December 20, 2011

Every year there is a mad dash to get holiday parties booked and executed at the same time, I like to call it “The Holiday Scramble.”  This year was no different. We had three back to back parties, two breakfasts, and a lunch.  There were breakfast burritos for a tenant appreciation in Irvine Thursday the 15th, Quiche for an employee appreciation in San Dimas Friday the 16th and finally a “Mashed Potato Bar” for an employee holiday lunch  Monday the 19th in Stanton, “Whew!” I am tiered just typing that! Despite the frigid temperatures, hurricane force winds, and thunderstorms  all went considerably well! Christmas music filled the air, ornaments, pinecones, garland, and poinsettias glistened on Christmas trees and tabletops,  candy canes, fudge and warm cookies tickled the senses while smiles and chatter of the coming holiday brought laughter throughout every event! Each party put everyone in the Holiday Spirit, filled bellies and brightened faces. Many thanks and a job well done to everyone that worked with us and recommended our services. All of us here at Absolute Events wishes everyone a happy and fun filled safe holiday.

Saturday, December 31st from 8:00pm – 1:00am @ 766 St Clair, Costa Mesa CA 92627

Tickets $75.00 per person – Dessert, Open Bar, Music & Dancing

CLICK HERE FOR MORE EVENT INFORMATION

A very good friend referred me to IAEDP (International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals) of Orange County to help assist with planning their Annual Holiday Fundraising Event Winter Celebration of Life, Gift of Recovery.  The setting took place at Cheryl Burke’s Dance Studio in Laguna Niguel…you know the Ballroom Dancer who was paired up Season 13 with Rob Kardashian on ABC’s Hit Show “Dancing with the Stars” (HELLO!).  What a perfect atmosphere to have a party like this.  The hardwood floors and mirrors along with a built in bar and lounge furniture helped create the mood for the evening.  I would highly recommend and use this location again!

There was an estimated attendance of 75 people and Casino Night was the theme of the party with Blackjack, Roulette & Craps Tables for guests to play and win tickets to enter into the raffle.  They were giving away such great prizes…Massage and Dinner Packages, Designer Purses, Gift Baskets and even an ipad.  They also had a silent auction giving away an Acoustic Guitar signed by Lady Antebellum, Sunglasses, Jewelry and much more!

Absolute Events helped organize their food, rentals and linen needs for the night.  We served an array of Appetizers: Pita Bread & Hummus, Gourmet Cheese Platter with a Basil Torte, Tortilla Rolls, California Rolls, Chicken Springs Rolls and Cherry Tomatoes stuffed with a Basil Mousse.  Dessert included Old Fashioned Cookies, with some Devine Cookies and Gourmet Brownies.  To top it all off a great mix of music was provided by DJ Keelez…I think I even saw a few people dancing to the beats after a couple glasses of wine.  It was hard to resist NOT dancing.  A special thank you to Maggie Baumann & Karen Schneller for giving Absolute Events the opportunity to be a part of this event.  I can’t wait to see what you guys do next year!

A Special Thank You to Oscar at GEC Events for the referral to this client & for DJing and organizing the games for this event…we make such a GREAT TEAM!

Here’s to another successful company picnic this past weekend at Doheny State Beach.  All odds were against us with the weather and a power outage in Costa Mesa Sunday morning which made it super difficult to access our picnic supplies and equipment to pull of this day!  But if there is a will there for sure is truly a way and we all made it happen!  Even though we had a wet start the day turned out to be beautiful, warm and sunny!  Everyone was in great spirits and didn’t let a little rain scare them away.

The theme for this year’s picnic was Jamaican.  We had an acoustic live Steel Drum Band by Island Groovin to set the mood off right.  We provided tons of decorations to help create a Caribbean vibe with crates, barrels, nets, seashells, sea life, tiki torches, and thatching.  DPR handed out tie-dye t-shirts and rasta hats to all their guests which brought the whole party to life with color!  Our favorite games master, Dave & his assistant joined us to entertain everyone with some traditional and not so traditional picnic games and races and also coordinated a limbo contest with the band to some Bob Marley tunes.   Absolute Events also helped organized a Sand Art Booth, a Jewelry Craft Booth, Face Painting & even Hair Braiding.  And of course, as always, great BBQ food and tons of drinks were provided by Doheny State Beach’s exclusive caterer.  It was such a pleasure working with DPR Construction who was generous enough to host this beach picnic for their employees and their families….YA MON!

