On and off for quite sometime I toyed with idea of catering small events for people. This past week I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity by my mother-in-law to cater a luncheon for her. During our initial discussion we tossed around some ideas regarding the menu, but she basically gave me creative reign. Sunday night I turned jotted down ideas and really flushed out what I wanted to make. Here is what I came up with:
1.) Chilled White Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Soup
2.) Quinoa and Arugula Salad with dried cherries, blueberries,cranberries, pumpkin seeds and goat cheese with white wine vinaigrette
3.) Chicken Salad with grapes and almonds, substituting most of the mayo for Greek yogurt.
The following are just basics of what I did for each dish. I apologize for lack of specifics as I did not write down a single thing I did. I promise I will get better at remembering to do that...But if you need specifics please contact me and I will be happy to help you.
Chilled White Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Ingredients:
48 oz. of chicken broth
garlic, onions, celery, carrots, fennel - roughly chopped
roasted red peppers (I made my own but you can use jarred)
1 Parmesan rind
1 sprig of rosemary
1 handful of parsley
1 bay leaf
3 cans of white beans, drained
1/2 cup of breadcrumbs
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1.) Heat olive oil in large soup pot, saute onions, garlic, celery, fennel, and carrots until soft
2.) Add chicken broth, Parmesan rind, sprig, parsley, and bay leaf, bring to low simmer for 30 minutes.
3.) Remove from heat and allow to cool. Remove the rosemary sprig, bay leaf and parm rind.
4.) Add 1 can of white beans to blender, ladle in soup and blend until smooth. Repeat with each can of beans and make sure to blend all of the soup liquid.
5.) To make the soup smooth, pass through a mesh strainer.
6.) Puree roasted red peppers, bread crumbs, and 2 cups of soup. Add to soup and stir together.
7.) Can be served chilled or heated.
I added the breadcrumbs to the peppers to thicken up the soup a bit more. The Parmesan rind is essential as it provides for some amazing flavor.
Quinoa and Arugula Salad
Quick note for those of you who do not know, quinoa is a nutritional powerhouse. I highly recommend giving it try. It's easy to make is incredibly versatile.
Ingredients:
Chicken broth
Quinoa
Arugula, 1 bag
Goat Cheese, 6 oz.
Mixed dried craisins, cherries, blueberries (or just use one of them, I found a mix that had all three)
Roasted pumpkin seeds
Dressing: white wine vinegar, olive oil, honey, pinch of sugar, lemon juice, honey mustard, salt, and pepper
Directions:
1.) Whisk the ingredients for the dressing together in bowl and set aside
2.) Cook quinoa according to the directions on the package, but substitute chicken broth for water.
3.) All quinoa to cool, toss with arugula, mixed dried fruit, pumpkin seeds, and goat cheese.
4.) Then toss salad with the dressing and serve immediately.
Roasted Chicken Salad with Grapes and Almonds
I have made chicken salad hundreds of different ways, but I always enjoy mixing up the ingredients. I roasted the chicken myself for this salad instead of buying a rotisserie chickens from the grocery store as those tend to be a bit on the salty side. Once the chicken was roasted and cooled, I removed all of the chicken meat off the bones, and chopped the meat into pieces. Then added chopped scallions, celery, sliced grapes, and sliced almonds. Then stir in one large container of Greek yogurt. Then add1/2 cup of mayo, a couple pinches of sugar, a dash of vinegar, lemon juice, and a sprinkling of poppy seeds. Mix it well and taste for seasoning. I ended up adding quite a bit of salt and pepper to salad at the end to get the flavor perfect.
The food was hit and only good things were said by all. Best of all my client/mother-in-law was happy and wants me to do this for her more often. I cannot express in words how happy and excited I am about how well this first job went and looking forward to doing some more while figuring out how to properly manage a catering business. Unforuntaley, the only picture I took was of the quinoa salad. Next time I am recruiting JB to take some more photographs.
1.) Chilled White Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Soup
2.) Quinoa and Arugula Salad with dried cherries, blueberries,cranberries, pumpkin seeds and goat cheese with white wine vinaigrette
3.) Chicken Salad with grapes and almonds, substituting most of the mayo for Greek yogurt.
The following are just basics of what I did for each dish. I apologize for lack of specifics as I did not write down a single thing I did. I promise I will get better at remembering to do that...But if you need specifics please contact me and I will be happy to help you.
Chilled White Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Ingredients:
48 oz. of chicken broth
garlic, onions, celery, carrots, fennel - roughly chopped
roasted red peppers (I made my own but you can use jarred)
1 Parmesan rind
1 sprig of rosemary
1 handful of parsley
1 bay leaf
3 cans of white beans, drained
1/2 cup of breadcrumbs
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1.) Heat olive oil in large soup pot, saute onions, garlic, celery, fennel, and carrots until soft
2.) Add chicken broth, Parmesan rind, sprig, parsley, and bay leaf, bring to low simmer for 30 minutes.
3.) Remove from heat and allow to cool. Remove the rosemary sprig, bay leaf and parm rind.
4.) Add 1 can of white beans to blender, ladle in soup and blend until smooth. Repeat with each can of beans and make sure to blend all of the soup liquid.
5.) To make the soup smooth, pass through a mesh strainer.
6.) Puree roasted red peppers, bread crumbs, and 2 cups of soup. Add to soup and stir together.
7.) Can be served chilled or heated.
I added the breadcrumbs to the peppers to thicken up the soup a bit more. The Parmesan rind is essential as it provides for some amazing flavor.
Quinoa and Arugula Salad
Quick note for those of you who do not know, quinoa is a nutritional powerhouse. I highly recommend giving it try. It's easy to make is incredibly versatile.
Ingredients:
Chicken broth
Quinoa
Arugula, 1 bag
Goat Cheese, 6 oz.
Mixed dried craisins, cherries, blueberries (or just use one of them, I found a mix that had all three)
Roasted pumpkin seeds
Dressing: white wine vinegar, olive oil, honey, pinch of sugar, lemon juice, honey mustard, salt, and pepper
Directions:
1.) Whisk the ingredients for the dressing together in bowl and set aside
2.) Cook quinoa according to the directions on the package, but substitute chicken broth for water.
3.) All quinoa to cool, toss with arugula, mixed dried fruit, pumpkin seeds, and goat cheese.
4.) Then toss salad with the dressing and serve immediately.
Roasted Chicken Salad with Grapes and Almonds
I have made chicken salad hundreds of different ways, but I always enjoy mixing up the ingredients. I roasted the chicken myself for this salad instead of buying a rotisserie chickens from the grocery store as those tend to be a bit on the salty side. Once the chicken was roasted and cooled, I removed all of the chicken meat off the bones, and chopped the meat into pieces. Then added chopped scallions, celery, sliced grapes, and sliced almonds. Then stir in one large container of Greek yogurt. Then add1/2 cup of mayo, a couple pinches of sugar, a dash of vinegar, lemon juice, and a sprinkling of poppy seeds. Mix it well and taste for seasoning. I ended up adding quite a bit of salt and pepper to salad at the end to get the flavor perfect.
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