The comeback of canapés
Beautiful jewels of finger food consumed in a single bite
Most nice parties begin with hors d'oeuvres, which it seems to me, have grown bigger and messier over the past few years. A lamb chop that one must hold by the bone or a single large meatball on a stick now stand in as popular hors d’oeuvres. Too big. Too messy. Too many calories. Not terribly tasty. These seem better suited for a graduation party for eighteen year old boys.
Remember the canapé?
Tidy crunchy flavor bombs, consumed in a single bite, are as beautiful to behold as they are to taste. Canapés are served room temperature. They consist of:
a base that does not become mushy (cracker, endive leaf, toasted pita piece, puff pastry, toasted baguette round, hollowed out cherry tomato, etc.)
layered with a spread (any cheese mixed with creme fraiche), or a fig spread, a savory relish, a caviar spread, a caramelized onion spread, etc.
topped with something tasty (small piece of smoked salmon, slice of fresh fig, small piece of smoked duck breast, crab salad, inexpensive pink salmon caviar, a black caviar that is affordable, etc.)
and a garnish (toasted pistachio nut or walnut piece, caper, piece of roasted red or yellow pepper, fresh herb sprig, etc.)
These are meant to travel from the tray to the mouth via two fingers and be consumed in a single delicate bite that is NOT a mouthful and doesn’t drip on your dress. They are truly divine when done well.
How to create a Canapé
You’ll want to prep all the parts for your canapés ahead of time and keep them in sealed containers until assembling at the last minute. First, select the base for your canapé. It should be one inch or less in diameter. I prefer less. A very narrow baguette can be sliced thin (1/8”) and toasted with a little melted butter brushed on top until crispy. A pita bread can be sliced into a tiny pizza-shaped base and toasted. Small rice crackers are nice. You can also use a single endive leaf as a base. My favorite is puff pastry.
To make a puff pastry base*, thaw the pastry sheets in the fridge for a day, then take out a sheet and lay it on parchment paper. Don’t roll it. Simply take a knife and cut small squares or rectangles. I love to use several shapes, then decorate each shape with a different topping. I use a circle cutter about 3/4” in diameter. Put your cutout shapes on a parchment covered baking sheet. Chill the cut shapes for about 30 minutes then pop them into a 400 degree oven until they are golden. If they are not cooked thoroughly, they will become chewy within a few hours. To ensure they remain crispy, let them sit in your oven on a proof setting at about 90 degrees for an hour after baking them. They will not continue to brown at that temperature, but they will become very crisp and stay that way for a day or so.
*If you don’t have any desire to fool with all this puff pastry business, you can buy pre-made puff pastry shells or these even better shells that are actually very nice.
Once the puffs are cooked and cooled, you can slice them in half and make tiny sandwiches, or use the halves by themselves.
The fun part
You can get really creative here. You will need very little spread. In fact, a total of 1/4 cup will probably be too much. I like to use about half creme fraiche and half soft cheese of some sort. A goat cheese, blue cheese or finely grated parmesan are all wonderful. Mix in a bit of finely chopped shallot if you wish. Then spread this over your base. This bottled pepper and onion relish is wonderful as a base with the blue cheese and creme fraiche mixture on top. That’s enough by itself, but you can also then add a tiny slice of smoked meat (I love smoked duck breast) or smoked salmon.
It’s beautiful to decorate the top of each canapé with a tiny piece of fresh dill (for a seafood base), a single tiny toasted walnut (for the blue cheese base), a toasted pistachio nut, or a single caper.
Avoid anything that must be held together by a toothpick. If a toothpick is necessary, your canapé is too big. Your guests will be looking around for some place to put their used toothpick, which is an awkward distraction.
Presentation!
Since the art of canapés is about visual appeal just as much as taste, it’s important to have a small pretty tray, about the size of a plate, to place your canapés on. I love to have old school linen cocktail napkins, too. Just to take the whole thing over the finish line like you know what you’re doing.
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