`Served those. Cooked that.” Sooner or later the most seasoned host gets a case of the ho-hums when faced with planning and preparing the next social event. Which leads to the nagging suspicion that guests may also be feeling the humdrums: “Been there. Had that.”
Finger foods, those lively, toothsome, hand-held morsels, are the antidote.
They can be made ahead of time, freeing the host to circulate and enjoy the company of guests. If the finger foods are truly finger foods–those that can be eaten in a couple of bites–cleanup is a breeze. Instead of the battery of flatware, glasses, plates, bowls and cups, finger foods require only serving pieces, wine or beverage glasses and small plates.
But wait! There’s more: Finger foods are tremendously cost-effective. Even the most expensive ingredients such as caviar and smoked salmon are used in small quantities and go a long way.
A finger-food menu offers flexibility. You can prepare some items and purchase others.
The variety of international finger foods makes it easy to serve a different menu at every spring party and through the summer. And best of all, people love them.
Finger foods can be served for almost any occasion, from a cocktail party to a pre- or post-wedding reception,” says Linda Goodman, president of Linda Goodman & Co., Events with Style, who has staged hors d’oeuvre parties for 2,000.
Goodman’s list of occasions for hosting a finger feast include open house, afternoon tea, brunch, bridal or baby shower, pre-theater party, a graduation party or a children’s birthday party.
“I have done birthday parties for children with little sandwiches cut in animal shapes. The finger foods and juice boxes were packed into a plastic beach bucket, which doubled as the party favor,” she says.
Goodman says that an hors d’oeuvre evening for out-of-town friends is perfect.
“It’s less time-consuming than a sit-down dinner, you can invite more mutual friends to the party, and it can be scheduled early enough not to interfere with guests who have other plans for the evening.”
The basics
Planning depends on four basics: Matching the menu to the occasion and the crowd, calculating the number and variety of hors d’oeuvres needed, selecting the right beverages, and setting up a table or buffet that is convenient and visually appealing.
Matching the menu to the occasion and the crowd means planning a menu that fits the event and foods that are seasonal and familiar, limiting exotic fare to one, or two, items.
“You want people to feel comfortable eating, so the food needs to be identifiable,” says Rita Gutekanst of Rita’s Catering. She and partner Marguerite Lytle often place name cards on a finger food buffet to identify dishes. “People love it,” she says. Goodman agrees. “Try just one item that may be new or unusual,” she says, “unless your guests are all foodies. In that case, the sky is the limit.”
The menu for a cocktail party will differ from that of a bridal shower. Finger food for teens will definitely include mini burgers (beef, chicken or turkey), tiny pizzas and fresh fruit on skewers.
Whatever the menu, today’s nutritional awareness makes it imperative to lighten up the finger fare by including low-fat and vegetarian selections.
“In the past, finger food was high calorie and loaded with fat and salt,” says free-lance chef Art Smith of Art Smith & Co. “It’s important to balance out the nutrition in finger foods.”
Multiplication tables
Calculating the number of hors d’oeuvres needed can be reduced to a formula: Multiply the number of guests times the number of hors d’oeuvres they’re likely to consume, then multiply that by the number of hours the event will last. Variables include how hungry the guests are likely to be, if the event is before or after a main meal, if the ratio of men to women is greater, and if alcohol will be served.
“My own formula is four to five bites per hour for a little repast and eight to nine pieces per hour for a big feed,” says David B. Normann, corporate executive chef and director of operations for Culinary Enterprises, a Chicago catering firm. A 90-minute reception after a main meal would be a little repast; a two-hour reception after a wedding would be a big feed.
The variety of hors d’oeuvres depends on the number of guests (more guests, greater variety), and a selection of hot and cold. Unless they have a butler waiting in the wings, home cooks are wise to limit hot hors d’oeuvres that must be passed among guests to one or two kinds. These may be made ahead and frozen for reheating just before serving, or made in the morning of the day of the party.
A guideline for a small repast would be six choices, one of them hot to be passed, the rest arranged on a table or buffet for guests to serve themselves. Goodman would divide these into two vegetable items (or one fruit and one vegetable), one cheese, one seafood, one meat, one poultry and a sweet or two. The larger the event, the more variety may be introduced; “Up to eight different kinds of hors d’oeuvres plus desserts,” Gutekanst says. “Remember to make more of people’s favorite foods.”
