Garde Manger II: Sandwiches and Hors d’Oeuvres

Section Objectives Upon completing this section, you should be able to: Discuss the fundamentals of garde manger: nnsandwiches and hors d’oeuvres

Sandwiches A sandwich is often the first meal a person learns to prepare Sandwiches may be served hot or cold Assembly can happen in advance, or à la minute Depends on the desired outcome

Sandwich Components Bread Firm, thick, not overwhelming or dry Pullman loaves, peasant-style breads, and rolls Flatbreads, wrappers, and tortillas Spread Moisture barrier Flavored butter or mayonnaise base, spreadable cheeses, tahini, jams, and condiments Holds sandwich together

Sandwich Components—components Filling Vegetable or protein Garnish Textural contrast, flavor enhancers

Types of Sandwiches Hot (e.g., panini, melt) Closed Open Cold (e.g., club, deli)

Sandwich Presentation Presentation is very important for sandwich service Assembly of sandwiches should be conducted in an efficient and thoughtful manner Consider quality and presentation

Sandwich Mise en Place Prepare all ingredients Cook, mix, slice, or rinse ingredients as necessary Arrange and store ingredients Preportion as appropriate Keep within easy reach but properly refrigerated

Sandwich Mise en Place—continued Select and arrange equipment Spatulas, scoops, knives, cutting boards, heat griddles, fryers, and broilers

Cutting Sandwiches Sandwiches can be cut in a variety of ways to make the presentation attractive Halves Thirds Quarters Garnish is important to the look of the sandwich Consider “functional” garnishes

Sandwich Sanitation Sandwiches, whether hot or cold, present a dangerous environment for the spread of foodborne illness High protein, precooked food, mayonnaise, and butter, along with a variety of hand contact, create food safety challenges Produce sandwiches under the most stringent conditions

Hors d’Oeuvres French word used to describe small portions of very flavorful food items served either before the main meal, lunch, or dinner, or as the first course of a meal

Types of Hors d’Oeuvres Canapé: Small open-faced sandwich that may be topped with a variety of savory food items Barquettes and tartlets: Miniature pie shells made from a short pie dough and filled with a variety of savory fillings Choux puffs and carolines: Miniature puff and éclair-shaped choux paste shells filled with a variety of savory purées and mousses

Canapés: Banquet-Style Use a dense bread, such as pumpernickel or rye (which allows elimination of toasting) Use Pullman loaves, approximately 4" × 4" × 18" These should be sliced lengthwise, no thicker than 1/4" If bread is extremely fresh or coarsely textured, it is difficult to get thin, even slices For thin, even slices, slice bread when slightly frozen

Canapés: Banquet-Style—continued Always trim crust from bread after slicing, not before The evenness of slices can be improved by using a band saw to slice the loaves

Canapés: Banquet-Style—continued Soften spread by whipping or by allowing to warm to room temperature Apply spread to Pullman slice with a medium-size palette knife Apply filling to Pullman slice Select an item for the filling that can be applied quickly and easily to the bread It is best if it can be applied in a single step

Canapés: Banquet-Style—continued Items that can be sliced in long sheets on a meat slicer then laid on top of the Pullman loaf work well; these include ham, turkey, cheese, or smoked salmon Fine-textured salads, such as tuna salad, salmon salad, and chicken salad, (when the recipe is adjusted to avoid seepage of moisture) can be easily spread onto a Pullman slice

Canapés: Banquet-Style—continued At this point, you essentially have a very large, open-faced sandwich Banquet-style canapés can be—and are often—made up to this point, one to two days in advance If you are making the canapés in advance, continue to the next step The canapé can be tightly wrapped and frozen, and then defrosted and finished when needed

Canapés: Banquet-Style—continued The Pullman-sized slices, spread and topped with the filling, are coated with a thin layer of aspic Aspic helps to preserve their freshness and gives them a glistening finish Aspic can be applied with a brush or spray bottle Aspic should be delicate, not rubbery It should be perfectly clear and have a good flavor

