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Finally, new tricks for foodies that will not only spice up your holiday party, but help use up all the unfinished bottles in your liquor cabinet. Entertaining with Booze, a new cookbook by the Toronto-based authors of the bestselling Cooking with Booze, is an ode to all things alcoholic. Wine, spirits and liqueurs are used to improve the flavours of traditional dishes and create innovative new ones.

Baby back ribs are marinated in a Jack Daniels sauce, lamb tagine is flavoured with port, strawberry shortcake gets doused in tequila and grilled sirloin is infused with cognac and coffee.

In advance of the party season, Globe Style spoke to authors Ryan Jennings and David Steele about unique food/liquor pairings, the importance of non-alcoholic mocktails and what Jägermeister can do for your soup.

How does using booze in cooking augment or alter flavours?

Ryan Jennings: There are flavours in alcohol that you can't find in your spice rack.

Take Jägermeister, which is distilled from about 50 different herbs and botanicals.

We use a quarter-cup of it in a recipe called Alsatian Choucroute Garnie, a hearty soup with sauerkraut, smoked sausage, bacon and parsnip.

The Jägermeister has this magical quality that adds a savoury, herbal essence.

David Steele: It's not a particularly innovative concept. There has always been wine used in pasta sauces, braising meats or Grand Marnier in crepes Suzette. We wanted to figure out how to bring those flavours to the party.

Some of your recipes feature traditional alcohol uses, such as white wine in salad dressings. But you've also used cocktails as flavour enhancers.

Steele: We have an appetizer called Mojito Lamb Popsicles that takes the concept of a mojito - rum, mint, lime and sugar - and exploits all the flavours of the drink, not just the rum.

Mint and lamb are a classic pairing and the rum adds depth and carries the citrus and the sugar. When you deconstruct it, it makes perfect sense, but you wouldn't necessarily think of using a cocktail to flavour a dish.

We also have a cucumber sandwich where we marinate the cucumbers in gin, which is also a classic pairing. The juniper in the gin really brightens the cucumber and the smoothness of the cream cheese holds everything together.

Your first cookbook featured booze in every recipe, whereas Entertaining With Booze has some dry dishes.

Jennings: In this book, we showed some restraint and added booze only when necessary. We have a great recipe for mashed potatoes that has no alcohol. We tried one with lychee liqueur and it was terrible, so we said, "You know what? They are mashed potatoes and they are fine they way they are."

That's not to say that potatoes can't handle booze - we have a recipe called Wine-Soaked Potato Salad that uses two tablespoons of white wine. It's delicious.

But we aren't reckless. It's not about getting drunk or throwing in booze everywhere because it's funny or charming.

We have a lighthearted approach to entertaining - I mean the subject of our book is booze - but the recipes are serious.

How do you come up with your combinations?

Steele: We look for flavour pairings. Citrus and goat cheese is a great combination, so it's a logical progression to add citrus-flavoured alcohol.

Goat cheese also goes well with sweetness, so we chose a sweet liqueur as opposed to an orange-flavoured vodka.

You have also elevated the concept of the mocktail, with recipes for alcohol-free drinks such as a ginger-mint mojito with fresh ginger, mint, lime, sugar and soda. Why isn't offering a glass of Perrier or orange juice good enough?

Steele: It would be insulting to pass a vegetarian a plate of vegetables as their only option at a dinner party. It's the same thing for non-drinkers.

When you take the time to create an elegant mocktail that people can hold, that isn't just a clear glass of Perrier, that has colour and substance, you are showing them respect.

Pumpkin and Coconut Mousse with Candied Ginger

Pumpkin and coconut are flavour buddies, complementing each other.

What you need

2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin

¼ cup coconut rum

3 eggs, separated

¾ cup honey

1 cup light cream (18%)

1 ½ cups pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons orange zest

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons minced candied ginger

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 cup heavy cream (35%), whipped, (for garnish)

What you do

Dissolve the gelatin in the coconut rum and set aside. In a double boiler or a metal bowl placed over a pot of simmering water, whisk together the 3 egg yolks with the honey. Whisk in the coconut rum mixture and slowly add the cream until smooth. Continue to whisk until the mixture thickens. Stir in the pumpkin purée, cinnamon, orange zest, nutmeg, ginger and vanilla. Remove from the heat andcool.

Whip the egg whites and sugar in a medium bowl until glossy, stiff peaks form. Once the pumpkin mixture has cooled, gradually fold in the egg whites to ensure consistency. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Garnish withwhipped cream and candied ginger just before serving.

From Entertaining With Booze (Whitecap Books)

Wine and spirits will return