I have been talking about holiday appetizers. I received my Costco Connection magazine and it has a couple interesting articles in it about food and wine pairings and appetizers. There is a paragraph here that I want to go over before I give you my recipe on Spiced Nuts.

Nuts As Health Food

“Many nuts are an excellent source for anti-oxidants, tummy filling fiber, vegetarian protein, healthy non-unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats” and those are the fats that are in olive oil that are healthy for you. “Vitamins and minerals, including calcium and magnesium for strong bones, prosperous, iron, potassium and vitamins E and B.” So nuts are very good for you. Okay, not convinced?

Simple Appetizer

I suggest that you keep your appetizers simple for your holiday party. I assure you that if you put out these spiced nuts, especially “home made”, that people are going to eat them up. They always do. This recipe will also help you because the nuts need to be done a couple days ahead. You can customize your “Chex Party Mix” by using your own spiced nut mix. We still serve Chex Party Mix at the holidays.

Spiced Nuts Recipe

The method of preparation I use, is adapted from a recipe from Cooks Illustrated. It is a great magazine if you are learning how to cook. Even if you know how to cook it is a great resource. They are known as “Americas Test Kitchen”. They test a whole bunch of recipes and only print the best ones. And there is very little advertising in it. Enough promotion.

Spiced Nuts

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Take a cookie sheet and line it with parchment paper. Then spread out the nuts in a single layer. Toast them for about 4 minutes. Rotate the pan; stir the nuts around a little bit, and brown for another 4 minutes. For the second browning let your nose alert you if the nuts are toasting too quickly. Or check them frequently, as they can start over cooking or get too browned.

While you are toasting the nuts you want to put your spice mix together. This spice mixture can be flavored in any number of ways. Asian, Mexican, Cajun, Italian, it really doesn’t matter; it is a matter of the spices that you use. Here is the combination; it is generally 2 parts sugar to 1 part salt (use kosher salt) and 1 part of your spice mixture. By that I mean, if you have 3 or 4 different spices in your mixture, like cumin, coriander and cayanne pepper, then all those spices together equal 1 portion. 2 portions sugar, 1 portion salt, 1 portion spice mixture.

Then prepare your glaze. This is for a small batch. This is for about 2 cups of nuts.

2 T. water

1 tsp. brown sugar

1 T. butter

You melt all the ingredients in a pan while you stir. Then you add in your nuts. Stir the nuts until they get coated and absorb the glaze. Pour the glazed nuts into a bowl with your spice mixture and combine. Then spread them back out on the parchment lined cookie sheet until they cool. Then store them in an airtight container for 2 or 3 days ahead of your party. You can just open the container and serve.

Experiment with your spices. Practice ahead of time. Treat yourself this weekend (or a weeknight) and make up a batch of spiced nuts, but practice, practice, practice. Don’t wait to do a new recipe until you are on stage!

Start With The Bottom Line

Now don’t panic. I am not a wine connoisseur, so this shouldn’t be terribly complicated, but maybe for some people it will be. Entire books are written on food and wine combinations so, there are a lot of customs, a lot of “laws”, and a lot of rules. But after looking at as much information as I could stand, it all comes down to your personal taste. Look, buy some wine that you like. If you have had it before and you think it is good, buy it. Cook a great meal, invite some interesting people to dinner and have a good time. Ok, that is it, thanks!

The Most Basic Rules

OK, you knew I had more to say than that. And I do. So here goes. Everybody knows the basic rule that red wine goes with red meat.

Fish, poultry and white meat goes with white wine. Everybody has heard that rule, I am sure. But while that may be true, it is not always true. There are all different types of wines now and there are some extremely assertive white wines that could overpower a fish or a pork dish like roast pork loin. You have to let your own taste buds be your guide.

Ask For Help

Now, the next thing that you could do is create your menu based on all the tips that I have given you so far, and then consult with someone who knows better. Probably better than me. There’s a very good chance you will find somebody who knows more about it than me. Whether it is a friend of yours or whether it is the wine merchant or whether it is your liquor store owner (beware of the liquor store that only has boxes of wine or screw off caps), but even then, they might know more than me.

Proper Pairing

The second suggestion that I have for you is what you are trying to do it pair the two. You don’t want your food to overpower your wine and you don’t want your wine to overpower your food. That is the reason why you’ve got the white wine, white meat – red wine, red meat rule. Generally, fish and poultry recipes are more on the light side. Your red meat and beef combinations are generally more hearty, so that is where this basic rule comes from. But for every rule, you get exceptions. What about Chicken Cacciatore? Let’s say you made the dish with a chicken breast. You have a nice mild, white meat and a very assertive, acidic sauce. You would probably serve a red wine in that instance.

