A few months ago, Julie wrote a guest post for à la Claude about her wedding rehearsal dinner/New Year’s Eve 2009 party.  I decided it is time to start elaborating on some of the delicious bites that were created for the evening.  The menu evolved the few months leading to the event and eventually contained items for all palates – or at least that was my hope!  There would be warm beef, lamb, and chicken hors d’oeuvres paired beside chilled tiered-salmon sandwiches and an Asian pork selection.  We served three types of homemade crackers, a variety of cheese, smoked oyster log and a selection of sweets.

Logistics proved to be the most complicated and interesting part of the execution of the evening.  We planned well and made plenty of items ahead of time – which sounds prudent except we live in Winnipeg and were hosting the cocktail party in Toronto – some 2200 km away.  One item that fared the trip particularly well were the gougères.  These mini choux-pastry based puffs were made, piped and frozen on cookie sheets.  They were transported frozen and quickly popped into a chest freezer upon arrival in Ontario a few days before the event.  The morning of the party, they were popped directly into the oven and puffed beautifully – as hoped and expected.  The savoury air pockets were an unexpected hit of the night.

Another family-favourite holiday appetizer are stuffed grape leaves.  When in Winnipeg, my father will cook up the filling and roll the grape leaves for me.  I’ve tried the rice-stuffed versions from a few different sources (ahem… Teresa!) but really do prefer this savoury ground lamb version.  Normally, I line the grape leaf rolls in a casserole pan, lay lemon slices atop and place covered in a hot oven until heater through.  As the rolls warm, the lemon slices release some juices and infuse the leaves with lemony tartness which perfectly complements the salty, feta-laced stuffing.  I can hardly wait for our next cocktail party!