Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvres: The Creation and Presentation of Fabulous Finger Foods

by Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart shares her ideas for delectable finger foods to serve at 13 different parties. Includes 150 original recipes, tips on sophisticated presentation, and nearly 200 glorious full-color photographs. 175 full-color photographs.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food, Reference, Culinary

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Martha Helen Stewart is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, focusing on home and hospitality, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing publishing, broadcasting, merchandising and e-commerce. She has written numerous bestselling books, was the publisher of Martha Stewart Living magazine and hosted two syndicated television programs: Martha Stewart Living, which ran from 1993 to 2004, and The Martha Stewart Show, which ran from 2005 to 2012.
In 2004, Stewart was convicted of felony charges related to the ImClone stock trading case; she served five months in federal prison for fraud and was released in March 2005. There was speculation that the incident would effectively end her media empire, but in 2005 Stewart began a comeback campaign and her company returned to profitability in 2006. Stewart rejoined the board of directors of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in 2011 and became chairwoman of her namesake company again in 2012. The company was acquired by Sequential Brands in 2015. Sequential Brands Group agreed in April 2019 to sell Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, including the Emeril brand, to Marquee Brands for $175 million with benchmarked additional payments.

Reviews

[erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martha was a caterer before she became a media personality, and this book exemplifies the depth of her knowledge on the subject. The layout is brilliant: the first couple hundred pages contain only pictures and names of hundreds of well-organized hors d'oeuvres and cocktails, and the rest of the book contains the recipes for those items. Every recipe has a picture, and every picture has a recipe. Moreover, each treat is presented ready for service. Like Stewart, the HD handbookis practical and direct.

[Eyehavenofilter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes we all know the Queen, all hail the Queen. But seriously this made my mouth water....with incredible photos of almost every little dainty tidbit, and with moderately clear instructions, which (by the way) I would never truely succeed at following or reproducing...this almost made me want to try. I'm still perfecting a simple recipe for dairy free chocolate cake. ( 2 months in!)
Reading Martha's books and using her recipes are 2 completely different worlds. One must enter into the enterprise with the understanding that each and every step MUST be followed exactly, and if it says to add 1 tsp of this or that...it must be exactly 1 tsp, and not a grain more or less!
Good luck...make it so!

[Julie H. Ernstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am admittedly one of those people who could eat hors d'oeuvres for dinner regularly, so was thrilled to discover that MS had an entire book devoted to this topic. They note in the front matter that some of the recipes in Chapter 10 (Classics) have been previously published elsewhere, but that's just fine as there is a ton in this 2009 book that hadn't appeared elsewhere. Moreover, for the sum of $1.99 at our local consignment store, I could not give this a pass. I cannot wait to dive in to the field-testing part of the exercise. First on deck are the orange, pistachio, and black olive biscotti.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of small bites. Have to be careful with portion sizes but many tasty ideas.

[Beka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even though Martha was ahead of herself in some ways with exotic flavors and ingredients, but the rest of the cookbook is unfortunately dated and fussy. Most of the hors d'ouvres seem like WAY too much work for what is going to be eaten in a matter of minutes. Also, I'm not a fan of the cookbook format here. The first half of the book is pictures, and the second half is recipes. I'm MUCH more of a fan when pictures are next to the recipes they accompany. The food styling is also overly precious and difficult to achieve in real life. A solid book for reference, but not something you could cook from regularly.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a kid, I hated going downstairs and finding my mom ironing while watching Martha Stewart because it meant I had to wait through this booooring show before I could watch Saturday cartoons. Now I totally get it. I enjoyed reading through to get ideas, even though I usually only cook for my family and will never crack open a can of caviar.

[Dray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, quite a book. Really an encyclopedia that examines the niche of hor d'oeuvres in detail. It made me realize how few dinner parties i have been to recently. There were many creative ideas that I had no idea even existed. Worth reading.

[Stephen Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

The greatest book about cheese and crackers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Wolana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such beautiful pictures. Not sure I have the skills, tools, or patience to pull a lot of these off but some look pretty simple. Makes me want to be fancy next time I have a few guests over.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of great ideas despite not being a recent publication. Lots of classics that you would go back to time and time again.

[Evette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. From the ordinary to the extraordinary this book has it all.

[Rachel C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am always looking for new hors d'oeuvres to serve at my annual Oscar party, etc. (Since I don't have a dining room table, my entertaining efforts usually consist of inviting people over to watch something on TV and having finger foods on a platter on my coffee table.)

I could not have been happier when this book became available on the book swap site I use. Great photographs, great ideas and certainly no one pays attention to detail like Martha Stewart!

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was draw to this book because of the cover, not because I was searching for an hors d' oeuvres cookbook. I have prepared several (6-8) of the items included here, and found each to be easily prepared. This is a great resource book for anyone who likes to give parties. The color pictures are excellent.

[Kirsten Karlen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ultimate hors d'oeuvres book. Not only excellent recipes and photos to aid in presentation, but also enough basics to take and create your own exquisite bites. Also, good range of difficulty so you can find something for any occasion.

[Marta · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Martha, but I feel like most of the recipes in this book are overly complicated and unrealistic for normal use. Occasionally, I find myself inspired to make an appetizer and half the time what I want to make isn't even in the book.

[Sheba Family · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything I've made from this book has been amazing. I've probably made about 20 recipes from this book. Note, it takes a bit of work. These are not crazy easy or quick recipes. The pictures alone make it worth buying. Inspiringly beautiful.

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would only love this book more if the pictures followed each recipe. Now I must flip back and forth----though I am willing to sacrifice. Thanks Martha.

[Marla · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pictures! My god, the pictures! It has a red tassel thingy to keep your place, it may even have two! Did I mention the picutes?

[Merritt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost too many choices!

[Carolyn Dippel · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are lots of bite sized goodies to make in this book. The one thing I don't like is that the photos of the food are all in the front of the book, and the recipes are in the back.

[Cadillacrazy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are lots of great little appetizers in this book. The one thing I don't like is that all the images are in the front of the book, and all the recipes are in the back.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 3 out of 5]

this with entertaining was the beginning

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has alot of great ideas, but not all that easy to prepare more than one of in th etime you have before your guests arrive

[Kathy Schowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome!

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

REALLY useful reference book. Dozens of "platforms" (phyllo, tortillas, wontons, potato, etc.) and assembly techniques for anyone serious about lovely appetizers. A gift from my pal Carol. Thanks!

[Hope4flowers]

Recommended In Dinner A Love Story Cookbook

[Ellyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite book for small bites

[Grant Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

I turn to this collection of recipes whenever I have a party. Hey. I should have more parties! Who want to come over?

[Melissa Shmish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intricate and elaborate to simple and elegant--and I wish I had the patience to make almost all of them.

[Charlotte Grayson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this cookbook. Some of the recipes are challenging, but this is one of my go to books for parties!