To make a long story short… this weekend, two of us fed 40 people a wonderful elaborate meal! I’m very very proud of our accomplishments and the ease with which we overcame our slight obstacles… I’ll jot down the menu and some comments on all the items, if recipes are needed or wanted, just ask…. oh and any catering suggestions anyone may have from their own experience, please help us virgins along!
So here goes our menu:
– Amuse bouche
Deconstructed deviled egg = poached quail egg served with a roasted red pepper aioli, nestled on a bed of baby arugula microgreens and a toastini (turned out very well…. aioli had some heat to it which made the whole bite more exciting)
-Appetizers
Individual onion and bacon tarts = puff pastry, poached onions and bacon all baked together (really nothing can go wrong with this)
Smoked salmon bites = Norwegian smoked salmon, capers, red onion served with homemade lemon creme fraiche on pumpernickel bread
Vegetable terrine = all veggies all day, with a lil bacon in between to make things exciting and blue cheese sprinkled ontop
Chicken liver pate = self explanatory
Baked brie cups = phyllo dough baked with brie and a pear mint compote (first things to go off our app table)
Apple fennel slaw = pretty much a big giant salad of apples, fennel, cabbage, red onion, carrots and candied walnuts with a grainy mustard vinaigrette
Pork tenderloin two ways = one with a spicy, jerk-like sauce and the other with a honey herb sauce (which for future reference burns on the BBQ very easily)
Fresh bread = challah and herb loaves were a big hit with everyone
-1st course
Raviolis two ways = Homemade raviolis… one stuffed with a braised rabbit and ox tail combination, the other with a ginger and clementine ricotta filling…. served on a bed of butter poached mushrooms (huuuuuuuuuuuuge fail on the packaging and therefore this course had to be skipped…. note to anyone interested, when freezing ravs, they need to be frozen on a flat surface without anything weighing them down before they could be transfered to a container where they may be stacked)
-2nd course
Horseradish crusted beef tenderloin with glazed carrots, oven roasted rosemary potatoes, lemon garlic green and yellow beans and the worlds most incredible demi glace = all i have to say is that this dish floored the audience!
-desserts
Boca Negra = very dense almost flowerless chocolate cake (huuge hit)
Lemon Cream Cheese Mousse Cake = after a very giant fail with lemon tarts the night before (trying a new recipe waaay too late in the game) this cake was done on the fly and turned out way better than ever imagined….
Dear miss Lemon Tart.
This sounds extraordinary, and the photos look incredible. It does not seem like you need any advice. You learn by your mistakes. I used to have a catering company, nothing major, just smaller functions of 20-100 people. The larger group caterings were usually setting up a large table of pre-done food and just warmed before or set in chaffing dishes. And to make it awesome, also to make my food stand out I would set up one small gas range, and sautee some fresh seafood. Scallops and Shark bites used to go over really well. But when I found it was seeming a little hectic I would stick to items I knew very well. But I never started with them fall back items… It took a while to get used to certain things. Anyways, not sure if this was any assistance, but I am going to go to the fridge and rob my room mates ravioli lasagne. Best of luck on your next event.