Variety means different textures too, Smith says–some soft, some smooth, some crunchy and some crisp.
Just a taste of sweet
Smith agrees with Goodman that every finger-food party must include sweet as well as savory. Some of his favorite bite-size desserts: fragments of peanut or pecan brittle, miniature mounds of divinity fudge, nickel-size chocolate chip cookies (made without nuts) and miniature brownies. Gutekanst favors mini-cheesecakes and carrot cakes, tartlets, chocolate truffles and chocolate-dipped fruit.
“Just a little taste will satisfy the sweet tooth,” Smith says.
“And everyone knows that small cookies don’t count,” Goodman quips.
As for visual appeal, “You want to contrast colors,” Normann says. “Don’t put green next to green. And you want to give the buffet different heights.” A different level can be achieved simply by putting a sturdy shoe box or glass block on the buffet and draping it with a napkin before placing a serving dish on it.
Smith encourages creativity in serving pieces. “I don’t think things have to match. I often use vintage pieces that I have found at flea markets and garage sales.”
What he discourages is being haphazard about traffic patterns.
“It’s important that traffic flow smoothly past the buffet or around the table.” To estimate how guests will circulate, set up the buffet a day in advance with plates and take a trial run.
All the caterers interviewed were adamant about using real glass for beverages and glass or china plates (except for children’s parties). They pointed out that for large parties, it was as cost-effective to rent matching plates as to purchase high-quality disposables. Pushed to the wall, they chose paper over plastic.
LET YOUR FINGERS DO THE WALKING
Every good general cookbook has a section of hors d’oeuvres, often referred to as canapes or appetizers. Here’s a list of books with special international selections:
“Finger Food” (Collins)
Sheila Lukins’ “All Around the World Cookbook” (Workman)
“365 Snacks, Hors d’Oeuvres & Appetizers,” by Lonnie Gandara and Peggy Fallon (HarperCollins)
“Ladies’ Home Journal 100 Great Appetizer and Snack Recipes” (Ladies’ Home Journal Books)
“Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain,” by Penelope Casa (Knopf)
“Italy in Small Bites,” by Carol Field (William Morrow)
“China Moon Cookbook,” by Barbara Tropp (Workman)
THE INTERNATIONAL HORS D’OEUVRE TABLE
To create your own finger food menu, choose six to eight selections from the following list of cold and hot hors d’oeuvres. Make them from scratch or purchase many of these ready-made.
Cold or room temperature:
Crudites, blanched stuffed pea pods
Fruit skewers
Nuts, olives, cheeses, ham- and prosciutto-wrapped cheese bites
Dips and spreads–hummus, baba ghanouj, black bean, guacamole, taramasalata, caponata, clam and cream cheese, beer cheese, tapenade, eggplant “caviar,” egg salad, smoked salmon spread
Toasts and breads–mini biscuits, corn or bacon-gruyere muffins, crostini, bruschetta, cheese straws, focaccia, gougere (cheese puffs), pita chips
Bottoms for toppings–steamed new or gold potato slices, polenta triangles, cucumber slices
Toppings for bottoms–dips and spreads, caviar and creme fraiche, seafood mousse, pate, smoked salmon and cream cheese, minced tomatoes with basil and olive oil
Tiny sandwiches, open- or closed-face, and pinwheels (from bread or lavash)
Spring rolls
Sushi–California rolls, cucumber rolls
Hot:
Mini quiches
Grilled vegetable skewers
Marinated grilled shrimp or mixed seafood and vegetable skewers
Grilled lamb and vegetable kebabs
Empanaditas, mini-calzones and pizzas
Satay skewers–chicken, beef or pork
Chicken yakitori
Phyllo triangles filled with spinach and feta
Miniature crab cakes
Won tons
Mini burgers–chicken, beef, turkey or salmon
Stuffed vine leaves
Stuffed mushrooms
Quesadilla wedges
FOOD SAFETY FIRST
When preparing foods one or two days before a party, it’s essential to follow food safety rules for preparation, storage and freezing.
1. Rapidly cool cooked foods to be refrigerated in a cold water bath with ice cubes or cold running water. Refrigerate, tightly wrapped, only after food is completely cool.
2. Store refrigerated foods tightly wrapped and covered.
3. Always store cooked foods above raw foods in the refrigerator.
4. Avoid storing or holding food in the danger zone–temperatures between 45 degrees and 140 degrees–where bacteria can multiply.
