The 2016 Rio Olympic Games start on Friday 5th August. We're pretty excited, and what better way (short of doing actual sport...) to kick off proceedings than host a dinner party with a bunch of friends? We've made it Friday-friendly, so you don't need to spend hours in the kitchen. If you're looking to throw a bash another day, take these ideas for any part of the Olympics. Caipirinhas are essential though.
Dress Code
We did a deep dive into the team GB kit from years past and found this 1964 gem of Mary Denise Rand (the first British woman to win an Olympic Gold Medal.) We're suggesting TBT sports kit for a dress code, so crack out those Cortez you've been hiding and don some sportswear à la Oxfam.
Drinks
Priorities, people. What would a Brazilian-twanged party be without Caipirinhas? The national drink of Brazil is super easy to make, and can easily be suped-up into a jug for the masses. The recipe below makes one round of eight drinks.
Ingredients
4 limes, each cut into 8 wedges.
350ml Cachaça (half a 70cl bottle)
8 tsp brown sugar
Ice
Method
Muddle the limes with the sugar in a large jug, until the sugar dissolves, a rolling pin works well if you don't have a muddler.
Add the Cachaça and mix.
Crush the ice as finely as is possible, and divide between eight short glasses. Pour the jug between the glasses and cheers!
Photo: Courtesy of Koch Zauber.
Snacks
We don't really want to spend ages making food on a Friday night after work so keep everyone happy while dinner cooks with fashion's favourite snack: popcorn. Grab a bag of sweet n' salty on the way home and a box of ice cream cones and voila, you have Olympic Torch canapés with literally zero effort (these are probably the least-heavy items to carry back from the shop, to.)
Photo: Courtesy of A Small Snippet.
Dinner
Whether you're having your party on the ceremony night or during the weekend, beer-can chicken is the perfect dinner to have with a group of friends. It can be cooked on the BBQ or in the oven, and at about 1 hour 10 minutes it's probably the quickest roast chicken to cook, ideal for a Friday night. Use Brahma beer for a Brazilian twist.
Ingredients
1 x 1.8 kg whole free-range chicken
olive oil
1 x 330 ml can of Brahma beer
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
1 fresh red chilli, deseeded
1 bunch of spring onions, trimmed
½ a bunch of fresh coriander
For the rub:
1 heaped tablespoon each of smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, soft dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1-2 dried red chillies
Method
Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Remove the chicken from the fridge and leave aside to come up to room temperature, then drizzle with olive oil. To make the rub, mix together the ingredients in a bowl, a sprinkle over the chicken, using your hands to massage all over, and under the skin.
Crack open the beer and pour out around two-thirds of it (or drink it!), then carefully lower the chicken cavity onto the can so it looks like it’s sitting up (kinda gross but ok.) Position the chicken so it’s upright on a roasting tray, then place in the oven and cook for around 1 hour 10 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. To check it’s done, insert a knife into the thickest part of the thigh – the juices should run clear.
Brush the chicken all over with the barbecue sauce, then return to the oven for a further 10 minutes, or until dark and sticky. Meanwhile, finely slice the chilli and spring onions and pick the coriander leaves. Once ready, carefully remove and discard the can, then carve up the bird, scatter over the chilli, spring onions and coriander leaves, and serve with sides of your choice.
Recipe courtesy of Jamie Oliver/Channel4.
Photo: Courtesy of Jamie Oliver.Entertainment
Scrap the music, hook your TV up to YouTube and prepare a playlist of Olympic videos. This could go two ways... 1) you're serious about your sport and want to watch the best bits from 2012. Or 2) you just want to watch fail videos on loop. We know what we'll be doing...
Activity
The Opening Ceremony's not on until midnight, so you'll need something to keep everyone entertained. Test your athleticism with all-time party game classic, Twister. 2020 Gymnastics? Here we come.
Drinking Game
Once the action gets underway at midnight, the real fun can begin. Follow our drinking game, and swig each time one of these things happen. Say bye bye to Saturday, it's going to be a long night...
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