New Year’s Eve is here… the end of another year is coming to pass and we are left with a year’s worth of memories surrounding our joys and triumphs, failures and disappointments, and the anticipation of a new beginning. It is a time of rebirth and renewal with vows made to start a fresh new year… a time when we strive to fulfill our desires, reach our goals, and better ourselves. It is also a time for entertaining and is one of the most socially celebrated events throughout the year. With this in mind, I’ve decided to share with you a guide to throwing a successful cocktail party, along with some drink and appetizer recipes that are sure to tickle your taste buds and provide your guests with a memorable New Year’s Eve!
The first step in preparing for your gala event is PLANNING. Proper planning is crucial to ensure that you and your guests have a wonderful evening. Running out of food, ice, liquor or other essentials will surely put a damper on your party so it is well worth the effort to spend the time to properly prepare for everything in advance. Food Network shares a great article on how to properly plan for your cocktail party and they provide an in-depth list of ingredients and equipment needed. This article will greatly assist you in the planning and preparation you need. Keep in mind, too, that you can pick and choose based on your available budget and follow these 10 tips from blog.credit.com on how to throw a cheap, but awesome, New Year’s Eve party. Just remember that the important thing is for you and your guests to have fun!
So now that we are armed with some great planning and entertaining tips and ideas, let’s get down to the fun stuff… deciding on our drinks and appetizers! Folks, I’m not gonna lie! Picking and choosing what drinks and appetizers to share with you was truly difficult for me! I don’t know about you, but I honestly can LIVE on appetizers. I have yet to meet an appetizer that I didn’t like! 🙂 But I restrained myself, got myself in check, and will now present to you some great cocktail and appetizer recipes for your New Year’s Eve party.
My first picks come from a guest post on The Kitchentusiast by blogger Kristen Ness of the Artful Gourmet. She has a wonderful article on party planning and entertaining and has shared a couple of tasty appetizer and drink recipes, as pictured above. The wonderful thing about her two appetizer recipes (along with a cheeseboard) is that they are easy to prepare and make a great choice for your guests to nibble on. The semi-homemade Parmesan Garlic Mushroom Tarts begin with crescent dough and are a delicious and inexpensive appetizer to make. They also pair beautifully with her Sweet and Spicy Mixed Nuts and carefully crafted cheeseboard.
She also has chosen four delicious cocktails: classic Whiskey Sours and Dry Martinis, Mulled Red Wine with Brown Sugar, and Pisco Sours. Her thoughtfully chosen selections all interplay with each other and provide a well-rounded selection for your party. The only thing to add would be some domestic and imported beers to truly round out this tasty smorgasbord and throw a successful holiday bash. (I also urge you to visit Kristen Ness’s personal website, The Artful Gourmet, for other delicious recipes and a glimpse at a truly talented Food Stylist and Photographer.)
And now for the remainder of my picks I have selected a variety of my favorite southern-style appetizers for you to pick and choose in the creation of your personalized New Year’s Eve Cocktail party. I have provided a link below each image to the recipe. I hope you enjoy these as much as I have in selecting them to share with you and wish you every success and happiness in your coming new year.
Southern Appetizers – Links to the Recipes:
- Sassy Pimento Cheese Spread from Katie-Kate’s Kitchen
- Alabama Firehouse Crackers from I phill hungry at AllRecipes.com
- Smoked Fish Dip from Kayperkins100 at AllRecipes.com
- Cocktail Wienies with Grape-Chili Sauce from The Southern Slow Cooker Cookbook
- Double Down South Dip from Cook The Story
- Candied Spiced Pecans from Blackjack Bakehouse
Happy New Year to each and every one of you!