Way Out West Murder Mystery Pt 2

It is the spring of 1884.  America's west coast is slowly being populated with small towns full of settlers, come to prospect for precious metals, set up ranches and run dubious saloons - and now the railroad is coming!

Cactus Gulch is one such small town, founded 20 years ago and tonight is has a festive air as the townsfolk get set to start their 20th anniversary celebrations.  However, all is not running smoothly.  Land disputes, disreputable card games, strange folk from out of town and hostile Indians all add to the tense atmosphere.  Join us in the Silver Dollar saloon as celebrations begin and find out how the evening unfolds ...

Once the invitations were sent out and my costume was sorted the next two steps were the food and decorations.  I had so many ideas but had to rein them in to affordable options! LOL  I saw an e-card the other day which said "An evil witch cursed me at birth with expensive taste and no money!".  While I don't go to quite that extreme, my mind does kinda go wild ... as in beyond my abilities and budget :)

I mentioned yesterday that I found some great on-line image resources.  My favourite was the digital collections at Duke University.  They have collections of sheet music, women's lib stuff, and many more.  Their online advertising collection is wonderful!  This one was particularly funny ...

HAHAHAHA!  It continues on a second page but I think you get the idea.

We are sure that the fact that it was "illustrated by models, especially of the feminine structure" would have reeled them in!  We all had a giggle at this one.

I printed off lots of vintage adds and used them in my decorating.  Free Form Games recommend that you have a large room for the guests to mingle in with another area/room for more private conversations.  We used our games room as the Saloon and then we turned our living room into a General Store/Mercantile.

We had a huge piece of calico that we used to cover our store at shows/fairs and we used this to hide the TV and create a backdrop.  I then created a buffet area using some plastic gingham table clothes that were on sale for a couple bucks.  Everything else came out of my stash or off the printer.

The buffet table

Here is the Mercantile we created.  Lots of food and medicine related advertisements here.

There is fruit and veg in the basket and the wood bin says potatoes

I printed off old medicine labels and stuck them to jars and pots.  Then I filled them with flour and coloured water.

I wonder if any of these will be used on the night!

Yes, the next add does mention cocaine.  I wonder what the babies thought????  I bet it made the toothache go away!

The Princess made these cupcakes.  They were her contribution to the night.  As we were making the cakes our power went out!  We have a gas oven so we could still cook but it took The Princess an hour to hand mix these ... you could say they were authentic!

mmmmm ... cupcakes!

And a few more adds in the Mercantile ...

I love the picture for Hunt's Remedy

Next up was the Saloon.  With the power out I couldn't cut out the lettering!  Thankfully it came back on and I quickly cut everything as it had been forecast to still be out at 7:30pm.  We almost had a REALLY authentic wild west night!

Welcome to the Silver Dollar Saloon

We printed off old reward posters to decorate the Saloon, along with more 'manly' adverts.

Is that you on the poster????

I couldn't get enough of these!

We decorated the bar with peanuts and chips/crisps.  Everyone brought their own drinks and we put them all in the bar.  Our junior bartenders helped to serve them (just don't tell anyone!)

Creative use of a vase :)

Silver Dollar Bar

Now that everything is ready we are good to go ... Lets the party begin!

Can't wait!

I tried to put a rinse in my hair to make it black but even after two bottles it was only a dark brown.  The next morning however it was almost black ... note to self - dye hair the day before! (and it is still washing out LOL)

Stocking up on supplies ... am I the murderer????

Here are our three 'Assistant Bartenders'.  The boys were supposed to be on camp but it was cancelled and as they were all home they were roped in to help.  The host for this game was the Bartender (The LOML) and he was responsible for the running of the game.  As he also had to see to serving the food and pouring drinks he needed some assistants.  The kids were only too happy to join in as they knew the food would be worth it :)  They helped reheat the food, pour drinks, and clean up.  They were terrific helpers.

The Thinker, The Extrovert, The Princess

We're ready.  Where are all the guests???

Ready for fun?

Everyone soon arrived and the fun began.  I can't really show you all the individual photos without everyone's permission, but everyone got into the spirit of it and dressed up.  We had more male than female roles but had more females than males ... did you follow that?  So we had some cross dressers, complete with beards and/or mustaches.  The host really does have lots to organise so if you are going to have a murder mystery night with friends I suggest you either have someone cater, have two hosts, or have some helpers like we did.

We forgot to take photos of the food but here we all are lining up to eat!  We didn't have anything traditionally 'wild west' as we cooked the main with meat from the freezer.  We had choice of slow cooked beef vindaloo and/or chicken tarragon, served with green beans & bacon, and our yummy sweet potato crunch.  I did once promise you the recipe when I got a photo, but as we forgot the photo again, I wont torture you any longer.  It really is yummy!

Way Out West!

Sweet Potato Crunch

2 eggs
1/3 cup evaporated milk (NOT condensed milk)
1/2 cup margarine or butter
3/4 cup sugar (Original recipe was 1 cup! ... feel free to lower this - I usually make it 1/4 cup for special occasions and nothing for everyday)
1t vanilla
3 med sweet potatoes, peeled, cooked and drained

Mix above ingredients until creamy, put in heatproof dish.

1 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Mix together until crumbly and sprinkle over potatoes. Bake at 375°F/190°C until top is crispy (1/2 to 3/4 hour approx)

The first time I tasted this I was only little.  My Grandma always rounded up stray American's for Thanksgiving and they usually brought something.  This was made by two spinster sisters (The Boots) and it became a firm family favourite.  Like most American recipes from that era it was very sweet.  When it became my responsibility to make this I lowered the sugar to 3/4 cup and then kept lowering it until it became only 1/4 cup.  That small amount of sugar really does make it seem like a treat (especially if you don't have access to local sweet potatoes), and as we don't have it too often I tend to put it in.  But as there is also sugar in the topping it really doesn't need it if you are going to eat it more often.  We very rarely ever have leftovers when we serve this unless I make extra.

