Light dishes for a buffet. Festive snacks for a buffet table

A buffet is when:

eat standing
choose your own food
serve (mostly) themselves
The purpose of the meeting is communication, not food.

A very convenient form of holding a holiday, especially when there are many guests and little time to prepare food. I'm such a holiday! Of course, this is not a barbecue festival, when you can surprise guests with wonderfully marinated meat or grilled vegetables, and this is not a banquet where the assortment of salads is amazing. Of course not, but you can surprise and of course please with something delicious at a buffet table.

To organize a buffet reception on your own, the hostess just needs an idea!!! These are the ideas I will share. Firstly: what snacks can be prepared for a buffet table with photos, and secondly (as you look through the photos) - you will find interesting ideas for decorating a buffet table.

So: snacks for the buffet with photos

The first type of appetizer is, of course, canapés for a buffet table . They are simply related like twin brothers. There is a large article on the site in which the most varied and most delicious are posted.

Very convenient and very tasty - various varieties of pies . On the one hand, this will bring Slavic originality to your holiday, and on the other, it will add variety. Pies can be made with a wide variety of fillings. In my opinion, small sizes are ideal.

Mini filled buns !!! Great idea for a buffet. This will be the fastest buffet at home. Buns are available in any supermarket, but you can choose any filling. Can:

fry mini cutlets (as in the photo)
place ham and cheese in the middle
remove the crumbs from the bottom half of the buns and stuff them
spread with exotic oil (peanut, herring, etc.)

Another idea is to put any filling on the bun caps (even finely chopped lettuce).

Sandwiches for a buffet table . This is the simplest, but most easily arranged way to serve buffets. Versatility is important here. This can be achieved through a large assortment of meat, ham and cheese. And it is possible due to different cutting and laying methods.

The photo on the right offers options:

bread + butter + ham

bread + butter + chopped smoked meat

bread + cheese and mayonnaise spread

bread + butter + red fish slices

bread + butter + mushroom caviar

bread + butter + grated cheese.

You can experiment a lot with butter. You can add herring, shrimp, assorted greens, garlic, balyk... All this, of course, is added in grated form. And you have the most original butter to taste, on the simplest sandwiches.

Of course, you can try and prepare original snacks for the buffet table. For example, the ladybug sandwich. Simple: bread + cherry tomatoes + olives + thin knife and skill. The dots on the backs are made from very small pieces of the same olives.

Recipes for a buffet with lavash . This is simply a universal product!!! If you have not yet appreciated all the possibilities of thin Armenian lavash, hurry up. Absolutely all filling options can be wrapped in pita bread and cut into small pieces. here you can definitely fantasize ad infinitum. I've made several of these. All of them are posted on the website and all of them can be called -.

You can also use yeast lavash. It is cut into pieces and used to make a “pillow” for various fillings.

New Year's snack made from yeast lavash.

pita bread cut into small triangles
greased with mayonnaise or cheese paste
pieces of cabbage leaves laid out
pieces of tomato laid out
sticks made of straw (edible) are inserted into the wide part

Stuffed eggs and stuffed tomatoes . This is a classic of the genre, but always loved and always eaten. In summer, of course, you want more freshness and stuffed tomatoes are the bomb of your holiday.

Very tasty appetizers for a buffet table are made from fresh sweet pepper . Classic Bulgarian filling: feta cheese, sour cream, garlic and herbs. But you can dream up. Shrimp paste or boiled rice with herbs, ham and mayonnaise will be simply great.

Special attention! boiled rice will increase the amount of ANY filling and make it soft and tender.

It is impossible to create a menu for a buffet and not include fresh vegetables in it. Everything is simple here:

You can’t do without fresh vegetables, especially if you have hot meat
the quantity depends on the preferences of your guests
vegetables should be a wide variety (some people don’t like sweet peppers)
It is important to decorate the buffet table beautifully.

I found some creative ideas for the vegetable part. Vegetable mix.

The vegetables are arranged in a Christmas tree shape and served on a separate large plate along with the sauce. Of course, before serving, the cabbage must be immersed in boiling water for 1 minute.

You can also serve ham and cheese in a very original way. Of course, such design requires skill, but anything is possible. However, you need to remember that next to such a plate there should be a large plate with various slices of bread.

But the traditional set of fresh vegetables for the table is served in the form of a colorful rooster. What it consists of:

cucumbers
sweet red pepper
sweet yellow pepper
lettuce leaves
carrot
olives (for eyes)

Grilled corn ! This will be a spicy highlight of your holiday. It’s good not to put it on the table right away, but to serve it during the buffet. It will be unexpected and pleasant. Hot with sauce and salt, it will simply fly off your table.

