parties

Tales of a Party: Fairy Fest 2011

Nibbles

Have you ever had a party with low attendance because everyone else had the same party date? Happens all the time with all the big holidays and some of the smaller ones, too.

Next time, be the happy guest at your friend’s party and let open your own home for a lesser-known holiday on another weekend.

One suggestion? Late June gives us the longest day of the year (well, at least the one with the longest amount of daylight) on the Summer Solstice, a holiday also known as Midsummer (or Letha) in some circles.

This year was our 2nd Midsummer Fairy Fest and Frolic, with an evening start time (to take advantage of the late-day sun while escaping some of the late-June heat), plenty of lighting for when the sun did go down and a small bonfire (we’re under a burn ban due to drought, so the fire pit had to do instead of the larger one we’d hoped to have). Music played from a well-concealed iPod and fairies frolicked around the yard. (Why fairy fest? Lore has it that fairies are more easily seen at the Solstice, if you know where to look!)

Photo collage of Fairy Fest decorations

Guests were encouraged to come in costume if they felt so inclined, and there was plenty of sun and fairy-focused foods to nosh on while enjoying each other’s company.

Photo collage of food pictures from Fairy Fest 2011

(click for a better--larger--view)

Since it does tend to be infernally hot, even in June these days, I wanted to keep the menu light but tasty. Some guests were a bit put out that my usual bacon and potato-laden goodies didn’t make it onto this party menu, but that was before they tasted what new dishes we served up!

The Menu

  • Sliced ham, sliced roast beef and Fruited Chicken Salad served with a variety of breads (Parker House Rolls, Potato Rolls, Mini Corn Muffins and Marigold Buns*) as well as mayonnaise, whole-grain mustard and creamy horseradish as a make-your-own sandwich bar.
  • Vegetables were represented by Carrot Fritters*, Mushroom & Minted-Pea Beggars Purses*, Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Hummus with Pita Crisps, Floral Cheese Tartlets* and Spinach Puffs.
  • Desserts were kept light and simple with a variety of melons, Fairy Cakes*, Cornish Saffron Cakes* and S’mores fixings.
  • In addition to several beers and lambics, we also had homemade Limoncello, Lemonade and Sun-Worshipper Punch to keep everyone nice and hydrated.

A lot of the menu items (everything marked with an asterisk–though the beggars purses were a blend of 2 recipes) came from a book I picked up some time ago: Celtic Folklore Cooking by Joanne Asala. What’s fun about this book is that in addition to some out-of-the-ordinary recipes, stories and lore, each recipe notes which holiday (of those in the Celtic wheel of the year) it is appropriate for–making planning a party like this much easier!

The surprise favorites were the Carrot Fritter and the Floral Cheese Tartlets–my baby brother happily ate flowers!  Of course, not everything was a hit. The Cornish Saffron Cakes were more like dense biscuits and were less than favored. Oh, well, for trying so many new recipes for the party, having only one dud is still pretty good odds.

What out of the ordinary holidays do you like to celebrate?

This coverage of Fairy Fest 2011 is being linked up with the CSI Project: Parties and Picnics Challenge!

Visit thecsiproject.com

The One-Two Punch

Sips

So, here it is, the Friday before Halloween, guests are due at some point over the course of the weekend and you’re still not exactly sure what beverage to serve them.

Oh, sure, there’s the usual soda and stuff, but maybe you want something a little more festive. Still, there will be kids or others who don’t drink alcohol, and you don’t want to leave them out. But you also don’t want to have to monitor two beverage stations over the course of a night, either!

Is there an easy solution to this dilemma? Absolutely.

Punch to the Rescue!

Vampire Punch with Clots

Vampire Punch, with Clots!

Early punches contained 5 ingredients–some sort of alcohol, sugar, juiced lemons, water and tea or spices–and gets it’s name from the Hindi word pañc, which means five. Has nothing to do with boxing or being so strong it knocks you on your ass. A little bit of trivia for you, there.

These days, punch can be as simple as a couple of fruit juices and a 2-liter of clear(ish) soda. Add some sherbet in a complementary color of flavor and you’ve got plenty of festive going on.

For example, for 2007’s BYOP I served the delightfully-named Vampire Punch (with Clots!). Yes, there is a raspberry sherbet “brain” bobbing around in there and the clots? They’re a package of frozen strawberries, partially thawed and stirred into the punch. Effectively gross and very tasty.

And the punch bowl? It’s a cake dome and stand! You flip the platter over and the dome settles into the stand, making a  serving bowl. It’s perfect for a medium-sized punch bowl (just add a ladle). I love items that can pull double duty without taking up more space than necessary in my kitchen!

