Back To School Potluck

The office hasn’t had a potluck for awhile. The last one was kind of sad. It wasn’t our best. I think the timing was off and our theme was possibly a bit too vague. It was for St. Patrick’s Day at a super busy time in the office and after a crazy weekend for the city. This one got us back on track! We did a back to school, but grown up, as our theme.

We had some paleo chicken nuggets.
The Three Bite Rule - Back To School Potluck

We had some school-lunch-pizza. They were on sandwich thins with veggie pepperoni.
The Three Bite Rule - Back To School Potluck

We had some pb & j on banana bread. This one was mine. I tried the whipped peanut butter and used strawberry jam. I made my own banana bread.
The Three Bite Rule - Back To School Potluck

We had come cafeteria-style ‘mush’. It was cauliflower, broccoli, and sweet potato.
The Three Bite Rule - Back To School Potluck

School lunch isn’t complete without snacks and dessert.

We had trailmix.
The Three Bite Rule - Back To School Potluck

We had ants on a log with almond butter and craisins.
The Three Bite Rule - Back To School Potluck

We had ice cream cups with little wooden spoons.
The Three Bite Rule - Back To School Potluck

We had oreos, made with protein powdered cream.
The Three Bite Rule - Back To School Potluck
I don’t think we’ve settled on our next one. We thought about ‘on a stick’ or mini vs. giant foods. Any potluck theme recommendations for us? Some of our best include: nail polish colored, or Olympics theme, or made-in-a-muffin-tin.

Hosting Brunch Tips & Breakfast Pizza

I LOVE to host. I think that’s why I like working events. I love feeling like I’ve thought of the details because that’s what makes an event feel special. Hosting at my house also means that I won’t have people complaining to me about a tee shirt. Seriously, this is my life.

I hosted a few of my fav couples for brunch. I tried not to go crazy with the menu but I was psyched to put a few new serving pieces into action. I did as much prep the night before as I could and it made for a pretty easy morning. There were 6 of us and 4 puppies and 1 toddler. It was a beautiful day and I was so thankful some of this group together for brunch before everyone had to head in different directions.

Menu:

breakfast pizza
ebilskiver pancake balls: dark chocolate mint, banana butterscotch, and sausage
fruit salad
yogurt parfait bar
tator tots
mini bagels
mimosas
hot & iced coffee

I’ve made a few breakfasts pizzas in the past. I made one bfast pizza with hashbrown crust which was better in theory than in execution. I’ve also have done one bfast pizza with egg cracked on top.  This time I went more scrambled but still don’t think I hit 100%. I topped a crust with cheese, bacon, and tomato. I baked it a bit more and then topped it with scrambled eggs, more bacon, and fresh chives. The crust needed a bit more time to get crisp. The timing was the challenge here. I had a few other items in the oven, I was getting stuff together, and I was scrambling the eggs. It was good, but not amazing. It has such potential though. The crust needed more time to get crisp and the eggs should have gone on only for a minute or two, then it should be served right away.
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I cold brewed coffee for ice coffee. I also froze some coffee into cubes (but forgot to serve them!). Cold brewing is interesting. It definitely makes better iced coffee. We had some leftover and I’ve been enjoying it to no end. Mr. J said we need an iced coffee drip in the fridge!

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I love brunch and think the choices need to vary sweet and savory. I was thinking about a smoothie station but thought maybe it was too much work for people to do themselves. Then I had it! Yogurt Parfait Bar. Yes! Top-your-own is the best. Everyone can customize! I served vanilla Greek yogurt with granola, cinnamon chips, walnuts, brown sugar, toasted coconut, dried cranberries, and chocolate crunchies. I put out some disposable wine cups for serving and we were good-to-go. It was an easy/low prep dish. Annnd maybe I also wanted to use this 6-dish server.
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I got cool silverware holders for my birthday from my sis. These are so great!
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Finally, I think food labeling is one of the easiest things a host can do. The holders were a fun antique gift. They’re supposed to be placecard holders but I don’t do sit-downs and Momma R thought they’d be perfect for my dish labels. I like people to know what it is without having to either ask, or skip it not knowing what it is.
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Father’s Day Recipe Ideas

Since Sunday is Father’s Day, I wanted to share around a few ideas if you’re having a big shebang or a small family dinner. I was thinking about what my Dad likes best. It varies, for sure. He’s always up for a themed family dinner and he loves to know the plan.

He likes a sweet treat to go along with coffee in the morning. These cheese danish squares are amazingly easy. They are a great brunch addition or coffee break treat.
The Three Bite Rule - Cheese Danish Squares
Sometimes a fun theme is to bring back memories of a recent trip. My ‘rents went to Chicago and followed my recommendation for Lou Malnatti’s pizza. Making deepdish is actually easier for some folks by using a cake pan instead of messing with dough on a pizza stone.

