Cole Slaw by JJ

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Last weeks blog showcased my "Slider Bar" , that was so much fun! I have been bombarded with e-mails for various recipes used! I didn't know where to start, so, don't be mad if this one is not "THE ONE'! I will get to all of the components of this fun event in the next few weeks, hopefully in time for your event! If you need a recipe sooner, feel free to e-mail me and I will send it to you in advance....no fee;-)

Party Trend- Food "Bar" idea's!

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Lately, some of the most popular party planning ideas seem to center around the next “bar” idea. And no, I don’t just mean alcohol and beer…I mean food too! We’ve all seen the “candy bar” idea for kids parties, weddings and the ever popular “popcorn bar", but what about some new ideas too?

Just yesterday, July 4th I hosted a really fun party for friends and family. I decided to do a "Slider Bar", oh my.....I realized how much work there is to making a really tasty slider bar! I made many of the sauces, the coleslaw, the potato salad and putting together all the cheeses, and toppings is really time consuming. I always plan ahead and do as much in advance as possible to free me up to enjoy my guests. However, in this case, much needs to be done all at the same time! My friends and family jumped in to help, NOT because I asked, but, because they were having fun participating! It was really fun!

Now here are some fun ideas I incorporated into my "Slider Bar"!

Strawberry-Blueberry Trifle

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Fourth of July Strawberry Blueberry Trifle

How to create the perfect Western Themed party!

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This picture was taken of my Mom around 1947. My Dad took the picture on one of their hunting trips. Notice there is a deer walking behind Mom. She is so beautiful, she should have been a pin up girl! I copied many of these and posted them all around at the party and blew one up to poster size on good photo paper, for a souvenir for Mom!You can download the template on Martha Stewart website for free!

Cowboy cupcakes! How to make!

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Last week end I hosted a "Western themed" party for my Mother who turned 95!! My large family all pitched in and helped with the decorating and set up. However, because of the size of the party, I had Carolina Smoke in Bothell, Washington cater the party. More details of the party will be in my next blog " How to throw a Western themed party"! I thought these cute little cupcakes deserved their own blog! 

Baked Baby back Ribs by Tink!

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Who ever said you needed a grill to cook good ribs? My daughter Holly (aka Tink) just relocated from the Seattle area into a beautiful home in Scottsdale, Arizona. She, her husband Nate and daughter  Madison Lee are extremely happy in their new neighborhood, and love that they no longer have to wipe their feet every time they enter the house! They love the area they chose, close to many fine restaurants, splash pads (for Madi), museums etc. However, they are still doing some remodeling to make it personally theirs! They are building an outdoor kitchen, complete with BBQ rotisserie,  outdoor burner, pizza oven, refrigerator and lots of storage for grilling utensils. In the mean time she decided to host Memorial day.....WHAT? You can't have opening day to Summer without a BBQ? She told me not to worry, she would bake baby back ribs in her new ovens......a skeptical Mom enters...

However.......

Best Ever Hot Chocolate Fudge Sauce!

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If the title "Hot Chocolate Fudge Sauce" wasn't tempting enough...maybe this photo will help!

 When I started searching around for a recipe, a few years ago, I obviously wanted something that was "The Best Ever" hot fudge sauce. Even though I live about 5 minutes from two grocery stores, I was sick of the overly sweet hot fudge of today, I wanted the fudge I used to have at the Bartell's drug store in Renton, Washington at the soda fountain.......yum! A friend of mine had made a delicious "Best Ever" hot fudge sauce for a dinner party she had. I asked her about the recipe she followed. She used a recipe in Epicurious..... luckily, I had what I needed for the  recipe. The next hurdle? This couldn’t take forever. I wanted an ice cream sundae almost immediately. This recipe takes about 10 minutes working time and 20 minutes total. Some recipes required cooking the sauce for an hour. That wasn’t going to work for me!