Canapes, little delicious eats for cocktails

Smoked Salmon Roulade

Don't we all love going to cocktail, sipping the bubbly, talking stories to other people and listening to their stories and yes, of course nibbling these delicious little cocktail food called canapes.

Let me give you the definition of a canape as per Wikipedia:

The name comes from the French word for "couch," drawing on the analogy that the garnish sits atop the bread as people do a couch.

 

Because they are often served during cocktail hours, it is often desired that a canapé be either salty or spicy, in order to encourage guests to drink more. A canapé may also be referred to as finger food, although not all finger foods are canapés.  Crackers or small slices of bread or toast or puff pastry, cut into various shapes, serve as the base for savory butters or pastes, often topped with a “canopy” of such savory foods as meat, cheese, fish, caviar, foie gras, purees or relish.

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 by deep frying, sauteeing or toasting. The foods are sometimes highly processed and decoratively applied (e.g., piped) to the base with a pastry bag. Decorative garnishes are then applied. The canapés are usually served on a canapé salver and eaten from small canapé plates. The technical composition of a canapé consists of a base (e.g., the bread or pancake), a spread, a main item, and a garnish. The spread is traditionally either a compound butter or a flavored cream cheese. Common garnishes can range from finely chopped vegetables, scallions, and herbs to caviar or truffle oil.

Caramelized Foie Gras Profiterole

Wow, that is a lot of explanation for a little thing, but as you can see, they don't just look delicious, thy taste delicious.

Today I have 2 types for you, both of them are a little high end but something different to the usual cheese on cracker. The one is a smoked salmon roulade with cream cheese. I serve it on a toasted brown bread with a little lettuce. The other one is a Foie Gras Profiterole......I explain a little more about profiteroles another time, but it is basically choux pastry that is filled with a foie gras mousse and then the lid gets caramelized, this gives it a bit sweetness and crunchiness

Salmon Roulade

300 G Smoked Salmon
500 G Cream cheese
1 Ea Pumpernickel, rounds
15 G Salt
2 G Pepper
20 G Parsley, chopped
1 Ea Lemon juice

Baby Spinach
Radiccio salad
Frisee salad

Beat the cream cheese till light and fluffy
Add seasoning and chopped herbs
Take cling film and roll it on your working surface put one layer of smoked salmon on it
Spread the cream cheese evenly all over the salmon
Holding the cling film, carefully roll the salmon that it forms one long roulade
Wrap it in the cling film and freeze
Let it slightly defrost, cut in 5 mm slices

Take the pumpernickel, top with one leaf of baby spinach and a piece of radiccio salad
Top with the salmon roulade
Garnish with frisee lettuce Makes about 45 pieces

Foie Gras Profiterole

250 G Foie Gras
75 Ml Chicken stock, light
250 Ml Cream
10 G Salt
2 G Pepper
15 Ml Cognac
3 Ea Gelatine
100 G Sugar

Melt the foie gras in the chicken stock, not heating it too much
Blend everything in a food processor
Cool down to room temperature
Season with salt, pepper and cognac, it needs to bee a little on the salty side as otherwise with the cream it will taste bland
Soak and melt the gelatine
Add to the foie gras mix
Whip the cream till stiff
Fold into the foie gras mix

Caramelize the sugar
Cut the profiteroles in half
Dip the cover of the profiteroles in the caramel
Cool down Pipe the mousse on the bottom, then add the caramelized top

Makes about 45 pieces