A pizza party is a fun idea if you’re feeding a crowd. Here’s one of my favorite deepdish pizza recipes or making a few kinds of pizzas is always fun. Maybe the non-cook in the family can bring the salad?
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Top-your-own-burgers would be fun. I like to put guests/family/friends to work. I make Mr. J a different special burger for his birthday each year. Here are some of our favorite burgers if you want filling/topping ideas.
The Three Bite Rule - Nacho Burger
‘Build-your-own’ bars make a party social and allow everyone to reach all the food served. Most importantly, then everyone can customize their food. I think it gives a fun casual setting and it helps those who are picky or really hungry be able to do their plate their own way. It works well for taco bars, salad barsoatmeal bars, top-your-own chili, etc!
Label your food for a) more fun b) a better executed theme and c) for clarity.
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I’m not sure what’s in store for the weather, but a cheeseburger calzone is a great option if you’re indoors or grill-less!
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Oooo! Brilliant! Have a pot-luck with foods that remind you of your dad and then Dad has to guess who made what! Man, I just love food event themes!

Another theme I think any dad would like is a restaurant recreation of their favorite meal or a Throw-back meal to something he cooked with you or ate with you. Even just naming your menu can help with your theme. My ‘Welcome to Boston’ themed calzones are a prime example of that. I can admit myself that tt wasn’t really a theme without the names.

Dad C would have loved a Father’s Day lasagna (his favorite!)
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or he liked my BBQ Chicken Pizza (with his fav Sticky Finger’s BBQ Sauce)
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Happy pre-Father’s Day to all the Dads out there.

What I Ate: At a Wedding Cocktail Hour

Wedding cocktail hour is my favorite. I love the vows, and the dancing (especially since Mr. J is a rockin’ dancer), but then I love the cocktail hour. Contrary to the name I like it for the food. I don’t worry about the drinks…it is all about the snacks. I love passed aps, Mrs. K had baked brie that I’m still raving about (3+ years later), Mrs. M had an amazing cheese selection. Serious love for the aps.

I don’t review many weddings but I went to one with the best cocktail hour ever. Ever. I know, I go to my share of weddings every year. I snapped a few pics with my phone but when I heard the next morning that the bride didn’t have any of the amazing aps I knew I HAD to blog ‘em. She writes Flying on Jess Fuel (stop by her blog, say hello, wish her congrats, and check out her recipes).

The chef was Chef Roland. I loved their cocktail hour. I cannot get over how many aps there were. I was so impressed that the hot ones were actually hot! The chilled ones were actually cool! The servers all knew what they were offering to us. It was amazing. Here are my favorites:

Shrimp ceviche with mango salsa on an edible spoon.
The Three Bite Rule - Wedding Aps  Yes, that’s right. There’s a crisp bite of spoon with each bite. Delicious!

Dill scone topped with lobster salad. It was lightly dressed and so fresh. I mayyy have stalked the servers whenever I saw these!
The Three Bite Rule - Wedding Aps

Lamb and quinoa cakes. The bride loves quinoa so these seemed even more perfect.
The Three Bite Rule - Wedding Aps

There were some mean lookin’ pistachio crusted lamb lollipops but I figured the lamb cake bite was probably my red-meat maximum for the day. I popped the lobster mac & cheese bite before I got a photo. Yum!

We had some bruschetta, coconut shrimp, spanakopita, cajan shrimp & kielbasa…I don’t even remember what else. There were so many. I had to chose wisely. There were just so many.

Ohh then we had dinner. It started with a salad of greens, beets, peaches, and candied walnuts. Seriously amazing.
The Three Bite Rule - Wedding Aps
Dinner options were beef, fish, or vegetarian. I got the fish. It turned out to be sole stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, and lobster. You had me at lobster.

Mr. J and I are off for the weekend to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary! Can you believe it has been a year?!? I’ll be sure to let you know how that year old piece ‘o cake fared this past year!

Nail Polish Colored Potluck

In honor of Ms. K’s last day we had a tearful potluck to say goodbye and good luck to our nail polish loving coworker. It was along the lines of our Rainbow Potluck but this time we chose our colors based on a nail polish to each give her as a parting gift. I’m always so impressed with what everyone comes up with to bring! It’s tricky! We only have a fridge, microwave, and toaster oven to use but once again, it was a good one!

There was an awesome chilled watermelon soup. The watermelon color was Pretty in Punk.
The Three Bite Rule - Nail Polish Potluck

There were delicious (and healthy!) Granola-ish balls. They were like cookie dough but full of great ingredients like flaxseeds, peanut butter, and oats. The oatmeal color was Sand Tropez.
The Three Bite Rule - Nail Polish Potluck

We loved this avocado black eyed pea salad. It was fresh and creamy and delicious. The black eyed pea color was I Don’t Drink Cheap Wine.
The Three Bite Rule - Nail Polish Potluck
Our office can eat nachos and guacamole like we’ve never had it before! The guac green was Go Overboard.
The Three Bite Rule - Nail Polish Potluck

We had a re-creation from the sandwich shop downstairs with everything bagels, cream cheese, tomato and avocado. It was the right mix of filling and freshness. The tomato red was Forever Yummy.
The Three Bite Rule - Nail Polish Potluck
I made puff pastry bites with brie and blackberry sauce. More on them later. The nail polish was Henna Things Possible.
The Three Bite Rule - Nail Polish Potluck