Oktoberfest 2021:: recap

Last weekend we gathered with family and friends for our very first DIY Oktoberfest Celebration.  After months of planning and preparing the big day finally arrived. 

The idea hatched between the hubs and a couple of his buddies several months back. The interest continued to grow so we had a potluck with our neighbors in August to discuss the plan and logistics of how to make it happen. Several families, including the hubs and me, volunteered to help organize, gather equipment and make food. There were a couple other meetings as the date approached to confirm head counts and finalize the menu and timing. There were also party day weather concerns as it had been decided that this party would be held outdoors. It is not unusual for the forecast here to show rain at this time of year and that is exactly what was being forecasted. The week leading up to our event was showing all rain and cool temperatures the day of the party so an executive decision was made that we would hold the party rain or shine! Thankfully, the dreaded rain actually did not arrive until a couple days after the party and it turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day for Oktoberfest! The weather was perfect.

Our day started early with lots of cooking. The ribs had to be in the smoker by 6:30 am so prepping began even earlier in the wee hours of the morning. 

Once the ribs were done they were swapped out for 6 whole chickens which were on the schedule next. While Mr. Wonderful was busy cooking the mains and setting up the party area I was preparing some German Preztel Bites. 

They took a good part of the morning but so worth it!

Usually I make traditional German Pretzels but this time I made most of them into Bites instead so that there would be more to share. 

Once there were about 150 Bites I decided to switch and make a few traditional pretzels with the dough I had left which ended up making six. 

They all turned out great. 

You can't go wrong with pretzels. They are always popular. 

German Chocolate Cupcakes were on my list to make as well and were easy to fit in the schedule between the pretzels. 

These are a favorite not only for Oktoberfest but anytime.

In between the cooking there was setting up to do as well. Tent, tables, garbage cans, food warmers, etc. all needed to be assembled at the meeting area.

The DIY Portable Fire Pit was also brought out and set up for later as well as a wheelbarrow full of firewood. 

The hubs recently made a new Poker that fits on a bracket that he welded to the side. A great new addition to the handy portable fire pit. 

Late in the afternoon, before the sun set, the hubs got the bonfire started which was a good thing.  Once the sun went down it was very chilly so we circled our chairs around the Portable Fire Pit and roasted some Giant Marshmallows. 

It turned out to be a fun and beautiful day for our 1st Oktoberfest Celebration. We had all sorts of traditional German food including smoked Bratwurst, Sauerkraut, Apfelkuchen {German apple cake} to name a few and even had a corn hole competition. The party was a success and I am guessing there is a good chance this could become an annual event. 

auf Wiedersehen!

A Novel Affair :: tea party :: Chapters 5~7

In May we celebrated Mothers Day at our annual tea party. The theme this year was all about books and we turned our tea room into a library to set the tone. The past week I have been sharing some of the tea party highlights and today I am back to pick up where I left off at the end of Chapter 4. 

Once we had all finished our Adventurous beginnings it was time for a cup {or two} of soup. We actually had two soup choices this year and they were both delicious. The BBR soup is a family recipe and is a story in itself but the Cock~A Leakie soup was something new. I believe we all agreed it was wonderful and it even had a mystery ingredient which made it quite tasty.

Everyone tried to guess but it was so unusual it was hard to figure out. Can you guess what it is? 

We also served traditional layered tea sandwiches and my chicken salad croissant sandwiches  which I serve at every tea party however we were having so much fun that I missed the chance to get pictures this time. You can check them out one of our other tea parties though by clicking on the highlighted link to above.

Last but not least Chapter 7... dessert.

We had to laugh because the list of sweet treats was so long. 

It was hard to narrow down the desserts, as usual, so instead of trying to pick and choose I just made them all or almost all. There did come a point when miss E reigned me in and said we had enough desserts. She was right.

My family thinks I am a little nuts about sweets, which of course I am, but that did not prevent us from sampling all of them.

Our menu had gluten free options as well, in all categories, including dessert. 

Always a family favorite are the chocolate covered strawberries. 

I used my grandma's ginger snap recipe to make the Molasses cookies so they were an extra special part of the story.

The Macadamia Nut Cookie recipe is one I created to coordinate with the stamped pineapple cutout cookies and the Rocky Road Bars are so good that you cannot stop at just one.

It certainly turned out to be A Novel Affair and another memorable story to add to the Chronicles of the NoBull Clan. It was definitely one for the books.

