Stepping up the pins and watching a loved one cross the stage
There is a universal truth this time of year – somewhere, someone you know is having a party. The weather is beautiful, the short sleeves have come out and the porch beckons. As I write, I am currently in Colorado celebrating my goddaughter Molly’s graduation from high school. It’s party central here. Everyone has their own gathering leading up to the big day. It’s so fun to see all the excitement of that moment in these children, knowing their whole life is in front of them, and it’s all a blank slate for them to write.
It’s also stressful for the parents like my best friend, Beth (Molly’s mom), who have to throw these big parties. When I arrived in town, I was thrown head first into the party preparation. Pinterest is always a big help when throwing a party, and Beth and I tried a couple of things for their big fete. There has been a steady stream of people in and out of their house for the past few days, so I decided to make a dip to add to the spread to help keep the masses fed while they were visiting. I have really embraced spicy foods since I’ve moved to Louisiana, and I kept running across a recipe for Hot Jalapeno Corn dip and decided to give it a try. There’s a lot of different versions of this recipe – one with cream cheese (which I might try next time) and even a cold and a baked version. I decided to go with the baked version for the simple fact I love melted cheese. If you have ever read my column before, you know that I’m basically lazy, so any easy recipe makes me happy, and this one fit the bill. It has corn, chopped jalapenos and green onions combined with a combination of sour cream, mayonnaise, cheese, garlic, chili powder and hot sauce. You just mix it all up, top it with cheese and throw it in the oven for 20 minutes. It’s pretty good! I think it honestly would be just as good if you didn’t bake it as there was a bit of a juiciness that came from the heat, and I prefer a creamy texture. The flavor was great, though, and everyone was happy to have a little something extra to munch on. It didn’t last the night.
Before I had even arrived, Beth tried an idea she got from the site. Molly is a very girly-girl; all about the pink and pretty and feminine, so Beth found a pin to make some decorative, bright pink balloons even girlier. The pin suggested to take a square of tulle and wrap it around a helium filled balloon and then tie it together with a ribbon. Sounds pretty, but unfortunately it didn’t work out. As soon as the squares were put on the balloons the weight, albeit ever so slight, made the balloon instantly drop about 7 or 8 inches. She decided that the only way they wouldn’t drop is if they were filled right before the fabric was wrapped around them, and also that the party would have to be immediately after they were filled for them to stay at maximum height. The second problem was that the tulle was white, but you couldn’t even really see it even though the balloons were bright pink. It may show up better if you tried a completely contrasting color between the fabric and the balloon. The good thing is that tulle isn’t really expensive, so she wasn’t out too much money for the fail. The balloons served their festive purpose and looked fine just on their own. I wouldn’t waste your time trying to fancy up your balloons. I think Beth and I will use the tulle as really fancy handkerchiefs to wipe away the tears as Molly crosses that stage with her diploma into her future.
