Party Time

A True Southern Girl

A good friend of mine had a party last weekend.  What is a good southern girl to do but find something to bring?  My mother taught me well, when you are invited to a party you must contribute.  Whether it's a something to drink for your own consumption, a bottle of wine for the host, flowers for the host, or something to contribute for the party itself it is impolite to show up to a party empty handed.

The host of the party is providing the space, will be cleaning up after you leave, and is probably providing a large amount of food and beverage for you.  The most you can do is help the host out.  For the party I attended I knew the host was providing beverages and that the host's girlfriend was preparing some savory snacks for everyone to enjoy.  I decided to do a sweet snack that everyone could partake in to balance out what I knew would be there. 

I decided to make some toffee bark.  If you've never made this before, it is one of the simplest and best party foods I've ever had.  The first time I had this candy was at the hands of my grandmother who had made it for a tailgate several years ago.  When I made it last weekend I couldn't help but think of her.

All you need for the toffee bark is:

1 sleeve of Saltine crackers

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

equal parts butter and

brown sugar

First preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Next, melt the butter and brown sugar together on the stove top. 

I used a stick of butter and half a cup of brown sugar, but if you prefer your toffee darker you can certainly add more brown sugar.

Bring the butter/brown sugar combination to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for 5-6 minutes until it thickens considerably. 

While the butter and brown sugar are boiling, line a 9x13 baking dish with aluminum foil.  After the foil is in place, line the bottom of the baking dish with Saltine crackers.

Once the butter/brown sugar (now referred to as toffee) has thickened, carefully pour it over the crackers in the baking dish.  I used a spoon to make sure the mixture covered all the crackers. 

Put the mixture in the oven and cook for around 5 minutes, until the toffee starts to bubble.

Once the toffee is bubbling, take the baking dish out of the oven and set it on your stove top.  Now take the chocolate chips and pour them onto the crackers and toffee. 

The heat from the crackers and toffee will melt the chocolate chips (but if you are impatient like me you can pop the whole mixture back in the oven for 3-4 minutes until the chocolate melts).

Make sure the chocolate has covered the whole mixture, then let it set.  The whole mixture needs to harden, so if you are in a rush you can put the baking dish in the freezer or fridge.

Once the mixture has hardened, you can pop it out of the aluminum foil and break it into small pieces to serve.

Since the mixture needs to harden to serve, this is the perfect something to make ahead of time!

You can put the pieces in a adorable serving dish and present to your host with a smile and 'thanks for having me!'

Quote from the evening: 'We don't play by those Yankee rules here!' In reference to different undergraduate rules for beer pong.

(yes, this really happened)