Three Basic Characteristics

There are three basic qualities that you are looking for. The first quality is “body”, whether the wine is light or heavy (that is basically how it tastes in your mouth). The second quality is the “intensity” of the wine (whether it is bold and assertive or it is delicate and mild) and the third quality is the flavor characteristics. Is the wine dry or is it fruity? Now, with a lot of American wines, all you have to do is read the label and the vineyard will probably describe these characteristics on the back of the bottle. Foreign wines are not as likely to advertise in this manner.

Is Wine A Condiment?

Look, bottom line here, is your wine should compliment your food like a condiment. Is that confusing? Well, it may be, but I hope not.

Cocktail Recipes

Mixing a great drink is like creating a great meal. It starts with the highest quality of ingredients that you can afford, then add a time tested recipe. You put the two together and you get consistently great results. So make sure on your self-service bar you include shot glasses or some kind of measuring device and a mixing guide or a mixology book. I find that most people actually do use them and are fascinated by all the different drink recipes that are listed.

Mixology

When I went to culinary school at Johnson and Wales University, we were required to take a mixology class and had to memorize 50 different drink recipes with the proper glass and garnish. Each drink does have a recipe. Over pouring does no one any favors. It causes you to go through your liquor very fast and professional bartenders will tell you that measuring is the only way to get a consistently good drink.

Stocking The Bar

Now, let’s talk about the liquor. You have six, or seven, maybe eight different liquors for a standard bar set up. You’ve got vodka, gin and rum, usually white rum. You might choose an amber or a darker rum depending upon your preferences. Then, you should have some kind of whiskey, tequila and then scotch or bourbon. During the holidays you might want to add a few liqueurs to that list. Try something that mixes well with coffee maybe, Tia Maria, Bailey’s Irish Cream, Grand Marnier, or something like that. During Christmas time, of course you have eggnog and you may be serving champagne.

Let’s Mix It Up

Your standard mixers are club soda, tonic water, Coke or Pepsi, and diet sodas, ginger ale, lemon-lime soda and water. The common juices are orange, cranberry, tomato and then if they are available, get a few small cans of grapefruit and pineapple juice. These are less popular juice mixers, but at the same time, there are a lot of drinks that you can’t do without them. Slice lemons and limes into half moon shapes or wedges and buy a bottle of marischino cherries and cocktail olives for garnishes.

Wine And Beer

You will want to offer wine. You basically have red and white wines and potentially a desert wine if you are so inclined or if you have guests that enjoy those. I’m going to talk about those a little bit when I talk about food and wine pairings. In addition t o wine, you want to have a selection of beer. You can choose domestic and/or imported, light beers and some people prefer non-alcoholic beer as well. This adds up to a lot of liquor. If you are stocking your bar from scratch, be careful, because if you are buying high quality brand name alcohol, your bar tab may be a little large. You could spend as much on liquor as you do on the food…maybe more! I just want you to be aware of that.

How Much?

As far as quantities are concerned, they are going to vary with your guests. This is why I am always saying how important it is to know your guests. But here is a general guideline for you. One quart or liter bottle of liquor should be enough for up to 10 cocktail drinkers. Then, one bottle of wine should serve two to three wine drinkers. Two or three, sometimes four beers, for each beer drinker. And then a quart or a liter of water for every two guests. I found out something interesting about bottled water the other day. It takes about three times as much water to make the plastic for the water bottle as the water that actually goes into the bottle. I thought was kind of fascinating. I never knew that.

This is the basic guideline to stocking your own self-serve bar.

Hi I’m Marty Richardson from chefmartyrich.com. Welcome back to our daily tip series.

Why Seafood?

I am finishing up my discussion of holiday appetizers today with seafood. You might want to ask, “Why seafood?” Well, it is because I think seafood is the most decadent appetizer of them all. Think about Shrimp Cocktail, Oysters Rockefeller, Clams Casino, and Caviar. It doesn’t get much more decadent than that. Even the names sound expensive! So, if you’ve got the budget, I’d say go for it.

Shrimp Cocktail

When someone comes to your party, and you are serving shrimp cocktail, they know right away that this is an event. It is not everyday food, although you can get cocktail shrimp at most supermarkets pretty easily. Some supermarkets have it already prepared in the frozen food section, or you may find it in the seafood section. They may have it cooked in the store, or already thawed for you. Now if you are going to go this route, make sure you order ahead. You can also get shrimp already peeled and deveined and then you can steam it yourself. So if it works within your budget, shrimp is pretty simple, straight forward and done ahead.

Smoked Salmon

The next seafood appetizer I want to speak about is smoked salmon. This is another ingredient that is easily found in most supermarkets. This is another use for your dips and spreads that I spoke about yesterday. You can make a canapé out of the smoked salmon. Just spread some of your dip on a toasted piece of bread or a cracker and put a little piece of smoked salmon on top, then garnish with a sprig of dill and maybe a little dollop of sour cream, and you are finished. Or take a slice of smoked salmon, spread a thin layer of your dip or spread on it, then roll up the smoked salmon and then slice it into bite-sized pinwheels. This is another very easy appetizer, best done ahead.

