the New Amsterdam Market NYC - ...........................a re-tradition

The New Amsterdam Market is a re- tradition
- a fabulous new NYC market that follows in the footsteps of the San Francisco Ferry Terminal Market, the London Borough Market, Las Ramblas Market in Barcelona and the tradition of yesterday years when producers of artisan products and country farmers traveled to cities such as New York to sell their delicious offerings to us city folk.

How appropriate that the site of the New Amsterdam Market is being held once a month in the footsteps of the old wholesale Fulton Fish Market (which was relocated to the Bronx Hunts Point Market Area )

Hopefully the indoor space of the Fulton Market can be restored into a glorious new retail market space one day in the near future (merely an educated guess on my part)

THE NEW AMSTERDAM MARKET

The resurgence of interest in artistanal foods,
the slow food movement, the quest
for the 100 mile menu and a healthy interest
in local organic and/or naturally produced
food and beverage all contribute to the need
and desire for more markets
like the New Amsterdam Market in NYC
and other urban areas.

As a citizen and a NYC boutique caterer

Thank you for bringing this
newest fantastic market to our fair city!


The next scheduled dates in 2009 for
the New Amsterdam Market will
be 22nd of November and 20th December.
Giving you enough time to order
or pick up speciality food for the
upcoming holidays such as Thanksgiving + beyond.

think organic - think local - think fresh - think delicious!

free range turkeys, crown roast of pork,
oysters for the new year,
handmade preserves + cheeses for those cheese boards,
organic chocolate for anytime!!!


With a different slant and emphasis than the
Greenmarkets, the New Amsterdam Market
does not require vendors
to be the sole growers of the food they sell.
Meaning that distributors, butchers
and makers of prepared foods,
like Fairway Markets and Basis Foods
(eg Basis Farm to Chef picks up from farmers
+ delivers to wholesale customers), can + do
participate in the retail New Amsterdam Market.

The founder of The New Amsterdam Market,
Robert LaValva is a man with a mission
read about this unsung hero here in this article
in the Soho News

Serving seasonal delicious, fresh, local
+ often organic (or naturally grown) food
creates a vibrant market that is more than
a stop on a checklist of weekend errands,
but a place that fosters a new age
of local community and social gathering.

With this type of commitment
to source regional ingredients
the by product is a natural promotion
of rural + urban economic development
of small businesses and independent farms
that we so need to support!!



and for all that + a bag of terra chips,
CuisinEtc, a NYC boutique Caterer, is very grateful !

seed art from the Hudson Valley Seed Library

heirloom seeds with local roots~!






real masa from NYS corn

turned into fantastic quesadillas
by Hot Bread Kitchen









HOT BREAD KITCHEN IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT:
--Bakes artisanal breads from around the world
-- Creates a community of bakers and bread connoisseurs
who are committed to preserving bread-making traditions
-- Honors the culinary experience of immigrant women
and provides entrepreneurial and job skills

Queens County Farm Museum

Floral Park, New York

fresh, seasonal produce grown on New York City's oldest working farm

torpedo sized burgers - pure beef and delicious




Monique from Roquette Catering happily rolling truffles



organic mexican style chocolate

crunchy + delicious

home/made - delicious truffles and preserved fruits


try that in your next bloody mary
- Brooklyn Brine they are Rick's Picks competitors
(both were at the market)


Brooklyn Larder was selling a plate of
herbed white beans with housemade sausage
that smelled and looked divine...





Last Sunday I had the pleasure of wandering around the

New Amsterdam Market - a very new NYC experience

outside the old Fulton Fish Market in lower Manhattan

located on South Street, between

Beekman St. + Peck Slip

11:00am to 4:00pm once a month usually on a Sunday

the vendors were all food related and came from across the eastern seaboard

and even as far as California (olive oil) and

included prepared foods, cheeses,

breads, sausages, chocolates, meats,

seafood and fish, produce, wines and more.

check out the vendor list here

meanwhile until you can get there,

please enjoy some photos of FEW of the many offerings

we had a chance to observe and sample.

As boutique NYC Caterers the CuisinEtc team

is always on the prowl for interesting new

sources and local/regional vendors to work

with as our team from CuisinEtc Catering + Special Events

produce our farm to table events

and seasonal fresh food offerings.

The vendors at the were very generous with tastings and information.

longest line Luke's Lobster

apparently it takes 4-5 lobster claws

to make one of these

lobster rolls

griddled buns ready to be "lobsterized"


basting butter into the lobster rolls


....MUSHROOMS!

His shirt reads

"BACON

THE GATEWAY MEAT"

Fleishers Grass Feed Meat

Kingston, NY



so many samples, so many delicious opportunities to taste REAL FOOD ........

guess someone's dogs were barking after walking round the market all day!

journeys that transform- buddist luncheon @ artist's loft NYC

an autumn luncheon in honor of shantum seth beloved buddist teacher

cuisinetc catering and special events presents a fusion american cuisine menu to honor the beloved teacher shantum seth and his guests - a gathering of friends for an afternoon of spiritual nourishing of the mind, body and soul.

american fusion fall hors d’oeuvres
• autumnal root veggie chips
• zucchini provencal with house made crostinis
• organic house made trail mix
• herbed goats cheese with apple sage chutney
• kims rosemary olives
• fresh mozzarella pinwheels with artichokes + sundried tomato
• fresh mozzarella platini with fire roasted red pepper pesto
• mini colored peppers crudite & fresh fall pomegranates

american fusion fall luncheon menu in honor of shantum seth
..scarborough fair wild mushroom bread pudding
creamy foccacia gratin of wild mushrooms, enrobed in heavy cream & gruyere cheese with parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme

