How to Throw a You've Got Mail Themed Party

I’ve seen You’ve Got Mail approximately 101 times, but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago while watching it for the 102nd time that the idea popped into my head to use the movie as the theme for a party. It was late at night, but I started rattling off notes in my phone so I wouldn’t forget my ideas the next morning. I called on my friend Mary who shares the same love for NY152 like I do, and we started planning. Her dog pictured above is named Brinkley if that tells you anything.

Up first, the invitation. We knew it had to be an email. It wouldn’t be a You’ve Got Mail party without an email in our guest’s inbox signifying they had mail. We had initially planned to host it at my apartment, but 1. it’s tiny and 2. in the midst of planning Mary had moved into the coziest new rent house that become the perfect space for our fall party.

Next, the food. We went the heavy hors d’oeuvres route with chips, dips, meats, cheeses, and New York’s signature, the black and white cookie. The only thing I made were the bacon wrapped dates. Just take a pitted date and stuff with goat cheese, wrap with 1/2 a piece of bacon and toothpick it closed. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until bacon is cooked to your liking.

The theme played out in these few items: “at least it wasn’t the fish” goldfish and “that caviar is a garnish,” cowboy caviar and chips. Caviar taste on a Trader Joe’s budget was the name of the game. To end the night we served the black and white cookies with a “tall decaf cappuccino” aka decaf coffee with frothed milk. I picked up tall size cups from Starbucks to make it really feel like the movie, and then brewed a pot of decaf coffee and used my milk frother to froth up some nut milk.

For decor, we had to have a bouquet of sharpened pencils and daisies of course. Kathleen’s favorite flower. “Don’t you think daisies are the happiest flower?” I bought a few packs of these pre-sharpened pencils on Amazon, because do they even make pencil sharpeners anymore? The daisies and fall mums were from Trader Joe’s.

The mix of truffle potato chips, gold fish, and bacon-wrapped dates left me thinking “uhhh, where are my tic tacs??” A pack for each guest (that we forgot to pass out oops!) made for perfect party favors.

It turned out to be such a fun night with a really great mix of new and old friends. We had the movie and soundtrack playing through the night, encouraged everyone to come in their best Kathleen Kelly get up, and did trivia to test everyone’s knowledge. A link to my trivia and themed menu cards are linked below for you to download.

Do you recognize our outfits from specific scenes in the movie? A classic Kathleen turtleneck while ragging on Joe Fox about the caviar at the cocktail party was me, and pj’s with a trench coat full of tissues while sick in her apartment was Mary.

I hope this inspires you to host your own You’ve Got Mail party! If you do, be sure to tag me on Instagram in your party pics.

Annie

Hash brown Quiche

This recipe is a tried and true Tucker recipe. We’ve been making it for years and it’s one of all of our favorites. When you hear quiche you probably think breakfast or brunch, but we always ate this for dinner (and a leftover slice for breakfast the next day). I’m not sure the thought behind that, but point be that it is good any time of day! Mom and I made this together while I was in Oklahoma City quarantining, and it’s a recipe that honestly takes me back to being 10 years old. Make with your momma for Mother’s Day brunch this weekend and I know it will be a hit.

Hash Brown Quiche
serves 4-6 people

Ingredients:
24 oz frozen, uncooked, shredded hash browns, thawed
5 tbsps. unsalted butter, melted
3 eggs
3/4 cup half and half
3/4 tsp. seasoned salt (we use Lawry’s, if you don’t have Lawry’s this copycat recipe uses lots of pantry staples)
1 cup (4 oz) pepper jack cheese, shredded
1 cup (4 oz) gruyère or swiss cheese, shredded
1 cup diced ham*

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Press the hash browns into a quiche or pie pan. Blot with a paper towel to remove all the moisture. Brush the hash browns with the melted butter. Bake for 25 minutes until lightly golden.

Remove the hash browns from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, half and half, seasoned salt, and set aside. Sprinkle both cheeses and ham over the hash brown shell. Then pour the egg mixture over the top. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned. Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy.

*We grew up making Hash Brown Quiche after Thanksgiving or Easter knowing we will have leftover ham from the holiday. If you are stuck with leftover ham, dice up a cup of ham and freeze it until you want to make quiche. If you don’t have a stockpile of ham in your freezer like my family does (ha), go to the deli counter and ask for 2 slices of ham cut about 1/4 inch thick. Once you get home, dice up the slices and you are good to go.

Annie

Easy Holiday Cheese Board

So I was annoyingly stressed out these past two weeks thinking about all the holiday events coming up and all the things going on at work to get prepared for the holiday season that I didn't even want to do Friendsgiving. GASP! Friendsgiving is one of my favorite traditions of the past couple years. First headache was gone when my sweet friend Lexy said she would host. Second headache was gone when I decided to bring the easiest cheese board thanks to Hickory Farms! 

Quick story time. Me and Hickory Farms go way back. Every year growing up, one of my dad's co-workers would gift his fellow employees with a Hickory Farms gift box. My sister's and I would anxiously await the evening when my dad would come home with the coveted Hickory Farms gift box. We would rip open the box, fight over who got to eat the little strawberry hard candies and then start sampling every meat, cheese and spicy mustard, completely ruining our dinner. 

I'm often asked what my favorite food is, and struggle to muster up an answer. I could never answer that question with just one thing, but recently I've really been trying to nail down at least my top five favorite foods. So far chili has been put on my list, and after making this epic holiday meat and cheese board for Friendsgiving, it became apparent that cheese boards are also in my top five favorite foods. 