For grilling, it is better to choose the smallest and youngest one. If you are having a buffet at home, cook the corn in foil in the oven. By the way, this is a very chic idea for a youth party. Kids these days are popcorn lovers.

Kebabs for a buffet . You can alternate all the products you like on the kebab sticks. And first of all, of course:

Cherry tomatoes
mozzarella cheese.

Financially, mozzarella is an expensive product. But the same small balls can be replaced with cubed cheese or other white cheese. Although you can, of course, use regular hard cheese.

Moreover, you can make kebabs and vegetables. It will be just a wonderful refreshing motif at your buffet table.

Portioned buffet

And at the end, another interesting idea for a buffet table: small portioned plates. Takei mini bowls are sold in dishware departments as containers for sauce. But if you get creative with them, they will be a great way to treat guests to any food that requires (for example) a specific sauce.

Lettuce leaves are placed on the bottom, then pieces of meat (or sausages), and sauce on top.

Simple and tasteful!

One of the options for such portion division can be small plastic transparent cups. You can also make the fruit part of the buffet in such cups.

Birthday is one of the most important and joyful holidays in a person’s life. The birthday boy, of course, wants the celebration to be flawless in a relaxed, homely atmosphere.

Organizing a buffet table is perfect for this purpose. True, questions immediately arise about what the menu should be, how this type of celebration differs from a traditional feast, and what rules must be followed.

So, what should a birthday buffet table (menu, in particular) be like at home?

A family anniversary usually involves a large number of invited guests. Then thoughts involuntarily arise about how to hold the feast so that everyone has enough space, snacks and drinks. The main thing in the end is that people are satisfied.

Business buffets are a great opportunity to have a snack and chat with business partners

The buffet style of holding family celebrations originates from Europe, and specifically from France. The word “buffet” itself means “fork”. A fork is practically the only device at such a table.

Whatever the decoration of the table, there should be enough space around it for the invited people to move freely, dance, pour themselves a drink and treat themselves to hot dishes and snacks.

The foreground in this style of celebration is not the consumption of food, but communication. However, not everyone likes this picture of the holiday.

Many people are accustomed to the fact that the table should be full of dishes, and the more, the better. Other celebration lovers, on the contrary, liked the idea of holding their birthday in the style of a home buffet so much that they are seriously considering a buffet for a wedding, New Year and other important events.

Important to remember! At such a banquet there are no chairs, there is no place strictly assigned to the guest.

Therefore, if elderly relatives or small children will be present at the birthday party, you should take care of cozy places where you can sit: chairs, armchairs, sofas.

How to efficiently organize a buffet table for a birthday? Is it still possible to create a menu at home yourself, or do you need to seek help from specialists in this field? The choice is individual. However, a table prepared by yourself will save money and bring pleasure.

A buffet is a great idea for an unforgettable birthday. After all, he is able to ensure full communication between all participants in the celebration. Each invited guest will be able to find his own social circle and interlocutor of interests.

The role of the hero of the festive event comes down to maintaining conversations and some kind of walk between the guests.

Distinctive characteristics of a buffet and a regular festive table

Preparations for a birthday celebration usually begin 2-3 days before the event itself. They try to choose a type of feast so that all guests feel comfortable and pleasant to attend.

Forms of celebration can be: banquet at the table (traditional); banquet-cocktail; tea banquet; business buffet (family); private buffet.

In the modern world, it has become very fashionable to organize an anniversary not in the traditional form, but as a buffet table. For a birthday, the menu at home used to look like ordinary classic dishes, but now you can, if you wish, get away from all these relics of the past.

So, Distinctive features of a buffet table from a traditional home table:

Multi-tiered dishes are perfect for a buffet table.

A buffet does not require a large table, chairs, or plates for each person.
No need to worry about serving dishes in order.
Food is not portioned out for everyone.
Snacks and dishes are made in mini versions.
Each guest serves himself.
The rest of the dishes play the role of decoration.
Table decorations give room for imagination.

The buffet table is placed in the center of the room, covered with a snow-white tablecloth. The largest dishes are evenly placed in the middle and at the ends of the table. Snacks are placed on small plates around the edges. Forks and spoons, unlike a traditional feast, are placed on the edge of the plate, but not in the dish or appetizer itself.

Note! It is very convenient to use not ordinary dishes, but multi-tier ones.

Vases with fresh flowers will perfectly complement the festive table.

There are not many differences between a home buffet and a regular holiday table, but they are significant. A properly prepared and thoughtful celebration will create a charming atmosphere for the evening.

Suitable events for a home buffet

Having decided on the concept of this foreign word, it remains to understand exactly in what cases a home buffet is held, so as not to appear in a stupid and confused light in front of the guests.

