In the American science fiction novel Flight by Vanna Bonta, on April 3, 2000, a huge party was to take place to unite humanity. The novel was published in 1995, and already in 1996 the first Party Day was celebrated in the United States. Of course, this happened on April 3rd. Since then, Party Day has been celebrated all over the world. The holiday, of course, is unofficial, it is not on state calendars, but this does not stop people all over the world from getting together with friends, because a party is the opposite of war, this is the motto that those who gathered for the holiday in 1996 chose for themselves.
It's hard to imagine a party without food. But the food should be special, so that you can eat it quickly, not get dirty, and go on chatting with friends. That is, there should be finger foods that are great for satisfying hunger and also make great appetizers for cocktails and spirits.
We offer recipes for a small buffet with friends.
Delicious geometry
What appetizer can you prepare for a party without much hassle? Sandwiches in all their variety. All you have to do is put something tasty between the slices of bread. The more layers the better. Perhaps one of your friends is coming to you straight from work and would not mind having a snack. We suggest meeting them with sandwiches with cheese, tomatoes and arugula.
Ingredients:
- bread toasts - 12 pcs.
- hard cheese - 200 g
- tomatoes - 5–6 pcs.
- cottage cheese - 300 g
- arugula - bunch
- dill - 5–6 sprigs
- salt - to taste
Cut the cheese into slices and tomatoes into circles. Wash the arugula. Finely chop the dill, mix with cottage cheese, mash well with a fork, and add salt to taste. Spread on 6 pieces of bread toast. Place slices of cheese, arugula leaves and tomato slices on each one. Cover the top with the remaining toasted bread and press lightly with your palms. Using a wide knife, cut the sandwiches diagonally and serve the hearty triangles on a large platter.
Rule 1: calculate the number of bottles
a) It’s okay to take a walk
Number of people x 2 = total number of bottles
People are divided into two categories: some need at least two bottles to be happy, while others need just a glass or two. This formula will equalize them.
b) Take an innocent walk
Number of people x 0.5 = total number of bottles
This scenario is good for quick corporate events (smile and leave, without dancing until dawn) and for all kinds of washings - cars, projects, additions to the family. Everyone will get about 2.5 glasses (this does not mean a glass to the brim, but a portion of wine, 150 ml), it will become a little fun, but without consequences.
By the way: A couple of bottles in addition to the final figure will not hurt in any case (just not sparkling, take care of your comrades). Suddenly it will be necessary to put an effective point. While someone fair is pouring the last drops into their glasses, the rest are ordering a taxi. And then they sit down there with their glasses. A beautiful ending.
If you know your company well and everything there is larger or, conversely, smaller, focus on your formulas. Ours will come in handy if you don’t want to delve into who needs how much wine - for example, go around and ask all the departments in the office.
Golden pyramid
Breaded snacks are always the first to disappear from the plate. Crispy cheese balls - even more so. You can add ham, bacon or any other meat to the cheese. Garlic and hot spices will add piquant notes. For juiciness, add fresh herbs or pickled cucumbers. An interesting combination can be achieved if you combine cheese with nuts or dried cranberries. We offer a basic recipe, and then improvise yourself.
Ingredients:
- hard cheese - 300 g
- egg whites - 3 pcs.
- flour - 3 tbsp. l.
- salt and spices - to taste
- breadcrumbs - for coating
- vegetable oil - 300 ml
Grate the cheese on the finest grater to make thin shavings. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt into a fluffy foam. Add cheese and flour, salt to taste, knead the dough. It should be sticky and thick. If the dough spreads, add more flour.
While the pan with oil is heating up, with wet hands, form balls the size of a ping pong ball and roll in ground breadcrumbs. We lower the balls into boiling oil in a slotted spoon - then they will not hit the bottom and will turn out perfectly round. Fry them in small batches until evenly golden brown. Also, using a slotted spoon, remove them from the pan and place them on paper towels. When the excess fat has drained, place the balls on a plate in a pyramid.
Rule 5: we take care of the little things - glasses, corkscrews, napkins
Glasses: There are a lot of you and everything is noisy - buy a batch of plastic dishes, don’t be shy about it. Moreover, now there are also plastic glasses with stems, everything is as it should be. No splinters or bloody scenes during the party, no washing up the next morning.
