Meal Service

Meal service is the setting of the table and how the meal is served.  There different styles and some are used for different occasions.  Some are very formal and others are very informal.  Select your service for the purpose of your meal.  I prefer family style because it requires interaction around the table.  But there is more clean up so we often have the plated service at home.

Plated Service

 

            American plated service meals are portioned and plated in the kitchen and brought to the table by a server.  This is common style in restaurants and at home.  Often in homes with small children, the meal is plated in the kitchen and brought to the table.

 

            French plated style is more formal.  All the utensils need for all the courses of the meal are on the table.  There can be many forks, spoons and knives, glasses and plates at each place setting.  Usually at least five different coarse are served during the meal but there can be as many as nine.

 

            Hand Service is a variation of the plated service.  It requires one serve per two servings.  All the plates for every setting are brought to the table at the same time.  This is sometimes seen in restaurants.

Family Style Service

            English style family service has each place set with the require utensils and the food is served on large platters.  The platters are passed around the table with each dinner serving himself.  Variations may include the hostess brings a platter around and holding it so each guest may serve himself.  Sometime the meat is carved by the host at the head of the table and the guests pass their plates to be served.

            Russian style service is served from the side often from a cart.  Sometimes the server finishes the course and serves it to individual preferences.  An example with be a server arrives at the table with a large salad and dresses the salad at the table.  He then serves each person.  He may ask if freshly ground pepper or freshly grated cheese is desired.

 

Buffets

 

            There are several styles and types of buffets.  Generally a buffet consists of long tables filled with food.  Guests move along the tables serving themselves.  Buffets can be formal with many courses or the can be simple and informal like a potluck.  Sometimes desserts and beverages are at a separate location in the room.

 

            Butlered hors d’oeuvres are usually seen at cocktail parties.  A server walks around the room offering hors d’oeuvres from trays. Guests choose from the trays.  Usually these are foods easy to eat with the fingers.  Often cocktails or other beverages are served.

            Action Stations are part of the buffet line with a chef completing a portion of the buffet to order.  An example would be a carving station.  Sometimes there will be an egg station in a breakfast buffet with a chef making omelets to order.

            Plated buffet have a selection of pre-plated meals.  The dinner selects the meal he prefers.  Usually there are a few selections to choose from, maybe a chicken, fish or vegetarian plate. There may be separate tables for salad bar, beverages and desserts.

            Cafeterias are a form of the pre-plated buffet.  Portions are pre-plated and a server usually hands the diner his selection to place on a tray.  At the end of the line, the dinner pays for his selections.

This Week’s Challenge

Pay attention how meals are usually served in your family.  Plan a meal and use a new or different serving style.  This can be as formal or as informal as you would like.

Tip for this Week – Flatware

            As a child I often had trouble remembering which side of the plate to place the fork until someone told me that the flatware should be placed in alphabetical order, i.e. fork, knife and spoon.  I still look this up if for more formal occasions

            In a formal setting with multiple course are to be served, many utensils are needed.  It can be confusing.  The general rule is work from the outside in.  Formal French style meals can be as many as seven or nine courses.  Usually all the utensils needed for the entire meal are in the table setting.  Dishes and utensils are removed as they are used. 

This Week in Punkin’s Kitchen

            Canapes

Canapes are hors d’oeuvres that are easy to make out of things you have on hand.  They are small, usually two or three bites and easy to eat with the fingers.  There are three components to a canape.  There needs to be a vehicle to make the canapes easy to eat with our fingers.  This can be a cracker, chip, shape of toast, or it can be a vegetable like a slice of cucumber or leaf of Belgian endive. The second component is the filling or spread.  This can be as simple as cream cheese or a prepared spread or salad.  Common fillings are salmon mouse, clam dip, humus, cheese spread.  The third component is a garnish.  The garnish needs to be edible and should enhance the flavor of the vehicle and filling. It can be a sprig of fresh herb, a slice of olive, a sprinkle of paprika, crumpled bacon, a little caviar, a star of sour cream, a drizzle of sriracha, or let your imagination go wild.  I usually make a tray of three different canapes.  I use one vehicle with one filling and vary the garnishes, including one vegan selection.

Canapes tend to get soggy so don’t make them too far ahead of time.  They are easy to assemble.  Prepare all your components ahead of time. Place your vehicles on the serving trays.  When guest arrive quickly add the filling to the vehicle and garnish.  You will be amazed how fast this goes.  It is also hard to judge how many canapes per person.  If you are serving the canapes for a cocktail party, plan 6-7 per person or more.  If the canapes are appetizers before a meal, plan 3-4 per person.

Canape I -- Spread the pistachio chive dip on the crostini and garnish with olive slices..

            Crostini

            Pistachio Chive Spread

            Sliced olives

Directions for the crostini are on post of August 14, 2015.  You can make your own or buy them already made.  These can be made a head.

Pistachio chive Dip

8 oz.    Cream cheese

¼ C     Pistachios, toasted and chopped

2 T       Chives, chopped

 

1.    Allow the cream cheese to warm to room temperature in a small bowl.

2.    Toast the pistachios and allow to cool.

3.    Chop the chives and add to the cream cheese.

4.    When the pistachios are cooled, chop them finely and add to the cream cheese.

5.    Stir all the ingredients together and allow to set for the flavors to blend.

Serve with crackers or use as a spread.

