Party Planning - Who is this all for?

Who is the party for is another question you should always ask when planning an event. Sometimes the answer to this question is totally obvious -- for instance, if you are helping someone celebrate a 16^th birthday, graduation, wedding, what have you -- but sometimes its not quite as clear-cut. Still, figuring this  out is invaluable in guiding the decisions that follow. 

For instance, if you want to throw a dinner party to have some long, relaxed conversations with good friends over a laid-back meal, then you are not going to want cooking the dinner to take over so you spend all evening in the kitchen working on the next course while everyone else talks and eats.  If you’re throwing a party for the heck of it – face it, while part of your intent is no doubt to show your close friends a really good time, at some level a party for its own sake is really a party for your sake, right? -- so you’ll need to make sure you’ll have a good time at it too.

If, on the other hand, the party is to host a work group, that’s probably a different set of parameters – it becomes less important you have a good time, and perhaps more important you put on a good show that helps you and others build networks, and impresses the right people. 

If you are throwing a birthday party or shower – its not about you at all (unless you're hosting your own!), its all about your guest of honor, so their desires take precedence over what you might personally choose if you were just throwing a house party – within reason, of course.

Enough said here – the point is that every party is for someone, whether its explicitly stated or not, and to be successful you need to keep that someone foremost in mind when you are putting it all together. You’d be surprised how often the whole point of a gathering gets lost in the details, or in petty contests of wills … but then again, who hasn’t been to a wedding like that?

Enough theory. Our Blue Hawaii tiki party progresses slowly but steadily; its about 3 months away, but its not too early for making and filling grocery lists of non-perishable items -- the long lead time not only ensures less frenzy as the party gets closer to term, and spreads the expense out more, so there isn't as big a hit to the pocketbook a week or two before the event. And, the fact that a longer lead time allows you to take advantage of more sales when making party purchases helps keeps those costs down too.

And ... the longer lead time created by early planning also gives you time to find hard-to-obtain supplies, which for tiki drink ingredients is frequently key. For instance, given our Elvis-meets-Hawaii theme for this, we want to include a drink called a Coconut Willie (Beachbum Berry's Intoxica, page 29), as it was originally served in the Lagoon Cocktail Terrace at the Coco Palms resort hotel, where Elvis filmed the famous wedding scene in Blue Hawaii. The problem - the drink includes an old-time ingredient called Coconut Snow Powder, that is available just about nowhere. 

As luck would have it, I found it by sheer chance in the Dalles, Oregon, after years (literally) of search some time back ...but if you're throwing a party, having just a can or so around the house may not cut it. The can says it was made by an outfit called Mele-Koi Farms, in California -- and after making a web search (and ignoring the 'Koi' hits involving fish) I find that the Mele-Koi outfit is closed. Beautiful. 

So now my options are clear. I can strike the drink, however theme-appropriate, from the menu, I can leave the drink on the menu with the full knowledge that my only supply of this rare substance may disappear, squandered on a single evening of revelry (my personal favorite), or ... I can try to reverse engineer it, since the label informs me it contains sugar, whey, coconut, nonfat milk, powdered egg whites, natural and artificial flavors, and a little salt. Hmmmm ... details, details.

Coconut Willie

1 tbsp coconut snow powder

1/2 oz Lopez coconut cream

1/4 oz Cointreau

2 1/2 oz gin

Blend for at least one full minute with 2 cups of crushed ice; pour into ceramic coconut mug (if you actually have the Coconut Snow Powder to make this, do be extravagant and order the mug! The Dynasty link on this blog should suffice, as would (for substantially more money) Trader Vic's online gift shop), and garnish with a marachino cherry and hunk of fresh coconut meat.

Party Planning, Cont'd

Last time we left off with you considering your basic party planning questions, leaving off on the pivotal, "What is the party about?" 

Answering this question will to some extent answer the other questions on your list – but in a directed, consistent way. So really, this is the one you want to answer first, not last.

For instance, we have a party in the works right now, so I'll use that as an example. Our answer to "What is the party about?" is Polynesian Pop, sun, fun, and Elvis! Notice now how easy it becomes to answer those other questions:

What food will I be serving? Either a hukilau (Hawaiian-style fish cookout, as seen in Blue Hawaii), or cheeseburgers with grilled slices of canned pineapple. Elvis is on record as having liked coconut cake alot, and that also fits the Polynesian theme, so that's probably a go too. 

What drinks will I serve? Good old-fashioned Coca-Cola, in retro glass bottles ... the good quality stuff from Mexico. And - rum drinks from the menus of a couple of the hotels (Coco Palms, Hanelei Plantation Resort) that Elvis shot Hawaiian movies in. So, we're talking drinks like the Bali Hai, Coconut Willie, and the Sleeping Giant. 

