A Fiesta For Fifty

I was sitting at my son's school PAC (parent advisory committee) meeting when I found myself inadvertently criticizing the teacher appreciation lunch.  Once I shone a light on what was missing I was automatically in charge of the next one.  That's how it works, and I knew better, but I was tired.

So I agreed to organizing the school's teacher appreciation lunch.  And then because the budget was small, I thought "I wonder if I could cater it.".  Having been inspired by Ree Drummond and Nancy Fuller who cater for huge groups all the time, I thought "this might be fun".

It was!  it was a blast.  It was also nerve racking because I'd never fed fifty before and I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out.  Fortunately I was not alone, and everyone bought into my ideas and was willing to help me make them a reality.  That's an awesome feeling and left me on an appreciation high for days.

Here's what we did:

I turned to fellow mom volunteer creative team Sara and Christine to implement my fiesta decoration ideas, with a little help from Party City and Sara's mom; who is essentially a party city unto herself. Sara combed Pinterest - that magical land of inspirational ideas -  and found this Mexican-esque table skirt.  Here's the link.

So perfect right?! 

Fabulous parent volunteers making the skirt

We used tried and true sombreros filled with tortilla chips as the center pieces

And hung  tissue paper pompoms from the ceiling.

 We had fiesta-themed music in the background; Gypsy Kings, Pittbull, Serena
Gomez; Lady Gaga; an amazing rendition of America from West Side Story done by the London Cello Orchestra, Sergio Mendez, Gloria Estefan and so many more.  Truthfully, my favourite part of this whole experience other than the outcome was sourcing this playlist.

To get everyone in a fiesta mood we offered mock Margaritas, in a marg glass with little lime wedges. Okay maybe that was my favourite part.

I wish I'd gotten a close up shot of these glasses.

 This is were Party City came in.  I sourced the sombreros and glassware from there.  They had such an amazing variety of fiesta themed products.  Alas my budget was very tight.

Everyone knows that it doesn't matter how pretty the glass is if the substance within is no good.  And our mock margaritas were very, very good.  I found this amazing recipe on the Colorado Lady's blog.  It was incredibly tasty, incredibly easy and fit in perfectly with the theme.

Sara even got one parent to carve a cactus from a watermelon.  The parents at my son's school are really fantastic.

And now what you've all been waiting for... the menu.  To quote Nancy Fuller - "fresh is best" and just about everything we served was homemade. Unfortunately in all the hubbub I completely forgot to take a photo of the spread.  You will just have to use your imagination and next year I'll assign a photographer.

We offered two kinds of tacos - soft and hard.  We served shredded chicken, taco seasoned ground beef and the most amazing meat on the planet - Morton's tri-tip. I buy it at the US Costco.  We also had Mexican red rice and refried beans - Thank you Yajaira!   And then everyone could dress their plate however they wanted.  We had homemade pico de gallo; homemade salsa; sharp cheddar, colby and jack cheeses, Homemade salsa verde; sour cream, olives, jalapenos, black beans, and this fantastic dressing that I took from Ree Drummond.  It's so good I could eat it like soup.

So there you have it.  A successful Tex Mex Fiesta for 50. Everyone enjoyed themselves but no one more than me.  What a coup!  I can't wait for next year.  I feel a Hawaiian Luau coming on.