Appetizer/Hors D'Oeuvre/Starter Ideas

[Tkrup]

Not exactly roasted, but a damn good tapa for a party...substituting duck fat for the olive oil might make for an interesting and tasty twist!

Patatas Bravas Recipe #66329

If you want a spanish meal, serve this along with a selection of other dishes, like fried padron peppers and chorizo sausage.

1 lb potatoes, cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon chili flakes

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 tomatoes, finely choppped

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

4 servings Change size or US/metric

Change to: servings US Metric

40 minutes 10 mins prep

Spread the potato pieces over a baking sheet, pour over most of the olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper.

Bake at 425 F for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked and crispy.

Turn once during baking.

Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce by heating the leftover olive oil in a frying pan.

Add the onions and sauté for a couple minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients except the parsley and let simmer for 10 minutes or until the mixture is thick.

Serve the sauce over the potatoes as is, or purée it in a food processor or blender, if you prefer a smoother texture.

Garnish with the parsley.

[racheld]

We've served a TON of these. Scrub potatoes, dry well, cut in half, roast cut side down on olive-oil or chicken/duck-fat-coated LIPPED cookie sheet. When done, slide turner under, remove to warm serving plate. Hollow out a divot in round side with melon baller, fill with ANYTHING scrumptious---creme fraiche and caviar, herb butter, caramelized onions, tapenade, old fashioned Pimiento cheese, bocconcini left just to soften, cream cheese/pepper/bacon---anything that you'd enjoy on a baked potato.

These probably require a cocktail plate and a fork, but rubbing with oil, sprinkling with seasalt, then roasting them whole, slicing in half, then hollowing, makes a less messy finger food.

[andrewB]

My GM has asked for a beef app on the menu for our new restaurant and i've drawn a blank!! Besides carpaccio or tartare, i can't think of a single interesting, sexy beef app!! Personally i don't find myself eating beef as a starter so maybe thats the problem..

I pose 2 questions here

1. anyone have any ideas for an interesting beef app (non asian)

2. am i alone in the fact that i don't normally eat beef as an app?

thanks much...

[Marlene]

I have two beef appetizers that I do. One is a tenderloin on crostini, quite similar to this recipe. The other one is a little more asian as the beef pieces are dipped into a soy sauce mixture then you roll slivers of peppers and green onion up in them, secure and grill for a minute or two. The first one is a cold appetizer and it is easy to make ahead and assemble the day of.

the crostini can be seen here third picture down, and the other one can be seen here

[ronnie_suburban]

You can always do a small-sized skewer or meatballs.

=R=

[Daniel]

I dont know what kind of restaurant you are looking to fit the appetizer in..

Perhaps a beef consume with beef dumplings.

Do like a hot rock.. Bring hot rocks to the table.. Put a piece of beef fat on top of the rock to make slippery.. Then have slices of raw beef the customer can cook on the hot rock..

Along those lines.. Bring like a little grill out and people can heat there beef sticks over a charcoal fire..

You could do korean style beef on a stick..

You could do a spicey thai salad with flank steak..

You could do beef empanadas, or some sort of puff, samosa type thing..

You could do mini kobe burger sliders

You could do a beef tongue dish

[Megan Blocker]

What about some sort of ravioli? Maybe in the style of the beef cheek ravioli at Babbo?

[Daniel]

And of course something with marrow.. Either in the bone, or marrow raviolis in the beef consume I mentioned.. Or on toasts with a parsley salad a la FH..

[HungryChris]

When Megan mentioned beef cheek it reminded me that I had recently made a beef stew using beef cheek meat and discovered that it makes an intoxicatingly good rich broth that would make a great soup, perhaps beef cheek and onion.

Cheers,

HC

[gini]

I do two beef appetizers:

filet minion on toast points with horseradish cream

fonduta with grilled steak tips and mushroom

- so old school, but hey, it works for me!

[ludja]

I ususally don't order beef appetizers--and as you said, they seem to be less common. But I did have an interesting one that I recall that used an oxtail ragout and some type of seafood. I can't remember much more than that other than it the beef may have been flavored with star anise. (It was an Asian fusion preparation but variations could be thought of.)

Bundnerfleish or Bresaola (dried beef from Germany and Italy, respectively) sliced very thinly may provide another base ingredient to use. It is probably too simple for a restaurant app but I often make a simple crostini layered with an arugula butter and then topped with slices of Bundnerfleish. (original idea from Kleinman and La Place's Cucina Rustica).

Oh, that reminds me of a wonderful salad idea from Zuni Cookbook that could provide a starting point: Butter Lettuce with Bundnerfleisch or Bresaola in a coriander (dried and toasted) vinagrette. This is very delicious and makes me think that there might be a bunch of good salad ideas along these lines.

Another salad idea is to take inspriration from German/Austrian meat salads. Served in a small portion these or a variation could be a great starter as they typically have some sour components from pickles, capers, anchovies, etc. These salads can be mayonnasie based or not. In the latter case, oil and vinegar are used. Austrian pumpkinseed oil could be interesting.

