Ok – yesterday I mentioned a wedding menu. Here is the spread that is hoped for
3 or so meat dishes
2 or 3 salads
vegetable trays
fruit tray or fruit salad – something with fruit
a vegetarian dish for the vegetarians
a green bean dish
rolls and / or bread
wedding cake (kind of a duh, but I figured I’d list it for sake of completeness)
dessert tray – cookies, candies, mini-cupcakes, things like that
punch (there are at least a couple people coming that are in AA, so this will be a non-alcoholic wedding. Also, nothing raspberry – the bride can’t stand raspberry)
soda for those who want no punch
Also, I believe the budget I quoted yesterday is also for the disposable plates, cups, and flatware, so this is supposed to get pulled off for around $500, lets say.
I would like to do this. I believe I’ll have time to take care of it from a job perspective – nothing huge is planned for the next few months, and my projects should be done by mid September at the latest, as things stand right now. I’ve found some recipes that will probably work (like the green beans with basil vinaigrette I posted yesterday). But to be honest?
Never catered a wedding before. Never cooked for 100 (or so) people before either.
So any suggestions or advice would be welcome.
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Oh Yeah - Before I forget.
I’ve got a wedding to cater. Possibly.
I say possibly because I don’t know what my workload is likely to be in the months leading up to the wedding – namely September and October, as the ceremony is the 29th of October – and I don’t know if I can pull it off with the budget provided. I’m looking at feeding 100 people (80 to 100, according to the bride) on about $600.
Can it be done? Maybe. I don’t know this for certain, mind you, it’s just what I keep thinking in the back of my head – it is entirely possible to do this, I just need to figure out how to do it.
A green bean dish was requested by the bride, along with everything else. I was looking over my recipe list and found this one, which might work for the meal very well, depending on what else goes on the table.
Green Beans with Basil Vinaigrette
2 pounds fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 small sweet onion, sliced
1/3 cup sliced almonds
Place beans in a large pot and pour in just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook for 8 - 10 minutes or until beans are crisp-tender. Meanwhile mix together vinegar and next five ingredients and mix well. When beans are done combine with onion and pour vinegar mixture over, then toss to coat and sprinkle with almonds.
Notes from the Hare
I might post the bride’s suggestions for the various dishes later this week – anyone who has suggestions is welcomed – make than encouraged – to drop Ox and I a note.
I say possibly because I don’t know what my workload is likely to be in the months leading up to the wedding – namely September and October, as the ceremony is the 29th of October – and I don’t know if I can pull it off with the budget provided. I’m looking at feeding 100 people (80 to 100, according to the bride) on about $600.
Can it be done? Maybe. I don’t know this for certain, mind you, it’s just what I keep thinking in the back of my head – it is entirely possible to do this, I just need to figure out how to do it.
A green bean dish was requested by the bride, along with everything else. I was looking over my recipe list and found this one, which might work for the meal very well, depending on what else goes on the table.
Green Beans with Basil Vinaigrette
2 pounds fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 small sweet onion, sliced
1/3 cup sliced almonds
Place beans in a large pot and pour in just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook for 8 - 10 minutes or until beans are crisp-tender. Meanwhile mix together vinegar and next five ingredients and mix well. When beans are done combine with onion and pour vinegar mixture over, then toss to coat and sprinkle with almonds.
Notes from the Hare
I might post the bride’s suggestions for the various dishes later this week – anyone who has suggestions is welcomed – make than encouraged – to drop Ox and I a note.
Friday, June 24, 2005
Four New Orleans Recpies
Success!
I haven’t been able to get the ilovenawlins website at all, but I did find an alternative.
While I was looking through the Farmer’s Market in the French Quarter, I spied some packs of something called “voodoo seasoning.” I snagged a couple of packets so I can see what it’s like. The description on the package is that you can use it as a salt substitute, but I have a couple of other ideas.
Anyway – I figured that I’d best find someplace that sells voodoo seasoning if I decide it’s a good thing to keep on hand, which is where I found Bolner’s Fiesta. And a little poking around the site reveals that they have almost each of the specialty spices and seasonings in the recipes I have on my shipping bag.