Firstly, if the purpose of those gathered is not a meal, but still communication, then for a party - a buffet is ideal. Food and drink become an addition to conversations.

For a New Year's party, a buffet style will come in handy

Secondly, if the house or apartment is small for all the invited guests, then this type of celebration is also suitable(for example, a small home wedding, engagement, New Year).

Third, the buffet is never held for a long time. When you don’t have the time and energy for a long traditional celebration, but you need to hold a meeting or a party, then this is exactly what you need.

An idea like a buffet table for a birthday (it’s easy to create a menu at home) will delight guests with its uniqueness and unusualness.

Therefore, do not be afraid, the new tradition of celebrating the holiday does not mean a bad idea. It's only worth trying once.

Components of the buffet menu

The menu is the basis of any buffet. Prepared dishes should be such that it is convenient for a person to eat them while standing. In addition, it is not customary to heat food at such events. Once cooled, it must not lose its unique taste.

Snacks are usually light and go well with drinks. They can be easily taken with a toothpick or with your hands, without extraneous cutlery. When thinking about the menu for a birthday buffet table at home, you need to take care of the main goal of all those gathered and put a beautiful multi-tiered cake in the center.

The main menu consists of:

canapes;
pates;
tartlets;
hot dishes;
alcoholic drinks.

Canapés are small original sandwiches in the form of two croutons with various fillings (fish, caviar, shrimp, ham, cheese, vegetables). They are secured with skewers and toothpicks. They are decorated with herbs, lemon, and vegetables.

Tartlets are a kind of basket made of dough. The filling is placed in such a baked mold. It will be very tasty if you fill the tartlet with pate: fish, meat, liver, cheese. However, they are often used without filling.

Instead of traditional festive table dishes, the buffet table offers canapés and tartlets

It is appropriate to serve regular sandwiches, but in a smaller form and with an original design (in the form of animals, characters). Rolls, sliced vegetables and fruits will complement the buffet table.

Interesting fact! Despite the fact that the buffet is radically different from a regular banquet, it still provides an entertainment program. At home, they come up with competitions or call a toastmaster.

The advantage is the fact that the owner does not need high culinary skills; the menu requires a more creative approach.

Hot dishes at home buffet

Light cold appetizers, canapés, tartlets, cold cuts, and drinks are placed on the table immediately after it has been briefly served and decorated. As for hot dishes, they are brought out immediately before the guests arrive. Prepare 1-4 dishes.

The traditional way to serve hot dishes at a buffet table is in closed containers, food warmers and other similar utensils.

Hot buffet dishes (for example, meat balls) are best served on skewers

Small kebabs on skewers will please guests. The following are suitable for preparing them: chicken, beef, fish, shrimp, vegetables, mushrooms. Pieces of boiled vegetables are used as a side dish. Mashed potatoes, pasta, and rice are excluded from such a celebration.

Celebrating a birthday at home is wonderful, and the buffet menu will be remembered by guests for a long time. A buffet is an excellent alternative to preparing a troublesome and dull traditional table.

Features of alcoholic drinks at a buffet table

A birthday is rarely complete without alcoholic drinks. They are served in beautiful bottles, which must be opened. Homemade wine, liqueur, and tincture will complement the festive table.

The birthday person was born in winter - it is recommended to serve mulled wine, and if the celebration falls in the summer, then a fruit cup or sangria will do. Mulled wine sits on the table in a miniature saucepan and is heated with a special stove. The drink comes with a ladle and glasses with handles. A cup vase is selected for sangria.

Spicy snacks are combined with strong alcohol (vodka, cognac), non-spicy dishes, hot snacks - with strong wine, port. It is advisable to serve fish with dry white wine, but champagne and liqueur should be served with dessert and coffee.

Champagne at the buffet should be served with dessert

The main rule at a home buffet is that everything should be in moderation, including alcohol. Then everything will go on an easy note and without incident.

Basic rules for a home buffet

The rules for a home buffet do not depend on the upcoming event, be it a birthday or New Year. The main recommendations that are advised to be followed are:

Food on the buffet table should be convenient (easy to eat with a fork or skewer), and there should be enough drinks

The food on the table is convenient, it can be easily pierced with a fork, skewer or taken with your hands.
The approach to the table is open from all sides.
Cutlery and dishes are arranged on one side (plates to plates, forks to forks, and not individually for each guest). There should be a lot of dishes; at a buffet table it is not customary for the hostess to leave and wash it.
Salad bowls and gravy boats stand along the edges, and snacks are located so that they can be easily approached from any side.
Next to the main table there is a small table where guests put dirty dishes and cutlery.
There are sufficient quantities of drinks (juice, water) and alcohol on the table.
Candles, room decorations, and unobtrusive musical accompaniment will not interfere with the festive buffet.

