You’ve Got Invited

You’ve Got Invited

Getting together for drinks is one of the biggest trends in entertaining and it’s not just at bars. These days the coolest cocktail 1 gatherings 2 are happening at home. Now if the idea of throwing your own party is a little overwhelming, we’re gonna change all of that. With a few simple tips and a 1)splash of creativity, you can make your next get together the hippest 3 event in town. We spent some time with a number of cocktail experts and party planners to show you how simple it can be.

Lightening Arrangement

Jason Harley is a top chef and party planner in Los Angeles. Today he’s putting together a party for 15 guests.

Jason begins with 2)décor. Using common items like 3)Christmas lights and 4)tea candles he creates 5)ambiance in the entryway. Jason creates charming candle holders 4 using flower 6)petals 6 and ordinary vases.

Jason: We’re gonna take different size vases which are very inexpensive, you can get them anywhere. We fill them with water, and as you see different levels so you get some different height and eye appeal, throw in a few different rose petals and drop in a floating candle.

Couldn’t be any easier, looks gorgeous. Jason repeats this process with river rock and square vases and then puts them on the 7)hearth 7. To add to the 8)festive 8 mood he hangs paper lanterns on the balcony, and from the beam that divides the living room and dining area.

Jason: The thing you want to make sure is that you have different sizes, different shapes. Don’t keep it all the same because it is boring that way. Hang them at little different levels.

Easily purchased at any textile store, fabrics 9 are decorative 10 as well as practical. Jason uses Moroccan cloth to dress the 9)buffet 11 table.

Bar Setting

With the decor complete, the next step is setting up the bar.

Our expert bartender, J.D Cargil shows us how. J.D says the bar should be arranged in a way that encourages movement. On to the mixers. What do we need, all kinds of juice, some pop or can we sort of keep it simple?

J.D: Keep it simple, the 10)ratio for a drink or any cocktail is one to three. One part alcohol, three parts mixer. The basic mixers you want to have are 11)tonic 12, soda 13, Coke along with orange juice, 12)cranberry 14 juice and some sour.

OK, what about actual bar apparatus 15, like a shaker, a 13)shot glass, a 14)strainer, how essential are those things?

J.D: I would say that unless you’re gonna pre-mix a few cocktails 16 for people, you’re gonna have to have some kind of mixer, some kind of shaker, a Boston shaker is a classic, good to have, you just fill it up with ice, add your alcohol and shake it.

15)Garnishes 18 add a special touch so make sure your bar has all the classics.

J.D: You’ve got your basic 16)savory 19 gar nishes which are your salty garnishes, cocktail onion for your gibson, olives for your martini and your salty drinks, and then if you’ve got your 17)citrus or fruit garnishes, which are gonna go on all of your fruity beverages 20 you know, anything that has juice in it or tonic.

The 18)Hors D’oeuvres

With the bar ready our chef Jason Harley gives his secrets for making easy hors d’oeuvres. How do I gauge 21 how much food I buy for ten to fifteen people that are coming to the party?

Jason: You want to figure at least three to four hors d’oeuvres per person.

First up easy to make stuffed cherry tomatoes. Jason spices up plain 19)couscous by adding chopped 20)almonds, dried cranberries 22 and red bell pepper. Then he is ready to stuff the tomatoes. Next up a shrimp 23 21)kebab that takes only minutes to make.

Jason: What I did earlier today was I took an onion, a little garlic and lemon juice and some olive oil and I 22)puréed it in a 23)blender, that’s our 24)marinade, very simple. Take your shrimps 24 here, put them in a bowl, always make sure you season with salt and pepper. What we do after that, we 25)sauté them in a hot pan with a little olive oil and we crisp both sides and we finish with a fresh squeeze of lemon.

With a little 26)ingenuity 25 and flair 26, throwing a party doesn’t have to be an overwhelming prospect 27. Remember if the host is enjoying herself － everyone will!

