Let’s Have A Party
Printed From: Foods of the World Forum
Category: Other Food-Related Topics
Forum Name: Around the Kitchen Table
Forum Discription: A place to discuss general food talk, as well as general techniques for food preparation.
URL: http://foodsoftheworld.ActiveBoards.net/forum_posts.asp?TID=3891
Printed Date: 26 March 2026 at 21:49
Topic: Let’s Have A Party
Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Subject: Let’s Have A Party
Date Posted: 22 November 2013 at 08:48
|
It’s that time again, a time of entertaining. Sit down dinners, cocktail parties, professional and social get-togethers. This ties in with the many questions I get about hors d’oeuvres. Starting with a definition. Hors d’oeuvres, canapés, tapas, mezze, finger foods, amuse buche, game-day snacks, appetizers, call them what you will. There are technical differences between them. But in practical terms, they are interchangeable terms, and refer to a tasty morsel that usually (but not always) can be picked up and eaten out of one’s hand; and usually (but not always) consist of only one-or-two bites, and usually (but not always) are served at parties You’ve heard the marketing slogan, “everything is better when it sits on a Ritz.” Technically, that describes canapés. But, at base, it’s what we’re talking about. Let me start off with a recommendation. If you really want to get a jump start learning this subject, I suggest Martha Stewart’s “Hors D’oeuvres Handbook.” You want the one published around the turn of the century, not her newer one on the same subject. I have several dozen cookbooks that deal in whole or in part with this subject. And I’m not, particularly, a Martha Stewart fan. But her original version truly constitutes the best non-professional reference work you can find. With a lot of work, and even more time, I could write a primer. But, instead, I’m just going to ramble around, touching the more salient points. Hopefully, other members will chime in, and, together, we’ll produce a good guide for others who need help. And I’m sure even the most advanced of us will learn something along the way, because anyone who makes these small plate items has tricks and procedures others don’t know. And the simple fact is, knowing these various tradecraft elements is what it’s all about. Once you learn them, anything can serve as an inspiration for an hors d’oeuvre. I’ve talked before about my mini-hot browns. That’s a classic example of taking inspiration from one place and turning it into a party food. Before going on, a note about numbers. “How many hors doeuvres should I make?” is one of the most frequently asked questions. There’s a simple rule of thumb used by caterers: If the party is to be followed by a meal, you want 3-5 pieces per person. If the hors d’oeuvres are all that’s being served, figure on 5-9 per person. Women, as a rule, eat fewer of them than men. Kids eat even fewer of them, except if they’re teens. Teenagers tend to focus on one or two familiar items, and devour them. Much of this depends on who is coming to the party. If it’s a stag event for a bunch of lumberjacks, you obviously need to increase the numbers. If it’s a gathering of the quilting bee ladies, fewer will do. One other rule of thumb: If you put out something like a large bowl of boiled shrimp, everybody will gravitate to it, and gobble down as many as they can while ignoring the other selections. There’s something about shrimp that turns us all into gluttons. So, while boiled shrimp are an easy dish to prepare, they might not be the best choice from an economic point of view. Personally, I reserve shrimp to use as a plated tapas. People tend to eat fewer of them that way. But I do have the necessary serviceware to make that work. Most households do not. While there are many dishes designed specifically for this use, you can take any dish you like and scale it down. Hors d’oeuvres are a game of presentation. Each morsel is a jewel box. Which is why you could start with the same basic ingredients, vary the size, shape, and foundation, and have a selection of choices. That being said, we probably should start the conversation with a look at support structures. Supports come in both edible and non-edible versions. Most of us are not prepared to make a large selection using inedible supports, simply because that requires collecting really small (1-3 oz) plates, bowls, and glasses, as well as things like Chinese spoons. One the other hand, if you enjoy hosting these kinds of parties, it would behoove you to start collecting small plate serviceware. Tip: You can often find suitable items at garage sales, flea markets, and thrift shops. So you don’t have to buy new ones. Use your imagination when setting out to collect serviceware. For instance, we eat fairly often at a Chinese buffet which uses dimunitive scallop shells to present certain dishes. I don’t hesitate to wrap the empties in a napkin, take ‘em home, and wash them. Come a party, I’ve got a service “plate” that is dramatic and which cost me nothing. If you don’t want to invest in serviceware, no big deal. There are hundreds of possibilities that use edible bases. The major exception to non-edible supports would be skewers and fancy picks because they are affordable, readily available, and have myriads of uses. That being the case, let’s examine edible bases as being more appropriate. I know you’ve done this sort of thing. Remember your first parties back in high school. Among the foods you served were sections of celery, stuffed with flavored cream cheese or peanut butter. That’s precisely what we’re talking about. Only now that we’re grown-up, we’ll get a little more sophisticated. The range of vegetables that can be used is boundless. There’s nothing wrong with those celery sticks. Use them as is, or fancy them up by thinly slicing one end and soaking the sticks in ice water. The hair-like slivers will curl and separate, forming a paintbrush-like end. And, while cream cheese and peanut butter still work, you likely want to use a more up-scale filling. Other vegetables that make nice “boats” to hold the actual dish include lettuce and endive leaves, cucumbers, summer squashes, small peppers, and cherry tomatoes. Cukes and squash are typically cut lengthwise, to form boats, or sliced, on the bias, to form chips. But think out of the box. Cut cukes into two inch lengths and hollow them out, leaving a half inch or so on one end. You’ve made an edible shooter glass. Instead of peeling it, just trim rows of skin, creating vertical, horizontal, or even diagonal stripes. Stuffed cherry tomatoes can make a very dramatic tray, particularly if you vary the colors. Maybe have different fillings, each with its own color. That way, if a guest discovers a particular favorite, it isn’t a guessing game as to which one that is. To prep cherry tomatoes, cut a sliver off the top of each. If they don’t stand upright, slice the tiniest flat of the bottom, no more than skin deep. If you cut too much off the bottom the filling could leak out. Using a knife and small melon baller, hollow out the tomatoes. Turn them upside down, on paper towels, to drain. You can do this up to an hour before filling them. A really nice presentation, albeit one requiring more work, is to use a vegetable peeler or mandolin to cut thin, lengthwise ribbons from a zucchini or yellow squash. Quickly sear one side to create grill marks. Then spread a filling on each ribbon, with the charred side out, and roll it up. If necessary, blanch some chives, and use them to tie the rolls. Hard root vegetables make nice chips. Jicama, turnips, carrots, kohlrabi, even beets and radishes can be used that way. These chips can be used with dips, or serve as a cracker to support other edibles. Depending on how much you like to fuss, you can merely slice these veggies, or, you can first shape them with a uniform diameter so that each canapé is the same size. They don’t have to be