Black & White

On Saturday night some dear friends of mine, Laura and Hugh, hosted their first party in their new townhouse.  Being the quirky and fun folks they are, their party came complete with a theme…Black & White.  Bow ties, polka dots, dice and dominos were the focus of the evening. 

Of course, I was more concerned about what kind of food I could bring than what outfit I would wear.  I mean…have you ever really thought about black and white food?  It’s a toughie!! 

Laura put together lots of white cheeses, crackers, dark chocolate cupcakes, popcorn and dips.  She really pulled out the black and whites of the food world. 

What I came up with was Oreos.  But I can’t just show up with a bag of cookies now can I?  So I took those cookies to the next level.

Bark is one of the easiest, but prettiest treats to put together.  You melt some chocolate and you top it with your favourite yummy bits.  This version is simply white chocolate and smashed Oreos cookies. 

White Chocolate Oreo Cookie Bark

Ingredients:

• 3 cups white chocolate discs or chips
• 15 smashed Double Stuf Oreo Cookies, chilled

Directions:

1. Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper.
2. Place the cookies in a zipper bag and smash with a rolling pin.  If the icing sticks a lot, stir with a fork to break up.
3. Divide the chocolate into three batches.  Melt the first batch either over a double boiler, or in the microwave stirring to ensure smoothness.  Spread the melted chocolate on the papered baking sheet and sprinkle liberally with about half of the smashed cookies.
4. Melt the second batch of chocolate and pour over the first layer of bark.  Spread with the back of a spoon to incorporate cookie crumbs and even out the layer.  Sprinkle with about a third of the remaining cookies and press with the spoon.
5. Melt the third batch of chocolate and use the spoon to drizzle all over the second layer.  Press the remaining cookie chunks into the drizzled chocolate.
6. Refrigerate at least one hour or until needed.  When ready to package or serve, lift the whole sheet of paper off the tray to a cutting board and use a large knife to cut into large pieces.  Then break by hand into smaller pieces.

I stacked the black and white bark into a couple of sturdy white bowls, wrapped the whole works in white tissue paper and packed it up in a cute black and white damask bag.  Success.

Cute theme, cute eats, good times.  Black and white and fun all over!

What’s your favourite theme for a house party?