The menu for your cocktail party

All set: Last week, we shared the 10 rules you need to follow if you are going to throw a successful cocktail party. Today we present a menu for you to consider.

The drink for the day
You will obviously need a cocktail drink to keep the party going. This is our pick.
Green Apple Collins
The tangy flavor of green apples compliments the taste of Uganda Waragi surprisingly well. Feel free to double the quantities for a bigger batch. This menu makes about 16 drinks. Active time 45 minutes Start to finish approximately 4 hours including chilling.

Ingredients
4 to 6 green apples peeled and cored and cut into pieces
2 cups sugar
6 cups water
¾ to 1 cup
1 (750-ml) bottle Waragi or gin (optional)
1/3 cup Cointreau or other clear orange liqueur
2 liters of soda water

The method
i)Bring the apples, sugar and water to a boil in a large container that is heavy duty making sure to stir until the sugar is dissolved, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered until rhubarb falls apart. This ought to take no more than 15 minutes.
ii)Remove from heat and cool for 15 minutes then pour mixture into a large fine mesh sieve set over a large bowl and drain 15 minutes, then press gently and discard solids. All in all you should have at least 8 cups of syrup. Skim off any foam and cool syrup to room temperature. Pour syrup into 1 or 2 pitchers and chill, uncovered, until cold about 2 hours. Stir in lime juice (to taste), then Waragi or gin and Cointreau (if using).
iii)Fill glasses with ice and add the apple Waragi/gin mixture, stopping about 1 inch from rim. Top off with soda water. Run a wedge of lime around rim lime around rim of each glass, and then squeeze into drink.

Cook’s notes:
•Apple syrup (without lime juice, Waragi/gin or Cointreau) can be made1 day ahead and chilled, covered, or frozen for a week.
•Lime juice, Waragi/gin, and Cointreau can be stirred into apple syrup ahead and chilled covered

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Steamed Pork and Jicama Dumplings
This is another tasty option to serve. Our recipe makes about 60 hors d’oeuvres. Active time: 1 ½ hours. Start to finish 2 hours
Though these dumplings are traditionally cooked in stacked Asian bamboo or metal steamers, you can also use a pasta pot with a deep perforated colander/steamer insert. If your pot has a second shallow colander/steamer insert, you can steam two batches at once. The dumplings should be served warm, so reheat them in batches as platters need replenishing.

Ingredients
1 large egg white
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon corn flour
2 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup diced (1/4 inch) peeled jicama (substitute celery and a green apple)
½ cup minced spring onions
1 kg minced pork
60 wanton wrappers
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds, toasted
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds, toasted
Special equipment: a 2 ½ inch round cookie cutter, a pasta pot with deep perforated colander/steamer insert or a metal steamer.
Accompaniment: soy dipping sauce
Make filling:
i)Lightly whisk egg white in a large bowl, then whisk in ginger, garlic, vegetable oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, corn flour, sugar and salt. Add jicama (celery and green apple), spring onions, and pork and mix together with your hands until combined well.
Assemble dumplings:
i)Separate wonton wrappers and restack them in piles of 10. Cut through each stack with cookie cutter and discard trimmings. Arrange 6 rounds on a work surface (making sure to keep the remaining rounds covered with a plastic wrap) and mound a scant tablespoon filling in center of each. Lightly moisten edge of wrappers with a finger dipped in water. Working with 1 at a time and leaving dumplings on flat surface, gather edge of wrapper around side of filling, pleating wrapper to form a cup and pressing pleats against filling (leave dumplings open at top). Flatten fillings flush with edge of wrapper with wet finger and transfer dumplings to a tray. Make more dumplings in same manner with remaining rounds and filling.

