Feeling patriotic? Entertain in red, white and blue

Try meatloaf cupcakes with colored mashed potatoes for Memorial Day or Fourth of July

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>>> memorial day is the unofficial kickoff to summer and what better way to celebrate than by entertaining in your own backyard. designer and entertainment expert mark adams is here with tips to help us all season long. good to have you here. we're going to first -- there are so many reasons to party during the summer. you have memorial day , july 4th and just summer in general. what's on the evengs list if i want to do a party on the fly?

>> well, on my essential list this is what all summer hosts should be using. acrylic napkin ring , melamine plates, acrylic glassware, two sizes, a wineglass and a tumbler, and i love these, recyclable flatware.

>> we've set some themes up here based on these items you mentioned. the first one is a patriotic theme.

>> it is. we have our red, white and blue working here and it's on a white tablecloth and everybody should have a white tablecloth in their summer entertaining arsenal and we're adding color with napkin and napkin rings.

>> what did you do with those?

>> this is versatile. i added a color pattern on the background and it matches all of my decor perfectly and it changes as you go through the summertime.

>> okay 0. quite brilliant. and of course i love vases and great shapes. this i call the doughnut vase. it makes me hungry every time i look at it. some of the great things here, red and blue ice cubes and a white flower.

>> tell me what you did food wise. i look at cupcakes and i look closer --

>> they are cupcakes. they're just meatloaf cupcakes. these are simple meatloafs cooked in muffin tins.

>> tell me that's not sugar icing.

>> it's not. it's mashed potatoes colored red, white and blue . wash it all down with a berry patriotic sangria with blueberries and raspberries frozen in the hottest thing this summer, fruit ice cubes . it will cool you down.

>> show me this theme.

>> this is citrus. start iing with our basics and adding another color here. i love the lemon, the tangerine and the lime colors here and my dinner ware is working overtime. these are plates and bowls to create a three-tiered food display. when you're not using your pitcher, put some flowers in it. of course our napkin rings. now we've changed the pattern. if you take a look, the rings are being used as a food display.

>> quickly show me what's down here.

>> this is mix and match. we have it all working together, all my essentials are working well. i love this because i created a make your own salad bar . and you can get all these premade and put them all in the bowls. the this is our melamine dinner wear and serving it with infused water. it has lemons and cucumbers and your pitcher is doing yet another duty.

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TODAY recipes

updated 5/29/2011 11:25:50 AM ET

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Many people start to feel very patriotic around Memorial Day and July Fourth, and like to display the red, white and blue when they entertain. Designer and entertaining expert Mark Addison's meatloaf cupcakes with colorful mashed potatoes are great for patriotic-themed holiday parties. And as we get closer to summer, Addison also shares refreshing drink ideas, too.

Recipe: Meatloaf cupcakes (on this page) Recipe: Sangria (on this page) Recipe: Gingered citrus cooler (on this page)

Recipe: Meatloaf cupcakes

Mark Addison

Ingredients

For meatloaf cupcakes:
2 pounds lean ground beef
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup warm water
1 1-ounce package dry onion soup mix
For red mashed potatoes:
3 large, cubed, peeled beets
2 pounds red skin potatoes
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup sour cream
Pepper to taste
For blue mashed potatoes:
3 pounds blue potatoes
2 1/2 ounces roasted garlic
2 ounces sour cream
1/2 ounce butter
1 ounce Parmesan, grated
Salt and pepper
For white mashed potatoes:
8 medium red potatoes, cubed
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup half-and-half cream
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Preparation

For the meatloaf cupcakes: In a large bowl, combine the beef, eggs, crumbs, ketchup, salt, water and soup mix. Mix well.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place aluminum muffin cups into muffin pans. Spoon meatloaf mixture into aluminum muffin cups. Remember, meat doesn't rise, so if you want a nice dome to your muffins, you need to sculpt it out beforehand.

Place muffin pans into oven and cook for 40 minutes, or until a nice, meaty brown. Allow the muffins to cool a bit.

After potatoes are ready, pipe them onto the muffins as you would icing.

For red mashed potatoes: Roast the beets at 370 degrees F for 30 to 45 minutes or until fork tender. Meanwhile boil the potatoes in salted water. Drain the potatoes, add the pepper, beets, vinegar and sour cream. Mash, and then use an immersion blender to reach an extremely smooth consistency.

For blue mashed potatoes: Peel and cut the potatoes into cubes. Boil them in salted water for approximately 15 minutes or fork tender. Once potatoes have cooked, drain the water.
In a large bowl add the garlic, sour cream, butter and Parmesan to the potatoes, and mash until desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For white mashed potatoes: Place the potatoes into a large pot, and fill with enough water to cover. Add 1 teaspoon of the crushed garlic to the water for flavor. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork.

Drain the potatoes, and add the butter. Mash until the butter is melted. Mix in the half-and-half, sugar, garlic powder and remaining garlic. Mix potatoes with an immersion blender until smooth.

Serving

Use bacon bits, daikon radishes and green onions as garnish.

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Recipe: Sangria

Mark Addison

Ingredients

2 (750-ml) bottles white wine, chilled
1 cup brandy
Blueberries
Red apples, cubed
Raspberries
1/4 cup superfine sugar

Preparation

Freeze blueberries and raspberries in jumbo silicone ice cube molds overnight.

Pour the wine and brandy over fruit and sugar in to a large pitcher. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add fruit ice balls. Pour into acrylic wine glasses.

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