round, either. Cookie cutters can be used to make an unlimited number of shapes. While I think of it, cookie cutters can be your best friends; not only with vegetables but with other bases as well. The big drawback to having everything sit on a Ritz is that everything will look the same. In many cases it will taste the same as well. Forming your bases into various shapes contributes to the overall appeal of an hors d’oeuvre platter. As you cast around for edible bases, don’t forget things like mushrooms and baby patty-pan squashes. They are ideal containers, and always impress guests. One thing to keep in mind, when using edible bases, is textural change. The reason a filled endive leaf looks nicer than smearing the same filling on a leaf of flat-leaved lettuce is the textural break. The curve of the endive is visually more appealing. But you can achieve that sort of break by folding the filling into a lettuce-leaf wrap. Same thing goes with vegetable chips. You could have a single slice just holding up the filling. Or you can have several pieces of different diameters stacked upwards in a tower. Think of the step-down shape of a classic skyscraper, versus the mono-faced designs of modern ones. Modern skyscrapers may impress with their height. But it’s the classics, like the Empire State Building that impress with their looks. To put a point on it, why do you think wedding cakes have stepped-down layers? Fruits can also be used as bases. Just keep in mind that they sometimes require special handling. Apple slices, for instance, only work if they are acidified first. If not, they’ll turn brown and ugly. So you dip the slices in a lemon juice or acetic acid bath to prevent that oxidation. Remember that when you use the slices as a support. You do not want to pair the apples with something that conflicts with the acid. So, while a version of pulled pork could work nicely, a mild salmon mousse might not. When creating hors d’oeuvre platters, adaptability is the key. Say you come across a recipe that normally would be served in a dish. Give some thought to it and you’ll likely figure a way you can adapt it from a plated dish to a finger food using an edible base---if not a vegetable, other types. We’ll discuss some of them next time. . |
Replies:
Posted By: gonefishin
Date Posted: 22 November 2013 at 13:59
WOW, Brook...looks like you've done it again...great job! I'll have to give this another read later, to digest it properly...but thanks for the post 
------------- Enjoy The Food! |
Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Date Posted: 22 November 2013 at 14:18
| Glad to hear you liked it, Dan. |
Posted By: AK1
Date Posted: 22 November 2013 at 14:23
|
Nice write up Brook. Thanks.
"One other rule of thumb: If you put out something like a large bowl of boiled shrimp, everybody will gravitate to it, and gobble down as many as they can while ignoring the other selections. There’s something about shrimp that turns us all into gluttons. So, while boiled shrimp are an easy dish to prepare, they might not be the best choice from an economic point of view. " Yeah, I noticed that. Usually I put out a few pounds as an appetizer, it's amazing how quick they go. |
Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Date Posted: 22 November 2013 at 16:19
|
The ironic thing, though, is the same quantity of shrimp used as a component in other hors d'oeuvres, suffices. Certainly guests choose shrimp-based appetizers. But not exclusively. They choose them as part of a mixed selection. There's just something about a bowl of shrimp that makes us obsessive. We don't have to know the reason. But as hosts, we do need to be aware of the syndrome. |
Posted By: Rod Franklin
Date Posted: 22 November 2013 at 17:06
Leave the shells and heads on. That'll slow them down. I've seen shrimp get zero'd in on in lieu of other offerings more than once. And then there's the double dipping... I hate that. How about bigger shrimp, like in the 10-12/lb. range, but presented individually and only a limited amount put out a at a time and accompanied substantially by other choices? ------------- Hungry |
Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Date Posted: 22 November 2013 at 20:54
| Personally, due strictly to cost factors, I reserve those U-12s for more intimate dinner parties. When I serve them it's most often in the form of crab-stuffed shrimp, served as a first course. |
Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Date Posted: 25 November 2013 at 08:39
|
Part 2 Continuing our discussion of support structures, one of the most useful items for creating exciting hors d’oeuvre platters are won-ton wrappers. What makes them so useful, in addition to their flexibility, is that they are readily available just about everywhere in both round and square versions. Naturally, the whole range of Asian noodle shapes is available to you with these pre-made skins. No kidding! Despite the myriad of seemingly complicated shapes, they all share the same starting point. I’ll try and describe how the more common of them are formed. But, frankly, without illustrations, it will still seem more complicated than it really is. For won-tons, put some filling in the center of a square skin. Fold it in half, to form a tri-angle. Then twist the points inward and stick them together. For this, and all other joins, the “glue” is merely water. Shu Mai are made by forming an open fist. Lay a skin over the circle formed by your thumb and index finger and push down on it to form a cup. Add the filling, true-up the cup, and you’re good to go. Pot stickers are best made with round skins. Put some filling in the middle and fold the skin to form a half moon. Then pinch five equally spaced pleats in the joined edges. For mini-egg rolls, lay a skin on a work surface with points running left/right and up/down. Basically, you’ve reoriented it from being a square to being a diamond. Put the filling slightly off center towards you. Bring the left/right points together in the center. Then bring the bottom point up and over the filling, pressing it down on the rest of the dough. Then roll it towards the top point. Wet the point and finish the wrap. For that last you might want to practice on egg roll skins first, to get the feel of it. While Asian dumplings are most often cooked by steaming or boiling, there’s no reason you can’t deep fry, shallow fry, or even bake them. To really get your creativity working, forget the word “Asian.” Instead, just think of the wraps as a dough envelope that can carry any sort of filling you might like. Once you’ve absorbed that attitude, flavors of any cuisine can be used, and cooked appropriately. After all, what is a ravioli but two won-ton wrappers enclosing a filling. Moving away from dumplings, you can make one-bite cups from won-ton wraps. For these, push a skin into a mini-muffin tin. If your skins aren’t soft enough (you’ll know because they’ll crack) pop them, covered with a paper towel, into the microwave for a few seconds. I’ve also found a narrow shot glass, used as a plunger, very helpful in assuring that the wrappers bottom out in the cups. Once the muffin tin is filled, bake at 350F for 5-7 minutes until they’re slightly colored. Cool on cake racks. Some directions tell you to grease the muffin tins. I don’t bother for two reasons. First, it’s unnecessary. The cups will pop right out without the grease. And second, if you bake them dry, the cups will keep several weeks in a closed container at room temperature. If you’ve oiled them, there’s the danger of them turning rancid. You can create interesting crackers using won-ton wrappers. I first learned this from Kate Heyhoe’s book, “Great Bar Food At Home,” where she has a recipe for seeded honey crisps. Basically, you brush the won-tons with oil, flip them over, and brush them with an egg white and honey mixture. Then add any flavorings you like. Bake the crackers in a 375F oven for 7-9 minutes until crisp and