Cocktail Party Ideas
In the spirit of the new year, I decided to post an entry with everything I had made for this previous New Year's Eve party. These ideas would work great for any cocktail party. The only table in the hotel was very small, so it somewhat affected the placement from the way I had actually pictured doing it. But it still came out looking and tasting great! :)
Everything I made I was able to prepare the day before, to make it easier on myself the day of. Here are some of the snacks I made:
Cocktails: Champagne Mojitos and Orange Lavender Martinis
I thought both of these cocktails would be great for a formal New Year's Eve party. They both tasted delicious! For the Martinis, I had to make a lavender simple syrup to infuse the flavor into the drink. The hardest part about this was finding the dried lavender. After making stops at multiple grocery stores, I was able to find them at an organic shop that sells spices in bulk. I'm sure they would be at a Whole Foods as well. I mixed 1 C. of water with 3 Tbsp. of the dried lavender and let boil. Then added 2 C. of Sugar and mixed until sugar was fully dissolved. Then, reduce the heat and let simmer for about 5 minutes before pulling off the stove to cool. To mix the drink, I added 2 oz. Cake Flavored Vodka (I prefer Three Olives) with 1/2 Oz Orange Juice, 1/2 Lavender Simple Syrup into a shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a slice of orange.
For the champange mojitos, I mixed together a large batch to keep in a pitcher in the fridge. I boiled 1 C. of water with 1 C. Sugar until the sugar was fully dissolved then let sit to cool. This simple syrup was added with 3/4 Bottle (1 L) of Bacardi Rum (White), 1 (1L) bottle of sweet pink Champagne, three limes cut into slices, and 1 1/2 C. Fresh Mint Leaves. These were placed into glasses and garnished with tangerines and blackberries on cocktail sticks. One blackberry and one slice of tangerine per stick.
Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
This is always one of my favorites! And it is very simple to make as well. I simply take 3-4 spears of asparagus in a bunch and wrap that bunch with one strip of bacon. I place all of them in an oven safe baking tray and coat with about 1/2 C. Soy Sauce. I also sprinkle on a little olive oil (about 1 TBSP) salt, pepper, and garlic. Then I place them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, flipping them halfway through. To make sure they are done, the bacon should be nice and crispy brown on all sides.
Kabobs are so simple and can be done in various ways, depending on taste preference. For the kabobs I made, I cut the wooden kabob sticks in half to make them smaller and to ensure I could fit them in the glasses I had set up for them. I used red peppers, orange peppers, onion, potato, chicken and steak on the ones I made, placing 1-2 of each item on each stick. I normally would prefer to grill them, but all that was available to me was an oven, so I placed them in an oven safe pan, coated them with salt, pepper and a ginger lime marinade and left them in the oven at 350 degrees for a good 45 minutes-1 hour, flipping them occasionally. To make the garlic lime sauce I added,
1 C. Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 C. White Wine (I used Riesling)
1 1/2 Tbsp. Fresh Lime Juice
1 Tbsp Dried (or fresh) Parsley
2 Tsp. Garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp. Shredded Parmesan Cheese
I placed these in a small sauce pan on the stove on high heat and let it boil for about 15 minutes. Then I reduced the heat to low to let thicken. This mixture was then taken off the heat after about 10 minutes and set aside to cool completely. Then I placed the sauce in tiny individual plastic cups and set next to the kabobs when doing table placement.
Hot Cheddar Bites and Stuffed Tomatoes
These were very easy to prepare the night before and tasted excellent! For the tomatoes, I took one stick of chorizo and cooked it on medium heat on the stove until it was completely brown. Drain excess fat. combine with 1/2 C crumbled fresh Queso cheese. I cut the tops off small bite size tomatoes and gutted out the insides with a spoon. Then I stuffed the chorizo/queso mixture in each tomato, trying to get as much in each as possible. These were then placed on an oven safe baking pan and put in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
For the cheddar bites I coated ground pork evenly with Italian seasoning. This was then browned completely on medium heat on the stove and then removed off the heat and left to cool. Then I mixed:
2 C. Shredded Cheddar
1 C. Flour
1/2 C. Butter
1 Tbsp Red Pepper Flake
1 Tsp. Salt
2 Tsp. Paprika
This needs to be mixed together well until there are no chunks of butter in the mixture. Then, take a spoonful of the mixture at a time and flatten. Place small amount of meat in each, then wrap excess mixture around meat completely and form into a ball. Place on oven safe baking tray and place in oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
For placement, I used a large rectangular plate and placed 12 small glass spoons on (found at Pier 1). I placed tomatoes and cheese balls (one each) on spoons. I put fresh bacon bits over cheese balls and two halves of chives over the tomatoes.