注释：

1) splash [splAF] n. 飞溅

2) décor [deI5kC:r] n. （法语）装饰；舞台装置

3) Christmas light 用于装饰的能弯曲成任何形状的电力线缆，有许多颜色

4) tea candle 可放入杯中的粗而短小的蜡烛

5) ambiance [5AmbiEns] n. 气氛

6) petal 5 [5petl] n. 花瓣

7) hearth [hB:W] n. 壁炉

8) festive [5festiv] a. 欢乐的，节日的

9) buffet [5bQfit] n. 餐具柜

10) ratio [5reiFiEu] n. 比率

11) tonic [5tCnik] n. 有兴奋作用的东西

12) cranberry [5krAn7bEri] n. 酸果蔓的果实

13) shot glass 烈酒杯，其容量规格一般为56ml，用于各种烈性酒，只限于在不加冰的时候使用

14) strainer [5streinE] n. 过滤器

15) garnish 17 [5^B:niF] n. 装饰

16) savory [5seivEri] a. 美味可口的

17) citrus [5sItrEs] n. 柑橘，柠檬

18) Hors D’oeuvres [C:5dE:vr] （法语）餐前的小吃。举行正式招待会的时候，或者在正式的晚餐前，主人用来款待客人的一些小点心

19) couscous [5ku:sku:s] n 蒸粗麦粉

20) almond [5B:mEnd] n. 杏仁

21) kebab [kE5bB:b] n. 肉串上的肉块

22) purée [5pjJEreI] v. （法语）把……做成浓汤或酱等

23) blender [5blendE] n. 搅拌机

24) marinade [7mAri5neid] n. 腌泡汁

25) sauté [5 sEutei] v. 嫩煎

26) ingenuity [7indVi5nju:iti] n. 独创性；别出心裁

开心鸡尾酒派对

一起聚一聚、喝点东西是最时髦的招待方式之一，而且不只局限在酒吧里。如今最酷的鸡尾酒派对都是在家里举行的。要是你想搞一个自己的派对，却又觉得有点儿无从着手的话，我们将改变你的想法。只需要几个小技巧和一些创造力，你就能让你的下一个派对成为城里最炫的事儿。让我们与几位鸡尾酒专家和派对企划师一起，告诉你这能有多简单。

灯光照明

    詹森·哈利是洛杉矶的一名顶尖厨师和派对企划师。今天他将要安排一个有15人参加的派对。

詹森从装饰入手。他用圣诞彩灯和茶蜡之类的普通玩意在进门的地方营造气氛。詹森再用花瓣和普通的花瓶做一些可爱的烛台。

詹森：我们将用一些大小不一、价钱不贵、随处可得的花瓶。把水注入花瓶，你可以看到，水位高低不同形成了不一样的层次和美感。再洒入一些各式各样的玫瑰花瓣，放入一只浮水蜡。

再容易不过了，看上去漂亮极了。詹森用雨花石和方型花瓶重复这个步骤，然后放在壁炉上，让它们各就各位。为了渲染喜庆气氛，他在阳台上挂起纸灯笼，用光束区划分出客厅和就餐区。

  詹森∶你一定要用不同大小和形状的灯笼，不要千篇一律，因为那样显得单调而沉闷。把它们错落有致地挂起来。

  在任何纺织品商店都很容易买到的织物既可用于装饰，也非常实用。詹森用摩洛哥布为自助餐桌“着装”。

酒吧布置

装饰结束后，下一步就是布置酒吧了。

我们的酒吧高级调酒师J.D·卡吉尔将为你演示。J.D说酒吧应该按照引导客人移动的方式进行布置。接着是调酒饮料。我们需要哪些呢，各式果汁、汽水？还是能够简单一点呢？

J.D：弄得简单一点。勾兑出酒水或任何鸡尾酒的比例是一比三。四分之一的酒，四分之三的饮料。你需要的基本的调酒饮料包括奎宁水、苏打水、可乐、橙汁、酸果蔓汁和一些酸酒。

好吧，那么目前的酒吧行头呢？比如说摇酒壶、烈酒杯、过滤器，这些东西是必不可少的吗？

  J.D：我认为除非要为客人预先调制一些鸡尾酒，否则你只需要某种调酒饮料、某种摇酒壶就行了。波士顿摇酒壶品质一流，值得拥有。你只要往壶里装满冰块再加入酒摇匀就行了。

装饰物起着特别的润色作用，所以务必在你的酒吧里备好所有最好的装饰物。

J.D：你已经有了一些基本的咸辣味装饰物，包括咸味装饰物、用于吉布森鸡尾酒的洋葱、用于马提尼和咸酒的橄榄。然后如果你还有柑橘或果类装饰物，就可用于你知道的所有的果味饮料、任何有原汁的饮料或是奎宁水。

开胃菜制作

酒吧搞定之后我们的厨师詹森·哈利透露简易开胃菜制作的秘诀。10到15个人要来参加派对的话，我该如何估算要买多少食物呢？

詹森∶你要按照每个人至少3至4道开胃菜来估算。

第一步很简单，是制作夹馅樱桃番茄。詹森先把杏仁末、干酸果蔓和红钟椒加入普通的蒸粗麦粉调味，然后他就可以往番茄里塞馅了。第二步做虾肉串只要花上几分钟的时间。

詹森：今天早些时候我拿了一个洋葱、一点大蒜和柠檬汁以及一些橄榄油并用搅拌器搅拌成泥状，做成腌泡汁，很简单。把这儿的虾子装到碗里，务必要用盐和胡椒调味。之后我们要做的是，在一个烧热的锅里用一点儿橄榄油嫩煎，把两面都煎脆，最后浇上新榨的柠檬汁。

运用一点想象力再加上一些技巧，开一个派对并不像你预想的那么难。记住，如果主人她自己乐在其中的话，每个人都会如此。