Cocktail Food: 50 Finger Foods with Attitude

by Sara Corpening Whiteford, Mary Corpening Barber (Contributor), Lori Lyn Narlock (Photographer)

The clink of glasses, the popping of corks, the spirited chatter of good friends-what more does an impromptu get-together need? Why, fabulous snacks, of course! With Cocktail Food, you can kiss those boring raw veggies goodbye because the best-selling authors of Smoothies and Wraps are whipping up bite-size delights like Shrimply Delish, Wonton Wonders, and Chive Talkin' Scallops. Voil! A humdrum happy hour turns into a glamorous soire. Cocktail Food takes the jitters out of entertaining with simple yet stylish recipes, plus great party-planning tips and fun theme ideasfrom Highball Sprees to Frozen F'tes. Let the good times roll!

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food

132 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1999

Reviews

[Mary Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I bought it on an impulse because I don't like to put a lot of work into appetizers. Every recipe has a " do ahead" section which makes this book a winner. Every recipe that I have made has been delicious.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful, fun, tasty delights! I loved every recipe I made & used these recipes regularly for my catering business. These sisters have a great sense of humor, taste, and an eye for appetizing bites.
I would say, however, that this book is better aimed at the experienced or professional cook. I often found the ingredients a bit stingy and that working with a partner assembly-line style was better than doing things alone. In fact, I can’t imagine the amount of putzing around would be worth it for small quantities.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I pull this book out every year for my annual holiday party. It's a clear favorite and I love it. Favorite recipes from it include chevre champignons, strata frittata, chix stix, spear ecstasy ... I could go on and on. Many of the recipes are make-ahead and they all make a great presentation.

[Yves · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book intrigued me, offering a vision of inviting (very few due to COVID ...) guests and serving great cocktail foods instead of cracking open overly-salted chips, mildly rancid boxed “cocktail biscuits, or other quick foods you can buy on the go.

Written in 1999, this book delivers. Each recipe has a snazzy name, with the few major ingredients as a by-line (so you know what the hell you are eating 😄).

I tried about a half-dozen recipes just to snack on one evening instead of a meal and ended up amazed. I made “Seashells” (shrimp red pepper), “Sweet Fries” (sweet potato spears), “Rockin’ Reuben” (pastrami-wrapped breadsticks), “Spear Ecstasy” (Asparagus), “Tofu Teasers” (celery stuffed with herbed tofu), and “Goat-Teas” (open-faced goat cheese, cucumber, & pickled red onion Tea sandwiches). Awesome on their own.

This book is indispensable to upgrade your cocktail food game.

[Ligaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to find this book but came away ultimately disappointed. Maybe because it was published so long ago, but most of the dishes are just not that interesting. Not every recipe has a photograph to show how the finished dish should look, a pet peeve of mine, and the design choice of small type over a bright orange background is a bad one. The hints on quantities of food and drink for party guests were helpful.