What to cook original for a buffet table. Canapes and sandwiches - bright and tasty! Marinated porcini mushrooms

Solemn events, as a rule, gather a huge number of people: these can be corporate parties in large companies or anniversaries in a large family. Such big holidays used to be celebrated at a huge banquet table, but not always the guests had the opportunity to leave it at least for a while and dance or chat with different people.

In order to save space and have a more pleasant leisure time in the modern world, it is customary to arrange receptions.

The buffet came to us from Europe, and specifically from France, where the word "a la buffet" means "on the fork", since the main and almost the only device at the buffet table is the buffet fork.

The design of the buffet table implies free space around it, so that guests can freely move around the hall, pour drinks into their glasses, and treat themselves to cooked snacks. But at the buffet table, the main thing is not food, but communication in an interesting company.

The buffet table should be accessible from any side

Such a celebration is not typical of the Russian mentality, in our minds the celebration should take place at the festive table, which is bursting with all kinds of dishes, and preferably also to the accompaniment of a button accordion or accordion. For us, the following picture is more familiar:

Recently, European culture has been increasingly penetrating our ways, so holidays in large companies are held "in a Western manner." Many young people liked it so much that some even think over the design of the buffet table for the wedding, forgetting about the traditional banquet.

It should immediately be noted that not in any company such a holiday will be successful. If a large family celebration is planned, which provides for the presence of relatives of different ages, you should either think about additional seating or abandon the idea of ​​a buffet table altogether, since older people and small children are unlikely to be delighted with the idea of ​​\u200b\u200ba holiday “on their feet”.

If you still settled on the idea of ​​a buffet table, you should know the basic rules for organizing it so that each guest remembers this event only from the best side. Having familiarized yourself with them, decorating a buffet table with your own hands will no longer seem like a difficult and insurmountable task.

A holiday or celebration always implies a certain entertainment program, and a buffet table is no exception in this regard. If possible, the hostess of the evening can arrange competitions herself or invite artists or a toastmaster to hold a celebration.

Before the celebration, you should think about the musical accompaniment of the evening so that the guests are not constantly in silence. For the time when there is no competition or performance, you can turn on light instrumental music in the background.

How to arrange a table?

Properly positioned table and food on it are important when holding a buffet table. Making a buffet table for a festive event or party involves following some rules:

- The table should not be placed close to the wall, so that each guest has the opportunity to approach it from any side. But it is not worth installing it in the center of the room either, since this place is intended for the free movement of people, dances, games and competitions.

- The buffet table should be slightly higher than usual, so that it is convenient for guests to approach it and eat while standing. Basically, there should be dishes that do not need anything other than a fork.

- Making a buffet table means decorating it with a large tablecloth of any color to the taste of the hostess. Most often, dark cherry or dark green shades of the tablecloth are used, which are more practical for such a celebration. Sometimes a buffet skirt is used to decorate the table, which covers its legs.

- Cutlery and clean dishes are placed at different ends of the table to avoid fuss, and three times more dishes should be provided than invited guests (during a buffet table, it is not customary to eat from one dish all evening). Not far from the main table, a table on wheels or a tray for used dishes should be provided.

Symmetrically from the middle of the table are snacks, salads, hot dishes, fruit cuts, desserts and other dishes. The edges of it should be left free so that guests can place their full plates on them. As an option, you can consider several tables for a buffet table: separately - with snacks, separately - with drinks, separately - with clean dishes.

- Dishes for a buffet table are better to choose light, and preferably white. The decoration of the buffet table is not the dishes, but what is in it.

- Along the perimeter of the room or next to small coffee tables, you need to place several places to sit: stools, folding chairs, pouffes. It is also desirable that there is at least one sofa in the room. Not every guest at the evening can eat standing up, but you need to take care of everyone.

- Making a buffet table with your own hands necessarily includes its decor. Tables are usually decorated with fresh flowers or flower arrangements, balloons, edible and inedible symbols of the holiday: angels - for a wedding or Christmas, multi-tiered cakes - for an anniversary, etc. Even decoration from napkins can play a decorative role in the design.

- Various holiday agencies often offer the design of the buffet table in the form of a "live" table. A girl or a young man at such a table will help you choose a dish or drink, as well as put it on a guest's plate. To make life easier for the hostess of the holiday, you can invite waiters to monitor the availability of dishes and replenish supplies if necessary. Invited assistants can also clean up used dishes.