golden. Kate’s specific recipe was too sweet for my tastes. But the technique, itself, is priceless. And it leaves lots of room to experiment. Try just the egg whites with herbs, spices, seeds and salts for a pure savory cracker. Or mix it with other sticky sweeteners, such as maple syrup, sorghum, or date syrup. There are endless possibilities. There’s no rule that you have to leave the won-ton wraps whole, either. For a crunchy topping, slice the skins into very thin “noodles,” and deep fry them until crisp and browned. Cut them thin enough and you’ll have a version of kataifi---which is nothing more than shredded phylo pastry. If you want to flavor them, as with all fried foods, sprinkle salt, pepper, or powdered spices on the crisps while they are still hot and glistening with oil. See what I mean. Once you start thinking about it, won-ton wrappers---and their larger egg roll cousins---are an incredibly versatile part of your appetizer arsenal. Now carry this basic idea further. Any very thin breadstuffs can be used in similar ways, and provide a variation in flavor and texture. For instance, both wheat and corn tortillas can be cut to size with cookie cutters and used to make edible cups, crackers, and toppings. I have a recipe for a southwestern bean salad, for instance, that scales down nicely. I make a batch of mini-cups with corn tortillas, fill with the salad, and top with a twirl of crema. In addition to all the other uses, tortillas are ready to eat with no additional cooking required. For instance, use a round cookie cutter to make rounds out of tortillas. Layer them with an appropriate spread-type filling, alternating tortilla and filling until you have a tower about an inch high. Then cut each tower into wedges. Voila! An interesting variation of tea sandwiches that you’re not likely to see and every party. Less obvious is to use crepes for these same purposes. Either make them smaller in diameter, to begin with, or use cookie cutters to make small crepes. Crepes have one distinct advantage over tortillas, lavash, and similar breads: you can flavor them. For instance, a bit of curry powder in the batter adds an additional flavor note to the final appetizer. Full-sized crepes can also be used. Merely fold them in quarters, after spreading some filling on them, pan fry to set their shape and give them some color, and you have a perfect finger food. Bread, in all its forms, makes an obvious support structure for finger foods. But please, shy away from the soft, grocery-store white bread. With rare exception, it lacks the structural integrity of firmer loaves---particularly as you’ll be removing the crusts most of the time. And, besides, if you’re going to all the trouble of make hors d’oeuvres, it just makes sense to use bread that’s got superior taste and texture. You may notice that the so-called “cocktail” slices, sold commercially, are all based on a firmer, almost hard, bread, such as rye and pumpernickel. It’s not only for the flavor that they go that route. Those breads have the strength to put up with toppings and handling. If you have to use that sort of soft sandwich bread, grill or toast it first to create a base sturdy enough to support the toppings. I’m also a big fan of cutting the bread into various shapes, using---get ready for it---cookie cutters. Actual tea sandwiches are an exception to the toasting rule. But you have to choose your fillings carefully, to prevent them from turning soggy. Perhaps the commonest use of bread is crostini; essentially toast rounds holding up other edibles. Start with a baguette and cut it into slices about 5/8” thick. Cutting on the bias is preferred, because the oval shape is more visually pleasing, and you have more surface area as well. Brush the rounds on both sides with extra virgin olive oil, lay out on a rack, and pop in the oven, under the broiler, until lightly browned on each side. Rub the top surface with a garlic clove. Then pile on the toppings. If you’re going with several toppings, take the time to arrange them for eye appeal as well as taste. For example, you could merely spread some tuna salad on a crostini. But think how much more interesting it would be to line up two or three slices of hard-boiled quail egg, each with a black olive slice “eye.” If you do your own baking, or can get an unsliced loaf from the market, a great base is to make bread cups. This one comes directly from Martha Stewart’s book. She calls them “toasted breadboxes.” A firm textured bread works best for these. Cut the bread into one-inch thick slices. Remove the crusts and cut the bread into one-inch cubes. Then using a sharp paring knife, hollow the cube, leaving a quarter-inch border on the sides and bottom. Brush the large cubes with melted butter and bake in a 375F oven, turning on their sides after 15 minutes to assure even browning. Depending on the bread used, bake time is from 20 to 30 minutes. Cool on racks and store in an airtight container for up to three days. Then add your filling to the hollowed out boxes. If you think of bread in generic terms, the possibilities are limited only by your imagination. I often use choux paste to make small gougere bites. Gougere is usually made by dropping the paste by spoonsful, then splitting them and adding a filling. There’s nothing wrong with that. But in addition, try using a pastry tube with a large tip to pipe the paste into various shapes; squares, crescents, triangles, and so on. Then use each shape to identify the topping. Perhaps put some pate on the round ones, country ham salad in the triangles, dilled salmon in the squares, and so forth. Flatbreads are all the rage right now. Why not make your favorite flatbread or pizza, and cut it into small wedges or squares to make a party food? And in a pinch, don’t forget that any topping really does taste better when it fits on a Ritz. |
Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Date Posted: 01 December 2013 at 22:17
|
Part 3 We’ve been talking, until now, about edible bases for hors d'oeuvres; that is, things that serve to support the main attraction. Very often, some of the best appetizers are the bases themselves. Rather than serving as a support structure, the base is the star of the show, sometimes with other tasty morsels serving as attractive garnish. The possibilities for this form are endless. One way of getting your creative juices flowing is to think of a favorite main-course or side dish that can be picked up, just the way it is made; or can be made to do so with a little adjustment. Then scale them down. A good example of this are crab cakes. A perfect crab cake is not finger food. An imperfect one, with too much breading, would be. But why serve bad food to your guests? Instead, put together your favorite crab cake mixture. Dust them with flour, dip in an eggwash, coat with breadcrumbs, and deep fry. You’ll wind up with a crusty cake that still has the consistency you want. Top each with a small dollop of your preferred sauce. I like remoulade, for this. But anything from cocktail sauce to tartar sauce to any of a dozen mustard sauces works just as well. Hint: When saucing finger foods, less is more. You want to use just enough sauce to add an additional flavor layer, and be visually appealing. But not so much that the sauce runs down the sides of the item. Breaded and deep fried foods of all kinds are naturals as finger foods. Another example from Martha Stewart is to slice Japanese eggplants in quarter-inch slices. Bread them with panko and deep fry. Then top each with a slice of mozzarella and one or two oven-dried cherry tomato halves, then pop under the broiler to melt the cheese. Fritters, both sweet and savory, are another potential finger food ideal for parties. The chief characteristic of a fritter is that it’s breaded with a batter, rather than a dry ingredient. Fritters are served both dry and sauced, with a dipping sauce quite common. That makes a big difference