Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I am the only "foodie" in my local group of friends, so anything interesting I do is always met with amazement, no matter how simple it is. Fortunately, these people will have never seen a pipette and have no idea how overdone this is right now.

So, I have 3" pipettes and in planning mode for my one big party of the year. And I am looking for your ideas. Caprese seems too easy. I thought about making mini matzo balls and filling the pipettes with chicken glace, but I can't think of a good way to keep them warm on a buffet table. Shrimp with homemade cocktail sauce was an idea but it it would bankrupt me.

So what are your best ideas for little bites that need a little sauce and can be served room temperature?

I will give it a think...but for anyone else who didn't know what these are;

http://www.jbprince.com/table-service/p ... pacity.asp

Not overdone up here yet, as I've not heard of them. Seems very cool though.

Oh, sorry, I've seen them on food blogs a lot, which is why I thought they were overdone. Here's an example of the caprese salad:



So the pipette would be filled with a room temperature liquid, like a dressing or sauce.

What about a sushi theme? (Granted not a room temp idea, and not inexpensive.)

You could alternate cubes of fish, e.g., ahi, then salmon, then hamachi. I'd coat them with sesame seeds, alternating with black and white, and put pieces of mango and cucumber in between. For the sauce you could do a liquified spicy sauce or a thin wasabi mayo sauce. If you went the spicy sauce route I'd then coat each piece of fish in a weak wasabi marinade before coating with sesame seeds.

Wow, I just gave myself a great idea for an event I'm catering in a few weeks. Thanks!

Amy

Amy,

I saw one idea that was perfect cubes of seared tuna and cucumber with soy / wasabi sauce. I considered it, but I don't have a good way of keeping the fish cold. It looked very pretty on the plate.

Other ideas I've seen are a single shrimp with cocktail sauce and brownie squares with Irish Cream.

Maybe some chunks of homemade sweet pickled jalapenos with cold avocado soup... still musing over here.

--Lisa

Lisa,

A catering trick is to use two plates that nestle well with ice on the bottom plate. It keeps the plate (and food) on top of it cold.

Amy

Another use of pipettes that I've seen is when doing serious, professional scotch tastings wherein the point is to determine how the scotch tastes when combined with water. Generally, spring water or distilled is used with a predetermined pour of scotch. The pipettes contain a consistent amount of water so as to render the tastings more equal.

Obviously, this is not done when the tasting is over as 'to each his own' prevails!

I read lots of food blogs, but have never come across this. What a fun little party trick. I may have to search up some pipettes for myself. I think they would be cool to use with hot sauce so people could control their own level of zing.

I have been neither serious nor professional when drinking Scotch... I also have a problem with those things when stone, cold sober. Perhaps a pipette would help.

Mary

Amy, thanks - I will think about the tuna. I will need quantity, so I am not sure if that is the answer for me.

Mary, I bought the pipettes on ebay. I found industrial suppliers but I didn't want to buy 1,000. 100 was enough to experiment with.

--Lisa

Lisa, no worries...and thanks for your picture, now it's much clearer for me.
I keep coming back to an oyster type appetizer, reminiscent of eating an oyster from a shell where you get the juice last. Not sure if that helps with ideas.