Appetizer/Hors D'Oeuvre/Starter Ideas

[tsquare]

This place just opened - you might borrow some ideas:

wine bar menu at art gallery

They plan to change the food with the art, monthly, keeping some items consistent. Lots of the ideas would work for openings.

[maggiethecat]

I don't have time to be more specific, but I can offer you this solid piece of advice if you're in the Nibbles Business: get a copy of Martha Stewart's "Hors d"Oeuvres Cookbook." For me it's the Bible: a huge variety of lovely bites, beautiful presentation, and great-tasting food. Sure, there are the usual number of Martha labor-intensive fiddley recipes, but it's still, for me, the last word on the subject.

She started her career (well, after the modelling and the seat on the Stock Exchange) as a caterer. This is a Pro book, and everything looks gorgeous.

[Marlene]

this one maggie?

[maggiethecat]

this one maggie?

←

Yup, that's it.

And to give it even more cred: ronnie_suburban, cook and host extraordinaire, Honcho of the Heartland and my cherished macho buddy, is likewise a fan of this book.

[Marlene]

It's going on my Christmas list!

[zilla369]

I have to admit to using the hell out of that book, too. I don't own any of Martha's other books, but the photographs spoke to me as someone who is heavy into presentation. One of the only "cookbooks" I own that looks well-worn. It has a vibrant photo section separate from the printed recipe section, but - they thought of everything here - my edition has two attached ribbon bookmarks so you can keep your place when flipping back and forth from the recipe to the photo of the finished project.

Even without the recipes, this book would be worth the price simply for the way the photographs inspired me to push my presentation skills to new levels.

[racheld]

Me, too--though mine is the 1984 edition, a hardback version, with an ingenue-ish Martha smiling shyly from between wings of a blonde cascade, her poufy yellow dress setting off the table of nibbles.

I catered many a party with these tasty bites, wagging the book to clients in my portfolio, duplicating thousands of the little phyllo triangles, great forests of the in-a-vase puff pastry straws, tea tables that would have astounded lords and ladies, and we did enough blinis, brochettes and thimble-muffins to feed a small country.

We marbled eggs, we cut cucumber cups, we strung tortellini on skewers. Any and all of the dishes, we tried 'em...except I don't remember doing the quail. So many people had their OWN quail and doves in the freezer, from that great September season every year when every man and boy is blasting away in the fields.

I love the presentation, the one-thing-on-a-tray simplicity, the flower garnish, the studied symmetry of the goodies.

Some of the best items to sit for a couple of hours at room temp are the straws, cheese straws; little squares of quiche baked in sheet pans; muffins with turkey; biscuits with ham; tiny brioche with a nice slice of sharp cheese and chutney; fruit trays, antipasto trays, dishes of marinated olives, cornichons, mushrooms, roasted peppers; Parmesan crackers, a nice cheese tray with crackers, grapes and apples, with a little knife for self-service. Strawberries with a side dish of powdered sugar or an old Southern standby: a mixture of a block of cream cheese beaten with a jar of marshmallow cream. It's oddly delicious, and all those preservatives would probably keep it all afternoon.

Proscuitto-wrapped fig quarters and melon hunks hold up great, and bacon-wrapped ANYTHING baked on a toothpick seems to be a big hit, especially dates, pitted olives and chicken livers. Homemade melbas are lovely with any spread--I learned the trick from a neighbor whose father was a chef---toast bread on both sides, cut off the crusts, THEN slice it again with a very sharp knife; toast the two fresh sides. It's crisp and delicious, and NOTHING like that brick-in-a-box stuff.

Edited November 1, 2005 by racheld (log)

[JAZ]

Another vote for Martha's book. Also Eric Treuille's Hors d'Oeuvres and Barbara Kafka's Party Foods.

[jgm]

These are great suggestions! I appreciate the responses. How could I forget about Martha Stewart??? I think I drooled heavily over this book when it came out, but didn't buy it. At the time, I think it was probably on my list of "things I wish I needed."

[jgm]

Tonight's episode of "Behind the Bash" on the Food Network had some great ideas that I thought I'd pass along. It was the episode with the wedding staged inside a new building for a car dealership owned by the groom.

Food ideas: miniature everything. Miniature hamburgers, servings of macaroni and cheese, tiny grilled cheese sandwiches, and single meatballs with a twist of angel hair pasta on top. I think I saw some tiny hotdogs in buns, too, but they weren't highlighted. I also saw what looked like a chunk of cucumber used for a base for something; it was about 3/4 to 1 inch thick. It had been squared off, with a circular well carved out of the middle (probably using a melon baller), to hold a filling. It wasn't discussed either, and I couldn't tell for sure what was in it. They also had miniature peach and blueberry pies, with a lattice top, sprinkled with turbinado sugar.

My favorite presentation idea: The pies were displayed beautifully. They sat on a piece of clear acrylic, about 1/4" thick, that was placed over a base; it looked like a tray of some sort. There were I think 9 "spots" evenly spaced consisting of either blueberries or chopped peaches. These "spots" of fruit were about the same diameter as one of the pies, and they were surrounded by something that looked like small ice cubes. I don't think it actually was ice, which would have melted and would then have started looking bad. The part of this idea that I liked was that when all of the pies were taken, the acrylic "tray" was replaced with another (clean) acrylic tray of miniature pies, while the base stayed in place. It was a means of keeping the display fresh with very little fuss. [if someone else who saw this episode can describe this better than I have, please feel free to jump in.] Anything could be used as a base, to compliment whatever food was being served. The main point is to continually have clean, pretty acrylic trays of food to swap out for depleted ones. This acrylic is a simple sheet of acrylic that can be purchased at Lowe's or Home Depot very inexpensively. What a great idea!!!

