Catering

I was asked in September to cater for a business meal of 25 people, so I thought I'd share the experience and recipes with you.

I was told to create the menu and prepare it for an evening meal with a budget of 400 pounds including wines. I asked my mum to be the Sommelier and Front of House for the evening, and I took charge of the food, this is what I came up with:

• Amuse bouche: Pesto Gougères & Honey Roasted Figs with Goat's Cheese
• Starter: Season Transition Salad
• Main: Moroccan Style Chicken with Herby Bulgur Wheat
• Refresher: Campari and Orange Granité
• Dessert: Chocolate Tartlet with Salted Caramel Cream and Cherry Compote

1) Chocolate Tartlets:

- I prepared the Chocolate Tartlets the night before using my favourite recipe, here's a link to an old post I wrote about these heavenly tarts: http://spoonfuloffelicity.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/chocolate-tartlets.html

Then on the day, I prepared:

- Cherry compote:

Stew depitted cherries with sugar until the cherries are soft, using a 1:3 (sugar:cherry) ratio.

- Salted Caramel Cream:

1. Make a caramel: Cook 250g of sugar with two pinches of salt and about 75mL of water until caramel brown. Take off the heat and poor in 250mL of double cream. Leave to cool.
2. Whip some double cream to a soft peak, and stir in the caramel (add to taste).

- Assemble

2) Amuse Bouche

- Roasted Figs and Goats Cheese: 

1. Slice the figs in half, drizzle honey over them and springle with thyme. Cook in the oven at 180°C for 30 minutes.
2. Slice some goat's cheese in chunks and place on top of the halved figs, sprinkle with sugar and cook under a hot grilluntil brown.

- Pesto Gougères:

1. Make a pesto: blitz together basil, parmesan, gruyère, garlic, salt and linseeds to taste.
2. Make a choux paste, this is a good recipe: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/13020/choux+pastry
3. Mix the pesto into the pastry then cook. 
4. Reheat at 200°C for 5 minutes when guests start to arrive.

- Pre-Dinner Unalcoholic cocktail:

1. Burn rosemary and orange zest: cook in a dry pan to release the oils.
2. Place the rosemary, orange zest, halved blueberries and ice in a glass and pour some tonic water over it.

3) Salad : Transition from Summer to Autumn

- Pea purée:

1. Blanch Peas with salt and sugar
2. Blend with olive oil until smooth
3. Keep in the fridge

- Ricotta cream:

1. Mix together: ricotta, olive oil, lemon zest, grated parmesan, black pepper.
2. Keep in the fridge

- Blackberries: Cook them in a pan until soft with a bit of white wine.

- Crispy ham: lay some cured ham on a baking sheet and dry in an oven at 190°C until crispy.

- Other vegetables:

1. Blanche the peas and the sugarsnaps, and slice the sugarsnaps.
2. Slice the endives.

- Orange dressing:

1. Mix together orange juice and zest, dijon mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper.

- Assemble.

4) Main:

- Chicken stew:

1. Rub the chicken thights in harrissa paste and honey, then seize in a hot pan with olive oil.
2. Prepare a chicken stock by putting chicken wings, a carrot, and an onion in a pan, cover with water. Bring to the boil then let it simmer for 30 minutes. Then Strain the stock and eave to the side.
3. Sweat some onion in a deep pan (suitable for the oven) with oil, add carrots (sliced in big chunks) and leaks, deglaze the pan with white wine, add orange blossom, raz-el-hanout, cumin, coriander powder, and ginger powder. After a couple of minutes add tomato concentrate and cook for a minute, then add chopped tomatoes and confied lemons, the chicken thighs and cover with the ciken stock. 
4. Cover and cook in the oven at 170°C for about 1 hour.

- Bulgur taboulé:

1. Cook the bulgur wheat according to instructions
2. Add lemon juice, olive oil and chopped parsley, coriander and mint.

- Assemble.

 5) Adult Slushy:

1. Boil 200g of sugar with 400mL of water.
2. Stir with 600mL of orange juice, and add Campari to taste.
3. Put in a box in a freezer and stir with a fork after 10 hours, then every couple of hours.

That's it!

I really enjoyed this opportunity, and all the food was much appreciated (which is always nice).

N:B: I prepared a gluten free desert by pouring the ganache in a mug instead of the pastry case, and a vegetarian main using vegetable stock (and no chicken obviously) and a some extra parsnips and mushrooms.