Playing the party card

TG's birthday balloon, the morning after

Eighteen different types of profuse pirate apols for being absent for so long.

Not for nothing but you are always in my thoughts.

However, I have been preoccupied with the planning, organizing, and execution of two rather big-deal celebrations.

I had a chance to use my large Pioneer Woman tea pot

As per usual: If we are not in the midst of a party at my house, then rest assured that we have either just had a party or are plotting the next one.

At present there isn't a party in the offing, exactly, but we are having the whole gang -- plus my friend Andrea -- over for chili on Sunday afternoon.

I'll make the chili on Saturday and the mini corn muffins when we get home on Sunday after services.

There were Fairy Bites

In addition to piping hot mini corn muffins, our chili will be served with Fritos, shredded cheddar, sour cream, banana pepper rings, and hot chow chow, as always.

Soda pop and sweet tea will figure in there somewhere.

But let's back up. 

The party flamingo was in attendance

TG had a birthday on the last Monday in January.

I did my shopping the previous week, after dithering for several days over what to serve for the birthday dinner party.

(One of TG's favorite meals is taco salad, but we always laugh about that because while I'm okay with taco salad, I rarely want to make it or have it for a meal. Usually if TG gets that, his girls make it for him.)

Dagny glows with joy at all parties

In this case, taco salad was out of the question because one thing that was definitely going to be on the menu was Mari's Hot Taco Dip. Without the black olives.

The minute I saw that recipe on my buddy Mari's blog, I knew TG would love it and that it would be great to serve at a party.

For the hefty part of the meal I settled on this London Broil recipe, which I'd made once before and knew to be a real winner.

TG always smells good ... I see to that

This time we'd have big soft rolls and make huge meaty sandwiches to go along with the hot taco dip with Scoops -- both Fritos and Tostitos, so that all bases were covered.

Then? Well, dessert, of course.

TG's favorite cake is German chocolate. In years past I'd take the easy way out and use a boxed cake mix (not that there's anything wrong with that) and coconut-pecan frosting out of a can.

It was my first attempt at making ham salad

There IS something wrong with that.

But in recent years I have made the frosting from scratch. It's easy but still, give me some credit.

And I'd razz up the cake mix by throwing in an extra egg, using buttermilk instead of water and melted butter instead of oil, and adding a packet of Godiva chocolate caramel instant pudding.

Three sweet girls :: L to R Maisie, Dagny, Ella

That makes a fantastic cake.

But THIS year I decided to make the cake and the frosting from scratch.

I used this recipe.

I get a D for decorating

And from my friend Sue at church, I borrowed a pastry bag and decorative tip for making the top of the cake look like something done by someone who knew what they were doing.

It didn't exactly turn out that way (decorating with a bag and tip being harder than the pros make it look), but the cake was the softest, moistest, most delicious German chocolate I've ever tasted.

Audrey came ready to have a great time

I broke with the tradition of frosting only the center and top, leaving the cake with un-frosted sides, and instead iced the sides with homemade fudge buttercream.

The recipe is on the cocoa tin.

Even though my decorating talents leave a great deal to be desired, no one can accuse me of not knowing how to frost a cake.

Clarissa May ... known as Maisie

At any rate, everyone came (I got not one single picture of the event itself) and the huge tender meaty sandwiches and hot taco dip were lustily consumed.

(That taco dip is fire. You must try it soon. TG couldn't stop talking about it.)

Then we took a break for TG to open his gifts. I got him some cologne and a shirt. The children gave him golf outing gift cards and a golf shirt, and various other goodies.

Ellender Marie ... known as Ella

He was happy and appreciative, as always.

And then we ate the cake.

You'd think that would be enough for one week.

The kids were into these mini corn dog muffins

But wait! There's more!

The Saturday following the Monday of TG's birthday (that would be last Saturday), we enjoyed an even more elaborate party.

German chocolate under glass

The plan hatched when Audrey colluded with her cousin, Genevieve -- my sister's second oldest -- who lives in Greenville across the street from her parents, to come and bring her two daughters, Ella and Maisie, for a play date with Dagny.

(Gena's husband, Damon, stayed at home with little brother Paul, who is four. A new baby sister is due in May.)

The girls posed in my studio

(When we go to Greenville to spend the night, Dagny invariably stays at Gena and Damon's house with Ella and Maisie. It becomes difficult to pry them apart.)

The last Saturday in January was agreed upon for a date, and I volunteered to give everyone lunch.

