Tuesday, March 15, 2016

3.14 = Pi Day!

We had to delay our Monthly Dinner by a week, and it just so happened to fall on March 14th (3.14).  The date was so perfect I just had to make my theme Pi Day!  And to be honest...who doesn't love pie?


Invite:  I created the invite on Photoshop. If I were mailing invitations, I would have made the strawberry pie so that it could rotate and reveal the party details as you rotated it around clockwise.  That was my original plan, but with time constraints, I just created this one to email out.


Entry Decor:  I made a simple sign for inside the front door using form board and card stock.  The numbers/letters I cut out using my Cricut. It look a bit of time to glue on all the border numbers, but I finished it (barely) in time for the party.


Table Decor: I went with a color palette of red, yellow, black, and white for my decor.  I wanted to incorporate both the mathematical sign Pi as well as Pies in my decor.  The table runner I made out of card stock.  I taped black card stock together and them cut the white Pi letters out of my Cricut to glue on.


For the centerpiece, I used the red cake stand I made for my son's birthday party last June.  I made a pretend apple pie to place on top.  I bought 3 fake apples from the Dollar Tree and cut them in half.  I put red tissue paper inside the pie pan and placed the cut apples in it.  Then I cut some tan felt into 1" strips and wove them on the top before tucking them into the pie pan.  No gluing at all.  A quick and easy centerpiece.


For my napkin holder, I made a pie box out of card stock.  I found the template for this online here.  I added a slit on the top of the pie box big enough to slide my rolled napkin inside. The tag I made using Photoshop and then tied it around the napkin.  I served dinner in pie tins, so these napkin holders I placed inside each tin.


For a place card, I used the same Pi/Pie image I used on my invitation.  I simply added the guest's name, printed them, and then backed them in card stock.


For wine charms, I used my Cricut to cut out the Pi symbol in various colors.


Menu:  I started with these adorable cheese and cracker pies.  They were super easy to make and so cute.  I think they would be a great appetizer around Thanksgiving since they look just like pumpkin pies.  To make them, you need:
  • Triscuit Thin Crisps (they are shaped in triangles so they are perfect)
  • Cheddar Cheese block
  • Chicken in a Biskit crackers for the back
  • Wavy stick crackers from a bag of Chex Mix
  • Whipped cream cheese
The cream cheese is your "glue" to hold the crackers/cheese together as well as the "dollop" on the top. I got this idea from the website She Knows.  The photo at the right is from her finished product.


I made a simple green salad with mushrooms and red and green peppers.  To fit with the pie theme, I served them in mini pie tins.


For the main dish, I didn't want to go with the standard Chicken Pot Pie or Shepherd's Pie. I decided to make this Three Cheese Italian Rigatoni Pie just because it looked cool!  I love how it came out, and it was tasty too.  You make it in a spring-form pan and then just remove the sides when ready to serve.   I found the recipe here. It's a simple pasta dish, but served in neat way.


With it I made pie-shaped bread sticks out of pizza dough.  Just baked the dough, added butter and Italian seasoning, and then cut into triangles before serving.


The pasta pie keeps it's shape quite nicely.


For dessert, I wanted something light.  I decided to go with an easy to make lemon pie.   No baking needed on this one either!  It was creamy and delicious with only 4 ingredients:  graham cracker pie crust, 8 oz cream cheese softened,  2 cans sweetened condensed milk, and 3/4 cup of lemon juice. I garnished with a slice of lemon and whipped cream.


Favor:  I saw a recipe for mini blueberry pie bites forever ago on Pinterest, and decided this was the perfect time to try them out.  I made them using the recipe found on Sugar Dish Me.  I put 10 bites into a bag, tied them with a ribbon and tag, and made pie boxes out of card stock to place them in.  Here's a close up...


These taste amazing to just snack on, but they are also really good as a topping on vanilla ice cream. 

                                    We had a great time celebrating Pi Day!  Hope you did too!