Holiday parties: cocktail goodies to bring at the last minute

by Sarah Gilbert, Posted Dec 24th 2005 @ 5:31PM

Last night I called my husband on the way home from dropping off our babysitter. "What should we bring to the party?" I asked. We were doing potluck with some of my best mama friends, plus hubbies and kids. I knew there would be brie en croute (Olivia's specialty) so my husband's first suggestion was off the table. I thought a minute, back to the snack I'd eaten in the midst of shopping at Bar Pastiche.

Tapas, I thought.

So I stopped at my fave Italian market and ordered a range of Spanish and Italian cured meats - jamon serrano, mortadella and a new kind of salami suggested by the woman standing behind me in line (sorry for taking most of it!), and a jar full of pitted green olives. I had Oregonzola at home and, once we arrived at the party, quickly shoved some blue cheese into the olives. My husband set the lovely meats out on a platter with the olives and extra crumbled blue cheese, making dirty martinis with some of the extra olives. Cured meats, blue cheese stuffed olives, and a nice pink Spanish wine - salty and refreshing and delicious, a total hit. What do you bring at the last minute?

Filed Under: Raves & Reviews, Stores & Shopping, Ingredients
Tags: blue cheese, blue cheese-stuffed olives, BlueCheese, BlueCheese-stuffedOlives, cheese, christmas parties, ChristmasParties, cocktail food, cocktail party, CocktailFood, CocktailParty, gorgonzola, olives, oregonzola, party food, PartyFood, pork, potluck, potlucks, stores-and-shopping, what to bring, WhatToBring