5. Freeze foods at 0 degrees or below.
6. Do not thaw frozen foods at room temperature. Thaw in the refrigerator, in a cold water bath with running water, or, if food is to be cooked or served immediately, in the microwave.
PICKY, PICKY
Although every culture has its finger foods, the most familiar term in America used to describe them is French: hors d’oeuvre.
Unfortunately, it’s a term that is often misused outside of France–by the simple addition of an “s.” Even Webster’s Dictionary makes it plural, thereby Anglicizing a French culinary term. (And the Tribune always follows Webster’s!)
No matter how many hors d’oeuvre you put on the plate, in France it’s still just hors d’oeuvre, singular, never hors d’oeuvres, plural.
Why? Literally it means “outside (hors) of the work (d’oeuvre),” that is, something prepared outside (before) the main meal. There’s only one work or meal. To say hors d’oeuvres makes it two: “outside the works.”
Heaven knows it’s hard enough to get one dinner on the table, much less two.
PHYLLO PASTRIES WITH SPINACH AND FETA FILLING
Preparation time: 11/2 hours
Cooking time: 20 to 30 minutes
Yield: 60 pieces
Adapted from “The Classic Party Fare Cookbook,” by Martha Rose Shulman. Other filling options include vegetables, fish, herbs and cheese. You can make the filling and assemble the pastries in advance; freeze, covered. To serve, brush with melted butter and bake while frozen.
2 pounds fresh spinach, stems removed, leaves rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
2 eggs
1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled
Salt, freshly ground pepper to taste
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup each: olive oil, melted butter
About 1/2 pound phyllo dough
Green onions, parsley leaves for garnish
1. For filling, put spinach in a large non-stick skillet with only the water left on leaves after rinsing. Toss over high heat until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Rinse under cold water, squeeze dry in a dish towel and chop.
2. Heat the 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender and just beginning to brown. Add garlic and stir 30 seconds. Stir in spinach, parsley, rosemary and thyme. Remove from heat.
3. Beat eggs in a large bowl and add feta. Add spinach mixture and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in nutmeg and mix well.
4. Heat the 1/4 cup oil and butter over very low heat until the butter melts. Lay one sheet of phyllo dough on your work surface (and keep the rest wrapped in a damp dish towel so that it does not dry out). Brush with oil and butter mixture, then shape as directed:
For package shapes, fold phyllo sheet in half and butter again. Then cut phyllo into 4-inch squares. Place a teaspoon of filling at the end of one of the squares. Fold in sides and then keep folding to wrap up the filling. Brush with melted butter mixture.
For money bag shapes, fold sheet of buttered phyllo in half and butter again. Then cut phyllo into 4-inch squares. Place 1 teaspoon of filling in the center and bring the corners together around it. Twist gently to secure and brush with more melted butter mixture.
5. To bake, heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake phyllo pastries on a greased baking sheet until golden, 20 to 30 minutes. If desired, tie with strips of leek or chive. Serve warm.
Nutrition information per pastry:
Calories……………45 Fat……………..3 g Cholesterol……12 mg
Sodium…………..80 mg Carbohydrates…….3 g Protein……….1.5 g
SHRIMP ON PESTO ROUNDS.
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Yield: 2 dozen pieces
Cooking time: 1 minute
Shrimp on pesto rounds
Pictured on the cover, this is from the Tribune test kitchen. To save last-minute preparation time, purchase cooked shrimp or grill them the day before.
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons bottled or refrigerated pesto sauce
2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
24 slices slender (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter) French bread
1/2 each, cut into fine julienne: yellow bell pepper, orange bell pepper
24 medium shrimp, grilled or boiled, peeled, deveined
Fresh basil leaves for garnish
1. Mix mayonnaise, pesto sauce and basil in a small bowl.
2. Heat the broiler. Place bread slices on a baking sheet. Very lightly brush oil over each slice of bread. Broil the bread, 6 inches from heat, until lightly toasted, about 1 minute.
3. Spread the pesto mixture over one side of each bread slice. Top each with a small pile of julienned peppers and then a shrimp. Garnish with basil leaves and serve.
Nutrition information per piece:
Calories……………55 Fat……………..3 g Cholesterol…..20 mg
Sodium…………..80 mg Carbohydrates…….4 g Protein………..3 g
