Haute Costco?

A cocktail party for $208.07?  Yeah right.  I can't even have a dinner party for that amount but according to high profile uberluxe party planner, David Monn, you can get it done at Costco.  Now I have been buying food at Costco for YEARS, but was always a little reluctant to reveal my source.  For a while there it had a little bit of a stigma, especially when it came to seafood, meat, and of course, wine.  Costco sort of had the reputation of being a "dumping ground" if you will; that they were not committed to top quality and sourcing.  That could not be further from the truth, people.  Being a loyal shopper since the Price Club days in California, I have always gotten a bit of a high from shopping there, so you can only imagine my giddiness and validation when I read this article about a Haute Costco cocktail party in the April issue of Town & Country.


Obviously I am a little behind in my blogging (da!!) which means I am behind in a whole lotta other stuff, like reading, which is why I am just now getting through an April magazine issue that was delivered to my doorstep in mid March.  I have a stack of magazines that come up to my knees, and I haven't even cracked that Mommy porn Fifty Shades of Grey yet, so clearly, you can tell that I'm buried.  But back to Costco.  I was actually there this morning and was so pleased to find they actually had everything on the shopping list!  I thought for sure some stuff would be seasonal or regional, or both, but nope, it was all there and the prices were exact.  The article doesn't include recipes but all the delicious sounding nibbles seem pretty easy to put together.  There is no cooking involved with the exception of maybe caramelizing some walnuts or deep frying some ravioli.  You can handle that, right?  Serve it all on silver platters alongside some Dom Perignon (did you know Costco sells more Dom than anywhere else in the country?) and you've got yourself a party!

The menu sounds absolutely delicious with brie and green apple bruschetta topped with caramelized walnuts, lime cilantro shrimp, Norwegian smoked salmon and scallions, pulled pork on mini corn cakes, and New Zealand lamp chops with a pistachio crust.  Anyone who has ever had the lamp chops from Costco knows how amazing they are.  Mr. C has favored them for years and according to the article some famous New York chefs swear by them as well.  


I can't wait to play with these recipes and don't be the least bit surprised if you see this exact menu at my next party.  I love, love, love Costco, not only for their food selection and sourcing, savvy wine choices, cameras, vacuums, and coffee, but the gratuitous selection of things that land in your cart that you don't necessarily need.  Like that otherwise sold out across the frickin' state Mommy porn, Fifty Shades of Grey.