I recently started work in a bar as a bartender. My manager also wants me to do some cooking, and I am excited about that. The place is pretty nice, the appetizers I saw that they will serve include pate, foie gras, escargot, a sampler of Italian meats and cheeses, hummus, maybe some bruscetta, et al.
My boss, the guy who runs the establishment, asked me to think of ideas for appetizers that will be quick and easy, but nice. Perhaps you can see the type of things he is going for with the aforementioned items.
I figured that this might be a good place to ask around without having me immediately regret asking the internet for suggestions. Does anybody have any ideas? He said he wants them to be relatively quick and simple. It is not a very big place and so the kitchen is not very big.
So please let me know if you have any ideas, and I will ask him to take them into consideration. Thank you very much.
Mix of nice cured olives
Poached shrimp with capers and herbs
Beef or chicken skewers (like sate)
Spring rolls
Boquerones - you can dress them up with a simple herb pesto kind of thing (basil & mint minced with a bit of oil, etc.) Very simple to dish up and delicious.
Thank you. Also, I should specify that I think he is looking for semi- regular items, but with a unique or interesting flourish. The items I listed previously were not complete descriptions.
With those apps, I would love to see a classic steak tartare preparation on the list. There’s one bar here in Chicago I go to just for that, and it would fit into a bar menu that has foie gras, escargot, and that sort of stuff on it.
Another somewhat unique idea is this Hungarian appetizer called körözött or its kin Liptauer. I would suggest using bryndza cheese (or a similar cheese) in it. Cream cheese will work, too, but the typical cheese used in Hungary, for instance, is something like a farmer’s cheese/fresh cheese. If you do decide on this, make sure to use quality paprika. Something nice from Penzey’s (I personally would not use a smoked paprika, but that may work) or the Pride of Szeged sweet paprika. There’s also versions of it with capers and even anchovies like this one, if you want to up the salt and umami. I would NOT recommend using cottage cheese for this dish, as a lot of recipes have you do. Serve with a crusty bread.
If you have access to great mussels, I’d love that too. You can do a classic prep with white wine/herbs/garlic, or get a little more adventurous, like using a gueuze (an aged, unflavored lambic) instead of the wine, or (one of the crowd pleasers here), just some red curry paste with coconut cream. You can get a little fancy by preparing your own paste or just doctoring up the paste with a couple fresh ingredients (like lemongrass, lime, and/or shallots, and some coriander or basil–I prefer Thai sweet basil or cinnamon basil for this.) Now, that might be a little from left field if everything else is a bit more middle-of-road European.
Ceviche
Beef carpaccio or tuna tartare
Some sort of meatless thing involving puff pastry for the vegetarians
Bacon-wrapped dates
cheesey quesadeas with salsa and pico de gallo?
These are actually better than they sound, and they sound pretty good. I can eat tray after tray of these. I’m also a big fan of those prosciutto and cheese swirl things.
Devils on Horseback !
Crazy name for a crazy appetizer-
poach prunes in red wine until plump. Drain , stone and stuff with an almond and anchovy fillet then wrap in bacon. Broil about 5 minutes, serve with crostini or bread.
One of the best things that I ever had as an appetizer was a plate of “designer” salami. Just a plate with about 8 slices of meat–2 slices each of 4 different types of salami. Spoilage would not be an issue as salami last forever, it would be easy to prepare (meat slicer required, though).
Served with a good baguette, it was a winner.
Tiny bowls of pre prepared soup. Three different flavours with a bit of garnish on a plate… Delicious and easy. I would recommend classics like mullugatwny, tom ka, gazpacho, cheese covered onion soup, a green herbal soup like cress soup…
Same idea, but soup shooters.
It may be too simple and hick-ish for the fois-gras crowd, but a fresh baked, salty pretzel (with garlic) is quite something at a brew-pub near me.
Beetroot, carrots, apples and parsnips make great crisps.
Parmesan crisps can be formed into shapes or containers a la brandy snaps. Tapenades, pestos and their ilk go really well with them.
There must be bajillions of variations on bite-size pasties that are dangerously more-ish. Feta & spinach is particularly good, as is spiced lamb with pine nuts & raisins.
With really good sausage, the humble sausage roll can be amazing.
Taramosalata. Done right.
Take some inexpensive red caviar–carp or lumpfish roe, mix 50/50 with excellent housemade or (in a pinch) Hellman’s mayonnaise. Fold in some extra lemon juice and snipped green onion, parsley, what have you. Spoon onto thin slice of cucumber, lemon cuke, iranian, or armenian are nice (very important!!! or you can get fancy and use delicately cut cuke as artistic top garnish) and then a tasty carb: tiny garlic bread rounds, fried pita triangles, broken Wasa cracker…? Dab a bit of good feta crumbs on top, or incorporate thinnest slice of creamy Bulgarian-style feta wherever practical. Grind a bit of fresh pepper on top. A dollop of ajvar (roasted pepper salsa) on every other canape won’t go amiss. This, my friends, has won me many accolades as queen of les hors d’oeuvres. Make at least 6 per guest–not at all kidding.
