Vegan New Year’s Cocktail Party

 

This New Year’s Eve we all decided to travel the high seas over to Salt Spring Island for a couple of nights to ring in 2011 with mimosas, hot tubs, and good friends.  The plan this evening is to get all dolled up and indulge on a decadent assortment of appetizers and cocktails, transcending into numerous rounds of shots and panties on our heads.  Here’s a sneak preview of this evening’s menu:

Cashew Ricotta Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

1 clamshell of cherry tomatoes

Cashew Ricotta found here

Parsley for garnishing

Slice tomatoes in half and scoop out the seeds. Arrange on a platter sprinkled with chopped parsley.  Cut the corner off a plastic sandwich bag and fill with ricotta mixture.  Squeeze out a dollop into each tomato.

Caramelized Shallot White Bean Dip with Artisan Crackers

1 large shallot, chopped

1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon olive oil plus 1/2 cup for blending

1 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Handful of fresh basil

Saute shallot in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-low heat until golden and soft.  Remove from heat and add to food processor along with all other ingredients and blend till smooth.  Serve with your favourite fancy crackers.

Field Roast White Truffle Pate

Caramelized Pear and Cheese Crostini with Balsamic Reduction (Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cookbook)

Curried Chickpea Cakes (Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cookbook)

Vegan Chocolate Truffles

Cocktail Menu:

Vegan Bloody Mary

2 ounces vodka

1 teaspoon horseradish

A few dashes of hot sauce

Low sodium tomato juice

Celery salt for rimming

Lemon wedge

Salt and fresh cracked pepper

Pickled beans, asparagus, celery stalk etc. for garnish

Rim a tall glass with celery salt.  Fill glass with ice and add horseradish, hot sauce, vodka, and top with tomato juice.  Finish with salt and pepper and garnish with a lemon wedge and garnish of choice.

Champagne with Raspberry Coulis

1 bottle of the finest champagne $20 can buy

1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

Evaporated cane sugar

Fresh Basil

In small saucepan, simmer raspberries and cane sugar until a thick syrup forms.  Let cool, then refrigerate.  In a champagne glass, add 1/2 ounce of coulis, top with champagne and garnish with a sprig of basil.

Old Fashioned

1 teaspoon evaporated cane sugar

2-3 sour cherries

Dash of bitters

2 ounces Canadian whiskey

Dash of soda water

Orange slice

Muddle cherries, bitters and sugar in a rocks glass, fill glass with ice, add whiskey and soda water and garnish with an orange slice.

~The Vegan Project