| Tray Passing (Recipes included) |
From "Ask DIY"
episode ADI-210 |
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Q: I'm having people over and serving mostly hors d'oeuvres. I'd love to hear some unique ways to present them.
A: (Jeanne Benedict, Ask DIY Entertaining Expert) You can use some fun things from around your house as trays and containers for the hors d'oeuvres. Here are five ideas: - Use old record albums! If you like, match the theme of the record to the theme of your party. Or, create your own label on the computer and paste it on the center of the record. You can hand-write your label, too, "Happy Birthday, Daddy" or whatever you want to say. Of course, you'll need to wash the record or any household item you use as a tray before you put any food on it. A great appetizer to serve on a record is a pea pod wrapped shrimp.
- Try a wooden chess or checkerboard. For more appeal, anchor several chess pieces to the center with modeling clay (figure A). Then load the "tray" up with wonton cups, which you can make ahead of time and store out on the counter. Fill the cups with barbecue chicken. If you run out of time, use store-bought deli salads, such as curry chicken, for the filling. Usually, I prefer one type of hors d'oeuvre, but you should vary the fillings in the wonton cups.
- Buy an inexpensive mirror tile at the hardware store. Create an "island" in the center with modeling clay or even hard, cold cream cheese if that's all you have. Scoop rock salt over the island and then press it in to cover the clay or cream cheese. Insert several branchy flowers into the rock salt island, such as fresia (figure B). Then stock the tray with upended Japanese eggplant and Goat cheese rolls.
- Hat boxes come in handy for presenting fried hor d'oeuvres. Line the box with plastic in case something spills, and then fill it with kale or Savoy cabbage (figure C), which look beautiful and also absorb excess oil from fried food. Load the leaves with fried appetizers on individual toothpicks and some dipping bowls of sauce.
- Rely on your traditional silver serving platter. Anchor a glass dipping bowl to it with a gob of duct tape. Make the tray look beautiful with some greenery and a couple of flowers. Use it to serve pumpkin ravioli.
More Questions for Jeanne:
Q: Do you have any suggestions for a tray passing party theme, so all the trays would be somehow similar?
A: Expand on the chess board idea and have a Monte Carlo or casino party. Use all sorts of game boards, like backgammon boards, as trays. You could put truffles on a roulette board or put skewered appetizers on a dart board that has the little plastic holes.
Q: How do you know how many appetizers you need per person?
A: It's not an exact science, but you'll typically need 7-10 per person for an hors d'oeuvres only party, 5-7 for a buffet and 3-4 if you're serving right before dinner.
Q: I'd like to serve a unique garnish at a cocktail party. I hope you have one that's easy to make.
A: Cut the top and the bottom off of a lemon. Run a knife around the pulp and push it out so the peel is shaped like a cylinder. Cut shapes from the peel that people can float in their glasses, such as fish or stars. Recipes: Orange Marinated Shrimp With Pea Pods
Ingredients: 1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. fresh ginger, finely minced
1/4 cup sesame oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
50 medium cooked shrimp, peeled, cleaned, deveined
50 large snow peas
3 cups water
1 tsp. salt
1 large head red cabbage Preparation: Whisk together the orange juice, olive oil, soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Immerse cooked shrimp in marinade and refrigerate, covered for 1 hour. Cover snow peas in water and 1 teaspoon salt in a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and blanche peas for 5 minutes. Drain and then plunge into a bowl of ice water. This will stop the cooking process and intensify the color. Drain and refrigerate covered until ready to use. Cut off the bottom third of cabbage head. Set remaining intact cabbage head aside. Cut bottom third into 1/8-inch thick slices. Pull apart slices and make a bed of cabbage shreds on serving platter. Place intact cabbage head in the center of bed surround by shredded cabbage. One hour before serving assemble the dish. Imagine that the shrimp is the letter "C". Form a snow pea flat along the outer curve of the shrimp, also taking the form of the letter "C". Stick a toothpick through the bottom of the "C," spearing the snow pea and shrimp, and then up through the top of the "C," again spearing and securing the snow pea to the shrimp. The "C" should now resemble the cent symbol. Insert the shrimp pick into the cabbage head. Repeat the process, arranging the shrimp and snow peas in the cabbage head. Spear extra shrimp and snow peas with picks and refrigerate covered. Replenish cabbage head with extra shrimp as necessary throughout party. Makes 50 shrimp.
