Eat, Drink and Be Merry

Food and drinks can really set the tone for any party, and I think the menu for Dan's party conveyed a sense of fun and whimsy.

• World's best sangria*
• Firefly vodka sweet tea
• Non-alcoholic raspberry lemonade
• Non-alcoholic cucumber water

Use cheap wine and lots of fruit for sangria

I absolutely love Firefly vodka because it tastes just like sweet tea, but you can't get it in England. Luckily for me, my friend Alisha was planning a trip to the States so she brought some back for me in time for the party.

I made the cucumber water by puréeing two cucumbers and leaving it to strain overnight. I then added that concentrated cucumber juice to my big jug of water and tossed in some fresh cucumber slices. Easy and super refreshing!

I thought it would be fun to serve the drinks in a glass jar. I saw some cool mason jar pictures on Pinterest, but unfortunately I couldn't get enough of them delivered to me for a reasonable price. I found other jars on a canning website that worked out perfectly though. And I bought cute little paper straws because, why not?

Rachel enjoying the drinks

• Chips and dips (spinach-artichoke and salsa-cheese)
• Cheese and crackers (Wensleydale, cheddar and blue)
• Marinated olives
• Veggies and ranch dip
• Baked camembert [made by Rachel]
• Rainbow fruit skewers
• Pizza (delivery)
• Drunk gummy bears 
• Corn on the cob cupcakes
• Margarita popsicles [made by Alisha]
• Rainbow cake [made by Katie]

Drunk gummy bears are new to me, but I'm pretty sure this isn't the last I've seen of them. They are gummy bears that you soak in vodka overnight. Surprisingly they don't lose their shape at all. They taste kind of boozy, but fruity too. Delicious!

I saw these corn on the cob cupcakes in the Hello, Cupcakes cookbook a while back. After seeing them again on Pinterest I knew I wanted to make them. Aren't they cute?

You just add yellow food coloring to plain vanilla frosting and then frost yellow cake cupcakes. Add a few rows of jelly beans, sprinkle some dried mint on top, skewer with corn holders and voilà! Corn on the cob cupcakes!

The cake that Katie made really stole the show though. I am still drooling over it. Can you believe she made it?

Coconut icing, nutella filling, rainbow cake!!

*I've tried a lot of sangria and this is my favorite recipe. Be warned though: it's strong!

Slightly modified from this recipe.

1/2 cup brandy

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup frozen lemonade concentrate

1/3 cup orange juice

1 (750 ml) bottle of dry red wine

1/2 cup triple sec

Any fruit you like. I like dicing up peaches, nectarines and green apple

2 cups ginger ale

Mix everything except the ginger ale and refrigerate overnight. Add the ginger ale just before serving.