Superbowl Sunday

This Sunday, we had a few friends over to watch the Superbowl. I’ve been looking for an opportunity to make carnitas for a big group and was glad to have an excuse to do it. Everything came together really well, but was a lot more hands on than I intended. I had big plans to take a lot of pictures, but only ended up with a few. The one above was taken yesterday with leftovers.

The main course was put together in a slow cooker, so it should have been stress free, right? And yet, there I was shredding meat when I should have been enjoying my charming guests. So instead of sharing with you exactly how I put this together, I’m going to share with you how I should have organized it.

Taco Bar

These are all things I included in my taco bar. The flavors all work well together, but you could easily switch this menu around to meet your preferences.

Carnitas (Pork) (I didn’t serve mine with the cilantro, red pepper or avocado.)
Cannellini beans
Feta
Pico de gallo (Store-bought)
Monterey Jack
Sour cream with lime (I just squeeze the juice from half of a lime into the sour cream and stir it together.)
Toasted corn (Pour frozen corn into a non-stick skillet. Stir, toasting the kernels over medium heat. Some kernels will develop light brown spots. Pull of the heat and sprinkle with salt and pepper.)
Flour tortillas

Revised Plan of Attack:

Two days before the party:

Cook the beans.

One day before the party:

Make the carnitas.
Bake any desserts if you’re serving them. Vanilla ice cream with a sprinkle of cinnamon would be great with this, and you could make it after everyone’s done eating. I actually made a lemon yogurt cake.*

The day of:

A few hours before the party, begin reheating the carnitas in a slow cooker over warm a few hours.
An hour before guests arrive, put your beans in a large pot with two bay leaves, adobo seasoning, a quartered onion, salt, pepper and a few ladles of juice from the pork. Let this warm over low heat.
30 minutes before your guests get there, put out chips and the salsas of your choice. I made this grilled pineapple salsa and the mango, serrano and avocado one found at the same link. If you make these, make them about 45 minutes before your guests arrive and put the mango one together first.
At the 15 minute mark, mix your sour cream and lime in a pretty bowl. Put the cheeses and pico in small bowls with spoons.
10 minutes before warm your tortillas* and toast your corn.

*Yes, I made dessert too. This is all becoming clearer why I was so busy.