Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?
Three more days till Superbowl.
And we are opening our little black book of party planning and shared these easy as 1, 2, 3 steps for your weekend football fun.
1. Create a WOW focal point around the Superbowl theme.
Set the table with bbjlinen.com’s pigskin cloth, which you can easily DIY into a “football” by adhering white label tape from the office supply store into “laces” in the center.
Best of all – they deliver/ship right to you, and you can mail it right back.
2. The new, hot Superbowl cocktail in New York? Beer Shakes. And not just any old beer shake, but Burger Shack’s Klondike Beer Shake.
Klondike Shake Recipe:
Klondike Bars, from freezer section at your grocery (1 box makes 6 small shakes)
NY’s Brooklyn Beer (or any NY beer, or frankly any craft beer you like), 6 – 12 pack depending on guest count
Mix 4 unwrapped Klondike Bars, from the ice cream aisle, in a blender with a 1 bottle NY craft beer (we like Brooklyn Beer – maybe it is because we LOVE their shops and eats and flea market…). You can adjust the beer ratio for a thicker or thinner beer shake. Pour into glasses to serve, and top with a Klondike Bar, cut into quarters, right ontop as a garnish.
Debi’s trick: set glasses on a baking sheet, and place entire sheet in freezer, to keep cold until party. Voila – no bartending required when friends arrive.
Dress up those simple straws with our custom designed Superbowl flags – free and just a download away at debililly.com, underneath Follow Debi. Just print, cut and done.
3. Create an interactive tasting and small plates buffet for your guests to have fun trying new foods in a whole new way this Superbowl.
Manly man food can be served in cute and stylish ways, like a “Chowda” Bar, a nod to merry olde New England.
A New York Deli done “mini” by design is in order – with sleek white platters (many available right in your grocery aisle) arranged artfully, one flavor lined up in perfect lines, for a powerful presentation.
Confession: I gobbled down every single one of these on my way home from the segment. D-elish. Best breakfast ever.
Remember: The team flags are online, at debililly.com, under Follow Debi. Don’t serve a NY Deli mini without one wrapped ’round a toothpick, and skewared ontop.
Food by: the uber talented, fun, and beautiful Rachel Schwanz, entertainingcompany.com. Honestly, she just makes your party so much more fun. And better looking. Don’t throw one without her.
4. We ALL know a sweetscape is THE hottest trend going. We envisioned an edible stadium as the ultimate ‘Bowl dessert, and custom designed cookies into the players/elements of the turf in play on Superbowl Sunday, for the ultimate Football Fun.
To create the “turf”, wrap a rectangle shaped piece of styrofoam with sheet moss, using pins to secure in place. Next, create “yard lines” with white curling ribbon, right from the grocery. Start in the center, with the 50 yard line, then evenly create the 40, 30, etc. Label with white numeric labels from the office supply store. Last, insert your cookie pops, just in place on the field as you’ll see this weekend at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Cookies by: the darling, delivers right to your door Jessica Grose at her very own clearlycookies.com. She’s as sweet and charming and cute as these perfect, delicious cookies.
Another hot trend this season? The Butch Blender Bar. Whip up some Beer-garitas with my favorite margarita recipe EVER.
This is a spin off of my friend Kristin Pillsbury’s delicious recipe. I fell in love with them at Mom’s n’ Margaritas, one of my favorite parties of the year that she and other school moms throw each year, all in the name of Public School fundraising. Ahhh…the things we do in the name of our children’s education.
I was shocked at how delicious the beer element made the margarita. You will be too.
She uses Club Soda, I love me some ginger, so swapped the soda for Ginger Ale. I can promise, either way, they are perfection.
We had the best day EVER a few years ago, onset for a party/styling job, where my charge was whipping up frozen THESE margaritas with this exact tequila at The Oprah Winfrey Show for the beautiful Favorite Things for Summer while Robin Thicke rocked it out onstage.
