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Tiny Texas Special Event Catering Ideas

Not everything catered is bigger in Texas but
it is all catered best in Texas!

These Tiny Texas Special Event Catering menu ideas were created for a special event catering to welcome some very important out-of-town guests to a quick taste of Texas while meeting entire staffs of numerous departments on three different floors with a time limit of 15 minutes in each department. The food had to be quick to pick up, easy to carry, while walking and talking, and it had to coordinate with each department’s décor and theme.

So to support the mission, we created a Tiny Texas Catering menu that addressed all the objectives: Eat a little something, meet the staff, and move on to the next department.

The first department selected an initial Welcome-To-Texas theme so their Tiny Texas Catering Menu was:

Tequila Lime Shrimp

We took our marinated shrimp, placed each one on its own little plate complete with creamy tequila lime sauce, and added a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley. Having them all pre-plated allowed the client to simply pick one up, eat it and toss the tiny plate.

Tiny Texas Flatbread Pizza

Things are hotter in Texas! With a Dallas Cowboy themed department we created a Tiny Texas Flatbread Pizza similar to their Big D Flatbread. Grilled flatbread was layered with chunky tomato sauce, tiny pepperoni slices and mozzarella cheese. To add some Texas heat, we sprinkled those with sliced jalapeno and crushed red pepper flakes. These were cut into tiny squares to fit on tiny plates and small enough to pop in a mouth and move on to the next department.

Off to the next department which chose to serve:

Texas Caviar

This marinated bean dip was presented in hand made tiny tortilla cups. Each cup was filled with dip and put on its own tiny plate to be quick to pick up and eat.

Whiskey Palmer Punch

That famous blend of iced tea and lemonade and Texas Whiskey and served in tiny shot glasses. For decor, we surrounded the punch decanter with barbed wire.

One group requested more of a State Fair theme, so we knew fried something had to be included. We catered two appetizer items for this area:

Fried Jalapeno Mac and Cheese Bites

These were small enough to pop in a mouth, not to messy and still just the right amount of jalapeno to be Texan. With that, we had Tiny Soft Pretzels

Tiny Texas Soft Pretzels

Just like you’d see at the State Fair – only much smaller. Those were displayed in individual tiny “bowls” with just enough room to add mustard and let the client dip their pretzel, eat it and keep walking toward the next department.

Beer flights, similar to a wine tasting only with beer, created the theme for the next department. Since the guests were going to be offered a collection of tiny samples of four to five beers, we catered more of a Texas Saloon theme catering menu and served:

Original Beer Nuts

These were displayed in a clear acrylic cowboy hat with small shot glasses to scoop the peanuts into, so they could continue on their journey to the next department.

Bacon Caramel Popcorn

Our house-made fresh popcorn was tossed with peanuts and crumbled bacon, then in a maple caramel glaze.  We served this in tiny clear mugs to resemble a beer mug to compliment the saloon theme. A successful beer-fest was had and then on to the next department.

The send-off was Cobbler. Tiny Peach and Cherry cobblers in tiny cups, with a tiny crust garnish and of course whipped topping.  Easy to carry and eat while headed down to the main floor, jump on the bus and head out to dinner.

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Need a themed menu for your next event?

Our new breakfast catering menu item:

Breakfast Pudding!

Need a new breakfast catering menu item for your next office breakfast meeting or to add to a traditional continental breakfast catering? Then try our new Breakfast Pudding.

Pudding for Breakfast you ask? You bet!

If you like yogurt, you’re going to love this!
If you like oatmeal, you’re going to love this!
If you like sweet creamy pudding, you’re going to love this!

We called it pudding because it’s thick and creamy sweet, just like pudding. It has a little bit of texture to it and you can add more crunch with granola, walnuts, pecans or almonds. We chose almonds.

Continental breakfasts are standard fare on breakfast catering menus featuring pastries, fruit and/or juices and coffee. Bagels and cream cheese, yogurt and granola are also popular office catering staples for a quick and easy business breakfast. Then, if you want to serve something hot, there is the typical hot breakfast catering menus featuring eggs, breakfast tacos, biscuit or croissant sandwiches, bacon, sausage, and breakfast potatoes, all common corporate breakfast catering options.

Now there’s something new to add to your next breakfast catering! Our new overnight oatmeal made with oats, sweet vanilla yogurt, milk, fruit and a sprinkle of slivered almonds makes a great choice to add to any continental breakfast or hot breakfast catering menu. It makes a sweet start to any morning!!!

