Poker Party Food (and Drink) Ideas

So, you're throwing a poker party and have no idea what to serve? Have no fear, my friend; I am here to save you! I am a picky eater, and often get frustrated when I go to a party that is filled with food I've never heard of (and am SO not willing to try!) We all know that there are a few classics out there that should be had at every party, and so here is a list I have compiled to save you a bit of time. I'll also give you a few ideas on some festive table décor. (Save the applause until the end, please)

Poker Party Food Ideas and Recipes (yes, you CAN do this at home!)

Snacks, the most important meal(s) of the day (right?!)

Cocktail meatballs
2 lbs ground beef (or turkey)
10 oz grape jelly
¼ cup chili sauce
2 tbsp prepared mustard

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a large roasting pan with aluminum foil.
2. Shape ground meat into golf-size balls. Place on prepared roasting pan for 20-25 minutes until done.
3. Meanwhile, heat the jelly, chili sauce, and mustard together in a 2 qt. Dutch oven. Drain and add meatballs to the Dutch oven. Cover and simmer on low for ½ hr. Serve hot with toothpicks.

Sweet Party Mix
1 (12 oz) package crispy corn and rice cereal
5 oz slivered almonds
6 oz toasted, chopped pecans
¾ cup butter
¾ cup dark corn syrup
1 ½ cups light brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 250 F. Lightly grease a large roasting pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix crispy corn and rice cereal, slivered almonds, and toasted chopped pecans.
3. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and mix with dark corn syrup and light brown sugar. Pour the mixture over the crispy corn and rice cereal mixture. Stir and shake to coat all the nuts and cereal.
4. Pour the coated mixture into the prepared roasting pan. Stirring approx. every 15 minutes, cook 1 hour. Cool on wax paper, store in airtight containers.

(chips and) Layered Taco Dip
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (16 oz) package small curd cottage cheese
1 (1 oz) package taco seasoning mix
1 tsp lemon juice
2 bunches green onions, chopped
1 (2 oz) can diced black olives, drained
1 tomato, chopped
2 cups shredded lettuce
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, cottage cheese, taco seasoning, and lemon juice.
2. In a glass bowl or serving platter, layer cheese mixture, green onions, black olives, tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese.

Entrees worthy of salivation...

Meatloaf Muffins
1 lb ground meat
bread*
1 large egg
1 cup chopped onion (I use the stuff you buy in the spice aisle)
ketchup
cheese**
salt
pepper

*I have used a variety of things for this. I prefer 1 cup of dried bread crumbs, but didn't have any the last time I made this so I used 1 cup of mashed up saltine crackers. Worked just fine :) I put a few saltines in a small bowl and mashed them with a cup. I've also resorted to using 1 slice of bread. No matter what you choose, it all works out the same. The bread is in the recipe to hold the "mold" together (and probably to add a little flavor).

**Don't focus on stuff like "OMG! What kind of cheese?! Sliced? Chunks? Shredded?!" Because seriously, does it matter? Cheese is cheese, for crying out loud! I prefer shredded because it's easier to work with, but when I run out, I whip out the slices and rip 'em up!

1. Thaw your meat ;)
2. Preheat your oven to 325
3. In a large bowl, combine your bread (1 slice OR 1 cup dried bread crumbs OR 1 cup mashed saltine crackers), chopped onion, egg (beaten beforehand!), salt, and thawed meat. Smoosh it all together and make sure it's all blended really well. Now toss in your cheese (however much you choose) and squirt some ketchup in there (however much you choose - I probably use way more than most people). Smoosh it all together again.
4. In your muffin tin (cupcake tin, whatever), put your concoction! (Fill each space to the top, but try not to overfill it). Once that's done, squirt ketchup on top of each "muffin" and sprinkle pepper on top (again, however much you choose).
5. Stick in the oven for about 30 minutes. If you have one of those temperature thingies, then you should make sure that the temp is 160 or higher (this is with turkey, I don't know the rule with other meats).
6. Enjoy - and then come back and let me know how fabulous I am for sharing this with you!