Beer-garita Recipe:
Ingredients:
1 can frozen Limeade (makes 1 pitcher)
1 bottle light beer
1 bottle Ginger Ale
1 bottle Tequila
1 lime, sliced into flat rounds, with a slit for side of glass for garnish
Blender (I can’t live without my Ninja Blender!)
Ice
In a Ninja Kitchen System Blender, pour frozen Limeade.
Using now empty Limeade can, fill with beer. Add to blender.
Next, fill can with Ginger Ale. Add to blender.
Last, fill with Tequila. Add to blender. Add in ice, blend until frothy. Serve in glasses, with sliced lime wedge garnish floating ontop.
And of course, the straws make the drink. These are also a free download on debililly.com.
Beer Sliders – pour local NY and NE craft beers into mini glasses, and top with themed sliders to include Beef, Crabcake, Veg..all with delish toppings and sauces for garnish. (we have pink mayo on our crabcake sliders – how cute is that?)
Chocolate covered Bacon – brown up some delicious, all natural, sulfite free turkey bacon, while melting chocolate on your stovetop (double boiler is my favorite technique, making the chocolate nice and creamy). Once bacon is browned, dip into chocolate, and let cool to harden.
Lasagna for football lovers – now available in muffins.
Entertaining Company’s Lasagna Muffin Recipe:
1 cup Tomato-Basil Sauce
16 WonTon Wrappers (you can also buy Gluten Free)
8 oz Fresh Mozzarella (chopped)
4 oz Parmigiano Reggiano (grated)
4 oz Fresh Ricotta
Fresh Basil
Non-Stick Cooking Spray
Preheat oven to 375°F and spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
Reserve 6 tablespoons of grated Parmigiano and 6 tablespoons of fresh mozzarella for the top of the cupcakes. Begin with a wonton wrapper and press it into the bottom of each muffin tin. Sprinkle 2 to 3 teaspoons each of Parmigiano, ricotta and mozzarella into each cup. Top with a tablespoon or so of tomato-basil sauce.
Repeat another layer of wonton, cheese and tomato-basil sauce. Top each cupcake first with the reserved mozzarella and then the reserved Parmigiano.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the edges are brown.
Remove from oven and let rest for about 5 minutes. Pop out each cupcake with the help of a small spatula or butter knife.
Garnish with fresh basil and serve.
Makes 8 muffins.
Mac and Cheese – muffin style!
Entertaining Company Mac & Cheese Muffin Recipe
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (gluten free optional)
1 tablespoon butter
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated Parmigiano
1/2 cup panko **Japanese breadcrumbs** (gluten free optional)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray. In a small bowl, stir together the panko, olive oil and salt; set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook for about 8 minutes (pasta should remain al dente). Remove from the heat, drain and return to the pan; stir in the butter and egg until pasta is evenly coated. Reserve 1/2 cup of sharp Cheddar cheese and stir the remaining Cheddar cheese, milk and mozzarella cheese into the pasta. Spoon into the prepared muffin tin, divide evenly between 12 tins. Sprinkle the reserved cheese and panko mixture over the tops.
3. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the topping is nicely browned. Allow the muffins to rest for a few minutes (this will allow the cheese to set and they will hold their muffin shape). Remove from pan with the help of a small spatula or butter knife.
4. Gobble up!
For these “cake stands”, all we did was invert a white bowl on the table, and set right ontop a white plate. Instant style!
Right from another favorite secret source for all things entertaining: pamperedchef.com.
Last – but never, ever least, our “Hello my Name is” custom chip bags. Take your favorite flavor chips (the kettle chip, black pepper-ier the better I say), and fill inside small cellophane bags. These are a NYC inspiration from The Breslin at Ace Hotel last weekend.
Foldover top, and secure with nametags, now printed with our favorite Indian neighborhood in NY, Curry Hill. (thanks to “my other darling daughter”, Elise Johnson, for the November late night personal walking tour).
Best of all, every single recipe above can be adapted to be gluten free – meat free – whatever your personal style and taste reflects.
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And now, start celebrating, for pete’s sake. It’s a whole new year! Month two. Let’s go.