{ And BTW, the mystery ingredient in the soup was Prunes! }

Happy Wednesday!

A Novel Affair :: tea party :: Chapters 1~4

It is hard to choose a favorite part of creating a tea party however coming up with the menu and making the food is right at the top. This particular menu was especially fun because of the library theme and trying to match all the food to familiar books. There are also menu items from our own family story which made our theme even more personal.

Several weeks before the tea party I began jotting down food possibilities and I found there was no shortage on ideas. As the menu progressed and the party day got closer I started to think about how I wanted it to look. My thought was to try and make it similar to a restaurant menu. All I could think of was was a flat, front and back, menu on card stock or a single fold however neither one sounded very exciting. Then, three days before the tea party it came to me. It would be a colored three fold program/menu with photos. I spent that afternoon working on graphics and putting it all together and it was finished and printed that evening. I would have preferred to have an editor {miss E} go over it however time was running short so I took a chance and it worked out surprisingly well with only a few minor Uff~da's. 

The size was just right for the table and there was plenty of room for my exhaustive menu, which was practically a book in itself. There was also enough space to include the book and/or family references. And that, of course, is what made it so much fun. 

So to start, the place settings were basically the same as years past and I used assorted tea cups and saucers as I usually do. 

The napkins were actually sweet little hankies in assorted pastels which I have used at previous tea parties.

Each place setting had two goblets in addition to the tea cups.

That was to accommodate additional beverage choices this year which were added due to our literary theme.

We began our tea party with a blessing which was a Father Tim quote from one of my At Home in Mitford books and then miss E read the poem Why Libraians Wear Cardigans by Julia McConnell.

Next we brought out the tea and also offered Iced~Tea and homemade Anne of Green Gables ~ Raspberry Cordials. The Raspberry Cordials were very refreshing and a big hit.

Early the morning of the party I prepared the scones so that they would be as fresh as possible. Once the lemon scones were out of the oven I began making the gluten & dairy free Blueberry Scones and it was at that point Miss E convinced me that we did not need anymore food. As much as I wanted to serve them I knew she was right so I set the it aside for the time being. I did, however, end up making them the next morning since I had already mixed up the dry ingredients the day before. They turned out great but by this time I was not thinking about taking photos so that means I will definitely be posting them at some point, along with my recipe, once I get around to making them again.

We did serve the Lemon Scones, as planned, along with homemade Lemon Curd and homemade Devonshire cream. They are always a favorite.

Our beginnings included several delicious bite sized treats.

The dainty sized Adventurous Beginnings provided a lite but tasty start to our tea party as there were plenty more delightful chapters ahead in our story. I will be back tomorrow to share the last three chapters in our tea party chronicles so be sure to check it out!

Have a wonderful Memorial Day!

A Novel Affair:: Welcome to the Library

Last weekend was our annual Tea Party which was actually more of a luncheon but either way we gathered at the “library”, sipped tea, ate dainty sandwiches and pretty little sweet treats all while talking about books, quotes and famous authors, and a few not so famous but loved just the same.

The desk on the porch was perfect for greeting the guests as they arrived and the kids old college books came in handy as a Welcome Sign. 

The book club members were greeted by Miss E, the Librarian, as they stepped inside the library and then gave each person a Woodlee County Library Card.

These little DIY Library cards were fun and easy to make. Once the front was finished though the back seemed a bit blah and needed just a little something so I drew a few lines and then used my date stamp to give each card a little more character. Now they were cute on the front and the back.

Once our guests signed their library cards they were reminded about OVERDUES with this funny poem, which is a family favorite, and then they were off to browse around the Library. 

 The first section in the library contained assorted Biographies and Cookbooks. 

These books were extra special to all of the book club members as they were related to the authors.

Next was the Children’s area which was full of classic books dating back several generations. Some even have family signatures and dates inside.

Poems and quotes were placed on tables along the way on to our Book Club gathering. 

 

Every library has a Card Catalog so I thought our library needed one too. Ours consisted of  these DIY Card Catalog drawers which held DIY bookmarks.

These cute boxes were originally made last summer by Mr. Wonderful for our nieces bridal shower so we repurposed them and added drawer pulls to the front for quick and easy library props. 

The Librarian and I also had fancy reading glasses to wear in the library,  with a chain no less. 

There is more to share from our afternoon at the Library so I will be back soon with more details about our fun literary tea party. 

Have a great Wednesday!