Posted by Christine Szalay-Kudra on August 30, 2010
You want to throw a party and now it is time to plan the food. What do you serve? How will you get everything prepared? You want your guests to be satisfied with their snacking choices. You decide that appetizers will be the way to go.
What kind of starters should you choose? Let us take a look at the kind of party you are planning. Will it be for your department at work or a friendly get together in front of the TV? The formality level of your party will make a big difference in whether you serve chips and dip or rumaki. Once you have pegged the kind of party you are hosting, your menu will be easier to fill.
Make some of your appetizers ahead of time if you can. There are many types that let you do so without compromising the quality of your food. Hot dishes can be reheated just before the party. Make sure you have enough space to store your hors d’oeuvres until the party. You may need to clean out part of your refrigerator or freezer.
When you choose your hors d’oeuvres, consider how they contrast in texture, temperature, and flavor. Your guests will most likely become restless if all your appetizers are similar. Offer some vegetarian options as well as some with meats and cheeses. For texture, consider offering some dishes that are creamy and others that are crunchy. Do the same thing with mild and spicy dishes.
Take into account how large your party will be. For ten guests or less, prepare at least three or four different kinds of hors d’oeuvres. If your party will be larger and ranging up to 45 guests, think of at least six or seven kinds. For even larger parties, plan on eight or more dishes to keep your guests happy. It is much better to have too much food than to run out in the middle of the party.
For cocktail parties, you can figure that each guest will eat at least twelve or so. Remember that hot hors d’oeuvres will fill your guests better than cold ones, but they will also be eaten more quickly. Plan accordingly so you do not run out. By providing both hot and cold dishes, your guests will have more choice.
It is simple to find many appetizer recipes online. You can easily fill out your menu in a few moments of browsing the many recipe sites that exist. Do all of your shopping at least two days before the party. This gives you time to prepare some ahead of time. It also gives you plenty of time to thaw ingredients if need be.
Finally, use your imagination. Do not stick to the same old boring appetizers that everyone serves. Provide some traditional options but add an exotic dish or two for excitement. Something like mango salsa instead of the same old every day variety really livens things up. These kinds of dishes will impress your guests and keep them eating throughout the party. These kinds of hors d’oeuvres will make your party memorable for a long time to come.
Summer appetizer recipes are always fresh and delicious. You should strive to use the freshest ingredients that you can. In this abundant season for fruit and vegetables, there is much to choose from. Berries, zucchini, lettuce, cucumbers, and more will vie for your attention at the market.
Posted by Christine Szalay-Kudra on August 2, 2010
If you take a look at the history of desserts and which ones have remained popular all over the world you will see that plenty of Italian dessert recipes stand out. These desserts range from slightly bitter to moderately sweet and a lot of them go nicely with a glass of wine or a liqueur. The Italians themselves often eat a piece of fruit as dessert instead of a traditional sweet Italian delicacy.
If you have visited an Italian bakery, you will have seen many different varieties of cookies and biscotti. The Italians like to dunk their biscotti in red wine. A lot of Italian cookies are sweet but not excessively so and light glazes often provide most of the flavoring. Nuts or candied fruit are often added too. Biscotti might be very popular in the United States but in Italy hard, slightly sweet twice baked cookies are more popular. They are baked twice to remove as much moisture as possible, which makes the cookies dry, crumbly, and hard.
Very Famous Italian Desserts
Tiramisu is a heavenly combination of espresso, liquor, lady finger cookies, eggs, mascarpone cheese, and cocoa. It is thought to have originated in Siena. Tiramisu was Duke Cosimo de Medici’s favorite dessert recipe and Italian immigrants spread the recipe worldwide.
Panettone is the most famous Italian cake. This cake is from Milan and you will find it in Italian bakeries and cafes all over the world around Christmas time. Candied fruit and raisins are used to flavor the fluffy dough and panettone is distinctively dome-shaped. The Italians like to eat their pannetone with mascarpone cheese or zabaglione custard and some dessert wine or a liqueur on the side.
Perhaps you have tried Italian gelato. This is ice cream made with milk, sugar and flavoring. Sometimes it contains eggs and cream. Gelato is churned less than regular ice cream, making it less airy and denser. These desserts are best eaten in moderation because a lot of them are very rich. If you find a lot of Italian treats heavenly but a bit too rich, why not make your own and change the ingredients to tone them down a bit?
Using Jello in Italian Dessert Recipes
Jello and gelato go together very nicely, although this may not be a combination that might have crossed your mind before it is worth a try. If you combine jello powder, boiling water and jello, you can make a light dessert with a great flavor and texture. You can combine many different jello flavors and gelato flavors. Using sugar free jello means you can trim a lot of calories from the finished dessert too.
If you happen to own an ice cream machine, you can make gelato with kool aid and jello, which tastes great and makes a refreshing dessert on balmy summer evenings. Jello goes with a lot of ingredients, with fruit trifle being a great example.
Jello complements the flavors of chocolate, fruit, custard and much more. You can use it to make wonderful recipes like strawberry jello pretzel salad or to stretch Italian recipes further to feed a large family. Simple ideas such as poking holes in an Italian cake or sweet bread, pouring over jello and allowing it to set is a great dessert, which all the family will enjoy.
What do you get if you combine chocolate cake with chocolate jello pudding, eggs and more? The answer is a rich and luxurious jello pudding cake. Not all jello pudding cakes are so rich but it just goes to show that jello desserts can be devilishly sinful as well as light!