This is the 2^nd year I have had the opportunity to help plan Irvine Company Office Properties’ Employee Picnic at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point.  This has to be my favorite type of party to plan…an ALL Adult Picnic!  No muss, no fuss, no arts & crafts or face painters, just good old fashion hanging out and having a good time.  We put together a very chill, relaxing afternoon for their department employees which included an Acoustic Steel Drum Band, Lawn Games such as Bocce Ball, Ladder Golf, Cornhole, Washers, & Tug-a-War.  They also reserved Sand Volleyball Courts on the Beach and Surrey Bikes from Wheel Fun Rentals.  Lunch included BBQ Tri Tip, Chicken & Hot Dogs, Libations flowing all day, and for dessert, Chocolate Dipped Ice Cream Bars…WHAT!?!  This to me is the only location in Orange County that gives way to having a perfect event such as this!

What a AWESOME day to have a Company Picnic down at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point!  This was the 1st time in over 6 years LAN International put on a company picnic for their employees and boy did they go all out! The weather was perfect…warm with a slight breeze!  You couldn’t have asked for a better day.   There was yummy BBQ food, drinks flowing all day long, face painting for everyone, picnic games, relay races, prizes and sand art & crafts.  I had the best time working this event with the kids and adults at the crafts table.  Can’t wait to do this event again next year!

Every year the General Mills – Yoplait Plant in Carson, CA celebrates their end of fiscal year by hosting an Employee Appreciation Breakfast & Lunch for their workers.  They all come together to recap their year’s work with a presentation of awards and plan of attack for next year’s sales goals.  This year the organizer kicked it up a notch and invited one of their own, Eugene Buenaventura with Fortun Entertainment, to DJ the entire event.  We set up a presentation canopy and seating for 200 people.  Food consisted of: Breakfast Buffet with Breakfast Burritos, Muffins & Danishes, Fresh Fruit, Coffee and Juice for those employees that just came on shift at 6:00am; and Lunch Buffet with Tri Tip Beef, Sausage Sandwiches, Baked Beans, Coleslaw and Cookies for those employees that had already been on shift most the night. We fed over 370 people through the course of the day; another successful event by Absolute Events.

The Turkey Burger is a healthy alternative to the age old beef burger. The extra lean turkey meat is more of a backup singer to the real star, with fresh vegetables and seasonings. This moist, tender meat is a bit more expensive than beef but well worth the few extra dollars.



Grilled Mediterranean Turkey Burgers

Serves 4

For those who go bun-less, buy extra iceberg lettuce (chill in fridge) and wrap it up.

Ingredients:

1lb of Ground Turkey (extra lean “Jenny-o” recommended)

1 egg

1/2 cup of Feta cheese

Optional: 10-12 Saltine Crackers (any type of cracker will work I find saltines to work the best)

1/4 cup of Chopped Onion

1/2 Tbsp Minced Garlic

Garlic Salt (to taste)

Red Pepper Flakes (for that little extra kick)

Toppings (optional):

Avocado

Spinach leaves (pictured above)

Sprouts

Directions:

Brown the chopped onion and minced garlic.

In a separate bowl, mix together the ground turkey, egg,  feta cheese, and seasonings.

Crumble the saltine crackers into the mixture (optional). When onion and garlic have browned, add them to the mixture.

Using your hands, mix together all of the ingredients until the mixture is solid enough for you to form 4 burger patties.

Placing the meat in the fridge and letting it stand for a few hours will let all the flavors infuse throughout the meat.

Warm up that BBQ or Heat large skillet and Cook until one side has browned then flip over.

Cook time will vary, depending on thickness of burgers. Before finished, cut thru the center of one burger and make sure color is consistent (not pink). Remove from heat, place on toasted buns or wrap in lettuce and add toppings.

If you Grill these up let us know what you think!