Today, you hear these menu items used interchangeably but there truly is a difference between the two. Hors d’oeuvres are small bite-sized foods served before a meal. They can be hot or cold and are typically a more savory offering.  These should be something to eat before the dinner is served, but not be so filling that guests won’t eat the actual dinner.  Fruits, cheeses, dips, nuts and vegetables offer a light bite for your hungry guests without filling them up too much.

Appetizers on the other hand, technically are served at the table prior to the meal. They are also small in portion size and should complement the actual meal being served.  Items like soups, salads and shrimp cocktails would all be appropriate as a meal starter, or appetizer. Today, since both names are used to imply small bite sized food served prior to or as a meal, we’ll consider them as being in the same category. So, how much do you need? That all depends on a few factors:

 1. What time of day is the party?

If you’re hosting an afternoon get together, the amount of food you need to offer would be less than if you were having your event at dinner time.

If you’re hosting a cocktail party first, then the amount of food you need to offer would increase depending on how soon dinner will be served. For a one hour party, typically 4 – 5 bites per person would be appropriate. For a two hour party, because people will eat more the first hour than the second, you’ll still need the 4-5 bites and also about 2-3 more per person for the second hour so a total of 6-8 bites per person.

2. How many types of appetizers?

The number of people you’re expecting will determine how many different types of appetizers you should offer. A common mistake people make planning their menu is offering too many options with too small an amount of each. If 25 guests are attending, don’t plan on 15 different appetizers with only 10 bites each.  Limit the number of actual appetizers and make sure you have enough of each type for each of your guests. To help balance out your appetizer menu, plan on using one meat, cheese, vegetable or fruit, and a fish or shellfish item.

3. How many bites per person?

If you’re hosing 25 -35 guests, plan 3-4 bites per person if a full dinner is to be served afterwards, or 5-7 bites per person if a lighter meal will be served. If you’re hosting a party of 50, then you can offer 6 to 9 different items.  Parties with over 60-75 guests can easily have 9 or more items without over doing it.

4. How long will the party be?

The length of the party will also be a determining factor in how much food to plan. The longer the party, the more food you’ll need. People will eat more the first hour and about half as much for the following hour so depending on when dinner is served, about 4-7 bites per person should be sufficient, depending on the how large the dinner is.  For a lighter dinner, plan more appetizers, for a full meal, plan fewer appetizers.  For example, for a cocktail hour for 25 people, you’ll need at least 100 total appetizer “pieces” or bites if a full meal follows.

5. Will alcohol be served?

Alcohol will always influence how much food should be served and always increases the quantity, almost doubling how much food you’ll need.  Again, the time of day and any dinner that might follow will determine how much to offer your guests so plan on more rather than less.

6. Are they being served before a meal, or as the meal?

Appetizers for dinner is becoming more common with action stations, carving stations and more hearty hors d’oeuvres allowing guests to mingle and mix and match their menu item choices.  If appetizers are replacing an actual dinner, then for a two hour party, the amount of appetizers needed to “replace” the amount of food a dinner would be requires about 18- 20 bites per person or 4 to 5 times as many if a meal were to be served.

With the heat of the summer, and July 4^th right around the corner, it’s time for some Red White and Blue Menu inspiration. When creating your July 4^th holiday menu, whether you’re grilling outdoors, roasting inside, going to friends or having them over, there are so many fun food ideas to bring to the party. Here are just a few…

With fresh fruits like raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and even watermelon, you can make some fun dessert foods, salad and beverages to jazz up your celebration.

Beverage Ideas

Watermelon Blueberry Mojitos – just sounds perfect for a hot summer afternoon

Red White and Blue Sangria – apples, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries then add a bit of bubbly

Red White and Blue Punch – perfect for the whole family!

Salad Ideas

Strawberry, Blueberries and Salad greens with honey Vinaigrette

Watermelon salad with Blueberries and Stars – jicama is the secret

And who doesn’t love feta on salads? Salad Greens, blueberries and strawberries all tossed with poppy seed dressing. Add some almonds or walnuts for a special treat.

