James Beard - The New James Beard

The New James Beard

James Beard

Contents

Appetizers

In planning this chapter, I set my fancy free to roam across every category but soups and sweets, assembling a lively bazaar of inventive, bright-flavored dishes that whet the appetite without sating it too soon. It was happy work, for no kind of food is more fun to think about, has more variety, or lends itself to such alluring presentations and such piquant contrasts. Arranging the finished dishes for a big party is as much fun as composing them; I like the colors of a garnished tuna platter next to the soft yellow-greens of avocado stuffed with pink shrimp, and the plump shape of a big golden brioche contrasted with layers of tiny blini. The aromas hovering over a grand buffet blend so enticingly: the bracing marine waft of sizzling-hot mussels and clams, the subtleties of herbed pts, the comforting richness of chicken livers with scrambled eggs. I relish a mouthful in which textures combine on the tongue, like succulent, cool ripe fruit with a salty wisp of prosciutto, or the dense crumb of good dark bread with satiny smoked salmon. Its luxurious to eat like this, choosily and at leisure, between sips of wine or a crackling-cold mineral water, trying a sliver of this or a little mound of that, experimenting here, repeating there, pausing for greetings and conversations and laughter, and gradually, as the evening passes, composing a meal as you would a mosaic.

You might turn to this chapter first, when planning a big party, but bear in mind that almost all these dishes are excellent first courses for dinner, or main courses for luncheons and light suppers. Their number includes lots of delicious, quickly made little somethings, too, for the times when a friend is expected for a glass of champagne and a chat. And dont confine your planning to this chapter. Appetizers can be anything that is easy to serve and fun to eat, and many dishes elsewhere in this book are excellent for the purpose. Salads, for instance, or egg or cheese or vegetable dishes, or even roast meats if the occasion and the hour seem to call for something substantial. What could be more appetizing than a rosy, fine-grained slice of roast fillet on your own good bread, with plenty of herbed butter?

I have even included a couple of novel cocktail tidbits here, though the long era of the old-fashioned cocktail party ended sometime in the seventies. With it departed appetizer as a misnomer for a salty, soggy bit of finger food, whose rather insidious purpose was to sop up alcohol while promoting a thirst for more. Thirstifying it was, perhaps, but appetizing, seldom. Hard liquor has lost favor, and now that people drink in a saner way, to enhance not dull the senses, they want delightful and interesting things to eat, not to snap up absent-mindedly. Small plates are called for, and forks; and I like my guests to have room to sit down before they move on again, to greet other friendsor to revisit the array of appetizers.

APPETIZERS

Anchovies with sweet peppers

with peppers and tuna

with shallots and parsley

with eggs and tomatoes

with tomatoes

Herring

pickled

marinated

in sour cream

Madeira

mustard

salad

rollmops

Smoked salmon

marinated

rolls with horseradish cream

Smoked haddock mousse

smoked trout mousse

kipper mousse

sardine mousse

Tuna

with artichoke hearts

with hard-boiled egg

with tomatoes

with tomatoes and onions

primavera

Tuna pt

salmon pt

smoked sturgeon pt

Pike and salmon pt

Salmon tartare

sturgeon tartare

tuna tartare

striped bass tartare

Mussels

Hiely

provenal

salad

rmoulade

with snail butter

Clams

au gratin

herbed

anchovy

provenal

casino

Brains gribiche

Escabeche of fish

of tongue

of brains

of sweetbreads

of beef

of chicken

of mackerel

Soused shrimp

with tarragon

soused scallops

Shrimp in sour cream with mushrooms

crabmeat in sour cream

scallops in sour cream

Shrimp Kiev

Goujonettes of sole

in beer batter

Sardines with mint

Snails with garlic butter

in mushroom caps

Rolled chicken pt

Pt of chicken livers and ham

Rabbit pt

Pork liver pt en brioche

Herbed pt

Pork rillettes

goose rillettes

truffled rillettes

Brioche bohmienne

Brioches with ham

Sausage en brioche

Sausage and croissants

Chicken in lettuce leaves

squab in lettuce leaves

Chicken hearts and livers en brochette

with barnaise sauce

with scrambled eggs

hearts en brochette

Anticuchos

with chicken hearts

Prosciutto with asparagus

with melon

with papaya

with figs

with pears

with pineapple

Crabmeat and prosciutto

Eggplant pure

Caponata

with tuna

Mushroom pt

Tapenade

with mustard

tomatoes stuffed with

with hard-boiled eggs

with avocado

as a sauce for fish

mayonnaise

with seafood

Peppers stuffed with

anchovies and raisins

Avocado stuffed with shrimp

with crab

with avocado and Russian dressing

with seviche

with chili

with chicken, ham, and cheese

Baked potatoes with caviar

new potatoes with caviar

deep-fried new potatoes with caviar

Twice-baked potato skins

Onions la grecque

mongasque

giatin

Asparagus Italian style

Dutch

Belgian

in ambush

Blini

buckwheat

carrot

Anchovies

With the exception of the herring, no other salted fish is as widely used for an hors doeuvre as the anchovy. Shop for the large 1- or 2-pound tins of fillets in oil from Italy, Spain, or Portugal. They vary considerably in quality, from firm to mushy, so find a good brand and stick with it. Properly wrapped in foil, the opened tin will keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.

Or shop for the salted anchovies which come whole in large tins or jars and are of excellent quality and flavor. You can fillet these anchovies very easily after they have been soaked in water to remove excess salt.

Sweet Peppers with Anchovies

Makes 12 servings

12 red bell peppers

cup olive oil

1 to 2 tablespoons wine vinegar or sherry wine vinegar

Salt, freshly ground black pepper

2 dozen anchovy fillets

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Roast the peppers (see ); remove skins, stems, and seeds; and quarter or halve them. Arrange in a flat serving dish. Make a dressing with the oil, vinegar, salt to taste (remember the anchovies are salty), and a few grinds of pepper. Pour this over the peppers and let them marinate several hours.

Remove from marinade and combine with the anchovy fillets and parsley and serve as an appetizer. Or serve in the dish with the marinade and pass the anchovies and parsley separately.