What followed was several days of deliberation concerning what I would serve.

Little Mama was hungry

I take these things seriously. Also I love throwing a party. And a girl party? Yes please.

For the big girls -- there would be five of us -- I settled on homemade potato-corn chowder. In case you're interested, I loosely followed this recipe except I did not add either carrots or bacon, and I used frozen corn instead of fresh corn on the cob.

It was Gena's first time to visit my house. Kay had been here before but she doesn't visit often enough.

(In the past I've made my potato-corn chowder without a recipe. I'd make a medium white sauce and add cooked diced potatoes, whole kernel corn, celery, onoin, chicken stock, and season to taste after pureeing a portion of the soup, then putting it back, to make the whole pot extra creamy. The result is pretty much the same but I thought it would be fun to make a new recipe.)

Here's my kids' charcuterie board ... more like a cheese board

To go with the chowder I made ham salad following this recipe. It was my first time to make ham salad. TG, who has been eating the leftovers from the party all week, has finished off the ham salad and is already beseeching me to make more.

I must admit it was pretty good. A definite winner as far as sandwch spreads go.

The girls were in a gleeful mood

I served the ham salad on two kinds of soft slider buns -- artisanal and Hawaiian.

The little cold sandwiches were a big hit, and were so tasty alongside the steaming bowls of hot potato-corn chowder.

Audrey has a very kind neighbor who loves Dagny, and who, upon hearing about the elaborate play date, contributed a jug of homemade cider tea to our lunch party.

The Spring Snack Kabobs turned out super cute

I heated it on the stove with cinnamon sticks and poured it hot into crystal mugs using my large Pioneer Woman tea pot.

For the little girls at the far end of the table, I had planned a completely different bill of fare.

There was lots of laughter and lively conversation

The setpiece was a cheese board featuring cheese sticks and cubes, and tiny sweet pickles and baby carrots, and grape tomatoes and strawberries and mandarin sections and red grapes. There were Cheezits and chocolate-drizzled popcorn, and little pretzel twists and Sociables crackers.

I'd also made Fairy Bites and corn dog mini muffins (I used Jiffy Mix), and rainbow snack mix.

They settled down from time to time

There were Spring Snack Kabobs made with butter cookies and gummy lifesavers and twizzler bites and marshmallows. At each place was a box of raisins and a small tub of Ranch dressing, in case anyone wanted to do some dipping (turns out they didn't).

For their beverage, the girls had chocolate milk in mini milk bottles, with pink straws.

Our darling babies

Each girl was given two pretty pencils as a favor, and I'd made them treat bags of more rainbow snack mix, to take home.

What a time we had! Don't you love making a fuss? I do.

Ella, my niece's eldest, who will turn nine in March, was thrilled when she saw the kids' end of the table. It's grazing! she squealed. There's no main course!

And your little dog, too

Indeed. You can't put anything over on these kids.

For dessert, my sister had made soft, delicious, delicate madeleines. Gena had made homemade chocolate pudding and brought along whipped cream in a can as an accompaniment.

Mercy. If this all sounds like a feast, trust me: it was. For the eyes as well as the palate.

Chocolate milk goes with everything that's fun

We had such a special, excellent time.

The initial plan had been for Audrey and Gena to take the three girls to the park to exhaust themselves on the play equipment, but the weather was cold and crummy, and that never happened.

Instead, the girls played inside with Barbies, and ran around outside with Rizzo for a while.

Sometimes you feel like a nut

I insisted on a photo shoot with the girls, and they delighted in posing together. Rizzo even (reluctantly) got in on that.

Dagny, a singleton, was beside herself to have her second cousins (they share a set of great-grandparents in my late Mother and Henry) -- ages nearly nine and soon-to-be seven -- to play with for several hours. (She was downcast when it became obvious that they'd have to go back home.)

Dagny is never happier than when there's company

I had not seen my sister since early December, and she had not seen our Erica since the announcement that Cutie Peanut Porter is due to arrive during the dog days of summer.

Speaking of summer, we are already planning for everyone to come back during the hot months so that the children can play together in the pool.

I'll enlist TG to inflate pool floats and grill hot dogs while I slice up the ice cold watermelon.

Proving once again: There's always something to look forward to.

And that is all for now.

