Open Bar at Graduation Party

So I found out that at least one of the darling twins who shall remain nameless was telling everyone that there would be a bar at their graduation party.

This is extra funny since I don’t drink.

And do not condone minor drinking.

In spite of that…

We did have two bars at their party last Friday.

Bar #1 ~ A Taco Bar

The crockpots full of meat were shredded chicken, pork and beef. I did not want to use the oven for anything on the day of the party so this worked out well.

If you are interested in the recipes which received rave reviews, just click below:

• Cafe Rio Pork
• Costa Vida Chicken
• Shredded Beef

I also made mexican rice and black beans neither of which I eat but friends said were good. Fresh tortilla chips, salsa, crispy taco shells and shredded cheese from our favorite local Mexican restaurant rounded out the taco bar.

Side note: Thank goodness for great neighbors who loaned us crockpots and great serving dishes to keep costs down.

Bar #2 ~ A Candy Bar

It seemed to be a big hit with all ages.

This kid cracks me up every time I see him.

I was pretty sure we couldn’t go wrong with a candy bar!

Even if the cute little graduation caps melted on the sticks and slid down to the bottom because it was 85 degrees that day. Let’s not talk about our air conditioning problems right now, kay? 🙁

The high school colors are maroon, navy blue and gold.

Did you know it is very hard to find navy or royal blue sugar?

I had found this cool place on the internet near us and we went last Monday – the exact same day that blogging rockstar and cake pop queen Bakerella featured the store. I think we should be friends and I really think I should have emailed her and asked begged her to come and make cake pops or cupcake bites for the party.

Because this is what my feeble attempt looked like.

Which may not look all that bad to you if you’ve never seen Bakerella’s adorable creations. I’m not encouraging you to but if you must you can click over to her site and confirm yet another calling I really didn’t miss.

We had red velvet with cream cheese frosting and lemon with lemon frosting. Everyone was fascinated that you could eat the whole thing – I should have made a tent card that said “Entirely edible” because people tried to peel the bottom like it was cupcake paper but it was actually melted white chocolate.

Or I could have just ordered a cake from Costco. Yeah, I considered that after making three test batches of cake pop blobs.

We called these Triple Chocolate Army Helmets.

Even though we made them in a truffle mold. Yeah, helmets – way more appropriate then truffles on sticks.

We added PhilBillPaul and Scary Baby’s patriotic pretzels and the candy bar served its purpose.

The party was lovely. Really it was.

Now if we can get through the graduation on Thursday…

P.S. Though there was no official *bar*, PhilBillPaul did serve a few Mexican beers to the grownups.