But What About the Adults?

Not that all adults drink alcohol, but for those who do, here’s that simple solution I promised you.

Start with a basic punch base that can then be combined on a per-drink basis with the alcohol of your choice.

See, I told you it was simple.

The only sticky part is which liquor to use with the punch? But I’ve got you covered, there, too!

If Your Punch Flavor is Mostly… Think This… …and Use That!
Berry Juices
(Cranberry, Blueberry, etc.)		 Gin & Cranberry
or a Fruity Martini		 Gin or Vodka
Tree Fruits
(Apple, Pear,  etc.)		 Mulled Cider Spiced Rum
or Brandy
Citrus Juice
(orange, lemon, lime, etc.)		 Mimosas or
Margaritas		 Sparkling Wine
or Tequila

Pineapple juice is the wild-card, of course. A pineapple-based punch could go the tropical route withe Spiced Rum but it so often hangs out with the Citrus family that Tequila wouldn’t go amiss, there, either. Use your best judgment on that one.

This Year’s Punch

For tomorrow’s party, my inspiration comes in part from the aforementioned Vampire Punch as well as the amazing Blueberry-Pomegranate Martinis we had at the Chef’s Sampler last year. Though the latter, we figured later, was probably made from a mix, we were able to recreate it after several trials (more about that in the next series, by the way).

So, tomorrow I’ll be mixing up a dispenser full of cran-pomegranate juice (much cheaper than straight pom, and when you’re serving a crown that’s important!) and blueberry juices and topping it off with ginger ale (club soda or your preferred clear soda would also do just fine, I just like the zing of ginger in there). We’re calling it Blue Blood Punch.