So – without further delay…
Creole Gumbo
Serves 12
1 cup butter
1 pound ham
½ pound smoked sausage
½ pound hot sausage
1 pound shrimp
4 crabs
1 large onion, diced
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons Cajun spices (like this one)
1 pint oysters and oyster liquid
2 tablespoons file` (like this, I believe)
Fry onions in butter until light brown. Add garlic and flour. Fry until the flour is deep, dark brown. Add spices and parsley flakes. Fry sausage and ham.
IN large pot add the flour mixture, meats, and crabs. Fill pot with water. Cook approximately 2 hours and add shrimp when it is almost done. Serve over rice.
Blackened Red Fish
Serves 2
2 pieces raw red fish (any type of fish)
1 ¾ stick of butter
Cajun Blackened Spices or Blackened Redfish Spices (like this stuff here)
Dip fish in melted butter. Sprinkle both sides with Blackened Spices. Place in hot skillet and cook until charred. Use remaining butter for serving.
Creole Okra
Serves 8
2 pounds okra
1 diced onion
1 clove garlic, diced
½ pound smoked sausage
½ pound hot sausage
½ pound ham
1 pound shrimp
1 can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
4 crabs
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon Cajun spices (like this one)
Fry the okra in oil until it flakes. Add onions, garlic, spices, parsley flakes, tomato sauce, and cayenne pepper. Fry ham and sausage (in a large pot in which you will cook the okra). Add crabs, and water and boil for approximately 1 hour. Add shrimp and cook for approximately 20 minutes.
Cajun Jambalaya
Serves 12
1 cup rice
½ pound shrimp
1 onion, diced
½ clove garlic
1 can tomato sauce
½ pound ham
½ pound smoked sausage
1 ounce Jambalaya Spices (like this stuff)
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
Fry ham and sausage and place in large pot. Fry onions and garlic. When onions are light brown, add tomato sauce and spices. Fry for approximately 20 minutes, then add to meat along with 2 cups of water for each cup of rice (include the tomato sauce in this measurement) Let simmer for approximately ½ an hour. Add shrimp. When all the liquid is absorbed, lower heat and cover pot. Let it cook over low heat until rice is tender.
Notes from the Hare
These are copied pretty much exactly from the bag they were printed on.
I have one more, but I need to find a barbecue shrimp sauce before I post that one.
I haven’t been able to get the ilovenawlins website at all, but I did find an alternative.
While I was looking through the Farmer’s Market in the French Quarter, I spied some packs of something called “voodoo seasoning.” I snagged a couple of packets so I can see what it’s like. The description on the package is that you can use it as a salt substitute, but I have a couple of other ideas.
Anyway – I figured that I’d best find someplace that sells voodoo seasoning if I decide it’s a good thing to keep on hand, which is where I found Bolner’s Fiesta. And a little poking around the site reveals that they have almost each of the specialty spices and seasonings in the recipes I have on my shipping bag.
So – without further delay…
Creole Gumbo
Serves 12
1 cup butter
1 pound ham
½ pound smoked sausage
½ pound hot sausage
1 pound shrimp
4 crabs
1 large onion, diced
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons Cajun spices (like this one)
1 pint oysters and oyster liquid
2 tablespoons file` (like this, I believe)
Fry onions in butter until light brown. Add garlic and flour. Fry until the flour is deep, dark brown. Add spices and parsley flakes. Fry sausage and ham.
IN large pot add the flour mixture, meats, and crabs. Fill pot with water. Cook approximately 2 hours and add shrimp when it is almost done. Serve over rice.
Blackened Red Fish
Serves 2
2 pieces raw red fish (any type of fish)
1 ¾ stick of butter
Cajun Blackened Spices or Blackened Redfish Spices (like this stuff here)
Dip fish in melted butter. Sprinkle both sides with Blackened Spices. Place in hot skillet and cook until charred. Use remaining butter for serving.