=0=0=0=

Happy Friday :: Happy Weekend

Comments

[Cheri]

Wow! You sure know how to throw a party!!! You and my DIL could go into business together! That cake looks awesome (although I have to tell you I am far from being an expert on cake decorating)! And the girls are so cute!!! Happy Birthday to TG:)

[Ginny Hartzler]

You sure know how to throw a party! What wonderful and joyful photos. Ad the FOOD!! Even homemade Madelines, which must not be eay. You really know how to do the little details too.

[Mari]

You are such party animals down there! Looks like so much fun, and such good food!
I still have to try the London Broil and now the ham salad.
Polo is the best!
PS - no olives for us either.

[Mari]

One more thing! Those girls are so cute! I can see they are having a blast.

[Jennifer]

@Cheri ... I am never happier than when planning a party. I have a feeling that if I did it for pay, though, it would take all the fun out of it! Trying new recipes is such fun, as is hosting family. xoxo\

@Ginny ... well I have never tried to make madeleines ... that's my sister's skill! She loves making them but I haven't tried it yet. WOW though, they sure were good. xoxo

@Mari ... I know, right! Ella and Maisie are as adorable in their personalities as they look. They and Dagny just have a ball together. I hope you will try the ham salad! It is just fantastic. And how can you go wrong with London Broil? xoxo

[Mari-Nanci]

Fun!

Normal fun!

Can you imagine that?!

~smirk~

Love all of it, my Dear.

I'm not blogging, since I can not do so, without "scccccccreaming"... -sigh- And who wants to read "sccccccccreaming" every time?

Maybe... Some day... And if/when I do, I will come and *Announce My Return,* here. ~grin~

Meanwhile, keep enjoying a normal life!!!!

And keep on, not moaning and groaning all over the place.<---That is some of what, I want to "scccccccream" about... If one is warm and sheltered and has enough to eat, stop moaning and groaning, I want to "scccccccream" .

But! _That_ would 'go against the grain,' of the usual *Program,* for Pretty Blog Land, now. Of course. How dare anyone break out of the Prescribed Mold of Moaning and Groaning??????

Sorry for having rattled on so long, in your Comments. It goes to show, how starved I am, for writing.

Hugs, hugs, hugs...
Mari-Nanci
Waiting, somewhere off stage....

[Debbi]

the picture of the three girls in front of the tree (and on the steps and on the bench too), Maisie, Ella, and Miss Dagny--absolutely adorable!!--they so cute! Happy birthday to your hubby!--looks like he had a great one. Wow--so MUCH GOOD FOOD THERE....where do I start? ha ha LOL. Well, I grew up eating alot of German chocolate cake, so I do love it. We nearly always had that at our house and my brother still requests it for his b/day annually. Today is CHILI DAY, YAY! Sure sounds good. I love mine with the mild peppers, sour cream, lots of fritos, and shredded cheese, and yes!--chow chow too if it's available. And I actually DO LOVE olives, green and also black ones. The cake you made hubby turned out great! I;'m not the best at frosting cakes, but I give it a darn good effort, ha ha! Long as they taste good, right? LOL. I used to bake alot more cakes when the kids were little, I always made two and even three layer cakes. I don't make those any more. Maybe one day I'll be in the mood to make one. We have the exact same teapot! Aren't they adorable?! I've also not used mine yet, it just sits out on the kitchen counter and "looks pretty". ha ha.Your "girl's lunch" looks so fun and those little ham sandwiches.....YUM!! Great idea to give the girls "grazing' food, ha ha LOL. I bet they loved it! I love chowder too. Girlfriend, I just LOVE FOOD! ha ha LOL. I am not picky one bit. Well, sounds like you're going to have a house-full today.....so ENJOY AND HAVE A BALL!! Eat, laugh, and have fun! PS....what are fairy bites? Little Fairy Granddaughter would probably LOVE THOSE, plus they are cute.

[Jeanette]

Wow! Looks like some great parties1 Happy Belated birthday to TG! That cake look delicious! I loe German Chocolate cake but rarely have it! The girls are adorable and Dagny looks so thrilled to have them there! All those pictures of food have made me hungry!

[Mari-Nanci]

I left a comment, and it has not been published.

Did I break some comment rules?

I don't think so, but.....

