Party in the 'Hood

We had some neighbors over this past Friday night. I thought there might be 6, maybe 8, people in addition to the McHusband and me. If I counted right, we ended up with 14 guests so our get-together turned into a full-fledged par-tay. I don't want to speak for anyone else, but I had a great time and judging by the fact that the last guests left sometime after midnight (and they were the first to arrive at 7:30), I think the evening was a success.

In true Stephanie fashion, I had too much food, but I'd rather be known for always having too much than be the hostess who never has enough, quantity- and variety-wise.


I'm sure most of the people there thought I was crazy when I pulled out the camera to take a picture of my food-covered table, but most of them were probably just happy I didn't turn the lens their way.

I made:

• Butterscotch Bars
• Lemon Ooey Gooey Cake Bars
• Caramelized Onion Pizza
• Crack Dip
• Spicy Pretzels
  

And I had chips and salsa and some candy set out for anyone craving chocolate. And all that was for the maybe 10 people total I figured on for the night. Can you imagine what I would've done if I'd known to expect 16 of us?

The McHusband says the Butterscotch Bars might be his favorite dessert ever that I've made. And since desserts are probably what I like to make the most, that should tell you how many he's sampled so for these to rise to the top means something. I use white chocolate chips in mine and don't do the raisins or nuts. Also, I made them the first time in a 9 x 13 pan and I thought they were a tad too thin so this time I made them in my pan that's about an inch smaller and I liked that thickness better. I might try to do 1.5 times the recipe and use a 9 x 13 pan next time.


For the cake bars, I just used lemon cake mix instead of a plain yellow one. I've made these before and they always go over really well.


For the pizza, I caramelized my onions (diced into large pieces instead of strips) in brown sugar and butter the night before then I stuck 'em in the fridge once they'd cooled. My dough must not have spread out as large as the one the recipe calls for because I only used about half an 8-oz brick of cream cheese. The verdict: Delicious! I loved the heat that the red pepper flakes added, which was a nice contrast to the sweetness of the onions. I'll definitely be making this again.


Crack Dip is called that because it's so good you can't stop eating it. It's just cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar cheese and bacon bits mixed together and baked, but man is it good.

I got the spicy pretzel recipe from a blog I read and as long as you like your food to have a little kick, you'll like these.

So it was no St. Patrick's Day party, but the kitchen still proved that a good night was had by all when I got downstairs Saturday morning.




I'd thought maybe we'd hang out on the patio, but everyone just stayed in the kitchen standing around the island. I think that's what always happens. Thank goodness we upgraded the island right after we moved in since it's apparently THE place to be. If it doesn't happen before, we'll have to do a patio party in the spring. Hear that, neighbors? Hold me to it: Party at the McHouse in, oh, 6 or 7 months.