Mini Pizza
Pillsbury grand rolls
Pizza quick sauce or spaghetti sauce
Favorite pizza toppings
Pizza or mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Prepare and cook toppings (such as ground turkey, sausage, onion, etc.)
3. Separate and flatten each biscuit. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Top with pizza sauce, toppings, and cheese.
5. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

Makes 8 mini pizzas... or you could just order some ;)

Baked Macaroni & Cheese
2 lbs elbow macaroni
4 (10 oz) extra sharp cheddar cheese
4 (10 oz) sharp cheddar cheese
2 sticks butter
Milk
Salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Cook macaroni according to directions on box, rinse, and drain.
3. Put cooked macaroni into a large roasting pan. Slice up the butter and mix together. Shred the cheese and stir in. Pour in milk until you can see it, but not completely covering the macaroni. Season with salt to taste.
4. Cover with foil and bake 2 hours. Remove foil during the last 15 minutes, allowing top to become golden brown.

Beverages... quench that thirst!
Besides the party staple (beer), there are other alcoholic (and non-alcoholic) drinks out there (gasp!) Here is a list of some of them. Don't worry, I didn't go so far as to list non-alcoholic drinks ;)

JagerBomb

1. Fill a beer mug with 1 (6 oz) can Red Bull
2. Drop in shot glass full of Jagermeister
3. Chug

Sex On The Beach (East Coast Style)
1 oz Vodka
1 oz Peach Schnapps
Orange Juice
½ oz Melon Liqueur

1. Fill a bucket with ice
2. Add Vodka and Peach Schnapps
3. Top with OJ
4. Float Melon Liqueur on top
5. Chug

Black and Tan
½ glass Guinness
½ glass Harp Ale

1. Fill a pint glass ½ full with Guinness.
2. Place a teaspoon on the back of the pint glass and fill the remainder of the glass with Bass Ale by pouring it slowly over the back of the spoon
3. Chug

Caramel Apple Shot
1 oz Apple Pucker
1 oz Butterscotch Schnapps

1. Combine in shaker with ice
2. Strain into shot glass
3. Chug

Fool's Gold
½ oz Vodka
½ Galliano

1. Combine the ingredients in a shaker with ice
2. Strain into shot glass
3. Chug

Sidecar
1 ½ oz Brandy or Cognac
1 oz Cointreau or Triple Sec
1 oz Lime or Lemon Juice
Lemon wedge or twist
Granulated sugar

1. Wet rim of cocktail glass and dip in the sugar.
2. Combine first 3 ingredients with ice in cocktail shaker
3. Strain into cocktail glass
4. Garnish with lemon
5. Sip

Fun and Fabulous Poker Party Décor

If you're going all out for this party, as in costumes, redecorating your home, getting permits from your city... I can't really help you there. However, if what you're looking for is a few ideas on basic décor, I'm your gal.

First of all, you need to choose a "theme." This doesn't mean that everyone has to buy a costume and create a character, but at least try to have everything match. You don't want to buy paper plates with 50's decorations on them while playing swing music in the background. Personally, I love the whole "pirate" thing. It's on a whole other planet than the common "casino." Every day, easy to find decorations, can be transformed to suit your needs such as those little swords that you usually get with your cocktail drinks. Fly a skull and crossbones flag outside your door... get a little creative and instead of using bowls and serving platters, present your yummies in treasure chests (partythemeshop.com). Another fun idea is using laminated treasure mats as place mats, put a candelabra as a table centerpiece (this can come in handy for last-minute romance), or using different sized gold coins for your chips. Heck, if you're feeling really crafty, make some spyglass telescopes using some gift wrap tubes, construction paper, glue, tape, and plastic wrap (glass lens).

Just don't put in a CD of some Irish pub song. I'm not sure why the music is in my head, but I promise it would kill the mood. Some good ol' rock and roll will work just fine.

Drink recipes retrieved from www.idrink.com and www.drinkoftheweek.com
Food recipes retrieved from my sister (and combined with recipes found on) www.cooks.com and www.allrecipes.com.
Party ideas from my own head after randomly browsing through www.partysupplieshut.com and www.shindigz.com