Put it at the end of the buffet table! Photo
courtesy Allen Brothers and Morton’s The
Steakhouse.

Last month we suggested entertaining with buffets.

Here’s a follow-up to that tip, from chef Louis Eguarias:

Set the buffet table with less expansive items first: breads, salads, sides. Keep the expensive meat and fish dishes at the end of the line.

While many hosts, caterers and restaurants do this anyway—since people tend to consume the salad items first—there’s a rationale:

Much buffet food gets thrown away because guests misjudge their appetites. With this system, they’ll fill more of their plates with the less costly foods.

Those who want seconds can head back to the roast beef.

Do you know your cuts of beef?

Check out our Beef Glossary.

Celebrate National Strawberry Ice Cream
Day by tasting 4-6 different brands. Your
favorite may surprise you. Photo courtesy
Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

Today is National Strawberry Ice Cream Day, a good excuse to have an ice cream tasting.

Most of us keep buying Brand 1 out of habit; but perhaps we’d prefer Brand 2, 3 or 4. Manufacturers can change their recipes over time, and new brands pop up. Your own tastes change, as well.

Pick up different brands of strawberry ice cream and treat family or friends to an ice cream tasting. Analyze the different components: creaminess, berryness, density, mouthfeel, texture, sweetness.

Take notes and rank your favorites. The results may surprise you.

For Your Ice Cream Tasting

While we’re happy with just the ice cream, we wouldn’t turn down some shortbread or butter cookies on the side. You want a simple cookie that complements the ice cream.
 
Also feel free to set up a toppings bar: chocolate chips, fruits, nuts, granola and other favorites.

Another tip about ice cream: Don’t serve it rock-hard. A good part of the flavor will be frozen solid as well. If your freezer has hardened the ice cream to the max, set the pints on the counter for 15 minutes before scooping and serving.

WHY IS IT CALLED “ICE CREAM?”

The original frozen desserts were fruit ices, or sherbets, which date back to China, as early as 3000 B.C.E.

Ice cream as we know it was most likely created in Florence in the 1500s for a Medici banquet (details). While no details survive of the creation, according to FoodTimeline.org, cooks began to make summer desserts by taking the richest part of the milk, the cream, flavoring it with seasonal fruits—like strawberries—and cooling it down with ice. The chillier the cream, the more solid the product.

Thus, the dessert’s name was a description of the process by which it was made. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “iced cream” first appeared in print in 1688; “ice cream” appeared in 1744.

Before modern refrigeration, ice cream was a rich man’s treat. Only wealthy people had access to ice in the summer (it was cut from lakes in the winter and stored in cellars and caves).

And wealthy people had the staff needed to make ice cream: those to hold down the ice-filled bowl and those to hand churn the bowl of cream set in it, until it solidified—constant stirring for up to an hour!

It was not until the late 19th century that commercially-manufactured ice cream was accessible to people across socioeconomic levels.

Check out the history of ice cream, which began with flavored ices in China, as early as 3000 B.C.E.

Entertain with tapas: Start with a good
cookbook. Photo courtesy Knopf.

Is there a tapas bar in your town? About 20 years ago, this style of eating from Spain—which consists of grazing on several smaller plates of food instead of an appetizer and a main course (like dim sum)—began to take hold in parts of the U.S.

You can serve a multicourse dinner of small tapas plates. It’s the opposite of our recent tip on buffets, but is just as much fun.

Spain is full of tapas bars, which feature a wide variety of hot and cold appetizers and snacks. From foods as basic as a bowl of mixed olives and a plate of cheese to fried baby squid, what was originally a menu of Spanish bar foods evolved into an entire meal.

Mixed seafood; ragouts of meat, sausages and beans; colorful salads; tortillas (Spanish omelettes) with ham and peppers; banderillas, or Spanish skewers; and empanadas, savory filled pastries, are just a few items found at a typical tapas bar.

But tapas aren’t limited to Spanish specialties. They can be Asian- or Greek-inspired, or gourmet dishes with foie gras and escargots. Goat cheese and arugula join Spanish Manchego cheese and olives. Pretty much any food you like can be served tapas style: a small portion on a small plate.

Tapas are an exciting eating experience for people who like a variety of foods, but don’t want the temptation of a buffet meal.

TAPAS COOKBOOKS
To get started, peruse a tapas cookbook:

 
TAPAS: THE NAME

The word “tapas” comes from the Spanish verb tapar, “to cover.” Why a “cover”?

According to the leading interpretation, a piece of bread would often be placed on top of a drink as a cover, to protect it from fruit flies. At some point the bread was covered with chorizo, ham or other food. Soon, drinkers would order a glass of sherry or wine specifically “with a cover.”

Pedestal plates and bowls are very festive, but require extra storage space that many of us lack.

Thanks to an innovation from Fusion Brands, you can now elevate a cake plate or fruit bowl with Serveitup, a white porcelain base with a suction cup that provides a secure lift.

