Everything's Better With Bacon

A few weeks ago I got a Facebook message from my friend Heather that read: "Save the Date - BACON PARTY". Oh my. Email spam marketers can learn from this - if you want people to open your emails, forget about subject lines like "Get a bigger penis" or "Free Money from Nigeria"; just go with BACON PARTY and I'm sure you will have a 100% open-rate. The only thing better than bacon is a party celebrating this glorious meat.

The plan was simple enough - every couple/family attending the party was asked to bring a bacon dish and it didn't matter if it was an app, main dish, side dish, dessert or beverage as long as it featured bacon. Naturally, my bacon-senses starting tingling. I could bring a dip, but was I up for a real challenge? I put the feelers out to the Twitterverse: "what should I bring to a BACON PARTY"... the answers flooded in, but the one that immediately caught my attention was the combination of two of my favorite words: Bacon + Cupcakes. GAH. The thought alone almost made me fall out of my seat.

So I set out to embark upon this mission... the mission to merge the perfect crispy saltiness of bacon with the sweet decadence of a cupcake...

The recipe Maple Bacon Cupcakes came from Bacon Today (yeah, I know), and in actuality is pretty straight forward. When you think about it, the flavor isn't all that strange. Think Sunday brunch with pancakes, bacon and syrup all piled high, cut up and eaten in one bite. After I made the cake part, I felt they were almost a little bland. The recipe did note that the frosting was extra sweet - but I would add more sugar to the batter if I made these again. Trying to think of something to really pump up these bad boys, I started thinking about an interesting topping. In the pictures on Bacon Today, they showed the cupcakes topped with a piece of bacon, but since I was worried they were not sweet enough, I wanted a candy topper. That's where the Bacon Toffee came in...

Before Saturday, I had never candied anything before, but it was actually fairly simple. The end result? Simply AMAZING. Honestly, if you ever make bacon flavored anything in the future, make this. The taste is simply mind numbing. Some may say it's the ultimate in "umami", but I just say OHMYYUM.

One of the best parts of the party was how excited all of the guests were about it. Everyone outdid themselves with thoughtful presentations and creative ideas. From Bacon Vodka to be used in an "Oinker Shooter" (oyster shooter) to bacon wrapped pork bites (bacon ON bacon!), everything was really delicious. Our only disappointment was that no one attempted BACON EXPLOSION. Oh well, there is always a next time.

Summer lovin', having a blast

This weekend we hosted our first summer party of the year! Memorial day + Jason's birthday = a great excuse to have a BBQ. It was a bit of a last minute decision, so because of that I didn't obsess for too long, which left me wracked with anxiety on Sunday for not obsessing earlier! The other thing is that I was doing this party more pot-luck style, which always stresses the planner in me out. Usually I tell people just to bring wine/beer because I can't handle the uncertainty of not knowing what and where the food will go. 

Our home is an outdoor event house. I rely very heavily on our patio and backyard for entertaining... if it's chilly out, people just end up standing around my pink kitchen and peak my self conciousness over my 1958 Kitchen of the Year. Over the past few months I've accumulated some bright colored party decor, so instead of going traditional red, white and blue, I went with a palette of bright colors - very summery and very outdoorsy.

Since Jason is more of a pie guy than a cake guy, I thought that a variety of pies would be a fun table of desserts. Of course, everyone commented on the lack of cake balls... so, note to self, I now can not have a party without my "balls". 

While wine is usually the drink of choice, I also like to have that special cocktail for people to remember the party by. At my birthday party it was the "lemontini" and for this party it was a "Drunken Arnold Palmer". Add some sweet Tea flavored vodka to some lemonade and voila! It's like you are drinking punch. Which is why I labeled it with a warning that this was a special "Adult Only" drink. I could totally see someone giving their kid a cup not realizing the potency of that baby.

Another one of my favorite new touches are the funny cocktail napkins. These purples ones were a gift, but you can find them at Z Gallerie or Sur la Table. They are good for a giggle - especially if you pair them with a novelty wine. Bitch wine is hilarious.. and it's not bad tasting. 

Even tho I ran out plates and didn't make my cake balls, the party was still a wonderful celebration of Jason's birthday and the onset of summer!

 

Even tho I ran out plates and didn't make my cake balls, the party was still a wonderful celebration of Jason's birthday and the onset of summer!

Party Hangover

First let me say that everyone should throw themselves a birthday party every few years. I'm an Aries and ramming my birthday into other people's lives is something that I do very, very well. I love celebrating birthdays - mine, the kids, Jason's.. but the problem with organizing a going out night these days is getting groups on the same page. Some people like nice dinners and early nights, others like to meet at a bar. There always seems to be that point in the evening where you lose people in the transition and you feel bad because you are forcing others to pay money to do something that they may really not want to do. I wanted to celebrate, have a good time, have good music, good food and good drinks and a general good time with my friends. Plus it doesn't hurt that I totally like to throw parties. A Win-Win situation. 

A few months ago when I was working with It's a Luv Thing on the Leucadia Sends Luv event, I met Marsha. SUPER Sweet and well connected "jane of all trades" that lives just down the street from me. She's an amazing coordinator and bartender all in one. Being that I wanted to also ENJOY my own party, I hired her for the evening. She had the DJ connection, so there we were. Marsha made the party - literally. She made everyone there a martini or a lemon drop - she helped me set up and she helped me clean up. At one point I mentioned that I wish I had the Bliss Lights that they had at the Leucadia Sends Luv event, and she was on the phone arranging them for me in minutes. She rocked. Especially because I ended up a bit crunched for time and jumping in the shower at 6:45!

The night before the party I had my list of things that I needed to get done - Trader Joe's, BevMo, Cake Ball Prep, cleaning and organizing (I'm usually very meticulous, pulling out linens placing things where I know I want them set up) but thanks to a certain 2.5 year old's meltdown and margaritas that were a wensie-bit too strong at dinner, all I managed to do is plop some chocolate on the cake balls and crawl into bed. I also had a slow start on Saturday morning (damn, margaritas) so needless to say I was a little behind schedule. 

But as always, things came together beautifully, ifIdosaysomyself..

 While the cake balls were not the object of perfection like I was envisioning them to be, I saved them by putting them in black and white Zebra striped cupcake wrappers. And let me tell you, they were the HIT of the party. Yes, Pete Schweddy was quoted multiple times throughout the night, because "No one could resist my moist, delicious balls."

While really not photogenic, the Bliss Lights lit up the back like Pandora. And the vodka bar made everything, well, fuzzy and delightful!

A few things didn't go as planned.. the chandelier sticker is actually from Target - the Etsy one had more problems than I care to discuss - and I totally forgot about the pink and black paper poms, which I didn't even think about until I saw them sitting on my desk the next day. LaLaLa!