Up next... I'm on the auction block!!!

I am donating my services for a good cause to raise money for the Carrollwood Day School and I am on auction block for their annual fundraiser TONIGHT! Hopefully the event will be huge success for the school!

Catering in the 'Burg

Welcome home!!! Yes, it's been a while since I've posted, but I'm now officially back in the 'Burg AND settled in. It took some time to get to where I am now- moving, settling in and getting back to my roots. But here I am!

It didn't take too long before I had a referral and the first weekend of this year I catered an 80 person party for a 40th birthday celebration here in Tampa. The menu:

I enlisted the assistance of a phenomenal serving team to help pass the appetizers in addition to any stationary items we had set-up.

And I just fell in love with my newest "chef tool"- I can't wait to use this again!

Overall, the party was a HUGE success with rave reviews!

Be sure to check out and 'like' my Facebook page! http://www.facebook.com/OhMyNoshChefNicole

2/6/2010

Menu

• Mustard~Dill Tortellini Salad Skewers: Cheese tortellini, sugar snap peas and grape tomatoes on bite-size skewers marinated in a mustard~dill vinaigrette.

• Herb~Tomato Crostini: Toasted garlic crostinis complimented with a herb~tomato topping and feta cheese.

• Herbed Chicken~Chutney Salad on Lettuce Leaves: Herbed chicken~mango chutney served on romaine and/or radicchio lettuce leaves.

• Harvest Salad: Spinach salad with blue cheese, avocado, red onion, chopped tomatoes and dried cranberries. Served with a homemade red raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

• Burgundy Beef Tips: Beef tenderloin slowly cooked in a rich demi-glaze sauce with mushrooms, onions and burgundy wine.
• Mole~Rubbed Chicken with Mango~Avocado Salsa: Traditional mole~rubbed chicken grilled and topped with a mango~avocado salsa.

• Raspberry~Mocha Cake: Decadent chocolate mocha cake with a red raspberry filling and topped with a rich and creamy home whipped chocolate~raspberry frosting.

• New York Crumb Cake: Rich, moist cake topped with brown sugar crumbles and dusted with confectioner's sugar.

Getting started...

Creative ideas in the kitchen have come easy for me for a very long time. Painstaking details for presentation and preparation are key- food not only has to look good, but certainly taste great as well! Creating delectable delights that please the crowd have inspired me to do more. While crafting edible treats as hostess to many a gathering, large and small, there have always seemed to be "rave reviews" for the creative new dish I decided to add to the menu or the trusted old stand-by seen and tasted many times before. Recipes have been collected, tried, tasted and enjoyed! And with some gentle nudging from some "fans" of my kitchen creations I've decided to share my joy of playing Julia Child with others. Since Dec 2009 I have successfully catered 3 parties for hire, varying in size, from just appetizers to a full course, two entree party for 60! I've learned a lot in the past two months- most impressive to me (maybe not to others) have been the cakes! Sounds simple, but for some reason skilled cake baking has always eluded me until recently. After some "studying" and in person interviewing with local bakers, I was able to pull together not only a great tasting cake, but a great looking cake as well!!!

With that being said, I can't say enough about RESEARCH and PREPARATION and PLANNING. I'm a detailed and organized individual by nature- it's just how I am in my every day life. Not only do I research a recipe to find the perfect collection of ingrediants for what I'm trying to accomplish, but I carefully read the reviews to gage not only the past success of the recipe, but also those oh so helpful hints to make it a hit!!! I'm constantly learning new tricks of the trade. As a self-taught culinary genius in the making, I lack the formal "classroom" training so I feel it's necessary to read, study, learn and research in order to make every party a success.

I love trying new recipes and mastering the craft of the old ones I've made many times before and adding a new twist to keep it interesting. I have a large collection of recipe ideas and I'm constantly searching for more and more to try- one day. I don't seem to have much fear in making a recipe for the first time for a party of 60. As a matter of fact, for that larger party I recently catered, 4 items on the menu ranging from both entrees to the salad and desert, were all first-timers and all were a great success. YOU MUST PAY ATTENTION and have a plan in the kitchen BEFORE you even turn on the oven! There are outlines, drafts and 2nd drafts and more of the timeline of events for the days of preparation. And ALWAYS allow EXTRA TIME. There's always something that takes just a bit longer to make or needs more prep time than you thought. For a full day of baking/cooking before an event I allow anywhere from 1-2 "spare" hours. If I finish early- great. But I don't want to be late for sure!

About my business... My 4th caterer for hire event is coming up on 2/27/10. I receive all of my catering jobs via word-of-mouth and through friends at this time. Right now that is how I prefer it to be. Employed full-time and trying to keep up with a busy life filled with many hobbies and personal goals it can be a challenge at times to fit it all in. But that's where my organization and attention to detail come in handy when I plan and prep a menu for a party.

Why... it's not easy, that's not why. Catering is a very physically intensive job. You'd be surprised to hear that. It's constant movement. There's no sticking a cake in the oven and sitting down to read a book while it bakes. OH NO! There's frosting or filling to be made for that cake. There's endless fruit and veggie chopping for that salad or pasta to cook or food to skewer!!! It's a non-stop business from start to finish- delivery, set-up, follow-through and clean-up. It can be a very long, tedious and tiring day. So back to why... I enjoy baking and cooking and hosting parties. I have a large collection of recipes that I want to try and there are so many more out there that I haven't found- yet! I like being "busy" and in motion. I'm a multi-task master. Most of all, the sense of accomplishment that what I MADE is a success- I did that. It looks good and it tastes great! I love being able to use my creative juices and put the finishing touches on the presentation- even the tiniest of details go a long way. But most of all, the food MUST taste great. Otherwise, what's the point right?

So this is it... the start of something new. The "something more" I've been looking for in my life. I'm ready to get this party started!