A Little Taste of Heaven!

If you read my blogs often, you'll notice many of my menus include something "mini". As I continue to plan menus and adjust recipes, I've found most of my events are casual- not the formal sit-down type. So, hosts/hostesses like finger foods and small portions. These work for young children, teens, women's groups, corporate meetings, seniors clubs and everyone in between. I've gotten quite the list of "mini's". It includes cheesecakes, quiches, breads, muffins, tortes, pies, potatoes, cookies, meatloafs...and the list goes on. I find that a cheesecake, a quiche, and a loaf of bread look lonely on a table. But, plate out numerous platters of mini delights and it not only feeds more people, they tend to eat less! Aaahhh, less IS more!

Tis the Season!

Just like anyone else, this is the craziest time for working, shopping, wrapping, and partying. But, for a caterer, this can be the best time financially, and the worst time for personal organization. I have the hardest time getting my own Christmas festivities to occur without staying up until midnight. My busiest orders weren't for events...but for truffles!! I was shocked. What does a good caterer do...roll with the punches (or truffles as it was). I was dipping truffles by the hundreds. I'm actually looking forward to working on actual food recipes and leaving the truffles alone for a few weeks. Some day, I hope to have the time to enjoy shopping, wrapping and baking for family and friends- all while getting to bed by 10:00pm (A girl's face needs 8 hours of sleep to look good)! Some day...

Keeping warm in the frozen winter.

Unfortunately, where I live has been horribly cold this past week- like 6 degrees during the day. Nasty, because it's usually 30-40 degrees. I had scheduled an office party with an open menu--LOVE THOSE!! Makes my world much easier to cook what I'm in the mood for; which happened to be warm food. The people in the office all eat at different times, so it was requested that I make some crockpot food. I made a fabulous green chili, some mini sour cream muffins, crockpot dumpling soup, crockpot peach cobbler, and a crock full of hot chocolate. I know what you're thinking...yes, I do have 4 crockpots!!

Macadamia Nut Fever...

Yes, that's what happens when you spend a little time in Hawaii. I spent the last 10 days in Kauai sleeping in, roaming the island by day and eating with a sunset by night. What caught me was the many ways to cook with macadamia nuts. Whethter they were whole or crushed, we ate them in salads, potatoes, as breading for mahi mahi or mixed in with rice. Amazing texture and crunch for a variety of menus. Of course, our favorite...toffee and chocolate covered nuts! Can't beat those; we ate one bag and stashed one in the luggage for home savoring. I now have a few new recipes to experiment with...my first is the grilled mahi mahi sandwich with a rub of crushed macadamias mixed with butter, pepper and parsley, covered with sliced tomato, avacado, and lettuce. I can only hope to find that fabulous flavor that my tastebuds remember!