I heard a crazy stat the other day - about 40 days on average are spent planning for the big game party, what?! That seems like a lot to me, I might put forth that much effort for an important dinner party or a holiday dinner, but for football? I don’t think so. Another interesting fact - this coming Sunday is the second biggest food consumption day – second to Thanksgiving! I haven't hosted a party for the big game in a couple of years. I think most of us who host during the holidays, sit this one out; for me it's Thanksgiving and two dinners at Christmas; by February I'm kinda over hosting. For others, the idea of planning a menu, cooking the food and making it all look great, is a little intimidating. I think game parties should be fun, and relaxed. Well, this year I have a strategy that might even convince me to host this year; even though my team isn’t playing (we'll be rooting for our other favorite quarterback who moved west). My plan? A DIT party -Do It Themselves, my own spin on DIY. Why spend hours in the kitchen prepping food, missing out on all of the fun and most importantly – the commercials! Here are some ideas to keep you out of the kitchen and let you relax and enjoy the fun with your guests!
Chili Fixins' Bar
Start with your favorite chili recipe such as our Hearty Chili and let them top
it with fixins’ of their choosing. This is great when you have some who like it super-hot, or for those who like a little milder chili, like me. Set out hot sauce, jalapeños, cheese, corn chips, sour cream; what else goes good with chili? Each person can spice up their bowl to their own taste, brilliant!
Build Your Own Bloody Mary Bar
I love this idea! We were at a restaurant recently for brunch and they had a Bloody Mary bar setup, it was fantastic! I got to make mine just how I like it, Red Gold Fresh Squeezed Tomato Juice, a little horseradish, Worcestershire, and lots of green olives and just a splash of lime - YUM! You can provide a basic recipe for your cocktail challenged guests, then they can add their favorite things - pickled asparagus, horseradish, celery seed, dill pickle spears, fresh ground pepper, celery stalks, the list is endless! Offer small skewers for smaller items like olives, cheese cubes, bacon (trust me on this one), whatever you don't want to end up at the bottom of the glass. Speaking of glasses, don't worry about glasses that need washed, use plastic, it's really OK! You can always put them in your recycle bin, and I promise your guests won't care because they will be most impressed with their handmade cocktails!
Probably my favorite idea - the Snackadium!!!
I don't know how I have not heard of this before, but I was recently made aware of this game party trend, snackadiums! These stadium shaped snack displays can be super creative, taking days of prep and planning, to simpler, smaller ones. Do a quick internet search and you will get tons of ideas, but here's the gist, you build a stadium out of snacks. You can use disposable aluminum pans to keep dips separate and stack chips, subs, or soda cans, around the outside for the walls. Our Chunky Guacamole would make the perfect green turf for the field, our World’s Best Queso for one end zone and Red Gold Salsa for the other. Use some meat snack sticks to assemble goal posts, surround with chips, subs, veggie sticks, and you have a Snackadium! We loved this idea so much - we built our own Red Gold Queso Bowl Snackadium!
What are you doing for your game party this year? Post pictures of your Red Gold game party food on our Facebook page or Tweet us using #RGparty