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Catering TipsBy PJJune 23, 2017September 24, 2024

How to Grill Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes can be prepared so many ways: mashed, baked, whipped or grilled and we’ve served them all. Having recently served these as grilled wedges, we wanted to share

How to Grill Sweet Potato Wedges:

Here’s how we made ours:

More info on this mighty potato

Select medium size sweet potatoes with no bruises or blemishes and with as few curves as possible.
Wash and if desired, peel them. Peeling the skin off isn’t necessary and you can do this step ahead of time since sweet potatoes don’t turn brown like other potatoes would.
To cut sweet potatoes into wedges start by cutting the potato in 1/2 lengthwise
Turn halves cut side down and cut in 1/2 again creating a quarter of a potato
Take each 1/4 section and flip so the peeled or skin side is on the cutting board and the thin side is up and then cut in half again. Once you’re done you should have at least 8 potato wedges per potato. You can also slice the potato into coins or circles if you prefer that shape. Because you don’t want all the food being served to be the same shape, cut your potatoes to compliment the rest of your menu.
See how to cut potatoes compliments of North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission.
Place wedges in a bowl and drizzle with some oil (we used canola oil). Do not drench them or the oil will make the potatoes gray once on the grill.
Turn the grill on high to get the grates hot. Once the grates are hot, place the potato wedges directly on the grill grates for about 3 minutes. Flip the wedge over and grill the other side for 3 minutes. This is just to get the grill marks on the potato but not to completely cook them.
Once the wedges are grill marked on both sides, place grilled wedges in a heat safe pan, dish or an aluminum foil pouch. Bake in a pre-heated oven until the potatoes are soft – about 20 minutes. You want the potatoes soft which depends on the size of your wedges. Thicker potatoes will need more time, thinner ones might only need 10 minutes in the oven.
Once they’re done, remove from the oven, toss with a little melted butter, brown sugar and a hint or cinnamon sugar.

According to our client, we had a home run, and we hope you will too!

Catering TipsBy PJJune 21, 2017September 20, 2024

How to Create an Outdoor Wedding Catering Menu

The Outdoor Catering Area

Catering an outdoor wedding menu starts with the actual outdoor area.
Where is it? What does it have there? What do you need to be able to serve a catered meal? Is there any cooking equipment like a grill? Running water? Work tables? If not, those things will have to be either rented or provided by your caterer in order to prepare your food. And what is needed will depend on the menu you select.

The Weather

Weather is always a factor when planning an outdoor reception, so a rain plan should be developed for the just-in-case moments Mother Nature might provide. Some sort of shelter should be in the plan whether the venue you chose has an indoor area available that can accommodate the number of people you’ll have or if you have to rent a party tent, some consideration should be made for your guests…just in case. The same applies to areas with no real shade. On a bright and sunny day, guests will want to get under some shade after a while so consult a party tent rental company first to see what your local ordinances are for erecting tents and the do’s and don’ts of hosting a party using a tent.

The Outdoor Catering Menu

Just about any catering menu is suitable for outdoors provided the preparation equipment is available and the necessary staging and food tables are there or can be brought in. Guest tables and seating also need to be set up and once all that is situated, any menu should be able to be prepared and provided.

We recently were asked to catered an outdoor wedding anniversary party at a client’s home who was lucky enough to have plenty of space for guests to go inside should the weather turn inclement and an outdoor kitchen complete with a pizza oven! With the weather on our side, we created a custom menu to take full advantage of the oven and outdoor grill. The client allowed us free reign on the menu so we decided to start with some flatbread pizza slices as the appetizers, providing entertainment for the guests as they watched us prepare and bake those outside.

We selected three varieties of flatbread pizzas:

Fresh Pear and Gorgonzola Cheese

On warmed flatbread, we sprinkled mozzarella cheese, fresh pear slices and candied pecans then baked for a couple of minutes. Once out of the oven, we topped with fresh baby greens and house made balsamic glaze

Herbed Portabella Mushroom with Fresh Mozzarella

Chock full of fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage and parsley, we sautéed the sliced baby portabella mushrooms and refrigerated those overnight. The day of the party, we layered the pizza with fresh mozzarella, then the mushrooms and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and baked.

Open Faced Smoked Salmon

Flatbread toasted with sesame seeds and when cool, layered with Greek yogurt, very thinly sliced tomato, onion and cucumber. On top of that we placed the client’s favorite smoked salmon and then garnished with capers.

