Across many Spanish-speaking cultures and particularly in Puerto Rico, you may hear the phrase “viernes social” come Friday morning. Though the literal translation of “social Friday” almost defines it, it really describes a feeling of partying, socializing, and celebrating life. Think of it being similar to the “TGIF” sentiment.
From now on, each Friday on ModernMami will be Viernes Social. You can expect to find a contest, fun tidbit, or maybe even a featured guest. The idea is to embrace the viernes social spirit and celebrate!
Now on to our first official Viernes Social…
When hosting holiday dinners and get-togethers, my biggest issue is coming up with side dishes. Outside of the rice dish and green salad, I struggle to come up with fun and interesting sides that will please the Puerto Rican palette of my family.
If, like me, you need a little help this holiday season and are looking for new recipes, you might like the Real Holiday Helpings site from Hellmann’s. They’ve partnered up with Food Network chef, Bobby Flay, to provide you with some tips. There are lots of recipes – from appetizers and entrees to sides and desserts – as well as videos of Bobby Flay making a few of the dishes.
You can find videos that show you how to make these dishes from Bobby Flay:
- Turkey Cuban Sandwich
- Caramelized Onion Dip
- Roasted Green Beans with Almond Aioli
- Cuban-style Corn
- Caesar Salad Crostini
I’m a little skeptical about some of the recipes, since I never imagined that you could use mayonnaise in dishes like pizza, chicken parmesan, or carrot cake. But, I guess I’d have to try them to see how they actually taste. The recipes that look the most interesting to me that I might try are:
- Cuban-style Corn
- Sweet Potato Fries with BBQ Mayo
- Baked Horseradish-glazed Chicken Wings
To celebrate the launch of Hellman’s Real Holiday Helpings, one of you has a chance of winning a $25 American Express gift card. That should help you as you prepare for upcoming holiday dinners, right?
How to Enter
If you’d like to enter this contest for a $25 American Express gift card, simply leave a comment below and let me know what your biggest struggle is when preparing a holiday dinner.
For extra entries:
- Tweet about this contest with a link back to this post and include @modernmami in your tweet. You must leave a separate comment with a link to your tweet for your entry to count.
- Subscribe to this blog via email and leave a comment with the email you used to subscribe. (You can use the email field to do this instead of putting your email in the comment if you prefer.)
- Subscribe on friendfeed and leave a comment with your friendfeed ID.
All entries must be in by Wednesday, December 9 at 11:59 pm EST. Make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry. The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be notified via email. (Please be sure to provide a valid email address with your entry.)
Disclosure: I received a $25 American Express gift card from BSM Media in conjunction with this promotion.







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My biggest struggle is deciding what to cook
getting it ready in time is usually a problem, but this Thanksgiving I managed to shop at two stores in the morning, take care of my pets & the neighbor’s pets, peel potatoes & get stuff ready while watching the parade on tv, & still get ready on time!
My biggest struggle is actually getting the holiday dinner done on time. Always some last minute oops.
My biggest challenge when preparing a ‘holiday feast’ is keeping everything warm ’til all the guests have arrived and are ready to eat!
Thanks for the chance to win!
Good Luck and Happy Holidays to all!
I follow on Twitter and ‘Tweeted’:
http://twitter.com/LT38/status/6506535077
Email subscriber!
Subscribed to ‘FriendFeed’!
FriendFeed Username: lee38
LeAndrew Taylor
my biggest is making sure all is hot at the same time
Trying to get everything done before my family arrives!
My biggest struggle is my kids they only really eat mac and cheese so I have to make that too. I am trying Goya recipes this year so it should be more exciting this yr.
My biggest struggle in preparing for a holiday dinner is just making the time! My family is a little too demanding and it’s hard for me to do anything I want, this is no exception! Also, it would be nice if I had two ovens lol!
I tweeted
http://twitter.com/ShesAnAngel417/status/6509319749
I subscribed via email
The mess that you end up with after all the preparation is my biggest problem. I just try to clean as I go
jason(at)allworldautomotive(dot)com
Tweeted!
http://twitter.com/parkerozgood/status/6510599243
jason(at)allworldautomotive(dot)com
Having too many leftovers. I cook too much food, and it really goes to waste. Thanks
tweeted.
http://twitter.com/ccboobooy/status/6510933023
the biggest struggle is making everything together so that everything is warm when it hits the table
i dont have but one oven , and i need 2
My biggest struggle is keeping the foods warm while I am cooking others too!
Tweet!
http://twitter.com/Deb55106/status/6514419531
I am a new email subscriber
My biggest problem is getting everyone to get to the house on time for a nice hot meal.
My biggest struggle is TIME ALONE in the kitchen. I’m a one cook in the kitchen kind of gal and I get really flustered when someone else is there trying to “help”.
Thanks Hellman’s and Modern Mami!
Jes~
greimanj@comcast.net
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