Here are components of a typical German "fleischsalat": dill pickles, sliced onions, capers, parsley, mustard, cubed, boiled potatoes. The dressing or marinade might be: olive oil, vinegar and beef stock. Sliced, boiled egg could be added on top. The meat could be beef, veal or tongue and the opportunities for other flavorings or vegetables is long.

edited to add: olives or hard cheeses could be other nice flavors to add to a beef salad as well as other pickeled vegetables

Edited April 3, 2006 by ludja (log)

[Dave the Cook]

Some good ideas here (and not just mine, honest).

[Anna N]

I know you said "not Asian" but Negimaki are very good and one of the only beef appetizers I have served. With a little imagination, I am sure you could replace the Asian ingredients with non-Asian ones and still come up with an attractive and tasty appetizer.

[SuzySushi]

Some very good ideas above.

In addition, I would like to offer:

Sliced Steak on Crostini with Chimichurri Sauce

Jamaican Beef Patties

Serpentine Beef - Slice beef into thin strips. Combine 3 parts soy sauce, 3 part brown sugar, 1 part (or more!) curry powder, 1 part minced fresh garlic, 1 part minced fresh ginger. Marinate, refrigerated, 2 to 3 hours. Drain meat strips and thread on skewers, weaving them in and out. Broil or grill 3 to 5 minutes, turning once, until cooked through.

And I know you said "not Asian," but:

Beef Satay

Asparagus Maki - roll up 1 or 2 asparagus spears in a thin slice of beef. Sear in a hot oiled skillet. Glaze with 2 parts soy sauce, 1 part sugar, 1 part sake. Cut rolls in thirds diagonally and stand on end to show the filling. Serve hot or at room temp.

[project]

Cold beef, possibly sliced thinly, with a variety of

cold sauces, e.g., Cumberland, horseradish, mustard.

Aspic? Pate?

Edited April 4, 2006 by project (log)

[goldie]

The caterer I use has mini Beef Wellingtons. They are terrific and pretty simple- about an ounce of beef with duxelle in puff pastry served with a bernaise mayonaise (which is a bit much in my opinion). People love them at my parties.

I also do variations on the two crostini mentioned. On rye rounds I do sliced tenderloin, horseradish and a sliver of red onion. I've also made arugala, sliced roast beef, and boursin on toast (a bit messy, though). One night I made grilled skewers with chimchurri served as a dipping sauce but I think it was too filling.

Sunday we had steak and eggs for breakfast- what about deconstructing that into poached quail eggs served on beef carpacio with brioche points or something along that line? I know my husband would order that in a heart beat.

[Shalmanese]

What about a mini-beef pie? everybody loves pie!

[Pan]

I was thinking kebabs, but depending on how you define "Asian," they might be off-limits for your purposes.

[chef koo]

braise some beef and shred it with a fork. mix it with potato and eggs and whatever else you feel like. bread it and deep fry it like a croquette

[Swisskaese]

How about:

Individual Meat Pies with Cointreau Marmalade

Merguez Meatballs with a Yogurt Sauce

Arancini

Meatballs in an Almond Sauce

Probably too labor intensive, but:

Olives stuffed with ground meat

You could also stuff baby vegetables with ground meat. Seasoned with ras al hanout or cinnamon, mustard and pomegranate syrup.

You could make fried kubbeh from Foodman's EGCI course on Lebanese Cuisine..

Edited April 4, 2006 by Swisskaese (log)

[deltadoc]

How about a Greek style beef and risotto stuffed grape leaf with a smidgeoning of cucumber/yogurt cheese sauce?

doc

[andrewB]

what did the international cooking community do before Egullet??? thanks all for your ideas!!! I had been going along the lines of the bresaola with a 'pot de feu' of spring veggies and a tarragon foam, but the stuffed olives and olive leaves sounds fantastic. i see a great composed plate with both of them on it!!

As a side note, the restaurant i am opening is in Bratislava, Slovakia, and will be the first american wine caveau/ restaurant in eastern europe (this would be for why i don't want anything strikingly asian)!!!

Thanks again...

[ludja]

. . .

As a side note, the restaurant i am opening is in Bratislava, Slovakia, and will be the first american wine caveau/ restaurant in eastern europe (this would be for why i don't want anything strikingly asian)!!!

Thanks again...

←

Good luck with the new restaurant. It would be interesting to hear more of menu and concept later on.

[S_tran]

What about some sort of ravioli?  Maybe in the style of the beef cheek ravioli at Babbo?

←

Or maybe adding to that using braised beef short ribs and then reducing the sauce and adding some red wine reductions and put that in the ravioli. Sorry i havent tried the ones at Babbo so im not sure what theyre like.

A good asian beef satay is always quick and easy (depending what kind of restaurant it is)

[Swisskaese]

what did the international cooking community do before Egullet??? thanks all for your ideas!!! I had been going along the lines of the bresaola with a 'pot de feu' of spring veggies and a tarragon foam, but the stuffed olives and olive leaves sounds fantastic. i see a great composed plate with both of them on it!!

As a side note, the restaurant i am opening is in Bratislava, Slovakia, and will be the first american wine caveau/ restaurant in eastern europe (this would be for why i don't want anything strikingly asian)!!!

Thanks again...

←

We had and still have our own cooking sites.

Very cool about the restaurant. I haven't been to Bratislava in 10 years. Good luck.

Edited April 5, 2006 by Swisskaese (log)