Transcript CIA-Ch 9

Chapter 9
Appetizers and Hors d’oeuvre
Chapter 9 Objectives
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Compare and contrast appetizers and hors d’oeuvre
Identify composed hors d’oeuvre including canapés,
profiteroles, tartlets, and barquettes
Discuss the role of appetizers in à la carte, buffet,
and tasting menu situations
Explain how to select and prepare appetizers
Recognize the principles of presenting appetizers
Understand the preparation of cold savory mousses,
sorbets, savory foams and encapsulations
Understand how to serve caviar
Distinctions Between Appetizers
and Hors d’oeuvre




Hors d’oeuvre are typically served as preludes
to a meal.
Hors d’oeuvre are small bite-sized items.
Appetizers are served as the first course of a
meal.
Typically, appetizers are small portions of
very flavorful items, meant just to take
enough edge off the appetite to permit
thorough enjoyment of an entrée.
Hors d’oeuvre



Translates as “outside the work.”
Today it is increasingly common for clients to request
an entire menu made up of hors d’oeuvre to serve at
a reception or cocktail party as a “standing meal.”
There are a few precepts to remember in general
hors d’oeuvre preparation and presentation:




Keep in mind the nature of the event, as well as the menu
to follow.
Ice carvings and ice beds are sometimes used to keep
seafood and caviar very cold, as well as for their dramatic
appeal.
Hors d’oeuvre served on platters or passed on trays butler
style should be thoughtfully presented.
Choose something eye-catching that will show off the design
of the hors d’oeuvre.
Composed Hors d’oeuvre


Composed hors
d’oeuvre are built
from two or more
components.
Can be served as:





Tartlets
Barquettes
Canapés
Profiteroles
Spoons

Classic elements:






Cured and smoked
foods
Pâtés
Foie gras
Salads
Vegetables
Mousse
Barquettes and Tartlets




Pâté dough can be used to create small
edible containers, known as barquettes or
tartlets.
They may be filled with a cold mousse or
other savory fillings.
Very moist fillings can quickly make the
pastry shell soggy.
These hors d’oeuvre are best when
assembled as close as possible to service
time.
Barquettes and Tartlets

Some classic examples from around the
world:





Bouchées
Empanadas
Beurrecks and tiropettes
Dim sum
Spring rolls
Canapés


Canapés are small open-faced
sandwiches.
Elements of canapés:




Small piece of bread cut to shape and
toasted
Spread
Filling or topping
Garnish
Profiteroles




Profiteroles are small, round, hollow
puffs made from pâté a choux.
Can have sweet or savory filling
They are very often baked, sliced in
half, filled, and garnished as desired.
Alternately, a hole can be made in the
bottom of the puff while they are still
warm and then a smooth filling such as
a mousse can be piped in.
Spoons



Spoons are used as a base for an hors
d’oeuvre so that you can layer a variety of
items that have different flavors, colors, and
textures.
One of the biggest advantages to using the
spoon as a base is that you can add a liquid
element to the hors d’oeuvre in the form of a
sauce or gelée.
Spoons also offer the functionality of having
the utensil built into the presentation.
Appetizers on the à la Carte
Menu



When creating appetizers for the menu, it is
important to provide enough appropriate options
that work with the main course offerings.
In some restaurants, waitstaff may suggest an
appetizer for the table to share and enjoy while
their entrées are being prepared, both as a way
to expose guests to something new or unusual as
well as to “sell up the menu.”
Grazing menus or degustation menus are
produced by selecting a series of appetizer-size
portioned items served in a logical sequence.
Appetizer Tasting Menus



Allows the diner to taste a wide variety
of dishes because the plates are only a
few bites each
The chef decides on the appetizer that
will help build a menu that has
complementary flavors through the
entrée and dessert.
A disadvantage for this type of tasting
menu is the limited amount that the
customer gets to choose from.
Appetizer Tasting Menus




Tapas restaurants offer the patrons their
choice of little dishes.
Classically, tapas were small pieces of bread
that were used to cover glasses of sherry.
Tapas in Spain evolved as bar and restaurant
owners began to feature their regional
products alongside their Sherries and wine.
Seasonality is very important in Spanish
tapas.
Appetizer Tasting Menus

