Hors d'oeuvre of striking colors. In Italian "antipasto" means it is served cold in the form of olive, cheese, pickled vegetables or "entrada" (Portuguese, Spanish) are served as hors d'oeuvres in Southern Europe. "Voorgerecht" in Dutch means the dish ("gerecht") before ("voor") the main course. Fattoush is a bread salad in Levantine cuisine made from toasted or fried pieces of pita bread ("khubz 'arabi") combined with mixed greens and other vegetables. It belongs to the family of dishes known as "fattat" (plural) or fatta, which use stale flatbread as a base. In the United States the custom appears to have come from
Hors d'oeuvre manger which is a cool room. Hors d'oeuvres are often prepared in advance. Some types may be refrigerated or frozen and then precooked and then reheated in an oven or microwave oven as necessary before serving. If there is an extended period between when guests arrive and when the meal is eaten, for example during a cocktail hour, these might serve the purpose of sustaining guests during the wait, in the same way that apéritifs are served as a drink before meals. It is also an unwritten rule that the dishes served as hors d'oeuvres do not give any clue