Party Food

So you want to make something red, white, and blue to celebrate the 4th of July, but you’re not really into sweets. Or you want to avoid red and blue food coloring, Well, I have two awesome savory options for you, from two smart bloggers. Salad, and cheese — Independence Day-style!These are both ultra-simple ideas, and all the prettier for it.The first is a Red, White, and Blue Summer Salad from Roni at GreenLiteBites.

There is something about Italian wine that takes you immediately to the table. Images of fun gatherings with family and friends or romantic dinners for two come easily to mind. With that thought, Faith and I decided to put together some easy ideas for an Italian wine inspired dinner. Here’s a whole menu, beginning to end, of Italian food and wine. You just add the table and the friends, and it’s a celebration waiting to happen.

Mardi Gras is on Tuesday. Do you have plans? We’ve got a fun, super easy recipe for an impromptu party—hot dogs! But they’re gussied-up hot dogs, boiled in a spicy broth and served with saucy onions.This recipe comes from chef David Guas, a New Orleans native who owns the Bayou Bakery in Arlington, Virginia. David says these spicy dogs are a classic Mardi Gras food; people serve them along the parade route or at parties.

Fair warning: You should only make these bread sticks when surrounded by plenty of people to help you eat them. Otherwise, there is a very serious danger of proceeding directly from the last bite of one bread stick to the first bite of the next. Especially if there’s a little bowl of tomato sauce for dipping and no one to stop you. I embarked on this mission of stuffing cheese inside bread thinking this would be easy-peasy. Wrap cheese in dough, bake, devour. Repeat.

There are very few foods that feed a large crowd with little effort. Tacos may be the simplest option for feeding a lot of people, and today we are bringing you one of our favorite taco stuffings: barbacoa beef, tender and full of rich, complex flavors. Yes, did you know you can make that tasty stuff you buy at Chipotle in your own kitchen — and in your slow cooker, no less? I have a serious thing for barbacoa.

When we first heard from Stephanie Polluck over at Cupcake Project there was a moment of silence. It was quickly followed by head scratching and curiosity and then the stomach growling started. A cupcake made with blue cheese, hot sauce and actual chicken, this is one recipe you’re just going to have to make to believe.Each cupcake is topped with a hot wing and the flavors blend perfectly with a cupcake that’s topped with frosting that incorporates a little blue cheese.

Last week we introduced you to the Swedish Smörgåstårta (aka Sandwich Cake). Did you love the idea? Were you perhaps just curious about it? I was indeed curious, but I didn’t want to shell out big bucks for a ton of seafood if it didn’t work out. Instead, I made something a little more Super Bowl friendly and recognizable to American palates. Think of it as a club sandwich on steroids. (And in this case, that’s a good thing!

Smoked fish, tender seafood, fresh veggies, creamy binders and soft fresh baked bread; Layer it all together and what do you have? Smörgåstårta. It’s a Swedish staple that’s perfect for parties, brunches, and those days where your family never seems to eat at the same time. Plus, come on — it’s a cake made of sandwich! You know you want it! A Smörgåstårta isn’t quite cake and it isn’t quite sandwich.