Even in case of mistakes in organizing a holiday, it is important to remember that The buffet menu for a birthday at home should take into account all the preferences of the guests. Then only pleasant impressions will remain from the evening.

Recipes for dishes and snacks for a buffet at home

Before guests arrive, a responsible hostess is obliged to review a large number of recipes, sort through all the ingredients, think through everything down to the smallest detail and choose snacks and dishes that will satisfy every invited guest of all age categories.

We offer the following simple recipes for a home buffet.

Tartlets with cheese

You will need hard cheese. Cut it into long strips or squares. Grease the muffin pan with vegetable oil. Place cheese in it and bake in the oven.

Allow to cool, and then carefully remove the cheese basket, filling it with meat, salad, shrimp, olives, pate. Decorate with lettuce leaves and parsley.

Cheese tartlets can be filled with meat or seafood

Canapes with cucumber and lard

A piece of lard of the same size is placed on dried black bread. Cover the top with a circle of pickled cucumber and fasten with a skewer.

Lard in canapés with cucumber can be replaced with bacon or fish

Fruit canapé “Assorted”

You will need a couple of oranges, a few kiwis and apples, canned pineapple, a couple of peaches, 7 skewers, a spoon for making ice cream (fruit) balls. The orange is cut into slices, the kiwi and pineapple are cut into triangles, the apple is cut into cubes, but a ball is cut out of the peach.

You can thread them onto a skewer in any order. Children will love this dessert.

Thread fruits and berries onto skewers in random order

Grate the pickled cucumber and mix with the pate. The resulting mixture is filled into a basket and decorated with herbs and chopped olives.

Garnish tartlets with liver pate with herbs and olives

The simplest tartlet recipe

The prepared salad “Olivier”, “Crab”, “Stolichny” is placed in the prepared form. Decorate with lemon slices, olive slices, and herbs.

The simplest version of tartlets for a festive buffet is with some kind of salad, for example, with everyone’s favorite “Olivier”

Video on how to properly set a buffet table:

Video with recipes for quick snacks in tartlets for a buffet table:

How to prepare children's canapés - you will learn from this video:

A great idea for a home party or informal communication in the office is to organize a buffet.

Translated from French, buffet means fork. This cutlery is used as the main one at a buffet table.

A buffet is when:

those gathered eat standing;
choose their own food;
most often, they serve themselves;
The primary purpose of the event is to socialize, and the secondary purpose is to have a snack;
maximum free space for movement and discussion of issues for which everyone has gathered;
minimum space occupied by tables;
plenty of plates with great bite-sized appetizers and drinks.

At this event, each guest, moving easily, will find an interesting and pleasant interlocutor.

It doesn’t cost a creative manager anything to organize a buffet. The main idea! If you are trying to host this buffet at home or at work for the first time, then we will share some interesting recipes for preparing appetizers for the buffet table.

What snacks satisfy the term “buffet”?

Used for a buffet table are mini-sized portioned appetizers. Prepared quickly and, nevertheless, not inferior in taste to long-cooked dishes. It is supposed to be eaten with your hands or using a fork or skewer.

Light snacks for a buffet table are usually simply prepared, but served in a creative way. Any products will be used.

If you understand the basic principle of cooking, you can invent your own signature recipes quickly and easily. Main, take care in advance about purchasing tartlets, canapés, crackers different tastes, breads.

Let's look at the most popular options for quick snacks.

An excellent option - a buffet appetizer on a skewer

It's good because it's easy to use. Meat, vegetables, seafood or fruits - you can put everything on a skewer.

Products that require heat treatment before attachment can be easily fried in basic batter (a mixture of water, 1 yolk and flour).
The simplest recipe is to put different varieties of cheese on a skewer, alternating with pineapple cubes, cherries, multi-colored grapes and black olives.

Cute buffet appetizers and small canapés will wonderfully decorate a festive table.

To begin with, we offer a list of quick ideas for the buffet menu.

Small round buns are perfect. You need to cut them and put whatever your heart desires inside: cutlets, meat, ham, cheese, a variety of vegetables and herbs. Any sauce.
Or divide the buns into halves. And put any filling or salad on each half.

Sandwiches are perfect for a buffet table. Anything will do in any cut. Be original!

Snacks for an office buffet can be ordered from specialized catering companies with delivery on the day of the holiday. In this case, menu options will be offered to you by specialists from the supplier company.

For those who decide to have a hand in preparing the buffet table, or to diversify it, we offer:

Step-by-step recipes for cold appetizers for a buffet table with photos

Cold fish appetizers

When preparing, use skewers or fill tartlets.

