Customer Reviews

Hors D'oeuvres

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of the best and one of the worst cookbooks I have ever used. On the plus side: great and easy-to-make recipes, detailed guidance on preparing foods in advance, and helpful, pretty illustrations. I use this book more than any other hors d'oeuvres cookbook that I have, and my party guests rave about the results. On the negative side: Very very careless editing -- the worst I've ever seen in a professionally published cookbook. Ingredient lists will include ingredients that are never mentioned in the texts of the recipes, but that are clearly required. At least one recipe begins with instructions to preheat the oven (and then the oven is never used). Worst of all: ingredient lists which contain plain errors (such as a cookie recipe which gives the amount of required butter in both grams and cups, but the amount of butter given in grams is one half the amount given in cups.) In using this book, proceed with caution.

Pick this book up. Good for the amateur, good for the pro. Has a wide range of selection (from dips to wraps to skewers) and is beautiful to look at. I tried the `Sun-Dried Tomato and Cannellini Bean Dip'(pg. 34) and the `Spicy Satay Sticks'(pg. 76) and they both were excellent. In addition, there is a section in the back of the book that describes all the cooking `techniques' used in the recipe section - extremely helpful because it can help the aspiring chef.

To let you know, I'm a music producer and basically invite people over to my studio/loft in Soho all the time for business. In addition to having an interesting selection of wines & ports, I like to have something tasty to nibble on while discussing current/future projects...and let me tell you something - this book has made me look like a creative genius!

Will be used on New Years Eve......

I can't cook at all. But, I went to a cooking class taught by the author, Eric. Wonderful, FAST and Simple hors d'oeuvres. Things you can actually do at home and it still looks like the picture and people think you are a pro. Beautiful pictures of every recipe. EASY to follow recipes and advice for what you can do and how far ahead of time you can do it. I highly recommend this book, especially if you are planning on throwing a party and don't want to spend the whole time in the kitchen!

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.

~The Rebecca Review

Thsi book is beautiful to look at and easy to use. It offers step by step instructions and pictures, so you know what each item is supposed to look like. I liked it so much, that i just ordered it for a friend. It makes you feel like you are a pro in the kitchen!

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!

I cook for 6-24 people at a time, for casual to black tie formal occasions, and this book has beautiful and tasty recipes that have always gotten requests for "What is the recipe", or Is this easy to make?" I do not have a lot of time to prepare complex recipes fpr appetizers, so this book's numerous offerings, with usually readily obtainable ingredients, suits me just fine!

My final appetizer is often slightly adapted from the book's recipes, my changes based on substituting local fresh herbs, fish for meat, or other seasonal or tropical substitutions.

Recipes such as the "Filo tartlets with spicy cilantro shrimp and Thai red chili dipping sauce" are quick to make, and stand out above other more "conventional" appetizers, and can be used without the tartlets, even on toast, to keep it easy. This and other appetizers have gotten rave reviews-if you prepare this, be warned that some guests may fill up on this alone, and not have room left for the entree and dessert!

Worried about not having an item...then for example, substitute sour cream for creme fraiche if it's not available for a different recipe, and it's no less tasty!

There's a mix of easy creations, and some more formal ones as well in this beautiful book.

The hints on preparation, and the pictures are inspirational to create numerous variations, so you get several hundred recipes from this beautiful book.

I need quick, easy and tasty for my uses, and cooking from this book has provided just that. See also "The Appetizer Atlas : A World of Small Bites" by Arthur L. Meyer for more complex and varied appetizers.

Buy this book, cook from it, and enjoy the smiles of your family, friends and guests!

This is a very attractive cookbook. It is nicely arranged, and has a broad variety of recipes. However, the recipes seem to have been very poorly edited. The measures, given in both weight and volume, do not always agree (often differing by a factor of two or more), and the ingredient lists sometimes include ingredients that are never used in the recipe.
The best feature of this cookbook is the make-ahead tips: each recipe has clear instructions on how far in advance it can be made, with storage and reheating instructions.
Use this book to plan your party and for tips on how to make your hors d'oeuvres in advance. But use a more reliable reference for the recipes.

This refers to the Revised Edition of Hors D'Oeuvres that I have just bought recently, it is also my second Eric Treuille cookbook. I had a good reference, his books are full of spectacular photographs and good recipes.

What I like most about this Hors D'Oeuvres cookbook is that the recipes are original, plus every recipe has a picture. I haven't seen most of the recipes here in other books. The recipes are elaborate, most of them containing various elements but they are very well explained and beautifully presented. I would say an ideal book for a caterer looking for new ideas, or any person that loves entertaining.

Plus the author is a professional Chef that has written succesful books on cooking techniques so I would definately recommend this one.

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.