Buffet service can be done by waiters

How to arrange appetizers?

Serving a buffet table is also not the easiest thing, but if you work hard and arm yourself with some ideas, you can independently come up with and complete the design of snacks for the buffet table:

- One of the main ways to serve dishes at a buffet table is canapes or small sandwiches. Also small sandwiches can be served on skewers. There are many recipes for such sandwiches, they are selected for the main drinks.

- Also popular at receptions are tartlets - dough baskets in which you can put various salads or snacks.

— Another way to serve appetizers is tarts. These are also small sandwiches like canapes, but they are made on toasted bread.

- Meat delicacies, cheeses, vegetables and fruits are served on buffet tables in the form of cuts. It can be a regular cut, or a special decorative cut in the form of hearts, stars, butterflies and other different shapes, as in the preparation of homemade cookies. Also, fruits can be served on multi-tiered plates or in baskets.

Holidays of this format have gained popularity and distribution for quite a long time. A buffet at work can be the best option for hosting an event with colleagues. In this article, we will look at successful meal options and some tricks to help you organize the best holiday.

When is a buffet appropriate?

Not always and not everywhere you can hold a feast. Usually the main argument in favor of a buffet table is the lack of “seats”. Not in any room you can put a full table with a tablecloth and chairs. You can organize a birthday buffet at work if your office is not spacious enough to comfortably accommodate colleagues.

And this organization of the holiday is also liked by those who like to dance and have fun. Guests can freely communicate with each other and walk around the room, holding glasses and plates in their hands.

What not to submit

If you organize a buffet at work at lunchtime, alcohol is simply unacceptable. Even serving a light wine, you will put the guests in an uncomfortable position.

There are a number of dishes that are not customary served on a buffet table. These include the following:

• ice cream;
• fish with bones
• salads in common salad bowls;
• soups, roasts, stews.

Any other dishes that are inconvenient to put on a plate and eat while standing are not suitable for the menu. If it is customary to eat some dish with a fork and knife, it is also better to leave it for another occasion.

What to cook for a buffet? Let's take a closer look at popular treats.

Sandwiches, canapes

It is believed that these are the best and most convenient recipes for a buffet table. The main condition is that sandwiches should be small. You can buy a French baguette to make them.

Canape is a tasty and spectacular appetizer that can become a real table decoration. Use different types of bread, and ham and smoked sausages, various types of cheeses, small cucumbers and cherry tomatoes, olives and pickled mushrooms are suitable as the main ingredients. They eat canapes, holding the skewer.

Vol-au-vents, tartlets, profiteroles

The word "buffet" has French roots and literally translates as "fork". Keep this in mind when deciding what snacks to prepare for a buffet at work.

It will not be expensive to purchase ready-made vol-au-vents or baskets. Today, such products are available in any supermarket. You will only have to stuff them. You can make the base yourself, from puff or choux pastry. Pate, soufflé, seafood, boiled meat with sauce are used as fillings.

Meat and cheese plates

Long-standing Russian table traditions suggest the presence of a sliced ​​​​plate at almost any holiday. You can serve such an appetizer at a buffet table at work.

If you want slices of sausage, ham, and jerky to look delicious and easy to eat, don't rely on a knife. Buy a ready-made laser cutting product.

But the cheese does not have to be cut thin. It will break, and it is not so convenient to eat it. It is better to cut the cheese into cubes. The more varieties, the better. Nuts, grapes and honey are usually served with cheese.

Dessert

A buffet at work for a birthday is impossible to imagine without sweets. If you decide to serve a traditional cake, consider in advance whether it will be convenient to cut, arrange on plates and eat.

An excellent dessert option for a buffet menu is jelly cups. Small cakes will also be appropriate. Be sure to pay attention to today's fashionable mousse desserts in velor or magnificent mirror glaze. They look sophisticated and modern.

A good idea for a themed buffet can be cupcakes decorated in the same style.

Chocolate sweets on the buffet table are served without a wrapper. It is acceptable to serve sweets in an open box, but it is better to transfer them to special multi-tiered plates in advance.

Fruits

Is a whole pineapple or a basket of oranges appropriate on a buffet table? The answer is obvious. Large fruits are cut into small pieces. Watermelon and melon can be served along with the peel, cut into triangular small slices. But it is more convenient to make balls with a special spherical spoon. Berries can be served in small glasses.

Do you need bread?

