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.
  

The action ingredient is sunflower seeds, which provide energy as well as 50% more protein (6 g per serving) than many popular nuts, and more fiber than an apple (3 g per serving), among other nutrition.

Somersaults found popularity in their hometown of San Francisco, and are now available in limited distribution nationwide and online, in individual and six-ounce bags.

You can have your Somersaults lightly sweetened, in Cinnamon Crunch and Dutch Cocoa, or salty and zesty, in Pacific Sea Salt, Santa Fe Salsa and Salty Pepper.

If you’re looking for a better-for-you snack, read the full review and try a bag. You may find yourself with the energy for cartwheels and hand stands, as well as somersaults.
Find more of our favorite gourmet snacks.

Our first jalapeño. Photo by Elvira Kalviste |
THE NIBBLE.

We grew our first jalapeño plant by accident.

We had grown a pot of basil on the windowsill over our kitchen sink, from a packet of free seeds. The basil turned out to be a flimsy strain, however, with unsteady stalks and small leaves. We harvested the few leaves and waited for more to grow.

One day, what looked like a weed sprouted in the basil pot. It grew into some lovely green leaves but we couldn’t identify the plant. Small white buttercup-type flowers appeared, but they turned into more leaves.

In several weeks we had an attractive houseplant, and pulled the failing basil from the pot. Then one day: surprise! The plant revealed itself with a one-inch-long jalapeño.

How?

Through the miracle of nature, a seed from a jalapeño must have landed in the basil pot. Now, we’re having fun growing our own jalapeños indoors. Try it!

1. Reserve some seeds from a fresh jalapeño. Line the bottom of the plant pot with pebbles to provide drainage and top with a nutrient-rich potting soil.

2. Lay seeds, spaced about two inches apart, and cover with a final 1/2 inch of soil. Water and place in a window that receives direct sunlight.

3. Water twice a week. Don’t over-water—jalapeños don’t grow in wet soil. If you have cold winters, remove the plant to somewhere slightly warmer (like the side of the sink) so it doesn’t freeze and stunt the growth of the jalapeños.

4. Transfer the plants as needed to larger pots. Enjoy your little harvest.

January 9th is National Apricot Day. We’re not sure why, since apricot season in the U.S. is from May through August (any fresh apricots found in the winter months have made a long trip from the southern hemisphere).

Similarly, Apple and Apricot Month takes place in January! That’s where dried apricots come in, and they’re never more delicious than in the recipe below.

Without fresh apricots, you can toast the day with an apricot brandy sour, have apricot jam on your toast or sandwich (cream cheese, goat cheese, ham, turkey), make a pork roast with dried apricots, or use the jam as filling in a Sacher Torte.

Here’s a quick and easy way to turn dried apricots into something festive. If you don’t want to make your own, you can order chocolate-dipped apricots from Bissinger’s or Lake Champlain Chocolates (the latter are kosher-certified).

Don’t like chocolate?

> There’s a second recipe below, for plain glazed dried apricots.

> 20 more ways to use dried apricots.

> The history of apricots.

> The year’s 4 apricot holidays are below.

> The year’s 80 fruit holidays.
 
 
RECIPE #1: CHOCOLATE-DIPPED APRICOTS RECIPE

These are delicious with tea and coffee, as a petit-four after dinner, or whenever a chocolate yen beckons.

Ingredients For 24 Pieces

[2] Ready-to-eat, from Olde Naples Chocolate.

1. For best results, temper chocolate in a chocolate tempering machine. If you don’t own one, melt the chocolate in a chocolate melting pot, microwave oven or double boiler.

2. Place the chopped nuts on a plate or in a shallow bowl, for dipping.

3. Holding an apricot by the rim, dip about half of it in the chocolate. Give it a quick twist, shake off excess chocolate and tap the apricot against the rim of the bowl if excess chocolate remains.

4. Before chocolate dries, dip the top of the apricot into the chopped nuts. Place it on parchment paper to set up and cool. If the setup seems slow, place it in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 minutes. Repeat with all apricots.

If you want to sweeten the apricots, glaze them first. Glazed apricots can also be enjoyed without the chocolate dip.
 
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*Dark chocolate compliments the apricots best, but you can substitute milk chocolate or white chocolate. The finer quality the chocolate, the better the confection.
 