as to whether they’re truly apt as finger foods or whether they should have a support structure. When it comes to finger foods of this nature there is only one rule: the item must have enough inherent body so it maintains its integrity when picked up. This, in addition to taste, is why the myriad versions of deviled eggs, chicken wings, and pork ribs are such perennial favorites. You can pick them up without fear that they’ll fall apart on the way to your mouth. Anything too soft, or too messy to be handled has to be supported one way or another. While frying is the easiest, and perhaps commonest way of converting a standard dish to a finger food, there are numerous other methods. Baked dishes made with an abundance of eggs as a binder can be cut in small pieces and served as a finger food. For instance Kedgeree Covington, a lightly curried mixture of rice, fish, eggs, and, yes, cheese, can be cut in small squares and eaten out of hand. At first blush, cheese as a binder would seem to make sense. Most times, however, the resulting dish doesn’t work. This is why mini-quiches, cheese pies, and similar dishes usually have a bottom crust. Take away the support structure of the crust, and it becomes difficult, at best, to pick up the portion. Don’t discount the “sloppy” angle when planning your presentations. Based on functional integrity, for instance, there’s no reason meatballs could not be picked up with the fingers. In practical terms this doesn’t work, because with most versions meatballs are served in a sauce, which would make them rather messy to eat that way. So meatballs are usually put out with some sort of support structure; spoons, or toothpicks, or small plates and cocktail forks. Oft times there are psychological factors affecting whether a dish makes a good finger food. For example, if you cook up a batch of cocktail franks and pile them in a bowl, most people shy away from picking them up with their fingers. Wrap the same frank in some pastry, and bake it into a pigs in blanket, and few hesitate to pick it up. Similarly, slices of Italian sausage on toasted bread rounds will be happily devoured by people who wouldn’t think of picking up the sausage by itself. Considering these ramifications when planning your party foods can make the difference between a dish that everyone raves about, and one that’s an abject failure---even though, at base, it’s the same food item. Reading the above it’s easy to conclude that finger foods are all cooked. This is far from true. Anything that provides the necessary structural integrity can be used without other supports. Wraps, for example, need no help. The immediate thought is to use tortillas, won-ton wraps, or similar breadstuffs to make small wraps. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. But take it a little further. Lettuce leaves make superlative wrappers. Indeed, they are very commonly used that way with many Asian foods. Plus they’re easy to make. Put some filling down on a leaf, fold it into an envelope, or roll it like an egg roll, and you’re ready to serve. While the word “wrap” connotes enclosing the filling completely by the wrapper, that’s not necessarily the case. You can cut cucumbers, summer squashes, even Daikon radishes into very thin longitudinal slices (this is one of the few times a mandolin really comes into its own), and roll them around a filling. Hors oeuvres, in general, are a game of presentation. This is especially true with finger foods. You want the item to look so appealing that your guests can’t help but pick them up and pop them in their mouths. With the vegetable rolls, for instance, they are more pleasing to the eye it stood on edge, rather than laid flat like miniature logs. When making stuffed or deviled eggs, try splitting them with a corrugated cutter for an additional textural bread. Starting with Amish style red beet eggs makes them even more visually pleasing. Presentation is dependent on how much time you have and how much you like to play around with food. The more of each that you have, the more appealing your hors d’oeuvres trays will be. Let’s look at stuffed eggs to see how this works. At their simplest, you hard cook the eggs; divide them in half the long way, and use the yolks and other ingredients to create a filling that goes back into the cavities. As noted, using a corrugated cutter makes them more pleasing to the eye. If you take the time to first make red beet eggs, and use the corrugated cutter, they’re even more appealing. I have these great little gadgets that let you take a freshly made hard-cooked egg and turn it into a perfect cube. Try splitting those with a corrugated cutter and filling them. Talk about attractive! Not to mention the conversation pieces they become. I guarantee your guests will be asking you what kind of chicken lays square eggs. The tradeoff is that they’re very time consuming to prepare. And you have to be willing to peel eggs that are still hot. |
Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Date Posted: 10 December 2013 at 16:24
|
Part 4 I want to move along to non-edible supports. But first, a slight diversion. I got a PM from a member who felt I was making things too complex, too time consuming. “A party,” this member said, “is supposed to be fun---for the host as well as the guests.” I couldn’t agree more. The simple fact is, a bowl of Chex Mix and a six pack of beer is just as much a party as the most high-end, catered affair. I happen to enjoy fussing with food. Preparing a selection of hors d’oeuvres and small plates, for me, is fun. I have the time and inclination to indulge. And I love watching my guests’ reactions to my offerings. If you find my suggestions to complex, then simplify them. Whereas I might put out eight or ten or even a dozen different hors d’oeuvre for an event, you might opt for only two or three. I might choose a different service for each dish, where you might decide everything can go on the same saucer. I’m likely to put out single-bite servings, each on its own plate, while you feel a hotplate and serving spoon are all that’s needed. My purpose is merely to explore some of the possibilities, and, perhaps, show how to expand your party foods in new directions. Here ends the sermon. There are probably more small tastes that require nonedible supports than otherwise. Due to the consistency of the dish, or the fact it requires a sauce, or for other reasons, you have to provide a structure. And edible bases don’t make it. Just think of raw oysters as an example. Can you imagine not serving them in their shells? Or putting them on a cracker? It just wouldn’t work. There is, literally, an unlimited amount of serviceware designed specifically for this purpose. Dishes holding from 1-3 ounces in all sorts of configurations. Sauces, round, square, oval, and free-form. Shooters tall and thin or short and squat. I’ve been collecting such pieces for years, and still don’t think I have enough diversity or quantity of them. The downside is, if you don’t do a lot of entertaining, it’s hard to justify the costs of buying this serviceware new. True, you can use it to serve appetizers whenever you prepare them. But still, how many sizes and shapes can you amass? Nowadays there is a good selection of plastic serviceware you can use on a one-time basis. Much of it looks like fine crystal and china, in fact. Personally, I prefer using real china and glassware for anything but the most casual party. But, frankly, much of this plastic stuff is visually indistinguishable from the true gelt. No reason not to use it if that’s your preference. In addition, there are alternatives to buying new, ranging from thrift shops, yard and garage sales, to home-made pieces. Small plate serviceware is limited only by your imagination and creativity. When shopping these alternative markets it often happens that you find an ideal piece, but in limited quantity. There’s only three of these ceramic fish