I’m not a sports fan, but even I am waiting to find out if the New Orleans Saints are going to the Super Bowl. I lived in New Orleans for 12 years and everyone loves an underdog.

Now that I’ve told you just about everything I know about sports, let me talk party food to you. That’s something I really have a knack for. If the Saints do make their way to the big game, make your party center around the food of New Orleans. Have a big slow cooker full of gumbo and another of jambalaya. This way, your guests will be eating the best food of all the Super Bowl parties on your block.

Most large supermarkets have frozen crawfish which adds an exotic touch outside of Louisiana. Use it in the dishes above or in a dip in place of crab. Also, change up the spices a little. You can try some of Emeril’s Essence, which is also available nationwide. Add a little cayenne or Tabasco to spice it up a bit. You can also do it all the easy way with Zatarain’s Mixes. It’s really all up to you.

If the Saints let us down, you can still do better than a table of chips and pre-made dips. Get out your little dipper Crockpot and make a fondue instead of the usual nacho cheese. Even if you use cheddar and beer in it, it’s still a step above. Have lightly toasted bread hunks, steamed veggies, and you can still have a few tortilla chips out for the die hard junk food fans. Turn a plain old bean dip into something special by adding some goat cheese in place of the usual Monterrey jack and puree some chipolte chilies in adobe sauce to replace the jalapenos.

Create a make your own sandwich buffet. Use your Sengware platters to put out an array of thin sliced meats and cheeses. Have and array of interesting rolls - ciabata, oat, whole grain, sunflower and more. Have a few unusual cheeses, including goat cheese, so the vegetarians have something yummy too. Put out smoked mustards, basil aoili, and even steak sauce, they all make a sandwich more interesting.

Have cute mini cupcakes in place of a big cake. You can make them easily at home and even healthy them up with whole wheat pastry flour if you want to. Make sure to put out a fruit tray so your friends can keep their new year’s resolutions at least a little longer.

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Chances are no matter where you were yesterday for Thanksgiving, you have leftovers. Even if you didn’t host dinner, you probably had a bag of leftovers packed up and sent with you. Relatives and friends alike love to think they’re helping us out. Especially when they are overwhelmed with leftovers themselves.

You could heat and eat the same old meal. Or you can think of each dish as a single ingredient and create some new dishes in a mini Iron Chef competition with yourself. By creating new dishes you’ll stretch your food budget, and surprise yourself with your creativity.

Have a pizza shell in the fridge or some dough in the freezer? Try making pizza with some of your leftovers. Try bbq turkey with shredded turkey, pre-made bbq sauce, chopped onions and bell pepper. Add some drained, canned pineapple if you’re feeling adventurous. You could also toss some turkey in pesto sauce spread over a crust, top it off with crumbled goat cheese and some leftover cranberry sauce. Make a vegetarian pizza with sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce on a crust covered in a garlic butter sauce.

Pasta is another great option. You could make a left over casserole with whole wheat ziti, turkey, leftover veggies, Use leftover gravy or a mushroom sauce to bind everything together. Toast leftover dressing and crumble over the top.

Turkey lasagna with a sweet potato cream sauce and spinach is another favorite. Or try egg noodles combined with turkey and green bean casserole - add a little milk to loosen it up if needed.

Have some leftover creamed corn? Try mixing it with diced pepperoncini peppers, and some turkey or grilled shrimp. Toss the mixture with angel hair pasta. Creamed corn is also the perfect base for a corn chowder. Just add milk, diced red peppers, cubed potatoes, more frozen corn if needed, and some fresh thyme. It’s my favorite cold weather soup.

If you made the turkey at your house this year, you can use the carcass to make turkey broth. It freezes great. You can put it in quart containers, or freeze in ice cube trays and store in Ziploc bags. It’s great to be able to take out a few cubes of stock at a time. Much better than opening a carton of stock for a few tablespoons worth.

Don’t forget the power of omelets. Any of the mixtures above would work great. Turkey and goat cheese is one of my favorites, but you can use any cheese you have on hand. Omelets are perfect for using up the tiniest leftovers.

