just a drink

My parents are arriving this afternoon and would love to meet some of our new Dayton friends. But with the long drive and excessive heat in the forecast something tells me short and sweet would be best.

Time to resurrect the cocktail hour. At some point “cocktail hour” meant exactly that- an hour in which to imbibe prior to sitting down to dinner. Somewhere along the line inviting people over for cocktails became code for a standing dinner party.

Here’s a stab at a flashback- I’ll invite a few new close friends over for precisely an hour to meet my folks. Then the four of us will sit down to dinner. The trick will be to create two distinct entertaining events simultaneously. The “plan and prep ahead” scheme will have to go turbo. An added catch- my parents are notoriously early. While I was prepping at a quick clip I received a call that my mom and dad were pulling into the drive- an hour and a half prior to their previously stated arrival time. (So much for the cute outfit that I had laid out on my bed) as for the rest- it was all systems go.

In the frig I have three California whites chilling- a Tamas Pinot Grigio, a Groth Chardonnay, and a Cline Viognier.

For appetizers we’re having snow crab claws with dave’s famous cocktail sauce, smoked trout stacks, and cheese puff cups with fig preserves. All three can be prepped and assembled in advance. Which is a good thing especially given my cute folks early entrance.

You have to love cheese puff cups with fig preserves. They are made out of Athens mini fillo cups, filled with a cheese puff mixture, dotted with jam and placed back in their plastic tray and can be frozen for up to three months.

Simply remove from the plastic tray and bake in a 350 degree oven for 7-10 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned.

The snow crab claws came from Foremost Seafood (as did the smoked trout for the stack app and tonight’s tuna for dinner). The claws come frozen. It’s best to put a colander in a bowl, place the frozen claws in the colander, cover with plastic wrap and thaw overnight in the frig (check the water level in the morning- you don’t want the claws to sit in any liquid). Presto they are ready to go.

My cute husband usually makes his cocktail sauce, but I whipped up a quick batch for him ahead of time.

Wonton crackers are an oldie but goodie. Brush a heavy baking sheet with melted butter, top with quartered wonton wrappers, brush lightly with more butter and bake at 350 degrees until just lightly brown (watch the oven carefully and rotate the baking sheet- these little gems burn in a flash). Remove the crackers and set on paper towel. I think they are best made earlier the day of, rather than the day before- especially with this humidity.

The smoked trout consists of flaked trout, a squeeze of lemon, some chopped fresh dill and scallions, and a little mayo to hold it together. Top each wonton cracker with an arugula leaf and a little mound of smoked trout. While the components can be done earlier in the day these are best assembled just prior to your guests arriving.

Now it’s time to get changed- a breeze given the outfit has been ready to go since noon.