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Overview
François Payard serves up 100 of his favorite recipes for appetizers, canapés, and light bites, plus a wealth of helpful hints and tips on how to host a cocktail party. Divided into hot and cold dishes, here are innovative recipes for meat, fish, vegetable, and cheese hors d’oeuvres, all spectacular and all using simple, easy-to-find ingredients.
Guests are sure to be impressed when they nibble such treats as:
- Hazelnut-Crusted Scallops with Pear Purée
- Duck and Almond Pastillas
- Sweet Corn Madeleines with Caviar and Crème Fraîche
With Payard’s simple and easy-to-follow instructions, these show-stopping dishes are a cinch to prepare!
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780060887223 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 10/17/2006 |
| Pages: | 176 |
| Product dimensions: | 8.16(w) x 8.18(h) x 0.70(d) |
About the Author
Francois is the recipient of numerous culinary honors and awards.
Read an Excerpt
Bite Size
Elegant Recipes for EntertainingBy Francois Payard
Cookbooks
Copyright © 2006 Francois PayardAll right reserved.
ISBN: 0-06-088722-2
Chapter One
Chilled Asparagus SoupMakes enough for 20 small glasses
Too often, asparagus soup is an unappealing, murky gray-green. This version, however, conjures notions of spring, with its bright green color, achieved by puréeing the asparagus while still hot before immediately shocking them in the ice water. Cooling them down so rapidly preserves the chlorophyll in the vegetable. Make the soup a day ahead and store it in the refrigerator.
Ingredients:
40 asparagus spears 1/4 cup olive oil 1/2 cup sliced shallots 3/4 cup sliced leeks, white part only, thoroughly rinsed 6 cups chicken stock Fine sea salt Freshly ground white pepper 3/4 cup heavy cream Grated zest of 1 lime
Instructions:
Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Fill a bowl with very cold water and ice cubes to make an ice water bath.
While the water is heating, clean the asparagus by removing any brown or woody parts from the stalks. Cut 2-inch lengths from the tips down, and reserve the tips separately.
Salt the boiling water and add the asparagus tips. Cook until they are tender-crisp, about 3 minutes. Remove them from the water with a slotted spoon, and immediately place them in the ice water bath to cool them down.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add theshallots and leeks and cook until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the asparagus bottoms, cover, and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the soup simmer for 30 minutes.
Prepare a second water bath in a bowl large enough to contain another one. Transfer the soup to a blender and purée until smooth. Season it with salt and pepper, and pass it through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Immediately place the bowl into the ice water bath to rapidly cool down the soup. Stir in 1/4 cup of the cream. You can refrigerate the soup if you want, but it should be cold enough from the ice water bath.
Using a hand-held whisk or an electric mixer, whisk the remaining 1/2 cup cream, the lime zest, and a pinch of salt in a bowl until soft peaks form.
Divide the soup among 20 shot glasses, filling them about two-thirds full. Garnish each glass with 2 asparagus tips and a small spoonful of the lime cream. Arrange on a platter, and serve cold.
Cauliflower Panna Cotta with Salmon Roe
Makes enough for 20 small glasses
Panna cotta, an eggless custard, is most often served as a dessert, but the texture and color of cauliflower lend themselves to this creamy preparation. The salmon roe adds just the right amount of saltiness to punch up the taste of the cauliflower. Play with this dish by using yellow or green cauliflower varieties, which American caviar would colorfully complement. I serve the panna cotta in cordial glasses, but shot glasses or any other type of small glass will do too.
Ingredients:
14 ounces (about 1/2 head) cauliflower 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 2 cups cold heavy cream 2 teaspoons (1 envelope) unflavored gelatin Fine sea salt Freshly ground white pepper 1 ounce salmon roe
Instructions:
Cut the cauliflower into small pieces and place them in a pot. Add the butter and just enough water to cover about one third of the cauliflower. Cover the pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the cauliflower is very tender, about 6 minutes. Drain off any excess water, and purée the cauliflower in a food processor.
Place the cream in a small pot and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let it sit for 4 to 5 minutes, then bring to a simmer over medium-low heat to dissolve the gelatin. Remove the pot from the heat and let the cream cool to room temperature. Then gently mix it into the cauliflower purée. Do not whip it. Pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Place twenty 1 1/2-ounce cordial glasses on a baking sheet or a tray (it makes them easier to transfer in and out of the refrigerator). Fill each glass with the panna cotta. Cover the top of the glasses with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled, about 1 hour. This can be done up to a day ahead.
Remove the shot glasses from the refrigerator a few minutes before serving. Garnish each glass with 1/4 teaspoon salmon roe. Arrange the glasses on a platter, and serve while still cold.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Bite Size by Francois Payard Copyright © 2006 by Francois Payard. Excerpted by permission.
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