plates, two of those tiny milk-glass bowls, half a dozen handled shot glasses. Not enough of any one thing for a party. So what? It’s not written anywhere that all the serviceware has to match. Indeed, mismatched service can be fun in its own right, and introduces a note of whimsy to the spread. My friend Kevin, for instance, collects cheese knives. His goal, at a party, is to put out as many of them as necessary, but have no two the same. It’s often a talking point among his guests. Within the framework of alternative markets, don’t neglect the housewares sections of supermarkets and department stores. Often they have boxed sets of plates and bowls, usually 12 or 16 up, and fairly reasonable prices. What’s more, they go on-sale frequently, and you can find some great bargains that way. Nor is it necessary to pay anything for suitable serviceware. I’ve mentioned, more than once, the diminutive scallop shells I often use. Those come from a local Chinese buffet. After enjoying whatever dish they’ve prepared in them, I wrap them in a couple of napkins and take them home. Dozens of them reside in a couple of zipper bags until I need them. Many hors d’oeuvres are served on spoons. You could go out and spend a lot of money for a batch of Chinese spoons. If you buy plastic ones you can reduce the cost. Of just head to a thrift shop, where you’ll likely find all sorts of tablespoons, including silverplate, for as little as a quarter each. The reason Chinese spoons are the first choice, btw, is because they sit flat with a raised handle. This makes for a neater presentation then laying a metal spoon down on a platter, and prevents sauces and liquids from oozing out. The solution is to either provide a rest for the handles---something that raises the handles just enough---or bend them. If you choose the latter, the goal is to have the leading edge of the handle rest on the platter in such a way that the spoon bowl sits level. If you want to put in the time, bend the handles to form loops and swirls instead of merely at a right angle. This might require heating the handle, as well as working it with a hammer and pliers. Remember, small plates are a game of presentation. And that should apply to the serviceware as well as the food itself. The least expensive serviceware is skewers and fancy picks. I always have at least six sizes and shapes on hand. But to me, there is nothing as boring as skewered food lying flat on a serving plate or warming tray. They should always be served more or less upright, in my opinion. I have several display racks for skewered food that I’ve made out of wood. They’re in different configurations and sizes, but share one thing in common: each of them has a number of angled holes just large enough for a skewer to slip in. If I recall correctly, a 3/16th drill bit is the right size. But you can check on that easily enough. You don’t have to go that far, however. Anything that has eye appeal of its own, and which can support a skewer upright, could be a good choice. For instance, a ham & cheese skewer can be inserted into half an orange. Or try using home-baked mini-breads the same way. Although skewered selections can be picked up and eaten as finger foods, most plated dishes cannot. So in addition to the serviceware, itself, you’ll need a selection of forks and spoons. Here, again, “cocktail” forks and spoons are available in less-expensive plastic versions, with various finishes from metallic to colored. But, unlike the dishes themselves, metal cocktail flatware isn’t all that expensive, and takes up little storage room. So you can amass it over time if that’s your preference. |
Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Date Posted: 13 December 2013 at 12:20
|
Part 5: Got another PM on this topic. I really don’t understand why y’all aren’t just posting questions here. But, anyway…. This member took me to task for not providing recipes. That one set me aback. My purpose, which I thought I’d made clear, was to teach various techniques and methods for producing great party foods. Once you realize how to manipulate and present food as hors d’oeuvres, recipes specifically for them shouldn’t be necessary. You can adapt any dish you like to this format. But maybe I’m wrong? Why don’t you all let me know whether you want me to include recipes as part of this tutorial. Moving on, I want to talk a bit more about serviceware, which can make or break a party. There are, at base, three ways of putting out hors d’oeuvres: as finger food; on individual serving dishes; or in self-serve dishes. Many times, hosts think about serving plates and flatware only with the last category. For instance, Swedish meatballs might be put out in a chafing dish, and guests help themselves. With that sort of service, it’s obvious that separate plates and forks should be provided. With finger foods and individually plated ones, hosts often think serviceware is unnecessary. In theory, they’re right. After all, why do you need a plate when you’re merely going to lift the hors d’oeuvre with your fingers and pop it in your mouth? If you spread serving platters all over the place, that can work to a certain degree. But if you’re setting one big table, and don’t put out serviceware, you’re forcing your guests to hang out at that table, instead of mingling, and enjoying the party as such. When serving dips and spreads, having additional serviceware is crucial. Above all, try to avoid the typical party platter: the dip is put in a central bowl, which sits on a platter surrounded by a variety of dippers. That makes a pretty presentation. But there are two problems with it. If you don’t provide serviceware you are forcing your guests to cluster around the dip platter. Even worse, you are setting up a situation where double-dipping is necessary. That’s where somebody uses a dipper to scoop up some of the dip, bites it, then dips again with the same chip. This is both unsightly and unsanitary. And it’s something you truly want to avoid. On the other hand, if you provide a large plate, guests make a selection from the table or dip platter, and move away from it. When I say “large” I don’t mean a dinner plate. That’s far too much. Dessert plates and saucers are more in line with what you need; on the order of six- and eight-inch sizes. Varying the shapes and colors is more festive, for sure. But there’s nothing wrong with going with round, white plates. You’ll also need lots of them. This addresses another of those behavioral syndromes. At a party, most people will make a selection and move off, as you desire. If they return to the table for an additional selection, they will, more times than not, pick up a new plate, rather than reuse the first one. Think of your party table as a buffet in that respect. Fortunately, we’ve come a long way from the days of flimsy paper plates. Nowadays there is an unlimited number of sturdy, good looking, disposable serviceware. And, while you’re more likely to find a broader selection at a party store, even supermarkets carry a surprisingly wide selection. So you might want to explore the possibilities of going that route, instead of using china. While you’re at it, you might want to look at the diversity of crystal-like plastic glassware. Nowadays, everything from lowball glasses to champagne flutes are available that way. There’s another syndrome at work here. The smaller the group, the more likely they are to reuse a plate. For example, let’s say you’re having six people over for cocktails. As each of them returns to the table, he or she will take their plate with them. The exception is if a particular selection was kind of messy. In that case, they’ll take a new plate just to prevent cross-contamination. On the other hand, say you’re having 25 people from work to a party. Most of them will take a new plate every time they visit the table. Serviceware should include napkins. Lots and lots of napkins. You should also be thinking about