Nacho Bar/Giant Cupcake Fiesta

This past weekend was spent perfecting the perfect nacho combination. Dan and I have very different views when it comes to the perfect plate of nachos. Let’s just say… he is not a fan of guacamole or sour cream… Gasp! I know…

When I asked him what he wanted to do to celebrate his birthday – his short answer was – let’s just have a few friends over for dinner.  You all know I can’t do “simple” – so I got to thinking of something that would be fun and that could be personalized by each dinner guest. Nachos… a nacho bar with tons of ingredients.

I looked on different party idea websites and blogs and started my master ingredient list. I knew I wanted to have bean, shredded chicken and shredded beef as options. I like to make salsa crockpot chicken, but decided on a different plan for the nacho chicken. I chatted with the butcher and he recommended boneless/skinless thighs. I ended up cooking those in chicken stock with a can of green chilis, cumin, salt and pepper. They sat in the crockpot on low for a good 8 hours. I also got a 3 lb. rump roast and cut that into small pieces and coated each piece with a chili powder, cumin, garlic and onion powder mixture. I then placed the pieces in a different crockpot with a cup of beef bullion and several dashes of liquid smoke. I put that crockpot at 250 degrees and cooked them for 9 hours. Both meats turned out perfect!

I also tried something different for the guacamole. I was buying avocados and this woman stopped me and asked if I was making guacamole. I said yes… so she grabbed the above packet out of her own cart and told me that I just HAD to try it. It was Chef Rick Bayless –  Frontera brand original guacamole mix with tangy tomatillo, green chile and garlic. You use 1 liquid pack for every 2 avocados. I ended up adding a little kosher salt, but really liked the flavor. It was a “hit” and one guest said she couldn’t stop eating it. Victory!

The master “Nacho Bar” ingredient list included:

• Chips
• Shredded Chicken
• Shredded Beef
• Black Beans
• Refried Beans
• Pinto Beans
• Tostitos Salsa Con Queso – Medium
• Shredded Jack and Cheddar Cheeses
• Fresh Salsa
• Pace Picante – Medium
• Sliced Olives
• Pickled Jalapeños
• Green Onion
• Red Onion
• Cilantro
• Sour Cream
• Guacamole
• Assorted Hot Sauces
• Enchilada Sauce

Each dinner guest got a foil pie tin to create their masterpiece. I set the oven on broil for those that wanted to heat their chips and melt their shredded cheese.

The pie tins were GENIUS! I was trying to think of an easy way that they could go in the oven and still work as a serving vessel. A package of 3 tins was only $1.99.

Mike’s Margaritas…

Skinnygirl® Margaritas – Have you had them? It was my first time and the consensus was that we pretty much HATED them… one guest thought they tasted like “bug spray” – I’m an agave fan, I use it on a lot of things… but something was just off with the margarita. If you like Crystal Light, you might like Skinnygirl®, but I just wasn’t a fan. It was chilled – tried without ice and with crushed ice and we all just weren’t fans. The blender ended up coming out and Deede whipped up frozen margaritas and daiquiris from mixes that I had in the freezer.  Problem solved.

Rock Band was played… someone gave Dan those glasses as part of his gift, LOLZ.

The drinkers may or may not have played Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

And then there was CAKE. A giant “Hostess Cupcake” cake baked by Deede.  Dan is a huge fan of junk food. He enjoys the occasional fruit pie, cupcake and zinger. This was the PERFECT cake for him.

A quick switch of the candle order right before the birthday song was Deede’s idea. Dan loved turning “83” – hah!

The cake was awesome! Deede used Smitten Kitchen’s homemade devil dog, ding dong or hostess cake recipe. She used the recipe for the cake, cream filling and ganache. The recipe made enough for (3) 8″ cake pans.

She put the filling between the layers of cake, but didn’t make it thick and made sure that she didn’t frost it to the edges of the cake. She didn’t want it to be visible in the finished product – since she ended up tapering the edges of the cake by hand with a serrated knife. She used the ganache on the top and down the edges about 3/4″. She used Ghirardelli’s semisweet chocolate and cocoa powder in the recipes.

The Icing Loops
1 Stick Unsalted Butter
1.5-2 Tablespoons Milk
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla

Deede used a #804 piping tip with the above recipe for the cupcake loop icing. She wished the frosting was white, but was happy that  it tasted like delicious butter. Deede did a really great job – a huge shout out and thank you to her for taking on the birthday cake project.

The entire get together was a huge success. Everyone had fun and we now have enough leftover nacho toppings to make salads, tacos, enchiladas and just about every other Mexican dish you can think of. Next time I’ll know to invite more people. 🙂