Salmon rolls

Perfectly diversify the buffet table. Tasty and bright. Easy to prepare.

Product composition:

salmon, cut into thin slices;
eggs;
hard cheese;
mayonnaise;
olives or black olives.

The quantity of products depends on the number of guests.

Cook the rice as usual. We do not add salt.
Boil the egg. Grate. Combine with boiled rice into one mass.
Grate the cheese and add to the rice-egg mixture.
Add mayonnaise, mix. You should get a sticky thick mass.
Place 1 tbsp on a piece of fish. spoon of prepared mass. Roll into a roll.
Secure using a toothpick or skewer. Garnish with olives.

Tartines with herring

The snack has an original look. It will appeal to everyone who loves fish. The taste is spicy.

Required Products:

slightly salted herring;
puff pastry or ready-made tartlets;
cottage cheese;
eggs;
sour cream;
greenery.

Cooking procedure.

Cut out any shapes from the dough.
Beat the egg and brush the shapes. Bake at 220° for 15-20 minutes.
Boil a couple of eggs and remove the yolk. Peel the herring, remove the seeds. Chop a good portion into rectangles.
We turn all the remaining ugly herring, cottage cheese, yolks and sour cream into minced meat with a blender.
This is what the mixture should look like.
Assembling the tartines - place the mixture on the tartine and garnish with the greenery paws.

Vegetable recipes

Eggplant sandwich

These sandwiches are prepared in an original way - without bread. Very few calories. Eggplant lovers will love this recipe!

You will need:

These unusual snacks on skewers are prepared as follows:

Sprinkle the sliced eggplants with salt and leave for 15 minutes.
Rinse the circles and dry.
Fry on both sides.
Pepper and salt the prepared eggplants.
Chop the garlic coarsely, fry and discard. We need the resulting oil with the smell of garlic.
We also cut the tomatoes into slices.
Fry the tomatoes in garlic oil.
Making cheese slices.
Prepare the tower: eggplant - cheese - eggplant.
Top with a circle of tomato.
Pierce the resulting sandwiches with a skewer and place in the oven for a couple of minutes. The cheese needs to melt.

Place on dishes, decorate and serve.

Vegetable sandwiches

Vegetable mini sandwiches look appropriate on the table next to other holiday snacks.

For preparation you need:

tomatoes;
long thin loaf;
Mozzarella or Feta cheese;
garlic, a couple of cloves;
various greens;
vegetable oil or butter for frying.

Cut the tomatoes into slices.
In a bowl, mash the cheese with a fork.
Chop the greens. Pass the garlic through a press.
Mix cheese, herbs and garlic.
Fry the bread pieces in oil.
Cover the loaf pieces with the prepared mixture.
Decorate with a slice of tomato and herbs.

Cold meat appetizers for a buffet table

Salad with bacon

A tasty and bright snack. Simple and quick to prepare.

Prepare:

bacon - 100 gr. ;
cherry tomatoes - 6 pcs. ;
lettuce leaves;
loaf - 3 pieces;
lemon juice - 15 ml;
olive oil - 30 ml.

Chop the bacon and fry until crispy.
Cut the loaf into cubes and dry in a frying pan.
Cut the tomatoes in half and tear the lettuce leaves. Add croutons and bacon.
Mix and season the salad with oil and lemon juice.

Meat in oranges

Juicy, low-fat, with a pleasant citrus flavor and aroma.

What do you need for cooking?

beef meat 1 kg;
oranges 2 pcs. ;
spices, onion and salt to taste.

Take a piece of meat in the form of a bar. Don't cut all the way through.
Cut onions and oranges into rings.
Rub the beef with spices and salt.
Fill the slits with onion and orange rings.
Transfer the meat to the mold. Add some water.
Cover tightly with foil. Puncture the foil with a needle in several places. Bake in the oven at 200-220 for 1.5 hours.

The dish is ready! Remove the foil carefully; hot steam may burn you.. Let the meat sit for 20 minutes, then cut into portions.

By the way, try the oranges! Delicious!

Cold cuts

There’s no need to be too tricky with cutting. The main thing is to serve and decorate it on dishes.

The photos below will help you.

Table "a la buffet" ...New Year's ideas for the festive table

If your home during the New Year turns into a “gathering point” for a large number of friends who, as a rule, knowing your hospitality, will bring their other friends with them, and inform you about this the day before the holiday, then the best solution for your New Year's party will be buffet table— it is set for receptions with a large number of guests.

The reception a la buffet was originally invented in France. This method of organizing a festive table has a number of advantages. A buffet is a way of receiving guests, which eliminates the need to purchase additional pieces of furniture, since the main purpose of the reception is communication, not a feast.

