the early bird pricing ends, but still, there are a tickets available. If you are in Toronto that day, and love good wine, fantastic food, and a fun party, I hope you will join us.

I’m back next Wednesday with a longer format essay that will include ideas for cocktails, wine pairings and recipes. I haven’t quite nailed down the exact content, but rest assured, it will be revolutionary, I’m sure.

Until then, stay cool. A sauce pot will help with that.

xo – Erin