Peter Callahan's party food Mini hors d'oeuvres, family-style settings, plated dishes, buffet spreads, bar carts

MINI BANANA SPLITS Sometimes the idea for a dish starts with the actual dish. When we came across these mini sundae dishes, we knew we had to find a way to fill them. They were perfectly proportioned to hold three scoops of ice cream--when a melon baller is the scoop. But you don't necessarily need mini sundae dishes to create the same effect. Use egg cups, vintage coupe Champagne glasses, small berry dishes--any container that's attractive and small will work. To compose the sundaes, soften three flavors of ice cream just enough to scoop it out with a melon baller or #100 disher and then refreeze until hard. We source the small bananas (they're marketed under different names, such as mini or baby bananas), but sliced bananas work just as well. This is another hors d'oeuvre that always raises a smile. And although it does involve more than a single bite, who can resist it? It also breaks another of our "rules" by requiring a small spoon and a bowl, but for me, the end result justifies it. Makes 8 8 mini scoops vanilla ice cream (see headnote) 8 mini scoops chocolate ice cream (see headnote) 8 mini scoops strawberry ice cream (see headnote) 16 banana slices ½ cup Chocolate Sauce, homemade (at right) or store-bought ½ cup whipped cream ¼ cup rainbow sprinkles 8 Maraschino cherries Place one scoop of each flavor of ice cream in a mini sundae dish. Place a banana slice in between scoops. Drizzle each sundae with chocolate sauce and top with whipped cream, sprinkles, and a cherry.   Chocolate Sauce Makes about 2 cups 1 cup heavy cream ½ cup corn syrup 1 cup sugar ½ teaspoon coarse salt 20 ounces bittersweet chocolate In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 cup water with the cream, corn syrup, sugar, and salt and bring to a boil. Place the chocolate in a heatproof mixing bowl and pour the hot liquid over the chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk to emulsify. Store any leftover sauce in a covered container in the fridge for up to 10 days Excerpted from Peter Callahan's Passed and Plated by Peter Callahan All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.