509 replies to this topic

[Adam Balic]

Thai fish cakes
Helen, for my last party I served these items, all well received.

grilled Vietnamese beef in mint leaves
grilled monkfish skewered on rosemary stalks and wrapped in panchetta
venison terrine
chicken liver pate
salmon eggs on buckwheat blini with creme fraiche
various middle eastern filo pastry things
mini pizza with queen scallops, pesto, cherve.
various chicken Asian things (mini-drumsticks, various flavours)
californian rolls
vegetarian nori rolls
steamed pork buns (bought, not made)
mango salsa with prawn crackers
Cevapcici (Croatian skinless sausage)
Vietnamese spring rolls
Vietnamese rice paper rolls

Almost everything can be pre-prepared.

[Jinmyo]

Adam, you only bought the pork buns? I'm impressed.

edit:
Oh, further to pease pudding. I made thumb sized pease puddings, wrapped them in prosciutto with a mint dipping sauce. Quite interesting.

[Adam Balic]

Adam, you only bought the pork buns? I'm impressed.

edit:
Oh, further to pease pudding. I made thumb sized pease puddings, wrapped them in prosciutto with a mint dipping sauce. Quite interesting.

Bah, I'm not all talk you know ! This was nearly a year ago, time for another party.

Pease puddinettes? So you cooked the pease, made them in mini-pud's,wrapped them and grilled them(?). Was the mint sauce like, mint, vinegar, sugar or something else. Very interesting, I have to cook some game soon and I think that these maybe just the ticket. Much nicer (or is that 'better", subjectively) thengame chips, bleach!

[Jinmyo]

Yes, Adam, but I sauteed them in EVOO. Mint sauce was shallot, champagne vinegar, Dijon, fresh mint, s&p. No sugar.

[Adam Balic]

sauteed eh, tricky, very tricky. I would be afraid they would burst. Nice sauce.

[Jinmyo]

Never fear, Adam. In fact I flipped them a few times. The prosciutto (and a tooth-pick removed before serving) held the puds well.

[Heather]

Perhaps too late an addition to be useful - given that you're doing a tasting plate for tuesday, which it now is here in Australia - but will contribute anyway.

Tetsuya's cookbook has excellent recipe for oysters dressed with soy sauce-rice vinegar vinaigrette, then topped with a little salmon caviar - abundant here in Australia, land of Beluga ban.

My favourite local Thai restaurant - Emerald Buddha, South Melbourne - serves a fantastic snacky-sized appetiser on their mixed entree plate. Squid ball in tamarind sauce. The squid ball comes in tiny shot glass, is doused with liberal amount of sauce, and impaled on a stick for easy removal. Squid ball, btw, is minced-up squid, seasoned lightly, but sauce carries most of the flavour.

If you want to do a little sushi, can't go wrong with a spicy tuna roll. Men, especially - even men who aren't great sushi fans - seem to love them. If you want to outdo yourself, tempura-battered spicy tuna roll, served topped with a little squeeze of Japanese mayo. Has to be Japanese mayo - the stuff that comes in squishy bottle with red lid.

Tuna empanadas, as served at tapas. Dough encloses a mixture of cooked tuna, green olives, maybe some mashed potato. Another tapas favourite, for a sweet finish - churros! Stick-like Spanish donuts, which could be served with choice of caramel or chocolate dipping sauce.

Back to savoury - Asian style sticky rice balls. I make mushroom sticky rice parcels. The sticky rice is flavoured with a mushroom mix that includes black fungus, white fungus, dried shiitake, fresh swiss browns, oyster sauce, coriander. Would probably work as little balls, too.

Let me know if you'd like me to elaborate, or provide recipe for any of the above.

[coffeetaster]

I like deep fried (crispy) ravioli. you can make them with different fillings and dipping sauces.

Cheers!
Coffeetaster

[helen jackson]

wow so many wonderful ideas - thankyou.
Menu is done and all are happy.

This is some of what I am doing............


