How to Host an Epic Cheese Party: The Italian Sodas

This is part of series called How to Host an Epic Cheese Party. We'd love to hear your ideas and tips for throwing a cheese party! See other posts here and here.

The Italian Sodas

Did you know that this whole cheese party started long ago because of a couple of bottles of Torani Italian soda syrups my roommate left when she moved out? And since I'm not one to waste perfectly good syrup, I planned a theme party.

Torani flavors

Crazy, right?

People always seems to ask about how to make an Italian soda, so here's our shopping list and the directions:

Cups: We purchase 10 oz clear plastic cups at either Costco or your local restaurant supply store. We don't usually go larger only because if you have an assortment of syrups, people will come back for seconds and thirds to try out the different flavors. You can also use tall clear glasses if you're doing a smaller party at home. The Italian sodas come in pretty colors, so we prefer clear cups or glasses.

Straws: Bendy and colored straws are fun. I've never used the paper straws, though I absolutely love some of the fun patterns that are out there. Get the size that will fit your cup height.

Straws for mixing Italian sodas

Torani Italian Soda syrup, an assortment: You can buy these at the grocery store in the beverage or coffee aisle, but the syrups can be rather expensive ($6-$10/bottle) and the store likely will only have a small selection of flavors. Ask around at your neighborhood coffee shop or cafe and see where they get their syrups--I found my distributor this way and we have been buying the 750 mL bottles (25.4 oz) with Starnes Distributing in Salt Lake City for $4.75 for years now!

I would definitely get vanilla, amaretto, Irish cream, or creme de menthe; these flavors pair well with other flavors. Get one berry and one citrus flavor. Then get one weird flavor, like bacon, or chocolate, or toasted marshmallow. It will be a conversation starter, I promise. If you have more than 5 different flavors, write down the flavors on a poster board  or chalk board and display it. It sure beats having to repeat yourself a bazillion times.

Ice: Cubed ice works rather nicely. You don't necessarily want pebbled ice, because that may melt a little too quickly and dilute the drink.

Lee mixing it up!

Half & half or whipping cream: Either will work. We realized half & half was half the price of whipping cream, so we use half & half for bigger parties and whipping cream for smaller gatherings.

Carbonated water or seltzer water: You can get tonic water also, but that has quinine and a bunch of extra calories in it. I would stay away from the tonic water, unless you're doing your party in a malaria-infested area (ha ha!). We buy this in bulk at our Smith's Marketplace, since they sell  2-liters of generic carbonated or seltzer water for cheap.

Aerosolized whipped cream: We've never done this, but you can top the soda off with a little mound of whipped cream, because whipped cream is always good.

The cute bartender

A cute bartender: You'll want a person or two to man the Italian soda area if you're doing a large party. It makes for less waste and mess. Lee always takes this on only because he gets a chance to talk with everyone!

A jug of water (or two): Without fail, people will get sugared out, so have another refreshing option available.

Okay, now for how to make it--this little video should help; directions are listed below.

Directions (for a 10 oz glass):

1. Add two or three ice cubes to cup.
2. Add about 2 tablespoons of syrup.
3. Add a splash of cream.
4. Fill the cup up with carbonated water. 
5. Stir well or instruct your guest to stir well with a straw. 
6. Have them taste test the drink. Add more syrup and/or cream if needed.
7. Garnish with whipped cream if desired.

We currently have over 30 different flavors that we've accumulated over the last few years. My favorite is vanilla and orange. It tastes like a Creamsicle when you add the half & half. What would you try if you had all these flavors?

Tomorrow, we'll talk about Cheese Idol (aka the cheesy talent show). See you then!

How to Host an Epic Cheese Party: The Cheese, Etc

This is part of series called How to Host an Epic Cheese Party. We'd love to hear your ideas and tips for throwing a cheese party! See other posts here and here.

The Cheese, Etc

Before starting this annual cheese party, I think I had only eaten a handful of cheeses in my life: Swiss, cheddar, cream cheese, string cheese, and Kraft singles.   Most Asians are lactose intolerant, so we just didn't eat a lot of cheese. I was ignorant--all I knew back then about cheese was I didn't want to try anything that was fuzzy and green with mold.

My lactose intolerant family

In my mid 20's when I started this party, I was older, my palate had changed, and I wanted to expand my cheese horizons. (And yes, I am still lactose intolerant, but I try to stick to those older cheeses that have less lactose in them!)

I asked party attendees to bring a cheese that started with the first letter of their first name and I would provide things that would go along with cheese--crackers, bread, veggies, and fruit.

That worked out really well and there were over 25 different cheeses at that first party!

Starting to get a few cheeses at one of my earlier parties

I suggest that if you are hosting your own epic cheese party, ask your guests to bring the cheese. It can get rather spendy if you're providing the cheese and everything else. Here are some possible variations you can put on the invitation to encourage people to get out of their cheese funks and try something new:

1. Bring a cheese that starts with the first letter of your first name
2. Bring a cheese that starts with the first letter of your last name
3. Bring a cheese that starts with the first letter of your pet's name or your middle name. (This is a little harder because some people don't have pets or a middle name!)

I can promise you one thing that will inevitably happen if you go with any of the above routes: someone, say your friend whose name is Victoria, will call up and say, "But there is no cheese that starts with the letter V!"

You counter and say, "Yes, there are cheeses that start with the letter V! Just look at this list!" 

Okay, okay, so you might not be able to find every cheese on the list in your local grocery store--just encourage them to be creative. Your friend could bring a cheese that was made in Vermont or something.

Part of the spread at this year's party

Because cheese can be extremely filling/heavy, we have tried a few twists each year to mix things up:

• Cheesy Dish: You can have people bring a dish in lieu of a cheese. This could range from mac & cheese to cheesecake to a cheese soup. 
• Gourmet Grilled Cheese Bar: Along with your cheese, bring a "gourmet" ingredient (eg onions, pesto, pears, etc) to share at the grilled cheese bar. You provide some butter, good bread, and a few panini presses or George Foreman grills and you're golden. Be careful not to overload the electrical circuits!
• Fondue: We've been wanting to do a fondue party for some time now. This is definitely a party for a smaller group of people--maybe we'll do it sometime this winter.

How to cut the cheese for the cheese party!

Here's a shopping list of things that we buy for the party:

• A variety of crackers: You don't need to buy a ton, because people get full quickly and some people end up bringing crackers with their cheese.
• French baguettes: Get these sliced at the grocery store using their slicing machine if they've got one--it will save you loads of time. Once again, you don't need to buy a lot.
• Fruit, namely grapes: After many years of trying different types of fruit, I found that our money was best spent on seedless grapes. Apples and pears go brown and it takes too much energy cutting them. 
• Veggie platters: This balances out all the heavy cheese and filling bread. Or you can buy bags of veggies and put them out on a platter.
• Cheese: If you're the host/hostess, I say you can skip this step only because you're providing everything else. 

The Ballerina arranged the veggies all pretty-like this year

Now, invite all your friends to come, because...

More friends = More cheese

Any questions or have any tips you'd like to share? Feel free to comment or email and we'll be happy to respond!

Tomorrow, we'll continue on with Italian sodas! See you then!