Good Things to Eat

July 20, 2012
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Flavored Butter

Christina Holmes
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To get your meal off to a great start, perk up pats of butter with zesty herbs and spices. These four delicious combinations, include (clockwise from top left) turmeric and mustard seed; Asian nori and sesame; smoked chipotle and lime; and lemon basil. At your reception, set each table with assorted compounds in passable dishes; between bites, total strangers can become friends while trading their tasting notes on each variety.

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Candied Fruit

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Like the carnival apples you’d drool over as a tyke, these fruits, which include pears, cherries, and apricots, were popped on sticks and dunked in various glazes. Contributing editor Peter Callahan, of Peter Callahan Catering in New York City, who made all the desserts on this page, suggests setting out a selection after dinner. Or, have servers pass them to revelers later in the night.

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Cookie Spoons

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Packing some major flavor ammo, these “spoons”— each dipped in different delectable chocolate combos—are meant to be swirled in coffee or warm milk served in petite demitasse cups. And, with a sugar-cookie base, the mouthwatering delights can withstand repeat dippings.

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Mini Pies

One-bite treats with seasonal ingredients have all the appeal of their Thanksgiving-size counterparts, minus the food coma. Set out an assortment buffet-style, or serve a trio to each guest in lieu of a slice of cake.

Here, we plated a Heart-Shaped Apple-and-Raspberry Hand Pie, Chocolate-Ginger Ganache Phyllo Cup, and Red-Wine Poached Plum Tartlet. You could also ask your caterer to make a mini-me version of your favorite.

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Morning Glories

Johnny Miller

These bite-size treats may be breakfast foods, but they make equally delicious late-night snacks for your wedding guests.

Clockwise from top left: Mini Croques Monsieurs; French Toast sticks with Hot Mapled Rum; Mini Quail Eggs in Prosciutto Nests; and Apple Cider Doughnuts, either glazed or with cinnamon-sugar.

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Mini Mac and Cheese

Annie Schlechter
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Macaroni and cheese becomes an elegant passed appetizer when served in dainty ramekins. Our version features sharp white cheddar and Gruyere.

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Ice Cream Cups

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These tiny ice cream cups are ideal for a no-mess refreshing dessert -- or a snack during cocktails. The cups are made on a pizzelle iron, which is available at cookware stores and looks like a flat, decorative waffle iron.

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Elegant Eggs with Caviar Butter

Maura McEvoy
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Combine the luxury of caviar with the simplicity of a soft-boiled egg in a delightful dish for a wedding brunch or shower. We used salmon caviar and orange roe, which are pretty, flavorful, and relatively inexpensive. Acknowledge Cupid with toast cut into hearts and arrows.

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Tinted Marshmallows

Kate Sears
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Top espresso cups of hot cocoa with oversize pastel marshmallows. Serve the whimsical pairing with dessert or in to-go cups as guests depart; unlike mini marshmallows, these generous cubes won't melt in moments.

Porcelain cups from ASA Selection.

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Red Potatoes with Sour Cream and Caviar

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Choose the smallest, most blemish-free red-skinned potatoes, allowing two to three per person. You can either boil or bake the potatoes -- either will work for this dish.

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Chocolate Blossom

Reed Davis

A wedding is such a sweet occasion, it wouldn't seem right if the coffee were bitter. You can sweeten your guests' after-dinner cappuccinos by having a flower drizzle-drawn atop the steamed milk of each cup using warm chocolate syrup. Serve crisp ginger biscuits alongside.

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Spring Vegetable Potpies

James Baigrie
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With a puff-pastry blossom resting atop a flaky crust, a miniature pot pie makes a delightful and delicious first course at a wedding. This favorite home-style dish is filled with a medley of vegetables, including asparagus, carrots, and pearl onions, and baked in a ramekin. Wonderful for a country-themed reception, it would be appropriate to serve at a shower, too.

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Basic Breadsticks

James Baigrie
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Thin breadsticks are enriched with a lively flavor and hue when they're infused with extracts of beet, carrot, parsley, or tomato.

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Cinnamon-Orange Molasses Cookies

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The dough for these cookies is firm, making it ideal to cut out in shapes.

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Individual Crudites

Charles Schiller
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At the cocktail hour, serve crunchy vegetables complete with their own dip: buttermilk-peppercorn, roasted pepper and eggplant, or toasted curry. Their bowls -- hollowed-out slices of baguettes in pumpernickel, plain, or everything -- are meant to be eaten, too.