Steam dumplings:
i)Generously oil bottom of colander/steamer insert and bring a few inches of water to a boil in pot so that bottom of insert sits above the water. Arrange 10 dumplings, about ½ inch apart, insert and steam over moderate heat, covered, until dough is translucent and filling is just cooked through, about 6 minutes.
ii)Stir together black and white sesame seeds and sprinkle over dumplings. Serve at once.
Cook’s note:
•Dumplings (without sesame seeds) can be formed, steamed one day ahead and cooled completely, then chilled, covered. Steamed dumplings can also be frozen one week; freeze in one layer on a plastic-wrapped tray until hardened then transfer to a sealable plastic bag. Reheat (do not thaw if frozen) in colander/steamer insert over simmering water (over low heat) until heated through, about 6 minutes.

The hors d’oeuvres to serve
These have to be served warm and need to be great finger foods so as to keep the guests anxious for more.

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Eggplant Tempura
This is one of our picks on the vegetable side of things. Our recipe makes about 120 hors d’oeuvres. The active time is 45 min start to finish.
They should be served warm, so fry a couple of batches at a time as platters need replenishing.
Ingredients
1 cup good quality wheat flour
1 cup beer, Bell would do nicely
Enough vegetable oil for deep frying
1 kg eggplant, peeled and sliced into halves
Accompaniment: soy dipping sauce (recipe follows)
The method
i)Whisk together flour and beer in bowl until smooth. Next, heat 2 inches of oil in a heavy duty pot over moderate heat until it gets hot enough to enable you to deep fry them comfortably.
ii)Working in batches of about 15, toss eggplant in batter until coated. Lift eggplant out the batter 1 at a time, letting excess batter drip off, and transfer to oil. Fry eggplant, turning with a slotted spoon, until golden. This should take no more than 2 minutes. Transfer with slotted spoon to paper towel and drain. Repeat process until you are done.
iii)Serve warm
Cook’s notes:
•Butter can be made two hours ahead and chilled, covered. Whisk before using.
Soy dipping sauce
We serve this sauce with both the eggplant and the pork jicama dumplings. This recipe makes about two cups
Active time: 5 min start to finish: 5 min
Ingredients
1 cup light soy sauce, Kikkoman is an excellent brand and readily available
½ cup water
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
4 teaspoons sugar
¼ thinly sliced spring onions
i)Stir together the soy sauce, water, vinegar and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Just before serving, stir in the spring onions.
Cook’s note:
-Dipping sauce (minus the spring onions) can be made 3 days ahead of time and chilled, covered. Stir in the spring onions and bring to room temperature before serving.

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Horse radish lime crab salad in cucumber cups
If you make the components of this hors d’oeuvre ahead, stir together the filling ingredients just before serving the first batch. Keep the remaining filling chilled, covered, and spoon it into the remaining cucumber cups as platters need replenishing.
Makes about 60 hors d’oeuvres
Active time: 1 hour start to finish 1 hour

Ingredients
4 large cucumbers
¼ cup mayonnaise
4 teaspoons horseradish.
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
¾ teaspoons salt or to taste
6 medium radishes
1 small can lump canned crab meat picked over
1 (3-oz) container radish sprouts or baby pea shoots. I doubt if you will find them in town.
Method
Prepare cucumber cups:
i)Cut cucumbers crosswise into generous ½ inch slices thick. Cut a fluted round from each slice with a cookie cutter, then scoop out some flesh from the center of each round with a melon ball cutter or a small spoon, creating an indentation but leaving the bottom intact.
Prepare filling:
i) Whisk together the mayonnaise and wasabi, then whish in the lime juice and salt.
ii) Cut radishes into very thin slices with a slicer. Halve slices. Then cut crosswise into very thin strips. Trim radish sprouts to 1 inch lengths, measuring from top of sprout, and discard the remaining stems. (If using pea shoots, cut sections with leaves into 1 inch pieces.)
iii) Stir together the crab wasabi, mayonnaise; radish strips, and radish sprouts, then put a small spoonful of filling into each cucumber cup.
Cook’s notes:
•Cucumber cups can be formed (but not filled) 1 day ahead and chilled, covered with plastic wrap.
•Horseradish mayonnaise can be made one day ahead and chilled, covered.
•Radishes can be cut and sprouts trimmed one day ahead and chilled separately in sealed plastic bags lined with dampened paper towels.
•Crabmeat can be picked over one day ahead and chilled, covered.

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