Each of us, at least once in our life, happened that an unexpected doorbell and the appearance of expensive, but unexpected guests made us feel awkward from the fact that the house, as they say, was a rolling ball.
Smiling and, at the same time, frantically slamming the doors of the kitchen cabinets in search of a decent treat, feeling the near collapse of her impeccable reputation as a welcoming and homely housewife, I no longer have the strength to concentrate on pleasant communication, you only find a couple of cans of canned peas or corn, a pack of chips or crackers.
In the refrigerator, too, not a lot: a bunch of parsley, a slice of ham or cheese, and a dozen eggs and cherry.
Well then what? It's time to show ingenuity and artistic taste.
One can recall several well-known still lifes or, having cast aside indecision, do carving as if it were the only craft familiar from toddler, which, in general, was not far from the truth, because self-confidence was akin to childlike spontaneity. True, some devices, materials and basic knowledge of this art are still necessary. But it's worth it!
Whip up snacks - basic technology principles
First, let’s clarify: appetizers, receptions, buffets - related concepts, exactly the same as a sandwich, canapes, crostini, pinchos or tapas. In a word, linguistic differences do not change the essence and main purpose.
In the Russian tradition, snacks are usually served "under vodka", but they also exist in many national cuisines of the world, in cold and hot form. In those countries, or rather, in those cases when these dishes are not intended specifically for snacking after drinking strong alcoholic drinks or lighter alcoholic aperitifs, warming the appetite, they play the role of a light snack or “distracting maneuver” when the last preparations for the banquet and the table are exposed main dishes.
One way or another, the preparation of snack compositions is tied to one or another type of alcoholic drinks, which means you need to be not only a skilled culinary specialist, but also an experienced sommelier in order to skillfully offer, for example, lemon, cheese and olive skewers to Greek cognac, Russian vodka - of course, herring, pickles or caviar, so that alcohol and food cause a pleasant aftertaste, and not gastronomic absurdity.
An appetizer is also an intermediate, connecting link between an aperitif and a main course. It is especially important when you need to create a smooth transition from fine wine to hot meat or fish dish, with which potatoes are served as a side dish. After all, it is strange to bite a noble sherry with potatoes and a fish patty. But if cheese, fruits (figs or citrus fruits) are present between them, then this will not cause any dissonance. Depending on the type of sherry, it, of course, is served with meat and fish. Sometimes cigars are served as an appetizer for this wine. But, in any case, if the wine is cooled before serving, then a hot main dish will be inappropriate for him: at least dentists will be exactly indignant at this fact, taking care of the strength of tooth enamel, which a sharp change in food temperature will quickly destroy.
No one will object to the fact that a beautifully decorated dish causes an appetite and creates a festive atmosphere at the table. Just a cucumber, of course, will retain more vitamins, lying on a plate in its entirety, but it will remain there until the end of dinner, especially if you put a dish next to it, in which the same cucumbers will be cut in the form of a spiral or leaflets, or wrapped in a roll, inside of which will be a plate of salted salmon or salami.
Based on this, it is advisable to have at least a few knives for curly cutting in your kitchen. You can sometimes use metal or plastic recesses to cut out cookies. Pick up tools depending on the density and consistency of the products for the preparation of snacks. Cocktail skewers will be very handy.
The logic of the feast is simple: if you want to treat people who have come to the house, these people are dear to the owners of the house, and it follows that you need to try. Do not panic if there are no lobsters in the refrigerator - get ready and prepare an option for a quicker quicker snack, for example, shrimp in batter. Even a jar of sprat in oil can be a great decoration for a sandwich if you add a slice of lemon or cucumber with a small leaf of parsley. The effort will not go unnoticed by guests in any case.
Now let's move on to quick recipes for appetizers that will help to decorate the table for a sincere meeting and, perhaps, causing surprise and admiration for the guests, will make them ask for a recipe from a friendly hostess, which will automatically mean recognition of her culinary talent, exquisite taste and strengthening interpersonal relationships .
