Category Archives: Party

One of my favorite seasonings is Everything Spice. It’s a combination of toasty, salty, and savory that makes every bite that much more delicious. And it goes on, well, everything! We like to make soft pretzel bites to have as an appetizer at holidays, a family get-together, game night, etc. They are a crowd favorite and usually don’t last long…but that’s probably because we tend to pair them with alcohol (who’s keeping track?) 🙂 This time we were feeling adventurous and wanted something a little different from traditional soft pretzel bites so we made Buffalo Cheddar Soft Pretzel Twists with, you guessed it, EVERYTHING SPICE!!! I understand this recipe can be daunting but trust me…it’s delicious! The cheese oozes out as you take your first bite, the buffalo sauce adds the perfect amount of heat, and the everything spice adds a salty flavor. You really can’t go wrong with these … Continue reading

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Fun and festive ideas for your very own Mardi Gras Party!  We’re a little North of the big festivities in New Orleans, but we can still have our own fun too!  First we’re kicking off with our new Kickin’ Cajun Dirty Rice recipe from Chef Melanie! Next up we have our Jell-O Shots complete with Mardi Gras themed colors! Our next dish is Sausage and Chicken Jambalaya, another classic Southern dish, perfect for any Mardi Gras themed party! Now we can’t forget about our desserts!  First up we have our traditional Paczki Donuts (Poonch Key)! These delicious treats are available at Festival Foods every year on the Monday and Tuesday of Mardi Gras only!  This year they are available Monday February 27th and Tuesday February 28th ONLY! Place your orders now! http://bit.ly/PaczkiDonutLimited Of course, it wouldn’t be Mardi Gras without King Cake, which is also available at Festival Foods on Monday February 27th and Tuesday February … Continue reading

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This is a crazy busy time of year with cookie exchanges, parties, potlucks, holiday celebrations and family gatherings and food is at the center of it all. There is no need to panic but planning is essential to keep stress to a dull roar so you can enjoy the festivities. A Christmas cookie exchange party is a great way to spend time with friends and family and the bonus is leaving the party with a wonderful selection of cookies! If you’re hosting you need some easy appetizer recipes or to make it super easy, serve a cheese board. We pinned some beautiful cheese boards to inspire you, even more inspiring is that our The Big Cheese event has begun with a perfect selection of products and cheeses to have available in the frig and pantry for cheese boards or easy last minute entertaining. A fabulous finger food appetizer is our Blue … Continue reading

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It’s time to begin planning your menu for Halloween festivities!  If you and the kids are heading out to trick or treat, start them off right with an nice, hot meal appropriate to the holiday – we’re talking Mummy Meatloaf. Easy to prepare, just slice our meatloaf and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in the oven until an internal temperature of 160 degrees. While the meatloaf is cooking in the oven slice strips of your favorite white cheese that will melt easily. When your meatloaf is fully cooked wrap the white cheese and sliced black olives for eyes on the meatloaf slices and place on a clean sheet of parchment paper in a warm oven to melt the cheese slightly.  If doing anything but heat and serve before you go out trick or treating then perhaps our Ghoulash prepared and sold in our Deli may be … Continue reading

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The cool and crisp fall weather has arrived much too soon but it’s perfect weather to begin cooking hearty soups and stews with fragrant herbs for your family meals or prepping some chili for a crowd to watch football. This is a classic Minnesota soup made with wild rice made especially easy if you use Rotisserie chicken from our deli, moist and full of flavor our Rotisserie chickens are useful as an ingredient in many recipes (think chicken quesadillas) as well as a main course. We call our recipe Minnesota Wild Rice Soup it has lovely rich flavor and one of my favorite fall recipes. Another of our favorite soups is Hearty Italian Soup made with our very own fresh Italian Sausage – available either Hot or Mild, easy to make for a quick meal during the week, we like to serve with a fresh baked baguette. Taco Soup is all the … Continue reading

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We’ve all watched some great movies this year and on Sunday evening we shall see which films and actors are awarded Oscars. Why not step up your menu and celebrate the year in film with some awesome food. We looked through our recipes and products to find some delicious and festive food for you to watch the Oscars. Seafood always seems right for a special menu. One of our favorites is Lump Crab Cakes from our Chef department, we sell them frozen and all you have to do is brown each side in butter and place on a baking sheet in the oven – delicious. Serve them with this simple recipe for Seafood Mustard Sauce as an appetizer course or main course. Large shrimp served with Festival’s fresh cocktail sauce is a wonderful appetizer treat and so easy to serve!   This Chilled Shrimp Salad recipe is a colorful salad course with … Continue reading

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Whether or not you enjoy the sport of football, the Super Bowl is a great excuse to gather friends for a party and enjoy some great food! Let’s face it Chicken wings are a necessity on a party buffet. We prefer serving boneless wings, they’re neater to eat and no bones for the kids or pets to worry about. That doesn’t mean you need to make them yourself, our Delis make some spectacular wings. Serve the Buffalo version of our wings with this easy Steakhouse Blue Cheese dressing recipe! If you’re tired of Buffalo Wings on the menu, our Sweet Chili Boneless Wings are very popular and a nice alternative to the spicy Buffalo wings. Break out the bowls! A large pot of Chili is always a welcome site on a cold day and this hardy recipe is gonna score big with your guests and you can make it ahead of time so you don’t … Continue reading

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Kick off the festivities for watching the Super Bowl with a Bloody Mary Bar! Guests can build their own Bloody Mary while you set out your spread of food. Set out a variety of spirits for them to choose from. We are pretty partial to Tito’s handmade Vodka but the team at On the Rocks Wine and Spirits has a wide variety of Vodka to choose from and lots of great micro brews for the chaser.   Prep for our bar began with putting the bacon in the oven on racks so we had nice flat bacon for the beverages. In addition to the bacon we sliced a Panino and rolled some Prosciutto. Meat sticks are always a great ingredient for a Bloody Mary. We chose our own smokehouse Ghost Pepper Sriracha Meat sticks. For the adventuresome and enlightened guests, a handcrafted Sriracha Bloody Mary mix from Vermont is on … Continue reading

Posted in Party, Super Bowl, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Kick off the Party!

As long as we are hunkered-in attempting to stay warm during the Polar Vortex, we might as well plan that Super Bowl party! Let’s face it Chicken wings are a necessity on a party buffet. We prefer serving boneless wings, they’re neater to eat and no bones for the kids or pets to worry about. That doesn’t mean you need to make them yourself, our Delis make some spectacular wings. Serve the Buffalo version of our wings with this easy Steakhouse Blue Cheese dressing recipe! Our Sweet Chili Boneless Wings are another very popular option and a nice alternative to the spicy Buffalo wings.   An easy to serve Slider bar allows your guests to customize their sandwiches. Most of the work can be done ahead and the shredded beef can hold in a crock pot for hours. Toppings could include: sliced jalapeños sliced banana peppers chopped onion sliced pickles … Continue reading

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Great grazing food to bring in the New Year must include some awesome dips and we created some tasty dips available to heat and serve from our Delis. Our dips are prepared fresh and sold in an oven-ready pan to heat and serve. If you’re in the mood to do your own dip from scratch we’ve included some pretty tasty dip recipes like this easy, but decadent  Warm Artichoke Dip for you to whip up and wow your family and friends. First up some of our take and serve dips. Our fresh Brie Dip is wonderful served with sliced baguettes or pita chips if you prefer. If you prefer a larger portion of the Brie dip that serves 20, you may order here on line. this quantity dip comes in a half gallon pail, ready to pour in your own pan for the oven. Our Buffalo Chicken dip is nice and … Continue reading

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