For dessert I really couldn't decide.  I wanted all my favourites but had to narrow it down to only three, while keeping everyone happy.  I would have added a German Chocolate cake and pumpkin pie (I considered pumpkin and pecan pie too).  But in the end I went with my absolute all time favourite ... banana cream pie (NO meringue).  And added in angel food cake with cream and strawberries, and key lime pie with meringue.

Desserts!

I was waiting to make the angel food cake when the power went off.  Let's just say that The Thinker was happy to have the power come back :)  He was whisking egg whites like his life depended on it!  Thankfully I made the pies the day before.

It was a fabulous night and I won't spoil the story for you in case you decide to give the game a try.  We laughed so hard my cheeks hurt the next day.  The game is very flexible and it involved double dealing, blackmail, more murders, and in the end we were all so caught up in our own deals that only the murderer knew 'who done it'.  It was like an episode of Taggart, Midsummer Murders, Inspector Morse, and Lewis all rolled into one!

It was a fabulous way to spend a birthday with a group of wonderful friends.

See you on Sunday for Storytelling Sunday.  I also hope to catch up on my blog reading this weekend and should be dropping by.

Chipper

Lemons ...

Did anyone ever tell you that when life gives you lemons you make lemonade?  Well it is cold here (coldest July day in 8 years yesterday!) and lemonade doesn't really make sense in the cold.  So we made 'Lemon Diva' cupcakes with lemon frosting AND two jars of lemon butter!

It is school holidays here and this morning I told the kids they could bake IF they could agree on something to make using the ingredients we had in the cupboard.  Who would have thought that it would take them almost half an hour to come to an agreement!  But they did eventually without any fights or tantrums ... well almost.  They are HUGE fans of Masterchef and we have Julie Goodwin's cookbook on our kitchen shelf. So they decided to make her famous 'Lemon Dive' cupcakes.  If you click on the link you will find another link on that page to the recipe.

The Thinker cast himself as head chef and lead the way by reading the recipe.  The Extrovert became the foot soldier and thoroughly enjoyed being the center of the kitchen.  Meanwhile The Princess kept popping up demanding another job!  She was very excited as this was the first time we have had a chance to use the silicone cups she got for Christmas.  But they made the cupcakes without too many hiccups and they were delish!  We had so much juice left over that we decided to also make lemon butter.  20min later I am not so sure that they still thought it was a good idea!  Non-stop whisking for 20min is heard work.  I think I shall try some on toast for breakfast in the morning.  We also used the lemon butter recipe from Julie's book as I have never made it before.

The best part of this time of year are the lemons!

Chipper

Family Recipies

Tonight I am making a start on my Family Recipe Album.  If you are wondering what I am talking about you can read about my new project here.  My Great Aunt has sent me some old family recipies that she had, and reading through them today one shocked me ... a 'Mayonaise Cake'.  YEP, you read that right, MAYO, in a cake!!!!!  I don't even know if I am going to make one to try it.  Have any of you ever made a cake with mayonaise?????  Here is the recipe as it was given to me.

Mayonaise Cake

2c flour

2tsp soda

5tbs cocoa (sifted)

1c sugar

1c mayonaise

1c cold water

1 tsp vanilla

375F for 30-35 min

The only other information on the recipe was that it came from Dan O'Brian's Mom in 1948.  Very strange.  I think I shall have to email her and find out not only who Dan was but if this cake is any good!

I am heading off to a class tonight and I think I am going to use it as the title page in my cousins version of this Recipe Album.

Happy crafting,
Chipper

Happy 4th of Juy!

One of the best things about having a varied family is the larger than normal pool of holidays to choose from.  Independence Day was always lots of fun no matter where we were living.  My Mom and Grandma cooked great food, and even if we were still at school, the evening was always fun.  The only difficult part is that for two thirds of my life I have lived in the southern hemisphere and July is the middle of winter!  So the traditional BBQ or picnic never really cut it.  So one of my favourite 4th of July traditions is to cook Tamale Pie.  Not one of my Mom's favourite dishes, but I love it and it is my tradition!

It is not a Mexican dish, except that it has jalapenos in it.  Here is my version of Tamale Pie.

500g mince beef
1 onion
1 bell pepper / capsicum (colour of your choice)
jalapenos to taste
2 tsp of hot chili powder (adjust to taste, but change cumin to match)
2 tsp of cumin
pinch of salt
2 tins of tomatoes
1 tin of kidney beans, drained
120g of sliced black olives (some people also add frozen corn)
a few handfuls of grated cheddar cheese
1 batch of corn bread batter

Brown mince, onion and peppers in a saucepan.  Add the spices and heat through a bit more.  Stir in the tomatoes, beans and olives and simmer while you make your cornbread batter.

Spread the chili mix into a casserole dish, sprinkle with a few handfuls of grated cheese and top with the corn bread batter.  Bake uncovered until the corn bread is golden, about 15 min.

It smells and tastes great.  Is easy on the pocket and quick to prepare.  But best of all it is comfort food at it's best.

Even though I worked today, I had a wonderful holiday.  I came home to a living room decorated with flags and a case of root beer.  Don't know how The LOML managed to pull it off, but he did.  Then the kids and I cooked Tamale Pie together.  We laughed and chatted and The Princess was beaming with delight over her bronze medal for Cross Country that she won today.  Whatever you may be doing today, I hope that your day is as good as mine was. 

Happy 4th of July!
Chipper