[.ca] Dk Cookbooks Hors D Oeuvres (ISBN 1553630602)

From Amazon.com:
Has fear of hors d'oeuvres stymied your instinct for entertaining? Then give three cheers for the editors at Britain's DK Publishing, the lush, informative books they produce, and the writers that bring to press the highest level of cooking instruction and encouragement. Please welcome Hors d'Oeuvres by chef and Le Cordon Bleu cooking instructor Eric Treuille and caterer Victoria Blashford-Snell. Together they will put to rest whatever hors d'oeuvres anxieties you might have, and then ignite in you a passion for preparing gorgeous little nibbles. The book is divided into sections on ingredients, equipment, recipes, techniques, and "The Party." The recipes section, in turn, is divided into chapters such as "Nibbles, Dips, and Dippers," "Tops and Bottoms," "Sticks and Skewers," "Wraps and Rolls," and "Stacks and Cases." In "Nibbles," you'll find recipes for several variations of spiced party nuts, Triple Chocolate Biscottini with Hazelnuts, Mini Gougeres, Parmesan and Anchovy Palmiers, Honey Mustard Chicken Wings, Spicy Peanut Dip, and Roasted Red Pepper, Feta, and Mint Dip. It all looks absolutely irresistible. "Tops and Bottoms" leaves your basic blini way behind. Take one Parmesan shortbread, then build on top with the likes of roasted cherry tomatoes and feta. Or how about a cocktail-size corn cake topped with spicy mango salsa? You get the idea--something below, something above, all of it bite-sized. Love to grill? "Sticks and Skewers" introduces delicious morsels like Grilled Tuna with Spicy Roasted Tomato Dip, Curried Coconut Chicken Sticks, and Mint-Marinated Lamb Kebabs with Tahini and Honey Dip. "Wraps and Rolls" includes Crab and Papaya Rice Paper Rolls with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce, Cucumber Nori Sushi Rolls, and Crispy Wonton with Gingered Pork and a Chili Soy Dipping Sauce. "Stacks and Cases" runs along the lines of Filo Tartlets with various ingredients, Corn Cups with Tuna, Mango, and Lime Ceviche, and Quail Egg, Caviar, and Chervil Croustades. But words hardly come close to what it all looks like in the usual gorgeous DK layout and photos. From there to the kitchen to the coffee table, it's a matter of a few graceful dance steps. And then you can kiss your hors d'oeuvres anxieties goodbye forever. --Schuyler Ingle

Small bites, big flavour.:
I love to eat small bites of different things, huge servings intimidate me, I feel full even before having a bite! That's why I like to serve appetizers and a main course when I entertain at home. I noticed this book on Amazon and managed to have a "look inside" so I thought it was worth it and bought it: I'm so happy I did! I have used it a number of times now and I can assure you that the recipes are wonderful and quite easy, but the results look so professional! I was really proud of myself. The first time ever was for a (very) small birthday party for my mother. Since it was an impromptu party I chose only the most simple and easy recipes, but the flavours were so rich and complex that we were completely satisfied. I used it at Easter to make an "appetizer only" and everybody was surprised and delighted (me too). I tried the Caramelised Onion Pancakes, the Potato Focaccine, several marinades for meat and seafood, the Oriental Chicken Tartlets (that were a real success), just to name a few. The book is divided into several chapters: The Ingredients The Equipment The Recipes The Techniques The Party The Recipe section is divided into 5 sub-sections: Nibbles, Dips and Dippers - Tops and Bottoms - Sticks And Skewers - Wraps And Rolls - Stacks And Cases. Each is devoted to a single type of appetizer making it easy to find what you are looking for. The recipes are clearly written and each is accompanied by a gorgeous picture of the finished product and some also by step-by-step shots of the most complicated techniques, even if I find that none is really difficult. Most of the recipes contain ingredients that you can easily find at the supermarket, so that you don't have to get mad searching the exotic markets, even if they all draw inspiration from different kinds of cuisines. What I liked most and found very helpful is the Think Ahead section at the end of each recipe. It contains everything you need to know to make things ahead and assemble them at the last minute, so that you can enjoy yourself together with your guests: how far head you can assemble your creation, how to freeze it, how long you can marinate it, how long it will keep in the fridge and how to reheat it and so on. I really love this book. It is great for entertaining, even if you must have the time to prepare the most complicated recipes. None of them is really difficult, but some are time consuming. Anyway, this is a must for the appetizer crazy!

great range of possibilities:
My friend and I bought this book as we host many cocktail parties and a great many of our friends are vegetarian. You would believe how many standard cookbooks offer only things like crab dip in their appetizer sections. We needed to broaden our range. And we were not at all disappointed. Many many veggie options, excellent presentation tips and helpful pictures make this a good book, even for a beginner. It is fantastic to have something other than spinach and artichoke dip and cheeses to offer.