If you are still an unshakable esthete, you can buy cheap glass glasses, in Ikea, for example. The main thing is to choose those with thinner walls and a volume of at least 300 milliliters.
Corkscrew: Yes, it is better to take wine with a screw cap to a party. But if it doesn’t work out, prepare a couple of corkscrews. Hide them in different safe places. Some of the bottles that are sure to be drunk can be opened immediately and sealed with corks until the moment they are needed.
Napkins: Wine spills, and in general, people tend to get dirty. It's inconvenient without napkins. Stuffing fans into stands, like in a model dining room, is lazy. Simply place a couple of stylish rolls of paper towels in the corners.
By the way: You can find one strong, responsible person for your party. The one who won’t fly into space (even on the tenth glass of prosecco), will keep a corkscrew in his breast pocket and keep an eye on all sorts of little things: it’s time to open another batch of wine, but give this friend a napkin and call a taxi, and top up this modest one with red.
Sea guests
Shrimp are always welcome at a party. Snacks with their participation are light, sophisticated and so tasty! It is best to take chilled shrimp. Frozen food should be thawed at room temperature in advance. An important point is to carefully remove the intestinal threads. If you forget about them, the whole impression will be ruined. Let's make this quick appetizer on skewers.
Ingredients:
- shrimp – 1 kg
- dry white wine - 200 ml
- olive oil - 1 tbsp. l.
- lemon juice - 3 tbsp. l.
- garlic - 3-4 cloves
- parsley - 4–5 sprigs
- salt and black pepper - to taste
Pass the garlic through a press and mix with finely chopped parsley. Add olive oil, wine and lemon juice. We string the prepared shrimp onto wooden skewers, place them in a deep container, and pour the marinade for half an hour. This delicacy tastes best on the grill. At home, you can fry shrimp skewers in a grill pan. You don't have to add oil. The main thing is to turn the shrimp in time so that they are appetizingly browned on all sides.
Rule 4: be sure to chill the wine
Before: Cool the wine, especially sparkling wine, properly, put it in the refrigerator in advance (at least three hours). Cooling on an industrial scale (when you have several boxes) can be done on a balcony or in the trunk of a car. But only if you are responsible and remember to bring the wine indoors before it turns into a heady sorbet.
During the party: Keep whites, rosés and sparkling wines cool. For example, in buckets, basins, a bathtub, a sink with ice water, or ice. Because the wine gets hot 15 minutes after it has been opened and put out to the public. And putting it in the refrigerator and then getting it out every time is a tedious task. Red will be fine without coolness, but it’s better not to place it near a battery.
By the way: It’s worth freezing more ice, it will come in handy. You never know, you will have to urgently open the white one from the storage room, but it was stored somewhere behind the sofa in the kitchen, and it is far from the required 8-10 degrees. Cool it in the refrigerator for a long time, throw it into a glass of ice - a couple of seconds, and the situation is saved.
Shish kebab of abundance
Feel free to include other skewers appetizer recipes on your party menu. Any products can be used for them. The main thing is that they combine well with each other and that the guests like them. In addition, treats on skewers are convenient to eat with your hands. Vegetables and meat are a very good combination.
Ingredients:
- small potatoes - 18 pcs.
- zucchini - 2 pcs.
- sausage – 300 g
- vegetable oil - 1 tbsp. l. for frying + 50 ml for marinade
- garlic - 2 cloves
- ground paprika - 1 tsp.
- Provençal herbs - 1 tsp.
- salt and chili powder - to taste
Cut the zucchini into circles and lightly fry in vegetable oil on both sides. Boil the potatoes until half cooked and cut into thick slices. If the peel is thin, you can leave it. Cut the sausage into thick slices.
Now let's start assembling. Thread pieces of potato, zucchini and sausage onto skewers. Mix the oil with spices and salt, pour over the appetizer, and place in the oven at 200°C for 15–20 minutes. It is advisable that the appetizer is still warm when guests arrive.