On to the dinner menu using the outdoor grill, we served a wonderful and tender fresh herb marinated beef tenderloin which the client wanted made into sliders on our freshly baked rolls. With that we also prepared lemon pepper shrimp, grilled sweet potatoes and vegetable kabobs. A dinner salad of baby greens, dried cranberries, feta cheese and walnuts was served with balsamic vinaigrette and desserts completed the meal. Since the husband loves coconut, a two-layer coconut cake was sliced and served. And because the wife’s favorite is chocolate, a triple chocolate mousse tart enrobed in semi-sweet chocolate was created just for her. Sweet endings to a sweet celebration. Congratulations Tom and Dorothy on 30 years of marriage.

And what our client said:
…just wanted to let you know that your team knocked it out of the park last night. Everyone raved about the food, especially the appetizers – just wonderful. Dinner was great too. The beef was perfectly cooked, the rolls were just right, all the veggies delicious and everyone did a great job servicing and cleaning up. I would love to know how the sweet potatoes were prepared….

Catering TipsBy PJJune 21, 2017September 20, 2024

Office Open House Catering

Open House Catering

Why Host an Open House?

Office Open Houses are a great way to show your clients appreciation for the patronage they’ve shown you and show off your accomplishments in obtaining a new address. If you’re moving to a new location, recently moved or even just expanded your current office space, warehouse or showroom, hosting an Open House Catering is great way for your clients to get to see your new location, get to know your staff, where you work and a behind the scenes look at what you do and how you do it.

Who to Invite?

Other guests and dignitaries should be considered on the invitation list like your local Chamber of Commerce staff and economic development employees, key vendors, and local government officials. If you used the services of real estate professionals to assist you in the purchase, rent or lease of your new address, be sure to include them on your guest lists too. The more people you invite from the different facets of your business, the more buzz you’ll get and word of mouth is priceless!

We had the privilege of catering Mojo Media Labs for their Open House to show off their new location. Even though they moved within the same building, their new suite was something to be seen. Panoramic views of Las Colinas, wide open work spaces and a very accommodating staff made this Open House catering a success.

Where Should the Food and Beverage Go?

We recommend that you place menu items throughout your space, so as guests tour the facility, there are treats for them along the way. You can also use existing furniture for buffet stations like a, board room table, reception area counter and in rooms or areas you really want your guests to see. You caterer can help you with what should go where. It’s a great way to create the path guests will take to see all the areas you want the to see.

What Open House Catering Menu?

What kind of menu did they wish to offer their guests? Something easy to carry, eat and walk around with, so they could explore the different office areas. To accomplish that, we set up two buffet stations, one on either side of their large space, so guests could get a bite or two no matter which part of the suite they were in. The items were small and bite sized with little sauce to avoid spills and drips as people traveled around the suite.

If you have a theme in mind, a professional caterer can help design a perfect menu with items that coordinate with your theme. Use your company history, logo, location or even your favorite foods as inspiration for creating your menu.

Buffalo Chicken Bites

Mini buffalo chicken bites filled with blue cheese and celery

Veggie Spring Rolls

Chopped cabbage, celery, mushrooms, carrots and water chestnuts wrapped in a delicious spring roll wrapper

Asian Cocktail Meatballs

Asian inspired cocktail meatballs with a tangy soy plum dipping sauce

Zucchini Feta Bruschetta

Diced fresh tomatoes, zucchini and green onion marinated with herbs served with garlic toast slices

Fresh Fruit Kabobs

Fresh cantaloupe and pineapple chunks skewered with a fresh strawberry

Mini Fudge Brownies

Decadent fudge walnut brownies studded with chocolate chunks

Mini Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Bar

Smooth white chocolate cheesecake swirled with fresh raspberry puree on a chocolate cookie crust

Finally, to thank your guests for attending your party and to provide them a token or two, make gift bags with branded items in it to hand to your guests as they depart. It will allow them to carry your company name with them and remind them of your business and hospitality.

open house catering dallas

Want to cater your Office Open House?

Catering TipsBy PJMay 19, 2017September 20, 2024

Catering – Better than restaurant food delivery

What’s better than restaurant food delivery? Catering!

Restaurant food delivery or catering – which is better? A Catering service is providing food and beverage service to off-site locations like venues, party halls, private residences or offices. They also cater different types of events like Business Catering, Special Event Catering and Wedding Catering. Depending on the catering company’s menu and culinary abilities, they can and may provide breakfast catering menus, banquet menus and/or wedding reception menus.

