Cocktail Party & Drink Tips

The following are general guidelines and tips. I always make more than the recommended amounts because I feel it is better to have too much than too little.

• If you won't be serving dinner later, count on serving about 8 hors d'oeuvres per person.
• In addition to hors d'oeuvres, be sure to plan for some make ahead snacks like cheese balls, crackers, raw vegetables and dips, etc. In case the worse scenario happens and you are running short of food, these kinds of items can really save the day.
• Caterer's Secret: Use vegetables such as hollowed out red cabbage or bell peppers as dip containers. They look great and there's no clean up afterwards.
• Provide at least one vegetarian offering.
• Do as much in advance of the party as possible to make entertaining day as stress free as ca be.
• Paper doilies are an easy way to dress up lain serving trays and plates.
• Make sure you have plenty of ice.
• Instead of cocktails, punches and eggnogs are an easy way to serve drinks to a crowd.
• If you don't have an actual bar in your home, set up a sturdy table out of the flow of the party traffic. Cover with a long tablecloth and the space under the table can be used for storing extra bottles, mixers and tubs of ice.
• One Fabulous Foods reader wrote that she uses her dishwasher to ice down extra drinks at the party. She puts bottles and cans on the ranks and covers them with ice. The water drains out below and the drinks are insulated and stay cold.
• For the best cocktails, use real fruit juices instead of bottled or powdered mixes.
• Don't forget to stock garnishes for the types of drinks you'll be serving, such as olive, lemon or limes twists or wedges, cherries, celery, etc.
• To rim a cocktail glass with sugar or salt, run a piece of lemon or lime around the edge and dip in salt or sugar.
• It's a nice touch to have frosty cold glasses, especially if you're serving beer. Store glasses in the freezer or buried in ice until they are chilled and opaque in appearance.
• A "shot" of liquor means 1.5 oz.
• If a drink calls for a "twist" of lemon or lime peel, this means just the peel, not the fruit. The outermost part of citrus fruit contains oil that releases intense flavor. When a drink recipe calls for a "twist", take a sharp knife and cut a small piece of the rind. Rub the rind around the rim of the glass to release some of the oil, the twist the piece f peel over the drink before dropping it in.
• White wines should be served chilled, but not ice cold, about 45-55° F.
• Red wines should be served at slightly cooler than room temperature, about 65°F.
• Sparkling wines and champagnes should be served thoroughly chilled
• Secret bartender's tip for hangovers -- Sam, my favorite bartender at Hollywood's famous Magic Castle says forget hair of the dog, if you've overindulged try a glass of club soda with about 1/2 teaspoon of Angostura bitters in mixed in (bitters are an ingredient in many cocktails that have an herbal flavor). It takes away that queasy feeling (even the kind associated with stage fright, which is why Sam first prescribed them for me).