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By Shindig_Spot, May 20, 2009 12:29 AM

There is one type of party food that I love, the appetizer. Whatever you want to call it, canapé, cocktail, finger food, or hors d’oeuvre, these tasty tidbits are piled high on my plate. But, herein lies the problem, while my plate runeth over with small delicious bites and my wine glass is full; I have a hard time balancing it all; and no, I’m still just on my first glass of wine. I have yet to find the perfect appetizer plate that allows me to enjoy my food without the juggling act.

I could always go the way of The Amazing Plate Caddy, but something tells me I can balance it all in style.

Plates n’ Glasses

These 2 plates not only balance your tidbits, but they mind your drink as well.

Although this 12 piece set is currently out of stock, it’s worth a mention. This colorful plate and glass set not only makes it easy to wine and dine, but it makes identification easy as well. The plates look to be on the larger side so you can make sure to get a sample of everything on the first trip to the buffet.

These plates work with your own “standard” wine glasses. These plates give a rustic look, perfect for an afternoon of wine and cheese. Pair these plates with this Servingware. They are on the small side (I mean, they are supposed to fit on top of a wine glass) and can only fit a few slivers of cheese, some grapes and olives. To be fair, they are for appetizers, not the meal.

Good Grips

These plates are sans glass, but they make holding on to your grub a bit easier with their smart design. These plates are of ample size for more than a few canapés.

Update
While in the middle of this post, I received my Napa Style catalog and discovered that they had a few different types of plates available. Here is a wooden design in appetizer and dinner sizes. This plate is currently not for sale, but it still worth a mention. The ceramic plates, in creme and orange are available in sets of 4.

Home Wet Bar also has styles that hold you glass in wood and plastic. There are also these plates that sit on top of of your glass for your jungle theme.

It looks like everyone is having shindigs these days. I really can’t blame them, what better way to pass the day/afternoon/evening, than with food and drinks and friends?

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By Shindig_Spot, April 19, 2009 12:36 AM

A few months back I had a fondue party.  While I am working towards getting to a point where I have enough time and moolah to send out really great and memorable custom invitations, I am not there quite yet.  In the meantime, I stick with my old standby, evite.   I planned for a party for 6, 5 guests including myself.  The couple with 2 cats  between them, the couple with a daughter between them, and my date for the night, a most interesting woman who is much younger looking than her years.  The conversation went from Beaujolais to kilts and just about everything in between.  With fondue, the hardest part isn’t coming up with a menu mix, it’s coming up with a good conversation mix.

Menu and Serving

The menu is quite simple.  I created a platter of Old Bay shrimp, Jamaican spiced chicken, and soy marinated beef on a large platter separated by celery stalks. The veggies included baby potatoes, baby carrots, mushroom caps, and broccoli florets. The fondue was a broth fondue made with equal parts soy sauce and chicken broth.  I have heard this recipe is killer with Saki instead of the broth that I have to try sometime.

The fondue set I used is by Trudeau.  It is similar to the one pictured below;  it has pots for both broth/oil and cheese/chocolate fondue.  Regular dinner plates were used, but these fondue plates I will have to keep on mind for next time.  I am continuing to increase my inventory of serving ware, but when you are with friends, anything is suitable.

Drinks included selections from Moore Brothers Wine Company.  The one big hit of the night was a Beaujolais-Villages from Georges Trichard.  It’s a part of my Moore Brothers wine portfolio and I have to make a point of returning and picking up a few more bottles for the next shindig.  The wine glasses I used were from Michael Chiarello’s line, Napa Style.  I had been coveting the Venetian Style Wine Tumblers for some time and finally had a chance to use them for this informal gathering.

Accessories

The great thing about fondue is, the accessories needed are limited.  Everything needed is included in the fondue set, all that is really necessary are the people.  A selection of dippers that I used included cocktail sauce, barbecue sauce, Sirrachi sauce, spinach dip, vegetable dip, and hummus.  A mini bamboo strainer made for quick retrieval of meat and veggies that fell off the skewers and a tablecloth for quick tabletop cleanup.

A fondue shindig is definitely something on the smaller scale, the amount of food included.  I seemed to have cut up enough food for an army, and had leftovers for General Tso’s Chicken,  Shrimp Scampi, and Beef Stroganoff.  Sometimes the food is secondary when you are having such a good time with friends.