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December 24, 1999
Web posted at: 9:20 a.m. EST (1420 GMT)

In this story: Mix home-made with store-bought Retro cheese ball goes gourmet RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Cathryn Meurer
Special to CNN Interactive

RECIPES A cocktail party menu sampled from four tantalizing new cookbooks: Stilton and Walnut Ball Open Sesame Shrimp Artichoke with Parmesan-basil Aioli Brie Croustades with Black Caviar Spicy Thai Meatballs Wrapped with Lettuce     INTERACTIVE HELP Make a fancy cheeseball Set a table Organize a buffet Dress stylishly Choose a champagne Read a champagne label Gracefully open champagne Use the right glasses Sparkling wine buying guide

(CNN) -- If mouth-watering meatballs, stuffed mushrooms, and delicate cheese-straws are the visions that dance in your head during the holidays, a spate of new cookbooks can help you smoothly prepare and serve many a tasty cocktail food.

Authors Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening Whiteford run an upscale catering business in San Francisco -- custom dinners and cocktail parties for up to 150 people. "We don't stamp out lasagna for the masses," says one sister. And yet for their own New Year's cocktail party, these professionals will count on a little help from a lot of friends. Their first tip for the home cook is "not to take on too much."

Invitations for their 50-person party remind guests to call for their party assignment, "It' a very interactive, participatory evening so it doesn't all fall on the host's shoulders," Barber says.

Mix home-made with store-bought

A satisfying cocktail party can be built around just three or four home-made fingers foods says Mary Barber, not eight. Attractively garnished platters of store-bought smoked turkey and exotic cheeses, maybe a pork tenderloin, round out the offerings without wearing out the host. "You can gussy up your platter," advises Whiteford, with clippings from a Christmas tree, orange slices, and bright red cranberries.

And the right combination of heavy hors d-oeuvres can substitute for dinner. Their general formula is five hors d'oeuvres per hour per person for the first two hours of a cocktail party. Their "Cocktail Food"(Chronicle Books) explains how to plan for longer parties, beverages, and the different appetites of football buddies versus garden clubs.

Nationally-known cooking instructor Rick Rodgers gives this party advice: "The first thing you should do is budget help." He says you can do the cooking yourself, but get somebody to answer the door, hang the coats, pass the hot foods, replenish the buffet, tidy the kitchen, etc. so you have the time to enjoy your own party.

In New York, Rodgers says people are used to seeing wait staff at parties, but hosts could also hire someone more familiar, such as a neighbor's teen-ager.

Retro cheese ball goes gourmet

Rodger's latest cookbook is "Christmas 101: Celebrate the Holiday Season from Christmas to New Year's," published about the same time that Bon Appetite named him Outstanding Cooking Teacher for 1999. In classes across the country, Rodgers gets an enthusiastic reaction to a retro-style party food: the cheese ball. "People say, 'This is it. This is the appetizer I'm going to make.'" Of course, the New York City-based cook updates the concept with Stilton blue cheese, a dash of imported Port, and a pretty garnish of Bosc pear slices.

Many cookbook authors include make-ahead recipes.

	NEW YEAR'S DINNER
Recipes for a New Year's day meal Roast Prime of Beef Au Jus Yorkshire Pudding Cranberry Corn Relish Carrot Walnut Torte

"Open sesame shrimp" and several other hors d'oeuvres from Barber and Whiteford's book can be partially prepared in advance. "You can make the sauce several days in advance, dip the shrimp in sesame seeds the day before, and it's good warm or cold," said Barber. Another make-ahead recipe is "Pepperoni Pinballs," which can rest in the freezer for up to two weeks before the host is ready to simply heat, and serve and enjoy.