This question is rather ambiguous. On an exquisite buffet table, a basket with pieces of bread is unlikely to look organic. But some people just can't live without it.

But shu buns, toast and diet bread can be quite appropriate. You can put different types of bread on a common plate.

Fashionable buffet recipes

Today, along with the classic ones, there are many unusual recipes. If you are planning to arrange a buffet at work, pay attention to these novelties.

Snacks look spectacular in ordinary vodka glasses. This is how salads can be served. And you can serve sauces for fresh vegetables or nachos.

Sushi is also popular today. Of course, you need to take care of the sticks. The rolls are served with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger in small bowls.

A good idea for a buffet table can be with sesame seeds wrapped in bacon. You can serve them on a flat dish or in tall glasses.

Dishes for a buffet table

Organization of a buffet table at work is a troublesome business. Perhaps you should opt for disposable tableware. Of course, it must be of good quality and all in the same style.

To avoid unpleasant situations, make sure that there are 2-3 times more dishes than guests. It is unlikely that there will be an opportunity to rinse the plates after snacks.

At the buffet table, desserts are served with special forks that differ from ordinary dessert forks. These forks have 3 prongs, one of which is thicker than the others and has a sharp edge. It is convenient to cut pieces with this device. Table knives are not needed on a buffet table, since it is still impossible to use them holding a plate in one hand and a fork in the other.

To save space on the table, special multi-tiered dishes were invented. Such a presentation looks elegant and festive.

We hope our simple tips will help you organize a wonderful holiday for your colleagues.

The buffet table today is a big competitor to the traditional feast. A classic feast is when guests sit down at the festive table, each has their own seat, plate and cutlery. Guests cannot change places and it is often difficult for them to get up from the table in order to be mobile. The buffet, of course, solves all these problems.

If you know what to prepare snacks for a buffet table: recipes with photos are simple and tasty, then you will quickly fall in love with this format of the holiday. The bottom line is that snacks are prepared in portions and convenient. That is, they are placed on a common table, around which guests can walk, but not sit down. Everyone takes a clean plate (sometimes it’s even just a paper napkin) goes to the table and picks up those snacks that they like the most. The peculiarity of buffet snacks is that you can immediately put them in your mouth and eat them.

Very often, you need snacks for a buffet table at work inexpensively, and there are also such cooking recipes in this section of the culinary site. It can be said that in our country the tradition of celebrating holidays in the buffet style appeared precisely at the workplace, and then they migrated to many homes. When the holiday is held in the buffet style, there is no need to constantly be at the table: each guest is mobile and can communicate with whomever he wants, go where he wants and eat when he sees fit.

Pay your attention to simple and original snacks for the buffet table, recipes with photos that we have collected in this section of the site. Step-by-step photos help you understand how to beautifully assemble each part of the appetizer so that you end up with a delicious culinary masterpiece. Snacks for a buffet table on photo skewers look especially beautiful.

Do not be afraid that such small snacks will not be able to feed the guests, who most often come to the holiday hungry. Due to the variety, guests will quickly feel full, and will not constantly be at the table. Also, a feature of the buffet holiday is that, most often, a hot main course is not prepared for it. This greatly facilitates the process of preparing for the holiday for the hostess.

Try and take risks! Buffet snacks will be allowed with a minimum amount of products, which means that it will be possible to buy delicacies, cook interesting dishes and please guests, as well as yourself, with new combinations of products that may have seemed simply incredible before.

07.03.2019

Pike perch cutlets in a double boiler

Ingredients: pikeperch fillet, onion, celery, egg, milk, dill, bran, pepper, salt, sesame, tomato

Pike perch is a very tasty, fatty and satisfying fish. Cooking it is not difficult at all, but today I will tell you how to cook delicious pikeperch fish cakes. The dish, I tell you, just tastes great.

Ingredients:

- 500 grams of pike perch fillet;
- 70 grams of onion;
- 80 grams of celery stalk;
- 1 egg;
- 65 ml. milk;
- 30 grams of dill;
- 30 grams of oat bran;
- pepper;
- salt;
- black sesame;
- Cherry tomatoes.

