Game On: Party Ideas for Seahawks Game Day

On a scale of 1 to 10, this party is a 12

By Julie Arnan | August 22, 2017

It’s football season. Whether you’re cheering on the Seahawks or your favorite college team, it’s essential to have a few great party ideas in your game-day playbook. When your team is on the road or you can’t make it to the game, bring the party home with easy team-themed sips, snacks, and desserts. I toasted spices and roasted pork tenderloin for a simple game-day brioche sandwich. My 12th Gal cocktail is sure to quench your game day thirst, plus we’ve got cold brews, Bloody Marys loaded with extras, and pretty little Jell-O shots that will score some points with guests. Oh yes — we’ve got game!

12th Gal Martini Drop  

Try this handcrafted feminine and flirty, icy blue martini drop. It starts with a stunning shade of blue. The glass is dressed with mermaids and a saucy garnish of mint and fresh blueberries on diamond picks. 

11/2 shots vodka

1/2 shots Blue Curacao liqueur

Splash of Chartreuse liqueur

½ shot mint simple syrup

¼ shot fresh lime juice

Put the ingredients into a shaker with plenty of ice; shake, strain, and serve.

Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches with Toasted Spices on Brioche

A trio of toasted spices turns up the heat on these yummy and easy brioche sandwiches. Add a hint of sweet roasted red pepper, tender bibb lettuce, and a trio of mustards for a winning game-day combo.

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon coriander

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 pork tenderloins

Olive oil

Salt and soy sauce to taste

Brioche buns

Bibb lettuce

Sliced roasted red peppers

1. In a dry hot pan, toast a tablespoon each of ground cumin, coriander, and chili powder. The spices will brown up a bit, and become crazy fragrant. Set spices aside.
2. Slather two pork tenderloins with olive oil, and coat in the toasted spices. Sprinkle with salt and about four dashes of soy sauce. Marinate overnight in the fridge.
3. Bring pork to room temp, and roast in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. Cool and thinly slice. Layer a few pieces onto brioche buns; add bibb lettuce and sliced roasted red peppers. Serve with an assortment of mustards. I like honey mustard, stone ground, and Dijon.

Customize Store-Bought Goodies

Purchase ice cream sandwiches. Buy wooden sticks at a local craft store, pop them into the sandwiches, and create laces with a tube of icing.

Spirited Jell-O Shots

Tipping the shot glass in a muffin tin makes these pretty little blue and white Jell-O Shots layers firm up on the diagonal. Here is a recipe I found that works well.

1 cup water

3 ounces blue Jell-O

3 packets gelatin

2 cups vodka

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup milk

1. In a saucepan, mix 1 cup of water and blue Jell-O and then sprinkle with the packet of gelatin. Let it hang out for a minute or so, and then whisk.
2. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Pull it off the heat, and add 1 cup of vodka and whisk again. Pour the mixture into a small pitcher. Place shot glass in each muffin tin and tip it, then carefully pour the in the Jell-O mixture. Let it rest on the counter for about 25 minutes, then transfer to the fridge until it sets up completely.
3. Once cooled, add one cup of milk to a clean pan and sprinkle with two packets of gelatin. Wait a minute, and then add sugar and whisk. Bring it to a simmer, and remove it from the heat. Add 1 cup of vodka, and whisk it again.
4. Cool this second mixture. Upright the glasses. Then with a teaspoon, add the white mixture onto the blue layer, and return the shots to the fridge to chill.

Chips, Veggies, and Dip, Stadium Style

Create a guacamole playing field in a rectangular dish nestled into a larger rectangular dish. Layer in blue chips, sliced rainbow carrots, and multicolored peppers for the crowd.

Game Day Bloody Mary

This Bloody Mary is all about the extras. Keep it simple with a good store-purchased mix. Add 11/2 shots of vodka and a squeeze of fresh lime to a tall glass. Add ice, and top with mix and a splash of hot sauce! Create veggie bundles of celery, pickled asparagus, and beans all tied up with chives, and then add bacon. Always add bacon.

Raise the Bar

Frosty brewskis on ice never looked so good thanks to his and hers bottle cozies, palms, fresh flowers, faux fur, and a DIY PVC pipe goal post in gold.

True Colors

Hit up your favorite team stores and party stores for team-themed napkins, bottle openers, beer cozies, footballs, and pom poms, of course!

Blitz Blondie Bars

1/2 cup softened unsalted butter

2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups flour

1 cup M&Ms (in your team colors), plus more
for the top

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13-inch glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, or line it with parchment paper.
2. Beat room temperature butter and brown sugar in a stand mixer until just creamy. Add one egg at a time, and beat until combined. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl, and then add that to the sugar mixture, a little at a time. Mix until just combined. Gently fold in the M&Ms.
3. Press mixture into the baking pan. Add more M&Ms on top (because you can never have enough chocolate or spirit). Bake for about 20-25 minutes, cool, cut, eat, and cheer.

See Monica Hart’s design, recipe, and entertaining ideas in every issue of 425 magazine, and at lafamigliadesignllc.com.

Hair by Seven the Salon, senior stylist Chu.

Ingredients from Metropolitan Market, Kirkland. Glassware, tableware, serving pieces, and green mixer from Crate and Barrel at The Bellevue Collection. Crafting essentials from Ben Franklin Crafts and Frames, Redmond; Blue and white linens and green coasters from Hedge & Vine, Bellevue.