Creole Okra
Serves 8
2 pounds okra
1 diced onion
1 clove garlic, diced
½ pound smoked sausage
½ pound hot sausage
½ pound ham
1 pound shrimp
1 can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
4 crabs
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon Cajun spices (like this one)
Fry the okra in oil until it flakes. Add onions, garlic, spices, parsley flakes, tomato sauce, and cayenne pepper. Fry ham and sausage (in a large pot in which you will cook the okra). Add crabs, and water and boil for approximately 1 hour. Add shrimp and cook for approximately 20 minutes.
Cajun Jambalaya
Serves 12
1 cup rice
½ pound shrimp
1 onion, diced
½ clove garlic
1 can tomato sauce
½ pound ham
½ pound smoked sausage
1 ounce Jambalaya Spices (like this stuff)
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
Fry ham and sausage and place in large pot. Fry onions and garlic. When onions are light brown, add tomato sauce and spices. Fry for approximately 20 minutes, then add to meat along with 2 cups of water for each cup of rice (include the tomato sauce in this measurement) Let simmer for approximately ½ an hour. Add shrimp. When all the liquid is absorbed, lower heat and cover pot. Let it cook over low heat until rice is tender.
Notes from the Hare
These are copied pretty much exactly from the bag they were printed on.
I have one more, but I need to find a barbecue shrimp sauce before I post that one.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Blueberry Salsa Salad
Ok, being unable to pull up the ilovenawlins website is really starting to bug me.
I’ll spend some time this week looking for other places where you can find a spice blend like what they offer there. In the meantime, I present a recipe for a salad that I thought sounded like it might be pretty tasty.
Blueberry Salsa Salad
Serves 6
1 large fresh orange
2 cups fresh blueberries
2 medium sized green or red apples, diced
½ cup chopped sweet onion
2 tbs chopped cilantro
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
3 tbs apple juice
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
10 ounces tender baby greens (spring mix from bags)
16 ounces of low fat cottage cheese, or 4 ounces crumbled Gorgonzola
Black pepper
Peel and section orange, then cut sections into small pieces. Place into a large bowl and stir in blueberries, apples, onion, and cilantro.
In small bowl, whisk vinegar, apple juice, oil, sugar and salt. Pour dressing over blueberry mixture and stir gently to coat. Let stand 10 minutes.
Arrange baby greens on 6 salad plates. Spoon blueberry mixture over greens. Spoon remaining dressing evenly over salads. Top with cheese and black pepper if desired.
Source: Cooking Light Magazine, July 2003
Notes from the Hare
I will find alternatives for those spice blends, dagnabbit…
I’ll spend some time this week looking for other places where you can find a spice blend like what they offer there. In the meantime, I present a recipe for a salad that I thought sounded like it might be pretty tasty.
Blueberry Salsa Salad
Serves 6
1 large fresh orange
2 cups fresh blueberries
2 medium sized green or red apples, diced
½ cup chopped sweet onion
2 tbs chopped cilantro
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
3 tbs apple juice
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
10 ounces tender baby greens (spring mix from bags)
16 ounces of low fat cottage cheese, or 4 ounces crumbled Gorgonzola
Black pepper
Peel and section orange, then cut sections into small pieces. Place into a large bowl and stir in blueberries, apples, onion, and cilantro.
In small bowl, whisk vinegar, apple juice, oil, sugar and salt. Pour dressing over blueberry mixture and stir gently to coat. Let stand 10 minutes.
Arrange baby greens on 6 salad plates. Spoon blueberry mixture over greens. Spoon remaining dressing evenly over salads. Top with cheese and black pepper if desired.
Source: Cooking Light Magazine, July 2003
Notes from the Hare
I will find alternatives for those spice blends, dagnabbit…
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Spice woes and a salad
I still can’t get that site to come up.
That’s bothersome for one specific reason – every recipe on my shopping bag calls for a specific spice blend. Cajun Seasoning you can futz with – most groceries sell a Cajun seasoning blend. The other seasoning mixes, however, are not so readily available, I think.
Bit annoying, that.
In the interim, I present a quick salad recipe that Ox sent me via e-mail. I’m not big on salads, but every now and then I find one that might be tasty, like this one.
Orange-Jicama Salad.
Serves 4
4 cups jicama, peeled and julienned
2 oranges, sectioned
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
Mix the jicama, orange sections, and chopped coriander in a bowl.