Recipe 1. Pickled red onion with herring and caviar oil
Ingredients:
White onion
Lemon
Parsley (fresh leaves)
Herring fillet, salty
Toaster bread
Sandwich butter
Salted Herring Caviar
Fresh cucumber
Boiled carrots
Cooking method:
Take peeled large heads of white, spicy onions, wash (5-6 pieces, according to the number of servings). Cut each onion crosswise, in a zigzag pattern, so that by dividing the halves into two parts. Carefully remove one or two layers of scales from each half, which should resemble a lily flower in shape. Inside each “flower” put diced herring fillet, sprinkle herring and onion with lemon juice.
Beat the butter with a blender, adding to it, herring-free caviar to taste. Cut square slices of toaster bread diagonally and spread the resulting triangles with caviar oil. In the center of the sandwich, fasten the flower made with a skewer. From slices of fresh cucumber, cut "leaves of lily" and lay around the "flower". From the rings of boiled carrots also cut the figures in the shape of flowers, using a plunger. Grated carrots on a fine grater, sprinkle the center of the "lily". Put the appetizer on a dish covered with lettuce or other greens.
Recipe 2. Toast with fried shrimp and caviar
Ingredients:
Horseradish, fresh 50 g
Mayonnaise 70 g
Shrimp 200 g
French loaf 10 slices
Red caviar 100 g
Sea salt
Dill
Frying oil
Cooking:
Cut the slices of the loaf and use the round cookie cutter to shape them. Toast. Grind fresh horseradish root on a fine grater, mix it with mayonnaise and add chopped dill. Peeled shrimp salt and fry in oil. Put a teaspoon of sauce in the center of each toast. In a circle of toast, put two shrimps, caviar on the sauce. Garnish the toasts with dill branches.
Recipe 3. Lightly salted appetizer rolls of cucumber and salmon with cottage cheese and chopped greens
Ingredients:
Fresh Cucumbers
Salmon or trout fillet, lightly salted (sliced)
Ricotta or Philadelphia Cheese
Olives
Greenery
Cooking:
Cut very thin and long plates of fresh cucumber. Spread one side of each plate with cream cheese, put a thin slice of fish on a layer of cheese, and on it - seedless olive. Roll cone shaped cucumber slices. Lay all the cones on the dish with a fan, decorate with sprigs of fresh herbs of your choice.
Recipe 4. Colorful Balls - Assorted Appetizers
Simple and long-known salads can be designed as an original snack. Salads of this type, meat pastes can also be served not in potato chips, but, for example, in baskets or wrapped in pita bread, in the form of rolls.
Ingredients:
Eggs 12 pcs.
Hard cheese 600 g
Garlic 50 g
Boiled carrots 350 g
Nuts, walnuts (kernels) 200 g
Mayonnaise 450 g
Coconut flakes 120 g
Boiled beets 150 g
Onion, white 100 g
Lemon juice 50 ml
Smoked Mackerel Fillet 300 g
Potato chips
Cooking:
Peel the boiled eggs. Grind all prepared foods separately into a paste with a blender, finely grate the cheese. Chop the onion finely and pre-soak in lemon juice, squeeze to remove excess moisture.
Combine half the cheese, 6 boiled eggs, 25 g chopped garlic and 150 g mayonnaise in a bowl, mix, divide into 50-70 g portions and roll the balls, dipping them in coconut flakes;
In the next container, mix the crumbs of walnuts, the rest of the garlic, 150 g of mayonnaise and carrots in the same way; make orange balls;
Combine chopped onions, minced mackerel, eggs, cheese, beets and mayonnaise in a third bowl to make red balls;
Arrange all the balls on potato chips, shape with greens and serve in a wide flat dish.
Recipe 5. Eggs stuffed with mackerel in oil or fried liver
Another group of fast-food snacks is stuffed eggs. In addition to the proposed options for making quick cold appetizers from eggs, there are many other types of toppings. Mushrooms, cucumbers, rice and other products are perfectly combined with eggs. You can also design such an appetizer in different ways: in the form of a basket, a boat, mushrooms, mice or pigs.