How will I set the party mood? Tiki bar - check. Big tiki statute, rented - check. Brightly painted, faux plywood surfboards - check! Also, an upbeat '50's-early '60's soundtrack, heavily laced with the King, would be just the ticket. Hey, what about a live band?!?

Anyone staying overnight? Rephrase this - "Will there be drinking?", and we have our answer -- pretty damn likely.

Who am I inviting? You're assuming a backyard BBQ, so this is probably not going to be a small event.We'll assume a 50-60 guest event ... and plan on asking for help with the grilling!

As you can see, knowing what kind of party you want to throw makes almost all of your setup decisions easier -- it just takes a little thought beforehand.

Sleeping Giant (from Beachbum Berry's Sippin' Safari, page 78)

This drink, per the Bum, is from the Lagoon Cocktail Terrace of the Coco Palms Resort on Kauai, circa 1950's, and was apparently named for an oddly shaped local hilltop.

1 1/2 oz orange juice

1 1/2 oz unsweetened pineapple juice

1 1/2 light rum

1/2 oz sweet and sour mix

1/4 oz orgeat (almond) syrup

Shake with ice, pour into tall glass, add ice to fill, and garnish with a mint sprig and cocktail cherry.

Party Planning

Party ... Planning?!? No, its not spontaneous, but in order to help ensure a successful event while keeping your costs controlled and your last-minute work to a minimum (hey, you're throwing a party; you should be able to enjoy it too!)  planning is essential. And, having a plan before the party can help foster spontaneity during the party - which is always a good thing.

Consider just a few of the following questions:

What food will I be serving? If you save food planning for the last minute, you'll either be running out to the grocery for pre-made appetizer trays, hurriedly whipping together something yourself while guest are arriving, or just dumping chips in a bowl with salsa or some kinda dip. There are much better options,

What drinks will I serve? Alcoholic or non-, there are choices to be made: Ready drinks in bottles, making party punch in large quantities (a personal favorite), or playing bartender and making individual drinks?

How will I set the party mood? This covers sundries such as decorations, music, games ... even food contributes here -- for instance, that Halloween platter of cookie men frosted up to look like a bunch of slasher flick victims. (Cookie arm broke off? Another job for the red frosting tube!)

If guests need to stay overnight, what sleeping accommodations are there? This is something you should ALWAYS consider when serving alcoholic beverages.

Who am I inviting? If you don't figure this one out, you may forget to include someone you really wanted or needed to invite (Awkward!), or accidentally invite people who aren't speaking to each other ... which is just   bad party juju.

Most basic of all -- you're hosting a party; what is it about? Is it for a particular event or person? Would a party theme make your event more memorable?

If you’re having a party and don’t answer these questions – well, you’ll have some type of party, and it will probably be pleasant. On the other hand, if you answer “what is the party about?” questions, this is where you can potentially springboard your good event into a truly great one.

Enough theory for now; time for a practical bit. Food and drink is where the rubber meets the road for most parties, and we have a couple corrections to what Saveur magazine published in their recent Issue #156. On page 34, they have nine rum drinks, and two of the nine have mistakes. Here are the corrections:

Jasper's Jamaican

1 1/4 Appleton Reserve Rum
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz allspice liqueur, preferably St. Elizbeth's (this ambrosial liquid is also known as Pimento Dram)
1/2 tsp simple syrup (Saveur said 1/2 oz, and this will give you a sicky sweet drink - go with Beachbum Berry's proportions on this, who they reference elsewhere in their article)
Shake with ice and strain, nutmeg and grapefruit segment garnish.

The 2nd correction is to the Pineapple Express recipe - rather than reiterate the whole thing, just know that the 'Trader Tiki' cinnamon syrup they recommend is really B.G. Reynold's, already linked off of this blog -- the name for this excellent syrup line was change to B.G. Reynolds over a year ago, due to copyright issues (can we say 'Trader Vic's? I knew we could).

Interlude

Its late and I'm beat. Rather than wax rhapsodic about party theory this time, here's something strictly practical. We were contemplating Southern menus -- and, naturally, what one drinks with them -- and I started thumbing through the recipes attached to the neck of a Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine bottle. Its tasty enough, though one should be aware that unlike white lightning in general, Catdaddy is spiced and sweetened -- effectively a 'shine liqueur -- and needs to be handled accordingly.

The recipe I tried was their Catdaddy Manhattan, which was ... well, way too sweet. Their recipe looks like this:

Daddy's Manhattan
2 oz Catdaddy
1 1/2 oz rye whiskey
1/4 oz sweet vermouth
2 dashes rhubarb bitters
1 dash orange liqueur
 Shake with ice, strain into cocktail glass, cherry garnish.

