My Philly Creme House Party

Have you ever had been to one of those catalog parties, where the hostess wins amazing gifts but the event is full of that subtle what-am-I-going-to-buy pressures?

I have.  The parties can be fun, but the stress of buying something that you don't really need is hard - and sometimes it's hard on the wallet, too.

There's a new way to showcase products, however, that totally eliminates that pressure.

They're called House Parties, and the idea is that companies directly sponsor parties at select homes across the nation.  People apply for the product parties they are interested in and receive a box full of supplies for the party, in return for holding a party on a certain date with a certain number of people.

I've won several of these parties, most recently a Philly Creme one.  The hostess gifts were great ...

and included a green pan and a Philly oven mitt.  I must admit that I'd never heard of a green pan before, but I love the way that it heats, and the polymer nonstick coating really works.  I also received 4 coupons for free tubs of Philly Creme.

The swag bag gifts weren't bad, either.  Each party attendant received a notepad, cookbook, magnet, two coupons, and a wooden spoon.  (We added the chocolate.  You can't have a party and invite women and not have chocolate.  I'm sure that's a rule somewhere.)

The night of the party, I prepared four different dishes using the recipes in the Philly cookbook that was sent to me.  I made Pasta Primavera, a white pizza, Sante Fe enchiladas, and chicken pot pie appetizers.  I think the pizza was my favorite, as that is not something that I normally make.  The other recipes closely resemble dishes I already prepare, but the Philly Creme definitely makes each one much faster.  It eliminates the need for most measuring and has all of the herbs and seasonings already included.

If you've never House Partied before, what are you waiting for?  There are some interesting ones coming up ... check it out!