Monopoly Inspired Dinner Party

Great friends toasting at the beginning of the meal.

When the call came out from Foodbuzz to pitch an “Over the top dinner party”, I knew I had to enter.  I love throwing dinner parties and incorporating a theme not only creates fun but also helps guide the menu for the evening.  My over the top concept was a “Monopoly Inspired Dinner Party”.

I have been playing Monopoly for many years and never knew much about the real estate on the board other than when you landed on B&O everyone let out a snicker of laughter.  When I first decided on the concept I thought each landing color block represented a US State, but I quickly learned that that was untrue.  Each “Ave” on the board is actually an avenue in Atlantic City.  This proved to be a little more interesting in menu planning, so even though they are streets in one town, I took the names literally and created a menu based on that alone.  I also created fun Monopoly inspired Title Deed cards with a little history and tid bits about the associated dish.  Here’s the menu and recipes will be forthcoming.

We all started off the evening with a Horse’s Neck cocktail.  I am not a huge Bourbon drinker.  Ok, I’m not a Bourbon drinker at all!  As a matter of fact, smelling Whiskey makes me shake like a cold Chihuahua!  But, being an East Coast inspired dinner, I knew I had to brave it.  I have to say – my new favorite drink is a Horse’s Neck.  I plan on ordering it from now on!  Bye bye Dirty Martini’s – Hello Bourbon!

 We also had Turkish Cigars in honor of Mediterranean Avenue.  They are phyllo dough filled with a mixture of fresh herbs, feta cheese and eggs.  Delish!  I wish we had more!

Of course Mother Nature was not happy that she didn’t get an invite to the BBQ so she made it known by giving us a torrential downpour while we were trying to grill.  That’s my “REALLY?” face!  Cute, huh?  I had to move the BBQ mid-cueing because the gutter started to leak above my head.

But the ribs were delish!  Succulent, moist and oh so tasty!  Right Tom?  🙂  (he liked them – a lot)

North Carolina Moppin Sauce

Directions

Ribs wouldn’t be complete without a side of Baked Beans.  The beans were cooked from dry Great Northern’s and then baked in the oven for several hours with maple syrup, brown sugar, mustard, caramlized onions and of course, salt pork.  They were so good that I could’ve eaten them alone.

A Southern tradition is Coleslaw.  Depending on where you live, it’s either creamy with mayo or sweet and sour.  The recipe I used was not region-biased and combined both!  I think it was the recipe that was most requested at dinner last night.  Photos of Coleslaw?  Ya, I think the Coleslaw was camera-shy.  Only one was taken, and it definitely didn’t show the sweet and sour delight at its best.  So, here’s the recipe instead.

And of course, I made cake truffles.  I just can’t help myself.  These were delicious little bites of Pink Champagne cake draped in white chocolate with a sprinkling of pink sanding sugar on top.  Park Place deserved something hoity-toity!

So that’s my version of a Monopoly Inspired – Over the Top Dinner Party.  I appreciate all of my wonderful friends and family for coming over and enjoying this meal with me and the Hubs.  It was a lot of fun to plan, prepare and of course, devour!