Rx for Catering Blog

Last night my oldest friend asked me to go watch her son play college level hockey. I watched Andrew play for several years and was thrilled she asked me to go. When driving to IUP she told me Andrew got a new car. What kind? She wasn’t sure his “dad” got it for him. When the players came on the rink I asked what is Andrew’s number? She wasn’t sure. They sometimes switch around. She then laughed and said what kind of mother am I. She finally said I will know when my son is on the rink by how he skates. Now that my readers is the type of mother she is – instinctive just like a good mom should be.

I was lucky enough to go to the Four Season’s hotel as my friend Chef Robert hosted an evening about bee awareness. One wonders what is the big deal about these pesky bees but there is a lot. I didn’t realize that we need bees to pollinate veggies to make the food grow. I also learned that they transport bees from all over the world to pollinate full crops. In California every Valentines day a large % of the US almonds trees are pollinated with bees from all over the United States.

We have been having full colony’s of bees die because they get each other sick.They are also doing artificial insemination of bees as well. So what does this all have to do with Rober at the Four Seasons. Well he has been stung – with the love of bees and the beauty of honey. He keeps bee hives on the terrace of the hotel and shares it with his guests and uses it for his cooking.

That is my story for now and I am sticking to it.

THANK YOU! To Chef Hector Santiago and his team for doing a great job with my buyout of Pura Vida last night.

Here is the menu that we did for the group along with some pictures.

Pura Vida Tapas Bar Welcomes:

Northwest Georgia Oncology

Menu

Amuse ~ Tuna Poke, Porque No?

Soy Cassarep Marinated Yellow Fin Tuna Loin, Coffee Nibs, Pickled Garlic & Ginger, Scallions, Red Habanero, Sour Orange “Caviar”  & Tapioca Flakes

Definitions:

Cassarep:  cassava (yuca) syrup seasoned with thyme, pepper, clove & spices

Cassava:  a starchy root vegetable, also known as yuca; it is high in calcium and vitamin C

Coffee Nibs:  ground decaf coffee, cocoa, agave nectar made into crumbs to resemble soil

Tapioca:  the root of the cassava (or yuca) plant, which is found in tropical areas and is very starchy.  It contains calcium and iron

First Course ~ Salad Course

Hearts of Palm & Guava Salad with Red Oak, Shaved Cotija Cheese, Guava-Sherry Vinaigrette

Definitions:
Cotija Cheese ~ is a Mexican aged cheese made from cow’s milk; it is aged, dry in texture and has a robust flavor

Guava ~ a tropical fruit that is made into pinkish orange jams and jellies. Guava is a good source of Vitamin A & C.

Sherry Solera ~ this vinaigrette is made from 50 year old Spanish Sherry Vinegar. Solera is a method of aging; sherry and other fortified wines are blended and matured to achieve consistency.

Second Course ~

Steamed Coconut Buns with Tamarind Chicken

(Or Steamed Coconut Buns with Smoked Tofu with Tamarind for Vegetarians)

Definitions:

Coconut Buns:  A bun made with coconut oil, which gives it a scent of coconut, and cooked by steaming the dough, so they are light and fluffy.

Tamarind:  A tropical fruit from the pod of the tamarind tree, which has a juicy, fleshy pulp that is sweet and sour, high in acid, sugar, B vitamins and calcium

Third Course ~ Beef Course

Chipotle BBQ Beef Rib 

Mayan Adobo Rubbed Beef Short Rib, Slow Cooked, Served with Carrot Slaw & Orange-Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Definitions:

Adobo:  a dry spice mix

Mayan Adobo:  one of Chef Santiago’s Adobo spice mixes; The Mayan adodo contains ground chipotle and ancho peppers, clove, allspice & Mexican oregano

Fourth Course ~ Vegetable Course

Green & White Asparagus Salad
with Recao, Mint, Hibiscus and Cashews.
Vanilla Bean-Habanero Coconut Vinaigrette

Definitions:
Habanero:  Caribbean floral and very hot pepper.

Recao:  sometimes called culantro, this herb has the flavor of cilantro, but is much more intense, and better for cooking than cilantro, which doesn’t retain it’s flavor when heated

Hibiscus:  A tropical flower from the Caribbean, often used to make tea

Fifth Course ~ Dessert

Churros with Mora Dipping Sauce

&

Chocolate Chile Flan with Kahlua Caramel

Definitions:

Churros:  A Spanish style fried dough, usually served with a dipping sauce

Flan:  a custard dessert very popular in Spain and Latin America made from milk & egg, with a caramel sauce on the bottom.

Mora:  a reddish relative of the blackberry found in high altitude areas in Central and South America, including the Andes mountains. 

Executive Chef: Hector Santiago

Mixologist: Paul Calvert

With a little bit of help from: Claire R. Gould & Leslie Santiago

My friends talked me into buying that dumb game Angry Birds well I have to sign up with passwords and what if I don’t want to do that. What if I just want to play the game I bought ? what is so wrong with that. The same goes with trying to get meeting space. Why is it so darn difficult.  Wynn Las Vegas wants $80,000++ for a buyoutout. DO THEY REALLY think their food in the second tier steakhouse is that good? No one can give you a straight answer on anything it is ridiculous.   And to even talk to someone you have to leave a lot of personal information that technically is none of their business.

Well, I am up in PA and really enjoying being up here. The weather is beautiful and seeing some of my friends is so nice. We are in the midst of breaking out the property lines. This will bring down the price of my father’s house enough if we split out the lots. He told me to think about doing this prior to his passing if I had a hard time with the lots.  The time has come to do just that.

Pam is down sleeping the night on Lenny’s boat so I have the place to myself. I had a big dentist appointment today so I slept most of the day.

Also I am back to getting the web site done.  I have all month of July to think it through and get content to the guy who is developing it for me.  This is harder than what it looks that is for sure. But I really want to use this weekend to make some serious headway on it so when August comes we can go ahead and get it going, I also need to think about getting some business on the books.

I went on Tuesday with Pam – we spent the day in Shadyside eating and walking around. Then we went to the strip district.  Went into a great little seafood restaurant. Lucky for us it was Taco Tuesday. They had fish tacos with  a mixture of fresh fish in the taco for 2 @$4.99  They were quite good. Then we went to the famous place that has homemade biscotti in every flavor. I got the bag of broken pieces for $5.00 which turned out to be a good deal.

I am going to bed. Tired – This is my story for now

June 2011 morsel                                                                                                                                                    

 It is very rare that I write my column based on meeting someone, but I came across such a “find” while working the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival. I was so blown away by Ashley Hall and her extensive wine knowledge that it would be wrong of me not to share both with you, my dear readers. [Read more →]