Not only do I love eating meat and cheese boards, I also love making them. But, I will admit going to the store and wandering the cheese aisle can be super daunting. With a million options, textures, colors, names etc. it's overwhelming deciding what cheese and meats to pair. With Hickory Farms Signature Party Planning Gift Box  the stress is gone. Cue the "easy" part of this holiday cheese board.

Hickory Farms perfectly curates their boxes to make for a perfect holiday cheese board. The Signature Party Planning box consists of four cheeses, three meats and assorted mixed nuts. Exactly what I would purchase if going at it by myself at the store. These amounts will serve about 12 people. Or 10 hungry 20-something girls at Friendsgiving...oops!

My cheese board assembly tips:
-Cut each cheese a different way. Cubes, triangles, slices, crumbles...
-Bring in different textures such as mixed nuts, fruit, crackers, olives or pickles
-Be colorful. Use cheese and meats of different color to keep it visually pleasing.
-Get your greens in. Some kind of fresh herb to contrast all the orange and cream. I used bay leaves because they were on hand. 
-Include some kind of mustard, jam or spread

Take a slight bit of the holiday stress off buy purchasing a Hickory Farms gift box for your next holiday gathering. Wow your friends and fam with this easy (and epic) cheese board when you show up for Thanksgiving. P.S. If you are last minute and don't have time to order something, and you are local to the OKC area, I know for a fact there is a Hickory Farms kiosk set up right now in Penn Square Mall. It is stocked with tons of meats, cheeses, mustards and pre-selected gift boxes. Cough Thanksgiving is in less than a week cough cough.

Happy holidays from my easy cheese board to yours!

Annie

Thank you to Hickory Farms for kindly sponsoring this post. All opinions are 100% honest & completely my own.

Banana Chip Savory Snack Mix (Whole 30)

Whole 30 snacks are hard. I had this conversation with my sister last week and a friend who is also doing whole 30 right now. Meals are easy, but sometimes you just get a big craving for a handful of crackers or pretzels or some kind of carby snack. This whole 30 approved savory snack mix is so satisfy for someone on whole 30 and for the average joe. Just be careful, it's highly addictive. 

My good friend Chelsea, who actually got married this past weekend, first introduced me to Bubba's Fine Foods Snack Mix. She is a trainer, so I'm always so interested in what she is eating or snacking on. One day at the gym she was eating out of a Bubba's Snack Mix bag. When I read the ingredients I was shocked at how simple and healthy they were. Just banana chips, cashews, pecans, with spices like turmeric, paprika, apple cider vinegar etc. I was sold, but also sold on recreating the mix on my own. Because let's be honest, the bag you buy at the store is $7 for a bag of air...

Savory Snack Mix (Whole 30) 
yields 4 cups

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup raw pecans
1 1/2 cup raw cashews
2 cup banana chips (unsweetened)* 
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. Garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Onion powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. liquid aminos**
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil 

Directions:

Preheat over to 325 degrees. In a large bowl combine all ingredients. Toss and mix until nuts and banana chips are all evenly coated. 

Bake 15-20 minutes, toss halfway through. Let sit to to dry out a bit and cool before eating. Store in a Ziplock or air tight container. 

*Most banana chips you find at the store are sweetened (you don't want that for this recipe). I ordered a bag of unsweetened from nuts.com. If you can't find unsweetened, plantain chips would be a good replacement. 

**Liquid aminos are a whole 30 approved version of soy sauce or tamari. You can use either in place of the aminos, but I suggest picking up a bottle! Keep some in your pantry and you'll never need soy sauce again!

You can buy Bubba's Fine Foods online or locally at Uptown Grocery. But, I urge you to try my recipe! It's identical (and you get more!!). Perfect snack for traveling, the 3PM slump, watch parties or game nights!

Annie 

Bacon Wrapped Dates

I couldn't let this perfect party appetizer pass without sharing the recipe! I made these bacon wrapped dates with almonds and goat cheese for my good friends wedding shower a couple of weeks ago. I ate about half the platter, but they were still a hit! The creamy cheese or salty almond stuffed in a sweet date then wrapped in bacon, it's just the most sinful little bite. Great for parties of all kinds; dinner party, wedding shower, birthday or football watch party!

The recipe comes from my new favorite book Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist. The book is chalk full of cozy family recipes. I plan on cooking through the book and sharing more of Shauna's insight on daily life and daily bites, so stay tuned!

Bacon Wrapped Dates adapted from Bread & Wine

Ingredients:
8 oz package of dates, pitted if you can find them
4 oz goat cheese
1/4 cup almonds, roasted and salted (optional)
16 oz pkg. bacon

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a roasting sheet (with sides is best) with foil and set aside. 

If your dates are not already pitted, you will need to pit them. Make a slice lengthwise along the date. Open it up like a little book and remove the pit. Stuff half the dates with almonds and half with a little shmear of goat cheese. Shauna informs you to steer clear of any nut, she says it reminds her too much of the pit, which it does. But I love the crunch! Maybe next time I'll do a little combo of the cheese and almond stuffed inside!

Cut your bacon in half or thirds depending on how long your strips are. Wrap a piece of bacon around the filled date and place it seam side down on your foil lined baking sheet. 

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until brown. Drain on a paper towel and serve at room temp!

I urge you to go pick up a copy of Bread & Wine. It's the perfect read as fall is arriving! But in the meantime, you can just make batches of bacon wrapped dates to tide you over!

Annie