Planning a holiday party and deciding what to serve can be a headache. This year, why not simplify things by focusing on those two can’t-lose crowd-pleasers, chocolate and coffee? When chocolate’s feel-good endorphins pair up with the energizing power of coffee, you can practically hear them whispering, “’Tis the season to be jolly!”
Looking for inspiration for an unforgettable holiday repast? Morris Health & Life called on three Morris County chefs to create a three-course menu for a festive dinner you can create in your own kitchen. Each course serves six to eight people.
Color, fabrics and lighting are the building blocks upon which your fête will be set. Red, always a hallmark hue for the season, needn’t be your only option. Golds, silvers and winter-whites can also add sparkle to your table. And speaking of sparkle, candles will enhance the ambience, especially if you place them near glass or mirrored pieces that will twinkle in their light.
Don’t forget the young ones when you plan the season’s entertaining. Kids deserve to party too, and you may even catch a moment to hobnob with their chaperoning parents. You’ll find that a savvy selection of colors, decorations and tasty treats can help make your bash a smash.
Cyber Monday is a godsend to those of us who did not want to be seriously trampled during the Black Friday stampede at the big chain stores. Enjoy today’s online deals and finish shopping for everybody on your holiday gift list. Cyber Monday sales boast free shipping, additional savings on already reduced items, freebies with your purchase, and more! Check out the list of gift categories and online resources
Looking to help families in need this season? Check out operation sleighbells/holiday giving, the century-old program run by Long Branch-based Family & Children’s Service (732-222-9111, www.fcsmonmouth.org).
at the clean ocean action’s “sunset at sandy hook” event at sea gulls’ nest Restaurant on sandy hook, locals enjoyed fare from more than 30 area restaurants and caterers, plus auctions and live music. Funds raised will aid the group’s effort to improve the quality of the marine waters off the new Jersey/new York coast.
Decadent 2¼-ounce Jersey Girl chocolate bars by Chester-based Jersey Brands (908-879-3072, www.jerseygirlchocolate.com), retailing for about $2 each, promise to leave your taste
buds in a blissful state indeed.
The Cassilianos were in good hands. When Monmouth Medical Center opened its Regional Newborn Center in 1968, the hospital made perinatal history by becoming the first hospital in New Jersey and the first community hospital in the nation to establish a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Now a state-designated level III regional perinatal center, it has consistently attained one of the highest infant survival rates among NICUs in the country.
FLIPME is an innovative new dating service that involves passing a card with a catchy pick-up line to someone who catches your eye in person, then allowing the connection to kindle online.
Open since March, the casual eatery keeps the earth in mind with every slice, serving pizzas and other fare made in-house with about 75 percent organic ingredients.
The Ronald McDonald house of Long Branch and New Brunswick hosted its “Better Together” casino night at PNC Banks Arts Center in Holmdel. Proceeds help provide a place to stay for the families of seriously ill children.
Guests hit the links at the Count Basie Theatre’s Annual Golf Outing at Beacon Hill Country Club in Atlantic Highlands. Monies raised will be used for a theatre endowment, a restoration and operations.
a fun-filled train ride in a century-old passenger coach with Old Saint Nick on board to greet children and pose for pictures.
Embarking from the train station at the museum at Allaire State Park in Farmingdale, the 20-minute rides are offered from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on November 26 through 28 and December 4, 5, 11, 12, 18 and 19; there are also nighttime rides from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on December 11 and 18.
When people need immediate medical care, emergency departments must act quickly and efficiently. But what happens when an ED outgrows its capacity? That was the challenge at Monmouth Medical Center until a recent renovation, because the number of patients using the facility was sharply on the
rise. “The last time the department had an overhaul was back in 1987, when we saw just 27,000 patients a year,” says Catherine Hanlon, M.D., Monmouth’s chair
of emergency medicine. Now that number has soared to a record 54,000 patients a year.
