Teeny Tiny Foods Please!

April 16, 2009 1:59 PM

We're having a "tiny food" party / BBQ, and I need menu suggestions. Sliders (obviously), cornichons (or gherkins) and tiny cupcakes are readily available. Coronitas (7 oz. Coronas) to drink. So, what else? Other mains, sides, desserts, beverages. Any suggestions would be helpful.

NB: although I'm grilling the sliders, suggestions do not need to be limited to grill-friendly items. Thanks in advance.

posted by dersins to food & drink (47 answers total)

cocktail wieners
posted by otherwordlyglow at 2:01 PM on April 16, 2009

I have lately been infatuated with the idea of corn dogs made with vienna sausages.
posted by Science! at 2:01 PM on April 16, 2009

microgreens for salad
posted by egeanin at 2:01 PM on April 16, 2009

petit fours (but ew)
pigs in a blanket (also ew)
mini quiches
posted by Pax at 2:03 PM on April 16, 2009

Tiny deviled eggs made with pheasant's eggs. I can find them in Chinatown and the farmer's market, so hopefully they are available to you too. Also tiny baked potatoes with bacon and sour cream.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:04 PM on April 16, 2009 [2 favorites]

Cornish Game hen; many pies, cakes and breads can be made in tiny version; new potatoes, baby carrots and baby corn could all go with the gherkins on a vegi tray ; you could use Brussel sprouts and pretend they are tiny cabbage ; mini m&m's

I once had a "miniature" thanksgiving with these items and it was delightful!
posted by dipolemoment at 2:05 PM on April 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

Make sure you get some of those little cocktail forks too. Can't have tiny food without tiny utensils. Plus, it makes you feel like a giant.
posted by brgale at 2:06 PM on April 16, 2009 [2 favorites]

Oops, I meant quail eggs, not pheasant.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:07 PM on April 16, 2009

Oh, yeah, you can buy mini loaf pans if you bake bread and make wee grilled cheese sandwiches. If the baking is too much, a baguette is nearly as cool.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:09 PM on April 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

I guess it's obvious, but baby carrots... There's also "baby" versions of a lot of other veggies, if you want to put together a platter. For beverages, how about those half-size cans of soda, or limoncello or some other liquor that you sip from a tiny glass?
posted by LolaGeek at 2:09 PM on April 16, 2009

I have seen hilarious photos of quail eggs with toast and bacon. The former fried, the latter just trimmed down to size.

Oh, and yes, use cherry tomatoes and microgreens - maybe even those little onions - for topping the sliders.

If you're willing to try some stuff out, you could experiment making baked beans with the smallest beans available.

And of course rolls/buns can be made mini by quartering the usual bake size.
posted by Weighted Companion Cube at 2:15 PM on April 16, 2009

Oh, one more: mini smores using mini marshmallows! The graham and chocolate will break to any size but roasting smores over the bbq is awesome anyway.
posted by Weighted Companion Cube at 2:17 PM on April 16, 2009

lamb chops are tiny
use only the tiny drumstick portion of chicken wings? Save the wing part for later?
I bet you could get mini ice cream cones - kid sized ones, in the grocery store
cocktail onions are tiny
I don't know how key limes would do for garnishing drinks, but would do well with tiny cocktails.
There are also clementine oranges sometimes available in the grocery store - could use for drinks, garnish, mini fruit salad.
there are also cherry tomatoes (cut into halves or wedges!) for salad/burgers.
You can make mini versions of any kind of wrapped appetizer you want (won-tons, spinach phyllo pastries, etc.)
posted by lizbunny at 2:18 PM on April 16, 2009

Are taquitos small enough? (They sell them frozen at the store, so preparation shouldn't be too hard.)
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 2:19 PM on April 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

pomegranate seeds

berries

Goldfish crackers
posted by amtho at 2:23 PM on April 16, 2009

Mini Oreos. Pies made in the 4" pans. You could make little popsicles with toothpicks for the sticks, maybe by pouring the liquid into the fingers of a non-powdered glove. I often see mini bananas at the grocery store. Meatloaf baked in mini loaf pans.
posted by lakeroon at 2:25 PM on April 16, 2009

Don't forget the baby corn!
posted by sarajane at 2:36 PM on April 16, 2009

baby corn on the cob
posted by Sassyfras at 2:37 PM on April 16, 2009

AHHHH! That's twice that's happened to me today - I'm just a moment too late!
posted by Sassyfras at 2:37 PM on April 16, 2009

how about a shrimp cocktail platter with those tiny salad shrimp?
posted by Redhush at 2:42 PM on April 16, 2009

Le Creuset make mini-casserole dishes that are completely and adorably tiny. Buy one and make a mini-casserole, with small pieces of meat & veg? I've seen them for much cheaper than that link, so might be worth hunting around.
posted by Tapioca at 2:42 PM on April 16, 2009

Mini condiments if you can find them. Try sweet-talking a hotel manager.
posted by Acacia at 2:45 PM on April 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

Those tiny cans of soda and juice.
posted by fructose at 2:53 PM on April 16, 2009

M&Ms minis!
posted by Scoo at 2:54 PM on April 16, 2009

I believe you can get the mini condiments at World Market, along with little bottles of wine.

You could make really small Swedish meatballs!
posted by bristolcat at 2:55 PM on April 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

I think Cost Plus Word Market has those really tiny bottles of condiments, theyy used to anyway, may be worth a call if there's one near you.
http://www.worldmarket.com/home.jsp
posted by BoscosMom at 2:57 PM on April 16, 2009

Silver dollar pancakes. You could make spagetti and tiny meatballs with angel hair pasta.