serving utensils, an often overlooked aspect of an hors d’oeuvres table. I’ve been to more than one party where the hosts scramble around at the last second, because they didn’t give any thought that some way is needed to transfer those Swedish meatballs from the chafing dish to service plates. Serving spoons, forks, spatulas, and tongs all have their place in this regard. All of the serviceware decisions should be made at the same time you decide on the dishes you’ll be serving. With each hors d’oeuvre ask yourself 1. How will I serve this?, and 2. how will my guests transfer it to their plate? Keep a running list, or, sure as shooting, you’ll forget something. If you’ll be serving hot foods at a party, think about extension cords. While I happen to own several steam tables, I recognize how unusual that is. Most of us use electrical appliances to keep food warm. I do it myself, using crock pots, warming trays, and electric skillets as appropriate. Rarely do we locate a serving table right near a plug. So make sure you have extension cords and socket bars to accommodate the utensils you’ll be using. BTW, if you’re in the market for new ones, have you seen the crock pots that dock with each other? As many as six of them can be run off of one electric line. There are other multiple-configuration crock pots ideal for party use as well. I’ve got a triple, for instance, that has served me well for several years. One thing I’m always forgetting is that crock pots are next to useless for rewarming food. They just take too long to heat the contents. So if you use them, heat the food before transferring it to the crock pot. If you do own a steam table, don’t forget the Sterno or other canned fuel. Nothing is as embarrassing at a party is having hot food turn cold because you forgot to stock up on the fuel. On the flip side, cold foods should be cold. And that usually means ice. You want to have plenty on hand, both for this purpose and for drinks. But how you utilize it is important. Never let your food offerings come in direct contact with ice. There are several reasons for this. For starters, you can actually cause freezer burn that way. Then, as the ice melts, the food gets waterlogged and soggy. And, finally, you don’t want your guests, as they serve themselves, have to fight the ice in order to pick up an hors d’oeuvre. The simplest solution should be self-evident: Use double serving pieces. Start with a deep container, such as a hotel pan. Put your ice in it. Then lay your actual serving tray on the ice. Be sure an monitor it, and drain off melt water fairly frequently. Otherwise, the serving tray can sink into the cooling tray, and the melt water flood it. Obviously, if the serving tray is bigger than the cooling tray that won’t happen. But it’s also a less efficient way of keeping the food cold. |
Posted By: gonefishin
Date Posted: 13 December 2013 at 13:42
|
Wow, more great stuff Brook...thanks.
I especially enjoyed the part about the wontons, eggrolls, etc. I've got to get comfortable enough with these to work them into my cooking without hesitation. One problem...I do dislike frying foods! I'll have to see how some of the alternatives work out for me...I'm especially interested in the steaming. I'm enjoying the depth that your going into when talking about each section...I don't view it so much as detailed instructions, as much as direction. I'm also not sure if recipes are needed, but I am only one. Maybe one recipe per section would be helpful to post, in appropriate section, and link in the post. This way we'll have something to help us get our creative side moving in the correct direction. thanks! ------------- Enjoy The Food! |
Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Date Posted: 13 December 2013 at 14:20
|
Good idea on the single recipe, Dan. Or maybe one or two to illustrate the points being made. Perhaps even show how a standard recipe can be adapted to hors d'oeuvre form? In many won-ton applications you can bake instead of frying. I make one version, with a mushroom stuffing, for instance. After filling I dip the whole thing in an egg wash, lightly bread, and bake. Worldwide, steaming and simmering are probably the most common ways of cooking dumplings. So it's a technique well worth learning; not only for hors d'oeuvres but for main courses as well. |
Posted By: gonefishin
Date Posted: 13 December 2013 at 14:28
sounds like a winner to me------------- Enjoy The Food! |
HistoricFoodie wrote:Posted By: TasunkaWitko
Date Posted: 13 December 2013 at 20:48
|
Brook - as you know, I've barely been treading water lately with my work duties, but I finally got a chance to take a closer look at this. Outstanding work, my friend! I cannot thank you enough for putting in the time and effort! I appreciate most the way you do lay it out, in easy-to follow language. you're able to make some pretty advanced-looking concepts seem easy! Please, keep up the great work - It means a lot to me on a personal level that you freely share your wealth of knowledge and experience here ~ ------------- If you are a visitor and like what you see, please http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/registration_rules.asp?FID=0" rel="nofollow - click here and join the discussions in our community! |
Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Date Posted: 14 December 2013 at 03:13
| Aw, gee, shucks, Ron. Now I'll have to go buy a bigger hat. |
Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Date Posted: 14 December 2013 at 06:11
|
Part 6 If you’re like most Americans, your first party food was a dip. Not only a dip, but the same one: you mixed a package of onion soup mix into sour cream, and surrounded it by chips and/or sliced veggies. That onion dip remains popular. In fact, dips and spreads of all kinds probably constitute the single most popular group of party foods going. No matter what else is laid out on the party table, there’s sure to be at least one dip or spread. More often than not there are several. What’s the difference between a dip and a spread? It’s the same difference as that between soups and stews; to wit, density. Dips are thin enough so that a dipper can be used to just scoop some up. Spreads are thicker, and require a blade to spread them on a support. Note the use of those words: You dip something or you spread something. Ironic how that works out. Very often there’s a complete progression based strictly on density. Take Crab Imperial as an example: 1 lb backfin crabmeat 1 tbls butter 1 tbls flour 1 tsp minced onion 1 ½ tsp Worcestershire 2 slices white bread, crusts removed, cubed ½ cup mayonnaise 1 tbls lemon juice ½ tsp salt Pinch pepper 2 tbls butter Paprika for sprinkling Remove all cartilage from crabmeat. In a medium pan melt the 1 tablespoon butter. Mix in the flour and cook for a minute to remove the raw taste. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly, to keep mixture smooth and free from lumps. Continue cooking until mixtures comes to a boil and thickens. Mix in the onion, Worcestershire and bread cubes. Remove from heat and let cool. Fold in the mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper. In another pan, melt the two tablespoons butter until lightly browned. Add crabmeat and toss lightly. Combine with sauce mixture. Put into a greased one-quart casserole or individual ramikins. Sprinkle paprika over the top. Bake at 450F until hot and bubbly and lightly browned on top, ten to 15 minutes. Made like this, Crab Imperial, as a party food, would be a spread. You use a fork or spoon to transfer it to a support, such as a cracker. If you thin it, by adding more mayo and/or reducing the amount of bread cubes, you’d have a dip. Thin it even further and you have a crab sauce, ideal for serving on finned fish. Thin it even further, with the addition of milk, cream, or fish stock, and you have a soup. Yet, they’re all a form of Crab Imperial. When I was young it was rare to find dippers that weren’t either potato chips or pretzels. Nowadays those are actually the least used. Instead, fruits, veggies, other sorts of chips are more common. Indeed, when the fondue thing first took off, people realized that bread cubes, fruits, and ever cheese could be used to make a nice dip platter. After all, that’s all fondue is; a hot, rather thin, dip. You do want to make an effort to match the dipper to the dip. While dippers are, at base, merely a support structure for the dip, they serve another purpose as well; adding a bit of crunch to what usually is a creamy, unctuous mixture. No reason, while you’re at it, not to match flavors as well. Day in and day out, sour cream, cream cheese, and mayo are the thinning and smoothing agents used. Typical would be my Reuben Dip 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature 1 cup sour cream ½ lb corned beef, shaved and shredded 1 cup Swiss cheese, grated 1 cup sauerkraut, well drained 1 tbls ketchup 2 tsp brown mustard 2 tsp diced onion Paprika for garnish Preheat oven to 375F. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and blend thoroughly. Pour into a lightly greased baking dish. Bake, covered, 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 5-10 minutes more until browned on top. More and more we’ve seen a departure from those smoothing agents. So much so that some really great dips and spreads depend merely on the main ingredient, with no cream or mayo added at all. Typical would be Kate Heyhoe’s My Blue Heaven Spread 4 oz gorgonzola or other blue-veined cheese at room temperature 3 oz unsalted butter, softened 1 tbls crème de cassis 1/8 tsp allspice, plus extra for garnish Dash white pepper ¼ cup coarsely chopped, toasted hazelnuts Using a fork, mash together the cheese, butter, cassis, allspice and white pepper until the mixture is completely blended. Stir in the hazelnuts, reserving a small amount for garnish. Cover and refrigerate, then bring to room temperature and garnish with a dash of allspice and the reserved nuts before serving. Soft fruits can be used as the liquid element to smooth a dip, without the use of dairy. One wonderful example is Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Fenniger’s Spicy Banana Dip 2 tbls vegetable oil 1 yellow onion, diced 1 tsp sea salt or to taste 2 tsp grated or minced fresh ginger root 2 cloves garlic, grated or minced 1 serrano chili, grated or minced 2 bananas, mashed with a fork 2 tbls cider vinegar 4 tbls water 3 tbls chopped cilantro Heat the oil in a small pot. Add the onion and salt and cook over medium heat until golden brown. Add the grated ginger, garlic, and serrano chili and cook a minute or two to release the aromas. Add the banana, vinegar and water and simmer briefly. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Stir in cilantro and serve. As noted previously, it is crucial that dips and spreads be served with service ware. If not, your guests will be forced to cluster around the platter to enjoy the dip. And worse, that leads to double dipping, a most unsanitary practice at best. Most dips and spreads are merely served in bowls or casserole dishes, surrounded by the dippers. Nothing at all wrong with that. But, whenever possible, I like to use other sorts of containers. I’m sure, for instance, that you’ve seed spinach dip served in bread baskets. You merely hollow out a round loaf, fill it with the dip, meanwhile cutting the removed crumb into pieces to be used as dippers. Take that idea a little further. Hollowed out pumpkins or other squashes make great containers for dips and spreads (for soups, too, as an aside). Or prefill halved jalapenos or cherry tomatoes with a dip to create a finger food. You’re guaranteed there will be no double-dipping that way. Presentation of almost any dip or spread can be improved with garnishes that add both visual and flavor appeal. Spices like paprika and allspice are obvious sprinkling garnishes. But go a step further and think about nuts and seeds. Sometimes combining two dips makes one that is exponentially more appealing. For instance, both black and green tapenade can be used to perk up a light colored dip and add color to it when used as a garnish. While there’s nothing wrong with merely sprinkling garnishes on the surface, I like to play around with design elements. For example, when serving hummus I often create a design on the surface with garlic chips. With powdery garnishes, small seeds, and chopped nuts I almost always create a stencil to control where the garnish goes. I’ve found two materials ideal for this. First are the plastic lids that come on everything from snack foods to coffee. These have the advantage of being rimmed, to contain the garnish. Merely design your pattern, transfer it to an appropriately sized lid, and cut it out with a craft knife. Alternatively, plastic place mats are an inexpensive source of stenciling material. Last time I bought some they were on sale at 79 cents each. But even the regular price is barely twice that. A cheap enough way to impress your guests. You don’t have to go crazy with the cut-outs. Stars, diamonds, other geometric shapes are often all it takes to create that wow factor. But there’s no reason not to get fancy if you have the time. I recently went a little crazy for a friend’s bridge party. I made four spreads, each of which was decorated with a suit symbol in appropriate color. Paprika and chopped papadeles were used for the hearts and diamonds, tapenade and black sesame seeds for the clubs and spades. A dramatic presentation that they’re still talking about a year la |
Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Date Posted: 18 December 2013 at 08:35
|
Part 7 I have said, more than once, that there’s no need for special hors d’oeuvres recipes because you can take any dish that you like and convert it. I stand by that. Most of the time the only difference between a main dish and a small plate is size. That’s the whole idea behind sliders, for example. Take your favorite hamburger mix and toppings, reduce them to about a third of the normal size, and, voila! Sliders. On the progressive dinner thread for December 19 I posted pea cakes as the first course. The same syndrome is at work. The original recipe for those tasty treats called for a half cup of mixture, shaped into a patty, and fried. As a party food, I reduce them to about three tablespoons to make diminutive versions. Otherwise, everything stays the same. Changing the format as well as the size is also a good way to create hors d’oeuvres. For example, throughout the Mid-east and other parts of the Med, chopped meat---usually lamb---is combined with other flavors, molded on a skewer, and grilled over charcoal. Do the same thing with your favorite minced meat recipe and you have a perfect party finger food. If grilling is inconvenient, just use your broiler instead. It often happens, however, that you have to do some serious modifications to turn a main dish into an hors d’oeuvre. Such is the case with my mini-hot browns. I thought that detailing the evolution of hot browns from a main dish open faced sandwich to a finger food might prove helpful. Hot Browns were originated at the Brown Hotel, in Louisville, Kentucky, back in the 1920s. They started out using poached chicken. Later on turkey was used as an acceptable alternative.. Slices of the fowl were laid on a couple of pieces of white bread and covered with a parmesan-based Mornay sauce. The dish was garnished with two criss-crossed bacon slices and mushrooms, and popped under the broiler until the sauce was bubbly and slightly browned. Traditionally the soft bread was laid down in an elongated diamond. A whole slice formed the center. A second slice was cut into triangles, which flanked the center. With modern versions, the sauce is just as likely to be cheddar based as parmesan. And almost universally, tomatoes are used for the garnish, rather than mushrooms. Even the