Japanese Eggplant Goat Cheese Rolls Ingredients: 10 Japanese eggplant, washed
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
One 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
One 4 oz. pkg. goat cheese
Cut green stem off eggplant. Slice eggplant lengthwise into wafer thin strips. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place eggplant strips flat in pan and sear each side for 2-4 minutes or until eggplant appears translucent. Season with a dash of salt and pepper. Remove eggplant to paper towels and drain excess oil. Repeat process, adding 1 tablespoon oil to skillet with every batch. Cool eggplant completely. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Whip cream cheese and goat cheese until creamy. Place 1/2 teaspoon dollop of goat cheese mixture on wide end of eggplant. Roll up eggplant with cheese inside forming a tiny spool. Secure roll by smearing a dab of goat cheese on loose end of eggplant and adhering end to roll. Stand eggplant roll cheese side up on serving platter. Store up to 2 days wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. Makes about 50 rolls
Fried Pumpkin Ravioli Ingredients: One 15 oz. can pumpkin pulp
1 Tbs. fresh sage, finely chopped
3 Tbs. brown sugar
1 cup cornmeal
One 50-count pkg. round wonton wrappers
Olive oil Preparation: Cook pumpkin, sage, and brown sugar in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Line a baking sheet with wax paper and scatter a heavy layer of cornmeal over paper. Moisten the edge on one side of wonton wrapper with water. Place 1 teaspoon pumpkin mixture in center of wonton. Fold wonton in half and pinch together edges to seal. Place on prepared baking sheet and refrigerate, covered, until ready to cook. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook about 6 raviolis at one time until golden brown on one side, about 3-5 minutes. Flip raviolis and cook until golden on other side. Remove with slotted spatula onto paper towels to drain excess oil. Repeat process using 1 tablespoon of oil for each batch. Serve immediately.
Makes 50 raviolis
Baked Wonton Cups With Barbecue Chicken Filling Wonton Skin Cups
Purchase a package of 3-inch diameter wonton skins (or wrappers) from the grocery store. Spray cups of a mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set wontons in cups to form cups. Bake cups without filling at 350F (175C) for 10 minutes until crisp. Cool, spoon 1 tablespoon filling in center and serve immediately. Or store unfilled cups covered in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 2 days. Store filled cups in refrigerator for up to 4 hours. Ingredients for Barbecue Chicken Filling
3/4 cup dice cook chicken
1/2 cup shred Mozzarella
1/2 cup shred Fontina
2 Tbs. chop red onion
1/4 cup chop cilantro
3 Tbs. barbecue sauce Preparation: Mix ingredients together in a small bowl until combined. Fill each cup with 1 tablespoon filling and serve. Books: Sophisticated Entertaining: Spirited Food for Grown-Up Parties
By Jeanne Benedict
ISBN: 1557883459
Penguin-Putnam Inc.
Hardcover, 320 pages (October, 2000) Arranging Food Beautifully: Tray And Steam Table Art
by Susan E. Mitchell
ISBN: 0471283010
John Wiley and Sons, Inc. (1999)
605 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10158-0012
Phone: 212-850-6000
Fax: 212-850-6088
Web site: www.wiley.com Cocktail Foods: 50 Finger Foods With Attitude
by Sara Corpening
ISBN: 0811824187
Chronicle Publishing Co. (!999)
85 Second St.
6th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: 415-537-3730
Fax: 415-537-4440
E-mail: frontdesk@chronbooks.com
Web site: www.chronbooks.com
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