Throw a Back to School Party

The joke between parents might be they are celebrating that vacation is over, but seriously, the first day of school is worthy of a fete. Instead of saying goodbye to summer, host a family dinner that says welcome to fall and the school year ahead.

Setting the scene: One week before school starts, send your children invitations, either through the mail or delivered to their rooms. Thinking about a party can help ease any back to school jitters, and if you’re looking for activities for the kids that last week of vacation, have them make decorations such as placemats and banners for the dinner.

What to Serve
After a summer of barbecues, think about heartier dishes that your kids love, which you probably haven’t made since earlier in the year. If you’re uncertain of what to make, nothing beats homemade macaroni and cheese with a side of garlic bread to mop the sauce.

Mac and (Three!) Cheese

What You Need:

• 1 pound large elbow macaroni
• 4 cups whole milk
• 4 tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup flour
• 8 ounces shredded mild cheddar
• 4 ounces shredded Monterey Jack
• 4 ounces shredded mozzarella
• ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

What You Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Add the macaroni to a large pot of boiling water and cook for about 8 minutes. Drain in a colander.
3. While the macaroni is cooking, prepare the sauce. In a small saucepan, heat the milk. In a large pan over low heat, melt the butter and add the flour, whisking to cook the flour for about two to three minutes. Then slowly add the hot milk, whisking to incorporate. Raise the heat slightly and continue to whisk until the sauce has thickened a little. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese, salt and pepper.
4. In a large bowl, mix the macaroni with the sauce. Pour into a large baking dish and cook for 30 minutes.
   
   Note: Mac and Cheese is the ideal dish to sneak in some veggies, just cook them separately and add to the mixing bowl before it is poured into the baking dish.

Garlic Bread

What You Need:

• 5 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 sourdough loaf
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

What You Do:

1. In the bowl of a food processor add the garlic, parsley and salt and pulse several times until mixture is combined and minced.
2. In a medium sauté pan, heat the olive oil. Be careful as the oil can spatter. Add the garlic mixture and remove the pan from the heat.
3. While the garlic mixture is cooling, slice your sourdough loaf in half with the bread knife. Spread the softened butter on the top half. Spread the garlic mixture on the other half of the bread, and put the halves together.
4. Wrap the bread tightly in aluminum foil. Bake for ten minutes. If you prefer crisper bread, unwrap from the foil and bake for an additional minutes.

This back to school celebration is the perfect night to start a new annual tradition of creating School Year Memory Books. To make these memory books, give each child a binder which has a clear plastic sleeve cover so they can decorate the outside of the binder. Fill the binder with plastic protective sheets. The kids can use the sheets to hold mementos of the year ahead—recital programs, team photos, tests or papers they are proud of, ticket stubs to events, etc.