Cocktail Hacker

Not surprisingly most of my work for the Super Bowl has been alcoholic. When hosting a large party though you always need to consider the needs of those who don’t drink. There are quite a few options. I’ve offed a few here for your perusal.

The Classics: There are a ton of classics that fill this role. Most usually soda of some kind. I offer this as an alternative. Either buy some specialty sodas (eg Jones, Izze, etc) to offer a bit of spice. Or, even more creative. Get some flavored syrups, you can usually get these from a local coffee shop, and create a make your own Italian soda bar. Flavored syrup, soda water and optionally half and half. I assure you party goers won’t be expecting that.

Sparkling Cider: Although this is kind of a classic I think it deserves a category of its own. There are quite a lot of things you can do with sparkling cider. For example try adding a touch more flavor with a couple dashes of bitters. This is obviously not suggested for those who drink *no* alcohol as bitters contain some.

Mocktails: There is an entire class of cocktails that have no alcohol at all. I think the reigning queen of these is definitely Natalie Bovis-Nelsen AKA “The Liquie Muse” who has recently released a book of mocktails called Preggatinis. If you’d like to sample a couple of the recipes Natalie has a blog for the book. I think these are a great option for kids especially as it lets them have an adult drink in a cocktail glass, if you dare.

So there you go. You should be all set for your up-coming Super Bowl party.

If you’ve read the week’s previous posts and found nothing that sounds delicious I offer one final alcoholic option. Some cocktails can be pre-mixed and chilled for later service. Gary Regan makes pre-mixed drinks an entire category in The Joy of Mixology and I’ll be taking my recipes from there as I don’t have much experience with cocktails of the pre-mixed variety. I will present one warning about full strength cocktails for a long duration party. They’re powerful mojo and some of them are very easy to drink. There is a distinct possibility of over-imbibing which can lead to badness, so be careful with these.

There are any number of cocktails that could be pre-mixed but there are some things to consider when doing so. If your drink requires anything bubbly (soda, tonic, champagne, etc) it probably isn’t a good choice for a pre-mix. Fresh fruit juices change flavor in a short amount of time so pre-mix drinks made with them often taste different than you’d expect. Finally you’ll want to add some water to a normal drink recipe to make it a pre-mix recipe. This addition is to account for the shaking or stirring which melts ice in to the drink. Since your pre-mix drink will be chilled before serving the shaking/stirring step is not necessary.

Now for some recipes:

Cosmopolitan (Bottled) - Joy of Mixology

10 oz Citrus Vodka

4 oz Triple Sec

2 oz Fresh Lime Juice

1 oz Cranberry Juice

5 oz Bottled Water

Manhattan (Bottled) - Joy of Mixology

12 oz Bourbon

4 oz Sweet Vermouth

5 oz Bottled Water

1 tsp Angostura Bitters

Maraschino Cherries for Garnish

Margarita (Bottled) - Joy of Mixology

8 oz White Tequila

6 oz Triple Sec

3 oz Fresh Lime Juice

5 oz Bottled Water

Lime Wedges for Garnish

Sidecar Deluxe (Bottled) - Joy of Mixology

12 oz Cognac

3 oz Grand Marnier

3 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

6 oz Bottled Water

Lemon Twists for Garnish

For all of the above cocktails all you need do is mix them up and let them chill for a while. For the ones with fresh juice I’d suggest making them in the morning of the game. That way the juice doesnt’ change flavor too much before service. For each person I’d recommend a 4-5 oz cocktail poured from the above. That will make them about even with a standard cocktail for those keeping track.

Take a moment to look at the picture below, what do you see? A white castle? Good. Now let’s do some word association. What’s the first thing that pops in to your head when you hear the words “White Castle”? If you immediately said sliders then allow us to continue on. If not, please take a moment to bring yourself up to speed. White Castle’s signature food is the slyder, a diminutive hamburger meant to be consumed in multiples (like 6 or 47, if you’re bold). I claim sliders (the other spelling being trademarked) are a perfect Super Bowl party food and can easily be made at home.

