Happy Hour at Home: Libations and Small Plates for Easy Get-Togethers

Long-time cookbook author Scott-Goodman (The Ski Country Cookbook) loves to meet up with friends at a bar for a few rounds of small plates and drinks. Her latest cookbook shows readers how to easily recreate this experience at home, offering an array of enticing recipes for drinks and nibbles. She organizes the book into five regions: American Bar Classics, Continental Tastes, Asian Influences, Latin Flavors and Island Fever. For the first, bar-food staples like a fresh herbed nut mix, fried pickles, and deviled eggs with smoked trout and watercress pair up with martinis, gibsons, and manhattans. The following chapters continue apace: how about teriyaki chicken wings with a sake martini? Why not wash down corn and cheese arepas with a "Spicy Tequila Bloody Mary." A selection of cocktail extras help garnish simple mixed drinks transforming them into gourmet concoctions. In all, Scott-Goodman offers a tasty take on classic bar snacks that will have happy hour aficionados hosting at home. (July)