Now that you have your drinks covered and you know about the most important food to have at parties, cheese, lets step back for a minute and discuss the rest of the food.
Food at parties is a must have. No, not just because without it everyone gets too wasted, but because food can really make an affair. As we wrote about a few weeks back, we love good eats and when we throw parties the food is always a highlight. For those of you who have come to our parties you know what we mean. Here are our rules: Yes they are boring and slightly scientific, but they all taste great.
- Always have something fatty, like cheese, because fat is filling and slows down alcohol absorption
- Drinking sucks electrolytes out of your system so have something salty, like cashews
- Have a little something sweet, like chocolate, everyone loves it and it is actually really good for you
- Presentation matters… when things look better they taste better… so don’t be the host that serves the hummus in the handy container it comes in
- No forks or spoons for us… it is all about finger food because it is easy to enjoy while carrying a tasty beverage
The Sweet stuff: Follow Rule #3… as we said before we love chocolate, and one of our favorite things to do is to get big bars of dark chocolate, break them up and put a little coarse sea-salt on them. We often do this in combination with fruit. The large bars from Scharffen Berger Chocolate of Berkeley or the Belgian ones from Trader Joes are perfect for this. On a side note, Scharffen Berger is sadly closing their Berkeley factory where they had quite the entertaining chocolate tour.
Fruit: Berries are always good. We love doing balsamic strawberries or fresh raspberries… both go great with chocolate. Sometimes we will cut up a melon or two and wrap pieces in prosciutto… it just really depends on what is in season. If we do apples or pears we’ll often pair them with blue cheese or a soft brie like cheese (there we go with the cheese again, can never get enough).
Chips and salsa: We don’t usually do chips but when we do we like getting fresh salsa (look in the refrigerated section) and good all natural crispy chips like Casa Sanchez. O yes, try not to do the Doritos. They are so unclassy, unhealthy and actually are quite expensive for what they are.
Crackers and bread: Bread is always better than crackers… fills the stomach a bit more and is so much more fun to eat. Here in SF we have some of the best bread in the country, so get a nice loaf of acme or beckmans and enjoy it with your cheese and dips. If you need crackers, get basic water crackers or go for pita chips… both are easy to pair with just about anything.
Meat: Deli meats are made for sandwiches and parties, especially cured and force meats. Some of our favorites are Fra’Mani Salumi and prosciutto di-parma. If you have a Crockpot, homemade meatballs can be a fun addition as well.
Seafood: Usually skip seafood unless you really enjoy cooking like we do. In that case try your hand at a scallop, salmon or tuna ceviche. Here is an easy scallop ceviche recipe… we made something similar at our last dinner party. There is also the standard shrimp cocktail… everyone loves it and it is really easy. Lox is another thing people love, but it always goes too fast and there is never enough. We served it at our New Year’s Party and it felt like it was gone before the party started.
Veggies: Eat your greens, they can be fun too. When we say greens, we really mean cucumbers; we love serving them with dips. And who can do without baby carrots? Seems like they have to be at every party these days… if you have the time, carrot sticks are a nicer way to go. But if you don’t have the time (and who does?) just serve the baby carrots… they are good for your guests.
Nuts: We prefer cashews because they are something most people really enjoy and they are classy and quite filling, unlike peanuts. Plus, salted ones are a great way to fulfill Rule #1 and #2. They go fast, mostly because people just eat them without noticing. Often times it is good to mix things up with some fancy mixed nuts or rice crackers. If you want to get really adventurous you can roast your own, but that is another post.
Dips: Hummus is always a good one to do with veggies, bread, chips and/or crackers. Often times we will get or make fresh pesto… it goes great with fresh bread. We will also usually do a dipping oil of (olive oil, salt, pepper, crushed garlic, parmesan, and balsamic vinegar).
Cooked dishes: If you want to do any cooked appetizers you will want to prepare them before the party so you can enjoy the company of your guests. Trust me, I know how this feels… I am usually in the kitchen… lucky for me people always love hanging out in the kitchen 
So now you know your drinks and your food, what could be next?
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