Whiskey Weenies
2 Packages (about 2lbs) of Little Smokies
1 C. Ketchup
1/2 C. Whiskey
1/4 C. Water
3 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Mix all ingredients very well. Place in slow cooker and put on high heat for an hour or two (or however long is needed before serving)
Set on low heat when serving and make sure to keep a bunch of toothpicks nearby.
Buttermilk Ice, Blueberries and Pomegranate
1 C. Buttermilk
1/2 C. Sugar
1 Tbsp. Lemon juice (Lime works good as well)
1 Small package of Blueberries
1 Package of Pomegranates
Mix Buttermilk, sugar and lemon juice until sugar is dissolved completely. Place in freezer for about 2 hours, or until fully frozen. Remove from freezer and break ice into small pieces. Place in glasses (I used tall shot glasses) and layer with blueberries and pomegranates. Cover with foil and place back in the freezer if not serving immediately.
For serving, I had to find a way these could be eaten with a spoon. I attempted to find tiny plastic spoons but I had no luck. All of a sudden a great idea came to me...to look in the baby isle for small spoons. Although the spoons I found had rubber caps on, they worked perfectly for what I needed!
There was so much other food we made or bought to serve for this party. Other suggestions include homemade salsa and chips, beer cheese and port wine spread with crackers, small bowls with mixed nuts (we chose pistachios, cashews and peanuts) veggie and dill dip platter, home made chocolate whoopie pies with peppermint filling, and chocolate covered strawberries.
Everything I made I was able to prepare the day before, to make it easier on myself the day of. Here are some of the snacks I made:
I thought both of these cocktails would be great for a formal New Year's Eve party. They both tasted delicious! For the Martinis, I had to make a lavender simple syrup to infuse the flavor into the drink. The hardest part about this was finding the dried lavender. After making stops at multiple grocery stores, I was able to find them at an organic shop that sells spices in bulk. I'm sure they would be at a Whole Foods as well. I mixed 1 C. of water with 3 Tbsp. of the dried lavender and let boil. Then added 2 C. of Sugar and mixed until sugar was fully dissolved. Then, reduce the heat and let simmer for about 5 minutes before pulling off the stove to cool. To mix the drink, I added 2 oz. Cake Flavored Vodka (I prefer Three Olives) with 1/2 Oz Orange Juice, 1/2 Lavender Simple Syrup into a shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a slice of orange.
For the champange mojitos, I mixed together a large batch to keep in a pitcher in the fridge. I boiled 1 C. of water with 1 C. Sugar until the sugar was fully dissolved then let sit to cool. This simple syrup was added with 3/4 Bottle (1 L) of Bacardi Rum (White), 1 (1L) bottle of sweet pink Champagne, three limes cut into slices, and 1 1/2 C. Fresh Mint Leaves. These were placed into glasses and garnished with tangerines and blackberries on cocktail sticks. One blackberry and one slice of tangerine per stick.
This is always one of my favorites! And it is very simple to make as well. I simply take 3-4 spears of asparagus in a bunch and wrap that bunch with one strip of bacon. I place all of them in an oven safe baking tray and coat with about 1/2 C. Soy Sauce. I also sprinkle on a little olive oil (about 1 TBSP) salt, pepper, and garlic. Then I place them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, flipping them halfway through. To make sure they are done, the bacon should be nice and crispy brown on all sides.
Parmesan Chive Mashed Potatoes
4 Large baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 Tbsp Butter
1 C Butter Milk
1/2 C. Parmesan Cheese
1/4 C. Fresh Chives, Chopped
3 Tsp. Salt
3 Tbsp Butter
1 C Butter Milk
1/2 C. Parmesan Cheese
1/4 C. Fresh Chives, Chopped
3 Tsp. Salt
Place the cubed potatoes in boiling water and cook until soft. Drain water and mash potatoes well.Place on low heat in large stove top pot. Add butter and buttermilk and mix well. Add more of the buttermilk if mixture seems too thick yet. Whip up to get light, fluffy potatoes. Add Parmesan cheese, chives, and salt and continue to mix well. These can be served immediately or placed in the fridge and heated in the oven the next day.