03.01.2019

chicken galantine

Ingredients: chicken skin, minced meat, olive, mushroom, onion, oil, rosemary, parsley, thyme, gelatin, semolina, salt, pepper

Chicken galantine can be cooked both on weekdays and on holidays - it will always come in handy. In addition, as a rule, everyone really likes such a dish, so the housewives are happy to make it.
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken skins;
- 700 gr of minced chicken;
- 10 pieces of olives;
- 120 gr of champignons;
- 0.5 bulbs;
- 1.5 tablespoons vegetable oil;
- a few sprigs of fresh rosemary;
- 1 tbsp dried parsley;
- 1.5 tsp thyme;
- 1.5 tsp gelatin;
- 3 tablespoons decoys;
- salt;
- pepper.

03.01.2019

Beef basturma

Ingredients: beef, salt, sugar, fenugreek, garlic, paprika, pepper

You probably love basturma - delicious, fragrant ... We suggest that you do not buy it in the store, but make it yourself, at home, using our detailed recipe.

Ingredients:
- 1 kg of beef;
- 55 grams of salt;
- 15 grams of sugar;
- 3 tsp ground fenugreek;
- 1.5 tsp garlic powder;
- 2 tsp ground sweet paprika;
- 0.5 tsp hot ground chili pepper.

02.01.2019

Pate from mushrooms for the winter

Ingredients: mushrooms, carrots, onions, oil, salt, sugar, vinegar, pepper

Excellent preparation for the winter - pate from mushrooms. This is a hearty and interesting, tasty and mouth-watering preservation that absolutely everyone likes!

Ingredients:
- 1 kg honey mushrooms;
- 350 gr carrots;
- 350 gr of onions;
- 100 ml of vegetable oil;
- 25 grams of salt;
- sugar;
- Apple vinegar;
- black pepper.

30.11.2018

Mussels in shells

Ingredients: mussel, garlic, pepper, oil, wine, tomato, salt, parsley, bread

For lovers of the unusual, today I propose to cook mussels in shells. Preparing the dish is not difficult, but you still need to know some subtleties.

Ingredients:

- 1 kg. mussels in shells
- 1-2 cloves of garlic,
- hot peppers,
- 1-2 t.l. olive oil,
- 80-100 ml. white wine,
- 1-2 tomatoes,
- salt,
- black pepper,
- 2-3 sprigs of parsley,
- 3-4 slices of white bread.

05.08.2018

Marinated porcini mushrooms

Ingredients: mushroom, juniper, cloves, tarragon, thyme, garlic, herbs, salt, sugar, vinegar, water

Today I will tell you how to cook delicious pickled porcini mushrooms. The recipe is very simple and fast.

Ingredients:

- 600 grams of white mushrooms,
- half tsp juniper,
- 4 cloves,
- a sprig of dry tarragon,
- 2 sprigs of thyme,
- 3-4 cloves of garlic,
- 3 sprigs of parsley,
- 2 sprigs of dill,
- 2 tablespoons salt,
- 1 tbsp Sahara,
- 80 ml. vinegar,
- 800 ml. water.

17.06.2018

Mackerel in onion peel

Ingredients: mackerel, onion, water, salt

I suggest you cook a delicious fish dish - mackerel in onion peel. The recipe is very simple and fast.

Ingredients:

- 1 mackerel,
- from 5 bulbs of onion peel,
- 1 liter of water,
- 5 tablespoons salt.

16.06.2018

Fried mussels with garlic

Ingredients: oil, garlic, mussel, sauce, pepper

If you love seafood, then I advise you to fry the mussels with garlic in soy sauce with ghee.

Ingredients:

- 1 tbsp ghee,
- 2 cloves of garlic,
- 300 grams of mussels,
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce,
- black pepper.

16.06.2018

Korean style herring with tomato paste

Ingredients: herring, carrot, onion, lemon, oil, tomato paste, vinegar, salt, pepper, seasoning

Korean herring with tomato paste is a very tasty unusual dish that you can easily cook.

Ingredients:

- 1 herring,
- 1 carrot,
- 2 onions,
- half a lemon
- 100 ml. vegetable oils,
- 1 tbsp tomato paste,
- 25-30 grams of vinegar,
- half tsp salt,
- a pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp hops-suneli,
- half tsp black pepper.

31.05.2018

Cauliflower in batter

Ingredients: cauliflower, egg, flour, breading, salt, pepper

Cauliflower can be deliciously fried in batter. Now I will tell you how to do this. Cauliflower can be served with sauce and fresh vegetables.

Ingredients:

- 1 cauliflower,
- 1 egg,
- 1 tbsp flour,
- 3 tablespoons spicy breading,
- salt,
- black pepper.

