Blog Party XVII - Britney spears

It seems that I'm just caught up in a net of canapés these days!  At the beginning of the month I helped Johanna to cater a canapé party for 30.  Then, of course, there is our fabulous Menu for Hope prize - a canapé party expertly catered for you by me and Johanna for the price of a $10 ticket plus ingredients.  (Fyi - no takers for this one yet - so if you bid, your chances of winning are fantastic!  And have you noticed that we are only a few hundred $$ short of last year's total - with 7 days still to go?  Fantastic!)

And then there's the lovely Stephanie's Blog Party - a monthly event that I have a knack for missing :o) where participants bring along cocktail party food according to the month's theme.  This month Stephanie has been VERY persuasive (either that or she guilted me into it!) and here I am, showing up for the party and ringing her doorbell with drinks and snacks in hand.  The theme this month was Hollywood - think glamour, think glitz, think immaculately dressed men holding open limo doors for beautifully groomed ladies to step onto the red carpet in their ballgowns... [sound of music ending abrputly and needle being scratched off record]

People, it's the Noughties - none of that stuff happens any more!  You have size 00 wannabe starlets trading insults with other size 00 wannabe starlets; tattoed maneaters adopting third world babies; wardrobe malfunctions on a weekly basis; and strange composite hermaphrodite stars like Bennifer and Tomkat.  What next?!  So I took it upon myself to inject a teensy bit of realism into the Hollywood theme this month.  So without further ado, may I present to you... Britney skewers spears!

These delectable morsels have a lot in common with their namesake - some tender breast meat, peeking out from under gossamer-thin, barely-there pancetta, with only a sage leaf in there somewhere to cover their modesty.  (See what I mean?!)  And by the end of the evening, these little spears also tend to stand a little unsteadily on their feet, refusing to line up nice and straight for a photo!  Oh, yes, and to top it all off, they have a bit of dough.  K-Fed is weeping into his Colt 45 beer as we speak, I'm sure.

So... what we see here is one of the canapés that Johanna and I served at a party earlier this month:  bites of chicken wrapped, together with a sage leaf, in pancetta and grilled, before being skewered speared together with a crouton of ciabatta.  Served together with a red pepper dip, it's filling, it's delicious - and very New Hollywood ;-)

I racked my brains for a suitable cocktail - it had to be trashy, yet girly.  What could I picture in a secret stash in the back of the Spears/Hilton/Richie limo?  And then it came to me.  The drink that they'd all be too embarrased to order, but secretly adore.  It's something I was blissfully unfamiliar with until about a month ago, when I went to visit a certain American friend of mine (who shall remain nameless to protect her foodie credentials...!).  As a post-modern, ironic joke (well I sincerely hope so!!), she poured me a glass of Alizé.  This is a blend of (wait for it) cognac ans various fruit juices (passion fruit, in my case).  Points in its favour as a New Hollywood drink:

• it's pink, like any self-respecting girly cocktail
• it tastes like fruit juice
• it has a kick like a rabid mule wearing spiky horseshoes

Points against:

• one glass contains Nicole Richie's entire calorie allocation until about September 2009

And if you want to bling it up and add MORE alcohol (because, you know, like, 16% sometimes just ain't enough), why not add a splash of Louis Roederer Cristal :P

Soon you won't even notice that my little chicken canapé's aren't standing up quite straight!!

Thanks Stephanie for hosting and I can't wait to see the roundup :-)

Comments

[Scott at Real Epicurean]

Sounds like a great party! Glad you had fun.

[Kalyn]

Very clever. I like the humor, but they also sound delicious. I don't have time to keep up on many food blog events, and this is one I also keep bookmarking the announcement and then missing it when the deadline has passed. Too many events, not enough time.

[Brilynn]

Ha! Excellent addition to the party...

[Stephanie]

Brilliant!

You were right... I LOVE it!

So very happy you could make it, and I'll 'see' you later tonight!

[Lil]

hahaha... good name choice! i'm spoilt for choice with the raffles and still undecided as now on what to bid on! (darn student budget and christmas all at one go otherwise i'll bid on everything!)

[David]

That canapé party is really a wonderful gift, and I can't imagine anything more fun than sitting back and being pampered by you and Johanna! It'd be worth flying to London for...or taking the Eurostar. (Hey...and how about adding some of those Double-peanut cookies? Aren't they canapés too?) xx

[Jeanne]

Hi Scott
I don't know what was more fun - writing the story or eating the skewers!

Hi Kalyn
I know - it's so hard just to keep up with blog events these days. And sadly there are only so many hours in a day... Glad yuo liked these. The skewers are really easy to make and can be made up ahead of time, ready for grilling and skewering on the day.

Hi Brilynn
Glad you liked it - and I loved your Baileys Toboggans!!

Hi Stephanie
I knew it would appeal to your evil sense of humour ;-) Glad I finally got myself out of the dogbox by showing up and taking part!

Hi Lil
I know what you mean - I'd like to bid on everything! If it makes you feel better, even on a salary, there just isn't enough money to buy as many tickets as I'd like :-( But we do what we can...

Hi David
Yes! Yes! Bid on the party and take the Eurostar if you win! And clearly, if Johanna or I win your chocolate tour of Paris, we will be over on the Eurostar before you can say canape! The cookies can certainly be served at the end of a canape party - just say the word ;-)

[Yorkshire Soul]

Despite the really awful punning, they look rather good.

[Jeanne]

Aaaah, Yorkshire Soul, awful punning is our speciality here at Cooksister! No low is too low for us to sink to :P I do have to snigger at the number of people who came through to this post after Googling "Britney Spears limo pic" though...

[The TriniGourmet]

YOu got me with the name alone :D lolz :D

[Owen]

Fun!

One criticism though - Colt 45 is NOT beer - it is malt liquor - that differentiation alone explains the problem the US has with beer - as in if it is popular enough to be sold in a can is is so bad nobody who really likes beer would drink it....

but then who wants beer when an Alize is around?

[Economic and Culture Observer (Lenno Cornish)]

Hmm. Well - but where is Britney Spears here?