Brown Hotel does it that way. I happen to be a hot browns freak, and wanted to convert this classic to a party food. Merely reducing the size wouldn’t make it, because they would still need to be a plated dish that required a knife and fork to eat. Reasoning out what would be required, I knew I’d have to change the bread to something with more backbone, to support everything else, and that the sauce would have to be thick, so as to not run all over the place. Plus I wanted to stick with the original garnish. Although my research doesn’t reveal it one way or the other, it is likely, given the time of origination, that the original used carved mushrooms. For the base I chose oatmeal bread. This bread has enough inherent stiffness. But to assure it wouldn’t collapse, I decided to toast it as well. The protein would be smoked turkey, from the deli counter. I had them slice it a quarter inch thick. For this project, graduated cookie cutters were just the thing. I choose to use fluted ones, just for the textural break. Originally I used small button mushrooms for the garnish, but changed that to beech mushrooms, which were lightly sautéed in butter. Slab bacon was cut into lardoons in order to fit the final size, and pan-fried until crisp. I cut the bread a bit thinner than a half inch, then, using the larger of the nesting cutters, cut them into fluted rounds. These were brushed with melted butter, laid out on a sheet pan, and toasted in the oven, lightly browning both sides. While the bread browned, I used the same cutter, and the next smaller one, to make the turkey slices. I also used an apple corer to cut small rounds of turkey. The goal was to create a graduated tower. Next I made a Mornay sauce, using parmesan, and let it cook until it was very thick. The goal here was to have a creamy sauce that wouldn’t run. Once everything was ready assembly was a snap. Each fluted round of bread was covered with a large and a smaller fluted round of turkey, and three of the small rounds arranged on top. A dollop of the sauce was dropped over the turkey slices, and sprinkled with additional parmesan. Mushrooms and lardoons were arranged on each tower, and they were popped under the broiler for a few moments so the sauce would turn brown and bubbly. Ya gotta love it when a plan comes together! Seafood lollipops are another of my signature hors d’oeuvres. These grew out of several influences. I had, after much experimenting, come up with a seafood sausage recipe that combined finned fish (salmon works best, but tilapia is good as well) with several types of shellfish. Included in the mixture were crayfish tails. All this is turned into a sort of mousse, which is piped onto cling film squares, rolled into logs, and poached. Shortly afterwards, on an Iron Chef episode, Cat Cora made what she called seafood corndogs. She made what was essentially a salmon mousse, which got piped directly into a poaching liquid just long enough to form a tough skin. She transferred the logs to skewers, dipped them in a batter, and deep fried them. Why not combine the two? Which is what I did. Because it would make them too crumbly, however, I eliminated the crayfish. And, instead of logs, I dropped balls of the mousse from a disher into the liquid (I use a 50/50 mix of fish stock and white wine). The balls were pushed onto ice cream sticks, dusted with cornstarch, dipped into a beer batter, and deep fried. . To finish them off I made a peach gastrique, which was drizzled over the lollipops. I’m not suggesting that such complexity is necessary. The point here is that other dishes can be easily converted if you give it a little thought. |
Posted By: TasunkaWitko
Date Posted: 18 December 2013 at 18:48
|
brook - reading about your hot browns project, i could actually see the process in my mind's eye ~ outstanding descriptive writing, and once again i really feel compelled to commend you for making such a thing look easy ~
------------- If you are a visitor and like what you see, please http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/registration_rules.asp?FID=0" rel="nofollow - click here and join the discussions in our community! |
Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Date Posted: 18 December 2013 at 21:31
|
The thing is, Ron, it is easy. As with most small, repetitive dishes, they can be time consuming. But certainly not difficult. Take the same approach, but use, say, rye bread and ham, perhaps going with a Swiss cheese sauce. Or pumpernickel, summer sausage, and a mustard sauce. And so forth. I haven't made either of those. They're just combinations that occured to me as we discuss this. But, as I keep saying, it's the technique that counts more than any specific recipe. If you want to see difficult, check out Heinz Beck's book Finger Food. Each of his creations is an absolute jewel. But not the sort of thing the average home cook is going to make for a party. Here's one example. As you read it keep in mind that the "crostini" base for these is smaller than a 35 mm negative, and everything is sized proportionately. Puntarelle is a vegetable I've never seen in the U.S. But thin strips of celery can substitute: Squid, Tomato, and Puntarelle Crostini 3 large squid 350 grams cherry tomatoes (about 12 oz) 100 grams puntarelle or celery (about 3 1/2 oz) 80 grams firm textured white bread (about 2 3/4 oz), sliced thin 7-8 sprigs fresh marjoram 1 lemon 1 clove galic 1 small piece hot red pepper 1 sprig flat leaf parsley 1 spring fresh thyme Extra virgin olive oil Salt Wash, dry and trim the squid eliminating the tentacles. Cut the bodies into thin (about 1")strips and transfer to a nonreactive dish with the sliced garlic, hot pepper, parsley, torn, the juice of a quarter of a lemon, and a few tablespoons of olive oil. Allow to marinate for approximately 2 hours. Make a small X shaped incision in the skin of the tomatoes at their base. Immerse in boiling water for a few seconds, remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to an ice bath. Peel, quarter and eliminate the seeds. Put the tomato pulp in a nonreactive bowl and season with a few teaspoons of olive oil, salt, and chopped thyme. Allow to rest for 30 minutes then drain and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Dehydrate in a 176F (80C) oven for roughly 4 hours. Allow to cool and finely chop. Wash, dry and trim the puntarelle, removing any fibrous portions. Cut into thin (about 1/4 inch) strips, transfer to a bowl and season with an emulsion of olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Trim the crusts from the bread and cut into ten 1 x 3/4 inch (3 x 2 cm) rectangles. Toast lightly. Drain the marinade from the ribbons of squid and grill them briefly. Top each piece of bread with a ribbon of squid, folded in thirds, dried tomatoes, strips of puntarelle, and sprigs of marjoram. A toothpick helps hold everything in place, particularly the squid which wants to unfold if just left unpinned. After all this fussing, and multi-tasking, you'll wind up with just 10 hors d'oeuvres. |
Posted By: gonefishin
Date Posted: 19 December 2013 at 07:38
Boy, there are no truer words about cooking than that. I'm not sure when things "clicked", regarding method/technique, for me...I think it was some time over at ChefTalk. But the point where I stopped cooking recipes was the point are really started to understand cooking. There's, of course, a bit more to that than just winging it. It's the point of understanding the basic cooking methods and putting them into practice for each dish being cooked. ------------- Enjoy The Food! |
Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Date Posted: 19 December 2013 at 13:17
|
There's, of course, a bit more to that than just winging it. Absolutely. First you learn the techniques. Along with that comes an understanding how flavors and ingredients work with each other. That last comes through time in grade, and is a never-ending learning experience. |