Celebrating the Long Weekend with Cointreau Fizz

Who else is on the countdown to Friday? It’s sure to be a chilly long weekend in Melbourne, but it’s the perfect opportunity to host an intimate indoor dinner party at home with your friends.

I love having parties at home. You can keep things simple and add your own special, personal touches. You can set the dress code (or lack of) and you can all have a sleep over at the end of the night and stay responsible, wake up the next day and go and do brunch… Sounds like a great plan right?

Use my party planning list to guide you through the steps of preparing to host a dinner for you and your best friends at home. It is really easy, so don’t be overwhelmed. A few simple steps will help you get organised!

I’m hosting my party on Saturday night, so we all have Sunday and Monday to do other things with our families. Before we get the party started, grab a pen and paper and make sure you have everything you need for a fabulous night….

5 tips for a beautiful, easy dinner party at home:

1. Invite your friends – After all, long weekends are best spent with friends!

2. Make the table look nice and pretty – I used fruit and flowers from my local grocer. A one stop shop for fresh blooms and the fruit has a double purpose.

3. Add your personal touch – Mine are the specially designed tags I attached to the bread rolls at each setting. You can download them here to use at your own party, there’s even a blank page for your to write your own message if you’d prefer.

4. Celebrating the Long Weekend with Cointreau Fizz – Cointreau Fizz is yummo, easy to mix and perfect for special occasions and all seasons. To make a #CointreauFizz, just use Cointreau, soda and fresh fruit/ingredients. Check out the Melbourne Girl recipe card below for my favourite mix.

5. Cheese platters and finger food – Take the stress out of hosting a dinner party with yummy cheese platters and delicious finger food. This will ensure preparation is super easy, your party runs super smooth and you have maximum fun.

Start the party preparation with the table decorations. My fresh bread rolls at each setting are an easy option, dressed up with a personal touch to suit the occasion. If it was a wedding, we’d call it ‘edible bonbonniere’ – it has a dual purpose of looking and tasting divine. I added a rose and some practical items for final touches… A serviette, straw and stirrer.

You can download my #CointreauFizz tags here to use at your own party, there’s even a blank page for your to write your own message if you’d prefer.

Keep the food delicious and easy. I went for cheese platters filled with my favourite crackers, cheeses and antipastos. Served with warm finger food like mini quiches, chicken skewers and sausage rolls – all can be home made or store purchased, I went the latter option because they are ready to pop in the oven/on the stove as we need them.

For those who prefer to make their own, there are some terrific recipe options over on taste.com.au.

Here’s my recipe for Melbourne Girl’s Cointreau Fizz:

The Cointreau Fizz is an extremely versatile and easy cocktail to make. Traditionally you would serve a shot of Cointreau with fresh lime and ice, topped off with soda water.

However, if you’re a huge fan of Cointreau like me, you can put your own spin on this classic recipe by mixing things up to suit the season.

Here’s how I created mine:

1. Place a handful of fresh ice into a glass
2. Cut a quarter segment of fresh lime and squeeze over the ice
3. Measure a 30ml shot of Cointreau and pour into the glass
4. Add fresh pomegranate and muddle with the core ingredients to release the flavor and a bit of colour
5. Finish by adding pomegranate juice and a garnish of your choice

Hope you are all inspired to plan your own intimate dinner party at home.

The 700ml Cointreau bottle is available from all good liquor stores nationally and from Dan Murphy’s or visit www.cointreau.com for more details and recipe inspiration.

Bring on the long weekend!

This post is brought to you by Nuffnang and Cointreau.

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