Desserts

July 4^th dessert ideas are endless. From cupcakes and cakes, to layered gelatin desserts, skewered fresh fruit, pies, tarts, candies and many many more!

One of our favorites is Strawberry Shortcake.  Adding fresh strawberries to your favorite shortcake is super easy to do. No time to bake? Add some whipped cream, fresh berries and serve with angel food cake slices, pound cake or just over your favorite ice cream!

Not in to sweets? Watermelon to the rescue! Skewer some fresh watermelon with honeydew, raspberries or strawberries and blueberries and you’ll have a centerpiece to enjoy later. The melons can be cut in different shapes like stars, cubes, circles or whatever shape you want. Once you’re done skewering, just arranged on a platter!

Strawberries dominate a lot of July 4th ideas.  Here’s a guide to help you pick the best strawberries?

Check out more July 4th Menu ideas here!

Have a SAFE and HAPPY July 4^th!

Want a caterer to serve with your party? Just ask us, we’re catering just for  you!

A new way to spin your fruits and veggies!

Having a party? Want a fun and festive way to add salads to your menu?

Ask your caterer to sprialize your salad which will create a beautiful presentation for any catered buffet or special event you’re hosting.

A client asked us to produce some different kind of salads and not those built on traditional salad greens. They wanted a veggie-based salad using no lettuce of any kind so in comes our spiralizer to the rescue.  A spiralizer can create spaghetti like strips and ribbons of zucchini, squash, beets, carrots and other vegetables and those become the base of the salad. Toss with other vegetables, fruits, nuts and cheeses and you have a new way to eat salad – and a beautiful presentation too!

Here is a great resource for using this wonderful appliance. Not only does this site show you how to use it, but also the health and other benefits of spiralizing.

We created theses salads using ours.

Basil Almond Zucchini Salad

Pictured above is spiralized zucchini noodles, toss with some sliced cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, pesto and slivered almonds and drizzle with red wine vinegar and red pepper flakes.

Apple and Pear Salad

This salad features fresh apples, pears, seedless grapes, fresh mint and walnuts all tossed with a honey poppyseed dressing. How refreshing for summer.

More Fruit Salad Ideas

Veggie Slaw Salad

Matchsticks of zucchini, red pepper, carrots, onion and yellow squash tossed and sprinkled with corn and then nestled on a bit of spring mix for color

For even more ideas on what you can spin in a salad you can almost never run out of ideas.

What’s in your ounce?

All good catering menus start with some sort of recipe. In those recipes are many ingredients measured in or by ounces. So, what’s in an ounce? It really depends on what is being measured. Most people do not realize that ounces can be used to measure dry ingredients like flour, sugar, pastas and rice but also wet or liquid ounces like milk, oils and sauces. Should the same measuring utensil be used for both dry and liquid ounces? The simple answer is NO! An ounce of flour is not necessarily an ounce in weight and the difference can impact any recipe being made.

Dry ounces are based on weight. One pound of anything weighs 16 ounces. So, if a recipe calls for one pound of flour, for example, use a scale to weigh the flour. And if you are weighing flour, what kind of flour is it? Each kind will yield a different amount based the type of flour, the humidity and how “packed” the measuring utensil is. Typical measuring utensils for dry ingredients are called measuring Cups.  King Arthur has a wonderful video on the proper way to measure flour in a measuring Cup.

And, just with flour, there are different types of flour (cake, rye, wheat, bread and all-purpose just to name a few) and each will weigh differently. Flour will also weigh differently in the summer and winter, and in dry versus damp climates. On average, flour should weigh about 4.5 ounces per cup.

Liquid ounces are based on volume like pints, quarts or gallons.  Measuring a liquid in a measuring cup used for dry ingredients will more than likely not measure an accurate amount of ingredient for your recipe.

To take out all the confusion, here is a chart that can guide you to what your ounce should be:

Dry Measure Chart