In an instant, you can put a fancy or everyday plate or bowl, up to 12 inches in diameter, atop the Servitup pedestal and serve with panache. There are two sizes: You can stack a smaller plate atop a larger one for a multi-tiered plating presentation.

Want to put your food on a pedestal? There’s a store locator on the website. Or, head to Amazon.com for the:

Showcase desserts, hors d’oeuvres, even bagels at brunch, with the Servitup snap-on pedestal stand. Photo courtesy Fusion Brands.

Even six or eight people can enjoy serving
themselves buffet-style. Photo by Nancy
Louie | IST.

In the catering and restaurant worlds, food serving styles are classified as table service or buffet service. Both styles are used in the home, as well.

Many of us tend to think as the professionals do: table service for fewer people and buffet service for larger groups. The number of guests is usually the main factor in determining the serving style.

But think of buffets for smaller groups, whether a small cocktail event or tea party or a small gathering of as few as six friends or family members. Guests enjoy serving themselves. You, the host, can set all the food out at once and spend more time with your guests.

A REVIEW OF SERVING STYLES

Table Service

With table service, the food is served individually plated or family style, where communal platters and bowls are passed. A variation is when a parent or other adult prepares a plate for each diner from the head of the table.

The formal variation of this is French service, where dishes are brought to the table to be shown to the diners, and then carved and portioned at tableside by a butler or maitre d’.

Buffet Service

Buffet service is a self-service style where guests serve themselves from a sideboard or table. It can be a formal setting, a picnic table at a backyard barbecue or something in-between.

At a formal restaurant or catered buffet, there can be staff on hand to serve guests from behind the table (which takes the fun out of it, in our opinion), or simply to carve and serve roasts.

As with family-style service, guests have the ability to take only what they really want, and in the quantity they want it. (The down side is that people may also reach for seconds and thirds, “because it’s there.”)

No matter what the setting, buffet food can be formal or casual—while some people like fancy food, salads and sandwiches are popular buffet items. We like pasta bars for dinner, with guests able to create their own dishes by combining pasta, sauces and garnishes. The same works with burger and hot dog bars, taco bars or any other theme.

No matter what the food, a buffet is an opportunity to provide more condiments—chutneys, mustards, olives, pickles, relishes, different sauces—than table service. The result: You use up what’s in the fridge and pantry, and provide a larger symphony of flavors for guests.

For brunch, consider a yogurt bar and a cereal bar, with different types of fruits, nuts, seeds and milks (for example, rice milk and soy milk in addition to cow’s milk). The popularity of chains like Cereality and The Cereal Bowl—where customers top cereals with as many toppings as they like—prove that you don’t have to cook for days to show guests a good time.

Please share your favorite buffet ideas.

You don’t need a fancy tea set to host a tea
party; everyday cups will do. Photo by Sara
Sang | IST.

Afternoon tea—not high tea*—is a traditional British meal taken in mid-afternoon. It’s an elegant snack and social hour between lunch and dinner.

A pot of tea plus nibbles—a choice of finger sandwiches, scones with jam and clotted cream, cakes and pastries—allow friends to enjoy a leisurely chat.

It’s our favorite way to keep in touch with friends, and develop relationships with new acquaintances.

Tea parties are so enjoyable that guests invariably wonder why Americans don’t have more of them.

We’ve made it easy for you to host tea parties, with a whole year of afternoon tea party ideas. You don’t need to host one every month: Rotate the location with friends. Those who like to bake can try out new recipes.

Tea parties don’t have to be fancy: No porcelain tea set is required. Use what you have.

Tea parties don’t have to be fattening. We have a selection of healthy choices among our tea party food recommendations.

Since most of us work during the week, consider holding tea parties on Sunday afternoons. While it’s not traditional, you can serve sherry, Port or wine for those who need some spirited enticement.

A new way to be creative with your food:
Tuna Bites and Salmon Bites from Fresh
Gourmet. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE
NIBBLE.

Fresh Gourmet makes the number one brand of croutons and salad toppings in the world: from premium croutons, to tortilla strips, nuts and fruit.

As we close out the year, we’d like to tip our hats to the company for its latest innovation: Tuna Bites and Salmon Bites.

Made in Spain, the bite-size squares of tuna and salmon have the texture of pâté, firm enough to hang onto a skewer or cocktail pick. The flavor is more elegant than canned fish. We’d call them gourmet bites.

The all-natural ingredients contain only tuna or salmon, salt, olive oil or sunflower oil, and flavors, and contain no other fish products.

 
The company suggests them as salad toppers, of course: on a bed of greens, added to a seafood salad, and so forth.

We love these little nuggets for the creativity they offer in garnishing, making snacks and canapés or other hors d’oeuvre. They make gourmet recipes for entertaining a snap.

While the products are in limited distribution at the moment (see the store locator). The website offers a $1.00 coupon for signing up for recipe emails.