Any kind of olives may be used for garnish.  I used extra-large black olives and sliced each olive into four thick slices. 

Canape II – Crackers with smoky salmon salad and smoked oysters.

These canapes are on the first and last rows.

            Crackers

            Salmon Salad

            Smoke oysters

 

Any kind of cracker can be used

Salmon salad

7 oz. can        Salmon, drained.  (use premium canned salmon or smoked salmon)

2 T                   Mayonnaise

1-2 drops       Liquid smoke

                        Salt and pepper to taste (I used smoked salt)

1.    Drain the salmon and place in a small bowl.  If you use smoked salmon, finely chop it in a food processor.

2.    Add the mayonnaise and seasonings.  Stir to blend

3.    Allow the salmon salad to chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.

4.    This can be used as a sandwich spread or dip with crackers.

Variation:  Instead of the smoked flavor, a little grated lemon peel or dill may be added instead of the liquid smoke and a different garnish can be added.

Smoked oysters from a tin can be used.  Let a little of the oil from the oysters garnish the canapes. 

Canape III  -- Scoops filled with guacamole and garnish with Mexican crema, half a cherry tomatoes and sprinkle of quesa fresca.

These are on the second and fourth rows.

Tortilla chip scoops

Guacamole see the posting from August 22, 2015.

Dollop of crema or sour cream

Cut cherry tomatoes in half.

Crumble some quesa fresca

1.    Choose a scoop that is whole and not cracked. 

2.    Fill a scoop 2/3 full with guacamole.

3.    Top with a tiny dollop of the crema

4.    Place a tomato half on the dollop

5.    Sprinkle a little quesa fresca over the tomato

Canape IV – Cucumber slice topped with a cherry tomato wrapped in a basil leaf and skewer to the cucumber slice.

Cucumber slices

Some are made with cherry tomatoes others
have small; balls of fresh mozzarella.

English Cucumber

Cherry tomatoes

Basil leaves

1.    Peel and slice the cucumber in slices about ½ inch thick.

2.    Take a basil leaf and put the toothpick skewer through one end of the leaf.

3.    Place the skewer through a cherry tomato.

4.    Skewer the other end of the basil leaf.

5.    Embed the skewer in the cucumber slice.

Variations:  Instead of the tomato, use an olive, small mozzarella ball, or a large grape.  A drop of sriracha can be used to add a kick. Try using other leaf herbs and vegetables like arugula, or a thin slice of carrot peeled from the length of the carrot.

Last summer I catered a library function with canapes.  Here are some trays with other ideas for canapes.

Pistaachio Chive spread on different vehicles
and different garnishes

From left to right:  Red bel lpepper garnished with fresh dill; Melba toast garnished with cherry tomatoes; cucumber slice with basil; crostini with fresh thyme; cracker with cheery tomatoes and thyme; the last two rows were the same as the first two rows.

A vegan selection made with humus

The center w,as made with cucumber slices garnished with cherry tomatoes and the outside were Belgian endive garnished with capers and a drop of srirachi

This is a selection made with smoked salmon mousse.

There is a row of Belgian endive garnished with fresh thyme or chives.  There is a selection of various crackers garnished with either thyme or chives.  And there are some cucumber slices garnished with fresh thyme.













Watermelon bites with a skewer of grape and blueberry
 

Also this week

            I love vegetables of all kinds, but there is nothing as boring as the mundane.  Use your creativity to bring new textures, color and flavors to favor to vegetables.  There was a beautiful display of cauliflower, white, orange, green and purple at the grocery store.  So I bought some purple cauliflower and some broccoli and came up with this recipe.

Steamed Broccoli and Purple Cauliflower

 

1 sm. head    Broccoli

1 sm. head    Purple cauliflower

¼ C                 Butter, melted

                        Salt and pepper to taste

                        Other seasonings (optional) like garlic powder, Mrs. Dash.

1.    Prepare a pot with a lid for steaming.  I use a metal steaming tray that fits in the bottom of a pot and holds the vegetable above the water.

steam tray

 In small amount of water in the bottom of a pot
with a lid, the stream tray goes in the bottom.

 

2.    Wash the broccoli and cauliflower and cut in florets from the head.  Place in the steam tray.

broccoli florets

Cut the stem from the bottom of the
cauliflower



cauliflower florets

Place the florets on the steam tray
and top with the lid 











 

3.    Steam the vegetables until just tender.  Remember the vegetables will continue to cook.   Move the vegetables in a serving dish.

 

4.    Melt the butter.  Drizzle over the broccoli and cauliflower, sprinkle with salt and pepper and lightly toss. 

Top with melted butter, freshly ground salt and pepper

 

5.    Serve immediately.

Variations can be using different colors of cauliflower.  Serve with cheese sauce.   Maybe add crumbled bacon, sauté some bread crumbs in the melted butter.  Let your creativity run wild.

 

Happy Cooking!