Surreal Gourmet Bites: Showstoppers and Conversation Starters (Paperback)

by Bob Blumer (Author), Suzi Q. Varin (Photographer) "Sometimes inspiration comes on the installment plan..." (more)
Key Phrases: inactive prep, minutes shortcuts, parmesan cups, Salt Freshly, Grand Marnier (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Bringing his successful Food Network show, The Surreal Gourmet, to the page, the author of this slim cookbook offers a collection of 50 innovative appetizers with names like Haiku Halibut, Pearls of Wisdom and Byzantine Bruschetta. Perfect for an avant-garde cocktail party or even a Dadaist dinner, these recipes are quirky in presentation but consistently delicious. What could be wrong with a Caesar Teaser, a biteful of classic Caesar salad wedged into a miniature parmesan cup? Or a Samurai Scallop, a sesame-crusted scallop bathing in a soy-based marinade, to be served on a large Chinese spoon? Some of the recipe names try a bit too hard to be cute at the expense of sounding appetizing—Chicken Popsicles, for example, don’t sound the least bit tempting even though they’re simply fried chicken on a stick. But several of the recipes are poetic simplicity, such as Bee Stings, chunks of parmesan drizzled with truffle oil and honey. The author serves each recipe with a sidecar of cloying commentary, listing "Uncommon Goods" instead of hard-to-find ingredients and suggesting "Liquid Assets" instead of appropriate wines and beers. He even goes so far as to suggest appropriate music by which to make each recipe. Is Moby really the right thing to listen to while cooking Bang Bang Drumettes? Perhaps, but even if prepared in Zen-like silence, the recipes in this book would still result in delicious, unconventional treats.
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Product Description
The Food Network's Bob Blumer is called the Surreal Gourmet for good reason: he's an artist when it comes to creating dishes as fun and delicious to look at as they are to eat. Ceci n'est pas your ordinary party fare, but an array of 50 little mouthwatering masterpieces. With recipes such as Coconut Shrimp Lollypops (skewered shrimp with an amazing apricot dipping sauce), Chinese Snow Cones (wontons stuffed with chicken salad and ginger vinaigrette), and the ingenious and very adult S'more Shooters (amaretto hot chocolate with roasted marshmallows), guests will be abuzz about the food all the way home. Complete with tips and techniques, including shortcuts and prep times, as well as whimsical presentation ideas and Bob's quintessential suggestions for music to cook by, each cocktail bite is simple enough for the home cook and memorable enough to become addictive. With Surreal Gourmet Bites, the food will be the life of the party.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (September 9, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811845125
• ISBN-13: 978-0811845120
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 7.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #223,969 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #61 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Meals > Appetizers
  #64 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Special Occasions > Gourmet

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Artist Still Playing With His Food with Amuse-Bouche!, September 14, 2004

By	rodboomboom (Dearborn, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Teasers as warmup course, or appetizer feast, here is consummate surreal gourmet providing the inspiration with about fifty recipes composing sections on: fish, meat, fowl, veggies, sweets.

This continues his strong past of imaginative food with stylish twists of humor and fun with food. Try the likes of: Fish Cakes (salmon cupcakes with dill mashed potato icing); Cocktail Dates (bacon-wrapped parmesan-stuffed dates); Cowboy Cookies (chile-crusted tenderloin between carmelized yam slices); Inside Out BL's (bacon, arugula, and goat cheese sandwiched between fried tomato slices);Knuckle Sandwich (nutella, hazelnuts and sauteed pears on toasted pound cake).

Add to all this suggested menus, brief primer and notes oon frying and advance-prep ingredient handling, and suggested menus.

This is fun food, more lighthearted but serious food as well along the lines of Gale Gand's "Just A Bite" or her partner's Rick Tramonto's "Amuse Bouche."

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GREAT NEW FOODS!, December 12, 2005

By	Donna Giavon (Colorado (pooing on Focus on Family building)) - See all my reviews

I tried the smores shooters, and coconut shrimp popsicles, the sauce on the shrimp popsicles tasted great like something you would get in a resteraunt.I also tried the bang bang drummettes, and the inside out BLTs which tasted great. Living in Colorado I enjoyed the smores shooters as they are a great treat to have before you go snowboarding!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun with food, February 17, 2006

By	CC (CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Surreal Gourmet Bites: Showstoppers and Conversation Starters (Paperback)

Through my job in the kitchen appliance industry, I was lucky enough to see Bob Blumer do his thing in a very intimate (about 10 people) setting. From the moment he showed up wearing an AC/DC t-shirt and a pair of outrageous chef's pants, I knew this was going to be a lot more fun than the typical Food Network cooking shows(except maybe maybe Giada's Everyday Italian...but that's for different reasons).
Besides tasting great, the foods he prepared were just downright funny! He was very personable and had a great sense of humor which is reflected throughout this entire book.
I wasn't going to give this book 5 stars simply because these are just not foods you can prepare on any sort of a regular basis. They are mostly meant to be...for lack of a beeter way to describe it....different. But I reconsidered and gave it 5 stars anyway because it's just so damn funny and so damn original!
If you are going to a party, get-together or anytype of social event where food will be served, and you want your offering to be the talk of the moment...this is the book for you. Even if you're not a great cook or don't do such a hot job preparing these bites, the presentation alone will make you the hit! Check it out!