Oh. If you can, please serve with shots of slivovitz, preferably Zuta Osa. Skip the Jelinik. For fun, pour the droplets of cold brandy goodness in large, frozen, pitted plums. If this is too complicated, grappa of any good reputation, in any small snifter or shotglass, will do.
Another delicious canape is minced squash/cuke sauteed with mushrooms (whatever you got), lotsa garlic–even garlic powder, salt, and olive oil, and Brie-type cheese (Forme d’Ambert, fromage d’affenois, epoisses–whatever’s on sale and pungent), maybe some chopped leek/shallot/scallion, and portion the steaming mess on bits of toasted dense russian rye bread. If you are daring, add a handful of soaked barberries or pitted sour cherries to the saute–you won’t regret it. Top with–you guessed it–some cheese crumbles, black pepper, even a dash of powdered sumac, and maybe an olive or lemon sliver.
Cevapi–I’ll leave you to look up a recipe, but it’s basically highly spiced minced kebabs (lamb, goat, pork, beef…?) grilled quickly and served with my “holy trinity” of Mediterranean accompaniments: pungent cheese, plain yogurt, and cucumber. Usually served on a kind of puffy pita called lepinja, but you figure it out. Make it fun with two kebabs sticking out of a shotglass of dip–or, this just occurred to me–a small phyllo bowl of the cucumber/feta/yogurt sauce (look up Tzatziki) and a cherry tomato or something. Cumin–If you are going to use this here, fine, but then think more middle eastern for the theme.
If you like the cut of my jib, I got more for ya. God, I’m starving now. Also have the thousandth weird urge to open a restaurant. 
Ziveli!
If it were me, I would have a “two-tier” response. I would take the best ideas I could think of and tell him that I would be happy to prepare some great appetizers but find a way to get a piece of the profits. You could offer people a sheet of paper outlining the appetizers and making them sound very appealing and then make sure you get a percentage of the price for those appetizers.
If he doesn’t go for that, I would then offer him the “second tier” appetizers. After all, it is his business and it is his responsibilty for coming up with ideas on how to run it. If he expects you to operate a part of the business, it is just not fair for him to pay you an hourly wage. You should work for him for a while and then find a way to sell your “first tier” appetizers somehow and keep the profits for yourself.
It is just not fair for you to extend yourself and bust your ass to make money for your boss if he is not willing to fairly compensate you for the extra work you will be doing. If he is only willing to pay you a flat hourly wage, he can only expect that you will perform a flat hourly effort.
Bottom line? Figure out a way you can profit by maximizing the amount of apps you sell for him and maximize the amount of work you will be doing. Why bust your ass for a minimal kind of salary? It’s just not fair.
Some people will say that a good employee would want to work hard and make as much money as possible for the boss and that would make them valuable to the boss and secure their position. But in my experience, once an employee gives their ideas to the boss, then the boss has their ideas and doesn’t need them anymore. He can use their ideas and hire someone else to implement them.
The way I’ve always gotten cevapi throughout former Yugoslavia, they have been served with raw diced onions, ajvar (a roasted red pepper and [almost always] eggplant relish), lepinja or pita, and possibly kajmak (a tangy type of clotted cream or cheese product.) But it depends where you have them–there is regional variation, but that was my most usual experience. My favorite cevapi are the Bosnian ones, which are usually beef and lamb. There’s a gazillion recipes out there, but when I make them, I generally do 2 parts lamb, 1 part beef, 1 part pork. Most of the usual recipes have beef as the main component, and lamb and pork (and sometimes veal) in the supporting roles. I think these are much more flavorful when made with lamb.
Cevapi are awesome. Look for recipes that involve baking soda, as they give these sausages a nice, springy texture, not a crumbly one. Not everyone uses baking soda (or sometimes seltzer), but I’ve tried many recipes, and the ones involving baking soda give me the texture I remember. Also, these things really should be grilled. In essence, cevapi are basically Yugoslav kebabs, and similar to kofte kebabs. If you look at the name, it betrays its etymology. (Kebab -> Cevap).
If you’re looking for something unusual, how about savory sherbets? (Or sorbets, if you prefer.)
This site gives three examples: tomato, mint pea, and ginger carrot. This site suggests serving a spicy tomato sorbet with avocado and tortilla chips. Or this roasted red pepper sorbet or cucumber basil sorbet.
A bonus? While they’re exotic, they don’t contain any exotic (and expensive) ingredients.
This time of year, a really good caprese salad is very good indeed. Also, one of my all-time best appetizer experiences was Sigara Boregi, little herby cheesy fried phyllo dough thingies from Turkey.
Bacon wrapped something.