EASY PARTY THEME: HOST A FAMILY PHOTO SWAP PARTY

Have some holes in your family photo album?

If you do and you’re looking for something fun to do with your family and holiday house guests the day after the big day, why not plan a family photo swap party? While sitting around the TV to watch the big game is tradition for the adults, it’s not much fun for the kids. It’s essential to have some activities planned so the kids don’t get bored and cranky. A family photo swap is a fun way to keep the kids busy while the adults talk about good times and reminisce about family history. Each sibling or family member can bring their pictures to be scanned and printed to share with the others. Even mom’s best handwritten recipes can be scanned so everyone has a copy and you don’t lose them. 

Set up card tables for the kids so they can create their own mini albums or crafts using the printed copies. This is also a great party to host for class reunions, childhood friends, sorority sisters, or the gang from the old neighborhood.

PARTY PLAN

  1. Tell your guests to bring their own photo albums, scrapbooks, and favorite family photos to share.
  2. Hit the craft stores when there is a big sale to scoop up extra frames and supplies to have on hand. Get glue dots, photo corners and scrapbook stickers, etc.
  3. Have plenty of USB flash drives available. If guests save scanned images to a flash drive, they will have for future use.
  4. Make sure your printer is working well and get extra printing cartridges.
  5. Keep the menu simple. Set up a buffet so guests can serve themselves. 
  6. Cover tables with brown kraft paper or white butcher paper to prevent stains and damage.
  7. Set up several work stations for scanning, printing, and assembly.
  8. Let the kids make their own books with pictures important to them.
  9. Invite older relatives to come and relate the “back stories” behind the photos so the kids can learn about the family’s past, heritage, and your memories are passed along to the next generation.

MENU SUGGESTIONS

Make-ahead recipes like soup are easy to make and easy to serve. Make up one or two soups before the holiday and reheat in a Crockpot or large pot on the stove right before party time. Serve with sandwich halves or warm crusty bread.

Reliving old memories and making new ones… my kind of holiday fun!

EASY PARTY APPETIZER: HOMEMADE RICOTTA AND CHARRED TOMATO CROSTINI

Chef James Lewis of Bettola Restaurant in Birmingham contributed this recipe to my book, Birmingham's Best Bites. I've come to love his homemade ricotta and this crostini is a wonderful party bite any time of the year. The ricotta can be kept in the fridge and used for other recipes.... like Jalapeno Poppers, Gnudi (Gnocchi like dumplings), cheesecake, as a filling for manicotti, or in my luscious Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake!

RICOTTA AND CHARRED TOMATO CROSTINI BETTOLA

INGREDIENTS

House-Made Ricotta:

1 gallon whole milk

½ teaspoon citric acid

½ teaspoon sea salt

Crostini:

½ cup olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic

8-10 slices slightly stale Italian or French bread, thinly sliced

Tomatoes:

16-20 small cherry tomatoes

1 teaspoon olive oil

Pinch Sea salt, or to taste

Fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces

Black pepper (optional)

Aged balsamic vinegar (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

To prepare House-Made Ricotta, heat whole milk to 360°F, then remove pan and let cool. Add ½ teaspoon citric acid and ½ teaspoon sea salt and stir. Chill and strain with linen or double lined cheesecloth; drain to catch whey.

To make Crostini, heat, ½ cup of oil on low in a cast iron skillet or pan. Add one smashed garlic clove and heat on low 4-5 minutes. Remove oil and garlic from skillet.

Return a small amount of oil and heat skillet to medium.

Add several slices of bread into pan and toast until lightly browned on each side. Remove slices when they have reached desired level of crispness. Add a small amount of garlic oil back into skillet and continue toasting until lightly browned.

To prepare tomatoes, lightly rub ion olive oil and sea salt. Char them in hot cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat before toasting the bread for crostini or roast them under a broiler to blister the tomato while toasting the bread. Once tomatoes are charred or blistered, smash the tomatoes to break them up a bit. If they are sweeter, leave them whole.

To assemble, spread ricotta on bread. Top with charred tomatoes. Garnish with fresh basil, season with sea salt, olive oil and a pinch of black pepper and balsamic vinegar, if desired.

Tip: When making the House-Made Ricotta, it helps to put cheesecloth over a colander and let it slowly drain. After you have strained the ricotta, remove it from the linen. At this point you can mix in your choice of seasoning; such as fresh herbs, citrus zest, honey, bacon; adjust the seasoning to fit the dish you are serving the ricotta with.

For smoother cheese, pulse in food processor until you’ve reached your desired consistency.

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RECIPE: THE LATEST COFFEE OBSESSION IS BANANA MILK COFFEE!

This is the newest coffee craze straight out of Brooklyn !#BananaMilkCoffee... Who knew? It is so rich and creamy-I love it! It isn't overly sweet or overly 'banana' either. And the perfect way to use that banana about to go bad. I used to have a smoothie with a banana in it for breakfast. Now, I put the frozen banana in my coffee and cut back on calories... You're going to want to try this! Bye, bye Latte!

You can add some different spices to it, if you want. I added some spice infused simple syrup and it was even better.

ICED BANANA MILK COFFEE

INGREDIENTS
1 mug of your favorite cold brew coffee or very strong brewed coffee ( I used Community Coffee Cafe Special), chilled with ice
1/2 frozen banana, sliced
1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
1 tablespoon simple syrup ( make sweeter if you want)

DIRECTIONS:

Chill the coffee with ice cubes if you are using brewed coffee. (Make your coffee stronger than normal.)

Whip the banana, milk and simple syrup together using an immersion blender or blender to create a frappe' or to a frothy consistency. Pour over the iced coffee. That's it! (Took me 2 minutes- but I always have frozen bananas in the freezer.)

CLICK FOR MORE COFFEE RECIPES FOR NATIONAL COFFEE DAY....     Thanks, Community Coffee!

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