Way Too Complicated:
I usually cook everything from scratch and don't mind spending a few hours making several appetizers. BUT, to make just one recipe in this book, you'd need to spend a couple of hours. The majority of the recipes are too fussy and complicated and just not worth the trouble. I made a couple of the crepe appetizers with different fillings. They were the least time-consuming but the result still wasn't worth the effort - no one took seconds.

Very good recipes, but somewhat unreliable:
This is an absolutely gorgeous book that you will fall in love with the moment you open it. The recipes are fantastic - none of the tired, same-old, same-old: everything is creative and intriguing. Moreover, there are photos for each recipe, and make-ahead tips are provided to make your life easier. Just looking through this book will inspire you to host a cocktail party as soon as possible! I made five of the recipes for New Year's Eve, and they were all very easy to make - even the ones requiring sauces could be put together rather quickly, sauce and all. And they were all tasty, with the possible exception of the Fennel Marinated Feta and Olive Skewers, which were no great shakes. However, some were almost "too" tasty: the Cumin Scented Kofte Brochettes had *way* too much salt, and too much lemon peel. And the Barbecued Tandoori Shrimp Sticks seemed to have a little too much ginger. It's fairly safe to serve these recipes to your guests without testing them first, but be aware that the seasonings sometimes seem to overwhelm the meat, cheese, or vegetable component, so you might want to go easy. The other problem I noticed was something that other reviewers have remarked on: this book isn't edited as carefully as one would like. The Spinach, Smoked Trout and Herbed Cream Roulade lists not smoked trout as an ingredient, but smoked salmon. Also, in the techniques section, there is a "Cooks' Note" for the Lemon Hollandaise telling you what to do if your hollandaise separates. However, partially through the instructions, the paragraph just ends: "Whisk in the separated" and that's it. One last thing I noticed is not fundamental, but still annoying: the fennel marinated feta + olive skewers look absolutely nothing like their photo. It's obvious that the food stylists didn't use the black pepper or the chopped mint, and much more oil and lemon juice, so that the feta cubes would be more attractive. However, it's very frustrating when your own cooking looks nothing like the beautiful cubes of yellow feta you've been expecting. They ended up being darker than the picture and not very appealing. In general, I would recommend this cookbook: you won't be disappointed with the quality of the book itself or the recipes, but do be aware that you might have to approach some of the recipes with caution.

Party Dreams:
If you are looking for a book that will literally make your heart beat faster as you contemplate the perfect party, this has to be one of the most intriguing books from a visual perspective. Mini chocolate truffle cakes swirled with chocolate glaze sit across from a full page spread of mini sticky orange and almond cakes. This book is all about those tasty treats you can't wait to put in your mouth and most of these treats can be consumed greedily in a few bites. We are talking about crunchy sweet and spicy pecans, Swiss cheese allumettes, chocolate biscottini, curry puffs, honey mustard chicken drumettes, cocktail corn cakes with spicy mango salsa, dill pancakes with salmon caviar all ready to give your mouth a burst of flavor. Some of the recipes I was most impressed with were the Broiled Beef Fillet with Salsa Verde on Croutes, the Asparagus Croutes with Lemon Hollandaise and the Tiny Heart Strawberry Shortcakes. Not to mention, the Mini Apple Tatins, Baby Baked Potatoes with Sour Cream and Caviar and Ginger Chicken Cakes with Cilantro Lime Mayonnaise. For summer, you will love making the sticks and skewers. Lemon Chili Shrimp Sticks, Salmon Teriyaki with Ginger Soy Dipping Sauce and Cumin Scented Kofte Brochettes with Minted Yogurt Dip take this book to a whole new level. Are you interested in trying to make your own sushi? Well, here are some classic recipes. Then, they also present soups in cups, sandwiches to die for and mini hamburgers with a recipe for making the mini hamburger buns. So, what about desert? Chocolate Cups with Mango and Mascarpone Cream Citrus Ginger Cream Tarlets Finger sandwiches? Rare Roast Beef and Horseradish Mayonnaise Smoked Salmon and Chive Cream Finger Sandwiches The Techniques section shows how a little extra time and effort makes for a spectacular presentation. Here you will find recipes for Choux Puffs, Vanilla Meringue Kisses and Vanilla Pastry Cream. A special "planning for the party" section gives tips on menu selections, strategy and quantities. The Menu Suggestions section only falls short in that it doesn't include the page numbers by the selections although it is easy enough to write them in yourself. One notes about this book: BUTTER in this cookbook means unsalted butter. Anyone could miss this if they don't read the notes from the cooks on the Ingredients. Everything is SO CUTE in this cookbook! A must have for parties.