How to Choose Hors d'Oeuvres for Your Party

When deciding on hors d'oeuvres for a party, a few things can help you arrive at the best selection of types of hors d'oeuvres.

Hors d'oeuvres (or finger foods, or appetizers-but they should be called appetizers only if they precede a meal) fall into different types.  The basic types are:

• canapés or "bases"--these have dough or vegetable flat bases and a topping on the bases; also mini pizzas and savory galette bites (layered potato or vegetable gratin bites similar to pizza bites)
• crostini-these are slices of baguette or other artisan bread topped with a spread, vegetables, or meats (sometimes called bruschetta, but bruschetta bread tends to be larger and thicker)
• tartlets and cups--tartlet shells and savory or sweet cups (like chocolate or taco cups) are filled
• skewers--kebobs, brochettes, satays, etc
• empanadas, turnovers, pasties--puff or dough pastry small turnovers filled with meats, cheese, vegetables, or some combination of these
• wraps, pinwheels, and rollups--Asian wraps such as summer rolls and filled tortillas or cold cuts sliced into pinwheels or rollups
• meatballs, meat cakes, and sliders--mini meatballs; crab, tuna, or salmon cakes; and mini burger sliders of every type from beef to turkey to mushroom
• purses and dumplings--puff pastry or crepes are filled, then the ends gathered and tied with a strip of leek or something else to look like a "purse"; Asian, Central European, or Slavic meat, cheese, or other filled dumplings
• shooters--soup or shake sips in small glasses or small sake or other cups, such as demitasse cups

The important things to remember about choosing hors d'oeuvres for your party are:

1. Try to have several different types of hors d'oeuvers, such as empanadas, tartlets, rollups, and skewers--all-canapé parties are becoming increasingly rare.  Or embrace the beast and offer on different tables or in different areas at your party the different types of hors d'oeuvres by shape, one shape or type on each table.
2. You don't want to have too much dough and bread--Review your menu--Is everything made with dough or bread? If so, make changes in your selection by type.
3. If the occasion is more casual, to cut down on work and/or expense, serve one or no hot hors d'oeuvres, as these require chafing dishes or to come straight from the oven and are more work.
4. One way to start your menu selection is to decide something like one meat or chicken hors d'oeuvres, one seafood hors d'oeuvres, and two vegetarian hors d'oeuvres.  Then look over your possibilities/recipes or your caterer's or restaurant's menu suggestions and choose the meat or chicken, seafood, and vegetarian hors d'oeuvres options from the list of possible hors d'oeuvres.
5. If you pass trays of hors d'oeuvres at your party, your guests will take longer to choose if the passed tray has more than one type of hors d'oeuvres--BUT if your party is small and you have only one person passing trays this probably won't matter and is probably necessary as you won't have extra help to pass trays.

Enjoy!

Kristina

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