Snack Attack: Prize Worthy Summer Party Foods
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As people prepare for what promises to be the most exceptionally social summer of all time, the pressure is on to step up one’s party game. The season screams, “Let’s rage!” with long weekends bookending it’s three-month run and the nation’s birthday punctuating it’s pinnacle midway through. From the preplanned backyard extravaganzas to the impromptu folding chair driveway gatherings, summer parties can and should bring out the beast mode in everyone. And if all goes according to plan this year, the summer of 2021 is tracking towards being the most legendary of them all.
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Leave Your Mark as a Food God(dess)
But how does one achieve party baller status and have people reminiscing for years to come about that special soirée something that had everything to do with you? Your mixologist friends have no doubt been cultivating THE DRINK of 2021 for months, soaking rare sweets and savories in vodka and tequila for that perfect summer evening libation. The pool party hosts have most certainly power washed everything in existence and were lucky enough to get ahead of the sellout alert for this year’s “it” pool floatie. Yes, the usual suspects have already outdone themselves before the Evite has even been sent. But where does that leave the rest of us? Fret not, friends. Because outside of the craft cocktail kings and pool toy princesses, there is one coveted title that is up for grabs and anyone and everyone can bring the heat and snag it: Snack Slayer.
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Chips, Cheese, and Chocolate, Oh My…
Long gone are the days where a bag of chips and container of dip will suffice as a party food. With so much awareness and access to high quality and unusual ingredients, competitive fooding has become a bit of a sport and a summer party is the ultimate Olympics for showcasing one’s creative culinary skills. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that you only have a shot at the gold if you showcase a vat of bar-side Beluga or if you spent the week foraging for items to be featured in your Michelin worthy spin on the crudité. The real game winning food beholds the perfect balance of simplicity, sass, and scrumptiousness. It tastes like a million dollars but cost you ten. It’s a calculated mashup of basic ingredients that only your clever mind could conceive of. It’s something that everyone will crave for the rest of the summer and beyond. And lucky for you, it’s any one of the three recipes listed below. Prepare to clinch the crown.
3 Recipes to Win the Crowd Over
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1. Truffle Chips
This is as brainless and delicious as it gets. Simply toss a bag of root vegetable chips, 2 Tablespoons of black truffle oil, and a small container of shaved parmesan cheese in a large bowl and serve. Watch the masses swoon with every bite.
2. Cheese and Onion Dip:
This is hands down the most addictive dip on the planet. Sauté 2 Cups of thinly sliced yellow onions in a stick of butter until translucent. In a medium mixing bowl, combine onions with 2 Cups (packed) of grated Jarlsberg cheese and 1¾ Cups of mayonnaise. Pour into an 8-10 inch glass baking dish, sprinkle with paprika and bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until golden and bubbling. Serve with a sturdy cracker. It will be entirely gone within 3 minutes.
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3. Chocolate Covered Banana Bites
Slice 6 bananas into ½ inch thick pieces, place on a parchment lined baking sheet, and freeze for one hour. Once frozen, melt 2 Cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips in a microwave safe container for roughly two minutes or until melted, carefully stirring every 20-30 seconds to prevent burning. Dip each banana slice into chocolate until coated and then place back on parchment. Immediately sprinkle with topping of choice (peanuts, sprinkles, etc). Refreeze for additional 20-30 minutes and serve. Remind all of the fans they’re consuming fruit so eat ‘em until they’re gone.