Thai fish bites skewered with sugar cane

risotto cakes flavoured with spinach and gorgonzola served topped with capsicum chutney and shaved parmigiano

Beef, guiness and mushroom pies with anchovy & thyme scone topping

Australian king prawns in coconut wonton wrappers with mango and chilli salsa

Porcini & olive tapenade served on warm potato gallette & drizzled with truffle oil

Mini spring onion pancakes filled with Chinese bbq’d duck and hoisin sauce

Creamy new season asparagus and dill soup served in demitasse cups


Thai Beef noodle salad with basil & mint served in Asian tea cups

Freshly shucked Pacific oysters shots

New season scallops served on silver spoons with chilli jam and creme fraiche

[helen jackson]

have heaps of new recipes from your posts to try out for future

[mixmaster b]

I read this thread with great interest because I was planning to do hors d'oeuvres for a friend's engagement party.

Thanks for all the great ideas, and especially thanks to liziee--we used the mignonette sauce, which was a big hit, and also the horseradish sauce. The horseradish sauce was used on roast beef served on tiny savory palmiers. (I wanted to try the popovers but needed someting I could do a bit more in advance.) THANKS!

Helen-the final results sound marvelous!

[Varmint]

Our firm is having its annual pot-luck "Fall Feast" next week. I've been assigned to bring an appetizer. Folks, I hate these things, because I have to figure out something that I can make the evening before that can be served at room temperature (or colder -- we have refrigerators to keep things cold but only microwaves to warm them up). Plus, there will be about 100 people there (no, I only have to make enought to feed 30 or so in appetizer portions).

I have absolutely no desire to think about what to make, so I'm begging y'all to help me with ideas for a decent pot luck appetizer.

[Dave the Cook]

I did this for the office Thanksgiving party last year. It's pretty easy, but just sophisticated enough to ensure your continued reputation as the office food geek. You can roast the peppers two days ahead, then assemble and bake the night before, using pre-made pie shells. It makes ten servings as a side dish; I would think you could get 15 app-sized portions, and it works at any temperature. I think the original recipe came from Joy of Cooking, but I wouldn't swear to it.

Roasted Pepper and Onion Tart

2 small red bell peppers
2 small yellow bell peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped red onion
pie crust
1 teaspoon all purpose flour
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
scant cup whipping cream
3 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon pepper, or to taste

1. Char peppers over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Wrap in paper bag and seal, or place in a large glass bowl and cover with plate. Let stand 10 minutes. Peel and seed peppers. Cut into 1/3-inch-wide strips and set aside.
2. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and season with salt, pepper and half of thyme. Sauté until just beginning to color, about 12 minutes. Transfer to bowl and cool. (Bell peppers and onion can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)
3. Preheat oven to 425°F.
4. Roll out crust to about 12–1/2 inches in diameter. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon flour over surface of crust.
5. Place crust, floured side down, in 11–inch–diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Fold crust edge in, forming double-thick sides. Pierce dough all over with fork. Bake until light golden, about 10 minutes. Cool crust about 15 minutes.
6. Reduce oven temperature to 400°F.
7. Arrange onion in crust. Top with bell pepper strips in spaced rows or in a criss-cross pattern. Sprinkle with basil. Whisk cream, eggs, salt and pepper in medium bowl to blend. Gently pour custard over vegetables.
8. Bake tart until custard sets, about 20 minutes. Cool tart 5 minutes in pan on rack. Remove pan sides. Cut tart into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.
Serves 10.

[Schielke]

Check out the PacNW Cocktail Party thread, there was an amazing array of tasty treats in that format. The bacon candy might be good, but I dont know about the refrigeration issues with that one.

Ben

[tommy]

chicken wings. everyone loves chicken wings. i don't care what they say. make 'em out of breast strips and put them on a skewer to be fancy and neat.

[col klink]

Just bring the bacon candy, it will instantly promote you.

[Nick]

For last year's annual watershed meeting and potluck I smoked some garlic sausages and bratworst. In case that's not too handy for you, I also made some things I don't have a name for.

