"parties" news and stories

Happy Anniversary, Mr. Chocolate! Jacques Torres, former pastry chef of Le Cirque, last night showcased dazzling desserts at an anniversary bash to celebrate the launch of his chocolate factories in Brooklyn, and then in Manhattan, more than a decade ago.

But the dazzle at Torres's Hudson Street factory wasn't limited to the macaroons, chocolates, and bombolinis with vanilla custard that party people were eating faster than chocolate reaches the boiling point. Some of the stars of the culinary scene were also there to wish Chef Torres well. They even brought their families. Good Morning America's Sara Moulton came with her daughter, and Top Chef's Gail Simmons brought her parents, just in from their home base of Toronto. (Just Desserts judge Dannielle Kyrillos was also there with her husband, J.P. Kyrillos, publisher of Travel +Leisure.)

Jeffrey Steingarten, Vogue food writer and judge on Iron Chef America and The Next Iron Chef, and his wife, did a drive-by on their way to Lotus of Siam, one of the hardest Manhattan tables to snag.

Drew Nieporent (Nobu), who had recently returned from the 12th Annual Gastronomika conference in San Sebastian, Spain, where he ate around with the likes of Ferran Adrià and Daniel Boulud, was asking everyone (in between flashing BlackBerry pics of his trip) if they'd been to his new restaurant, Corton, located in the former Montrachet space. Yes, they had.

And where is the food crowd going for New Year's Eve? Vegas, of course. All the talk was about the Jay-Z and Coldplay shows at the new Cosmopolitan Hotel, where chef José Andrés just opened his China Poblano.

If you have a favorite drink that you'd like to pour at your party, but you don't want to spent the evening making individual cocktails, consider batching and bottling in advance.

DO THE MATH
Multiply your recipe by number of servings you expect. For example, if your favorite recipe calls for 2 ounces of gin, and you want to serve 20 guests one drink each, you'll need 2 ounces x 20 guests x 1 drink = 40 ounces of gin, at least. If you're pre-chilling your drink and not planning on shaking and stirring with ice later, add in one third water to make up for the dilution that happens when you normally shake and stir with ice.

More great tips after the jump...

Party plate. Photo: Taylor Gifts.

How many times have you, while trying to balance a plate full of hors d'oeuvres, a cocktail and a fork, lost at least one of those items? Maybe even down the front of your freshly dry-cleaned shirt? Or perhaps your own rug was the victim of such an incident at the last party you hosted.

That may change with the advent of the plastic party plate. These 10-by-10-inch plates with snap-off (and snap back on!) utensils come in red, black and clear, and while some not-so-environmentally-minded hostesses might think of these plates as disposable, we certainly don't. Since they're apparently made of a fairly sturdy plastic (sturdy enough to hold food and drink), and go for $8 for a set of four, we can't imagine anyone not using them again and again.

Of course, this just begets another question: Why use a party plate with snap-off utensils when you can use an old-school lunch tray and put regular utensils and wine glasses in their designated compartments? To each her own!

[Via Taylor Gifts]

Do not come between a Southern gent and his bourbon.

We learned this lesson at a recent NYC party when we observed a Mississippi native seize a bottle of Knob Creek, shake its last drops angrily into a cup and grab a bottle of pricey, small-batch Woodford Reserve only to be outraged to find this also nearly gone. "I knew I should have hidden the good stuff from these people!" he shouted, shaking his fist at the guests he'd invited to his home.

The cause of this maniacal outburst from a mild-mannered gent? Bourbon, and the thought of mixing it with store-bought gingerale. A wide-eyed belle from Jersey had ordered up a whiskey-and-ginger. Since only his finest was left, he delivered the bourbon abomination with a sigh, grumbling about "corn syrup on beautiful whiskey" in a thick accent en route.

Making a whiskey-n-ginger with the best bourbon in the house is where we -- who have certainly enjoyed a Jameson 'n ginger or (hic!) three -- would draw the line. But what does Chris Morris, master distiller at Woodford Reserve (the official whiskey of Derby Day) think?

Slashfood: "A party guest wants to combine supermarket gingerale with your excellent bourbon. Do you flip out?

Morris: "To be quite honest, I think whisky and gingerale is a great drink. Woodford Reserve has hints of ginger and a nice little citrus note and goes well with gingerale, a classic highball. Our response to anybody who thinks it's an insult is the question, 'Well, do you enjoy it?' If the answer is 'yes,' it's perfectly all right. We want make a great first impression, so if that person is a gingerale highball drinker, what better way than with Woodford Reserve in place of your regular bourbon?"

Hmm. Very interesting. What do y'all think:

When it comes to assembling the bar for your holiday party, there's a certain list of basics you must have on hand--vodka, gin, whiskey, cola, tonic, etc. Such a bar will certainly serve to make a decent drink and satisfy most customers, but won't add anything special to the festivities. The easiest--and cheapest--way to add a little magic is with unusual mixers. Here's five that will add a twist to your cocktail menu.

1. Canada Dry Sparkling Green Tea Ginger Ale
It mixes equally well with bourbon, vodka and light rum and works nicely in a punch. The antioxidants listed on the bottle may come in handy when battling the holidays' excesses, but the large amount of sugar won't help with that Christmas waistline.

2. Sence Rose Petal Nectar
If you wish to offer chick drinks that are more Deneuve/Dietrich than Carrie Bradshaw, rose petal nectar can come in handy. Try the elegant American Beauty--not the brandy version, but one made with vanilla vodka, lemon juice and rose petal nectar.