HORS D'OEUVRE / APPETIZERS/ AMUSE-BOUCHE

HORSD'OEUVRE / APPETIZERS/ AMUSE-BOUCHE

Hors d'oeuvre

                    A French term, used to describe small portions of very flavorful. Food items served either before the

Lunch or dinner, or as the first course of the meal. The term hors d'oeuvre translates “outside the work”. The hors d'oeuvre is a very small portion which is light and Delicate, flavourful and attractive. A hors d'oeuvre is served to Stimulate appetite for the meal to come.

Appetizer

               This American term describes a small portion of very flavourful food or drink used to stimulate the appetite at the beginning of the Meal. It has the same basic meaning as the hors d'oeuvre.

                

Amuse-bouche or amusegueule : means "amuse the mouth". An amuse-bouche is a single, bite- sized hors d'oeuvre.

Hors d'oeuvre may be classified in various ways:

1. Hot and cold Hors d'oeuvre

2. Vegetarian and non-vegetarian Hors d'oeuvre

3. Classical and Contemporary Hors d'oeuvre

4. Hors d'oeuvre singulaire and hors d'oeuvre varie

However, a more comprehensive classification would include:

1. Meat Based Hors D'oeuvre-pate, terrines, sausages (salami and mortadella), ham

2. Fish Based Hors D'oeuvre - oysters, caviar, roll mops, snails, prawn cocktail

3. Egg Based Hors D'oeuvre-egg mayonnaise, stuffed eggs, devilled eggs, gulls/plovers eggs

4. Vegetable Based Hors D’oeuvre: asparagus,        artichokes, com-on-the-cob

5. Fruit Based Hors D’oeuvre: melon, grapefruit, Florida cocktail

The major division in categories of hors d'oeuvre is the temperature at which they are served cold and hot

1. Cold hors d'oeuvre

2. Hot hors d'oeuvre

Cold hors d'oeuvres

1. Canapés

2. Crudites

3. Shell shapes - barquettes & tartlets

4. Bouchees

5. Profiteroles

6. Mousse

7. Savory water and jellies

8. Caviar

9. Confit

10. Rillettes/Rillons

11. Stuffed vegetables

12. Timbale

13. Cheese

Hot hors d'oeuvre

1. Beignet (fritters) or batter fried

2. Attereaux

3. Brochettes or skewered appetizers

4. Kebabs

5. Bruschetta

6. Croquette

7. Dough wrapped hors d'oeuvres

8. Flat breads

9. Pies and tarts

COLD HORS D'OEUVRE

1. Canapés - the word canapé means sofa or couch in French. Canapé in the strict sense refers to a toasted or fried slices of bread cut into a variety of shapes - round, rectangular, oval. Triangle or other shapes. The term canapé refers to a small open face sandwich, which may be topped with an endless variety of Savory food items.

2. Crudités - essentially means food eaten raw, common usage of the term is normally limited to raw vegetables particularly for hors d'oeuvre. This is one of the simplest hors d'oeuvre. Vegetables often used for crudités are red, yellow or green bell peppers, carrots, celery stalks, summer squash, red radishes, Belgian endive, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes. These are cut into finger size pieces or decorative rounds and served with one or more varieties of dips or dressings.

3. Shell shapes - barquettes & tartlets. These are miniature pie shells made from a short (high fat content) pic dough. The shells are filled with variety of fillings, these can be range from hot finely diced mixtures to cold mousses, and shape is distinction in this type of horsd'oeuvre. Tartlets are round like miniature tart, Barquettes are elongated diamond cut, similar to a marquise cut, and they resemble a miniature boat shape. The filling of barquettes and tartlets are basically interchangeable, however, traditionally the barquette shape crust (boat like) has been used for fish and seafood fillings, and the advantage of both crust is the ability to present more moist types of finger food. The food can have a high degree of sauce in it since the filling is held in between dry walls of crust protecting the guest's fingers.

