Ideas for Creating a Tapas Event This Summer

Summer is the perfect time to organize a tapas-style event and today we'll give you some great ideas for doing just that. Tapas, mezes, ciccheriti, tramezzini...these little bites are popular in many countries and now in the U.S. and are very festive and fun for a summer event.

Tapas, as miniature foods or regular foods served in small portions and/or on small plates, are very popular now, for a few reasons:

• Mini foods or mini portions, as I've said before, are playful and make even adults happy
• They remind us of the great ambience of tapas bars, wine bars, vinotecas, enotecas, brewpubs...These are convivial places, and food originating in or inspired by these places also helps guests feel festive, much as if they were actually at one of these great, fun places.
• A lot of tapas-style food is really easy to do and so you can feel confident in organizing one of these events as most of these foods are just naturally elegant!

We recently read two books on bar food and I recommend both:

• Kate Heyhoe, Great Bar Food at Home--lots of great recipes
• Cathy and Tony Mantuano--Wine Bar Food--not as many good food recipes (the cocktail recipes are great), but we like how the book and recipes are divided into Mediterranean regions (Italy, Spain, Greece), and the info on serving these types of foods is wonderful, including pairings and party organizing tips.

Tapas-Style Events--How Tos
What we think makes a tapas-style event really special is, besides good food, the way the food is presented.  Some ideas:

• Buy, borrow, or rent some small plates (even really nice decorative paper plates, our go-to ones are by Caspari)--7" or less in diameter
• Alternately, serve small portions of the foods--these types of food also look great on a long rectangular or oval platter
• If you can get hold of small forks and glasses that will really make your event distintive
• Make it easy on yourself--choose no more than four types of food to serve (three is better if you're not skilled in the kitchen) and choose the easiest ones, such as herb-marinated cheese spread on country bread or prosciutto and Manchego or Gruyere or burrata on country bread (crostini), Spanish almonds sauteed for a minute in butter with a sprinkle of chili powder and/or cinnamon, and some skin-on roasted potato "fries" with garlic and maybe a spicy sauce poured over (try mixing melted butter, canned San Marzano tomatoes, hot red pepper flakes, and a little cream in a blender and pour over, in the spirit of the Spanish patatas bravas).  Or if you're really kitchen-challenged buy frozen spanakopita and hire someone to do the other food (or all the food). 
• Another idea would be to do a crostini bar--but you might want to make up at least one batch of each of the crostini types yourself before your guests arrive so they can see how they're supposed to be.
• Put out TONS of paper napkins and a lot of little plates

Not hard at all and you impress guests.  Impress them even more by serving the currently trendy sparkling rosé wines from the major regions, alone or in addition to reds and whites.  Or offer a tapas drink bar: rosés, ouzo, Prosecco, limoncello...

Enjoy!

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com