Drinks and Snacks to Get the Party Started!

This warm, sweet-spicy goat cheese dip is an easy alternative to a cheese plate.

Recipe: Pepper-Glazed Goat Cheese Gratin

A potent gingery vinegar syrup flavors mixologist Jonny Raglin's excellent nonalcoholic version of the classic Sidecar cocktail.

Recipe: Steve McQueen

Crab imperial is a classic Maryland dish made with blue crab bound in a mayonnaise-based sauce. In place of the mayo, Michael Mina makes a hollandaise sauce, which makes the spread even silkier.

Recipe: Crab Imperial with Red Pepper

Located in the center of the venture-capital universe, the Rosewood Sand Hill Hotel in Menlo Park, California, is the after-work hangout of choice for digital entrepreneurs. This smoky mix of popcorn and Japanese rice crackers from hotel chef Peter Rudolph is a favorite bar snack.

Recipe: Smoky Popcorn

The classic Sidecar, said to be invented in the 1930s, is an update of a much older drink called the Brandy Crusta. Jonny Raglin uses cherry bitters, cherry liqueur, and a brandied cherry to flavor his favorite sidecar variation.

Recipe: Cherry Slidecar

Sunchokes, a.k.a. Jerusalem artichokes, are nutty-tasting and can be eaten raw or cooked. When roasted, they make a great change of pace from the usual crudités served with bagna cauda, the Italian olive oil, garlic, and anchovy sauce.

Recipe: Roasted Sunchokes with Buttery Bagna Cauda

This intensified Sidecar contains two aged, 100-proof spirits, plus a shot of ginger liqueur.

Recipe: Bondage

"Deviled eggs are fun because you can dress them up or down," says Michael Mina, who dresses them up with chopped smoked salmon here.

Recipe: Smoked-Salmon Deviled Eggs

This refreshing gin-based cocktail mixed with simple syrup and fresh lime juice gets a hint of sparkle from Champagne.

This classic Old-Fashioned cocktail recipe contains Angostura bitters and bourbon.

This is the classic Manhattan cocktail made with rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, and Angostura bitters.

Dried porcini mushrooms flavor these crisp, creamy-centered croquettes, which Jerry Traunfeld, executive chef of The Herbfarm in Washington, serves in walnut-size balls. For a simpler dish, use shiitake mushrooms in place of porcini, and make the croquettes larger for a vegetarian main course.

A pinch of cayenne gives this genever-based cocktail a spicy kick.

At Brooklyn's Prime Meats, Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo aim to evoke the late 19th century with riffs on classic drinks. A Falcinelli favorite: Farmer's Armagnac, a combination of Armagnac, Benedictine, triple sec, and fresh lemon juice.

To make these addictive snacks, Los Angeles's La Terza chef Jason Travi tosses canned chickpeas with flour, coriander, and cumin, then fries them. He loves popping them into his mouth while he's watching football.

Jerry Traunfeld toasts and grinds whole coriander seeds before pureeing them with roasted cauliflower, tahini paste, lemon, and cilantro. To keep it simple, use ground coriander from a bottle to season this bright, tangy recipe.

This beautiful cherry-flavored, gin-based cocktail will impress all your guests.

This classic cocktail, made with vermouth and Campari, originated in Italy, where it was popular with American tourists during Prohibition.

Recipe: Americano

More suited to a cocktail party than a baseball game, this riff on Cracker Jack by Atlanta pastry chef Taria Camerino is sweetened with agave nectar and spiked with tequila. Slow baking turns the popcorn-nut mix fabulously crunchy.