For our food group dinner (theme: Classics with a twist) I chose hors d’oeuvres main course was to be Beef Wellington. I made bacon wrapped dates with hoisin, and stuffed mushrooms (with no twist). I had intended to make a platter of canapés but assembling them at home and transporting them was out of the question and constructing them someone else’s kitchen while they are preparing god knows what seemed unlikely.
Interestingly, hors d’oeuvres literally means “outside of work” or, more accurately, not a part of the work of the meal and yet, unless we’re talking chips and bottled salsa, appetizers are usually way more work than the meal. These stuffed mushrooms were a nightmare to produce.
The bacon wrapped dates, while not exactly as labor intense as the mushrooms, were not a trip to the park either. Both, though, were exquisite. In my opinion.
The meal itself was fabulous.