Caviar

The third appetizer I want to talk about is caviar. Ok, I know! First of all, it is an acquired taste. I happen to love it, but I happen to love really good caviar. And that is not cheap. A little 1 ounce container can cost you over $100.00 if it is really good. I have a few tips regarding caviar just in case this is something for you. Serve it iced cold. It needs to be served on crushed ice if possible. Second, use it very sparingly. You can use it for a garnish for your canapés. Third, you need to serve it with a special caviar spoon. Caviar spoons are made out of bone or shell. Metal reacts very badly to caviar. It is going to give the caviar an off-taste and it may also discolor your silverware.

Ceviche

A fourth appetizer I want to discuss is ceviche. This is a Latin American or South American appetizer. It is fish or shellfish marinated in lime juice. It takes about four hours for the acids in the lime to actually “cook” the seafood. Then, you mix in your tomatoes, scallions or red onion, celery, peppers or chilies and season it up with some cilantro or parsley (if you are not a cilantro fan). It makes for a great dip. Obviously, it’s extremely flavorful with the bite of the chilies and that acidic lime juice cooked seafood. If your guests haven’t tried ceviche, maybe you want to make a small batch.

Sushi

I am not going to go into sushi today, because I don’t think it is really appropriate for Thanksgiving. But if you are serving it at your Thanksgiving dinner, then you are having an eclectic meal. So right on! I am going to do a few videos on sushi because I’ve been asked some questions on the website about nori paper and rolling sushi. A tip I can give you is use a rice cooker. Once you get the rice down, sushi is easy.

Finally, The Main Event

And now for the main event! In just two weeks time we will have, in this corner, The Champ! Undefeated for three hundred and eighty eight consecutive fall classics, weighing in at 21 pounds, 5 ounces… The frozen – The feathered – The fowl of fall! The tender, the tantalizing, the terrific, “Tasty Tommy Turkey”! Don’t worry. I’m in your corner. See you tomorrow.

It’s Party Time!

One of your biggest “time vampires” at your party is going to be playing the bartender. I say this all the time, but “Pre-party Planning Prevents Panic”. So do yourself a favor, enjoy your own party and set up a self-service bar. It is customary for the host to serve the first round of drinks, but pretty soon, between answering the door, checking on the food, showing people where the bathroom is, etc., etc., etc., you are too busy to stand behind the bar to serve drinks.

Set the Bar

If you stock up a self-service bar, then you can leave the bar area and do all the other little tasks to make sure your party is going smoothly. What this entails is getting a five to six foot long table. You want this table to be up against the wall. You still have access to the table from three sides, but you also have the support of the wall to keep the table steady. You are going to be putting a whole lot of liquid and glass on top of the table. It is going to be very heavy.

Create Service Areas

So you want to organize your self-serve bar like I spoke about with regards to the food buffet line. You need to establish the flow. At one end, you want to reserve for mixed drinks. Start with napkins, ice and glasses. Now, right off the bat, I am going to tell you that you will probably not have enough napkins and you will probably not have enough ice. Get twice as much as you think you are going to need, so that you don’t run out. Then, the next area that is set up is your assortment of liquors, then your mixers, followed by whatever bar tools that you are going to need (maybe corkscrews, shot glasses, stirrers, your garnishes and things of that nature). That should take care of your mixed drink crowd.

Maximize Access

At the other end of the table, direct the guests to flow in the opposite direction by placing your napkins and wine glasses first, followed by your red and white wine bottles and champagne if you are going to serve it at this event. In a tub of ice, or maybe a cooler, positioned underneath the bar or at either of the far ends, put your bottle water, beer, sodas, and other single serving beverages as well. That way, you can have people access all these different types of drinks simultaneously. They can self-serve from the three sides of the table without having to get into one long line.

Re-Stocking

You need a garbage can handy but not in the way, obviously. There is going to be traffic in front of the bar, so you want to tuck it underneath the table. You should also put your supplies underneath the table as well, so that if you have to re-stock the bar (or someone else could help you restock the bar), all the backup items are right there handy. You don’t want to have to go into the kitchen, pantry, garage or storage area to find more beverages.

Hey Bartender!

This operation should service up to 15 or 20 guests. When you get over 20 guests, I suggest you either hire a bartender or designate one. Now what often happens with a designated bartender is that after a couple of rounds of drinks they get tired, they get chatty and they wander off. But that should be just fine, because you really only want to stem the initial rush of mixing drinks and serving people. After a couple of rounds of drinks, you start getting into the dinner hour and a reduced demand for more drinks at that point.

Prepare For Accidents

One other thing I want to caution you about, is have a towel or two handy for the inevitable spills. You also want to have a plastic sheet underneath your tablecloth in order to protect the surface of your table or your sidebar, or whatever you are placing your drink service on.

Ok, those are basic tips for setting up your self-serve bar.