The Actual Delivery

A caterer will tell you a food delivery is not the same as a catered one. Most caters will deliver your order, unpack all your menu items, place settings and whatever else was ordered and set it up for you. A restaurant more than likely will deliver your food in bags or boxes, leaving you to unpack it and set it up. Restaurants may use their own food delivery personnel, or a hired delivery company, but caterers typically use their own staff to transport and deliver food, using insulated food carriers or other special equipment.

Types of Food Delivery

Business meeting catering can be upscale with china, flatware and glassware, complete with wait staff, or, more of a working lunch with a hot lunch buffet set up for guests to serve themselves. When time is limited and guests need to “work through lunch,” box lunches can also be a great corporate catered meal.

Most restaurants won’t have the ability to provide different levels of service, that professional caterers can. You can opt different types of delivery service with wait staff and bartenders, or a drop-off, set up (for guests to help themselves) and then a return trip to clean it up.

Special Event Food Delivery

Caterers are also in the business of providing an experience that coincides with the type of event you’re having, restaurants probably can’t. For special occasions like grand openings, anniversaries, ribbon cuttings and wedding receptions, it’s a caterer’s responsibility to gather all the details of your event, suggest suitable catering menu items, prepare, provide, deliver and set up all of your food and beverage and any needed serving equipment. In some cases they will add décor to enhance the overall event. Special Event, Party Catering and Wedding Catering can also be formal, casual or designed with a theme in mind. Restaurant food delivery probably can’t do all that.

Serving Your Food Delivery

The actual serving of your menu depends on the service you want, and these types of events typically include wait staff to monitor the food and beverage and to serve your guests. If you’re offering cocktails or other alcoholic beverages, professional bartenders can be provided by most catering companies. Restaurant food delivery most likely will not include all of that.

Food Delivery Menus

Caterers also have menus for all occasions and all budgets from economical to extravagant. So, if you’re looking for places that deliver food, restaurants are one option; but caterers are your best one. They’ll simply have it all!

Ready to order your next food delivery?

Appetizer CateringBy PJMay 12, 2017September 20, 2024

Custom Appetizer Catering Menu

We prepared a custom appetizer catering menu for a client who needed something different from what we had created the past couple of years. Since we keep detailed notes on all our catered events, we were able refer to those and create something a bit different for this year. So, for this all-important event, held at the Eisemann Center for Performing Arts, we mixed it up a bit with different foods from different countries so they could have a bit of fun with it and… they did!

The menu featured Vegetarian, Vegan and Gluten-Free items that would satisfy numerous dietary restrictions, and we served some of the Cheeseball Pops without nuts for those who might have any nut sensitivity.

See pictures

Mini Chicken Cordon Blue

Breaded chicken breast strips stuffed with ham and melted Swiss cheese

Mini Meatloaf Bites

A party size bite of Mom’s favorite meatloaf topped with a garlic thyme mashed potato rosette

Cocktail Party Potato Pancakes

Seasoned shredded potato cake served with sweet apple butter

Almond Bacon Crostini

Bacon and toasted almonds with melted Swiss cheese on party toast

Caprese Skewers

Marinated mozzarella skewered with fresh cherry tomatoes and fresh basil

Sapankopitas

Phyllo triangles filled with spinach, feta and cream cheese with a touch of garlic

Our New Salsa Station

Our trio of assorted fresh salsas:
Zucchini Feta Bruschetta served with garlic party toast
Mango Pineapple Salsa served with cinnamon flatbread strips Spicy Cucumber Salsa served with garlic flatbread strips

Celebration Cheeseball Pops

Cheddar and cream cheese balls rolled in nuts, served on a pretzel stick

Fresh Fruit Kabobs

Skewers of cantaloupe, pineapple and a fresh strawberry

Mini Party Cheesecakes

White chocolate raspberry, chocolate hazelnut, Dulce de Leche, vanilla bean, key lime, mango and pomegranate party cheesecakes

Mini Toffee Cake Squares

Layers of moist date sponge cake topped with whipped cream and a luscious toffee sauce

Tiny Texas Peach and Cherry Cobblers

Individual tumblers of cobber, topped with a party size crust, garnished with whipped topping

And the client said:

The new menu was stellar, your staff is amazing and the entire presentation added so much to this important event for us. We had so many compliments on the food and I’m sure we will have opportunities to refer the company to others in the community.

Want a custom appetizer menu for your next event?

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UncategorizedBy PJApril 21, 2017September 20, 2024

How to Cater a Tiny Texas Party

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.

Need a themed menu for your next event?