It's thematic

Dude, if you are a dude, you will probably want to run and hide from this post. In fact, maybe you should too, cool chick. Because I am so not cool (that maybe I AM cool!) that one of my big things is creating variations on a theme. Example: paintings that are identical in composition but a different color. Or themed parties. Or themed menus. Or a themed party with a themed menu.

Don't go calling me Martha, though. Martha I am not.

I guess it all started with my first Superbowl party (easy theme) which had a menu featuring flavors from both team's cities. We did this until Pittsburgh started going to the big game every year and then stopped because (I hope not to offend you) there is no good cuisine native to Pittsburgh. There. I said it.

Actually we stopped hosting Superbowl parties altogether, and now we just go to my friend SweetWonderfulMama's house for her party. Her theme: dip contest. I was excited about the contest when we were first introduced to it last year. I researched dips for weeks beforehand and finally found the perfect dip. Then I busted out the fondue pot (hey, if you're married you know you have one) and even bought fancy schmancy spices for it. Then we arrived at the party, I lit sterno underneath the fondue pot, and I burned the whole thing. Oops.

So, this year is all about redemption, and I'm going back to my roots: theme dip! Nothing spectacular came to mind when I considered New York as a genre (New York Strip dip?) so I'm going with the obvious good stuff: Creole! I think I found just the recipe, too. Isn't it pretty?


Creole crab dip with a cornbread crumb crust. I'm excited. I don't expect to win though because the competition is fierce. The guy who won last year had his dip in a football crock pot. I can't compete with that. I would be tempted to buy such a crock pot, except I won't have room to store it unless I get rid of all of the specialty drink ware from my Fiji party. Gotta love a theme!