This post is intended for an audience of adults age 21 and older. This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Bacardi. All opinions are mine alone. #SignatureSips #CollectiveBias
My absolute favorite parties to host are the casual ones. There's no stress, the food is simple and the atmosphere is just fun. Since college basketball is beginning I know there is bound to be at least one party I'll be hosting for March basketball games. I tend to keep game day parties as simple as possible. Usually, I'll have a variety of finger foods and mixed drinks available. Many times I'll just pick up a few trays of food from the local catering store and put them out, buffet style. Although I keep it simple I still always to try to add a little bit of creativity to keep it fun.
For today's post, I'm going to show you a few fun ideas for game day style parties. We're going to make alphabet tortillas and basketball beverage garnishes. You're gonna love how easy these are to make and how awesome they look with your game day food!
Our first stop is Wendy's. When I'm having a get together at night the last thing I want to think about is lunch so picking up a quick meal is perfect. While you're there, grab a few glasses of their exclusive FruiTea Chillers® to bring home for the party. They make amazing cocktail mixers! Also as everyone knows, Wendy's has AMAZING chili so grab a few cups of that as well! It will go great with the chips we're going to make.
In the spirit of game day style food, I thought it would be fun to be able to spell out team names, numbers and fun sayings with tortillas chips. I used cookie cutters and raw corn tortillas. They're surprisingly easy to make and go great with chili and cheese dip! I also wanted to create a fun beverage garnish so I went mandarin oranges and a little chocolate drizzle to resemble a basketball
Coat the tortillas with a light spray of vegetable oil.
Press out each shape.
Save the leftover pieces of tortilla. You can bake those as well!
Place in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
If you happen to have a second cookie sheet, place that over the top to keep the letters and numbers flat. This will prevent them from curling while baking.
Bake at 400℉ for 10 minutes. They'll turn golden brown when ready. Be careful not to overbake.
For our beverage garnishes were going to create mini basketballs in the spirit of March basketball tournaments. I'm using tiny mandarin oranges. They're just small enough to be the perfect sized garnish for any glass.
Melt semi-sweet chocolate according to the manufacturer's directions. I used a BPA free, microwavable bag to slowly melt the chips. I set my microwave on 30% power and turned it on in 30-second intervals.
The secret to melting chocolate in the microwave is: low power and checking often. The chocolate will get hot, while still keeping its shape so judging by appearance can be deceiving. Carefully test the bag and if it's cool enough, massage to help the chips melt. Be very careful that the bag is being microwaved on only 30% power for no longer than 30 seconds. Once the chocolate scorches and burns, there's no going back.
Carefully cut off a VERY tiny corner of the bag.
Make sure your oranges are washed with fruit cleaner in hot water then, completely dried. This helps the chocolate to adhere to the peel. (Fruit are often coated in wax prior to shipping to maintain their appearance.)
Drizzle the chocolate in the pattern of a basketball.
I made sure there was plenty of fresh strawberries, mint, and lemons.
Everyone will love your alphabet tortilla chips. They go perfectly with Wendy's Chili and cheese dip.
Combine 1½ oz. Bacardi Dragonberry with a large Strawberry Passionfruit FruiTea Chiller®
Try other flavors and combos. Print out our fun FruiTea Chillers® mixable guide for a few great pairing combinations.
I love how these mandarin orange basketball garnishes turned out. They totally capture the spirit of March basketball tournaments.
These Bacardi and FruiTea Chillers® cocktails are seriously amazing! I love the way Bacardi Dragonberry tastes with the Strawberry Passionfruit. Stefanie totally loved the drinks! I think Bacardi Dragonberry is her new favorite!!
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