Appetizers & Easy Entertaining Tips
Read these 8 Appetizers & Easy Entertaining Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Prepared Food tips and hundreds of other topics.
Expert Advice Makes Appetizers Easy
It's easy to choose appetizers for any holiday when you leave the choosing to the experts.
When you order gourmet appetizers, the professional company you order from can choose the appetizers that will best compliment your holiday feast. For example, bacon wrapped sirloin appetizers are a great introduction to the Easter ham you have planned. And salmon and pistacio brochettes are a perfect compliment to that Fourth of July barbecue. By asking the experts which appetizers go with your menu, you can turn all your attention to the main meal.
Easy Appetizing Finger Foods
All of your gourmet appetizers have arrived and they smell terrific. Know how to eat these treats now that they've arrived. Don't be caught using a utensil to stab at an appetizer that is supposed to be picked up with your hands. These easy appetizers can also be eaten with ease - using your fingers. The following appetizers can be eaten with your fingers:
1. Artichokes - you will hold the leaf in your hand and scrape the meat off with your teeth. When you get to the heart, you'll use a fork and knife to cut and eat it.
2. Asparagus - as long as the asparagus is not covered in sauce, it may be eaten with your fingers.
3. Bread - always break bread; never cut it with a knife.
4. Cookies, brownies, cupcakes
5. Chips, french fries, fried chicken
6. Canaps, crudits, puffs, anything on a stick
7. Sandwiches
8. Small fruits and berries on the stem
Top 10 Mail Order Appetizer Companies
Brett Moore, a former professional chef who has worked in a number of world-class kitchens and also served as a manager for restaurants and caterers, has listed the following as his picks for the top 10 mail order appetizer companies:
1. Appetizers To Go
2. Artiko
3. Alaskan Harvest
4. Williams-Sonoma
5. D'Artagnan
6. Stock Yards Steaks
7. G&M Restaurant
8. Di Bruno Brothers
9. Dale and Thomas Popcorn
10. Elegant Appetizers
If you're looking to order gourmet appetizers or a company to assist you with an elegant night of easy entertaining, it's a good idea to start researching these highly recommended companies to see which products and prices best fit your needs.
Appetizers For A Special Occassion
Whether it's the Superbowl or your child's birthday party, having the right appetizers for the occassion are key to keeping guests happy.
However, the occassion can determine your appetizer preferences. Here are some suggestions for appetizers and easy foods for various occassions:
- Superbowl appetizers should be finger foods, and casual appetizers including chips and various dips, and andy dishes and bowls serving nuts and candy.
- Having a low-key garden party for your closet friends to welcome in Spring? Your appetizers should be on a skewer and lighter in fare, such as shrimp and grilled fruit.
- Holiday appetizers can be more adventurours with winter flavors and heavier seasoning.
Gourmet Soups at Your Door
Looking to add a special something to your dinner menu that will please gifts before the main meal? Consider ordering a gourmet soup. Soups can be served at the table or as samples on passed appetizer trays. If you do the latter, you'll need special little tasting cups to put it in.
There are countless recipes gourmet chefs at prepared food companies can cook up for delivery. Need a soup compliment to an ethnic meal? Consider ordering Cajun, Parisian or Tuscan soups. The sky is the limit!
Your Ingredients; a Professional Touch
Some gourmet prepared foods companies can supply you with the basis for a home-cooked appetizer you may want to whip up yourself. For example, you can order sheets of empty pastry shells that are ready to fill with your favorite ingredients from your kitchen. You can also order the parchment paper professional chefs use to cook them on. You'll be all set in no time to cook up a tasty filo dough delight. The result will be an easy appetizer that looks professional and didn't break your budget.
Caviar 101
Interested in ordering caviar for your gathering? First, you should school yourself in the different types of caviar.
Caviar is the salted eggs from three types of sturgeon fish - Beluga, Osetra, and Sevruga. It is an easy yet elegant appetizer. Understand what you are buying and how you should buy it. Here are some guidelines, courtesy of www.freshcaviar.com:
It is best to purchase from a store that will order caviar fresh or order it from a reputable mail order caviar company. Remember caviar is a fresh product with special care requirements and a very short shelf life. Caviar is very delicate. Once the importer unpacks and repackages the Caviar into jars or tins for sale it only has a shelf life of 2 to 3 weeks, even when maintained at the proper temperature. Caviar will last about 1 week at home in your refrigerator. It should be stored in the coldest part, usually in the meat compartment. Caviar should be eaten within 2 to days after opening
Here is how to distinguish between the different types of caviar:
Beluga is the largest of the three types of sturgeon fish and is highly prized for the large size of its eggs. Beluga is the rarest of the sturgeon fish and can weigh more than 2500 pounds and reach lengths of over 20 feet. Beluga Caviar ranges in color from light pearly gray to dark steely gray.
Osetra is a medium size sturgeon fish generally reaching 10 feet and weighing 500 pounds or more. Osetra Caviar ranges in color from dark brown to golden yellow. It has a unique nut flavor.
Sevruga is the smallest and most abundant of the three sturgeons. It reaches 7 feet and weighs up to 150 pounds. The eggs are small and gray in color.
You should serve caviar on caviar toast.
As for how it should taste, good quality caviar never tastes salty, say the experts. The taste of Caviar is best described as "a breath of fresh clean ocean air," according to www.freshcaviar.com. It has a consistency of butter and melts in your mouth.
Prepared Appetizers Can Reduce Your Stress
When it comes time to feeding your family at that big event, whether it is a baby shower, anniversary or bat mitzvah, you have three choices - cook yourself, hire caterers or buy prepared food. Caterers can be expensive and you want to add your personal touch. It will be less overwhelming cooking for dozens of people if you let some experts take over certain courses. For example, why not prepare the main food yourself but order easy appetizers and desserts from a professional company?
There are plenty of professional prepared food companies that can deliver top-notch and easy appetizers right to your door. Just heat, serve and sit back and wait for the compliments. Let them feast on asparagus torte, beef wellington, lobster brochettes and shrimp spring rolls before digging their forks into grandma's famous lasagna. Your guests will thank you for it.
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