[ronnie_suburban]

this one maggie?

←

Yup, that's it.

And to give it even more cred: ronnie_suburban, cook and host extraordinaire, Honcho of the Heartland and my cherished macho buddy, is likewise a fan of this book.

←

Yes, I absolutely love that book. I've made dozens of recipes from it from and when I'm not cooking from it, I read it just for the sheer joy of doing so. I also have had great results cooking from Tapas by Penelope Casas. There are some great recipes in that book. But in the Handbook, Martha lays it out in a way which truly speaks to me

=R=

[Marlene]

Ok, ok. I couldn't wait for Christmas. I ordered Martha's book and it arrived today. Why has this book been off my radar screen?! The pictures are amazing and in just briefly glanceing through it, I see a dozen recipes I want to try.

This is going to be perfect for my entertaining season. Thx maggie!

[zilla369]

I absolutely love the little toasted breadbox bites. And the hollowed-out pullman loaf with the tea sandwiches in it!

Mind you, I've never tried to hollow out a pullman loaf. I'll bet it's harder than it looks.

[Marlene]

the little breadbox things look way too cute. I like the sweet peppered bacon bites and the molasses glazed cocktail ribs. And the icebox crackers. but what the heck is harissa?

[Mooshmouse]

but what the heck is harissa?

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Lo and behold, Marlen: harissa. North African chile paste.

[jgm]

I absolutely love the little toasted breadbox bites.  And the hollowed-out pullman loaf with the tea sandwiches in it! 

Mind you, I've never tried to hollow out a pullman loaf.  I'll bet it's harder than it looks.

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My copy of the book arrived in this morning's mail, and I am absolutely blown away! I can't wait to get home tonight and start making lists. I'm impressed with the variety of foods, and the creative ways in which they're used. And the presentation ideas are just wonderful.

On the pullman loaf, when it comes to making the slices around the sides and ends, I would thinking that marking the knife, so that you insert it to exactly the depth you want, would be helpful. But I've never done it, either...

[Bill Miller]

An antipasta platter is beautiful, varied, tastey, colorful, and requires no heating. The best picture of one (we use it as a guide) is from another Martha Stewart book, I believe it is "Entertaining With Martha"--a very young Martha is on the cover. Regards, Bill

[azureus]

I've been trying to come up with tasty, inventive, yet not-too-fussy appetizers for a small New Year's party. Has anyone ever served pieces of roasted veggies like this at a party? I've been making roasted potatoes out of these extra-small fingerlings from my garden (sorry, no pics of actual roasted ones!)

The potatoes are small enough to be eaten in one or two bites. I caught my non-foodie husband eating the leftovers as a snack, which gave me the idea. I was thinking that cubes of other veggies, tossed with different herbs, would also work. They would make a nice contrast to crudites. If I wanted to get fancy, the veggies could be wrapped with a bit of bacon or prosciutto. Any thoughts?

April

[Ling]

I would slice the potatoes in half, roast them in duck fat, hollow them out a bit, and fill the hole with creme fraiche, chopped chives, and some salmon roe (or caviar) etc. to make them more festive.

Edited December 16, 2005 by Ling (log)

[Marlene]

While I haven't made these myself, I have served them at parties where I've had them catered. As Ling suggests, hollow them out a bit and use a filling. They were a big hit here!

[MGLloyd]

Depending on the size, I might halve or quarter them, drizzle them with EVOO, sea salt and chopped rosemary and toss, and then roast in a hot oven until I saw some caramelization going on.

[jsolomon]

I'm torn between the hollowing and just roasting, so here's my suggestion.

Split them into two groups.

One group, split in half and steam until cooked through. Take a divot out of the split ones. Cool. Then coat with either olive oil or butter and salt. Roast til they color. Fill the divot with interesting things. Onion confit, mushroom pate`, sausage, sawmill gravy, redeye gravy...

The other half, split into half or quarter, and roast with olive oil or butter and salt and pepper. Serve with creme fraiche and other things to dip with.

[Dana]

Paula Wolfort has a super method of roasting small potatoes in sea salt in her Southwest France book. I'd highly recommend cooking them this way, then scooping them out as recommended above.

[azureus]

Thanks, everyone for your suggestions. I was leaning toward roasting them with olive oil and herbs (no duck fat at the momemt) and then possibley serving with a dipping sauce. It seemed like far less work. But, the filled potatoes sound fabulous and would make for a prettier presentation. I think I'll have to follow jsolomon's suggestion and try out both! Now, if I could just finagle some friends into helping with the preparations. . .

April

[Peter B Wolf]

Bake or boil them, cut only about 1/8th off top and thin sliver on bottom to stand on their own. Hollow out, stuff with a large or 2 medium snails (please, no Achatines!) cover with snail butter, bake in very hot oven just to let butter melt and heat through and through