The Super Bowl is literally our Super Bowl. This is the pinnacle of our football season - we love sports and we love football.

We are obsessed with football in our family.  I don’t know if my kids even realize how much more our family watches football than other families. For me, it began with college football.  My cousin played for the Huskies and I got to go to every game.  I loved everything about it – the noise, unity of everyone cheering for the same team, the bright colors, the cheer leaders, there is literally nothing I love more than a football game.  I had a purple and yellow stripe outfit that I wore to cheer on the team every week. It was hot. It was a sleeveless turtleneck number with matching stretch pants. Welcome to 1988.

I married a football fan and I’ve been lucky enough to pass that love onto my children.  We play fantasy football as a family, we watch games together, and we are at every Husky football game – still.  Which makes the Super Bowl our last hurrah as football season officially comes to an end. 

Planning the food for the Super Bowl is a paramount decision at our house.  Here’s five tips that I use every time, they may help you plan your own football party!

ONE

Buffalo Chicken is the best for football, but frying chicken is a hassle.  I have found that pulled chicken dressed in buffalo wing sauce is just as awesome and so much easier (also, can be made ahead!)

•   Buffalo Chicken Tots

•   Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

TWO

Make cocktails in a large batch or a punch.  No one wants to bartend all night.  I usually try to make something blue or green (Go Hawks!)

• Boozy Church Lady Punch

• Beast Mode Punch

Three

Crunchy snacks are mandatory for stressful moments.  We can only hope for a blow out (by us not them) but that’s never what happens and the stress of seeing your team going for it on fourth and one is real.

• Rosemary Roasted Cashews

• Ranch Popcorn

Four

Don’t forget dessert!

• Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

• Study Treats

FIVE

Clear off your coffee table – or bring in a low table – cover it with a piece of astroturf and load it up with all your food.  No one wants to walk away from the television – between the game and the ads, this is TVs biggest day! And the biggest day for our family. (also, the astroturf protects your table)

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My oldest turned 18 this past weekend. It’s a weird thing to have your child become an adult. So we had a lovely family dinner that was perfect for the person that he is and who he is becoming.

This child, at age 8, asked for a cocktail party for his birthday. He didn’t want any kids at the party - just our family and some family friends. He’s always been an old soul so a dinner party at one of our favorite places was just as “over the top” as he would tolerate.

I can’t leave well enough alone, so I made cookies, I made Lino cuts of Lars’s favorite things, and handed out favors. Sometimes the best parties are the simple ones that have just a few over the top things added to it.

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It’s baseball season! Still! Which is so exciting for us in Seattle. I know there are cities where your team is regularly in the post season, or you expect them to be in the post season - we are not that city. We are the city who always has so much hope in April. And then we turn to football in the fall, because there isn’t another local sport happening.

But not this year! This year, we are in the picture.

It is absolutely something to celebrate, so let’s celebrate! We are making up a few special things and filling in with grilled hot dogs and pretzel bites. It’s a ridiculously simple menu. And even if you don’t make what I’m making, do something! Celebrate! It’s been almost a quarter century since we’ve been here!

Homemade Cracker Jacks

These are the best! And they are actually really simple - which is the best part. It’s super impressive that you made your own. Also wasn’t that hard.

Feta Pretzel Dip

A simple dip with ingredients that are probably in your fridge right now! Plus, it’s great on almost anything you can dip.

Cracker Jack Cookies

Filled with popcorn, white chocolate, and peanuts - you won’t believe how good this combination is wrapped in a buttery cookie.

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I get to do some of the coolest projects. For the school auction last year I was asked if I could make a giant bow. I agreed without having any idea what I was actually going to do or how I would make a bow be “giant” and also look tailored and in the Ralph Lauren Christmas vibe we were going for.

Luckily, I’m not the first person to make a giant bow so there were dozens of tutorials out there to reference. I ended up wanting a stiff bow, so I used chicken wire for the base. In case you want to make your own giant bow, the steps were as follows:

1. Cut the chicken wire to form two loops and two ‘tails’ for the bow. I knew my end bow needed to be about six feet across, so all of the components together needed to add up to that.

2. Using hot glue and clothes pins, I attached the fabric to the chicken wire. I did only one side. If I did it again, I would wrap all of the chicken wire in the fabric, so even as you walked under the bow it would just look like fabric.

3. To attach the bow to the arch I used zip ties and wire. Wire pokes right through the fabric, so it was simple to connect anywhere on the bow to the arch. Depending on what you are attaching it to, you may need to find another solution.

