Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tres elegant, with a steep learning curve, January 7, 2003
Presuming you have now mastered the puff pastry recipe from the professional pastry series by the same authors, and have ordered the necessary molds, lattice cutters & etc. from one of the big New York cooking supply stores, you will now be poised to take full advantage of this exceptional book. In addition to providing elegant design ideas, the book gives invaluable "general advice" which should be read carefully: with a few simple tips our puff pastry hors d'oeuvres now rise evenly, and I must say look much nicer than any of the frozen things sold at gourmet markets. Next up: making our own pan de mie for canapes, which will of course require purchasing a Pullman loaf pan ... Be warned, this stuff is orders of magnitude above chips & guacamole.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Hors d'Oeuvres Bible: even for home cooks , December 9, 2008
Do not let the title scare you off: if you need appetizers, finger food, whatever you want to call it; whether you are a high-volume private caterer or home cook needing to feed/entertain a house full of guests for the superbowl, this is your book.
The great strength of this book: it does not require great culinary skill or experience to execute. It does require: patience, time, good ingredients, and a good attitude. Indeed, there are some recipes that are desultory at best, requiring the cook to either have other books for reference or experience to fill in the gaps. OTOH, it has a gazillion pictures, so there is never any doubt as to what the final product should look like. Course, the more manual dexterity, artistic talent, patience, efficiency, and organizational skills you have, the faster the job will go.
For the home cook: yes, you can skip steps and substitute. You can dispense with the usual aspic; also with the butter-from-a-pastry-bag-with-a-really-small-star-tip. Your product does not need to be so neat and tidy; arranging the toppings with a spoon and paring knife is more than sufficient. Yes, you can substitute ingredients or omit them entirely; just make sure that the ingredients that you do use are top drawer, and everyone will think that you are a culinary genius. And: you can scale up or down the volume of stuff you make to suit the occassion; add more variety or quality as time and resources permit. You are the boss. The best part: these are all do-ahead recipes. You can prepare many trays of these tasty treats beforehand, perfect for parties and entertaining.
For Professionals: this book is a must-have; just buy it and don't argue; you will understand when you start to flip through it. Ever gone to a wedding reception, charity affair, etc, and seen tray-after-tray of hors d'oeuvres of endless variety and quantity, and all tasting really good, and, really much tastier than the stuff that you prepare each night during dinner service? Well, this book will show you how. And, really, hors d'oeuvres really are not that hard to do, as long as you know which end of the knife to hold in your hand, and the boss has provided you with quality ingredients. IMHO, the selection of flavors is, well (how to say this charitably?) extremely personal to the tastes of the author. The varieties he presents are VERY far from being standard or conventional or anything else; the recipes herein are HIS tastes. Recommend that you treat the specific flavors as a mere starting point, so you can impose your own flavors and tastes, not to mention the specific quality ingredients that you can obtain locally.
The puff pastry chapter (simple, filled, combination, pizza-gougeres-roques-monsieurs, mini tartelettes) might cause the home cook a few problems. There are no recipes of puff pastry or pie dough or instructions on how to handle and roll them or how to fill molds. There are some recipes for cream sauces, but no cooking instructions.
The mini sandwich chapter has some stuff for pain au lait along with some preparation hints, but no recipe. It also has a picture for the 7 types of filled rolls, but does not list what they are.
P. 66 of the canape chapter has the most amazing chart: a listing of 57 canapes, along with ratings for cost, prep time, and a difficulty rating. This chapter also does have a few recipes, but they only list ingredients.
The Mignnonnette ("assorted snacks") chapter divides up into 4 types: small sausage, fish, fruit, vegetables. This is what used to be called finger food or cocktail food.
The chapter on hot appetizers requires a bit more logistical planning, but still well within the reach of the home cook.
The centerpiece chapter is rather sad. It has: surprise breads, canape hedgehog, Viking ship, and crudite bouquet. It has reliable instructions so you too really can do it at home. Pity that these things are really passé.
The chapter on brochettes/skewers has some rather involved items, but it also includes a helpful diagram to tell you what to do and in what order; very useful.
Personal note: yes, it is true, that using aspic IS ESSENTIAL to a good hors d'oeuvre flavor and texture. OTOH, using plain, unflavored, cheapie gelatin from the grocery store will suffice as a substitute.
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3 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Love Them!, August 15, 1999
By A Customer
Those Mini- samiches are some good eatin! IYou don't even need to have a partay to enjoy these tasty treats! I have been known to eat 7 or 8 a day!
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by Denis Ruffel
