Party On A Dime!

Food & Wine's Ray Isle Proves You Can Host A Bash Without Bashing Your Budget In These Tough Economic Times

(CBS)  Just because we're in a deep recession, doesn't mean you have to postpone that party you want to throw.

Ray Isle, Wine Editor of Food & Wine magazine, showed on The Early Show Saturday Edition how you can throw a stylish party while keeping costs down.

PARTY FOOD IDEAS

Devils on Horseback

Approximately $6 to make. These are just prunes wrapped in bacon, but they pack a huge impact. You can also spend more and vary them up, with a Spanish riff with dates stuffed with almonds, or with chorizo or even cheese.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 lb. pitted prunes
12 bacon slices
Wooden toothpicks

Makes about 24 pieces

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut each bacon slice in half, just long enough to wrap around a prune and overlap slightly. Secure with a wooden toothpick and transfer to a sturdy baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes,until the bacon is crisp. Or preheat the broiler and broil, turning occasionally, until the bacon is crisp.

Montasio-Chickpea Flatbreads

Approximately $8. Pita is one of those great ways to save cost, put make these little mini-pizzas. Simply spread the chickpea mixture over the pita, and top with cheese and bake. Then you can cut them into wedges afterwards. This is a great last-minute entertainment idea, too, and you often have these things in the house. Other variations, use olives and cheese, or chopped nuts with cheese. Very satisfying.

Ingredients:
One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
1 scallion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
Coarse salt
1 1/2 cups shredded Montasio, young pecorino or Fontina cheese
Four 12-inch round flatbreads, such as naan or pocketless pita

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450°F and preheat a griddle.

In a bowl, toss the chickpeas with the scallion, cayenne and 1 tablespoon of olive oil; season with salt. Using a fork, coarsely mash the chickpeas. Stir in the cheese. Spread the mixture over the flatbreads, leaving a 1-inch border.

Brush the griddle with oil and, working in batches, add the flatbreads, cheese side up. Cook over high heat until the bottoms are lightly browned, 2 minutes.

Transfer to baking sheets and bake for 3 minutes, until the cheese is melted.

Transfer to a work surface, cut the flatbreads into wedges and serve hot or warm.

Total Time: 20 min.
Servings: 8

Swedish Meatballs

You'll spend about $6 on the two pounds of beef, and most of the rest of the ingredients (like milk and bread) you'll likely have in the house. These can also be made ahead.

Ingredients:
2 slices white bread, crusts removed
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, minced
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
2 teaspoons celery salt
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

In a large bowl, soak the bread in the milk until very soft, 5 minutes. In a medium skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in 1 tablespoon of the oil until shimmering. Add the onion and cook over low heat, stirring, until softened, 5 minutes. Add the cumin and cayenne and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Let cool.

Add the ground pork and beef to the soaked bread. Gently mix in the cooked onion, celery salt, kosher salt and beaten egg until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Shape the meat mixture into 1-inch meatballs. In a large skillet, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the meatballs and cook over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes; reduce the heat to moderately low if the meatballs begin to brown too quickly. Drain on paper towels.

Pour off the fat from the skillet, add the cream and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer over moderately low heat until reduced by one-third, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. Return the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes before serving.

Make Ahead:

The meatballs can be refrigerated overnight in their sauce.

Makes about 5 dozen meatballs

WINE IDEAS

1. Bota Box Chardonnay ($18.99): This is a juicy, full-bodied, crowd-pleasing California Chardonnay - and the box itself is 95% post-consumer fiber, printed with soy-based ink and uses unbleached cardboard, plus it is recyclable, too, so it's eco-friendly as well as tasty.

2. Red Truck mini barrel ($29.99): There are actually four bottles' worth of wine in this tiny barrel, which works out to about $7.50 per bottle. That equals 30 glasses of wine which stay fresh for 40 days in case you don't use it all at your party. If you can't find the mini-barrel, Red Truck also comes in bottles (about $10 per). Same wine, just different packaging. It's a blend of Syrah, Petite Syrah, Cabernet Franc and a bunch of other luscious red grape.

3. 2007 Wrongo Dongo ($8): The name is ridiculous and might embarrass anyone bringing this bottle to a fancy dinner party, but the wine itself is inarguable fun to drink. Made from the Monstrell grape variety, it's got lots of lively blackberry flavor and a plump, juicy texture.

[me7746]

Why do you care so little for for your viewing public, that you can't even make your articles printer friendly so we cound save them on our computer to view later, without all the ad's and crap,

[UpstateNYgal]

I totally agree with the previous comments. Although my husband and I are faithful watchers, it is getting difficult to watch. The quality of the hosts has been going downhill ever since we lost Russ and Gretchen. Interviewing has been a problem for months, the hosts talk so much we never hear what the guests have to say. They are not only annoying but downright rude. Since I see we are not the only ones who feel this way we'll give the show another couple of weeks to see if things improve.

[okimagee]

I am a regular viewer of your morning show. I am generally satisfied with the coverage and reporting. This morning, however, I was so annoyed by one of your hosts that I flicked through the channels trying to find something less aggravating. Erika Hill kept interrupting almost every guest she interviewed making it impossible to get a complete picture. This was across the board, but the two worst were Mr. Levine discussing Mr. Madoff's prison life and Mr. Wragge trying to give us tips on an inexpensive party. Please, please ask your hosts to let their guests answer questions before going on to the next thing on their lists.

[kgriff59]

I just watched this segment on TV. The reason I had to get online and find the website to find the online article, and set up an account and verify an account so I could leave a comment about it.... because the hosts TALKED THROUGH THE WHOLE SEGMENT and I couldn't hear what the GUEST was saying about the dishes and wine he was presenting.
Please let the GUEST speak? Geez I don't care if you have chickpeas in your own cupboard, I'm interested in what the GUEST has to say. Seems obvious, doesn't it???