Steak and Chicken Kabobs with Garlic Lime Sauce
Kabobs are so simple and can be done in various ways, depending on taste preference. For the kabobs I made, I cut the wooden kabob sticks in half to make them smaller and to ensure I could fit them in the glasses I had set up for them. I used red peppers, orange peppers, onion, potato, chicken and steak on the ones I made, placing 1-2 of each item on each stick. I normally would prefer to grill them, but all that was available to me was an oven, so I placed them in an oven safe pan, coated them with salt, pepper and a ginger lime marinade and left them in the oven at 350 degrees for a good 45 minutes-1 hour, flipping them occasionally. To make the garlic lime sauce I added,
1 C. Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 C. White Wine (I used Riesling)
1 1/2 Tbsp. Fresh Lime Juice
1 Tbsp Dried (or fresh) Parsley
2 Tsp. Garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp. Shredded Parmesan Cheese
I placed these in a small sauce pan on the stove on high heat and let it boil for about 15 minutes. Then I reduced the heat to low to let thicken. This mixture was then taken off the heat after about 10 minutes and set aside to cool completely. Then I placed the sauce in tiny individual plastic cups and set next to the kabobs when doing table placement.
Hot Cheddar Bites and Stuffed TomatoesThese were very easy to prepare the night before and tasted excellent! For the tomatoes, I took one stick of chorizo and cooked it on medium heat on the stove until it was completely brown. Drain excess fat. combine with 1/2 C crumbled fresh Queso cheese. I cut the tops off small bite size tomatoes and gutted out the insides with a spoon. Then I stuffed the chorizo/queso mixture in each tomato, trying to get as much in each as possible. These were then placed on an oven safe baking pan and put in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
For the cheddar bites I coated ground pork evenly with Italian seasoning. This was then browned completely on medium heat on the stove and then removed off the heat and left to cool. Then I mixed:
2 C. Shredded Cheddar
1 C. Flour
1/2 C. Butter
1 Tbsp Red Pepper Flake
1 Tsp. Salt
2 Tsp. Paprika
This needs to be mixed together well until there are no chunks of butter in the mixture. Then, take a spoonful of the mixture at a time and flatten. Place small amount of meat in each, then wrap excess mixture around meat completely and form into a ball. Place on oven safe baking tray and place in oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
For placement, I used a large rectangular plate and placed 12 small glass spoons on (found at Pier 1). I placed tomatoes and cheese balls (one each) on spoons. I put fresh bacon bits over cheese balls and two halves of chives over the tomatoes.
Whiskey Weenies
2 Packages (about 2lbs) of Little Smokies
1 C. Ketchup
1/2 C. Whiskey
1/4 C. Water
3 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Mix all ingredients very well. Place in slow cooker and put on high heat for an hour or two (or however long is needed before serving)
Set on low heat when serving and make sure to keep a bunch of toothpicks nearby.
1 C. Buttermilk
1/2 C. Sugar
1 Tbsp. Lemon juice (Lime works good as well)
1 Small package of Blueberries
1 Package of Pomegranates
Mix Buttermilk, sugar and lemon juice until sugar is dissolved completely. Place in freezer for about 2 hours, or until fully frozen. Remove from freezer and break ice into small pieces. Place in glasses (I used tall shot glasses) and layer with blueberries and pomegranates. Cover with foil and place back in the freezer if not serving immediately.
For serving, I had to find a way these could be eaten with a spoon. I attempted to find tiny plastic spoons but I had no luck. All of a sudden a great idea came to me...to look in the baby isle for small spoons. Although the spoons I found had rubber caps on, they worked perfectly for what I needed!
There was so much other food we made or bought to serve for this party. Other suggestions include homemade salsa and chips, beer cheese and port wine spread with crackers, small bowls with mixed nuts (we chose pistachios, cashews and peanuts) veggie and dill dip platter, home made chocolate whoopie pies with peppermint filling, and chocolate covered strawberries.