4. Bouchee - means "mouth or mouthful. It is similar to a miniature vol-au-vent" which is a puff pastry shell. The size of the Bouchee depends on what is needed. They can range in a size from 1 and 1/2 diameter with anything above 3 inches being considered "vol-au-vent". The familiar shape of bouchee is round they can be made oval square and triangle, or special shape like flowers and fish. Bouchee are baked blind and then filled after baking these item keep well when wrapped airtight. They can be stored at room temperature for 5-7 days for longer storage they should be frozen

5. Profitroles - these are small, round hollow shapes prepared from choux pastry. They can be filled in a variety of fillings: creamed cheese mousse, smoked meat and many other fillings can be used

6. Mousse: the word comes from French word moussoir which means frothing or foam. Mousse is always served cold and can be sweet or savory. The savory mousse is served as an appetizer.

Mousse has 3 components;

a. Base: can be meat, vegetables, fruits, seafood, cheese, charcuterie products.

b. Binder: aspic jelly, gelatine

c. Aerator - whipped cream, egg whites.

7. Savory water and jellies: Reduced stocks become very good appetizers when allowed to set into jelly as they are highly flavoured. Meat and vegetables can be added to this savory jelly to enhance their visual appeal. These jellies maintain their shape when de- moulded and when eaten melt from the heat in the mouth.

8. Caviar: caviar is an ultimate hors d'oeuvre. Caviar is the processed roe (egg) of the sturgeon fish

Types of caviar

Beluga caviar-colour of the roe ranges from light steel grey to dark grey

Osetra caviar - colour of the roe is brownish with a golden tinge.

Sevruga caviar - colour of the roe is dark brown.

Caviar is served on a bed of crushed ice. Toast points, brioche or blinis are often served as a base for a caviar canapé.

9. Confit - is a generic term for various kinds of food, meat which has been marinated and then slowly cooked in fat. The slow cooking helps maintaining the smooth and soft texture of the meat. Confit is one of the oldest ways to preserve food and is a speciality of south-western France. This meat is shredded and served on bread/toast.

10. Rillettes and Rillons: rillettes are by-products of confit. The meat is pulverized to a smooth paste and rillons are cubes of meat. These can be used for mousse preparations or as a stuffing for Profitroles.

11. Stuffed Vegetable: a variety of vegetables can be stuffed with a range of products and even mousses to make cold appetizers. For example, mushrooms can be scooped out and blanched and stuffed with cheese mousse to make wonderful cold appetizers

12. Timbales: timbales referred to small, round drinking cups. The mousse/aspic is set in a timbale and then de-moulded and served with attractive garnish.

13. Cheese: Cheese is a rich source for Hors d'oeuvre. If there is a meal to follow it should be limited

Types of cheese are listed below

Unripened cheese: Cottage cheese, Ricotta cheese (Italian Cottage cheese), mascarpone

(Italian cream cheese), mozzarella (a popular cheese widely used for pizza and Italian dishes), feta (a crumbly cheese from Greece).

Semisoft cheese: Bel Passe and Fontina from Italy, Port Salut from France, Munster and Brick from America.

                            

Soft Ripened Cheese: Brie and Camembert from France, Liederkranz from America, Limburger from Belgium.

Hard Ripened Cheese: Cheddar is an English invention, but more popular in America, Edam and Gouda from Denmark. Gruyere from Switzerland.

Blue Veined Cheese: Roquefort from France, Stilton from England, Gorgonzola from Italy.

                             

Hard Grating Cheese: Parmesan and Romano from Italy.

HOT HORS D'OEUVRES

         
1. Beignet (Fritter):- these terms describes an item or mixtures of ingredients dipped in batter and deep fried. Some examples are beignets of diced ham, potato, cheese, aubergines, etc.

These are dipped in batter and fried.

