Is it really hummus if it doesn’t have chickpeas/garbanzo beans?

I vote yes! Especially when you’re subbing them out for good reason, such as, for LUCK!

This is the second appetizer and the second recipe using black-eyed peas for the Friday the 13th Dinner Party.  As a reminder, 1-pound of dried black-eyed peas makes enough cooked peas for both this hummus and the salsa.

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I cooked up ten different recipes for the Friday the 13th Dinner Party and this appetizer was the clear favorite. At least half of the guests asked if it was on the blog. I assured them it would be posted this week, so we might as well start off the week(s) worth of recipes with it.

I had hoped to serve 13 items, but I could only get to 12 before I ran out of time and energy to pull off the last one. In addition to the ten, I actually made, I also served grapes, 12 per person for luck, and put out purchased fortune cookies on the dessert table.

The base for this salsa recipe is black-eyed peas. For many southerners, consuming this inexpensive legume on the first day of the new year is believed to bring wealth.

According to Wikipedia: “Two popular explanations for the South’s association with the peas and good luck date back to the Civil War. The first is associated with Gen. William T. Sherman’s Union Army’s March to the Sea, during which they pillaged the food supplies of the Confederates. Stories say peas and salted pork were said to be left untouched because of the belief that they were animal food and not fit for human consumption. Southerners considered themselves lucky to be left with some supplies to help them survive the winter, and black-eyed peas evolved into a representation of good luck. In other traditions, it was a symbol of emancipation for African-Americans who had previously been enslaved before the civil war who became free officially on New Year’s Day.”

Black-Eyed Pea Salsa

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• Zest and juice from 1/2 lemon
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 cups cooked black-eyed peas (see note)
• 3 cups diced tomatoes
• 2 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 1 cup diced red onion
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced
• 2 ripe but still firm avocados, diced
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• Tortilla chips, for serving

In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, lemon zest, juice, honey, garlic, and oregano. Whisk in the olive oil, taste, and season with salt and pepper.

Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl, except the avocado and cilantro, and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours. Thirty minutes before you’re ready to serve, add the avocado and cilantro and then bring back to room temperature for 30 minutes and toss just before serving.

Serve with tortilla chips.

12 servings

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Our Friday the 13th Dinner Party was so much fun!

Everyone arrived relaxed and into the theme of “superstitious, lucky, unlucky, cursed” … the whole shebang!

I sent this text message to all attendees, letting them know what to expect:

Our Friday the 13th Dinner Party will be a feverish mix of good and bad luck. You may want to play it safe and wear an article of your clothing (seen or not) backwards or inside out.

The belief that backwards or inside out clothing brings good luck is widespread – from children wearing their pajamas inside out in hopes of a snow day to baseball players and fans turning their caps backwards during important games.

Do you know why?

Wearing clothing backwards confuses the grim reaper, who is not only the harbinger of death, but also brings bad luck. He follows you – so if your clothes are on backwards it makes him think that you are walking toward him so he goes around you to get behind you and instead gets in front of you. He gets confused and gives up taking his bad tidings elsewhere.

You may also want to bone up on various superstitions, lucky and unlucky beliefs and traditions. There will be games and prizes involved!

Can’t wait to have a fun and delicious evening with y’all!
xoxo Linda

All of my sweet and awesome guests arrived with hostess gifts in hand; some of them were very theme-worthy.

Jonathan, Lori, and Kylie Vento arrived with Lucky Dice and a Lucky 8 Ball.

This instantly got me thinking about games of chance, and how they would be the perfect fit for a day that hinges entirely on good luck-bad luck.

Tram gifted me with a box of Lucky Charms and a bottle of Lucky Star wine. But that wasn’t all… Tram’s other half, Steve, had a special gift for everyone up to his sleeve! In the middle of the party, while I was giving out prizes for the Superstitious Trivia Game, this happened!

Yeah, Steve/Jason was lurking in the dark (in the very dark area behind the fire-pit, near the back wall) ready to attack! Too much Fun!

OK, let’s go back to the beginning, with how I built a party around a theme. Usually, I need just one thing to get the creative juices flowing. For this party, it was these four sets of typography letters.

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Today is Friday the 13th and tonight I am hosting a Friday the 13th Dinner Party.

I’ll be posting recipes and party details next week, but since today is also World Cocktail Day, that seems the logical and probably luckiest place to start.

This is a pomegranate cocktail. What is lucky about that?

The pomegranate is hailed as a symbol of luck in a number of cultures and religions, including Ancient Greece, Judaism, Christianity, Armenia, and Islam. It’s often a symbol of fertility but has also been associated with sweetness and the fullness of life.

Lucky 13 Pomegranate Cocktail

• 1 ½ ounces (3 tablespoons) silver tequila
• 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) pomegranate liqueur
• 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) triple sec
• 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) pomegranate juice
• 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) coconut water
• 1/2 to 1 ounce (1 to 2 tablespoons) fresh squeezed lemon juice, to taste

• 2 lime wheels
• 26 pomegranate arils (seeds)
  

To a shaker filled with ice, add the tequila, both liquors, pomegranate juice, coconut water and lemon juice. Shake until well mixed and ice cold.

Pour drink into two chilled martini glasses and garnish each with a lime wheel and 13 fresh pomegranate arils.

