Whipping up the same tired pitchers of Sex on the Beach every soiree and then not expecting to wake up on the bathroom floor, crusted in vomit and peach schnapps, is the definition of batshit crazy. Luckily, the seasonal sages at Back Forty are looking to help a drunk out, offering professional guidance on three weekends in November. Starting this Saturday, November 7, Michael Cecconi, the cocktail ace at both Back Forty and its landed gentry cuz Savoy, will lead classes on DIY-ing his fancy fresh creations at home. Students will learn to shake that thing, muddle like it’s hot. Not one to acknowledge boundaries between liquor store and Whole Foods, Cecconi will also help participants face their fears of squash plus vodka.

Zona Rosa on Haight Street in San Francisco is a colorful joint that makes a mean veggie taco, but if I’m really in the mood for killer Mexican, I head over to the outer Mission’s La Taqueria, where authenticity is the name of the game, right down to the vibrant murals on the walls. That authenticity is what gives me qualms about trying to serve Mexican food at a dinner party. I can’t pretend to be from Mexico, and the Mexican food you buy out is always so good and so cheap that it seems pointless to make it at home. Of course, sticking with authentic Mexican means no tempeh, which means no mixing up the proteins for vegetarian guests. To remedy that, try the recipe below, which may not get much play south of the border, but is great for a festive night entertaining at home.

The World Series is winding down, with Yankees and Phillies duking it out for baseball’s bragging rights. Although my household isn’t particularly invested in the outcome -- my husband is a diehard Detroit Tigers fan, and let’s just say that my team hasn’t been to the World Series since 1945 -- I can’t resist the opportunity to sit on the couch for hours watching sports. To play up the rivalry, I’m passing on various nightlife attractions and planning a World Series-themed dinner party. One of the best things about baseball is its unpretentious, all-American traditions, so this is not the time to impress guests with a gourmet menu. Instead, I’ll be serving fare from the competing cities. Nothing says Phillies like, well, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, and New York cheesecake is a crowd-pleaser no matter where the sports allegiances stand.

With all the fuss that attends wines from France, California, and even Chile, Austrian vintages tend to fly under the radar. (My first inkling that I was missing out on something came from an Italian sommelier at an Italian restaurant, who had stacked his list with the fruits of Austrian vines.) Anyone interested in bolstering their wine knowledge shouldn’t miss out on these underrated (and underpriced) bottles. A good opportunity to learn more is the first-ever Austrian Wine Month in New York, which runs through November 22. Fourteen Brooklyn and Manhattan restaurants are participating, offering up prix fixe menus, flights, pairings, and rare glassfuls. The likes of Klee, Café Katja, and Thomas Beisl will be playing along, and stocking glossy travel guides to Austrian wine country as well, should you get really inspired. Three wine pros at participating restaurants share their tips below.

Monday nights used to be a football-only affair in my house, but a recently acquired TV addiction -- House -- has parked our channel-surfing habits squarely at this other gruesome show. Whereas the NFL makes great background for dinner (especially if that meal includes nachos), House’s scenes of surgeries, hemorrhaging, and intubations flatline my appetite. To appease a slightly macabre sense of humor (and my love of a tasty toddy), I’m planning a House-themed Bloody Mary night. Not for the squeamish, the hour-long fête will include the night’s episode of our favorite sarcastic MD, boozy beverages, and, of course, a drinking game.

Here in the land of women it is a time-honored truth that Halloween is merely an excuse to wear our naughties outdoors. One only needs to throw on her favorite corset, wig, fake eyelashes, tranny heels, and garter belt, and voodoo costume magic, she is good to go. When that creepy guy in the Jon Gosselin bald pate sidles up at the punch bowl and asks who she’s supposed to be, she can simply roll her eyes, be all like, “Sarah Palin, obviously. Don’t you see the glasses?” Unfortunately, a disturbing spike in pantlessness and underwear as outerwear is threatening to render national skivvies night obsolete. Every day can’t be hooker day, can it?

Dismal weather brings out the cook in me. There’s nothing like cozying in your kitchen and whipping up a warm, satisfying dish on a hot stove. It’s also carb season, and what better way to fuel up than a tangled pile of spaghetti? And I’m not talking your childhood sauce-n-glop. No sir. We found a recipe for designer pasta that’ll knock the stockings off your most well-heeled dinner guests: Isaac Mizrahi’s Mushroom Truffle Spaghetti, published this month in Assouline’s CFDA American Fashion Cookbook. Mizrahi’s dishy dish is just one of dozens of stylish entrée, appetizer, dessert, and drink recipes from a roster of fashion’s finest. Hungry? Try Zac Posen’s great-grandma’s butterscotch wafers, or Diane von Furstenberg’s chicken, or Bill Blass’ prune whip.

Executive chef Bill Peet’s cooking at Aretsky’s Patroon shows off what 36 years of kitchen experience can do for a person. Peet has worked at several New York legends, including Lutèce, Asia de Cuba, and 44 at the Royalton. At Patroon, he’s serving a refined American table, with some French influences layered in. The short rib recipe below exemplifies his approach. The main ingredients -- carrot, onion, garlic, beer -- are anything but exotic, but the resulting flavors are totally sophisticated. Removing the bones and tying the meat takes the presentation up several notches. Short ribs are huge right now, and it’s not hard to figure out why, given their superior balance of tender, meaty, and fatty. As the weather turns, it’s hard to picture a comfort food dish that would impress dinner guests more.

Confession: I know next to nothing about wine, beyond the fact that I like it. A lot. All Sideways snobbery aside, I swoon at a lovely pinot grigio or a deep Merlot. I love chef- and sommelier-crafted wine flights paired with my meal, like the exquisite selections of Greens, San Francisco’s landmark gourmet vegetarian restaurant. Their wines complement the prix fixe’s four stellar plates, bringing out the sharpness of a cheese, or softening the spiciness of a roasted pepper. Unfortunately, I can’t bring a sommelier home along with my doggie bag of leftovers, so I’m left to figure out things on my own. Which brings me back to the aforementioned admission. The usual wine rules of thumb -- red for beef, white for fish -- fail in my mostly meatless kitchen.

Last week on Gossip Girl, many of the characters took a cue from the show's queen of manipulation, Blair Waldorf. Nate lied to Serena, Vanessa lied to Dan, Dan lied to Olivia, Olivia lied to Rufus and Lily. Most tragically of all, Blair lied to Chuck, her man and partner in crime. (She manipulated him into seducing a male NYU alum so she could give the freshman toast.) Last season of GG was dedicated to the tumultuous on and off, "I love you," "I don't love you." Every time Chuck changed his mind, Blair would cry, and I would too (a little). But this season promised to move past all that. They're finally in a committed relationship; we see Blair waking up in Chuck's bed while he strolls around in a silk robe. This is romance, people.