Do-It-Yourself Delights (NAPS)—Often, a casual laid-back gathering is way more fun than a formal one. So ask your gueststoroll up their sleeves and put them to work with a create-your-own bar. Whetherit’s pizza, tacos or ice cream sundaes, you simply set up a bunch ofdelicious ingredients and invite guests to develop their own creations. Bloody (and Virgin) Marysare all the craze these days. They’ve become much morethan a drink, andif you do it right, they windupbeinga meal. You and your guests can create some greattreats when you set up a make-your-owndrinks, dessert or nerbar. Here are a few fun ideas to get your Bloody Mary bar on: + Start with the base—pitchers of SuckerPunch Gourmet Bloody Mary Mix and bottle of good vodka. Let your guests mix the two as some folks may wantto skip the alcohol but they certainly won't wantto skip onthe fun. + Tall glasses and plenty ofice are a must. + A salted rim is almost mandatory on each andevery glass. A selection of different flavored salts—garlic, onion, paprika, chili—and somelime wedges areall it takes. Simply moistenthe glass by running the lime around the rim, then dipit in theflavoredsalt. + Thereal fun begins with the gar- nishes. Just about anything savory goes with a Bloody or Virgin Mary. Stalks of celery (of course), chilled shrimp, bacon, mini meatballs, SuckerPunch Gourmet pickles, olives, pickled peppers, mini hot dogs, babysliders, cherry tomatoes, bocconcini,sardines, smoked oysters, smoked salmon, mini sushi, mini dim sum, buffalo wings, hard- cooked eggs,thelist goes on. + Forgetaboutsmall toothpicks and go for long skewers so guests can load uponthe garnishes. Tip: Use two skewers side by side to ensure the goodies don'tfall off. For more delicious recipes, visit hitps://suckerpunchgourmet.com.
