Summer Entertaining: Host a Pirate Party with Island Decorations, Food and Drinks!

Ahoy maties.... Are you looking for a fun party theme? An island-inspired pirate party is the perfect way to kick off summer- or end it, for that matter! Use these ideas for a end of school party, a high school graduation, a backyard movie night party complete with a screening of Pirates of the Caribbean, a birthday party, a Luau---it's even perfect for your next supper club or a bridal shower! Tweak the decorations and the food to fit your crowd. I got the idea from a dear friend, Terri Merren, who lives in the Cayman Islands. Terri sent me her cookbook and explained that the Cayman Islands hosts a "pirate week" celebration each year. Her picture below inspired my pirate party theme. Thank you Terri!  

 

HERE'S THE PIRATE PARTY WE SHOWCASED DURING THE METROPOLITAN COOKING & ENTERTAINING SHOW IN ATLANTA!

PIRATE PARTY MENU

Signature Cocktail: GOOMBAY SMASH

I knew I wanted to use my Goombay Smash recipe as the signature cocktail for this party theme because it is a favorite drink in the islands. Since it has rum and pineapple, I decided to use those elements as a consistent theme throughout my menu and for decorations. To cut costs, eliminate the brandy and use Grand Marnier or whatever orange liqueur you have instead.  

MARTIE'S MOJITO MELON BOATS

Use honeydew or cantaloupe as your melon. I prefer cantaloupe. The marinade is exactly what you'd find in a mojito.... rum, mint, and lime.

For the marinade, mix a cup of rum, the juice of one lime, and 1/2 cup finely chopped mint leaves for each melon. I don't use spiced rum for this recipe. If the melon isn't very sweet, I will add about 1/2 cup simple syrup that I have infused with mint to my marinade or a little drizzle of honey.

Cut your melon into "boats" and use a toothpick to poke small holes in the top of each slice. Fill the holes with the rum mixture and let it marinate in the refrigerator or cooler for an hour or more before guests arrive. Plate and insert your "pirate sails" or other nautical decoration. I used scrap paper and some pirate stickers from Oriental Trading Company and a wooden skewer to make the sails.

CARIBBEAN-SPICED SHRIMP with PINEAPPLE SALSA

I love this recipe from my great friends at MyRecipes.com and it's perfect for this party theme. I thought it would make it on skewers to make serving easier. The shrimp cook so quickly, it's an easy make-ahead dish. Make the salsa in advance and bring it all to room temp before serving. This recipe calls for a lot of spices but you don't have to use all of them.

BAYLEY'S WEST INDIES SALAD

Another great recipe from MyRecipes.com, also perfect for an island themed party. I make it ahead and store individual servings in jars (a mason jar works great) kept on ice in the cooler until party time. I like to add plantain chips as a garnish just before guests arrive.

PIRATE PARTY DECORATIONS

The decorations are so simple. You can get a lot of what you need from my friends at ORIENTAL TRADING COMPANY. I made some of the decorations---- like the pineapple tree and the sails for my melon boats and filled in the rest with supplies from OTC. The pineapple tree only took about 30 minutes to make- start to finish. The sails were about 15 minutes. Use pirate hats, swords, coins, treasure chests, etc to fill in the rest. Here are the instructions for our fantastic pineapple tree:

You need a stable base--- a heavy piece of wood works. I told the guy at Lowe's what I wanted to do and he pointed me to the plumbing supplies for a flange and a short piece of pipe that screwed together. I attached it to the wood with Velcro but you can screw it down or glue it. Next, twist the top off the pineapples and cut the top and bottom to make them level. Cut out the inner core of each pineapple. I used an apple corer to do this, but a long, thin knife will also work. Stack the pineapples on top of each other to form the trunk of your tree. Add some foliage (you can even take cuttings from your own plants) by sticking the stems into the cut pineapple. Add a flag if you want to like we did. You can also use the pineapples to serve your shrimp skewers by inserting them into the pineapple! Everyone loved this idea! 

Get party decorations from Oriental Trading Company. You can get a huge box of pirate party booty and supplies for very little money. Check out the awesome pirate hats; you can double duty them by turning them into table decorations and serving bowls like we did for our Pirates of the Caribbean candy bar! Special shout out to all of our friends from the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show in Atlanta for having so much fun with us at our pirate party!    

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