pre-gaming: the unsuspected cocktail party

for the collegiate, the art of the cocktail party is... incongruous with our lifestyle. cocktail parties stir up images of stuffy suits and boring strapless black dresses with updos. let’s wreck that.

there’s nothing wrong with a cocktail party if there’s some genuinely good conversation and you get to meet entertaining people. for the college socialite, the closest you can get to a true hoity-toity cocktail hour is the oft-overlooked potential of the pre-gaming party.

having frequented a healthy number of college parties this year, i’ve been regularly disgusted by the sweat, spills, and shoeprints of their wake. not to mention the transformation of your bathroom into a vomitorium once the clock hits 1 am. in contrast, the virtues of a pre-gaming party will have people lauding your impressive hostess skills rather than grumbling about regretful hook-ups and reeling hangovers.


the greatest advantage of pre-gaming is that you’re guaranteed your guests will get the hell out when you want them to. not only this, even college guests will do the unthinkable: they will offer to help you clean. since you will be leaving your dorm/apt with your guests, they’ll feel obligated to lend a hand once you make a show of glancing at the time and collecting cups & napkins. thus, your space is left acceptably sanitary and everyone sets out together comfortably buzzed, not to mention dressed to kill for a night on the town. even travel time is more enjoyable since the liquor’s got everyone nice and chatty.

another invaluable advantage is relative sobriety, which characterizes the pre-gaming party. despite the fact that the purpose of pre-gaming is to liquor up, the distinction is that your guests get buzzed, not piss ass drunk. this results in more self-confidence→mingling→witty conversation. also, people will actually be able to REMEMBER the new faces that they meet.

in terms of logistics, i figure you don’t need as much liquor since you’re only responsible for wetting the tongue, not making sure everyone’s smashed all night. thus, you should afford to serve slightly nicer drinks (save the pabst and coors light for frat party entrance fees). this also a great opportunity to test out new cocktails, so break out blenders (margaritas) and pitchers (sangria). it’s post-dinner, so just lay out simple snacks: chips + cookies if you’re in a rush; thinly sliced baguette w/curried egg salad (inexpensive) + frozen grapes if you wanna get more lavish.

most importantly, go out there and be the life of the party. flirt with your guests, fill their glasses (or dixie cups) and get them energized for the next leg of your adventure: clubbing, karaoke, bar hopping, etc. just make sure someone else is responsible for the sweat and slop part of the night. ^_~



most popular combos:
• whiskey and coke (my personal poison)
• vodka + juice (be innovative with this, make ridiculous martinis!)
• mojitos (just cuz I have a pet mint plant)

essential equip:
• middle rack booze: bacardi rum (terrible stuff, but a necessary mixer), skyy vodka, cuervo tequila, jack daniels whiskey (with a secret stash of crown royal just for me!)
• oj, other juices (white grape is quite lovely with vodka)
• cola, sodas, seltzers
• lemons/limes
• music!!! (anything potentially danceable to)

except know substitutions

on sunday i made my first successful batch of pancakes.

pancakes have always thwarted me. mine would always turn out either tough or undercooked. i've been decent at making dorayaki pancakes, though those tend to be more eggy and thus more resilient/less fluffy. my ideal pancake texture is rich, yet light and somewhat cake-ish. of course consistency of texture throughout the pancake is key. no tough edges or sticky middles!

having made up my mind to thoroughly conquer the world of pancake, i set about constructing something acceptable over the course of this last week. along the way, i've realized two INVALUABLE bits of insight:

1. once poured into a hot pan, a pancake must NOT be molested!!! this is integral to developing a fluffy pancake. any attempt to spread the pancake out will result in a tough, rubbery thing! so long as there is sufficient baking powder/leavening in your mix, trust the pancake to cook through on its own. cuz baby, it has so much love to give!

2. be wary of substitutions. even something as seemingly innocent as swapping unbleached flour for bleached. both are touted as “all purpose,” but apparently (according to pillsbury), bleached flour “goes through an aging process, which improves its baking performance.” just what is this mysterious aging process and how does it result in magically improved baking performance? lies!!!

~additionally, and this was simply me being lazy/impractical/stupid, do NOT try to substitute varying amounts of butter, soy milk, and/or yogurt for whole milk. it's just not meant to be. kindly make the damn 2-block trek to the grocery.

~also, please note that yogurt does not substitute well for sour cream in recipes that require heat.

…yogurt’s not very dependable lately. not at all.



below is the recipe that i've tried twice (one failure due to unwise substitutions, one success from sticking to the ingredients). it comes courtesy of my friend todd's mom (with help from fannie farmer).

griddlecakes
1 egg
2 tbsp melted butter
½—¾ cup milk
1 cup white flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt

preheat oven to 200F. set aside a large oven safe plate.

mix dry ingredients together. lightly beat egg, melted butter and milk + add to dry ingredients. stir just enough to combine (don't overbeat!). add more milk to thin if necessary (and yes, it will be necessary).

heat a griddle/large nonstick pan & butter that bad boy (don't let it brown, darling). pour griddlecakes onto hot griddle (use ~¼ cup batter per pancake→3-4 inches in diameter each) & don’t touch it! flip once surface is bubbling & the underside is brownish.

place finished griddlecakes on the oven safe plate and relocate them to the oven (this will keep them warm without getting soggy from steam release).

note: i was actually quite surprised by how little attention todd's mom paid to cooking these. she would flip them over while they were still dripping and batter would ooze out, but they all came out well cooked and scandalously buttery-tasting. an amateur friendly recipe!



i like my pancakes with maple syrup and freshly whipped cream (topped with nutmeg & clove). i think pouring syrup over the top is a bad idea cuz you can't taste the syrup once it’s absorbed by the pancake. thus, you end up pouring more syrup and consuming excess sugar.

my own process for eating pancakes is kinda weird, but quite delightful. i mix the syrup into the whipped cream so i get a goopy maple cream. i then take a pancake, spoon the maple cream over it (using it as an icing) and eat that one pancake. repeat until full.


photo of oolong the bunny found on the internets