Whisk together the remaining ingredients, toss with the jicama-orange mixture, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.
Notes from the Hare
According to the e-mail this recipe was in, jicama is “a crunchy and sweet root vegetable common to Latin countries.” I saw a few in Kroger the other day. Each jicama was about the size of a grapefruit, with a light brown skin. They looked somewhat like a potato to me, and gave a little when squeezed. I’m not sure how to tell if a jicama is ripe and ready to eat, though.
That’s bothersome for one specific reason – every recipe on my shopping bag calls for a specific spice blend. Cajun Seasoning you can futz with – most groceries sell a Cajun seasoning blend. The other seasoning mixes, however, are not so readily available, I think.
Bit annoying, that.
In the interim, I present a quick salad recipe that Ox sent me via e-mail. I’m not big on salads, but every now and then I find one that might be tasty, like this one.
Orange-Jicama Salad.
Serves 4
4 cups jicama, peeled and julienned
2 oranges, sectioned
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
Mix the jicama, orange sections, and chopped coriander in a bowl.
Whisk together the remaining ingredients, toss with the jicama-orange mixture, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.
Notes from the Hare
According to the e-mail this recipe was in, jicama is “a crunchy and sweet root vegetable common to Latin countries.” I saw a few in Kroger the other day. Each jicama was about the size of a grapefruit, with a light brown skin. They looked somewhat like a potato to me, and gave a little when squeezed. I’m not sure how to tell if a jicama is ripe and ready to eat, though.
Friday, June 10, 2005
Recipe from New Orleans - Red Beans
I wandered the French Quarter on Memorial Day with Lia and Linn, my hostesses. One of the niftier spots in the Quarter I didn’t even know was there – the French Market.
For those who don’t know, the French Market is a huge open air marketplace. Half of it is set up for various flea market type vendors – jewelry, handcrafts, pens, t-shirts, and other assorted random items. The other half is a farmer’s market, which I did not get to wander around enough.
In the middle of the farmer’s market, there is a spot called (I think) N’awlins Cajun and Creole Spices, selling just that – plus hot sauces. According to the decorated bag that they give you at the counter, they have hundreds of hot sauces and Louisiana spices. On one of the narrow sides of the bag, they list some of the spices and such they have to offer. On the other narrow side, recipes.
I’ve been trying to bring up their website all week, but I haven’t had any luck yet – so if anyone wants to give it a try, you should be able to get to it here. I’ll keep trying myself, and if I need to edit the link I will.
In the meantime – straight from the side of my shopping bag, here’s a recipe for Red Beans.
Red Beans
Serves 8
1 lb red beans
1 large onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
Celery
1 lb smoked sausage or hot sausage
2 tablespoons Cajun season
Rinse beans and remove bad ones. Fill large pot with the beans and add water to cover. Let this boil for approximately 1 hour, adding water as needed, and add seasoning and parsley flakes. Let beans cook until soft, then add onion, garlic, celery, and sausage along with some butter. Cook on low until creamy and serve over rice.
Notes form the Hare
Not surprisingly, they recommend N’Awlins Cajun Seasoning.
This is copied pretty much word for word from the bag – so I’m not sure how much celery they suggest or how much butter. Once I get to their site I’ll nose around and see if there’s another recipe and make adjustments to this one.
For those who don’t know, the French Market is a huge open air marketplace. Half of it is set up for various flea market type vendors – jewelry, handcrafts, pens, t-shirts, and other assorted random items. The other half is a farmer’s market, which I did not get to wander around enough.
In the middle of the farmer’s market, there is a spot called (I think) N’awlins Cajun and Creole Spices, selling just that – plus hot sauces. According to the decorated bag that they give you at the counter, they have hundreds of hot sauces and Louisiana spices. On one of the narrow sides of the bag, they list some of the spices and such they have to offer. On the other narrow side, recipes.
I’ve been trying to bring up their website all week, but I haven’t had any luck yet – so if anyone wants to give it a try, you should be able to get to it here. I’ll keep trying myself, and if I need to edit the link I will.
