Mini Meatballs and Spaghetti!
Don’t worry, I’m not dead. We have taken off to Annecy,
France for the week. Remember that I mentioned there was a little old house I
found on the lake for rent? Well, good news, we are going to go look at it
today. But in the meantime, back to The Art of Entertaining series. I am
continuing today with more hors d’oeuvres because I love hors d’oeuvres.
Sometimes my caregivers ask me what I would like for dinner and my answer is,
“hors d’oeuvres.” No wonder they want to poison me.
Do you want to hear a funny story about hors d’oeuvres?
Okay, so on the eve of my 21st birthday, I met Count Erik Wachtmeister. The world may know him as the dashing Swedish playboy who started
A Small World, the private Facebook
equivalent for the “jet setting, wealthy, well-traveled and well-heeled few.” I
know him as “my roommate.” Erik rented a big house in Bel Air, California and
invited me, a snobby girl named Julia, and the actress Elizabeth Hurley to rent
the house with him. All we ever did was entertain. God, if those walls could
talk! 
Erik was the ringleader and the girls and I were the
hostesses with the mostesses. We had a dinner party nearly every weekend. These
were no normal cocktail parties or dinner parties. Before A Small World debuted, our house was the small world.
Celebrities, musicians, royalty, notorious playboys, models, actors and
actresses, socialites, philanthropists, nobility, an heiress or two, various
bon vivants, business tycoons, and more than one infamous “character”…you name
it, they were at our house. Believe it or not, we did everything on our own for
these parties. We had a housekeeper but that was it. Erik, obviously, organized
the guest list and took care of the entertainment. The girls and I did all of
the decorating, setting the table, shopping and cooking. We had a great kitchen
that was the hub of the house so I liked to be there. I would search through
cookbook after cookbook to find interesting hors d’oeuvres. You cannot just
serve Nicholas Berggruen a lil' smokie on a toothpick, for God’s sake. We had
standards…or did we? Let me explain…
My other favorite trend in entertaining is the “mini hors
d’oeuvre.” The concept has been attributed to the legendary New York caterer,
Peter Callahan.
Martha Stewart cannot say enough good things about Peter
Callahan. Watch the video HERE
Okay,
let’s take a look at some of these adorable and très chic hors d’oeuvres from
Peter Callahan and others…
Mini Croque Monsieurs!
Mini Pulled Pork Sandwich & Mini Onion Rings!
Mini Cheese Burgers and Fries!
Mini Cotton Candy!
Mini Fish Tacos & Mini
Margaritas!
Mini Caprese Tea Sandwiches!
Mini Baked Alaskas!
Mini Fried Chicken &
Mini Coca Colas!
Mini Chinese Chicken
Salads!
Peter Callahan’s book, Bite by Bite, is an absolute must have. Do not have another party before you get this book. That artichoke dip just isn’t going to cut it anymore. Neither is your seven layer dip. Nor your charcuterie platter. Nor your stuffed mushrooms or stupid pinwheels. Those days are over. This is the future. :-) But I would hurry because this trend is going to get obnoxious real fast.
Bite by Bite by Peter
Callahan
Purchase HERE
Mini Cheese Corn Dogs!
Mini Berry Cobblers!
Mini Muffulettas!
Mini Pancakes with
Blueberries!
Mini Oysters with
Tabasco!
Mini Buckwheat Blinis
with Caviar & Vodka!
Mini Crispy Clams &
Mini Bloody Mary's!
So that’s it for today. Keep your fingers crossed that I get
my little house on the lake. If I do, you are all invited to a cocktail party
chez moi!
*In case you were wondering… My sweet Erik and his beautiful
wife Louise have launched a new website called Best of All Worlds. Read the
articles HERE. And for the record, even if I did serve Nicholas Berggruen a little
smokie with a toothpick, he would have eaten it with a smile because he is an
absolute gentleman.
