Easy last minute happy hour party!!

Last week, Jon and I decided to have some friends over with very short notice.  I had approximately 3 hours to shop and get the food ready for our guests.  I texted 8 couples and 6 couples came - we had a great time and the happy hour turned into a party!!

Here is the menu - recipes and pictures follow

Antipasto Platter, Asian Chicken Bites, London Broil, Chips and Salsa, Shrimp Cocktail, Brie with Black Rasberries in Puff Pastry plus an assortment of cocktails and beer.

First, I went to the liquor store and bought vodka, bourbon, white and red wine, (beer was already in the frig), then to Kroger's and bought everything for the Antipasto from the Olive and Salad Bars, then I bought 3 boneless chicken breasts, a 3 lb london broil, chips, fresh salsa, cooked and deveined shrimp, cocktail sauce ingredients, brie, black rasberries from the freezer, horseradish and sour cream for dipping the london broil.
At home, I cleaned and cut the chicken into 2 inch pieces, put in a 350 degree oven, and marinated the london broil in 1 cup merlot, 1/2 cup olive oil and lots of pepper and garlic.  Then, I assembled the antipasto platter, shrimp cocktail and the chips and salsa.
When the guests started to arrive, everyone congregated in kitchen so I was able to socialize while Jon made the drinks.  All I had left to do was finish the chicken, cook the london broil and bake the brie.  I was done about an hour into the party and everything turned out great!  I encourage you to give it a try - great food, simple recipes and great friends - ENJOY!!

Antipasto Platter - an assortment of olives, meats, vegetables and cheeses.  Depending upon the size of your party is how much you want to buy.  I had 1 lb of assorted pitted olives, 1/2 lb of artichokes, 1/3 of sliced hard salami, one cucumber peeled and sliced and focaccia bread sliced thin served in a basket.

Shrimp Cocktail Sauce - 1 small can of tomato paste, 1 small can of tomato sauce, and 2 tbl of tomato puree which had spices and red pepper.

Chicken Bites - three boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 2 inch cubes.  For the glaze - 1/2 cup of jelly of your choice.  I used a hot pepper jelly, 2 tbl of whole grain mustard, 2 tbl of soy sauce, 1 tbl butter.  In a saucepan, combine the ingredients, stirring occasionally until warm.  While that is warming, spray a baking dish with nonstick spray and add chicken in a single layer, cook for 20 minutes, turning once half way throught.  Drain excess liquid and coat with the glaze, broil for about 15 minutes, turning occasionaly until the glaze is browned, serve immediately.

London Broil - 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 cup merlot or other red wine and lots of garlic and pepper.  Turn once to make sure that both sides are marinated which was for about an hour.  Broil on high heat until desired tempeture.  We like our meat rare and have found that this is the best way to serve london broil.  I broiled for about 7 minutes on each side.  Then you want to take it out of the oven and cover it with foil, let it sit for 10-15 minutes and thinly slice.  We like a sour cream horseradish sauce which is simple to make. 1 cup of all natural sour cream (kroger), 1 tbl of horseradish, lots of peper and a little garlic and salt.  Mix together and serve with the london broil.  While this is sitting, I made the brie.

Brie in Puff Pastry with Black Rasberries - 1 sheet of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry, 1/2 cup of Black Rasberries, 1 wheel of brie, 1 egg.  Roll out the pastry until 1/8" thick - approximately 6 rolls of the rolling pin.  Take the brie and cut the covering so that most of it is off - some people don't do this but I like it better this way - it's up to you.  Place the brie in the middle of the pastry, add the black rasberries to the top of the brie.  Take the pastry and wrap it over the brie like you would a christmas present and if you have some extra - you can cut it into strips and put it on the top like you would a pie crust.  Seel it pretty tightly and brush it with the egg wash -make the wash by taking the egg and scramble it.  The egg gives it a nice golden color.  Bake in 400 degrees for about 20 minutes - check on it - it might be a little bit longer.  You want the pastry to be crisp.  Let cool for 10 minutes and slice like a pie serving it with crackers.