In most cases, a buffet is associated with the need to organize a reception of guests in a short time. The name itself can be literally translated from French as “on a fork,” which characterizes the entire process of eating.

The advantages of a buffet table are that the number of guests is not related to the amount of furniture available in the house. An additional advantage for the hostess is that she does not need to worry about the presentation of dishes, the degree of their warmth and the fullness of the guests' plates.

Guests move freely around the room, gather according to interest groups, communicate freely, choosing those snacks on the table that are more to their taste. Snacks should be quite varied: variety is the key to a good buffet!

Several useful recipes

At buffets, up to three dishes are always offered. Eg, side dishes: boiled potatoes with parsley, dill and onions, vegetables, rice with saffron; meat and fish dishes: kebabs, red fish steaks, chicken breast in sauce. As for salads, tartlets, puff sandwiches and canapés, you can prepare countless of them.

Don't forget about the cheese platter. Cheese- a high-calorie and very tasty product. And now there are so many types of cheese on sale that you can easily fill several plates with hard and soft varieties. Plus please your vegetarian guests. The cheese is cut into pieces of 25-40 grams. The varieties are placed not too close to each other in a clockwise direction, for example: first a spicy blue cheese, then a soft cheese with a penicillin crust such as Camembert, then a hard, mild and sliced spicy one. A classic addition to cheese is grapes. Pears and melon slices are combined with cheese.

The housewife should also not forget about pickled cucumbers, tomatoes, corn on the cob, champignons, bell peppers, cauliflower, as well as olives and spiced herring.

Snacks, several types of sliced bread, and salads are placed closer to the edge. The second tier in the back is for sweet dishes, pastries, and fruits. Each dish with food should have an appropriate device with which you can put a portion on your plate.

Buffet serving depends, among other things, on the position of the table: if you can approach it from all sides, then you need to serve the buffet table in a circle.

Spices are traditional - salt and pepper. If dishes require sauces, they are placed next to the corresponding dishes.

When served, non-alcoholic drinks are poured into glasses or served in jugs. Alcoholic drinks are placed in open bottles in groups at different ends of the table, next to the glasses. For used dishes, an additional, small one is placed next to the main table, on which guests will put the empty dishes.

There are no restrictions on the buffet menu. The only requirement concerns the convenience of the dishes. For the most part, these are a variety of snacks that are easy to put on a plate and eat.

Since the same utensils are used when setting the table as during a regular feast, the dishes can be varied. The only requirement concerns that the dishes for the buffet must be served already cut and divided into portions - they must be in such a form that it is as convenient as possible for guests to put them on an individual plate and help themselves, as they say, “on the go.” If it is fish, then in the form of fillets, if it is chicken pieces, then without bones.

Vol-au-vents - snack bars (baskets) made from purchased puff pastry

Tartlets

Tartlets are small cups of dough prepared according to a specific recipe, which are filled with various fillings - meat, fish, mushroom, vegetable. Some recipes call for adding sauce to filled tartlets and then leaving them in the oven for a while to thicken the sauce. Shortbread dough with the addition of egg or yolk is optimal for tartlets.

Tartlets with caviar. Tasty, beautiful, fast.

A recipe for an unsurpassed evening dessert - glamorous tartlets made from caviar, rice, avocado and cream cheese.

Products:

Rice - preferably milk or sushi rice
Ripe avocado
Salmon caviar
Cream cheese

Salt
Pepper
Lemon juice

Preparation:

Boil the rice and cool it. Peel the avocado, remove the pit, mash the pulp with a fork, season with salt, pepper, add a little lemon juice to preserve the color.

With wet hands, form rice balls and press them. Place the next layer of avocado on top, then a layer of cheese mixture so that the dish looks like layer cakes. Place the last layer of red caviar.

If possible, the layers should be equal in volume. The size can be any. Small cakes can be eaten as canapes, large ones - with a fork and knife. You can decorate with greenery.

In principle, dough baskets can be filled with any salads. The only requirement is that salads should not be too liquid so that the dough does not get soggy. For this reason, vegetable salads that give juice are not placed in tartlets.

You can prepare a salad of boiled shrimp, green peas and fresh cucumber with mayonnaise dressing. The salad is sprinkled with grated cheese on top and decorated with sprigs of parsley or dill.

Another option is a salad of fresh pineapples with smoked chicken fillet, seedless grapes and grated cheese. As a dressing, you can use not only mayonnaise, but also sweet yogurt. Depending on the sauce chosen, the taste of the salad will be different.

Canapes

Of the snacks, canapés are the easiest to prepare and the most effective. They are prepared in the same way: the loaf or black bread is peeled and cut lengthwise into strips approximately 5-6 mm thick, then the bread is cut into small pieces (the pieces can be round, square, rectangular, triangular, etc.) . Then each piece of bread is greased with a thin layer of butter or mayonnaise (with the exception of canapés prepared with fatty foods), a leaf of lettuce is placed, garnished and decorated to taste.

