Looking for a "Engaging" Appetizer
This request may seem strange, but I´m looking for suggestions on an appetizer that guests can assemble themselves -- something that engages them as we gather around a table. It shouldn´t be too complicated or time-consuming. Fondue is one idea, but are there any others that would be unusual or fun?
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When you say "engaging" and "as we gather around the table" and "fondue" I just am not 100% sure what you are looking for.
Do you want something that guests would have while mingling around the living room or are you wanting something for them to have at the table while someone is getting dinner finalized?
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re: camilled
I am glad that you liked my suggestions. I have done all of these at parties with family and friends. Bagna cauda has been a tradition is my family since as long as I can remember. We have adapted my Piemontese grandmother's recipe over the years. We now soak the oil packed anchovies ( as that was what was available in the 1960's and 70's and even the 80's) in milk to reduce the salt levels. Some of my sibs opt for salt packed anchovies which are soaked in water and the water changed a lot. I don't really notice that much of a difference in the finished dish. The garlic and anchovies are finely minced together and then added to a pot, fondue or chaffing dish along with melted butter and olive oil. The mixture cooks over very low heat until it tastes "right" and the anchovies totally dissolve and the garlic mellows. Then we add heavy cream and stir/whisk constantly to create a good emulsion. The vegetables usually include cauliflower and broccoli florets, red and yellow pepper slices, romaine hearts, sometimes steamed artichokes (cardoons are hard to come by) and lots of crusty bread and grissini. Someone is always stirring the pot. As the mixture cooks down more cream is added to moderate the intensifying flavor of the sauce. It's fun and delicious, completely unhealthy and once you have some (usually smart to NOT tell folks what's in it at least the first time) people are pretty much converted. Also everyone needs to partake or else well the garlic can be bothersome ....
Crostini bars are also lots of fun as people can mix and match all sorts of combinations that appeal to them. I like to do a combination of the three mentioned above that is a vegetable and cheese option, a seafood option and a beef or pork option. People can put carpaccio on top of a crostini and then add marinated dressed vegetable antipasto or go for classic carpaccio with dressed arugula, shaved Parmesan and capers...whatever.
Have small tongs available for picking up ingredients and spoons and forks for piling things on the crostini. The crostini can be made well in advance.
I also like the lettuce wrap idea a lot but think the rice paper wraps is a wee bit too much to expect your dinner companions to feel comfortable with unless they are serious "foodies" who know how to do this
emulsion. We serve with an assortment of cut up vegetables
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re: KateBChi
DuchessNukem
Dec 7, 2011 01:45 AM
Oh man, I am soooo drooling. Kate, any chance you could give some recipe proportions to the bagna cauda? It sounds so wonderful.
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re: DuchessNukem
I'll try and believe me this is not as easy at it might seem. It depends on the garlic, for example. If you need to remove the green (germ) center of older garlic then you need more garlic. I drain oil packed anchovies and reserve the oil (just in case I might need it) and place in milk for about 1 hour. The garlic gets peeled and de-germed if necessary. I mince the garlic and anchovies together (a mini cuisinart works just fine).
As to proportions. I take a look at my family members and I KNOW how much they will eat and who the bagna cauda fiends are. I do about 1 cup olive oil and 1 stick of unsalted butter (some of my sibs prefer an even split between olive oil and unsalted butter but I think the cream evens things out so I don't and food writers would probably be shocked by the amount of butter but that's how Grandma made it). I start with 2 to 3 cans of milk soaked anchovies and and 2 to 3 heads of garlic. Over super low heat add the garlic anchovy mixture to the melted butter and olive oil and cook, stirring often, at least one half hour and maybe as much as an hour. This is a convivial dish and estimates of time are hard to gauge as some relative or another is always popping by to see "how it's going" and how much garlic you used etc. etc.
When it has cooked down properly I add the cream very, very slowly switching to a whisk. For these proportions (1 cup olive oil, 1/2 half cup butter, 2 to 3 heads of garlic, 2 to 3 cans of anchovies) I'd have 2 cups of cream available. You might not use that amount of cream unless the party never ends. Add one cup to start and let it slowly simmer for a bit. Supplement more cream as the whole thing intensifies. At Thanksgiving we needed even more cream because nobody stopped drinking or eating for several hours.
My brother added some minced fresh Italian parsley when I wasn't looking which was a new variation for me but I kind of liked it and might do it again.
My family's version is idiosyncratic and based on sort of watching my Grandma make it as a child as well as visits to family in Italy. On my Grandmother's side they used cream but on my Grandfather's side (20 miles away) there was no cream.
In the book "A Passion for Piedmont" by Matt Kramer he's got a short chapter captioned "The cult of Bagna Caoda". His traditional recipe calls for 1 tbl butter, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 small (2 oz) head garlic, 2 whole salted anchovies (soaked) and 1/4 cup milk per person. So obviously these things are very individualized.
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re: KateBChi
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re: KateBChi
Arg! I realized after I posted this technique that we added an extra cup of evo and an extra half cup of butter and used the full three bulbs and three small cans of anchovies. This isn't for everybody but my family loves it. Ours is an odd combinatinon. But terrific"! My mom announced that we need to write our recipes down and have a family cook-off. Christmas could be painful !
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Lettuce wraps or spring rolls? Butter lettuce lends itself nicely -- small leaves, tender, easy to wrap. For the rice papers, each diner could have a tea towel in front of him/her, dip the rice paper in a communal warm water bath, place on towel to rehydrate, fill, roll, eat. Repeat.
Either would be good with an Asian theme filling. Shredded chicken or pork, fried or soaked rice noodles chopped small, shredded carrots, slivered cucumbers, chopped water chestnuts, scallion threads, sauces to pour into the lettuce wraps or dipping sauces for the spring rolls.
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Make grilled or roasted antipasto platter of assorted seasonal vegetables. Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette. Make herb enriched goat cheese and stud the platter with the sliced cheese. Serve with herbed crostini. Guests can pick and choose what to top the crostini with. You might add a seafood option of smoked salmon with a side of minced onion and caper laden creme fraiche. Maybe a meat option with beef carpaccio drizzled with truffle oil and sides of shaved parmesan, capers and lightly dressed baby arugala.
One of my family favorites is bagna cauda with assorted vegetables and crusty bread. We had a bagna cauda party the day after Thanksgiving and probably will do it again at Christmas. Every one crowds around the warm pot and dips their favorite dipper in,
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This isn't exactly what you're asking for, but we recently had a great fun throwing a tamale dinner party. We all gathered around the table and made tamales (guests could mix and match fillings) while an earlier batch finished steaming on the stove. We then feasted on salad, soup, and tamales. It was interactive and fun.
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chowser
Dec 6, 2011 05:34 AM
I thought it would be fun to have various bases, like sliced cucumber, scooped half cherry tomatoes, endive, crostini, phyllo cups, etc.; have soft toppings like salmon/smoked salmon mousse, chicken salad, goat cheese mix, cream cheese, etc. in disposable clear pastry bags w/ varying size tips; some topping like prosciutto, sliced mozzarella sliced figs/dates,... and then some cut herbs. People could assemble their own bites.
