belly blues and thensome

   I have a minor dilemma and a semi-minor dilemma and I can't think of a better place to pose both.  First off, big thanks to meatphishsaltandpepper for great help braising the belly.  It turned out pretty well though I have yet to see how looks after sitting overnight and I will tell you how I ended up doing it in light of dilemma numero uno.  I cut the belly in half (half of half actually since cornstarch and I split a whole belly) and seared it in two large saute pans.  My Evil Empire rep was already there for her order and characteristically annoying the piss out of me, so I was a little rushed and extremely annoyed.  I rough chopped the celery, carrots and onion, laid the seared belly pieces on top and put it in the oven with the just a bit of garlic oil that I used to sear them while I made a  quick pork stock in the saute pans.  Once the veggies had a little caramelization, I added the stock and let it ride for two hours, adding just a little water and KE PG (yeah, right!) towards the end.  The skin was nice and crispy and even bubbled in a few spots like a pizza crust.  I pulled it off and exposed the fat, but here's where I think I went a little off track.  The skin (or rind?) didn't just easily lift off in a couple of spots, especially near the edges where it had really crusted up.  I got it all off with little difficulty, but it pulled a little of the stringy luscious meat with it.  In any case, I put it all back in to brown the fat a little and gave it another thirty minutes.  All said and done, it tastes pretty damn good and the veggies are otherwordly.  I separated the veggies, the belly, the skin and braising liquid and put in the walk-in until after dinner.  When I investigated near the end of the night, it just seemed like I had so little finished product as far as the belly meat.  It tastes delicious ice cold and I had to stop myself from making little "sandwiches" with the carrots, but I wonder what to do next.  I had planned on portioning it into little squares and putting it either under or atop an eight-ounce filet mignon with broccoli rabe and the veg puree fortified with demi.  I don't know if I want to do that anymore for some reason.  Now, I think I want to run it as an app with broccoli rabe and peppers and the same sauce, but I don't know.  Part of it is that I really need to run veal as special to-night, but that's a whole 'nother issue.  I'll figure it out, but any thoughts or suggestions would be Highly appreciated.
     Issue numero dos isn't such an issue, though I would like to resolve it by to-morrow night.  I have a bunch of winery bigwigs coming from _________ for dinner next Tuesday.  There only eight to ten of them and the VIP who usually brings them won't be there, so I'm not going all out though I still want it to be soigne and fairly creative.  Since I assume it is going to be in the high 80's or 90's next Tuesday, I am keeping it as light as possible even though they will likely be drinking '96 Barolos and/or Cabs.  As it stands, I'm planning on confited duck legs with a chopped salad for first course, stuffed pork loin or tenderloin saltimbocca second and then seafood cioppino third.  They also want hors d'ouevres and that's where I'm stuck.  I don't want to overfeed them, it has to be SIMPLE and I just can't seem to think of anything that I like.  I wanted to do a variation of sausage and peppers with broccoli rabe, but it needs to be amuse size and obviously less messy than something like that.  I hate to sound like a slacker, but I really don't want to put that much effort into it without going so far as to bring in something premade from D'Artagnan.  Thanks, Chefs and happy Wednesday.