2. Attereaux: - They consist of small identically sized slices of various food items placed on a wooden or bamboo skewer. The Attereaux are coated with a reduced sauce such as béchamel or veloute. After chilling to allow the sauce to set. They are breaded with the standard breading of egg and bread crumb. They are deep fried for immediate service. Classically bamboo skewers of the Attereaux are removed and replaced with the decorative metal skewers of the same name. They are arranged in crown by sticking them in a large crouton or rice mould. Contemporary presentation is the arrangement of attereaux on a napkin and garnish with fried parsley.

3. Brochette (Skewered Appetizers) - The preliminary preparation of brochette as a Hors D’oeuvre is like that the attereaux. However, a brochette is not coated with sauce and breadcrumbs. Brochette is grilled or broiled instead of deep fried in normally marinated meat or sea food interspersed on skewers with a colourful vegetables. Brochette are usually served with compound butters or piquant sauce suitable for a boiled item. An examples for a Hors d'oeuvre brochette is small pieces of beef tenderloin marinated in a teriyaki sauce skewered with alternating pieces of red and yellow peppers, pearl onion and mushrooms.

4. Kebabs: these are common appetizers used in Indian Cuisine. They can be prepared from meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, cottage cheese, seafood etc which are marinated in hung curd, cream and spices and then cooked in the tandoor, deep fried or shallow fried.

                  

5. Bruschetta: is a popular Italian appetizer, very similar to a canapé. The bread is sliced thicker and pan fried on both sides. The toppings on the bread can be served hot, warm or cold.

6. Croquette: this is a classical hot hors d'oeuvre from France and other European countries. It is a mixture of meat, seafood, vegetables or a combination of these, which is combined with panada such as thick white sauce and bread. This mixture is shaped into cylinders coated with flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs and deep fried.

                                         

7. Dough Wrapped hors d'oeuvre: prepared by covering food with various kinds of dough and then baked, grilled or deep fried. Example: Sausage puffs, strudel (prepared with Phyllo pastry), Borek (prepared with Phyllo pastry), spring roll, wantons, turnovers (puff pastry pattice).

8. Flat Breads: flat breads are served as appetizers, some are plain and some with toppings.

Example, pizza, crostini (Italian version of canapé), calzone etc.

9. Pies and tarts: small savory shells can be made using puff pastry, Phyllo pastry, and short crust and baked with filling or can be filled after they are baked. Example: Quiche, Scotch pie, Australian leek pie etc.

Miscellaneous Hot Hors d'oeuvres

Angels on Horseback: sliced bacon is wrapped around marinated oyster meat and grilled

 Devils on Horseback: prunes or dates stuffed with mango chutney and wrapped with bacon and grilled

Dolmas: various kinds of leafy vegetables such as cabbage leaves, spinach but commonly grapevine leaves are stuffed with a variety of meat, rice and vegetables and steamed until cooked

Types of garnish for Hors d'oeuvre

Commonly the following are used as garnishes with hors d'oeuvres. Vegetable carvings. Bread, Salads, sauces and compotes/chutneys.

International Hors d'oeuvre

1. France: "Hors d'oeuvre varie"

2. Italy: "Antipasti

3.Russia: "Zakuski"

4. Middle East: Mezze

5. Spain: "Tapas"

6. Mexico: "Antojitos"

7. Japanese: "Sushi, Sashimi"

8. Scandinavian: "Smorgasbord"

Antipasto - The plural is antipasti which means before pasta or the main meal in Italian. Various items can be served such as cold sliced meats, pates, terrines, pickled vegetables such as peppers, olives, artichokes, cheeses and even an assortment of crusty breads, crostini, bruschettas etc. are presented in large platters and liberally dressed with oilve oil and parmesan cheese in antipasti buffets.