[3]. Chocolate-covered apricots (Gemini Photo).
 
 
RECIPE #2: GLAZED APRICOTS

Ingredients For 24 Pieces

 
Preparation

1. BOIL the water in a medium saucepan. Add the sugar and stir until it dissolves and a syrup is created. Boil until the syrup reaches 310°F on a candy thermometer (do not stir).

2. PLACE the pot in a pan of cold water to instantly stop the boiling; then immediately remove the pot and set it in a pan of hot water. (This keeps the syrup at the right temperature.)

4. DIP each apricot in the syrup, using a skewer. Shake off the excess syrup and and place the apricot on wax paper to dry.
 

[4]. Glazed apricots (Gemini Photo).
 
 
THE YEAR’S 4 APRICOT HOLIDAYS

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

Centuries ago, French chefs initiated the term “fines herbs” (pronounced “feen erb”), to designate the more delicate herbs. The category generally includes chervil, chives, parsley and tarragon, though it has been known to also include marjoram, savory and a few others, depending on whom you’re asking. This designation is widely acknowledged by chefs around the world: If a recipe calls for “fines herbs,” you can assure it will include the aforementioned four.

Less official, though no less helpful, is a designation used by chef Jan Birnbaum of Epic Roasthouse in San Francisco, among others. He designates the term “big herbs” to refer to those herbs whose flavors can stand up to heartier meats and vegetables. These “big herbs” include sage, rosemary and oregano, herbs that are very much at home in a roast house such as Epic.

FRESH VS. DRIED HERBS

These herbs, be they “fine” or “big,” are best used in their fresh states to enjoy their truest flavors. Dried herbs tend to have more concentrated flavors, stronger on the palate than their fresh counterparts. You can typically add them to a recipe earlier in the cooking process, as their concentrated strength will stand up to the heat of cooking.

When cooking with fresh herbs, on the other hand, it is typically best to wait until as late as possible to add them to a recipe, when the cooking process will have a greater effect on their flavor and what chefs call “brightness”—generally the reason one cooks with fresh herbs in the first place.

That being said, each has its place in the cooking process; even if you are cooking with fine herbs, using a more delicate protein will allow you to cook them without losing their flavor. With bigger herbs, on the other hand, you can more or less throw caution to the wind: they can handle being roughed up a bit. Here are two recipes, one for fine herbs and one for big ones, utilizing the strengths of each to help crate a delicious dish:

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. Chop herbs and whisk into aïoli, reserving a teaspoon of each. Add lemon juice to taste, until you achieve desired acidity and brightness.
2. Lay sole filets on a foil-covered baking sheet and season with salt and pepper.
3. Using a spoon or spatula, place a generous dollop of herb aïoli at one end of each filet.
4. Roll up filets so that the herbs are in the center, and secure with a toothpick.
5. Add your reserved herbs to the melted butter and brush each filet generously.
6. Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes. Baste with herb butter once or twice throughout the baking process.
7. Remove toothpick before serving.

RECIPE: BIG HERBS-CRUSTED LAMB LOIN

The crust you get on this lamb recipe is absolutely scrumptious. If seasoned and seared properly, it will be crunchy and herbaceous, giving way to tender, medium-rare lamb beneath. This is the beauty of big herbs: they can stand up to lamb’s flavor as well as the searing process. Some of the herbs may char a bit here and there, but overall it works quite well with the dominant flavors in the dish.

Ingredients

 
Preparation
1. Chop garlic and all herbs, combine, and set aside.
2. Using your hands, rub the loin generously with the olive oil and butter mixture, making sure to coat the entire surface.
3. Spread your herb/garlic mixture on a cutting board and roll the lamb loin around in it to create a crust. The better you cover the loin, the more flavor you will get.
4. Season all sides generously with salt and pepper.
5. In a large sauté pan on high heat, heat the oil; sear lamb loin on all sides. This will take roughly 5 minutes; do your best to leave the lamb alone as it sears in order to achieve a nice, crispy crust. A little smoke is okay, as the herbs may burn slightly; just don’t allow it to get to a point where smoke is pouring from the pan. (This step can also be done on a grill.)
6. Finish the lamb in the oven, baking at 400°F for 20 minutes. Remove and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.