[Jennifer]

@Mari-Nanci ... I see your silent scream and raise you a silent scream of my own! I don't do "pretty blog land" but rather, I just say what's on my mind. I refuse to do "new normal" ... or more to the point, I REFUSE to let anyone else tell me what my "normal" is. We just live each day to the fullest and do our best to take care of one another and eat good. It works! I don't listen to news or look at social media or do anything else where the moaning and groaning may be heard. NOPE! xoxo ... and PLEASE do start writing again! I miss you. xoxo

@Debbi ... I know, right! The chili yesterday was SO GOOD and we do it exactly as you described ... Fritos (the bigger the better), shredded cheddar, sour cream, banana pepper rings, chow chow ... and yesterday when I made it, we had mini corn muffins too! Made from Jiffy mix, of course. And yes, the girls had a ball playing together. We must get up to Greenville soon so they can hang out together again. Fairy Bites are just a spritz-type recipe: butter, flour, sugar, a pinch of salt, almond extract ... and to make them fairy bites, several teaspoonfuls of nonpareils! The trick is to bake them in tiny squares after you've molded the dough into an 8x8 pan onto parchment, then cutting all the tiny cookies (it takes a while) and baking them. WOW they are so good and so precious to look at! You should definitely make some with Fairy Granddaughter. xoxo

@Jeanette ... German chocolate cake is pretty much the bomb, Haaaha! Yes we had a high old time. xoxo

[Jennifer]

@Mari-Nanci ... I apologize; I did not see your comment until this morning. I was so busy over the weekend, I forgot to check for comments! Can you see it now? I can! And of COURSE you didn't break any rules! Haaahaaha! xoxo

[Barb]

I'm exhausted (but happy) from all your partying! Happy Birthday to TG! Bob's mom used to make a tangy ham salad that was good - I haven't made it for years. It featured a homemade mayonnaise which I think is why I don't make it anymore. That German chocolate cake! We come from PA Dutch country (Lancaster County, PA) - I don't think I've had that cake since we left over 30 years ago. You spoiled those little gals with so much fun food - you are great with the details. It looks as though they had a wonderful play date. They all look so cute in their dresses. Sam would gobble up those mini corn dogs and, of course, all the snack food, too. Bob and I love potato corn chowder - I make it several different ways, depending what I need to get rid of in my refrigerator. Hope the rest of February is as much of a celebration as the beginning was!

[Carla TePaske]

Hello,
It was so good to read a post by Jenny the Pirate. :-) I want to come to one of your parties. AMAZING! AND YUMMY!!! I like the idea of the little corn muffins.

I had to smile regarding the comment you shared on my post about Da Bears! I LOVE Walter Payton as well. I loved the Da Bears. My husband and I were just talking about how football has changed so much. Back in the day when it was fun. ;-) Not political!
Thank you for the comment, it made me smile. And what about the Refrigerator. LOL .. what a hoot, when he made a Touch Down. ;-)

[Carla TePaske]

P.S.
Regarding the Super Bowl.. yep, I would rather chew glass too.
Let me share with you.. I fellow Meals on Wheels driver is a Vietnam Vet, he shared with me that he sat down to watch the Super Bowl.. just to see what it would be like. Well, he did not get through the National Anthem .. he turned it off.. because he did not understand the words of the National Anthem, that was preformed!

Continuing to pray for our country.

[Jennifer]

@Barb ... another potato corn chowder devotee! That soup just hits the spot on a winter day. Yes the girlies did look cute and had such a great time together. They are just like one little girl in three bodies. They don't get to see one another often enough. And yes, Sam would love the mini corn dogs. They're so easy! I did not know you were from PA Dutch country! Wow I'd be embarrassed to put my cake up against one of theirs but it WAS good! Very good. I'm making a chocolate chocolate cake this weekend. We have an excursion planned for Sunday afternoon. Can't wait to share the deets! xoxo!

@Carla ... haaahaha sorry for the delay. Da Bears! That was the greatest team ever. The Fridge! We used to laugh so hard. And the Punky QB, and of course dear Sweetness. Such a sad day when he passed at the age of 45. Just a tragic loss. I named my cat Sweetness after him.

NO nothing is the same ... at the start of church on Sunday night our pastor had the PA booth men run a short video of the National Anthem being sung by the military academies at the Super Bowl in 2006. A beautiful rendition of the anthem, everyone -- players (of both colors) standing in respect, visibly moved -- cheering, F-16 flyover, two presidents (Clinton and Bush 41) in attendance, just glorious. Our pastor noted when it was finished that we will never see that again in our country. And it has only been fifteen years! I cried. It is one of the saddest things I have ever had to come to terms with. So NO NFL for me, and it is not played in this house, and I don't care for football anyway because baseball is my game. GO CUBS! Haaahaha xoxo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ETrr-XHBjE