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Sweet Marzipan Acorns

John Blais

Sweet marzipan acorns capture the beauty of fall. The marzipan is tinted pale green with food coloring to mimic the appearance of nuts just picked from the tree; a thin coating of bittersweet chocolate, decorated with sprinkles, crowns each one and balances the marzipan's concentrated sweetness. Place the acorns on pressed leaves for a lovely autumn display, and serve them on a dessert buffet or on platters at guests' tables.

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Mini Doughnuts

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End your celebration by passing out these traditional breakfast treats as a dessert with coffee service, either skewered on coffee spoons or set in dainty piles. Any way you serve them, guests are sure to circle back for more.

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Roasted Mushrooms with Robiola and Truffle Oil

Sang An
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Roasted wild mushrooms lie on a bed of Robiola, a mild and soft Italian cheese. Ribbons of flat-leaf parsley and a drop of white truffle oil perfume the whole.

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Citrus Sorbet

SUSIE CUSHNER
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Let guests cleanse their palates with a miniature "cake" molded from sorbet. For a sweet decoration, the bride's and groom's initials are piped in chocolate along the edge of each plate, and the sorbet cake is garnished with raspberries.

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Sippy Cups

Warm up an autumn cocktail hour with a comforting, colorful shot of savory vegetable soup in eye-catching colors. Guests can sip the harvest flavors of beet, butternut squash, and spinach-pea puree served in diminutive, finger-friendly sake or espresso cups -- no spoon required. With their free hand, they can either raise a glass of Champagne or reach for seconds.

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Sugar-Cookie Cakes

Ellen McDermott

Basic sugar cookies become elegant favors when stacked to resemble miniature wedding cakes and topped with sugar flowers. Each sugar-cookie cake was spread with royal icing, then assembled once the frosting was set. Small dabs of icing also secure each layer, holding the tower intact while still allowing the cookies to be pulled apart easily.

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Mini Panettone

Kate Sears

Take a cue from the Milanese, who serve panettone, a sweet bread made with dried fruit and citrus zest, on special occasions. The loaf is traditionally made in a large panettone mold, but we baked ours in attractive mini paper ones. Each treat is then wrapped in a cellophane bag tied with a letterpress tag by Austin Press. Bellissimo!

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Ham and Egg Hors d'Oeuvres

Joseph De Leo

For a chic twist on bacon and eggs, serve crispy prosciutto cups filled with baked quail eggs, plus toasted rye cocktail bread, cut in half, on the side. These stylish appetizers work well at a post-wedding brunch or bridal luncheon.

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Beet Chip Hors d'Oeuvres

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For a finger-friendly take on classic beet-and-goat-cheese salad, serve fried beet chips topped with a dollop of the tangy cheese and vinaigrette-laced microgreens. They make perfect hors d'oeuvres -- crispy instead of juicy beets means no one will be caught red-handed.

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Eggs in Nests

Jim Franco
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These egg desserts, made with delicious white chocolate, will remind you of the snowstorm outside as they warm up your taste buds.

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Spicy Asian Brittle

Richard Gerhard Jung
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For a milder version, eliminate the wasabi peas and red pepper.

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Nuts in a Single Serving

Charles Schiller

At a cocktail hour, pass candy cups of sweet and savory roasted nuts for a delicious, no-fuss treat. Each paper bowl holds just the right snack-size amount. Our homemade mix is served with store-bought Marcona almonds.

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Wonton Napoleons

Richard Pierce
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For these savory napoleons, wonton wrappers are sprinkled with coarse salt, baked, then layered with herbed ricotta cheese. A basil sprig, black-olive slice, and wedge of shiny roasted red pepper form a topknot.

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Stamp-Pressed Cookies

Make an impression on guests by adding eye-catching detail to basic cookies with ordinary rubber stamps, which come in a wide range of designs, or ceramic cookie stamps. Since rubber stamps can be custom ordered, create your own, like our monogram. To yield the best results, use the stamps on cookie dough containing no leaveners, such as shortbread.

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Marshmallow Favors

Annie Schlechter

These marshmallows are imported from Paris and, as you might suspect, they're not your typical campfire fare. They are long (about 14 inches), pastel-hued, and quite pretty, especially when fashioned into love knots, time-honored symbols of commitment. Tie marshmallows into basic knots (to keep them from getting stale, don't leave them exposed to the air for too long), and place in cellophane bags.

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Savory Madeleines

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Savory madeleines can be flavored with many varieties of herbs, seasonings, and cheeses. Some options are Gruyere cheese, fresh rosemary, and cayenne pepper.

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Pan Tomate

Sang An
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In this version of pan tomate, Serrano ham and sun-dried tomato butter create a Spanish-inspired union of savory flavors.

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