Party Panache, Orange Everything!
The 3rd annual Cook Your App Off party was last weekend, and this year the theme was Orange! This is really my daugther’s party, I am just her assistant
I added an orange polka dot ribbon to the Party Wreath I made last year, which handily had some orange and blue kitchen utensils on it
Guests had to make an appetizer using at least one of these ten orange ingredients: orange juice, orange peppers, sweet potato chips or BBQ chips, peaches, goldfish, orange marmalade, carrots, shrimp, mac and cheese, or cheddar cheese
The first dish to arrive was “Sausage Skewers with Sweet Potato and Pineapple”
followed by “Mac n Cheese Cupcakes”
Things were looking good!
The kitchen table and raised eating bar were ready for the incoming masterpieces
DD’s house has lots of trees outside for a natural privacy screen so she has opted to keep her side windows undraped for maximum light…CC and Big Ben were helping with the set up~
Rose bouquets wrapped with orange burlap and twine dangled from the window frames for the party, just to add a little “festive”
We used the table tops and lanterns from June’s Family Reunion
The deck was ready for guests with tables for dining and sipping, the buckets were filled with ice for wine bottles and beer
Dishes ranged from the elaborate Orange and Blue Oyster Poppers
to the simple, Cheese and Crackers on a paper towel*
and lots of tempting things in between!
“Conecuh** Sausage and Cheese Biscuits” with a creamy dipping sauce
“Cajun Seafood Dip”
“Fresh Peach Brulee Burratta Bruschetta”
“Buffalo Mac & Cheese” was packed in ready to serve foil bowls, what a great idea!
“M & J’s Shrimp Canapes”
“Cranberry Orange Spread”
“Spicy Pimento Cheese”
We even had some surprise entries from Super Boy and HH and HHjr
Super Boy, 6, dipped clementine sections in peanut butter, topped them with sprinkles and named it “Orange Casserole”
He also helped HH with his “recipe” for Bacon Bombs
Bacon wrapped orange pieces garnished with candy corn and served with a bowl of “Gatorade Dipping Sauce”…let’s just say it was very creative and they definitely got into the orange theme… sometimes I wonder which one is the 6 year old…
*Cheese and Crackers on a paper towel was actually a joke, brought by HHjr, “Mr. Gourmet”
the dishes were labeled as they were brought in
and each dish had a blue jar for voting~the guests all get to vote for their favorite dishes
The voting station was nearby with jelly bean tokens in buckets and easy instructions
orange jelly beans for #1, blue for #2 and yellow for #3
This makes quick work of tallying the votes, DD and I could quickly tell the winners by glancing in the jars
Adjacent to the voting station were the party favors, an orange snack mix ready to grab and go
We provided Blue Moon Cupcake Bites and orange candy for dessert
and packs of goldfish for the kids
The prizes were on display for the lucky winners-more about these prizes to come~
So which dishes do you think were the winners? I didn’t get photos of the Buffalo Mac & Cheese packed in the individual bowls, so don’t forget about that one!
They were all winners in my book! It’s a lot of fun to get the guests involved, not to mention an easy way to throw a party!
Coming up I will share the winning recipes and the details of the prizes and party favors~
**Conecuh Sausage is a smoked sausage in made in Conecuh County Alabama
to see last years Cook Your App Off, click here
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All looks so appetizing! I like the Mac & Cheese to go! Thanks for sharing!🌴😊
Thanks so much!
Lovin’ the sausage and sweet potato with pineapple! Sounds like a fun time:@)
Wow, this looks like so much fun! I bet your front door is hanging off the hinges! I vote for the Fresh Peach Bruschetta. It looks delicious!
You all are having way to much fun over there!!!!
“Cook Your App Off”! I love the play on words! Fun!
What a fun party to host! I would like to do something like this! I would have thought orange foods would be hard to come up with, but you guys did a great job! Let me tell you…those cheese biscuits look incredible! I haven’t made cheese biscuits in years, but you’ve got my interest piqued in them again!
I’m with your daughter on keeping those windows fabric free! That’s the way I have it here, and I love it. I love to have all the natural light possible pouring in from every direction! I know I will have to bow to my husband’s wishes and put up curtains someday (although I’ve managed to skirt the issue for 9-1/2 years now!), but for now I’m enjoying every drop of sunshine!
Terrific post, Jenna! I’m going to try my hand at a party like this!
It is tons of fun, and since you don’t have to do any cooking you can go wild with the decor…which you do anyway!! Since we’ve done it 3 years in a row, with many repeat guests, it is fun to see how they have embraced the concept and really get competitive! And more importantly, the food gets better and better!
OK, how much fun was this!!! What a great idea and the spread that was laid out is fantastic. Beautiful colors and presentation!
Thanks Sandra, it is a fun an easy way to have a party, let the guests do all the cooking!
So much creativity Jenna, including the orange casserole 🙂 Buffalo Mac & Cheese, Mac’n Cheese Cupcakes, Peach Brulee Burratta Bruschetta and Orange and Blue Oyster Poppers…oh my! I think I would have a hard time voting,and I love your easy voting method too 🙂 Looking forward to a taste of the winners and the prizes!
what a fun idea for a party! love this and can’t wait to see who won and the recipes! love the orange casserole!
ha, thanks! It was tons of fun!