Easy Entertaining- Caviar, Champagne and Martini Bar
With Valentine's Day on the horizon, I thought it was time to jump on the caviar trend and go all-out with a fun girls' night. I will share details from this tablescape in a separate post, but below you will find everything you need to recreate a festive martini bar, champagne tower and caviar spread like you see here. The food and drinks were set-up for self-service, and my girlfriends thoroughly enjoyed indulging in the lavish spread!
The two beverages most often paired with caviar are martinis and champagne. So let's start with the martini bar, shall we? The idea here is to pre-batch individual servings of the liquor you need to make a martini and then set-up various add-ins that your guests can select from. You will need a good bottle of vodka (or gin, but vodka is the more popular choice), dry vermouth, single-serve mini carafes, a large glass bowl (I used this trifle bowl), a cocktail shaker (I own this one), blue cheese stuffed olives like these (or regular olives), cocktail onions like these, and lemon curls or citrus twists (directions on how to make those found here). And of course, don't forget the cocktail napkins! I love a cheeky moment at a party, so these "Childhood Trauma Cocktail Napkins" from Houses & Parties were right up my alley.
You fill each of the mini carafes (each makes one drink) with 2 oz of vodka (or gin) and 1/2 oz of dry vermouth. Fill a large bowl/container with ice and nestle the carafes with liquor into the bowl so that they stay chilled. Put your garnishes (olives, onions and citrus curls) into small bowls. I like using sectioned bowls or cluster bowls for this. This Juliska triple section dish, H&M three-part metal bowl set, or Amazon silver cluster bowl would all work well. You can also use small individual bowls like these. Once your guests arrive, all they have to do is pour the liquor from one of the mini carafes into a cocktail shaker filled with ice, and shake until cold. Pour the mixed liquor into a martini glass and garnish as you wish. Batching your martinis this way allows you as the host to relax and enjoy your party instead of acting as the bartender all night.
For those who wish to serve champagne with your caviar spread, (or with anything else), I cannot speak highly enough of this champagne tower from Amazon. It's affordable, festive and doubles as decor. I love the idea of using this at a baby shower, bridal shower, birthday party- any special occasion. You can pre-fill the glasses, or present them empty for your guests to grab and fill themselves. This would be a great way to display champagne flutes at a mimosa bar, as it saves you space on the table for your add-ins like juice and fresh fruit. I tied bows to the stems of my vintage coupes for extra decor. The stand holds traditional champagne flutes as well as coupes, so you can get as creative as you want for your next event!
There is no need to sacrifice looks for function when it comes to this new wicker champagne stand from Varnish Collection. It might be the chicest champagne stand I've ever seen, and it comes with a a stainless steel insert so your champagne stays perfectly chilled (and the stand itself is protected). The wicker piece is stunning on its own, and I have no doubt I will use it constantly this spring and summer. Pop open a bottle or your favorite champagne, nestle it in ice, and once again, your guests can serve themselves- meaning you can enjoy your event!
Now to the main event. I love the idea of serving caviar alongside more casual (and affordable) food. For my ladies dinner party, I served caviar upon guest arrival and then we all enjoyed gourmet pizza as our main course. High-low is always a fun surprise in my opinion, and I believe we will start to see more "approachable food" at weddings and large social events this year, not just at home. Caviar for an appetizer followed by fried chicken for dinner- why not?! I'll be honest that I knew nothing about caviar prior to this dinner party. However, it's pretty easy to figure out once you know the options. I read-up on what caviar is and what you're looking for when buying and consuming it. Here, here and here are all quick reads for "caviar 101." There are lots of options out there, but after doing quite a bit of research, I actually decided to keep it SUPER easy, and I ordered this "Cocktail Party Starter" from Williams Sonoma (also offered for a larger group here). The kits include many of the items I was sourcing separately, and you select your specific shipping date so that everything arrives fresh and ready-to-serve. The premium kit includes caviar, crème fraîche, pre-made blinis, mother-of-pearl serving spoons (which are important as metal cannot touch the caviar) and a reusable cooler bag to transport it all (should you need that). The white sturgeon caviar is produced on a sustainable farm in California, the crème fraîche is made by Bellwether Farms and the pre-made blinis are imported from France. All I added to the kit were chopped hardboiled eggs, diced red onions and salt and vinegar potato chips. NONE of this was gifted/sponsored. I just decided to try the one-stop-shop for something like this, especially since I'm not an expert in the "caviar field," and this was my first time serving it. Many of the caviar vendors who ship directly to you offer blinis and creme fraiche as well, but I liked the price-point of the Williams Sonoma kit for what it included. Everything tasted devine, and I was thrilled with my selection.
Once you remove the caviar from its packaging, it must stay chilled, which is why this glass caviar chiller from Amazon works perfectly for service. (Leftover caviar can be stored in its original container for up to 3 days in the fridge, but that's it). I also ordered mini mother-of-pearl spoons for each guest to use, as caviar cannot touch metal or it will alter in taste (the Williams Sonoma kit only includes a few spoons for service). Right before guests arrived, I pulled everything from the fridge and served it up in this cluster bowl from Dillards. It was super easy to pull together, which made me love it all even more! Every now and then it's fun to indulge in something special, and we all felt special sipping on martinis and champagne while nibbling on caviar. Happy hosting friends!
All photos by: Lele Fain Photography