30.05.2018

Draniki with ham and cheese

Ingredients: potatoes, egg, ham, cheese, dill, salt, pepper, butter, flour

Prepare potato pancakes with ham and cheese and I assure you they will be spread out within 5 minutes maximum. The dish is tasty and satisfying.

Ingredients:

- 2 potatoes,
- 1 egg,
- 70 grams of ham,
- 60 grams of hard cheese,
- 5 grams of dill,
- salt,
- black pepper,
- vegetable oil,
- 1 tbsp flour.

10.05.2018

Lavash with cheese and egg in a frying pan

Ingredients: lavash, cheese, egg, greens, salt, pepper, oil

As an appetizer, cook a delicious pita bread with cheese and an egg in a frying pan. The dish is prepared very simply and it turns out insanely delicious.

Ingredients:

- 1 thin pita bread,
- 80 grams of hard cheese,
- 1 egg,
- greenery,
- salt,
- black pepper,
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oils.

10.05.2018

Homemade pork basturma

Ingredients: pork, salt, sugar, paprika, seasoning

From pork, you can cook delicious basturma for the festive table. The recipe is very simple. Very tasty meat appetizer.

Ingredients:

- 1 kg. pork;
- 4.5 tablespoons salt;
- 3 tablespoons Sahara;
- 10 grams of ground paprika;
- 10 grams of suneli hops.

02.05.2018

Herring cake on waffle cakes

Ingredients: herring, waffle cake, mushroom, onion, cheese, mayonnaise, carrot

As an appetizer, you can cook a delicious waffle cake with mackerel. Cooking it will not be difficult even for a young inexperienced hostess.

Ingredients:

- 1 herring,
- a pack of waffle cakes,
- 300 grams of champignons,
- 2 onions,
- 200 grams of cheese,
- 200 grams of mayonnaise,
- 1 carrot.

02.05.2018

Homemade chicken sausage

Ingredients: chicken fillet, onion, bacon, gut, salt, pepper, garlic, oil

Chicken sausage is very tasty, especially children like this dish, because the sausages are incredibly tasty, tender and satisfying. Cooking them is easy, we will tell you exactly how it is done.

Ingredients:
- 400 gr chicken fillet;
- 1 onion;
- 3 strips of bacon;
- intestines;
- salt to taste;
- pepper to taste;
- 0.5 tsp dry garlic;
- vegetable oil for frying.

In modern society, solemn events are rarely celebrated at a large banquet table. To make leisure more active, and for guests to have the opportunity to dance and chat, it is now customary to arrange receptions. From this article you will learn what to cook on the buffet table and how to arrange it correctly.

Buffet rules

If you want your guests to remember your holiday for a long time, try to organize it correctly. Here are some simple tips to help you avoid common mistakes:

• Before you arrange a buffet table, determine its location. Do not put it close to the wall so that guests can freely approach snacks from any direction. The center of the room should also be left free so that there is enough free space for dancing or competitions.
• Remember that the buffet table should be higher than usual. Then it will be convenient for guests to take treats and drinks from it.
• Dishes for the buffet table should be simple and light. They do not include cutlery.
• Place clean dishes at different ends of the table so that guests do not crowd in anticipation of their turn. Place a table on wheels or a tray for used dishes nearby.
• Snacks and drinks are arranged symmetrically from the middle of the countertop to the edges. Keep part of the table empty so that the party members can leave full plates on it and go dancing.
• Be sure to think about how to arrange a buffet table. To do this, you can use fresh flowers, colorful balls and symbols of the holiday (angels, stars, candles, cakes, etc.).
• The buffet table menu at work must be agreed with employees in order to take into account their interests. Usually snacks at the buffet table are served in the form of sandwiches, tarts, tartlets and canapes, and meat delicacies are served in the form of beautifully decorated cuts. Do not forget about fruit, which can be arranged beautifully in baskets or tiered plates.
• Decorating dishes for a buffet table is a huge scope for creativity. At a children's party, snacks can take the form of funny animals, insects or birds. Also, fairy-tale characters, cartoon characters and children's books may appear on the table.

