Hunger Games Viewing Party

When Beth told me the Hunger Games DVD she pre-ordered had arrived, I invited myself over for a viewing party.  I love any excuse to build out a theme party so I pulled my hair into a Katniss-style braid and started planning the menu right away.  I should tell you that I use the term "party" loosely.  It was just the two of us so we diluted some of the themed craziness to seem less like losers who plan a two-person party centered around a teen book.

Between Peeta's bakery and the rolls from the different districts that line Capital tables, bread plays a major role in these books.  We decided to make seaweed biscuits to represent District 4, Finnick's hometown.  We took canned biscuits (Pillsbury style) and pushed seaweed salad (from the sushi section) into the top before baking.  Easy and super thematic.  Fair warning: though these look cool, unless you're a big seaweed fan, they may taste weird.

We weren't going to make squirrel, but we thought chicken and steak skewers seemed like something the tributes would eat while trying to survive in the arena.  We grilled up kabobs that we marinated with olive oil, garlic, white wine, and season salt.

Finally, we made "nightlock" pavlovas.  The pavlovas (baked meringue shells) I was looking for were sold out, so I bought mini meringue cookies instead.  Then I heated up blackberries and blueberries with sugar until they made a sauce that we could pour over the top.  Unfortunately, the cookies were a little chalky, but I guess that's the risk you take when you go with an unfamiliar brand.  Overall, the dish was easy and after throwing out the cookies, the berry sauce could be poured over ice cream for a dish that is just as thematic.  Our berries were not poisonous, but the gamemakers would likely have been so impressed by how pretty the dish looked that they would have spared our lives, too.