Blood Orange Punch Perfect For Cinespia's Vampires All Nighter

Sam and I are feverishly getting ready for our first Burning Man experience but that doesn't mean we can't take a time-out for Cinespia's Vampire All Nighter at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Rounding up the troop for an excuse to watch Lost Boys, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Interview with the Vampire wasn't hard to do (thankfully Facebook is still good for getting everyone together). With a sizable group of 11, I had to think of something to easy to do for munchies and drinks. Luckily I had a practice run with Caddyshack so I knew what I was up against in terms of snack and drink ratio. So I mixed up a smorgasbord of Trader Joe's finest: Blood Orange Punch (get it...blood orange + vampires???) and cheese sampler galore. Sam supplied the candle and dressed the part (who needs Kiefer Sutherland when you have a Berrini?):

Tart cocktail recipe breakdown:

Blood Orange Punch (1 pitcher: servers about 7)

6 medium sized pink grapefruit - squeezed

2 lemons - squeezed

Add 1/2 bottle of Italian Blood Orange Soda (or make your own with this awesome recipe from eatliverun).

1 bottle of Cava champagne

Stir punch and add ice.

TIP: when making your own ice, definitely get Sur la Table's Tovolo Sphere Ice Molds and add in a couple of slices of the blood oranges or lemons to make it pretty.

As for the cheese platter, I favor the hard goat cheeses and TJ's mushroom brie. Throw in a hummus of your choice along with raisan rosemary crackers and pita chips and you'll be set for the night. Don't forget to visit the photo booth. They always bring out the best...check out Sam and Nicole in their epic photo from Vamp Night.