Party Food - How to Look Glamorous While Munching

We've all been there - trying to balance our Old Fashioned and a plate of lasagna while doing our best to look chic and soignée so that cute guy we're talking to won't think we're socially challenged. Cocktail parties have their perils and one of them is unwieldy food. With cocktail party season upon us I thought it would be a good idea to discuss the issue of what to serve from the standpoint of it's convenience to interact with. (Disclaimer: This is in no way because I've just released an e-cookbook of recipes in the convenient ball shape... well, maybe just a little bit.)

Party food should, by its very nature be festive. It should call to you from the buffet table, make you want to reach out and taste it. If that were the only consideration, many dishes would fit that bill. But party food should also be easy to manage. There are a number of ways to achieve this. Here are some of my favorites:

- Keep food bite sized. If you pre-portion the food in this way your guests don't have to carry around an entire meal on a plate. Two or three bite sized pieces will fit nicely on a cocktail napkin. These can include the aforementioned balls, things like pigs in a blanket or the ever popular rumaki.

- Eschew the flatware for toothpicks. Though it may seem obvious, many people don't consider the use of toothpicks for serving party meals. They're the perfect delivery method - easy to come by, can be found festively decorated and are expediently discarded.

- Dry coatings. Food that can be picked up with your fingers without leaving them sticky or greasy will be much more popular (and leave your glassware much cleaner) than more messy finger food. Roll tidbits in nuts or crushed cornflakes, bake them in dough or wrap them in rice paper. If you must make gooey food, try presenting it in cupcake wrappers.

Some recipes that fit the bill from my repertoire follow:

Cucumber Sandwiches

Camembert Cheese Balls, from the Myra Breckenridge Cookbook

Butterfly Shrimp from the ABC of Canapés 

Cheese Straws from Ruth Chier Rosen's The Big Spread

Deviled Eggs

Cocktail Biscuits (for cocktail size, use a shot glass to cut them)

Cheddar Cheese Wafers

Swedish Meatballs

And explore my new book, Have a Ball with Brini for more great conveniently shaped party food recipes!

The Maxwell Moment: Even a Miracle Needs a Hand - Brini Maxwell & Dave Dowing

It's that time of year when Christmas music starts to be the soundtrack of our lives. This little number is from the 1974 Rankin & Bass special, Twas the Night Before Christmas starring Joel Gray & Tammy Grimes. It's fresh and bubbly and has a nice holiday theme to it.

Enjoy!

Puff Pastry and Poetry - The ABC of Canapes

Hi people! I love party food. So when I received a gift from a fan at my weekly film series I was delighted to find that it was a small vintage cookbook devoted to just that! It's the ABC of Canapes.

It's by Edna Beilenson and features the most delightful illustrations by Ruth McCrea. The artwork accompanies some delightfully silly poems:

Inflate it with air,
Or explode like a bomb;
Add a few fish-eggs
And serve with aplomb!

Exactly what she suggests you inflate with air is never specified.

Join us in the parlor,
To talk or sing or dance;
Lucky is the hostess
Who hustles in advance!

It's funny how meanings change over the years, isn't it?

Here's one of the illustrations with a more reasonable sentiment.

The recipes aren't exactly rocket science, but some of them look tasty. This one for Butterfly Shrimp looks simple and delicious:

You'll need:

1lb fresh shrimp
2 eggs
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 tsp salt

Clean shrimp and slice them halfway down the back, so when laid flat they resemble butterflies. Beat the eggs, salt and corn starch into a smooth batter and dip the shrimp into the batter. Deep fry in fat at 370 degrees until golden brown - about two minutes. Served piping hot on gaily colored toothpicks, they make a stunning hors d'oeuvre.

All About Helen - The Single Girl's Cookbook

I'm a big fan of Helen Gurley Brown. Her brand of advice - brash and brassy in its day - is such fun to read and so insightful. That's why years ago, when I found a copy of her Single Girl's Cookbook in a thrift shop, I knew I must have it.

Published in 1969, the book is an off shoot of her wildly successful best seller, Sex and the Single Girl. Instead of advice on how to meet men at the office or how to shed your inhibitions, this little missive has advice on how to throw a New Years Eve party and how to cook for the various stages of an affair. This section is particularly interesting. It takes you from the first blush of love (salami and cream cheese hors d'oeuvres), to the heat of passion (chicken Kiev), right through to the final breakup (refried beans and cheese).