 Mezze - Mezze is a selection of small dishes or large platters in the Middle East. The common items served on Mezze are for example; Dips - salsa, baba ghanoush, moutabel, hummus, tarator etc are served with pita, lavash or khubz etc. Salads - fattoush, tabouleh: Pickles -marinated dates, figs, olives: Meat - kebabs, shawarma etc. Vegetables - falafel: Cheeses grilled cheese such as haloumi and sanganaki from Greece.

Antojitos: Street food in Mexico, called antojitos (literally "little cravings"), is prepared by street vendors and at small traditional markets in that country. Most of them include corn as an ingredient. Street foods include tortillas, tacos, nachos, quesadillas, tostadas, chimichangas. Olives, gherkins, well as fresh fruit, vegetables, beverages and soups.

Zakuski: is a Russian term for hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, snacks, appetizers, served before the main course, Usually presented buffet style, it often consists of cold cuts, cured fishes, mixed salads, various pickled vegetables such as tomatoes, beets, cucumbers, sauerkraut, pickled mushrooms, deviled eggs. Hard cheeses, caviar, canapés, open sandwiches, and breads.

Tapas are a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks, in Spanish cuisine. They may be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as chopitos, which are battered, fried baby squids). Some popular tapas are fired meat, sausages (chorizo), empanadas (Turnovers), gambas (Prawns) etc.

Smorgasbord: is a type of cold and hot buffet which is very popular in Scandinavian or tried countries (finland, norway, sewden). The word comes from 2 words, smorgas means open faced sandwich and bord means table. The most common items found on smorgasbord are cold fish dishes such as various forms of herring, smoked eel and salmon. Varieties of pickles, cheese and bread are served on this buffet table.

Sushi a Japanese dish consisting of small balls or rolls of vinegar-flavoured cold rice served with a garnish of vegetables, egg, or raw seafood.

                                                                           

PREPARING AND PRESENTING APPETIZERS

In preparing and presenting appetizers, keep in mind the following guidelines:

1. Keep the portion size appropriate. Generally, appetizers should be served in small servings.

2. Season all appetizers with meticulous care. Appetizers are meant to stimulate the appetite, so seasoning is of the utmost importance. Don't overuse fresh herbs and other seasonings, however. It is all too easy to deaden the palate by overwhelming it with too much garlic or an extravagance of basil at the meal's start. Remember that other courses will follow this one.

3. Keep garnishes to a minimum. Those garnishes that are used should serve to heighten the dish's appeal by adding flavor and texture, not just color.

4. Serve all appetizers at the proper temperature. Remember to chill or warm plates.

5. Slice, shape, and portion appetizers carefully, with just enough on the plate to make the appetizer interesting and appealing from start to finish but not so much that the guest is overwhelmed.

6. Neatness always counts, but especially with appetizers. They can set the stage for the entire meal.

7. When offering shared appetizers, consider how they will look when they come to the table. It may be more effective to split a shared plate in the kitchen, rather than leaving it to the guests to divide it themselves.

8. Color, shape, and white space play a role in the overall composition of the plate.

9. Choose the right size and shape serving pieces and provide the guest with everything necessary for the appetizer, including special utensils, dishes to hold empty shells or bones, and, if necessary, finger bowls.

10. Keep in mind the nature of the event as well as the menu that follows when selecting hors

d'oeuvre.

11. Ice carvings and ice beds are often used to keep seafood and caviar very cold, as well as for their dramatic appeal. Be sure that the ice can drain properly and that heavy or large ice carvings are stable.

12. Hors d'oeuvre served on platters or passed on trays should be thought fully presented, so that the last hors d'oeuvre on the plate is still attractively presented.

13. Hors d'oeuvre that are served with a sauce require serving utensils. In order to prevent the guest from having to juggle a plate, fork, and napkin while standing, these hors d'oeuvre should ordinarily be limited to either buffet service or served as the prelude to a multi course meal.

14. To ensure that hot hors d'oeuvre stay hot, avoid combining hot and cold items on a single platter. If possible, place fewer hot hors d'oeuvre on each platter being passed and replenish them more frequently.