Other cuisines’ small dishes:



Russia: Zakuski table features smoked and
pickled fish, blinis with caviar, and a host of
special salads.
Mediterranean region: Mezzes feature olives,
nuts, dips, spreads, and highly seasoned items
such as grilled kebabs of meat or fish.
Scandinavia: A smorgasbord showcases special
dishes, hot and cold, including herring, cheeses,
and pickled foods.
Appetizers for a Banquet



Banquet menus frequently call for one or
more appetizers.
The chef does have the ability to “build” a
menu, progressing from one flavor and
texture experience to the next.
Appetizers should be served in sensible
portions, perhaps smaller than you might
offer on an à la carte menu, so that guests
can sample a few appetizers and still enjoy
their main course and dessert.
Selecting and Preparing
Appetizers


Classic hors d’oeuvre can usually be served as
appetizers if you increase the portion size
slightly and take into consideration the
plating of the appetizer.
Examples:






Smoked fish or meat
Sausages
Salads
Small portions of pasta
Warm or hot
Cooking an item more than one way on a plate
Principles for Presenting
Appetizers

Basic principles for selecting, preparing and plating
appetizers:







Serve all appetizers at the proper temperature.
Season all appetizer items with meticulous care. Appetizers
are meant to stimulate the appetite, so seasoning is of the
utmost importance.
Slice, shape, and portion appetizers properly.
Neatness always counts, but especially with appetizers.
When offering shared appetizers, consider how they will look
when they come to the table.
Color, shape, and “white space” play a role in the overall
composition of your plate.
Consider the garnish for the appetizer carefully and be sure
that it adds something to the plate
Cold Savory Mousses



1)
2)
3)
The French word mousse literally
means “foam” or “froth.”
Mousses are always served cold.
Three basic elements of a mousse:
Base
Binder
Aerator
The Base



Savory items are pureed until very
smooth.
May need to add a liquid to adjust
consistency.
Base consistency should be that of a
pastry cream before adding binder and
aerator.
The Binder



Gelatin is the binder used in a mousse.
In some cases, the base product has
enough body and bind to hold the mousse
together without an additional binder.
The key is to have the proper balance of
binder and base so that the mousse will
keep a distinct shape when chilled without
melting or sagging but also without being
rubbery because there is too much binder.
The Aerator



Aerators give mousses their frothy
texture.
For maximum volume, add about onethird the total amount of aerator first to
make it easier to fold in the remaining
two-thirds.
Aerators include:


Beaten egg whites
Whipped cream
Basic Formula for a Mousse




Base – 2 pounds
Binder* - 1 ounce (*if required by
recipe)
Liquid* - 1 cup (*to bloom gelatin)
Aerator – 2 cups
Savory Waters, Jellies and
Sorbets



Flavored waters that can either be used as
broths for meats, poultry, fish, and vegetable
entrees, frozen as sorbets and granitas, or
thickened with a variety of agents to make
jellies.
Jellies can add a luscious texture contrast to
most dishes. For gelatin in jellies use 1% to
3% of total weight.
Savory sorbets and granités have been used
for some time to tease the palate as an
intermezzo or to add a contrasting frozen
element to an entrée or appetizer.
Thickeners

Other thickeners in lieu of gelatin:






Agar agar: a carbohydrate-based gelling agent
manufactured from seaweed
Alginate: a carbohydrate-based gelling agent that
is made from brown seaweed
Carageenan: red algae-based thickener
Gums: natural thickeners derived from plant
sources
Lecithin
Pectin: is a natural thickener that is extracted from
plants, mainly citrus fruits
Savory Foams and Encapsulations




Cold and hot foams use methods such as agitation
and nitrous oxide canisters to create foam out
various products.
Vegetable and fruit purees are especially appropriate
for foams because the carbohydrates in their cell
walls prevent the bubbles from disintegrating too
quickly.
Encapsulations take the concept of the foam to the
next level.
Makes spherical shaped items such as small orbs of
fruit puree to look like caviar or a tea sphere.