Peter Callahan's Party Food: Mini Hors d'oeuvres, Family-Style Settings, Plated Dishes, Buffet Spreads, Bar Carts: A Cookbook

by Peter Callahan, Kate Spade (Foreword by)

Overview

At once practical and imaginative, a guide to serving food in style—at any kind of celebration
 
Venerated caterer Peter Callahan compiles his 30 plus years of entertaining experience for serving visually stunning and palate-electrifying food in new ways. You’re invited into his world of whimsy and wit as he shares brand-new signature hors d'oeuvres and expands his repertoire for the first time to offer ideas for tablescapes, buffets, seated dinners, and bars. Peter brilliantly breaks down his high-end serving style with simplifications and shortcuts, enabling you to throw the coolest of parties—regardless of your skill level, the size of the crowd, the venue, or the theme. Along with stories about and amazing re-creations of actual events, the 100 original party tricks and recipes in this book will help you set the scene for a beautiful, conversation-filled gathering—every time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780553459722
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	08/22/2017
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	142 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

PETER CALLAHAN is the owner of the New York City-based Peter Callahan Catering. Since 1985, he has created food for Vera Wang, Kate Spade, JP Morgan, Tory Burch, Tony Bennett, and Al Gore, among others. He is a contributing editor for Martha Stewart Weddings and one of her inner-circle caterers.

Read an Excerpt

MINI BANANA SPLITS
Sometimes the idea for a dish starts with the actual dish. When we came across these mini sundae dishes, we knew we had to find a way to fill them. They were perfectly proportioned to hold three scoops of ice cream—when a melon baller is the scoop. But you don’t necessarily need mini sundae dishes to create the same effect. Use egg cups, vintage coupe Champagne glasses, small berry dishes—any container that’s attractive and small will work.
To compose the sundaes, soften three flavors of ice cream just enough to scoop it out with a melon baller or #100 disher and then refreeze until hard. We source the small bananas (they’re marketed under different names, such as mini or baby bananas), but sliced bananas work just as well.
This is another hors d’oeuvre that always raises a smile. And although it does involve more than a single bite, who can resist it? It also breaks another of our “rules” by requiring a small spoon and a bowl, but for me, the end result justifies it.

Makes 8

8 mini scoops vanilla ice cream (see headnote)
8 mini scoops chocolate ice cream (see headnote)
8 mini scoops strawberry ice cream (see headnote)
16 banana slices
½ cup Chocolate Sauce, homemade (at right) or store-bought
½ cup whipped cream
¼ cup rainbow sprinkles
8 Maraschino cherries
Place one scoop of each flavor of ice cream in a mini sundae dish. Place a banana slice in between scoops. Drizzle each sundae with chocolate sauce and top with whipped cream, sprinkles, and a cherry.
 
Chocolate Sauce
Makes about 2 cups
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup corn syrup
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon coarse salt
20 ounces bittersweet chocolate
In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 cup water with the cream, corn syrup, sugar, and salt and bring to a boil. Place the chocolate in a heatproof mixing bowl and pour the hot liquid over the chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk to emulsify. Store any leftover sauce in a covered container in the fridge for up to 10 days