Growing Up In Oz

I decided at the very beginning that I wanted the menu for her birthday party to be very simple. We knew there was going to be a pony and tiny farm animals running around our backyard and the last thing I needed to worry about was complicated food, having my husband grilling burgers or anything else that involved any sort of work once the party had started.

I asked my husband if he would be willing to smoke a brisket the night before the party and with surprisingly little hesitation (the man has a love affair w/his smoker)… he agreed. So at 4 p.m. the day before the party we put a 17 lb brisket on the smoker. At midnight we wrapped it in foil and put it in the oven and at 8 a.m. I woke up slightly hungover on wine to the smell of brisket permeating my house.

Side note… I’m a huge believer in Scentsy masking the smell of anything but I have to admit that nothing can cover up the smell of a brisket that has been cooking for 8 hours in your oven… if you do this just be prepared to smell meat for the next several days.

In addition to the “Bootstrap Brisket” we had the following in our Cowgirl Kitchen:

- Buckaroo Beans (homemade baked beans by my mother-in-law)

- Saddlebag Potato Salad (store bought and thrown in a nice serving bowl)

- On The Ranch Veggies & Dip (Veggie platter w/ ranch dressing)

To Drink we had Cold Creek Water (lemonade) & at The Watering Hole we had Madison & Co. Sarsparilla and bottled water.

We also had a “Scalawags Saloon” that included ice cold beer & wine for the adults. Like I’ve mentioned before, I’m a firm believer in the parents deserving a drink while allowing me to hype their kids up on sugar and run around like maniacs.

The dessert table was where I went all out.

I knew I didn’t want to mess with cutting a cake so I opted for a tower of “Cowgirl Cakes” that were made & iced by my mother in law who works for a grocery store. They were decorated with custom toppers courtesy of my girlfriend Grace. I’ll discuss all the printables she created in a later post.

In keeping with our western theme, additional sweets included Candy Coated Cactus Branches (chocolate dipped pretzel rods), individual servings of Trail Mix complete with pink m&m’s and the wildly popular portable s’mores on a stick!

For favors I cleared off my baker’s rack and turned it into a “Madison & Co. General Store” candy buffet. Kids (and parents) filled their Happy Trails bags with assorted sweet treats. It was a real hit!

Stay tuned for all of the decor & details coming up early next week.

Most of the pictures are courtesy of Susie Otto.

Tweet