“We made it cocktails at 8. It was a surefire date.”
Theme song by Deaf School “Cocktails At 8” from 2nd Honeymoon
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The late ’70s were an interesting time for me musically. I was still listening to a lot of Top 40 and FM album rock radio, but I was also buying a lot of new wave and punk imports from the UK. This ultimately led me to discover Deaf School. I’m fairly sure I bought all three of their albums in a cut-out bin demonstrating they didn’t exactly make a hit in the US. Deaf School blends cabaret, new wave, and art-rock into a sound that likely would have been a hit a decade later in the Lounge Revival era. I maintain some Lounge bands (I’m looking at you Combustible Edison) owe more than a bit to Deaf School musically. The theme here is probably my favorite Deaf School track. It also perfectly sums up their sound in a tight 3-minute song.
The brilliant part about being an adult is choosing to have a platter of appetizers for dinner. I spent many years cooking bar food and making bar appetizers, but I honestly never really explored the vegetarian side of appetizers. This platter is a prime example of my #vegetarian4omnivores philosophy. It started with a redesign of the cauliflower taco cups for an upcoming kid’s meal zine. Then came the idea of trying to make classic ’70s cocktail weiners with baby carrots. As I was already two appetizers in, I decided to make it a platter and make some chickwheat wings.
This platter hits all the right savory comfort food notes, has a touch of nostalgia, and does a fairly solid job of mimicking its meaty cousins. It’s also, relatively speaking, fairly simple to make. The perfect accompaniment to cocktails at 8, a holiday or sports ball party, or simply having an adulting dinner.
CARROT ON (LIL SMOKIE CARROTS)
Baby carrots in a grape jelly BBQ sauce
CAULIFLOWER LOVE TACO CUPS
Taco-spiced cauliflower & mushrooms in tortilla cups with cheddar, pico de Gallo, & lime sour cream
DANGER! HIGH VOLTAGE WINGS
Gochujang chickwheat wings with gouchujang ranch dressing