PARTY SNACKS
At a youth buffet, it is better to serve snacks that can be eaten standing and with your hands (in extreme cases, without a knife), i.e. sandwiches, canapés, tartlets (can be filled with salads), small meat and fish rolls, salads in glasses and bowls, stuffed eggs and tomatoes. For main course, you can serve the same appetizers (for example, classic julienne - also in portions), or prepare one large dish that can be eaten without a knife - for example, pilaf or spaghetti. Finely chopped pickled and fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, small, unsweetened cookies (crackers), various types of cheese, ham or other meat products are good options.
Here are a few snacks to choose from:
1. Eggs in tomatoes
Take 6 round tomatoes, carefully make a hole in the top of each and remove the pulp. Season the resulting depression with salt and pepper. Carefully pour in the eggs, sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic. Place on a baking sheet greased with sunflower oil and bake in the oven over medium heat.
2. Boletus eggs
Boil the eggs, cut off the tops. Boil these tops in tea leaves - they will turn brown. Carefully remove the yolk. Prepare a mixture of yolk, sprat (can be made from liver or other pate) and herbs. Stuff the eggs with this. Place the eggs cut side down and cover with a cap on top. Chop any edible greens onto a large dish and make a grass lawn out of it. And place your boletus mushrooms on the lawn. It turns out delicious and beautiful.
3. Baked buns
Cut small buns in half lengthwise and carefully cut out the crumb. Place the filling of boiled potatoes with mushrooms or cheese with tomato and onion or cheese with garlic. Imagine! Fill, close, brush with sour cream and place in the oven for a few minutes.
4. Bananas wrapped in bacon
3 peeled bananas, 450 gr. bacon. Cut the bananas first lengthwise, then crosswise into pieces 2.5 cm thick and long. 5 cm. Cut the bacon pieces into 3 parts. Wrap bananas in bacon and fry in a pan. Serve hot.
5. Spicy sausages
Sausages, cheese, mustard, bacon. Cut the sausage lengthwise, grease the cut with mustard, put a piece of cheese in each sausage, wrap it in a slice of bacon and bake in the oven.
6. Sandwich “Sail”
Grate the cheese on a coarse grater, mix with a raw egg, salt and pepper. Gently spread on loaf slices and bake in the oven. Cut the smoked sausage into thin slices and pin to the sandwich with a skewer in the shape of a sail. Very student-like!!!
7. Stuffed tomatoes (1st option)
Wash medium-sized tomatoes in cold water, cut off the tops and remove some of the pulp and seeds. Fill the prepared tomatoes with minced pasta, ham and cheese. Boil the pasta, pour melted butter over it and mix with finely chopped ham, grated cheese (brynza), red pepper and fill with tomatoes. Sprinkle generously with grated cheese on top and bake in a moderately hot oven.
7. Stuffed tomatoes (2nd option)
Prepare tomatoes as in the previous recipe. Sort the rice, rinse and cook. Finely chop the sweet salad pepper and fry in butter. Finely chop the boiled eggs. Finely chop the dill and parsley. Place the prepared products in a bowl, add salt, mayonnaise, and mix.
I think sandwiches and canapés do not need comments...
For dessert, cakes and cookies are ideal.
1. Cottage cheese cookies
Cottage cheese - 250 g, margarine - 200 g, flour - 2 cups, salt, soda. Knead the dough. Roll out, cut out circles, dip them in sugar and bake.
2. Potato cake
Pass 600 g of crumbly cookies through a meat grinder, add 2 tablespoons of cocoa, half a glass of powdered sugar, 250 g of softened butter, half a glass of nuts passed through a meat grinder. You can add 2 tablespoons of liqueur, wine or cognac. Mix everything very well, cut into potato-shaped balls and roll in cocoa. Cool.
3. Nut cookies
Pour 3 egg whites into an enamel or glass bowl, add 250 g of sugar, 250 g of ground nuts. Continuously stir the mixture, first over higher heat until it warms up, then over low heat until it thickens. Remove from heat and add two vanillin powders. When the mixture has cooled, roll into balls the size of a walnut (wet your hands first). Place the balls on a greased baking sheet, leaving a small distance between them, and bake in a moderately heated oven until browned.