Sliders are great for a party. The ingredients are pretty cheap, they’re quick to make, go down easy and you can spice them up in a zillion different ways. Viola! Great party food. The first thing you’re going to want to consider when making your slider shopping list is the buns. Keeping in mind that a standard slider is much smaller than your typical hamburger, standard hamburger buns are going to be much too large. A couple ready options do exist. You could go with premade (or bake yourself) dinner rolls which are tasty, but I think there is a better solution, Hawaiian rolls. King’s Hawaiian makes rolls that are light, fluffy and lightly sweet. A perfect pairing for the beefiness to come.

Next on the shopping list is meat. The default is beef, but you could easily use pork, lamb, turkey, chicken or some combination of your own design. My preference is beef though. I’d recommend going with something on the fattier side as it will make your final burgers juicier and more flavorful. My choice would be something like 80/20 or 85/15. If you wanted to get really in to the meat you could even ask your butcher to grind a special cut for you.

Like other foods we’ve talked about this week there are numerous recipes for how to flavor and form the patties. Being a huge Good Eats fan my recomendation would be Alton’s recipe. If you’d like more info on exactly how he makes and cooks his sliders check out the Man Food Episode here and here. Alton cooks his on a griddle, but you could just as well use a frying pan or even broil them. I wouldn’t suggest grilling them since they’re so thin, probably have too much break up.

Finally you have to think about toppings. As you well know there are nearly unlimited options on how to top a burger. Some suggestions and links to recipes are below.

• Pepper Jack Cheese – Chipotle Mayonnaise – Carmelized Onions
• Pepper Jack Cheese – Swiss Cheese – Cheddar Cheese
• Teriyaki Sauce – Grilled Pineapple – Wasabi Mayonnaise
• Wing Sauce – Blue Cheese – Pickled Jalapenos
• Pepper Jack Cheese – Guacamole – Roasted Green Chiles
• Cheddar Cheese – Bacon – Carmelized Onions
• Goat Cheese – Sun Dried Tomato Pesto – Roasted Red Peppers
• American Cheese – Dill Pickles – Ketchup + Mustard [The Classic]

I could probably go on for another 5 pages, but I think you get the picture.

Finally, you’re going to want some sides. There are of course the classics: potato salad, baked beans, pasta salad, potato salad, etc. But, I’d say if you’re going to the effort to make sliders and have some cool toppings then change up the sides as well. If you like chips try a chip you’ve not had like taro, plantain, lotus root or sweet potato. If you’re in to potato or pasta salad cruise around the web and find an interesting recipe you’ve not had before. Or, say to hell with all this fancy crap, make the classic recipes and enjoy the hell out of them. Whatever you decide to do I’m sure you and your guests won’t be disappointed with these.

One of the cocktail variations I have yet to cover in great detail, but would be perfect for this application, is the highball. A highball is most simply defined as a cocktail composed of a base spirit and a mixer. Although you may not recognize the name immediately I’m sure you know the cocktails that make up this group. Well known among the highballs are the Gin & Tonic, Seven & Seven, Jack & Coke, and even the Screwdriver.

This class of cocktails works especially well for a party because you can buy the spirits, mixers and garnishes and let your guests mix their own drinks however they like. To get you started I’ve come up with a list of base ingredients (and my suggestions for each) and the drinks you can make given a bar composed of only these few ingredients. My goal in creating this guide was to keep costs on the low side while keeping quality high.

Spirits:

• Vodka (Tito’s Handmade)
• Gin (Plymouth or Bombay Sapphire)
• Rum (Dark – Goslings Black Seal)
• Whiskey (Jack Daniels or Knob Creek)

Mixers:

• Cola and/or Diet
• Tonic Water (Canada Dry)
• Soda Water
• Ginger Ale
• Lemon/Lime Soda
• Red Bull
• Fruit Juice (Orange and/or Cranberry Cocktail)

Garnishes:

• Lemon Wedges
• Lime Wedges

Recipes:

• Gin & Tonic (2oz Gin, Top with Tonic, Garnish with Lime)
• Vodka Tonic (2oz Vodka, Top with Tonic, Garnish with Lemon)
• Jack & Coke (2oz Whiskey, Top with Cola)
• Rum & Coke (2oz Rum, Top with Cola)
• Cuba Libre (2oz Rum, Top with Cola, Garnish with Lime)
• Dark & Stormy (2oz Rum, Top with Ginger Ale, Garnish with Lime)
• Cape Codder (2oz Vodka, Top with Cranberry Cocktail, Garnish with Lime)
• Whiskey & Ginger Ale (2oz Whiskey, Top with Ginger Ale)
• Seven & Seven [Sorta] (2oz Whiskey, Top with Lemon/Lime Soda)
• Bourbon & Water (2oz Whiskey, Top with Water)

That covers the basics. There are of course many other high balls that can be made. I’ve tried to cover all the classics and best loved ones here. If there are some I’ve missed, let me know I’ll add them to the list.