Not only too sweet, the rhubarb was sort of lost in it, and it seemed a flavor that played better with spices in the Catdaddy was in order.

My reformulation ... errr, call it the Cathattan for the moment.

2 oz rye whiskey
1 oz Catdaddy
1/4 oz sweet vermouth
3 dashes Fee Brothers Peach Bitters
1 dash triple sec
Shake with ice, strain into cocktail glass, cherry garnish.

Give them a go, see what you think. Fee Brothers - I've added a link under Party Supplies ... maybe I need a subsection just for geeky booze links.


P.S: Speaking of things Southern. David Wondrich, for whom I have the greatest respect, has noted that Laird's is pretty much the only game in town when it comes to applejack, or American apple brandy. 'Taint so - North Carolina has an outfit called Carriage House that produces a fine apple brandy -- different, but to my taste just about as good as Laird's Bottled in Bond product. Just the thing for making Pan American Clippers after a beastly day at the office!

Goodnight now -

Party-Throwing Bias #3

                                                           We really like house parties!

Yours Truly, about to launch some mischief from the platform of a home kitchen.

 Yes, they can and frequently do result in a significant mess for the host to clean up afterwards - I can recall one Cinco de Mayo where we were literally still finding confetti bits 5 years later - but they have some real advantages:

a.    A party thrown in your own home almost always costs less than the same party thrown in a rental hall. If
you have it catered instead of figuring out the food and drink on your own, it becomes more expensive still. Can't cook? Not to worry, there are still options besides potato chips and clam dip that are cheaper than catering ... but we'll get more into the nuts and bolts of party food in other posts.

b.      A party in your own home feels a lot more personal for your guests, and everyone's likely to loosen up a bit more and have a better time.

c.       As the party designer, you have a lot more control of the details if the party is in your own space. In a rented space, there are always limits on what you can do to dress up your event. Of course, there are things you might not *want* to do in your own space, but generally, things you don't want to do in your own home are likely to be things that you will lose your damage deposit over in a rental hall, so this is really not a good basis for comparing the two options.


Hopefully now you, Gentle Reader,will understand a bit better where we are coming from as we delve in deeper and things get weirder in later posts. Ciao!

Break for Station Identification

Going to a party today. Taking a drink recipe, and since travelling is involved, using a bottled drink syrup to simplify things. B.G. Reynold's drink syrups, Donn's Spices #2, to be specific, to make the Nui Nui recipe on the back of the label --

2 oz gold rum (Reynold's recommends DonQ)
1/2 each orange juice
1/2 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
1/4 oz Donn's Spices #2
1/4 oz cinnamon syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters
1/2 cup of crushed ice

Blend everything for 5 seconds, tops, pour into tall glass, add more crushed ice to fill. Garnish with large orange spiral and cinnamon stick.

B.G. Reynold's syrups are made by the owner of the Hale Pele in Portland, OR, and are fantastic - real cane sugar, real fruit, real spices make them a little spendier than your average flavored syrup, but they are SO worth it.

Check out the B.G. Reynold's link added to this page, and if you like fine, frosty tropical beverages, give them a go!

We'll check in next time with our 3rd and final party-throwing bias.

Bias 2 1/2; Political Correctness

I suppose you could call this an entirely separate bias, but really I think its merely derivative of Bias #2. If you're seeking to host parties with a tangible thrill factor to them, clearly worrying about political correctness is only going to get in the way of hosting an awesome event. Our advice: Leave it at the office!

Please do not confuse consideration for your guests' feelings with political correctness. The first is an indispensable element of hosting; the latter is useless baggage. The boundary can be a little fuzzy though; for instance, if you throw a party with a Voodoo theme, and actually have a voodoo practitioner as a guest or possibly sympathetic advocates from other alternate religions, you will want to do a little groundwork before the party, to find out where their boundaries are.

In our case we contacted the individuals in question, discussed with them what we were trying to do, and asked for their input. In return, we received useful advice, their understanding of what we were attempting, and -- here's the kicker -- the Voodoo practitioner agreeing to make custom, wearable gris-gris bags for the party, from spell ingredients purchased in New Orleans from shops catering to the Voodoo community there. Can we say BEST DOOR PRIZES EVER?

Besides - we find people obsessed with political correctness rather tiresome ... if they want to cultivate their emotional sensitivities as if they were hot-house orchids, that's their prerogative -- but we don't have to invite them; they aren't usually much fun anyway!