4. "Peaches"
Beat 2 eggs with 2 cups of sugar, add 200 g of creamy margarine, then pour in 1 cup of sour cream, 0.5 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp soda, 5 cups flour. Mix everything well, roll into balls and bake. Cool, carefully make holes in the middle (for the filling). Filling: mix the crumbs from the balls with 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp sour cream and 1 tbsp cocoa. Mix everything well, fill the halves and combine into a whole ball - a peach. Then dip one barrel in carrot juice, the other barrel in beet juice and roll in sugar.
5. Cake “Custard”
Pour 1 glass of water, 100 g of butter or margarine, 1/4 tsp of salt into the pan, bring to a boil, then add 1 glass of flour, stir, cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Then remove from heat and add 5 eggs one at a time. As soon as the dough begins to stretch, you can place it on a greased baking sheet at a distance of 3.5 - 4 cm. Fill with cream and pour over the glaze. Creams - sour cream with sugar, protein cream, condensed milk with butter, etc.
6. Crumble waffles with cinnamon
150 g butter, 150 g flour, 4 eggs, 2/3 tbsp sugar, cinnamon, salt. Mix butter, flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt. Add beaten eggs. Mix well and bake.
Baking recipes may be simple, but since it’s for a youth party, the main thing is that it’s fun, original, easy to prepare and inexpensive.
Canapes in a new form
What's a party without canapés? There can be countless variations here. Classic products for this snack are: red fish, seafood, ham, various smoked meats, hard and soft cheeses, olives, fresh vegetables. Let's treat our friends to light vegetable canapés with mozzarella and cherry tomatoes.
Ingredients:
- zucchini - 2 pcs.
- Cherry tomatoes - 15 pcs.
- mozzarella – 15 balls
- cream cheese - 200 g
- olive oil - 1 tbsp. l.
Wash the zucchini well, dry it, and peel it. Using a vegetable peeler, cut the vegetables into thin wide strips. Spray them with oil and fry them in a grill pan. Roll the zucchini strips so that the cherry tomato fits inside. Place the resulting rolls vertically on a plate, fill with cream cheese, and place whole tomatoes on top. Place mozzarella balls on skewers and secure the rolls. These are the original canapes we got!
Canapes with herring and tomatoes
Ingredients:
- 1 jar of prepared herring fillet
- 1 package cherry tomato
- olive oil
- dry herbs
Ingredients:
- Separate the tomatoes from the branch, wash and cut in half. Drizzle with olive oil and season with dry herbs.
- Cut the herring fillet into thin strips, about 5 cm long.
- Then thread one edge of the fillet onto a toothpick and skewer, then half a cherry and close the second edge of the herring fillet. Place canapés on lettuce leaves and serve.
Basket with mushrooms
Another hit at parties are tartlets. Crispy baskets for them are sold in any supermarket. You can use ready-made puff pastry or even thin pita bread. It's up to you to decide what to put inside. Most often, tartlets are filled with cream or cottage cheese, various pates and thick sauces. And they are supplemented with chicken meat, lightly salted fish, boiled eggs, crispy vegetables, crab sticks or olives. Mushroom tartlets are a win-win option.
Ingredients:
- tartlets - 15 pcs.
- champignons – 400 g
- onions - 2 pcs.
- hard cheese - 100 g
- sour cream - 3 tbsp. l.
- parsley - 1 bunch
- vegetable oil - for frying
Finely chop the mushrooms and onions, fry in vegetable oil until golden brown. Add sour cream and chopped herbs, keep on fire for a couple more minutes. Leave a few sprigs of parsley for decoration. At the end, add grated cheese to the mushrooms and mix everything well. Fill the baskets with filling, place on a baking sheet and place in the oven at 200°C for 10 minutes. We serve the tartlets on a platter, decorate with herb petals and always serve warm.
Cucumber canapes
Cut a long cucumber lengthwise and remove the entire center with seeds with a teaspoon. Prepare a paste from processed or cream cheese with chopped dill.
Stuff both halves of the cucumber with the paste, then combine them into a natural shape. Squeezing the cucumber tightly, cut into circles 1-1.5 cm thick.