If you doubt your abilities, then contact an agency that specializes in holding such holidays. They will help you with the organization of the event, provide the services of waiters, cooks and toastmasters.

sandwich recipes

To prepare festive snacks, you will need a long loaf, baguette or ciabatta. Cut the bread into thin slices, drizzle them with olive oil and lightly dry them in the oven. When the base is ready, you can start preparing different fillings. Sandwich Recipes:

Snacks in tartlets

Small baskets of dough can be used as an independent dish or as an auxiliary - for example, to serve sauces in them. To cook delicious follow our instructions:

• Combine cod liver (half a jar) with chopped dill, capers, finely chopped onion and grated cheese. Fill the rye flour tartlets with the filling and decorate them with herbs.
• Cut lightly salted salmon into large slices, and cucumber into small cubes. Combine melted cheese with mayonnaise and chopped dill. Put the fish on the bottom of the finished tartlets, place the cucumber next to it, and put the cheese mass on top. Decorate with greens.
• Grate egg whites, combine them with melted cheese, mayonnaise and chopped dill. Fill the tartlets with the resulting mass, and put red caviar on top.

canape

Light and beautiful snacks on skewers will delight your guests not only with taste, but also with their appearance. Preparing holiday canapes is very simple:

Snacks on wooden skewers

To prepare this dish, you will need a long wooden skewer, vegetables, fruits, meat, fish and a little imagination. An appetizer in the form of a mini-kebab is convenient to eat, and it looks quite impressive.

• Cut the rye bread into slices and fry in the oven. Cut hunting sausages into cubes, sweet pepper and cheese into rectangles. Alternately chop the prepared foods onto skewers and serve them with a sauce of mayonnaise, tomato paste, chopped herbs and garlic.
• Cut olives and cherry tomatoes in half. Thread half a tomato, mozzarella ball, herbs and olive onto a skewer. A snack in the form of mushrooms will appeal to kids and will be appropriate at a children's holiday.
• Prick an olive wrapped with a slice of sausage, a cube of cheese, a circle of cucumber and radish on a skewer. Repeat the sequence of steps a few more times. Arrange skewers on a plate and garnish with cherry tomatoes.

Ham rolls with stuffing

This simple dish should certainly decorate your buffet table. The recipe for this appetizer is very simple:

Cold appetizers from fish

Not a single buffet table is complete without fish slices. You can read the recipe for such an appetizer below:

Assorted vegetables

Vegetable cutting from fresh vegetables will decorate any buffet table. Recipe:

• Prepare a large flat dish. Wash vegetables thoroughly before cutting.
• Put the lettuce leaves on the bottom of the plate.
• Cut one tomato into thin circles, and then fold the slices diagonally.
• Place radishes and cucumbers cut into rings next to it.
• Cut medium-sized tomatoes into four parts (in the form of a flower) and place on the edges of the dish.
• Decorate the composition with fresh herbs.

Fruit snacks

To decorate this dish, you will need molds for curly cutting. If they are not at hand, then use a knife. You can use any seasonal fruits that can decorate the buffet table. Fruit Canape Recipe:

Lavash snacks

Rolls stuffed with meat, cheese or fish have recently become very popular. This original hearty treat will decorate any buffet table. Read on for the appetizer recipe:

Conclusion

The ability to organize the right buffet will help you gain fame as a good hostess. So don't be afraid to experiment. Feel free to organize family celebrations in this style. Prepare canapes, sandwiches and tartlets according to different recipes. Festive dishes will please your guests, but will not keep them at the table for a long time. Therefore, they will remember the party thanks to fun contests, dances and entertainment.

The word "buffet" comes from the French "fork" and means "meal together." It is assumed that invited guests eat standing up, serve themselves, freely choose drinks and treats, and use forks as the main cutlery. There are no places strictly assigned to those present at the reception - this is also a distinctive feature of such events, and the buffet table is characterized by the absence of chairs.

When is the buffet

• There are many guests, but not enough space.
• The goal is set: active communication between people, not a feast.
• Meeting time limit.
• Birthdays, anniversaries.

Characteristic differences

• Great variety of mini snacks.
• Short duration (usually no more than two hours).
• There are no serving waiters (or one waiter for several dozen people).
• More participants than at a banquet at the table.
• The tables are taller than usual, arranged so that they can be bypassed, and covered with special tablecloths.
• Approximately 500 grams of snacks plus drinks are calculated per guest.

Buffet menu for birthday

The simplest and most common option: canapes or tartlets with various fillings, a couple of light snacks, fruits and drinks. But the exquisite buffet menu includes up to 15 cold appetizers! As well as a few hot, dessert, coffee, tea.

