Wednesday, February 29, 2012

It's National Surf & Turf Day

Pinit
Did you know that National Surf & Turf Day is celebrated every February 29? I didn't. But I think the fact that it only happens every four years is reason enough to celebrate it. Besides, it is delicious! Here's a recipe for you that I like:

Grilled Surf-and-Turf with Spicy Garlic-Shallot Butter
Serves 6

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 large shallots, quartered
  • 4 large garlic cloves, halved
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 6 8- to 10-ounce New York strip steaks (each about 3/4 inch thick)
  • 3 10-ounce uncooked lobster tails, thawed if frozen, cut lengthwise in half
Preparation:
  1. Combine first 7 ingredients in processor and blend until almost smooth. Spread 1 heaping teaspoon seasoned butter over each side of each steak and over each lobster half. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Transfer remaining seasoned butter to small saucepan.
  2. Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Set pan with butter at edge of barbecue until butter is melted and warmed through. Grill steaks until cooked to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side. Grill lobster, shell side down, 5 minutes. Turn over and grill until meat is just opaque in center, about 3 minutes. Transfer steaks and lobster to plates. Serve with warm seasoned butter.
From Epicurious.com

Monday, February 13, 2012

Ocean Styles Pin It To WIN!

Pinit


Over at Ocean Styles, we have really become addicted to Pinterest and we are excited that so many people are finding us and having so much fun pinning the things they like from our little store! Because we love it so much, we've decided to start a monthly giveaway contest to say thanks for sharing us with the world.

If you already love Pinterest as much as we do (or if you just need a reason to get started) we will be giving you a chance to win a $25 gift certificate every month, just for pinning what you like! Maybe you could use the $25 towards purchasing whatever it is you pinned.



So, you might be wondering, how do I enter?

It couldn't be easier! Just pin anything you like from our website or our blog. It could be your favorite product, article, DIY craft or recipe. That's it. That's all you have to do. Enter as many times as you want... One pin = one entry. We'll choose a winner at random every month from that month's pins. Winners will be announced here and on our Facebook page so if you don't follow us there, now's a great time!

If you're new to Pinterest or haven't gotten started yet, here are the answers to a few questions you might have:

I'm not a member of Pinterest and I need an invitation. Just send us an email at customerservice@oceanstyles.com or hit up our Contact Us page and we'll send you an invitation. Although we can't guarantee Pinterest membership, we're pretty sure you'll be pinning in no time! Once you're a member, it's really easy to get started and there's a helpful Pinning 101 section that answers lots of beginners' questions.

Do I need to follow Ocean Styles on Pinterest to enter? No you don't, but we'd love it if you did! You can find our boards at http://pinterest.com/oceanstyles. If you're not interested in Halloween recipes I pinned for my kids last October or other such personal craziness, you might want to follow just this board, http://pinterest.com/oceanstyles/beach-decor/, instead of all of them.

I'm already a member but I've never pinned anything...what do I do? Well, we try to make it easy for you. On all of our product pages and blog post pages, we already have a convenient little button for you to click. Otherwise, if you haven't already, we recommend that you install the Pin It button on your browser toolbar. It's the easiest way we've found to pin from wherever you are. Once you have the button, it's as simple as clicking around our website or our blog and finding something good to share!

Do repins count? Yes, as long as what you're repinning is linked back to our website or our blog, you are welcome to repin anything from around Pinterest. Just be sure to check the original source!