Serves 2

Since we’re on the subject of party beverages, I want to share a few of the wines I’ve found to fit my theme.

Bailey felt as though this was the perfect opportunity for her to jump into the photo, nearly knocking over my lucky/unlucky wines. Whatever!

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What should I share first? The good or the bad? I think we’ll start with the bad/ugly, that way we’ll end on a good/pretty note.

Even the bad craft starts out pretty…

I spotted these adorable folded book art pieces in the San Francisco Nordstrom’s Wedding Suite, while dress shopping with Marissa and Kaley, back in November.

I knew that I wanted to make one for Marissa, so when the theme was set for the shower, this was a no-brainer.

I went online to find out how but since I could not find any step-by-step instructions, I had to wing it.

I found a cool vintage hardback book and decided to go with the easiest design, a heart.

As I folded back the pages, it quickly became evident that this is harder than it looks. Plus, the book I chose was too vintage, the pages were delicate and would tear as I folded.

Stupidly, I kept at it far too long. It was very clear that this was not working, long before I threw in the towel.

I grabbed another, not-so-vintage thicker book, and started over.

Then, for obvious reasons, I gave up! My gut feeling is that there must be math involved in this project. No wonder it was too difficult for me … I do not “do” math!

I still wanted Marissa to have a book like this, even if not in time for the shower. So, I have purchased one from a professional folded-book artist HERE.  I am not going to share which book, since I haven’t given it to her yet, but rest assured, it is pretty!

I had much better results with this next project:

My favorite craft/decor item for Marissa’s bridal shower was these succulent book planters! Of course, I found the idea on Pinterest!

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Sloane and I got together on Sunday afternoons for several weeks before Marissa’s bridal shower to make crafts.  It was a fun reason to get together for sister-bonding time.

We wrapped wine bottles with pages from a large Currier and Ives picture book that I found at Sweet Salvage a couple of years ago. A heart punch was used on the book pages that were used for the inside of small canning jars.

The same punches were used to make book-page heart confetti.

The bottles were topped off with large burlap bows.

While the jars were trimmed with twine.  The wine bottles held miniature pink and white roses and the jars were lit up with battery-operated votives. They were then scattered around the buffet, lunch table, bar, and dessert credenza.

We rolled and wrapped white cloth napkins with torn book pages, tied with baker’s twine and embellished with tiny “congratulations” flags.

One of the few details that slipped through the cracks that busy morning was making sure that Marissa’s place-setting received the napkin that said “A King and His Queen.”  It makes me wonder if the guest who had that napkin noticed and thought anything about it.

A few weeks after Valentine’s Day, I was in Micheal’s (I spend a lot of time at Micheal’s and Hobby Lobby!) and found these simple berry baskets on clearance. I scooped them up without an idea in mind about what I would do with them. Once Sloane and I decided on the “Milk & Cookies” dessert idea … they found their purpose. We lined the inside with book pages and decorated the outside with our heart confetti.

We used stencils, book pages, and a couple of burlap flag banners from Hobby Lobby to make these.

It took some time to come up with just how to fit “The Future Mrs. Sandell” on a banner with only twelve flags!

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As I mentioned yesterday, I used the invites to set the theme for Marissa’s Literary Bridal Shower.

I found them HERE on Etsy. The creator of the invites, Kendra, was an absolute joy to work with.

When I told Kendra that I wanted book-page lined envelopes, she said, ‘No problem.”

After she sent me the proof of the layout, I asked if she could you a date-stamp instead of the typewriter for the two dates on the invite. She did not hesitate.

Once they arrived and I began addressing and stuffing them, I discovered that she accidentally sent five less than I ordered. I let her know and she cranked them out and I had them in my hands a couple of days later.

Did I mention that each invite was handmade, one at a time, on a 1970s typewriter? So cool! I love Etsy!

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After a long hiatus, as promised, the next week will be filled with photos, crafts, recipes, and details from my daughter’s beautiful bridal shower. But before I begin, I want to let you know that I’ve missed creating and sharing recipes. I’ve really missed blogging. I’ve missed posting. I’ve missed you! It feels good to be back, even if only for a week.

Today will be mostly a pictorial, giving an overview of the party. Tomorrow, the details will begin.

As any good invitation should do, this one set the theme.

Marissa is a voracious reader. She loves books. Her degree in Journalism with a Creative Writing minor, so a literary theme fit her to a tee.

Immediately upon entering, guests were greeted by a table filled with library bookplates with their names on them. The bridal party’s bookplates had a little bling tied to theirs.

A chalkboard sign instructed them what to do with their bookplate. Marissa’s maid-of-honor, Kaley, used her perfect penmanship and artistic flair to create all the chalkboard signs for the shower. Thank you, Kaley!

When guests walked into Barbara Fenzl’s beautiful backyard, this is the table where they had their choice of seats.

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American Flag Fruit Plate

American Flag Layer Dip

Confetti Mac Salad

High-Style Slider Bar

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We hosted an annual 4th of July party for many years. About 10 years ago, we stopped and instead spent the holiday in Wisconsin at the Log Mansion.

We aren’t going to Wisconsin this year because we are leaving for England and Ireland in a little more than a week.

Since we’ll be home for the first time in a decade, I pulled out all my Red, White & Blue and invited a few friends over.

I forgot just how much stuff I had! The gathering is going to be small.

But the American Pride will be everywhere!

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