Cocktails and finger foods for your all-night happy hour
If there were ever an occasion to raise a glass, bidding farewell to 2020 would be it. I mean, honestly, have you ever been happier for a particular year to come to an end? Celebrate with a cocktail or two — Champagne Punch, Champagne cocktails, eggnog cocktails, beer cocktails, mocktails — whatever feels right.
And while we’re thinking about Dec. 31, stay-at-home New Year’s Eve is a perfect opportunity to take a break from heavy-duty cooking and relax a little. Rather than preparing an elaborate, formal meal only to be hungry again just before the countdown starts, make an array of simple, flavorful foods that you and your housemates can graze on throughout the evening. My mother used to call it a dinner of hors d’oeuvres, a.k.a. all the fun dips and breads and finger foods that you’re usually not supposed to fill up on before dinner.
Think about assembling a platter of colorful crudités. Make some dips and spreads like Smoky Eggplant Dip With Ginger and Tomato Chutney, Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip, Spicy Avocado Smash or Bavel’s Hummus Masabacha. Add some breads and crackers to complement. If you are feeling creative, make pita bread or mana’esh. Or pull some of that sourdough you made last summer out of the freezer.
Supplement that with some composed finger foods: Beef Lettuce Wraps, deviled crab cakes, onigiri, mian kam or deviled eggs.
As it nears midnight, how can you pass up a flute of “It’s the End of the Year as We Know It”? If beer is more your type of bubbly, try an Adult Espresso Nightcap or a Pinkerton. If you’ve had enough liquor by then, make it a Citrus Hot Toddy and leave out the booze. Whatever is in your glass, at midnight raise it high and kiss 2020 goodbye.
Champagne punch
Time 10 minutes
Yields Serves 10
Firecracker Vegetable Tempura Lettuce Wraps
Time 10 minutes
Yields Serves 4
Heavenly eggnog (plus variations)
Time 20 minutes
Yields Serves 12
Nam Prik Goong
Yields Makes about 1 cup
Deviled Crab Cakes With Spicy Creole Mayonnaise
Time 45 minutes, plus chilling
Yields Serves 6 to 8
Basic onigiri
Time 1 hour
Yields Makes 8 onigiri
Mint ginger beer
Time 4 minutes
Yields Serves 1
Beef lettuce wraps
Time 25 minutes
Yields Serves 4 as an appetizer
Pita Bread
Time 40 minutes
Yields Makes one dozen pitas
Noggy Flip
Yields Serves 1
Homemade Sour Cream and Onion Dip
Time 15 minutes
Yields Makes about 1 1/4 cups
The old one two
Time 20 minutes
Yields Makes about 1 ½ quarts
Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip
Time 15 minutes
Yields Serves 6 to 8
Deviled Eggs With California White Sturgeon Caviar
Time 40 minutes
Yields Makes 12 deviled eggs
It's the End of the Year as We Know It
Time 4 minutes
Yields Serves 1
Mian Kam
Time 30 minutes
Yields Makes 12 appetizer servings
The Pinkerton
Time 3 minutes
Yields Serves 1
Smoky Eggplant Dip With Ginger and Tomato Chutney
Time 30 minutes
Yields Makes 3 cups
Not So Noggy Flip
Yields Serves 1
Shrimp artichoke lettuce cups
Time 45 minutes
Yields Serves 4 as an appetizer
Ponche Villa
Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Yields Makes 25 cocktails
Goat Cheese With Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Caramelized Garlic
Time 15 minutes
Yields Serves 4 to 6
Persimmon Champagne cocktail
Time 20 minutes
Yields Serves 1
Bavel's hummus masabacha
Time 30 minutes
Yields Makes a generous 2 cups
The Golden Boy
Time 4 minutes
Yields Serves 1
Cracked wheat mana’esh (flatbread with za’atar)
Time 35 minutes
Yields Makes 8 (6- to 7-inch) flatbreads
Deviled eggs with chile flake and sea salt
Time 35 minutes
Yields Makes 16 deviled eggs
Citrus Hot Toddy
Time 5 minutes
Yields Makes 1 drink
Buckwheat blini
Time 40 minutes
Yields Makes about 5 dozen blini
Spicy Avocado Smash
Time 15 minutes
Yields Serves 12
Adult espresso nightcap
Time 5 minutes
Yields Serves 1