For those that want, I’ll be happy to put some in a shaker with ice and a shot of vanilla vodka and serve them a Blue Blood Martini for their troubles.

~~~oOo~~~

Have a Happy–and SAFE!–Halloween, folks! As always, drink responsibly and use a designated driver: we want you around for next year!

Lessons From a Party

Nibbles

Learning never stops–it’s one of the few constants in life. I find that whether it’s something as simple as a new flavor combination or a more efficient way to complete a task, the kitchen offers plenty of opportunities the learn something new. Even if it’s what NOT to do!

Last weekend I hosted a small Wedding Shower. Here’s what I learned:

“Just Enough” Can Still Look Abundant

How sad is it to walk into a party and see a few small amounts of snacks laid out on large plates on a large table? That sort of thing makes me hesitant to take anything, not wanting to make the spread even more meagre for folks coming behind me. Guests who see an abundance of food and drink, though, will freely help themselves.

Of course, we’ve talked about figuring out how much food to prepare and, in the case of small parties, the choice seems to be between making just enough and making enough to fill out your serving pieces. I was facing this particular dilemma since the Shower had a limited guest list (and an even more limited response!).

  1. Instead of bringing out the larger folding table I usually use for parties, the small kitchen table was just large enough to hold the various serving dishes I’d purchased to go with the theme. If the gathering is very small, tray tables arranged around the party room, the tops of low bookcases (or even cleared shelves of tall ones) or a card table may make the most of a smaller spread.
  2. Keep the serving pieces smaller and pile the food upon them. Rather than spreading out the food, pile it up and on! The smaller the item, the smaller the plate. There’s a fine line between abundance and overwhelming, so just make sure guests can easily serve themselves from the bowl or plate without knocking anything off or spilling.
  3. Create varying heights on your table. Whether you have multi-level stands available (stacked cake pedestals make a nice display) or place boxes or crates under the plates and bowls, adding height takes up some of the extra space on a table. If your risers are pretty (glass blocks from the hardware store, for example) leave them in plain sight but it’s easy enough to camouflage cardboard boxes or other items by adding an extra tablecloth or tea towel to the arrangement.

I was able to make only what was needed for the party without letting the table seem bare at all! It’s the first time, ever, that I’ve not over-prepared by fridge-filling proportions!

The Cupcake Conundrum

Who doesn’t love cupcakes? They make great buffet items: self contained, easy to serve and just enough for a bite in miniature. The only problem is that iced cupcakes cannot be stacked and therefore can take up ridiculous acreage on the party table or require frequent replenishing, taking up the hostesses time.

My solution? Take out the icing issue! Instead of icing several dozen Red Velvet mini-cupcakes, I left them plain, piled them in the two lower bowls of a 3-bowl stand (height!) and filled the top bowl with the cream cheese icing and a decorative spreader. Guests loved adding as much icing as they wanted and I was free to enjoy the party without having to constantly police the refreshment table.

I may serve all my cupcakes with do-it-yourself icing from here on out, it worked so well. If the spreader idea doesn’t sound like enough fun, what about filling several disposable piping bags with various flavors of icing and setting out an array of toppings (sprinkles, candies, and berries)? I bet most guests would love the opportunity to play decorator!

All in all the party was a wonderful success: the two sides of the family got to mingle a bit before the wedding (it was a couple’s shower), everyone enjoyed the games and I was left with a happy heart and tired feet–the mark a truly good party in my opinion!

The Naughty & Nice Party

Nibbles

Also known as a Heaven & Hell or Angel & Devil Party, this style of Valentine’s Party is a good way to bring both couples and singles together in a fun, low-pressure environment and have a little fun.

Invitations will ask the guests to come as either angels or devils. Now, depending on your friends this could mean anything from a halo or a pair of horns to fabulous costumes or even just wearing white and pink versus black and red. As long as they get into the spirit, it can be fun. Having some spare halos and horns (both very easy to construct if the party store isn’t helpful) is a good idea, though, for those who “forget” to embrace the theme.

Party rooms are to be divided in half–one side for Heaven, one side Hell, the former decorated in pastels and white and the latter decorated in bold shades of red and black. Colorful masking or painters tape is good for creating the dividing lines to keep it simple or you can go all out with spliced tablecloths , rug covers and sofa throws. Don’t restrict the decorations to the living room, either, feel free to divide any room your guests might wander into.

Potential foods for the angelic side of the table would be anything white, fluffy or sweet. Angel food cake, marshmallows, finger sandwiches , hummus & pita chips would all work well along with steamed dumplings, beggar’s purses and chicken salad puffs; all served on doilies or course. For the other side of the table, everything dark and spicy and decadent should be piled high on industrial looking serving-ware. Dark chocolates, devil’s food and red velvet cupcakes, deviled eggs (consider adding some onion skins to the boiling water and cracking the shells around before draining them to get a wicked-looking marbled effect), spicy shrimp on sugar cane skewers, meatballs in chili sauce… you get the picture.

One other idea, and I’ll leave the rest to your imagination: the party I attended of this sort had 2 colors of plastic cups and the instructions were given that single folks were to use the blue cups and those in a relationship or otherwise unavailable to use the red ones. What a great idea for eliminating the guessing in such a charged situation! Granted, if you didn’t want to use plastic cups at your party, wine glass charms in 2 distinct designs would work just as well.

This sort of shindig doesn’t have to be limited to Valentine’s Day, but it is as good an excuse as any!

A Superbowl Party for the Non-Fans

Nibbles

It’s no secret that I like to plan parties. (Sometimes the planning is even more fun than the execution, but only rarely.) Unfortunately, my imagination and notebooks sometimes contain more ideas than I can always accommodate on the calendar. Such is the case with this most recent party idea. Rather than hoard the idea for a year, I’ve decided to share it and hope that if someone uses this idea, they let me know how it goes!

The Commercial Bowl

Not everyone is a football fan but it seems a shame to waste a perfectly good opportunity to party. In order to make the most of the day, why not concentrate on the other fun to be had: the incredible (and sometimes deplorable) commercials that run in multi-million dollar spots throughout the show.

For this to work best, you obviously need a way to view the broadcast plus a DVR to watch and record live television simultaneously. Start the party an hour or so into the game, giving ample time for commercials to accumulate before you begin viewing them. It’s also not a bad idea to track down previous year’s commercials (some commercial collections are available on DVD or you can watch the cable networks for the best- and worst-of shows that air leading up to the big day) for some additional viewing.

Decorate the party room(s) with all sorts of branded items. Raid the party store for party supplies with major labels on them. This is also an excellent opportunity to put those empty boxes leftover from Christmas to work, with their logos readily apparent. Or you could take a page from an old Sabrina, The Teenage Witch episode and make up your own parodies of brand named items to emblazon the walls (I recall Popsi and Butterthumb with particular amusement). Think maximum product placement and then ratchet it up another notch or two.

Serve a variety of finger foods, just like any other Superbowl gathering. Chicken wings, sub sandwiches, chips and dip, etc. Feel free to spruce up each item, depending on your guest list, with your own twists on old favorites or make it easy on yourself and pick up deli platters with absolutely zero guilt.

Because watching commercials isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, make a game out of it by having guests vote on who they think will have the most ostentatious offering before-hand and then take votes on the winner after. Give guests personal whiteboards (purchased or easily created with special paint) and dry-erase markers to be the judges of each commercial. Add in some other games, like the Adverteasing Board Game to round out the fun. With the right group of people this party will be a lot of fun!