First thread half a cherry tomato onto a skewer, and then a circle of cucumber with cheese paste. Try to pierce the cucumber so that the cheese filling remains inside.
Recently, salads and appetizers served in large potato chips or bell pepper slices have become quite popular.
Here are some options for such snacks.
Snacks with chips and bell peppers:
- you can put Olivier, crab or chicken salad in the chips
- chips are an excellent substitute for tartlets; you can serve caviar in them
- Place the liver pate into a piping bag and pipe it into a nice swirl onto each chip.
- sprat pate plus a slice of fresh cucumber goes well with chips
- in the cut halves of the bell pepper you can put Caesar salad dressed with mayonnaise, salad with squid, cod liver, tongue or regular crab salad
- if you scald the peppers with boiling water first, the salad in them will become tastier and will sparkle in a new way
- use multi-colored peppers, the festive table will only be more joyful
- the appetizer in peppers is served in the same way as in chips - on a large platter with lettuce
I recommend preparing chicken legs or wings as a hot dish.
Vegetable Carnival
Surely among the guests there will be those who are not particularly hungry or are on another diet. Offer them colorful vegetable slices with an interesting presentation. For example, cut the vegetables into strips, collect them in small bundles and secure them with a cheese string. And to make the crunch of raw vegetables more interesting, serve a delicious sauce.
Ingredients:
- fresh cucumber - 3 pcs.
- carrots - 2 pcs.
- celery stalks - 4 pcs.
- bell peppers of different colors - 3 pcs.
- cherry tomatoes - 15–20 pcs.
- any fresh herbs
Sauce:
- hard cheese - 100 g
- garlic - 2 cloves
- cream 33% - 100 ml
- salt, black pepper, nutmeg - to taste
Peel the carrots and cucumber. Remove caps, seeds and membranes from sweet peppers. Cut all vegetables into equal strips. For the sauce, grate the cheese. Add garlic, cream and spices passed through a press. Place the resulting mixture in a water bath, melt the cheese and bring the sauce to a creamy consistency. All that’s left to do is figure out how to serve this appetizer in an interesting way.
Rule 6: prepare food
It’s better to stock up on food, especially if the wine is predominantly red, otherwise the party will move to the next burger joint. It is not so necessary to surprise those gathered with the wonders of gastronomy. Even if you just slice delicious sausage, brisket, cheese, and throw a couple of nuts on top and tear some baguettes - everyone will be happy, because there is Food.
YES: Sliced cheese and meats, fried sausages, kebabs, chicken wings, olives, sandwiches with fish and caviar, pates, nuts, pizza, burgers.
NO: Grapes, fruit slices with chocolates, cakes. If you can’t live without dessert, then chocolate pastries are better. Reds often smell like chocolate and will forgive.
In general, for a successful party, do not forget:
- calculate the required number of bottles, with a small margin, and keep them cool, not only before the party, but also during;
- prepare glasses, napkins and several corkscrews;
- think over food accompaniment;
- Drink your first bottle of sparkling wine alone while eating sausage scraps.
To help everyone who wants to understand wine and read about it in human language is the Invisible service. There, all our Moscow adult readers will receive a gift - two correct wine glasses with their first order.
Lisa Nastatukha: Mulled wine. Theory and practice
The editor of the wine service Invisible.ru talks about mulled wine: how and when it was invented, what wine is suitable for it and how to brew it
Mexican motifs
Let's add sunny colors to our party menu and prepare quesadillas. The advantage of this snack is the generous variety of toppings. Chicken with cheese, beans with vegetables, minced meat with hot chili sauce, mushrooms with herbs and even a variation on the Greek salad theme - the combinations can be anything. We suggest you stop at the corn quesadilla.
Ingredients:
- cheese tortillas - 12 pcs.
- canned corn - 400 g
- onions - 2 pcs.
- hard cheese - 200 g
- olive oil - for frying
- tomato sauce - 2 tbsp. l.
- salt and ground chili - to taste.
Grate the cheese on a coarse grater. Cut the onion into small cubes and fry in olive oil until golden brown. Pour in the corn kernels, add tomato sauce, salt and pepper, mix well.
