- Canapé
A canapé or canape (Spanish/French for "couch" [ James Beard, "Hors d'Oeuvres and Canapés" (William Morrow & Co., New York, 1943, 1963, 1985), p. xiii. ] and known in Italy as "tartina") is a small, prepared and usually decorative food, held in the
finger s and often eaten in one bite. Because they are often served duringcocktail hours, it is often desired that a canapé be eithersalty orspicy , in order to encourage guests to drink more. A canapé may also be referred to asfinger food , although not all finger foods are canapés. Crackers or small slices ofbread ortoast orpuff pastry , cut into various shapes, serve as the base for savorybutter s orpaste s, often topped with a "canopy" of such savoryfood s asmeat ,cheese ,fish ,caviar ,foie gras ,puree s orrelish .Traditionally, canapés are built on
stale white bread (though other foods may be used as a base), cut in thin slices and then shaped with a cutter or knife. Shapes might include circles, rings, squares, strips or triangles. These pieces of bread are then prepared bydeep frying ,sautéeing , ortoast ing. The foods are sometimes highly processed and decoratively applied (i.e. piped) to the base with apastry bag . Decorative garnishes are then applied. The canapés are usually served on a canapé tray and eaten from small canapé plates. The technical composition of a canapé consists of a base (i.e. the bread or pancake), a spread, a main item, and a garnish. The spread traditionally is either acompound butter or a flavoredcream cheese . Common garnishes can range from finely chopped vegetables,scallions , andherbs tocaviar ortruffle oil .Vol-au-vent
A Vol-au-vent (French for "windblown" to describe its lightness) is a small hollow case of puff pastry. A round opening is cut in the top and the pastry cut out for the opening is replaced as a lid after the case is filled. Vol-au-vents can accommodate various fillings, such as
mushroom s,prawn s,fruit , or cheese, but they are almost alwayssavory . [ [http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry?id=5109 "Epicurious" website : vol-au-vent definition] , referenced August 10, 2007.] [ [http://frenchfood.about.com/od/glossary/g/volauvent.htm About.com: French cuisine] website, referenced August 10, 2007 ]Barquette
Barquettes are tiny bits of
puff pastry in the shape of boats (barque ) which are filled with various savory fillings which are then baked or broiled. [ Beard, "op. cit.", p. 127 ]Smörgåsbord
A
smörgåsbord is a Swedish cold table entrée whose many specialities have been the origin of several common items in the usual array of canapés, such assmoked and fresh fish,gravlax , and variouscaviar s. [ Beard, "op. cit.", p.xiii. ] It is similar to the "zakuskiye" ofRussian cuisine .References
James Beard, "Hors d'Oeuvre and Canapés". William Morrow & Co. (New York, 1940, 1963, 1985.) ISBN 0-688-04226-0.
See also
*
Hors d'œuvre
*Tea sandwich
*Antipasto
*Smorgasbord
*Zakuska
*Meze External links
* [http://frenchfood.about.com/od/glossary/g/volauvent.htm Vol-au-vent] - "About.com: French cuisine"
* [http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry?id=1674 canapé] - Food Dictionary at "Epicurious.com"
* [http://www.basic-recipes.com/r/can/index.htm Canapés Recipes]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.