Take these ideas and invite some of your friends over for a Thanksgiving leftover party. It just may be the least expensive party you’ve thrown all year!

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For a simple (yet impressive) appetizer, you can create fruit skewers. Simply select whatever fresh fruit is in season in your local area and gather some skewers. Placing alternating types bite size pieces of fruit onto your skewer, you will have a fresh and colorful appetizer to serve guests. You can even add a little glaze over the finished fruit to give it an extra pizazz.

Check out this Fruit on a Stick recipe from You’ve Got Supper for the juicy details.

Get as create (or not) as you want to display your fruit skewers. Plate on a white platter, prop them up in a tall bowl…. regardless they will look impressive!

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Do you like to entertain but not are not too fond of the party price tag?Personally, I always find myself “doing too much” in an attempt to make every party detail just perfect for my guests. Though these days, it is not so easy to splurge on all the party essentials. Here is one way I have rethought my party drinks in order to save more money without cutting out the style:

 Skip the individual cocktails.

I still recommend serving your guests a party cocktail or signature drink however, but rather than puring individual glasses, opt for a cocktail punch instead. Your drink dollars will stretch much further if you switch to serving your drinks out of punch bowls, allowing guests to fill their own cups. Think about it: If you were serving Mimosas, how many could you make using one bottle of champagne? Now, consider the fact that you could make an entire punch bowl of Mimosas with that same one bottle.

Brilliant, I know.

photo via Yum Sugar

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A large part of entertaining is dessert, oh and how I love dessert! From tarts to ice cream…… cookies to cake- a wonderful dessert can make for a memorable event. Right now, Cookie Magazine is having a contest for the most creative cakes (so fun). Here are a couple of my favorite entries so far:

Sweet sushi! I love this play on real food, so clever!

And more fun with food  cake, hamburgers!

You can check out all the creative cake entries so far. You might even have a creative cake to enter yourself!

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I love the idea of getting creative with your menu display. The gourmet goddesses over at Sunday Suppers came up with this rustic (yet sophisticated) option for displaying your individual menus: a paper bag.

Other creative menu displaying ideas are  mini chalkboards and/or small framed menus. Have fun and get a little creative when it comes time to let guests know what you’ll be serving.

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Are you in the mood for some good-old-summer food? Check out these recipes, they just scream summertime!

Slow cooking this summer? Check out these mouthwatering pulled pork sandwiches with a sweet summer strawberry sauce.

So sweet! Homemade vanilla ice cream- make it yourself!

In need of a new summer salad recipes? Try this summer salad that is layered with spinach, strawberries and pot stickers!

Which will you try?

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Posted by Myriam under Occasions & Party Food | 1 Comment »

Did you know July is national ice cream month? How cool is that?! With the heat wave that is summer, a nice cold scoop of ice cream signifies happiness to me. I am loving this picture of homemade strawberry ice cream from Tartelette. Fresh strawberries mixed into a homemade ice cream really represent the summer season. Bonus: check out this recipe along with their strawberry thyme shortbread cookie– can it get any better?

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Pass the flowers  hors d’oeuvres! The next time you serve passed hors d’oeuvres, try this simple (yet elegant) idea from Martha Stewart. Dress up plain toothpicks by gluing a small decoration on one end like these daisies (shown above). Adding a tiny creative touch to your toothpick will make your appetizer tray look fabulous. You can also get creative with what you decide to pass your hors d’oeuvres on. Above you see a piece of wood; but what about a mirror, picture frame, or old vinyl record? Get creative and add those creative touched to your next party. Guests will surely be impressed!

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Order any dessert in an upscale restaurant, and you are sure to be served a elegant decorated plate. Fabulous chefs pay particular attention to how their food is presented, and it shows! Try a little chef magic yourself and decorate your dessert plates during your next dinner party. Here are a few ingredients that work well when creating artwork on the dessert plate:

-Powdered sugar
-Cocoa powder
-Finely ground coffee
-Carved fresh fruits
-Small berries
-Shaved chocolate
-Drizzled chocolate
-Fruit syrups

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