Just take a slice of roast beef, part of a slice of swiss cheese, and a sliver of dill pickle. Wrap the cheese around the pickle and the roast beef around the cheese. Experiment with the amount of cheese and pickle until you get the right balance. I used "Old Neighborhood" rare roast beef, Rupp swiss cheese, and Claussen pickles - all from the local Hannaford's. Also, I cut them in half to go further. Quick and easy and no cooking.

Both items were well-received and gone in no time.

Edit: I put the roast beef flat on the board, place the swiss on it a little off center, the pickle on that, and roll up. Then secure it with a toothpick.

[maggiethecat]

For easy and good at room temp, I suggest frittata wedges. Cheap, easy, filling, yummy.

[Varmint]

Somebody help me with this bacon candy thing. I saw the rough guide for making it, but what is the final texture? Crispy/crunchy? Chewy? How's the salty and smokey go with the sweet? Details, please!

[heyjude]

Varmint, all of the above. Crispy, smoky, chewy, salty and sweet. The out come depends on how crisp you get the bacon before coating with the nuts/brown sugar mix. Cook whole slices and then slice in squares, about 5 or 6 per slice. They can be served hot or at room temp. Invite Klink.

[Suzanne F]

Has anybody tried it using maple sugar? And maybe a touch of allspice? Kind of like a bacon maple-walnut sundae. Or would that be overkill?

[Kim WB]

are you using commercial bacon, or butcher cut from the slab? Anything else in the sugar except brown sugar and walnuts?

[col klink]

Yeah bacon! Heyjude's bacon was of an artisnal variety from Whole Foods, pre-cut but from the deli. A very fine, exceptional bacon. I'm going to be making these for Thanksgiving!

[heyjude]

One of the recipes I tried had a tsp of flour mixed into the one cup of brown sugar/walnuts. I assume it's supposed to create a streuselly topping, but the effect was barely discernable. One I didn't try had cayenne.

[Jaymes]

The flavor of this is beginning to sound similar to Marlene's "pigs in a blanket with a twist" suggestion - For which she was unceremoniously skewered.

I find that amusing!

[heyjude]

Wishing to be neither skewer nor skeweree, I'd say you are probably right Jaymes. However, whenever I serve Bacon Candy, people swoon and say they've never tasted anything like it before. In fact, Klink is now in my power and will smoke anything I ask.

[Jaymes]

Wishing to be neither skewer nor skeweree, I'd say you are probably right Jaymes. However, whenever I serve Bacon Candy, people swoon and say they've never tasted anything like it before. In fact, Klink is now in my power and will smoke anything I ask.

I think your Bacon Candy sounds, (dare I say it?) sublime. And, in fact, I plan to hie myself to Whole Foods immediately and get that exact kind of bacon, and have Bacon Candy be my new "thing" here in my small suburb. I predict I'll be a smash hit.

What I was commenting on is that the flavor of bacon/sausage with the nut/brown sugar thing sounds similar. And, I actually thought Marlene's suggestion was kind of intriguing, but she was roundly trounced.

I just find it amusing, that's all... I mean, it's all in the presentation isn't it? And, in who's doing the presenting.

[heyjude]

Yes, Jaymes. At the same party where I served the bacon, I told the sophisticated eGulleteers about a prize winner from the Pillsbury Bake-off that is made with marshmallows and crescent rolls and they all were very polite. I'm sure they were inwardly groaning, because no one has asked me for the recipe.

[Nanmeade]

I don't know if I missed something but can someone post a link to the bacon candy recipe?

[Jaymes]

Yes, Jaymes. At the same party where I served the bacon, I told the sophisticated eGulleteers about a prize winner from the Pillsbury Bake-off that is made with marshmallows and crescent rolls and they all were very polite. I'm sure they were inwardly groaning, because no one has asked me for the recipe.

This is the most amazing coincidence. I've been looking for a recipe that combines marshmallows and Crescent Rolls! And, a prize winner to boot.

I'd love to have it. For one thing, my daughter is a counselor/teacher at a private boarding school, and she is always looking for fun treats to make for her kids.

You can PM me with it if you'd like!

(And I'm serious. I DO want it.)