Want to make it at home for yourself? Here’s a quick and easy recipe:

½ cup your choice of oats

½ cup milk, skim milk or soy milk

½ yogurt or Greek Yogurt

Fruit of your choice like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or bananas

This makes about 9 oz. of pudding so in a bowl or container large enough to hold that, (or in a fancy parfait glass) place the raw oats in the container first, pour the milk or liquid of your choice over the oats, then spoon the yogurt on top of the oat and liquid mixture. Layer the sliced or cut fruit on top of the yogurt, cover and put in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, wake up and know breakfast will be ready when you are, and simply uncover and if desired, top with granola or nuts and enjoy. Sweet, creamy and fabulous!

You can make S’more overnight oatmeal, mango cinnamon overnight oatmeal, peanut butter and jelly overnight oatmeal and a host of other combinations. Just about anything you like to eat can be used so, for more inspiration, or more recipe ideas check out these recipes.

New! Sweet Potatoes have joined our menu!

Aspen Catering’s Signature Sweet Potatoes featuring our oven roasted sweet potato, tossed with crisp apples, brown sugar and a hint of onion

Aspen Catering’s Sweet Potato Medley has cubes of fresh sweet potatoes and new potatoes lightly seasoned and then baked to perfection.

Baked Sweet Potato – just like our traditional baked potato bar with butter, cheese, sour cream and chives. Or, for a more sweet option, chose honey, brown sugar and maple syrup to create your perfect potato.

More About The Sweet Potato

A wonderful food packed with health benefits like antioxidants, anti-inflammatory nutrients, and blood sugar-regulating nutrients. They have a high amount of vitamin A, and some research indicates the sweet potato may contain more beta-carotene than those famous green leafy vegetables we’ve been told to eat.  They also are a good source of vitamin C, B6, B1, B2, niacin, fiber and potassium, and who doesn’t want more of all those?

Sweet potatoes can be orange, purple-fleshed or white fleshed. The orange-colored are probably the most common and typically are called gold or have the word red in their title. Sweet potatoes should not be confused with yams though. In America, we use the name interchangeably, but they are not the same! Yams are not nearly as available here as sweet potatoes, and if your grocer is advertising yams, more than likely they are sweet potatoes. Since they can be the same color, don’t use that to determine if you’re buying a yam, regardless of any sign. To buy true yams, you’ll probably have to shop at a specialty store.

When shopping for sweet potatoes, select firm, bruise-free potatoes with no cracks or soft spots and those not in the refrigerated section. Sweet potatoes should be stored in a cool, dark well-ventilated place not above 60°F since anything cooler can alter their taste. They should last up to 10 days if stored correctly.

If your office has just moved, expanded or been updated, a great way to showcase your new address is with an Open House or Grand Opening. It’s a great way to be able to personally interact with your customers and vendors and provide a thank you for the support they’ve shown you. You really can only host this type of event once, so if you have a new address…show it off and have a party! Here are 10 steps to planning your special event!

1. Contact Chambers of Commerce and Visitors Bureaus

Find out how they can help you plan and promote your Grand Opening. Consider including a charity group you support now or find a new one to support. Community involvement is mutually beneficial to all – the charity, the community and you.

2. Determine Your Guest list which could include:

Clients, Customers and Prospects
Local dignitaries and VIP Guests
Media Contacts
Chamber and Bureaus members
Employees and their families
Vendors and supplies

Ask them if they can contribute something to this event.  They, too, depend on you being successful in your business. Suggest they provide you with promotional items to give to your guests; maybe your printer will print the invitations at a reduced rate or free; maybe another vendor(s) will supply the catering or some of the catering. Ask what they can do or offer and try to incorporate that into your plan.

3. Determine Your Budget:

Getting quotes and vendor donations will help you learn how much this will cost for things like:
Invitations and Postage
Food and Beverage Catering
Entertainment
Photographer or Videographer
Gifts or promotional pieces for guests
Decorations – could be flower arrangements, balloons, or a decorated table with promotional items for your guests with take-away gifts.

4. Write Your Grand Opening Activities Schedule

Write down all the things you want to accomplish along with the time it takes to do each one. Then, organize these in the order in which these will be conducted to calculate how long your event will be. Include things like:

Is there a ribbon cutting?
Will you have a tour of your facility?
Will there be speakers? If so who are they, what will they talk about and how much time will they need?
Will there be drawings for prizes?

5. Schedule Your Grand Opening

Consult with your Chambers and Bureaus about the time of day and what day of the week to actually have this event.  The list of scheduled activities might also help to decide the best date and time of this event.

6. Distribute Invitations and coordinate the RSVP’s

7. Write your press kits and assemble packets and distribute to local news sources

8. Announce your Grand Opening on all media and your website

9. Conduct your Grand Opening and take photos!

10. Thank your guests and share Grand Opening stories and photographs with them, on social media and with your local media.

No time to do this all yourself? Let a professional Caterer take care of all the details for you.