Ready, Set...

Last year's Superbowl party was my first party to host entirely on my own. Since then, I've had the Fourth of July and the Second Annual Fleet week, both of which were pretty successful. This year's party should be even more of a success, just judging by the fact that people were asking me before I even had a chance to get the invite out if I were still having the Superbowl...because if I was, they were going to be there for sure. I'm pretty stoked.

I'm still working on how to manage to feed a hungry lot of people with a wide variety of pseudo-gourmet food without 1. going broke 2. spending all my time in the kitchen during the party and 3. not completely exhausting myself. I'm learning to balance home-made with store bought and I'm attempting to learn how to delegate tasks in the kitchen (I've had a pretty nice handful of volunteers this go around).

1. Going broke - I'll quote the party invitation (which was a premade one from Evite, btw...not my not-so-subtle hint that I created myself). Show Up. Bring beer. Lauren has also suggested a "tip" jar by the food. Something along the lines of a threat of no more future parties due to a chef gone broke. That should encourage them!

2. Spending all the time in the kitchen - I am the proud new owner of two Vollrath Trimline II chafing dishes. These things mean business. I've also made sure to balance the menu (see below) with cold, hot and room temperature foods.

3. Not completely exhausting myself - OK, this is probably not possible because I derive my fun out of overwhelming and stressing myself out. Pseudo-masochistic, I know. But heeding my mother's advice, I'm attempting to plan ahead for once, which brings me to the party menu:

Cold
Chips with roasted salsa and guacamole
Vegetables
Hot spinach artichoke dip
Ranch dip, hummus, onion dip
Shrimp spring rolls with peanut sauce
Shrimp ceviche
Deviled Eggs
Pepperoncini/salami and ham/cheese rollups

Hot
Chipotle chicken skewers
Pigs in a blanket
Meatballs in Bourbon sauce
Crabcakes with mango salsa
Roasted potato fries
Chili
Buffalo wings
Mac n cheese

Room temp
Pretzels
Cheesestraws
PB chocolate cookies
Bruschetta
Chocolate chip cookies

Of course, I'm open to suggestions and always looking for new things to serve...