In the meantime – straight from the side of my shopping bag, here’s a recipe for Red Beans.
Red Beans
Serves 8
1 lb red beans
1 large onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
Celery
1 lb smoked sausage or hot sausage
2 tablespoons Cajun season
Rinse beans and remove bad ones. Fill large pot with the beans and add water to cover. Let this boil for approximately 1 hour, adding water as needed, and add seasoning and parsley flakes. Let beans cook until soft, then add onion, garlic, celery, and sausage along with some butter. Cook on low until creamy and serve over rice.
Notes form the Hare
Not surprisingly, they recommend N’Awlins Cajun Seasoning.
This is copied pretty much word for word from the bag – so I’m not sure how much celery they suggest or how much butter. Once I get to their site I’ll nose around and see if there’s another recipe and make adjustments to this one.
Monday, June 06, 2005
Monster Cookies and a Quick Hello
I wasn’t as adventurous with my meals as I could have been – when the opportunity arose for boiled crawfish I balked, since I’m not a big fan of seafood outside of shrimp (and when I was later informed that crawfish are basically big shrimp, well, I really kicked myself). And I passed on the fried alligator on a stick since it was lunchtime anyway and my hostesses and I were heading to a small café not far away – then passed on both the fried alligator appetizer and the alligator sausage po’boy in favor of the sampler plate with gumbo, red beans and rice, and jambalaya.
But that gives me something to try when I go back, right?
I did come back with a few things to try though – most notable being the Voodoo Seasoning.
The ingredients list doesn’t sound too terrifying (except for the “spices and herbs” part, which is followed by some specific spices and herbs) and they recommend sprinkling it on vegetables when grilling. I want to play with the supply I have and see what I come up with. For some reason I have “Honey Voodoo Chicken” floating around in my head
Until I do play with the seasoning, I leave you with some particularly yummy cookies. I’ve got a few recopies that I managed to bring back with me from New Orleans, so I’ll start posting them later in the week, along with a couple of links to sites for spices you can get online.
First, though – Monster Cookies.
Monster Cookies
3 eggs
½ cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon corn syrup
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ cups peanut butter
4 ½ cups oatmeal
2/3 cup chocolate chips
¼ pound plain M&M’s
Beat the eggs, then cream with butter and sugar. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
Drop on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes (large cookie) or 10-12 minutes (smaller cookie).
Notes from the Hare
These are, without a doubt, one of my personal favorite cookies.
When I make these, I use a hand mixer to cream the butter and sugar, and a wooden spoon for the rest. It gets pretty hard to stir after a short while, especially since this doesn’t make dough, per se, more of a mixture that bakes well.
When I do small cookies, I generally use a ½ tablespoon for the drops. Larger cookies would be a tablespoon, or a heaping tablespoon.
But that gives me something to try when I go back, right?
I did come back with a few things to try though – most notable being the Voodoo Seasoning.
The ingredients list doesn’t sound too terrifying (except for the “spices and herbs” part, which is followed by some specific spices and herbs) and they recommend sprinkling it on vegetables when grilling. I want to play with the supply I have and see what I come up with. For some reason I have “Honey Voodoo Chicken” floating around in my head
Until I do play with the seasoning, I leave you with some particularly yummy cookies. I’ve got a few recopies that I managed to bring back with me from New Orleans, so I’ll start posting them later in the week, along with a couple of links to sites for spices you can get online.
First, though – Monster Cookies.
Monster Cookies
3 eggs
½ cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon corn syrup
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ cups peanut butter
4 ½ cups oatmeal
2/3 cup chocolate chips
¼ pound plain M&M’s
Beat the eggs, then cream with butter and sugar. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
Drop on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes (large cookie) or 10-12 minutes (smaller cookie).
Notes from the Hare
These are, without a doubt, one of my personal favorite cookies.
When I make these, I use a hand mixer to cream the butter and sugar, and a wooden spoon for the rest. It gets pretty hard to stir after a short while, especially since this doesn’t make dough, per se, more of a mixture that bakes well.
When I do small cookies, I generally use a ½ tablespoon for the drops. Larger cookies would be a tablespoon, or a heaping tablespoon.
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