Place the flatbread on a heated grill pan. Sprinkle one half with cheese, lay out a little filling, sprinkle with cheese again, cover with the other half and press with a spatula. Brown the cake until golden brown and turn it over. We prepare the rest of the flatbreads in the same way.
One bite burger
Mini buffet burgers will brighten up any party. They differ from regular hamburgers only in size. But there is always room for improvisation. You can make this snack multi-tiered. To prevent it from falling apart, secure the layers with a toothpick or skewer. We suggest not to go far from the classics.
Ingredients:
- mini buns - 20 pcs.
- minced meat - 500 g
- chicken eggs - 1 pc.
- flour - 2 tbsp. l.
- processed cheese - 5 slices
- cherry tomatoes - 6–8 pcs.
- lettuce leaves - 4–5 pcs.
- mustard, salt, black pepper - to taste
Mix the minced meat with egg and flour, form tiny balls with a diameter of 2-3 cm. Roll them out a little and make a dent with your finger. This will prevent the cutlets from puffing up during frying. There is no need to salt them raw, otherwise they will be tough. Place the pieces in a frying pan with heated oil and fry on both sides for a minute.
Cut the tomatoes into circles, cheese into small squares. Wash the lettuce leaves, and then proceed to assembly. Cut the buns in half. Place a lettuce leaf and a cutlet on the bottom half. We grease it with mustard, cover it with a slice of tomato and the top of the bun. It is best to warm the mini-burgers slightly before serving.
Rule 3: choose the right wine
a) Sparkling
It's immediately invigorating and sets the right tone, but keep in mind: it's more intoxicating than wines without bubbles. When sparkling wine takes center stage at an event, events can get out of control. So, if you are not very confident in the company, we advise you to pour it only when the chimes strike, or for an introductory toast to a meeting, and then drink the wine without bubbles.
Which one to take:
Prosecco, rose cava, sparkling zinfandel, Italian sparkling Moscato (aka Muscat). Decent people seem to drink only brut, that is, dry sparkling wine, but it’s quite possible to have a bottle or two of semi-dry or even semi-sweet (read about sugar on the back label), in any company there will be gentle people, and they should also feel good.
b) Red, white, pink
If you don’t know whether the public likes white or red, you should take them approximately equally, with a slight advantage in red. And if the company is dominated by girls, it’s worth stocking up on a little more white, and even diluting it with a bottle or two of rosé.
Which one to take:
White. Varieties - sauvignon blanc or chardonnay from the countries of the New World, pinot grigio. It’s better to have dry and semi-dry, and leave the semi-sweet and sweet for intimate gatherings in the kitchen, it has a stronger effect, just a couple of glasses can make you gee-hey. Age - no more than a year (in 2016, take 2015, or 2016, if you're lucky).
Pink. Countries: Italy, Spain, Chile. Dry and semi-dry, it is much better friends with food, and it causes less mischief. Age - no more than a year, like white.
Red. Countries - Spain, Italy, Apulia region, Chile, South Africa, Australia. Also dry or semi-dry. Age - up to 5 years is acceptable, but 2-3 years is still better.
Very important:
1. Match the wine to the food. Feeding the public a leg of lamb and pouring a tremulous white at the same time is merciless. The food will overwhelm the taste of wine, and you will feel like you are washing it down with water. Feeding him low-fat crackers and at the same time giving him a powerful, appetite-awakening red drink is also cruel. For appetizers and snacks you need a lighter wine - white, rose. But for meat pizza, burgers, steaks and other meats - carnivorous red.
2. Choose wine with screw caps. Simply - screw-on lids. So that there is no fuss with a corkscrew and a painful search for it among the tinsel. Unscrew the cap and you're done.
By the way: If there are not so many of you and you want spiritual closeness, you can drink a bottle or two of port wine or sweet sherry at the end. And if you want madness and dancing (it’s not for nothing that the DJ was paid) - you need to use dry sherry or white port, mix cocktails. For example: ⅓ port/sherry + ⅔ tonic + a couple drops of honey or syrup + herbal liqueur or tincture.
