Thursday, 26 May 2011
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The Simplicities of Cocktail Party Preparation
Last night, I threw my first cocktail party/barbeque for a group of six people. What I thought was a simple plan actually turned out to be more work than I expected. This wasn't for lack of proper planning, however. I guess the truth is: hosting a party isn't simple.
The preparation was simple enough. On the eve of the party, I went food shopping. I wanted to be sure that all of my groceries were as fresh as possible. I bought 3 pounds of the leanest ground beef I could find, baby spinach, a mesclun mix, sweet hot red peppers, tomatoes, olives, carrots, snow peas, tortilla chips, avocados, salsa, cheese, buns, two baby cucumbers, and mixers.
A few hours before the party, I prepared the ground beef. I made burger patties and seasoned them with Florida seasoned pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. Then, I placed them in the fridge. I also made a large salad and put together a crudité platter.
After prepping the food, I took the drinks out of the cabinet and set them up in the corner of my kitchen counter as a sort of "serve yourself" bar area with cups, straws, mixers, ice, and the blender.
My friends brought a pesto pasta salad, guacamole, hummus, and dessert! The preparation honestly couldn't have been much easier.
What do you like to serve when you have company? Do you set up the crudité yourself or do you buy store prepared hors d'oeurves?
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About the Author
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- From: thedailydane
- About Me: I like tea and books. I like talking about tea and books. I like food. I like talking about food. I like to travel. Mostly, I like talking about traveling.
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Comments (4)
ewww just lean beef for hamburgers? that's not the way to go. 70-30 to 80-20 but not 100 lean? that's just not juicy and flavorful.
It depends on the event, but you're right, parties aren't that easy, unless all you need to do is buy beer and order pizza! There is so much involved in having a party: cleaning up your home, obtaining supplies, food and drink and lastly, get everything ready at a reasonable hour. Thankfully my friends are not much of appetizers kind of people except for chips and dip and frozen hot wings lol. I would have to say, if you want to save a couple bucks, you will have to prepare most of the food yourself rather than buying pre-made. Often we have Mexican food: carne asada, rice, beans, homemade salsa, tortillas, etc. Other times we do the hot dog and hamburger kind of thing. I prefer things that simple things you can do most of the prep the day or 2 before instead of things that require constant attention on the day of. I love to cook and chopping vegetables relaxes me so I don't mind. What I do mind is the clean up afterward! At least our friends throw away their trash and help bring all the dishes to the sink, I am grateful for that. As for cocktails, I usually only offer beer and 1 to 2 mixed drinks, that I prepare in plastic pitchers and leave in the fridge. (Usually "tropical punch," "sex on the beach," or "adios MF." As people show up, I just fill the glasses. Everyone gets a drink nearly immediately upon arrival.
Where is your crudité serving tray from? I love it!
that setup looks amazing, even to a finicky person like me.
i just love the minimalism of it all.