For the rest of us, here's a fine (and exhaustively tested)  batch drink recipe that I came up with for the occasion:

Voodoo Doll (serves about 4)

8 oz dark rum (Myer's)
5 oz pineapple juice
2 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice (not bottled!)
1 oz Green Chartreuse
1 1/2 oz grenadine

Shake vigorously with plenty of ice for about 15 seconds, and strain into small Old-Fashioned glasses.

Bias #2:

Not only do we like theme parties -- but like our chocolate, we like them a little dark.

Simply put, we prefer to host when the party theme has an air of danger lingering about it. Not real danger, of course, as that isn’t fun, but escapism that winks a come-hither eye at the dark, daring, and mysterious. Over the years, we’ve noticed that parties with an edgy theme have better, more vibrant social dynamic than ones that do not – probably for the same reason that ghost stories around the campfire are such a timeless and popular form of entertainment. Almost everyone enjoys a good thrill now and then.

For instance, what sounds like more fun –

A 1960’s-themed Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello beach party, or …

… a beach party based on wacko B-movie upstarts like ‘Psycho Beach Party’, ‘Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine’, and the ‘The Horror of Party Beach’?

An island paradise luau party, or …

… a cannibal island-themed party, with skulls on poles all over the yard, throbbing drums on the stereo, and a huge cauldron of punch?

You get the idea, I’m sure - in each example above, one of the parties described is going to be pleasant enough … but the other one is really going to move.

                                                      No, this is not Halloween, this party 

                                                      was in August ...and it was a barnburner!

Until next time!

                                                      

Greetings again from The Dread Party Blog

Since Jeanie and I have something like 50+ years experience between the two of us in hosting large parties, but most who eventually read us won't actually know us, its only fair to start by mentioning a few of our biases up front, so you know what you're getting in for.

The first I'll mention is this: We prefer theme parties to any other sort of event. No, not kiddie birthdays ... if anything, we find the adults in our lives need the escapism of a good theme party way more than the young ones, and are generally more able to appreciate the effort.

So ... why, may you ask? It comes down to this:

1) Theme parties give you, the host, a framework in which to build your event.

2) Theme parties provide your guests with a novel setting within which they can play and interact.

3) In our experience, a "party with a purpose" is simply more fun for all concerned.


All well and good, but there are rules. First and foremost - if you aren't going to execute the party's theme in a consistent, complete way, then stick with hosting a non-themed event. Partially-carried off theme parties are lame!

For instance, we once attended a small adult birthday that was advertised as a pirate party. The reality was, the paper plates and other partyware were pirate-themed, there were a few paper decorations ... and that was about it. The dinner was standard American-Italian, there was no music, sea shanties or otherwise. The end result was just ... odd, and not surprisingly, fell completely flat.

Thing is, it wouldn't have taken much to salvage this 'Pirates of Tuscany' evening. First -- the host was cooking anyway, so why not make a Caribbean dinner menu instead of an Italian one? Second - one of the lynchpins of any good event -- music. With a little forethought, a used Pirates of the Caribbean or Cutthroat Island soundtrack album from Amazon would do the trick, or with even less forethought and no outlay, keying in Pirates of the Caribbean on Pandora - or the aforementioned sea shanties - and you'd be in business with your mood music, as the Pandora application would more or less take care of the rest. Music - food - decor -- after you have these three legs of the stool in place, anything else you choose to add is nice, but optional -- OK, rum punch is also mandatory; we are talking pirates, after all. Point is, now you have a still fairly simple, but memorable occasion on your hands.

As for that punch, here's one of my original solutions:

Skull Rock

1 part decent quality light rum (like DonQ or Cruzan)
1 part decent silver tequila
1 part fresh-squeezed lemon juice (bottled doesn't hold a candle)
1 part raspberry syrup, such as Torani

Shake vigorously with lots of ice, and pour into a large glass or mug. Garnish with Tiger Lily ;^)

(And if you want to make that mug a bit pirate-y ... http://www.dynastywholesale.com/ceramic-mugs.html  )

Until next time.

Greetings! This blog is going to be all about partying, in one fashion or another. After years of wreaking revelry mayhem, my spouse and I have concluded that we have some sort of blessing - or curse - when it comes to hosting barnburner social occasions. Blessing during the actual occasion, normally, with the whole curse portion of that typically relegated to the morning, or weeks, thereafter.

So, in order to share this blessing/curse with others, I am now going online for the first time with our wealth of information on enabling the good times - a source for recipes, reviews, theme ideas, appalling recounts of debaucheries past, and party-related arcana in general.

I would have started this last night, but we were having a private party at the Copper Gate over a few plates of Scandinavian perfection, cocktails, and excellent live jazz going on. Yes, given the nature of this blog's hosts and what we do, there may be fits and starts here for a bit.

Welcome to The Dread Party Blog!