Happy Hour at Home: Old-Fashioneds…And The Appetizer That Wasn’t

I had it all planned out perfectly — Lisa was coming over for a cocktail and I knew the pepper jelly she gave me at Christmas would go magically with some of Martha’s famed cheese coins. It would be one of those rare moments when all the elements come together and you have a brief turn as an exceedingly gracious hostess, shining the spotlight not only on your delicious nibbles and refreshment, but on your guest’s contribution that makes it complete. That was the idea anyway.
What happened in reality was that the so-called cheddar coins were more like…crumbly lattice wafers. The flavor was wonderful, but what good is it if you have to scrape up bits off the cookie sheet and serve them off a spatula? Not the elegant Mad Men cocktail hour I was hoping for.
Have you ever had a recipe utterly and totally fail? This hasn’t happened to me in awhile, and the devastation was crushing, not only for the occasion at hand (I was two steps away from cracking open a can of salted peanuts), but for the sheer waste. Two sticks of butter and a cup of New York sharp cheddar cheese, come to nothing. I followed the direction precisely, so what gives?
The drinks, though — the drinks did their bit. Since my friend Laureen mixed up an old-fashioned at our book club reading of 50’s novel, The Best of Everything, this has been my cocktail of choice. It’s strong and appropriately boozey (it’s Don Draper’s drink of choice, after all), but ever-so-slightly sweet. And it would have been really perfect with some spicy, cheesy nibbles. But, so it goes…
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