Hors D'oeuvres and Job Rant

I know that jobless numbers are sky-high at the moment, but when unemployed and at a party it seems like everyone has a job. Which is, FYI, not fun. Not only am I already suffering the material negatives of a limited income and the ongoing psychological affliction of boredom, but these hardships are compounded by the existential confusion caused by struggling to answer the ultimate New York party question What do you do? Am I going crazy? YES!

But, I suppose, one huge plus of being a lady of leisure is that I don't have to pass up invitations to parties on a school night. Woo hoo!! Soothing treats like glasses of free champagne and passed hors d'oeuvres have the power to temporarily sweep the anxieties away. But it all really depends on what's coming out of the kitchen (and the booze intake for that matter)...

I went to some sponsored event last night with my friend. As we were making our way around the dance-floor, we saw servers bringing out trays of the following:

• Mushrooms with Puff Pastry
• Ham and Gruyere with Puff Pastry
• Goat Cheese and Puff Pastry
• California Rolls
• Fried Dumplings
• Fried Egg rolls

I'm in no way an expert in the the perfect selection or progression of passed hors d'oeuvres, but that's a lot of puff pastry on the program, no? The bites were not bad, but some variety would have been nice. Everything was so heavy, including the mayonnaissey California Roll, which I didn't particularly care for.

I'm generally content when I see a mix of apps. I wouldn't have been unhappy if I saw the servers turning the corner with these fairly common dishes:

• Mini BLTs/Reuben
• Sliders (temp must be right and must be on the right bun)
  
• Spicy tartare of tuna or salmon or beef
• Cold Vietnamese spring rolls
• Steamed Shumai

But if I could add my opinion to the caterer's suggestion box, I would recommend something similar to Pipa's Piggyback Dates stuffed with blue cheese, or a variation like this recipe from Gourmet:


To me, this is a bite of perfection.

I'll have to start a running tally of good apps versus bad apps.

At least there was plenty of champagne to swill last night!

Peace!