Ingredients:
Boiled eggs 10-12 pcs.
Fresh parsley leaves (for decoration)
First filling:
Mackerel blanched in oil 200 g
Onions, pickled 100 g
Mayonnaise 80 g
Ground black pepper
The second filling:
Roast beef or chicken liver 250 g
Onions, passaged 120 g
Mayonnaise 50 g
Mustard to taste
Cooking:
Cut the boiled eggs in half. Remove the yolks from them and, dividing them in half, add to each filling.
For the first filling, chop the onion finely and season in a marinade of lemon juice, sugar and salt, then combine with the cooked yolks. Add the mackerel pulp to the onion and yolks along with the juice in which it was stewed in a jar. Season the mixture with pepper and mayonnaise. The egg filling can be thoroughly kneaded with a fork or beat into a pasta with a blender.
Combine and grind the ingredients for the second filling.
Stuff the egg white halves with cooked pastes to create a whole egg shape. Garnish the appetizer with mayonnaise and parsley.
Recipe 6. Jellied vegetables in egg shells
A very bright appetizer with an interesting design, but for its preparation you will need preliminary preparation: you need a washed egg shell. To do this, collect it on the eve of cooking snacks. Using raw eggs to prepare other dishes, wash them thoroughly and make a small hole to pour out the contents. Then wash the shell from the inside and dry. Put the blanks in the egg trays, cover with cling film and use as needed.
Ingredients:
Egg shells 12-15 pcs.
Meat broth 400 ml
Boiled Chicken Breast 350 g
Frozen peas and corn 150 g
Gelatin 25 g
Boiled carrots 70 g
Red, lettuce 100 g (net)
Parsley
Bread
Cooking:
Finish the meat broth to the desired taste, strain, heat to dissolve the gelatin. Cut the prepared products into cubes of 0.5x0.5 cm, spread them evenly in the eggshell, pour in the gelled broth. Chill until the broth hardens, peel the snack. Cut round supports for eggs from slices of bread and fasten them with a skewer between each other.
Recipe 7. Quick Snack - Stuffed Figs
Ingredients:
Cream Cheese 200 g
Large figs 10 pcs.
Almonds, fried (crumbs) 100 g
Orange zest, fresh 50 g
Cooking:
Mix the almonds with a gentle cream cheese. Cut the washed fruits of ripe figs crosswise, from the inflorescence to the middle of the fruit, to get 8 petals. Select the pulp with a spoon and combine it with the cheese mass. Stir and spread the filling into the fruit. Open the "petals." Sprinkle the cheese filling inside the "flowers" with a bright zest of oranges. The number of “petals” can be increased, if desired, by cutting each of them with kitchen scissors in half.
Quick Snacks - Tricks and Tips
Let's get back to where the topic of quick-start snacks began:
In order not to be caught off guard by an unexpected visit of guests, take one rule into service - always keep a stock of non-perishable products in the house, from which you can make an original snack in a hurry. Ideally suited for such cases, nuts, chips, crackers (white and rye): they do not take up much space, have a rather long shelf life, which eliminates the need to frequently update the inventory and reduce costs, are suitable as an ingredient to many products from which you can make snacks. The next group of "emergency products" for emergency - canned food. One bank of a different kind will be enough. Take care only of the correct storage conditions and do not forget to follow the date of their implementation.
It is better to rehearse the creation of whipped-up snacks from "on-duty" products in advance, bringing each movement in the kitchen to automatism. Choose a few recipes of your favorite snacks and practice cooking them. Of course, you always need to have the necessary “arsenal” at the bar ready for these snacks so that guests do not feel embarrassed due to their own sudden appearance and the fact that the hosts were not ready for their arrival, and that will undoubtedly strengthen your reputation as hospitable and welcoming people .
The simplest option for a quick whip is a regular cut: the so-called "cheese" or "meat plate", fruit or vegetable platter. These products are cut nicely enough and put on a dish. Before you start cutting, do not forget to take care of kitchen tools that must have sharp blades. For cheese slicing use a special knife.