4. To finish the bow, I used a length of fabric wrapped around the middle and hot glued it in place. And there was a little more wire to make sure it stayed up all night!

This is not a hard project, but it does take some time and strategy. And for the little amount of money, it creates a huge impact for guests walking in the door. Totally worth while. I ended up making miniature ones as well for the bars. Let me know if you end up making one too.

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Today is the day and my daughter is the most excited of anyone. We’re hosting a little movie night at our house tonight complete with all of the spooky foods, cocktails, and mocktails. Here’s a snapshot of what we’re doing!

For your drinking pleasure…

Corpse Reviver no.2 Cocktail

Super kid (and kid at heart) friendly

Halloween-ies with ketchup blood

It’s delish and a little elegant

Apple Cider Skull cakes

Spooky enough to eat a handful

Eyeball Meringues

For a Harry Potter binge

Butter Beer Cookies

For the kid’s at heart

Ice cream floats made with purple & green sodas

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Today is my birthday! I love my birthday. I’m a big fan of getting older - it’s so much better than the alternative. But it’s also fun! A day to celebrate me! With everyone I love. I’m so lucky to get to have a birthday.

In honor of my birthday, I’ve put together a bunch of my favorite things so you can celebrate along with me!

Very Cherry Birthday Punch

Literally the best champagne punch I have ever made. It’s my absolute favorite. My birthday cake every year is a Black Forest Cake - this goes perfectly with it!

Spaghetti with Clams

This is the best dinner ever. I order it every time it comes up on a menu - it’s almost all I ate when we were in Italy. I’m obsessed with clams - and in pasta with delicious olive oil - I’m extra obsessed.

Birthday Cake Cookies

These are actually perfect. They’re fluffy, filled with white chocolate chips, and covered in sprinkles. I cannot get enough of them! They’re perfect for those of us who don’t care about cake - but LOVE cookies.

Leave a comment if you decide to celebrate with me! I love to celebrate with all of my friends and you are some of my favorite friends.

When I was little we never separated into kids table/adults table.  We sat at one extremely long table with all of my aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and random friends that someone showed up with.  And we ate.  If there is one thing that my family has always done well, it's eat.

But I love the concept of a table filled with fun.  And fun things to do.  And fun.  There's a chance I will turn the entire table into a 'kid's table' this year.  I'm sort of smitten with the idea.

In case you are smitten too, here's what I did:

1. Covered the table with kraft paper.  You can draw on it and when you are done it's compostable {at least the kind I bought is compostable}

2. Drew on placemats and place cards.  Black pen = outlines for coloring everything else.

3. Created snack cornucopias out of ice cream cones.  Here's how to do it ::  dip the base of the cone in water for 20 seconds.  microwave the cone for 20 seconds.  bend the cone around a pencil and let sit until hard.  Stale cones work best.

4. Printed out games and activities to play.

5. Made play dough.  Arguably, you can buy it too.  But more fun to make it.

6.  Made handprint turkeys with the little turkeys.  Easy, trace their hand, cut it out, glue on.  Let them cut it out.

7.  Apple juice in milk jars = happy little hands.

Links:

Julie Blanner’s Word Search Printable

Somewhat Simple’s Thankful for Printable Cards

Playdoh Recipe from I Heart Naptime

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Thanksgiving seems to kick off a season of over eating, loads of butter, and a massive amount of dessert. Not to mention the cocktails!! It’s a season where everything makes it harder to eat well. But it doesn’t have to be that way! There are simple solutions, swap outs, and mindfulness that can take this time fraught with heavy cream and turn it into the celebration it’s supposed to be.

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Everyone needs to have a turkey. The large bird are iconic of the season but if you aren’t hosting a huge crowd, try swapping that out for something smaller like a turkey breast or even turkey tenderloins. If you are cooking the big bird, here’s the best tips for making a centerpiece for your dinner.

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And don’t forget a cocktail! Even the healthiest of eating requires a little libation at the holiday. And on a holiday surrounded by family no less. These cocktails are fun and festive and add a little flavor of fall. Make these in big batches and you won’t have to be stuck trying to pour and shake drinks every few minutes! Trust me, a punch bowl full of booze goes a long way!

Last week Kim Hildebrand and I hosted a cooking class + mini photo session and it was EPIC! We cooked, we laughed, we ate. It was such a fun class. Not only was it a fun class, but the girls really pitched in and did 90% of the work themselves.

I set up the table the same way I do it for every cooking class with a giant table down the middle of the bay of the fire station. After we’d all cooked together, we went to the bay for our ‘family brunch’ and all ate together. The girls had the best time sitting together, chatting, and then diving into cupcakes from Trophy Cupcakes.

