Mermaids and Pirates Party - Food!

This will be my last post about the Mermaid and Pirate party, I promise!  I wanted to tell you about the food we prepared!  We like to try to maintain our theme with the food, so here is what we came up with for Mermaids and Pirates:

Mermaid Punch
aka Quick Cranberry Punch
adapted from Betty Crocker

1 (12 oz) can frozen pink lemonade concentrate
1 bottle (64 oz) cranberry juice cocktail, chilled
1 bottle ginger ale, chilled

Make pink lemonade in a pitcher as directed on the package.  Stir in cranberry juice cocktail.  Insert frozen ice ring (see below) OR enough ice cubes to chill.  Before serving, stir in ginger ale. 

This recipe is very loose.  I did not use the exact quantities of each liquid, so my ratio may not have been right but it was delicious.  It is not too sweet and has a bit of a tartness from the cranberry juice, plus some fizziness from the ginger ale!

Ice Ring
1 bottle ginger ale
garnishes - lemons, clementine oranges, limes, fresh cranberries

Fill a bundt pan halfway up with ginger ale and put in the freezer until the ginger ale is partially frozen.  In the mean time, slice your citrus fruit in half and remove the meat, retaining a solid piece of peel.  Cut star shapes into the peel.  Once the ginger ale is at the slushy point, add your citrus rind stars and some cranberries.  Gently pour the rest of the ginger ale on top and return to the freezer.  Done!
Printable Recipe

"Treasures of the Sea" - my friend made this incredible treasure chest watermelon!  She had seen something like this in which they scored the watermelon with some sort of tool to make the straps and lock, and she had the clever idea of using yellow tape and coloring it brown to look like a bronze strap and lock!  Good thinking!  Plus it was filled with delicious fruits - blueberries, grapes, raspberries, oranges, strawberries and blackberries!  Perfect for a hot summer day!

We have "Goldfish", "Peanut Butter and Jellyfishes", and "Octodogs".  Octodogs are simply amazing. What a great way to get fancy with a hot dog!  If you slice a hot dog almost to the top on all sides, leaving the top intact, then drop them in boiling water, the "legs" curl up like octopus legs!  Fun! 

 Here we have "Sea Shells", aka Macaroni and Cheese made with shell pasta, Pirate's Booty, and a "Jello Aquarium".  I am not a big jello fan but kids sure like it.  This jello recipe is actually pretty good, since you are making the jello yourself, not using a box of pre-flavored jello.  It is more refreshing and much less sweet than regular jello.

Jello Aquarium
adapted from Martha Stewart Kids
Fills a 2 1/2 quart fishbowl

1 two-liter bottle lemon-lime soda, flat
4 1/4-ounce packages unflavored gelatin
2 drops blue food coloring
fruit cut into ocean shapes with a cookie cutter OR gummy fish

To flatten soda, open the bottle and leave the cap off overnight.  If you have less time pour the soda into a bowl and stir it gently for about 5 minutes.  

Place 1 cup soda in a large bowl. Sprinkle gelatin evenly over soda, and let stand to soften, about 5 minutes.  Place 2 cups soda in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat until just before a boil. Add the softened gelatin, stirring to dissolve the gelatin completely over the heat, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the remaining soda and food coloring, and stir to combine. Pour the liquid into the fish bowl or container of choice.  If any bubbles have formed on the surface, use a damp paper towel to carefully remove them.  Transfer to the refrigerator to chill.  

If you intend to use ocean fruit:  

After the jello has chilled for several hours (5-6 hours for me) and has gotten to a somewhat gelatinous state but far from fully jello-fied, place the fruit one at a time into your fish bowl or container, pressing them against the sides of the glass.  Smooth out the top of the jello if it looks weird from your hand digging in it, and return the jello to the refrigerator overnight.

If you choose to use gummy fish:

Chill the jello overnight.  When ready to serve, use a sharp knife to make vertical slits in the gelatin; insert the fish in a random pattern to make it look as though they are swimming in the bowl. 

 

Keep refrigerated until serving. Serve within 6 hours.

Note:  In the photo above, I doubled the recipe.

Printable Recipe

 

Here's the entire spread!  To read about the Mermaid and Pirate Cake, go here. 

The party was great fun.  The clever girl was bleary eyed on the way home and couldn't stop talking about the treasure hunt, her favorite part.  See here for more on the treasure hunt.

What a wonderful 4th birthday party!