Hor d'oerve tasting

On Wednesday afternoon I was given the task at work to test 10 different hor d'oerves that will potentially be added to the catering menu. I was to create samples (about 10 of each) and present them to the head chefs, the sales people, and the owner & president of the company. The pressure was definitely on!!!

I started prepping the recipes on Tuesday afternoon, but was HUSTLING on Wednesday to get them all done. Overall I received great remarks on the presentation & taste of the food... a successful day of tasting!

-First I sent out the cold hor d'oerves starting with "pork roll egg and cheese deviled eggs". These provided a nice twist to your traditional deviled eggs, with a cheesy yolk filling and rendered strips of pork roll placed on top:
-Crostini with pesto cream cheese and oven roasted tomatoes:
-Deconstructed caprese salad (i realized I didn't have the small boccocini mozz last minute, so I just quartered some larger mozz balls). The mozzarella was placed in the center of the plate, ready for dipping in the traditional pesto, sundried tomato pesto, balsamic glaze, and toasted pine nut dust:
-One of my family's favorite hor d'oerve that I make for family events is my asian turkey meatballs. I made a take on this, except with ground chicken (that I had to grind myself.. what a pain). I combined the ground chicken with some breadcrumbs, eggs, scallion, ginger, garlic, teriyaki, soy, and cilantro. Baked them off and served them on cocktail forks with sweet chili dipping sauce:
-I made 2 different types of mini pot pies. There are served in 2 oz ramekins with a small disk of puff pastry placed on top. The lobster & shrimp pot pie was made with a delicious, rich lobster bisque and chunks of shrimp and lobster:
-The chicken pot pies were made with a creamy bechamel, tender pieces of chicken, carrots, onions, and peas:
-The mini duchess potatoes were originally going to sit on top of a mini potato..instead I browned small disks of potato and piped the boursin cheese whipped potatoes on top. This was a delicious one-bite potato!
-Everyone's favorite pig in a blanket was transformed into something a bit more exciting.. andouille chicken sausage and whole grain mustard wrapped in puff pastry:
-Sirloin patty melts were presented on cocktail rye bread with melted swiss cheese, caramelized onions, and thin slices of pickle:
-The last one was my personal favorite! Wild mushroom and roasted garlic savory bread pudding. I combined rich brioche bread with heavy cream, eggs, swiss cheese, parmesan, sauteed wild mushrooms, sweet roasted garlic, and fresh thyme. MMmm my mouth is watering just thinking about this one bite wonder.
The rest of the week I helped out in catering, since they were prepping for 3 large weddings this weekend! Boy am I glad I have the weekend off :)