The menu for the class was simple. Pearl and I met the girls at the door with a Vanilla Float made with DRY Sparkling Vanilla and the moms with a glass of champagne. Have you tried a float with DRY Sparkling?? It’s just a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with DRY Sparkling Vanilla. It’s so ridiculously good. The Vanilla soda isn’t as sweet as most sodas so it compliments the ice cream perfectly - it still forms the little crust that’s on the top of the ice cream when you make a soda float. Let’s be honest, that’s really the best part.

The girls then made us all Ham & Cheese Puffs - basically on their own! I gave instructions and each girl took on a different job from slicing ingredients to rolling puff pastry to brushing the egg wash on everything. It was adorable how excited each girl got about the tasks - and even more adorable how they all wanted to help in the kitchen! It was proof that if we give our kids age appropriate jobs, they can totally cook dinner for us. If I can get your kids to help AND/OR cook for you once a week then my job is done and I will retire.

I don’t always believe in making dessert. But this was a special occasion and we needed something fabulous to finish off our brunch. My friends at Trophy made us Strawberry Cupcakes - a classic that’s always a hit. It’s the most delicious cupcake I have possibly had in a long time. It has strawberry frosting on top & a strawberry jam filling - I did not mean to eat the whole thing, but there you go. It disappeared.

Are you interested in coming to a Mommy & Me class? If so, leave a comment below - it would be a blast to do this again soon! If you want to come to a kid-free cooking class, sign up for notifications on Eventbrite and we’ll find out as soon as it’s posted!

all photos by Kim Hildebrand Photography

I adore a good holiday that isn’t really a “holiday” - these days when you don’t get a day off of school or anything, but it comes with a great color scheme, pun-ny jokes, and clothing requirements. It’s also the only time of year when I buy Lucky Charms so my kids get really excited about that too.

These are the days I like to celebrate all day. It’s fun to start the morning off with a quirky breakfast - even a bowl of Lucky Charms is a fun way to kick off the day! While you have the box of Lucky Charms out, pop a handful on the top of a mug of hot cocoa - and since it’s a Sunday, why not spike the cocoa with a splash of Frangelico? Get really Irish from the start!

The problem with St. Patrick’s Day food is that corned beef takes FOREVER to cook. FOREVER. It literally has to braise and boil and everything else before it’s done and it takes forever. But corned beef is the epitome of St. Patrick’s Day. That and soda bread - and a good (very) dark beer.

St. Patrick’s Day does fall on a Sunday this year so technically you do have time to go through the entire process of making corned beef. I usually buy mine at Metropolitan Market when I buy it already seasoned. It takes a few hours and the instructions are always on the package. There are lots of other ways to cook corned beef, but I’ve never had any issues when I just follow the instructions on the package.

But if you don’t have time, a Reuben Sandwich is the perfect substitute! You get to have the glory of corned beef, but purchased from the deli and cooked for you.

A reuben sandwich is my favorite meal every single time. If it’s on a menu, I will order it. Every time. The best I have had was at a roadside dive restaurant on our way to Montana last summer. It was the perfect ratio of meat to sauerkraut and super greasy with extra thousand island on the side. Epic.

I like to make these sandwiches on small rounds of bread so I end up with manageable sized sandwiches that don’t fall apart when you lift them up. The biggest issue with a Reuben is when it falls apart when you lift it.

REUBEN SANDWICH

STEP 1

Combine together mayonnaise, ketchup, and lemon juice.  Let rest.

STEP 2

Butter one side of each piece of bread.  Spread the other side with Dijon mustard.  

STEP 3

Layer a slice of cheese on top of four slices of bread (on top of the Dijon).  Add pastrami equally divided amongst sandwiches.

STEP 4

Top pastrami with sauerkraut and another slice of cheese.  

STEP 5

Top cheese with remaining slices of bread and toast the sandwiches over medium heat in a skillet.  

STEP 6

Slice and serve with homemade Thousand Island dipping sauce.

1 lb sliced pastrami 

8 slices rye bread

2 tbs butter

2 tbs Dijon mustard

1 cup Sauerkraut

8 slices Swiss cheese

½ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup ketchup

2 tbs lemon juice

End the night with a fun martini that’s on theme. Any one else hate a really thick beer? I can’t handle more than a sip or two of a heavy beer, but anything that’s green in a cocktail seems nasty too.

Then I discovered that if you muddle basil, it dyes the drink green! Shaken with Hendrick’s Gin - which has an herbal quality to it - it’s a perfect martini! You can serve this with any dinner - including a reuben sandwich.

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