My friends throw good parties. My mother said the other day, “Your friends will find any excuse to have a party.” She’s right. On Friday, we went to an 11-11-11 party, wherein the host opened a bottle of champagne sabrage-style at 11 after the hour from 11 am to 11 pm. If you have never seen sabrage done, it’s worth the effort. Basically, you just find the seams in the bottle, and run a hard sword or knife up it until you quickly pop the whole top off of the bottle – lip and all. It’s really quite dramatic.

The weekend before, my friend Lindsey threw a party for her husband’s birthday, but she did it in the middle of the day on a Sunday, which I think is genius. The weather was gorgeous, and there’s nothing better than gathering with your friends and all of their children on a pretty fall day for food and a couple of beers. And that Lindsey, she knows how to do the food. She had brisket and a dizzying array of snacky/appetizery things, and I brought a couple of pans of very sophisticated “funeral potatoes.”

The food at this party was fun, though, and unexpected (save my very expected funeral potatotes). It wasn’t your usual few bowls of chex mix and vegetables with ranch dressing. Lindsey put on a display of beautiful and delicious bites that highlighted the season and kept us talking about them for a week after.

For example, she did “boozy grapes.” Boozy grapes are relatively simple, albeit mildly time consuming. This is one of those times where a sous chef can come in really handy.

Basically, you get a pound of grapes, either green or red, and soak them overnight in a shallow pan with a couple of cups of vodka (enough to almost cover them). I’ve also seen this done with bourbon — whatever puts a twinkle in your eye. Lindsey suggests not using the cheapest vodka they sell — go mid-range.

Then you roll goat cheese into balls about the same size or slightly larger than the grapes, and crush a handful of pecans. Then, assemble. With a toothpick, first stab a grape, then the goat cheese, and then rest it in the pecans to get a nice coating on the bottom. Done. Somehow, the combination of sweet and salty is tremendous, and the alcohol makes the grapes not only adult-friendly, but juicy so they burst in your mouth. It’s a texture and flavor carnival up in there.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/meganstuke/photos/2011/nov/14/224753/

She also made sausage wanton cups which look very fancy but are actually quite simple to do.

You will need:

Wonton skins, about 20
1 package of pork sausage
1/4 cup ranch dressing (or you can do 1/2 block cream cheese and a ranch packet)
2 cups pepper jack cheese

First, bake the wonton skins draped over the back of a mini muffin tin, so as to make a cup. At 350 degrees for about 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, brown sausage. Once it’s browned, drain it and add the ranch and the pepper jack cheese.

Spoon into the cups, and bake again at 350 for about 6-8 minutes or until the skins are golden and the filling bubbly.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/meganstuke/photos/2011/nov/14/224754/

Last, but certainly not least, she had an artichoke dip, but this wasn’t your usual artichoke/mayo/parmesan cheese concoction. Not that there’s anything wrong with that one, but this was a little more special than the everyday art dip. The addition of spicy and hearts of palm helps this little dish sing a song that’s a little more dramatic than those of its more basic counterparts.

Fancy Artichoke Dip

2 cups of marinated artichoke hearts
1 cup of mayonaise
1-1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of diced green chiles
1//4 cup hearts of palm, sliced
red pepper flakes (to taste)

Combine all ingredients in a casserole dish. Pop into a 350 oven for 20-25 minutes, until bubbly. Serve warm with corn chips, pita bread, or baguette.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/meganstuke/photos/2011/nov/14/224755/

We believe it’s important to celebrate special times, and it’s always good to make it memorable by doing something different, be it slicing the tops off of twelve champage bottles or soaking some grapes in booze. I’m so grateful this November for the interesting folks I know and for the fact that they enjoy food and drink as much as I do. Salute!