eat, drink, and be merry!

Nothing good comes out of drinking on an empty stomach.  Believe me, I know.  Don’t ask.

A bartender pouring a drink into a martini glass at a bar, with colorful mixed drinks in tall glasses on the counter.

ALWAYS serve food when providing alcoholic beverages.  The relationship between alcohol and food is critical.  With out food to slowdown the absorption of alcohol in your body, the alcohol goes straight to the brain. 

Have your choice of food available when your guests arrive so they can start to eat before they start to drink.  It can be elaborate (pork ribs, Swedish meatballs, buffalo wings, cold cuts, cheese platters, sliders, or potstickers) which your guests will surely cherish or simple (pizza, potato chips and/or vegetables with dip, cheese ball and crackers, nachos, mixed nuts, seasoned popcorn, Chex mix, melted cheese over tater tots, pretzels, etc.).  

Food with protein, some carbohydrates and some healthy fats are always good. Use your imagination.  It’s best to offer at least a couple of choices for your guests.  But no matter what you serve, have plenty of it.

Good food and good drink make for an enjoyable social encounter.  We can never have enough of those.  Life is short.

Here a few old-school suggestions on what to serve and basic recipes to help you make them.

A festive table with colorful food and drinks, including a bowl of olives, several small glasses of red drink, a green bowl of salad with cucumbers, a dish of yellow dip, a bowl of soup, and various chips and crackers, with a red tablecloth and decorative background.

Appetizers

    • Canned pineapple chunks

    • Brown-and-serve sausages

    Heat pineapple juiced drained from pineapple chunks in sauce pan.  Cut into 1” pieces.  Spear each pineapple chuck and sausage piece with a toothpick.  Place toothpicks into a container with hot pineapple juice and serve.

    • Thin lean bacon slices

    • Saltine crackers

    Preheat oven to 400⁰.  Cut bacon strips in half and wrap around saltine crackers.  Place bacon-wrapped crackers on a baking sheet and place on oven rack.  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until crisp.  Turn crackers once during baking process.  Serve hot!

    • 1 ½ pounds fresh lump crab meat

    • 2 tablespoons butter

    • Juice of ½ lemon

    • Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper

    • ½ jigger cognac

    • Paprika for garnish

    • Slices of French bread

    In a skillet heat the butter, lemon juice, and seasonings.  Add the crab meat and cook for about 5 minutes, shaking the skillet so that the flavors mingle.  Add the cognac, let heat through, and flame it if you like.  Dust with paprika and serve on buttered toast.

    Serves 6-8

    • 4 pounds spareribs 

    • Salt, pepper

    • 8-ounce can of tomato sauce

    • ½ cup sherry

    • ¼ cup honey

    • 2 tablespoons vinegar

    • ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

    • 2 tablespoons minced onion

    • 1 clove garlic, minced

    Sprinkle the spares with salt and pepper.  Put them in a shallow pan and bake in a 400˚ oven for 60 minutes.  Pour off the fat.  Mix the tomato sauce with the rest of the ingredients and pour over the ribs.  Continue baking at 400˚ for an additional 60 minutes, basting every 15 minutes with the sauce.

    Serves 8-12.

    • 2 ounces blue cheese

    • ½ pound cream cheese

    • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

    • ¼ teaspoon minced garlic

    • ¼ teaspoon minced onion

    • Salt, cayenne pepper

    • 2 tablespoons grated walnuts

    • Sour cream

    • Additional grated walnuts or minced parsley

    Mix all the ingredients together, adding enough sour cream to make a spreading consistency. Wet your hands and form the mixture onto small balls, rolling them in additional grated walnuts or in minced parsley.  Serve on toothpicks and/or crackers or potato chips.

    Serves 6-8

A serving platter with small appetizer bites topped with relish, three bowls of side dishes including pasta salad, cubed melon and pineapple, and sliced celery with shredded cheese, all set against a red background.

spreads and dips

    • 3-ounce package of softened cream cheese

    • ½ cup grated Cheddar cheese

    • 2 tablespoons white wine

    • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

    • ½ teaspoon mustard

    • Dash cayenne pepper

    Blend all the ingredients until fluffy and light.  Thin with a little more wine, if necessary.  Heap in a bowl and serve with potato or corn chips strips of raw carrots, celery, green pepper, and/or other vegetables.

    Serves 2-4

    • 3- ounce package softened cream cheese

    • ½ pint sour cream

    • 1 small clove garlic, minced

    • ½ teaspoon salt

    • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

    • 1 tablespoon vinegar

    Combine all the ingredients and blend thoroughly.  Serve with potato chips, strips of raw carrots, celery, green pepper, and/or other vegetables.

    Serves 2-6

    • ¼ pound Roquefort cheese

    • ½ stick sweet butter

    • ¼ clove garlic, minced

    • White part of 1 green onion, minced

    • 1/3 cup cognac

    • Dash each cayenne pepper, white pepper

    Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly and serve on toasted sourdough bread.

    • 1 cup creamed cottage cheese

    • 1 avocado, peeled and mashed

    • 1 teaspoon minced onion

    • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

    • Dash Worcestershire sauce

    • Salt to taste

    Blend all the ingredients well together.  Serve as a spread for toast fingers or crackers.

    Serves 6-8

    • 3-ounce package softened cream cheese

    • 1 can frozen orange juice

    • ¼ cup chopped toasted almonds or hazelnuts

    Combine the cream cheese with the frozen orange juice to taste.  The mixture should have a smooth, spreading consistency.  Stir in the chopped almonds or hazelnuts and serve with nut or banana bread.

    Serves 2-4