Partylite Party!

The other day I had a Partylite party. For those of you not familiar with Partylite, they have some of the best candles in the world! Go check them out sometime and maybe find yourself a consultant and host a party. You'll never look at candles the same way again. I know I haven't.

I had given my consultant, Heather, my guest list a couple of weeks before so she could send out the invites. The postcard arrives requesting the guests RSVP just like every other party anyone will ever be invited to in their lives. Apparently, my friends living in Tulsa and the surrounding areas don't know what this means. So knowing this, I estimate maybe 10 people are going to show up. I spend my entire Sunday beforehand cleaning and prepping food so that everything will be ready to go on Tuesday night.

Tuesday rolls around, I leave work early. Stop at the gas station, stop at the grocery store, stop at the liquor store to see my buddy Jason (had to apologize for not remembering to bring him some homemade hot sauce and pick up some wine), go home. I lock up my two cats and get to work (they don't like company, I don't like cats plopping down at my feet as I try to clean and cook). As I push the vacuum cleaner around the apartment, begging it to suck just a bit more cat hair up, my cell phone goes off. I've got messages! "Something's come up." "Won't be able to make it." "Just stopping by for a few minutes to see if there's anything I want, but I can't stay long." People were canceling!

Stop here. I get that stuff comes up and that people have lives outside of coming to my apartment to spend their cold-hard cash on candles. Flakiness just happens to be a pet peeve of mine, and I seem to have a lot of flaky friends. I've made appetizers for crying out loud! And dessert!

Looking back now, everything went great. I still had about 7 or 8 people show up, and almost all of the food was gone by the end of the night (my coworkers love me right now since they get to enjoy the leftovers). I never really was angry, just irritated. I had spent a decent amount of time and money making food for my friends to enjoy (and let's be honest, that was the real reason I had the party...I wanted to cook for more people that just my sister and myself). Below are the recipes I used for each item that was served. Two of these recipes came from my m-i-l. Two came from All Recipes (this will be on here often I'm sure). The other two came from two different cookbooks. Sorry there aren't pictures of each recipe. It was a hectic day...

Sausage Cups
Recipe courtesy of my mother-in-law

1 package of Jimmy Dean HOT sausage

2 cups of shredded cheese (I use Fiesta bland, but cheddar and colby-jack are good too)

1/2 bottle of ranch dressing (add more or less as needed)

1/2 can of chopped black olives (fresh works too)

3-4 packages of small phyllo cups

1. Brown sausage and drain. Allow to cool.
2. Preheat oven according to phyllo package (mine was 350).
3. Add all ingredients together in a medium bowl.
4. Scoop mixture into cups. Bake approx. 6-8 minutes or according to package.
   

Frisco Dip
Recipe courtesy of my mother-in-law

1 lb of ground beef

1 package of Jimmy Dean HOT sausage

1 package of Velveeta (the big brick)

1 can of Rotel

1. Brown ground beef and sausage on stove top. Drain.
2. Cube Velveeta and place in a slow cooker/crock pot. Add Rotel and meat.
3. Leave on low for a couple of hours or until cheese is melted. Serve with any tortilla chips you have available.
   

Pepperoni Dip

Adapted from a recipe on All Recipes

1 package herb flavored cream cheese

1/4 cup spaghetti sauce

1 package mini pepperoni

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In an oven-safe dish, spread out cream cheese. Put spaghetti sauce then pepperoni on top. Add cheese.
3. Place dish in the oven and bake for approx. 10 minutes.
4. Serve with sliced baguette.
   

Dark Chocolate Truffles

Recipe from The Essential Fingerfood Cookbook

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 bag dark chocolate chips

1 oz butter, cut into pieces (that's about 2TBL)

Cocoa powder to cover

1. Place cream in a small pot on the stove and bring to a boil.
2. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips. Stir until completely melted.
3. Add butter and continue stirring until melted.
4. Move mixture to a bowl, cover, and put in the fridge for several hours or overnight.
5. Scoop uniform balls (I used a melon baller) and drop into cocoa powder. Roll and refrigerate until ready to serve.
   

Red Velvet and Chocolate Cake Balls - The flavors for this are completely up to you

Adapted from recipe on All Recipes

1 box of cake mix

1 container of frosting

1 bag of chocolate chips (or almond bark)

1. Make cake according to directions on box. You can make your own scratch cake and icing, This way is just the easiest I've found.
2. Allow cake to cool and then crumble. Add the container of frosting and mix well.
3. Form balls with a melon baller to achieve uniform size.
4. Freeze or refrigerate for several hours.
5. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. Using a fork and spoon, dip balls in chocolate and set aside. Refrigerate or freeze until chocolate has hardened.

Sangria

Recipe from New Cookbook Bridal Edition

1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup lime juice

1 750-ml bottle dry, red wine

1/4-1/2 cup sugar

Ice cubes

Oranges slices (optional)

Lime slices (optional)

1. In a large pitcher, stir together the orange and lime juices. Add wine and sugar, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Cover and chill for 3 to 24 hours.
2. Serve over ice. Garnish with orange and lime slices if desired.