“Crash Goes the Hash”, 1944, featuring Moe, Larry and Curly aka The Three Stooges. Disguised as servants, the trio infiltrates a party at Mrs. Van Bustle's residence held in honor of a visiting prince. The Stooges unintentionally disrupt the event by presenting hors d'œuvres that are deemed unappetizing, featuring dog biscuits accompanied by canned peas (told to serve canapés which does sound like can of peas), and a turkey housing a live parrot within its cavity. While trying to carve the turkey, the parrot begins squawking and takes flight, still inside the turkey.
Hors d'œuvres and Canapés, most people today have no idea what these terms are referring to.
The following definitions come from Wikipedia.
Hors d'œuvre in French literally means 'outside the work', that is "not part of the ordinary set of courses in a meal". In practice, it is a dish which stands on its own as a snack or supports the main course.
A canapé (French: [kanape]) is a type of starter, a small, prepared, and often decorative food, consisting of a small piece of bread (sometimes toasted) or cracker, wrapped or topped with some savory food, held in the fingers and often eaten in one bite.
Ah, but there is a third term which relates and that is Amuse-bouche which is a single, bite-sized hors d'œuvre. Amuse-bouches are different from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu by patrons but are served free and according to the chef's selection alone. These are served both to prepare the guest for the meal and to offer a glimpse of the chef's style.
Even though these three items do not like to be compared to an appetizer, considering how and when they are eaten, they do belong to that category. According to Oxford Dictionary, an appetizer is a small dish of food or a drink taken before a meal or the main course of a meal to stimulate one's appetite. Go back and reread the definitions and you will see that each one has a characteristic that fits the appetizer profile.
Way back in time, when the rich, famous, and organizations seeking patrons and donations had elegant dinner parties, it was not unusual to have waiters walking throughout. They would hold trays of champagne, and platters of delectable, sweet and savory single bite foods that one could pop into the mouth, chew, swallow and accept another of a different type. Two bites were deemed rude, and if a sauce was served, double dipping was a social Faux pas. Posh weddings, depending on the locale, would have roaming waiters, but I remember many an Italian wedding with towers of one bite appetizers. There would be so much offered to sample, that when dinner was finally served, many a meal was left untouched.
However, especially in America, more is more and these one bite appetizers grew into more than one mouthful. The concept of the Amuse-bouche became a trend when celebrity chefs opened up restaurants and wanted to wow patrons that could afford it. Chain restaurants provided cheaper, yet more plentiful, fare to patrons that brought families, held business luncheons/dinners, and offered catering. Roy and myself are huge fans of ordering two or three appetizers and a salad to have as a complete meal. We could share and enjoy different items, and still have room to split a dessert.
If you ever have the opportunity to travel to a state which has a Chinatown, such as New York, Philadelphia or San Francisco, make the attempt to find a Dim Sum restaurant. The word dim sum comes from the Cantonese tim sam, "appetizer," or literally, "touch the heart." This type of restaurant specializes in one bite appetizers that are steamed, pan fried, or deep fried, wrapped in dough or rice paper. Examples are Har Gow – shrimp dumplings or Shumai – ground pork/vegetable mix. If in the mood for Thai, try Kha Nom Jeeb which is very similar to Chinese Shumai.
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| Har Gow - Shrimp Dumplings |
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| Kha Nom Jeeb - Thai Dumplings |
At home, you have probably popped many a one bite appetizer in the mouth while watching sports or movies. Maybe friends were over for card or board game night, so heating up mini quiches, pizza rolls, buffalo or barbecue sauced chicken bites, or mini pigs in a blanket (San Juan Record – June 21, 2023) did the trick. Holiday time, small button mushrooms can be stuffed, baked, and quickly browned under the broiler for an oh so fancy, but easily made appetizer. Essentially, these one bite foods can be easily eaten by using a toothpick or tiny “appetizer” fork which allows the fingers to stay relatively clean. That’s important when playing card or board games for sure!
Mini Quiches 
Mini Pigs in a Blanket
So, here we are in August, all grades of schooling will be going back soon, and there will be parties to celebrate anything from homecoming to pledging a fraternity or sorority. Ball games will be aired, and nothing wets the appetite more, for subs, chili and beverages, than a plate of one bite treats.
Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients:
24 white button mushrooms or cremini mushrooms cleaned
1 box (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
½ cup Italian seasoned dried bread crumbs
¼ cup finely diced red onion
¼ cup finely diced red bell pepper
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
1 cup lump crab meat
¼ cup olive oil
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Remove stems from mushrooms, and finely dice. Arrange mushrooms, cap side down inside a 9” x 13” baking dish.
In a large bowl, mix together diced mushrooms stems, cream cheese, bread crumbs, red onions, red bell pepper, ground black pepper and crab meat. Scoop about one teaspoon of the mixture into each mushroom; drizzle olive oil over mushrooms. Bake for 20 minutes; turn on broiler for one minute to brown the tops lightly.
Makes 24.
Mary Cokenour
