Appetizers
An appetizer is usually called the first course of lunch or dinner. Since the main purpose of the snack is to whet the appetite, it should not be too filling. Even if it is a hot appetizer, the portion should be large enough to have enough strength for the rest of the dishes.
Snacks are divided into cold and hot. Cold appetizers include fish and meat delicacies, snack salads, canapes and tartlets, raw and pickled vegetables. The selection of cold appetizers is so great that it is impossible to even clean up all the possible categories.
Unfortunately, today hot snacks are rarely offered to the table: various soufflés and gratins, croquettes and pies.
In European cuisine, there is such a thing as a Russian appetizer: an assortment of hot and cold dishes served with vodka before lunch or dinner.
In one form or another, hot and cold snacks are present in all culinary traditions: Italian antipasti, Spanish tapas, French entre.
One or more appetizers are served depending on the situation. Even for lunch or dinner on a weekday, it would be good to serve some kind of simple appetizer: canapes with sprats or rollmops, cold cuts or pickles.
When considering a list of appetizers for the holiday table, try to have a variety of appetizers, but at the same time go well with the main course. Remember that making canapes, pies, and a la carte appetizers will take much more time and attention from you than making a terrine or pie. Also try to accommodate the tastes of everyone involved in the meal, perhaps some vegetarians or fasting people.
