Offer up a toast this New Year’s Eve with a pretty glass of bubbly splashed with pomegranate juice for a bit of color and a hint of sweetness. While the pomegranate seeds are a nice touch, I usually don’t bother with them.

These days you can get good bubblies from Spain (cava) or the States (California, Washington) for under $10 a bottle. I always use a brut (dry) sparkling wine. Stay away from demi sec (sweet) bubblies unless that’s what you prefer. Make sure your sparkling wine is well chilled…then let the festivities begin!

Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail
-recipe from Seriously Simple Holidays by Diane Rossen Worthington

This is a festive way to begin a special brunch or dinner. Serves 6.

6 tablespoons pomegranate juice
2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
One 750-ML bottle Champagne or sparkling wine, chilled

Pour 1 tablespoon of the pomegranate juice into each Champagne flute. Add a few pomegranate seeds (they will drop to the bottom). Pour about 4 ounces of Champagne into each flute. Serve immediately.

Tags: brut, cava, Champagne, cocktail party, cocktails, festive drinks, New Year's Eve, sparkling wine

Figuring out how much food to have at a party is tricky business. I’d much rather have too much food available than not enough. Here’s a few guidelines for getting a party started, whether it’s a cocktail party or a full dinner:

Estimating Quantities of Hors d’Oeuvres
-Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Hors d’Oeuvre, by Brigit L. Binns (Simon & Schuster, 2001).

When estimating quantities of hors d’oeuvres for a party, keep these guidelines in mind. As a rule of thumb, most guests will consume 8 to 10 bite-size pieces for every 60 to 90 minutes of a party. However, the larger the variety of offerings, the more hors d’oeuvres that will be consumed because everyone will want to try at least one of each item. At the beginning of a party, especially if it is in the early evening, the pace of eating will be faster and then will slow as people satisfy their initial appetite.

If your party lasts longer than 90 minutes and is intended to replace dinner, the pace of eating will speed up again after 2 hours. In this case, it is important to have enough hors d’oeuvres ready and waiting in the kitchen to replenish empty platters.

For an average-size party, with 8 to 20 guests, plan on 2 hot and 2 cold passed items and 1 or 2 buffet items a total of 5 or 6 selections. If you will be hosting 30 to 40 guests, add 1 more of each hot and cold item plus 1 more buffet selection.

Tags: appetizers, cocktail party, hor d'oeuvre party, hors d'oeuvres