Canapes with bacon and tomatoes

biscuits - 1 piece
bacon - 20g.
tomato - 1 pc.
sauce to taste
green onions

Cooking method:

For the filling: cut the bacon and tomato into small pieces and mix with the sauce.
Cut the pancake into three parts. Place the filling in the center of one of the parts, gather the edges and secure with green onions. The canapes are ready.

Lavash roll

A thin layer of lavash is smeared with mayonnaise, string cheese and Korean carrots are laid on top of it on one edge. The roll is wrapped tightly and cut crosswise into portioned roll pieces of the desired size. The filling can be varied - rolls with smoked fish and fresh cucumbers or with ham and mushrooms are no less tasty.

You will need:
Avocado
Tomato
Fresh cucumbers
Bell pepper
Lavash or thin pancakes
Curd cream or cheese
Lettuce leaves
Salt spices

Salmon roll

To prepare it, you need wide thin layers of salmon, which are rolled into a cone and laid out on a dish with the wide part facing up. A small piece of butter and a slice of lemon are placed inside each cone. To make it easier to cut the butter, it must first be cooled in the freezer.

Avocado mousse with caviar

1 avocado
- 1 egg /* chicken, a couple of quail eggs, hard-boiled */
- 1 tbsp. l. sour cream
- dill
- salt and pepper to taste, I added a fair amount of both, avocado somehow really absorbs all the spices
- caviar

Grind the avocado and egg in a blender. Mix, add sour cream, salt, pepper and finely chopped dill, grind until smooth.

Dry the pieces of bread until golden brown in a frying pan without oil. On bread - mousse, on top with caviar.

Trout rolls

It's actually very simple.
Lightly salted fish, season with curd cheese, serve on cucumber slices. You can use cream cheese rather than cottage cheese, and you can also add a little blue cheese to the filling, and sprinkle with lemon before serving. In general, there is room for imagination.
Simple, but very, very tasty.

Curd mousse with red fish and caviar

200 g low-fat cottage cheese
- 5 g gelatin
- 60 ml milk or cream
- 100 g salted red fish
- 0.5 tsp each salt and sugar
- a pinch of black pepper
- dill
- caviar

Soak gelatin in milk, after swelling, heat in the microwave or on the stove, dissolve.
Beat the cottage cheese, adding salt, sugar, pepper and finely chopped dill.
Carefully combine cottage cheese with gelatin. Stir in finely chopped fish and caviar (I didn’t add caviar to the mousse, I just decorated it on top).
Divide the curd mixture into the molds. I put it in silicone muffin molds, and then everything came out of them perfectly. Place in the refrigerator for several hours to harden.

Table of contents:

A buffet is a type of banquet, a semi-formal reception organized to allow a fairly large number of people to get to know each other and communicate in an informal setting. The word “buffet” translated from French means “on a fork,” since a snack fork is the main “tool” that your guests will need.

Complex dishes are not placed on the buffet table. As a rule, the menu consists of beautiful cuts, individual cold appetizers, all kinds of canapés and tartlets filled with a variety of salads (for example, from the top list of new ones). According to the rules for serving a buffet, snacks are placed in an aesthetically pleasing order on long tables in the middle or along the edges of the banquet hall. At the end of the tables, plates are placed in stacks of 10 pieces, and buffet forks are placed “on edge”, 10 pieces in each row.

Each guest independently takes a treat from the table to suit their taste. Therefore, when choosing appetizers for the buffet menu, their recipes should be as diverse as possible: the organizers should take into account that among the guests there may be, for example, vegetarians, and they should not be left with an empty plate. This table is comfortable and does not require sitting at the table.

At a buffet table, a separate table is usually served for drinks, and a variety of glasses, glasses and cups are placed there accordingly. There is usually a waiter next to the table, filling glasses at the request of guests.

If you are organizing a buffet without resorting to the services of a restaurant or catering company, and are preparing buffet appetizers yourself, recipes and photos of several types of appetizers, salads, tartlets and canapés will come in handy.

Cuttings - table decoration

You should probably start with. The slices can be cheese, meat, fish, vegetables or fruit. Combination cuts are also very popular - sausage and cheese, cheese with fruits or vegetables. There is no limit to your imagination; the main rule is that the ingredients combine well in taste and color. The composition of the cuts can vary in degree of complexity. The easiest way is a dish filled with neat, evenly laid pieces. Cheese, sausage and fish can not only be cut into shapes, but also rolled into rolls, cones, and buds, as much as skill allows. If you can’t make thin slices, you can always use ready-made store-bought cuts - all you have to do is take them out of the packaging and arrange them more beautifully.