What is canape

One of the main attributes of the buffet table menu is canapes. This is the name of small toast sandwiches with a variety of ingredients. They look elegant and are perfect to fill the buffet table. They prepare fish canapes, as well as with caviar, with shrimp, with ham and cheese, with vegetables. Often used a variety of pastes, sauces, pastes. The main thing here is the ability to combine products correctly.

For ease of use, canapes are put on small skewers, with which the product can be sent into the mouth as a whole. Sometimes small wooden sticks are used. Sometimes sandwiches are taken by hand, but skewers are still preferable. So hands do not get dirty, and canapes take up less space. It is not difficult to prepare such a dish for the buffet table menu. This can be done in just an hour, provided that all the ingredients are available and prepared in advance! And even more than that, you yourself can invent or develop recipes you already know: canapes love fantasy.

Equally important is how to serve and decorate these sandwiches so that they are pleasant to look at. This should be done as colorfully as possible, using greens, lemons, vegetables, exquisitely chopped. No wonder, probably, professional photographers like to shoot canapes! But let's finally move on to the recipes.

How to make canapes

Small sandwiches consist, as a rule, of a base, filling and decoration, fastened with a skewer (for example, a sail made from a slice of fresh cucumber). For the base, take bread, cookies, a piece of pastry, a slice of cheese. The shape of the base can be square, triangular, diamond-shaped, rounded. Bread is usually dried or lightly toasted so that it acquires firmness on the outside and remains soft on the inside. Cut along the length of the loaf into small slices, thickness - from 0.5 to one centimeter, diameter - up to four. Filling and decoration are placed on top.

Several topping recipes

1. With cheese and salmon. Three cheese and mix with herbs, adding a little lemon juice, to a pasty state. Lightly salted fish (fillet) cut into small slices. Cucumber cut into thin circles. Pitted olives are used whole. We spread the base of dry bread with cheese paste, cover with a slice of salmon on top. We string an olive and a “sail” of cucumber on a skewer. We stick the skewer itself into the canapé. Ingredients: 300 grams of lightly salted salmon, 200 grams of cheese, herbs, a few medium-sized fresh cucumbers.
2. With liver pate. Three pickled cucumbers on a grater and mix with pate. Hard-boiled eggs, cut into circles. Cut fresh tomatoes into slices. Pitted olives cut in half. We take crackers as a base. Spread with pate mixture. Put a piece of egg on top, cover with tomato and olive. Secure with a wooden or plastic skewer. Ingredients: 300 grams of liver pate, a couple of pickled cucumbers, a couple of fresh tomatoes, olives, three eggs.
3. With red caviar. As a base, we use black dried bread, cut into slices for canapés. We spread the bread with butter, cover it with a ring of red Crimean onion on top, put a handful of red caviar on top. We stick a skewer.
4. With bacon and cucumber. For lovers of Ukrainian cuisine. As a basis - black bread. We cover it with a thin piece of lard, cut to the size of the base. Put a circle of pickled cucumber on top and stick a skewer.

There are many more options. Show your imagination here. The main principle is the compatibility of products!

However, the buffet menu consists of more than just canapés. Often used tartlets. What is it and what do they eat with? Well, since you have decided to prepare a buffet table for your birthday, let's figure it out!

Tartlets

Roughly speaking, these are baskets baked from dough. They are filled with certain types of fillings. Moreover, baskets can be baked both with filling and separately from it. It is said to be a French invention.

Buffet menu: tartlet recipes

This dish has many toppings. Let's consider just a few of them. In the preparation of tartlets, the main principle, as in canapes, is the compatibility of products used for fillings. The basis for the dish, as a rule, remains stably unchanged. The dough is prepared fresh (flour, water, butter, salt). It is baked in the oven (with or without filling) in special molds.

1. The simplest. We fill the finished baskets with any salad already made in advance: Olivier, crab, carrot, cheese. A very convenient and quickly prepared dish can be decorated with sprigs of greens, olives, lemon slices.
2. With liver pate. Mix liver pate with grated pickled cucumber. Add some chopped greens. Fill baskets with mixture. You can decorate the top with a circle of olives.
3. Cheesy. Three cheese and crush the garlic. We mix these components with a small amount of mayonnaise. We fill the baskets with mass, decorate with parsley.

And you can also use fruit tartlets as a dessert. The choice is left to the hostess of the festive table, who prepares a buffet menu and shows her imagination.