When Helen came on my show on the Style network to talk about meeting men at work, she was kind enough to sign my now dog eared copy.

I'll treasure it always!

The book is overflowing with fun recipes - some easy, some more challenging - and pithy, clever commentary as only Helen can write it. There are even humorous and stylish line drawings that open each chapter.

Here's one of the cuter recipes from the book. It's from the "What a Friend We Have in Cheeses" chapter:

"Phony (But Good!) Cheese Souffle The cheese souffle recipe on page 81 is the classic one, but this one is delicious, too. It was born of desperation on a cold winter's night when a particular girl had little in the house to feed a darling burly guest (laid up with a skiing accident) except a jar of cheese spread and some eggs. He loved the concoction, although of course he was weak. (Alas , he finally got well and went home.)

1 jar (5 ounces) any sharp cheese spread
4 eggs, separated

Melt cheese spread in top part of a double boiler over hot water. Beat the egg yolks until light and lemon-colored. In another bowl beat the egg whites stiff. Add the melted cheese gradually to the egg yolks and blend thoroughly. Carefully fold in the stiffly beaten whites. Pour into an ungreased straight-sided casserole (a heatproof glass bowl is fine) and bake in a 350 degree F. oven until puffed and browned. 30 to 45 minutes."

Clever no? I suggest looking around for a copy. There were a few around on Amazon and eBay when I looked.

Pyrotechnics from the Kitchen - Flaming Kebabs

I don't know why, but I felt like I had to set something on fire today. To that end I thought I'd share a fun little tip with you. We did this on my show for the Style network. Summer entertaining is almost here, and Tiki themed parties are still popular, so why not get into the spirit with flaming fruit? This method will work for flaming fruit (or meat and vegetable, for that matter) kebabs or for flaming garnishes for drinks.

You'll need:

Skewers that have been soaking in water for a while
Fruit of various kinds (I'm using pineapple and strawberries)
Soft bread cubes
Lemon extract

Lemon extract has a very high alcohol content, so it burns beautifully.

Soak your bread cubes in the extract and stack them with the fruit on the water soaked skewers.

Light the cubes and serve right away. The cubes will burn for a little while, but should be extinguished before you try to eat the fruit. The flames will singe the fruit a little, but it's still tasty!

Nosh Pit - All About Matzoh

All of you goyem out there may not know what this is. It's matzoh (or matzah, or matzo) - the traditional unleavened bread used in the Jewish holiday of Passover.

Now you may be asking yourself, "what is Brini, shiksa (glossary of terms at end of post) that she is, doing writing a blog post about matzoh and Pesach? Well, I'll tell you, I have more than a passing acquaintance with all things Jewish. As hard as it may be to believe, this blonde haired, blue eyed girl is part JAP.

Being part Jewish, this season of the year brings me great nachas. It gives me the opportunity to buy the food of my people, most notably, matzoh. Though the basic recipe of flour and water never changes, there are many types of matzoh, so you shouldn't get fachadick, I'll give you a run down.

- Unsalted: This type is the basic matzoh. Labeled as kosher, it can be used in the Passover ceremonies.

-Lightly salted: This is the basic matzoh sprinkled with kosher salt. It's generally not used for the holiday, but is a bit more geschmak than unsalted is.

-Egg: This matzoh adds egg to the recipe. They frequently use fruit juice instead of water.

-Egg and Onion: Egg matzoh with onion flavor added.

-Whole wheat: Made with whole wheat flour.

Matzoh can be made at home and it's simple to do. Combine 3 1/4 cups flour with one cup of water and blend well. separate the dough into small parcels and roll them out flat. Place them on a cookie sheet and prick all over with a fork, then bake at 500 degrees until they brown.

It's a bit ironic that during one of the big holiday seasons, when aside from Hashem, of course, it's all about entertaining with lots of mispachas and mishpocha running around, and as a baleboosteh, you have to serve kosher. It's a shpilkes, it's enough to make you meshugeneh. There are options, however. Lots of things can be done with matzoh and sauces both sweet and savory You can even get chocolate covered matzoh.

So the next time you walk down the ethnic aisle in your supermarket, why not pick up some matzoh? If you're going to fress, you may as well find something geschmak. Just don't eat so much you get chaloshes and plotz!