Canapés and sandwiches - bright and tasty!

The next most complex element of the buffet table is mini-sandwiches and canapés. They can be prepared on a wide variety of bases - bread of all kinds, crackers, baked squares of puff pastry, specially made unsweetened cookies or even ordinary chips.

For convenience, this type of snack is usually put on special skewers, so it will be easier to take them from the dish. And also, a skewer allows you to make a sandwich or canape as multi-layered as possible, which looks extremely appetizing and attractive.

The pieces of bread for canapés should be perfectly thin, and small cookie cutters will help you make them shaped.

Sandwiches and canapés may well be presented in lighter versions - without bread. In this case, cheese, a piece of vegetable or a slice of fruit can be used as a base, as you like.

For sandwiches, you can use various pastes and spreads, for example, butter with additives, curd/cheese paste, fish cream and even some types of salads, which the consistency allows, for example, carrot or beetroot in mayonnaise dressing.

Oil with additives

100 g butter;
50 grams of additives.

Mix the butter with the additive and puree in a blender until smooth. The addition can be lightly salted or canned fish, white or Dutch cheese, a tablespoon of mild mustard, herbs - parsley, green onions, as well as nuts and a clove of garlic.

Sandwich pastes

Avocado paste – puree ripe avocado in a blender and add half a spoon of lemon juice to it.

Cottage cheese paste - grind 100 g of cottage cheese with 50 g of additives. Additives: sprats, pink salmon, fried tomato, chicken liver stewed with onions, a few tablespoons of green onions.

Fish cream for sandwiches

Grind 100 grams of cream cheese with 50 grams of lightly salted red fish;
carrot salad with mayonnaise;
200 grams of boiled grated carrots;
1 tbsp mayonnaise;
salt;
clove of garlic (through a press).

Mix mayonnaise with garlic, season carrots with it and add salt.

Borage salad with mayonnaise

200 grams of boiled beets;
50 grams of walnuts;
1 clove of garlic (through a press);
1 tbsp mayonnaise;
salt pepper.

Mix grated beets, ground nuts, crushed garlic. Salt, pepper and season with mayonnaise.

Snacks on tartlets

Tartlets are the most complex of the usual buffet dishes. They are good because you can simply take the tartlet with your hand and eat it without bothering yourself with a plate and fork.

You can stock up on ready-made tartlets, or bake them yourself.

If you don’t have the time or desire to fuss with dough for tartlets, the base for them can be prepared from ready-made puff pastry or even from thin pita bread; it will be enough to line muffin tins with the semi-finished product and bake.

The options for filling tartlets can be listed endlessly. The most common filler is, of course, lettuce. Any favorite that you always have on hand will do - from the classic capital one to the simplest Greek one made from cucumber, tomato, cheese and olives.

Tartlets with fish filling are also very good: with salmon, smoked salmon or caviar.

Classic snacks for a buffet table

When preparing buffet dishes and appetizers, recipes can be created on the go. However, classic appetizer options will undoubtedly delight your guests.

Stuffed champignons

20 pieces of mushrooms;
100 g fried chicken;
100 grams of cheese.

Finely chop the chicken and mushroom legs, mix, salt and pepper. Stuff the caps with the mixture, sprinkle thickly with cheese and bake for 10 minutes at 220 degrees.

Stuffed eggs

5 boiled eggs;
one fillet of salted herring;
mayonnaise.

Cut the eggs in half lengthwise and remove the yolks. Mix the yolks with finely chopped herring and season with mayonnaise. Fill the indentations in the egg whites with this mixture and squeeze a cream cheese flower onto each one. For the cream, mash 150 grams of processed cheese with three tablespoons of butter.

Cheese balls

100 g feta cheese;
100 g of oil;
finely chopped parsley - 2 tbsp. l;
small clove of garlic;
4 slices of black bread without crusts.

Grind the cheese with butter, add parsley, garlic and mix well. Roll into balls and sprinkle them on all sides with crumbs of black bread. Keep in the refrigerator until serving.

Snack bar "Napoleon"

700 g puff pastry;
250 grams of cheese;
150 g ham;
100 grams of pineapple;
50 grams of walnuts;
100 ml cream or mayonnaise.

Bake 2 cakes from the entire dough, cut to an even rectangle, cool. Cut the ham and pineapple into pieces, add nuts. Make a cream from cream and cheese, season the ham mixture with it. Place the resulting cream on the puff pastries, spread the cream on top and sides, and cover with crumbs from the cake scraps. Let soak in the refrigerator for at least an hour and cut into 3x3cm pieces.