Canapés: Banquet-Style—continued The Pullman slice is now ready to be cut into individual canapés Squares, diamonds, and triangles can be cut using straight-line cuts of a long French knife This technique results in the least amount of wasted product

Canapés: Banquet-Style—continued Rounds and crescents can be cut using a sharpened round cutter This technique results in more waste Special shapes, such as stars, hearts, spades, and others, can be cut from the Pullman slice These cuts have the lowest yield per Pullman slice

Canapés: Banquet-Style—continued Exactness of size and shape is critical for an elegant presentation Individual canapés should be lined up on a work tray in neat “rank and file” order Any misshapen or wrongly sized items can be picked out easily

Canapés: Banquet-Style—continued Garnish can be applied to the canapé The garnish should be one that can be quickly made and easily applied Chose a garnish that is suitable for the filling

Canapés: À la Carte-Style Basic method is the same as banquet-style Special techniques Bases with special shapes are often used They cost more to handle and have a lower yield of usable product

Canapés: À la Carte-Style—continued A commonly produced item is the coronet, made from salami, ham, smoked salmon, or similar food These are attached to a base with a rosette of basic spread or compound butter The coronet is filled with an olive, sour cream, caviar, or other suitable food This preparation has great eye appeal, but takes more production time Garnishes are often more complex, such as a strip of marinated red pepper tied in a tiny bow

Tartlets and Barquettes Prepare an unsweetened, short pie dough Roll out thin, 1/8" thick maximum Allow rolled-out dough to rest Freezing dough briefly will speed up resting process Cut rolled-out dough into small circles, squares, or rectangles These should be large enough to fully line interior of the barquette or tartlet mold

Tartlets and Barquettes—continued Loosely place square of dough into mold It is not necessary to oil or lubricate mold when using a short pie dough

Tartlets and Barquettes—continued Place a second mold on top of first, sandwiching dough between the two molds, apply gentle pressure to bring them together Trim excess dough from the edges of molds with a paring knife Place molds upside down on a sheet pan A second sheet pan may be placed on top of the molds to reduce tendency of dough to draw back during baking

Tartlets and Barquettes—continued Bake in a 375°F (190°C) oven, until top mold falls off easily It is acceptable for barquettes and tartlet shells to be pale and not “golden brown” Be careful not to overbake Overbaked shells shatter easily

Tartlets and Barquettes—continued If a custard is to be cooked in shells, dough should be raw or just blanched when filled with custard Shells can be made up to a week in advance If barquette or tartlet is to be served cold, coat inside of prepared shell with a spread or compound butter This will help keep crust from getting soggy or warped Fill and garnish as you would for a canapé

Choux Puffs and Carolines Use a straight #6 or #7 pastry tube Pipe the paste into a small ball, about 1-11/2" in diameter After baking, the diameter of the choux puffs should be no more than 2"

Choux Puffs and Carolines—continued Use a straight #5 or #6 pastry tube Pipe paste into lengths of no more than 2" Bake as you would any item made from choux paste These shells should not be prepared more than 3 to 4 days in advance

Choux Puffs and Carolines: Preparing the Filling Fillings suited for choux puffs and carolines are purées or mousses of meat, fish, or vegetables The content of filling, including garnishes, needs to be small enough to pass through a pastry tube

Choux Puffs and Carolines: Preparing the Filling—continued Be careful not to overcook fish or meat for purée If overcooked, it will give a grainy-mouth feel to filling This cannot be masked by the addition of velouté or mayonnaise during processing

Choux Puffs and Carolines—continued Make a small hole in the bottom of the puff with the tip of a small pastry tube and pipe in the filling In some cases, in order to fill the puff, simply cut off the top of the puff The cavity within the puff is then filled with the desired filling Fill puffs as close to service as possible; they tend to become soggy when held

Choux Puffs and Caroline—continued Choux puffs are not usually garnished They can, however, be garnished like a canapé Carolines, after filling, are often topped with a suitable chaud-froid sauce in the style of the chocolate on an éclair