Glossary for this blog post:

Goyem: Non Jewish person
Shiksa: Non Jewish woman
Pesach: Passover
Nachas: Much joy
Fachadick: Confused
Geschmak: Tasty
Hashem: Literally The Name - G-d
Mispachas: Family
Mishpocha: In-laws
Baleboosteh: Great homemaker
Shpilkes: Trouble
Meshugeneh: Crazy
Fress: Eat
Chaloshes: Nauseous
Plotz: Explode

Thanks to sillymusic.com for the yiddishisms.

02-04 Merry in a Hurry - Last Minute Christmas Ideas

Hello people, and Merry Christmas... It's just around the corner! On the show this week I have a few last minute holiday ideas.

In a quandary about what to give a girlfriend? How about making a pair of matching aprons from an old vintage tablecloth and giving her one? You'll have matching aprons!

 You'll need:

1 vintage tablecloth

Scissors

Thread to match

Sewing machine 

Cut the tablecloth in half across its shortest dimension and from each half cut a strip along the cut edge that is 3" wide. That strip will be your waistband. Cut a notch at the center of the strip and a notch on each side where you want the apron to end. (You can put the waistband around your waist and mark the side seam of your clothing on one side, then fold it in half and notch where you've marked). Also notch the center of the apron body.  Then run a gathering stitch along the cut edge of the body and shirr it up. Match your notches and stitch the waistband to the apron with a half inch seam allowance. Then press the waistband up. Fold the right sides together along the top edge and stitch the waist band ends together, then turn them inside out and press. Fold under the seam allowance on the waistband and top stitch it down and your apron is finished! You can face the waistband with ribbon or trim the apron with braid or rickrack, attach pockets or a bow and it's ready to give.

Another last minute gift idea is a set of tassel ornaments. We made tassels on a previous episode and they make lovely Christmas ornaments. Make a set of 4 or 6 tassels in red yarn with sprigs of artificial holly, jingle bells or metallic yarn accents.

Using your imagination for holiday giving can net you ooohs and aaahs from your recipient.

02-03 Cranberry Bread for a Tart and Tangy Christmas Morning

Hello people, it's time for some more ideas and tips from Brini!

This week I'm making a delicious holiday recipe that's perfect for Christmas breakfast. It's called Mattie Belle's Cranberry Bread and it's very easy to make.

 You'll need:

 2 cups flour

¾ cup sugar

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon soda

¼ cup butter

¾ cup orange juice

1 egg

1 tablespoon grated orange rind

½ cup walnuts

1 cup halved cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350. sift flour, baking powder and soda and set aside. Cream butter and sugar together, add the egg, then add the flour mixture in parts, alternating with the orange juice and blend well. Then mix in the orange rind, walnuts and cranberries. Bake for 1 hour, then turn the oven off and crack the door slightly to let the bread slowly cool down.

02-01 It's Christmas Time & Time for a Cookie!

Hello people, This week on my vidcast I have a delightful guest. Joe Ligamarri came on to show us his recipes for St. Louis Bars and Pizzels. We had a very nice time making these cookies and I'm happy to say that since this episode was taped Joe has started a company dedicated to bringing his confections to the world. It's called Cookie Jough and you can find out all about it here. 

Here are the recipes:

For St. Louis Bars you'll need:

1 yellow cake mix

½ cup (1 stick) melted butter

3 eggs

1 8oz package cream cheese

4 ½ cups confectioner's sugar

Preheat the oven to 350. In a large bowl, lightly beat one egg, then add the cake mix and melted butter and mix until the dough is the consistency of play-dough. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9 X 13" baking pan. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the confectioner's sugar. Combine all the remaining ingredients with a hand mixer until smooth. Pour over the dough and smooth with a spatula. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the filling doesn't move when the pan is shaken. Remove from the oven and dust with the remaining powdered sugar. Let cool completely and cut into bars.

For the pizzelles you'll need:

1 ¾ cup flour

¾ cup sugar

1 Tablespoon anise flavor

3 eggs

1 stick butter

Preheat your pizzelle iron and sift the flour and sugar together. Add the anise flavoring and the eggs and butter. Stir until the batter is the consistency of a thick pancake batter. Drop a large tablespoon full of batter in the center of the pizzelle iron and close the top. The cookie should be done in about 45 seconds. These can be shaped over bowls to create edible vessels for elegant desserts. They can also be broken up into quadrants and dipped in chocolate or tucked into a bowl of ice cream.