I love this question, post followup pix, please?
posted by StickyCarpet at 2:58 PM on April 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

You can buy mini pastry tart cases at the supermarket and fill them with whatever you want. Maybe sautéed finely chopped wild mushrooms, a little dab of goats cheese and a slice of cherry tomato. Or curried chicken. You get the idea.

For sweet tarts, you could fill them with confectioner's custard, top with a single raspberry.

Also, mini-pizzas - just buy a big frozen pizza, defrost it, and cut out rounds with a metal pastry cutter, each one the size of a slice of pepperoni.

Get some of those little Swedish meatballs (Ikea sells them) and the thinnest spaghetti you can find. Make up tiny portions of spaghetti and meatballs, and serve on mini plates.
posted by essexjan at 3:30 PM on April 16, 2009

Tiny pies! Made like usual but in muffin tins or mini-muffin tins.

If you lived near me I would offer you my rather extensive collection of min-Coca-Cola glasses, in which you could serve little root beer floats. I might just do that for my next dinner party....

For an hors' deouvre, use a little cookie cutter (I'd do round) and cut out pieces of bread. Toast them and then embellish at will: bruschetta, pipe with cream cheese (or boursin...mmmmmm) and top with lovely diced cucumber, etc.

Get cherry tomatoes and baby basil and make a small version of caprese salad!

I'm loving this.
posted by cooker girl at 3:47 PM on April 16, 2009

They make "mini" versions of pasta shapes now. I like the mini penne from TJ's. Looks like Barilla now markets a ton of "piccolini" shapes

posted by CunningLinguist at 4:20 PM on April 16, 2009

Perhaps some little airline-sized bottles of booze to go with the Corona.
posted by The GoBotSodomizer at 4:20 PM on April 16, 2009

Tiny pies illustrated.
posted by CunningLinguist at 4:21 PM on April 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

You could probably make teeny sushi rolls too. (I love this question too.)
posted by CunningLinguist at 4:23 PM on April 16, 2009

Baby eels, baby octopus, baby sardines.
posted by subtle-t at 4:38 PM on April 16, 2009

There's a whole flickr group. Where I found this great idea to cook a teeny game hen but make it look like a turkey. Maybe pair it with mashed potatoes and the smallest peas you can find.

Also there are baby watermelons. And kumquats look like little oranges.
posted by CunningLinguist at 4:44 PM on April 16, 2009

Make candied or caramel apples with lady apples.
posted by rmless at 5:19 PM on April 16, 2009

Get those really tiny plastic or lawn chairs meant for kids. Prepare for them to be broken.
posted by not_on_display at 6:02 PM on April 16, 2009

Cut thin slices of Kolbassa or Polish sausage and put them on the BBQ......watch close and flip once. Yum! Brush with BBQ sauce....double yum!!
posted by Taurid at 8:26 PM on April 16, 2009

- 8 oz. cans of soda. (They're not actually tiny, but they do look that way.)
- Cocktail weiners (as mentioned) but in little buns (perhaps hot dog buns cut into quarters) instead of toothpicks.
posted by ignignokt at 8:46 PM on April 16, 2009

make tiny bouquets to decorate the table - use a really small flower like forget-me-nots, and put them into those little airplane liquor bottles
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 9:44 PM on April 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

Science!: "I have lately been infatuated with the idea of corn dogs made with vienna sausages."

The A&W in my local mall makes something like this called corn dog nuggets.
posted by IndigoRain at 11:38 PM on April 16, 2009

It might be easier to get one extra big food item, then everything else could be normal sized and still look tiny.

Or, too bad you haven't been growing Air Potatoes.
posted by snofoam at 7:13 AM on April 17, 2009

They also have mini-kegs (Heineken) and mini wine barrels as well. Also a must, those tiny little swords with which to eat the tiny food!
posted by Grither at 9:03 AM on April 17, 2009

Oh, wow! What an incredible bunch of suggestions! I wish I could do (almost) all of these. The party's this weekend, so expect some best answers and photos next week. Thanks, AskMe-- you guys are awesome.
posted by dersins at 9:04 AM on April 17, 2009

You can take shaved lunchmeat or something more exotic, wrap it a flour tortilla, and glue the thing together with cream cheese. Herbs are nice, basil or dill. You roll it up and cut across so it looks like sushi. Cucumber sandwiches would work up well that way too, and I've done those on cocktail rye bread also.
What a great idea!
posted by unrepentanthippie at 8:08 PM on April 18, 2009

I'm sorry I missed (posting before) your party, but I wanted to add Black Corinth Grapes, also known as champagne grapes.

Another possibility would be to use round tortilla chips in the place of tostadas for mini-tostadas. Garnish with Thai hot peppers.
posted by hydrophonic at 8:23 PM on April 20, 2009

Thanks again for all the great suggestions. It was a lovely day. As expected, we ended up grilling tiny burgers (two sizes, actually-- tiny and teenytiny), which we garnished with tiny burger fixins (baby lettuces from the garden, sliced grape tomatoes, cornichons, and sliced shallots).

We had tiny pasta salad, tiny bok choy, deviled quail eggs, tiny radishes, tiny roasted turnips (no closeup, but they're on the right in this picture), and tiny rhubarb galettes.

We decided not to eat the tiny chickens. Maybe next time, especially if one of them turns out to be a rooster.

Not pictured: tiny pizzas (well, pitzas) that were gross anyway because I forgot about them while they were in the oven, and a wide variety of tiny cupcakes.

To drink, Coronitas, of course (with key limes), inexplicably also not pictured.

Protip: tiny beer + low angle = GIANT DERSINS!
posted by dersins at 10:28 PM on April 22, 2009 [2 favorites]