How about another alternative...
that's very elegant, easy, and very portable...
and these would go great with a nice Belgian Lambic:
The Pommes Dauphin
This may sound hard, but it's not, it goes together in minutes. You can do the prep at home, load it into a large pastry bag and go off to the party with your fry daddy (or perhaps your host can supply a fryer). I've taken these to numerous parties where we were all supposed to bring Hors d'oeuvre, and it's always the same sad cheese and chips and salsa affair. People just line up to sing your praises when you put these out; they always get everyone's attention.
Make Pommes Duchesse:
1-1/4 lb potatoes Idaho -- boil and peel, riced (do it the day before, one of the few times a potatoe tastes better when cooked ahead)
1 egg yolk
1/2 oz butter
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbl freshly grated parmesan cheese
Preparation
Boil 3 medium Idaho potatoes in lightly salted water until they are easily pierced by a knife. Peel them and rice them. If you do not have a potato ricer, mash them well or rub through a wire strainer. You want 1 lb riced potatoes, about 2-1/2 cups.
Mix the butter into the hot riced potato and then the egg yolk.Season with salt and pepper to taste with a pinch or so of nutmeg, freshly ground.
Stir in 6 oz. of Pate a Choux (recipe below).
Place in bag, pipe into hot oil (you can get fancy with a star tip and pipe onto parchment paper to make fun shapes, or you can just use a tube tip and knife and squirt and cut into tater tot sizes into the hot fat--if you use the parchment paper, cut little squares, pipe your shape onto the square, toss into the hot fat and peel off after it begins to cook like you would do for a crueller) and fry until golden brown. Sprinkle with Fleur de Sel or another sea salt and serve. They don't need anything else.
Pate a Choux (6 oz. for the recipe above)
Ingredients
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbs (1 oz.) butter
1/4 cup flour (1 oz.)
1 egg
Preparation
Bring the water, salt and butter to a boil.
As soon as it boils, dump in the flour and stir hard, using a wooden spoon, until it is a uniform mass.
Remove from the fire, adding the egg, stirring, until it is completely absorbed. Stir into the Duchesse batter to make the Dauphine batter and proceed as the recipe indicates.
You'll know why a hound dog's back leg scratches the dog as you rub it's tummy when you eat these.