Generally when I think Super Bowl party I’m not thinking so much about a big meal so much as a bunch of tiny snack foods throughout the game. Snacks are great because you can make a range of different items and people can munch to their hearts content. Clearly it would be impossible for me to go over all the possible finger foods you could make so I’ll touch on some of the ones I like best and some of the tried and true favorites.

Little Smokies – These are an absolute classic. The general plan is to dump some Little Smokies into a pot, toss in some flavorful sauce and cook them on low until you’re ready to eat. There are about 14 hojillion recipes for the sauce, but of them all this one sounds the best to me. One of the recipes calls for chili sauce and grape jelly. If anyone has an idea what chili sauce is, let me know. I have no idea. Another classic use for the Smokies is tiny Pigs in a Blanket, always tasty.

Water Chestnuts and Bacon – A coworker recommended this recipe. Although I’ve never had it, I am a huge fan of bacon, so I’m in. Buy some whole water chestnuts (3 cans) and some lean bacon (2 packages, turkey works good). Wrap each water chestnuts in a half slice of bacon, secure with a tooth pick. Bake chestnuts on a cookie sheet for 45 minutes at 400, turn after 30 minutes. Mix up 1 1/2 cups of white sugar and 1 1/2 cups of ketchup. Place chestnuts in a baking dish, cover with sauce. Bake at 350F for an additional 15 minutes.

Chicken Wings – Okay, so yeah, hot wings are a whole new level of awesome. The classic sauce is mixture of butter and Frank’s Red Hot. There are however a lot of other sauces you can choose from. I just saw an episode of Good Eats that had a great method for cooking the wings without a deep fryer. Here is Alton’s recipe and you can watch the video here and here if you like.

Baked Havarti – This is another old family favorite and its dirt simple to make. Buy two tubes of crecent roll dough and a block of havarti cheese (I like havarti with dill for this). Slice the cheese in to four equal slices (should be about 2″x3.5″x.5″). Unroll one package of rolls and place the full sheet on a baking sheet. Place the cheese in the middle, side to side, cap with the other sheet of dough. Bake at 350F until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Slice and enjoy.

Guacamole – No party is truly complete without guac. This is another favorite that has many many recipes. Here is one recipe that is good. The recipe calls for either lemon or lime juice. I’d go with lime, more of a classic flavor that way. Another option is to buy the prepackaged guac in the produce section of your grocery store. Side note, it’s good I’m not a food blogger or I might get strung up for that one.

Salsa – This goes hand in hand with guac. If you’re going to buy premade get the stuff in the refrigerated cases. Since these haven’t gone through the canning (jarring) process they don’t have to be cooked. This will result in a fresher tasting salsa. Seriously though, salsa is another one of those items that is really quite easy to make once you get the hang of it. Here is a good basic salsa recipe. From this you can branch off in any number of directions. Add some fruit perhaps, other veggies, more chiles (yes please!), anything you like.

Cheese Dip – Or as Ted always called it, Spicy Chez. This is another one that would get my foodie card taken away were I food blogger, but hey, it works for me. Take a small loaf of Velveeta or a half of a large loaf and chop in to 1/2 inch cubes. Place in a sauce pan with one can of Rotel tomatoes, your choice on the heat (go hot). Melt over medium heat until creamy and combined. If you want to make this a little more interest consider adding some cooked chorizo, ground beef or pork, or other sausage.

Popcorn – Don’t over look this simple snack. The great part about popcorn is that it’s relatively healthy. Since your guests are likely to be snacking for quite some time with popcorn they can eat a bunch and not consume a huge amount of calories. If you’re looking to spice things up a bit try sprinkling some spices (chili powder or cayenne would be tasty) over the top of the freshly popped popcorn. The small bit of oil (assuming you’re using microwave popcorn) on the corn should help the spices stick.

Clearly there are a lot that I’ve missed and I’ve really only glossed over those that I have suggested. As with the other posts, if you have suggestions, by all means send them my way.