Keep an eye out for Tuna Bites and Salmon Bites. They’re fun and fab. Here’s how we’ve used them so far:

Ways To Serve Tuna & Salmon Bites
We headed beyond the suggested salad topper, using the cubes of tuna and salmon:

 
We look forward to more creations in the new year. How would you use this little bites of protein?

Find more tuna and salmon recipes.

We created a Tuna Martini—or at least, a
tuna garnish for a Martini. Delicious!
Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

A dessert buffet is a great end to a big meal. Photo by Agnes Csondor | IST.

Some people celebrate New Year’s Eve quietly at home, some go to parties. Others watch firecrackers or participate in midnight runs and other group activities.

We ring in the New Year with a dinner party featuring everything new: new recipes, wines we’ve never tried, even some guests new to the group.

Five hours and seven courses later, it’s time for dessert.

As many of us have found at big Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, getting up and walking around after the main meal ends helps to loosen up space for dessert.

Get the moving started with a dessert buffet. Set the coffee and tea next to the desserts. Guests will not only have to move; they’ll have the opportunity to chat with people who haven’t been seated near to them.

And, they can elect to cut small pieces for themselves. Those with no room left can participate with a spoonful.

Your buffet can be as simple as a cake, a pie and a bowl of fruit. You can also call for a dessert potluck.

Or, make choices from this list:

 
A final tip: Be prepared to wrap up the leftover desserts and send them home with guests. That way, you’ll start the new year temptation-free.

Crab balls are delicious with beer, wine and
sparkling wine. Photo courtesy Jakes Crab
Shack.

In 2002, chef Chris Brandl opened a restaurant on the New Jersey shore. The cuisine is fine American fare, including wild boar chops, grilled chicken Caesar salad and his signature crab cakes.

The demand for crab cakes resulted in a casual restaurant, Jakes Crab Shack,* with crab cake sandwiches, Kobe beef burgers and lobster rolls. Keeping with food trends, there’s also a traveling food truck dishing up crab cake sandwiches.

*No write-ins from the editing police are needed: There’s no
apostrophe in Jakes.

Now, Jakes Crab Shack has gone retail.

Folks who can’t get to Belmar, New Jersey (south of Asbury Park) can get the delicious crab cakes and crab balls online, in packages of 24 one-ounce crab balls or six four-ounce crab cakes (both $42.00).

We love the crab balls for entertaining: they fit in with both casual or elegant fare, and are light enough to be enjoyed as an appetizer without filling up your guests. Serve them with sparkling wine (or beer, or any wine or sparkling water).

We also like to use crab balls to top a salad. Or, serve a trio of crab balls (or one crab cake) garnished with some greens, as a first course with your choice of cocktail sauce. For elegance, we prefer a mixture of mayonnaise, pickle relish and Dijon mustard to the red ketchup/horseradish sauce.

Treat your guests to some! Learn more at BrandlRestaurant.com.

Do You Know The Different Types Of Crab?

Here’s all you need to know about crab, including which type of crab meat to use for what recipes, and the different species.

Make your own crab cakes with this recipe. Also try the crab cheesecake—a great hors d’oeuvre or first course.

Celebrate the holidays with a special
sparkling water. Photo courtesy
GlobalPackageGallery.com.

Quite a few people choose water as a drink (or as their third drink) at parties and holiday feasts.

We try to minimize our carbon footprint, so our daily water is tap water or SodaStream-carbonated water.

But on special occasions, we treat guests (and ourselves!) to a special sparkling water. One of our favorites is Ferrarelle (feh-rah-REL-lay), Italy’s #1 sparkling water. (The brand also offers a still water.)

The Ferrarelle spring is located near an extinct volcano in Italy’s Campania region (the southwest coast, right above the “boot”).

To become Ferrarelle, rainwater seeps into the ground and starts a 9.3-mile journey down strata of rocks and minerals, where it is naturally purified and enriched with:

Most brands of sparkling water come out of the ground still (flat) and are then artificially carbonated, like soda. This makes the carbonation very strong.

In contrast, Ferrarelle is naturally effervescent, coming out of the source already sparkling. It has a much more elegant texture, while delivering crisp, refreshing flavor. People with trained palates will discover nuances of its mineral heritage. (For a heavier mineral flavor, we like San Pellegrino, another naturally carbonated Italian mineral water with some extra carbonation added before bottling.)

The Purity Of Bottled Water

While the municipal water supply in the U.S. is subject to stringent quality controls, no testing is required for mineral and spring water, whether domestic or imported. Popular brands have been found to contain bacteria, carcinogens, fertilizer and industrial chemicals (details).

Ferrarelle is tested 615 times daily and its quality is guaranteed by major international certifications including the ISF (International Security Forum).

Whichever brand you choose, have a sparkling holiday!

Do you know the difference between mineral water and spring water? Find out—along with more fascinating water information—in our Water Glossary.