...bombay bytes
our infamous mini Samosas with housemade cilantro coconut chutney

..roasted pepper & tomato soup sippers with knotted stuffed olive skewer served in glass demitasse cups atop glass chess board garnished with a bounty of colorful spicy peppers

..organic rocket + wild arugula, watercress & angelhair strands of yellow & red beets, gorgonzola blue cheese, toasted walnuts
with musto vinaigrette and wind farms peppery flavored nasturtium flowers

nasturtium |naˈstər sh əm; nə-|n nouna South American trailing plant with round leaves and bright orange,yellow, or red edible flowers that is widely grown as an ornamental. •Tropaeolum majus, family Tropaeolaceae.ORIGIN Old English , from Latin, apparently from naris ‘nose’ +torquere ‘to twist.

..vietnamese catfish bhan mai with asian slaw

..fresh Italian brown turkey figs
drizzled with lavender + key lime honeyed greek yogurt

served with brown sugar rosemary shortbread
and new york state honey comb

and

..all american chocolate epiphany cookies -bittersweet chocolate & toasted walnut




paradise tropical Ice tea infused with mango + passionfruit
to compliment the
beverages provided by host
(fairtrade coffee, lurisa sparkling water,
longueville sparkling cider + monkey day white wine)

Fall Harvest Oneg Shabbat - Simcat Torah

dried bartlett pears, rings of organic dried apples

pretzel bytes, chocolate chips, chili infused dried pineapple

+ crystalized ginger make

for an exciting naturally beautiful fall harvest trail mix

enjoying the harvest

feastival oneg shabbat goodies!




colorful root veggie chips with

earthtone pumpkin display


the girls have a chocolate dipped strawberry score!!!


bubby's apple kugel on organic apple riser

accented with chocolate dipped apricots

and fall leaves

earth tone pumpkins

with fall harvest dried fruit + pretzel trail mix

Farm to Table Sukkot Festival ........... a One Hundred and One Mile Journey of Deliciousness

Farm to Table Sukkot Festival

Sunday October 4th

2 - 4 pm

the New Shul NYC

272 W 10th St

New York City

A taste of the Menu for Sukkot FEAST- A - VAL

for the kid in all of us

...old fashioned mac & cheese

...Organic Turnip and Honey Apple Soup

...Bhel Puri Organic Yukon Gold Potato with suffolk county farm grown onions, fresh cilantro, suffolk county farm grown stringbeans, cuisinetc housemade cilantro + tamarind dressing and crunchy Indian noodles.

...CuisinEtc Crostini Bar

housemade garlic + herb Crostinis

with various housemade spreads + toppings such as
..red + yellow farmstand tomato + zucchini provencal

...eggplant capanata

..wilted chard with sage, garlic & white beans + musto dressing

..olive tapenade

>>international + domestic cheese boards

- assorted cheeses

>>julienned organic carrots + black sesame salad

>>organic marinated broccoli salad with mini pepper rings

served in natural oversized pumpkin bowl

>> naturally grown string bean, apples,

nuts & romaine salad with honey balsamic dressing

>>union square farmers market zucchini provencal

served in North fork grown pumpkin bowl -

and more...

>>Briermere Farms New York State Fall Honey Crisp Apples

hand dipped by Lisa Teiger CuisinEtc Culinary Artist, in caramel

AND MORE.....

families welcome and encouraged

activities and teachings for young and old

Come join the new Shul and celebrate the Sukkot harvest

with delicous farm to table food from

local North Fork Long Island farmers

cooked up by our talented culinary team at CuisinEtc.

.. Peter Danforth who manages a school program at the Suffolk county farm

(insert link here) will be available talk about summer camp programs

and his connections to the local long island farmers and organic farming

sure to be an exciting experience for all!!

Families will be able to sample foods made with

produce grown within a hundred miles of their front door

and we will send you home with some just picked goodies

and sample recipe links as well as literature on

local nyc csa's (community supported agriculture)

so that you too can get involved on the grassroots level

in supporting these dedicated New York organic

in their never ending quest to bring real food to the NY table!!.

Menu will revolve around fresh produce from North Fork Farms

such as

Suffolk Farm Yukon Gold Potatoes

made into a Bhel Puri Indian Potato + Chickpea Salad

LI Fresh Turnips + Honey Roasted Apple Soup ** see recipe below

Briermere Farms Long Island Honey Crisp Apples Dipped in Caramel

Garden of Eve Broccoli - tossed with Thai Vinaigrette + fresh pepper rings

kid friendly offerings as well...

AND MORE

come join in the FEASTIVIITES -

check out the local and Jewish program at the New Shul Blogsite for upcoming details

as well as the calendar on the New Shul website for further details

the location will be

at the Village Community School Outdoor Yard

and in the tradition of sukkot we will be eating under the sukka

children will be able to decorate the sukka and have fun playing, learning and eating

their way through this festive harvest festival holiday.

The New Shul

at the Village Community School

272 W 10th St

New York City

thanks to the Long Island North Fork Farms for their
contributions of fresh organic and naturally grown produce
Think Globally, Eat Locally

NYC Greenmarkets

"When you speak of the East End of Long Island, many New Yorkers aren’t even aware that there is a North Fork; it’s all Hamptons all the time. But while the South Fork has been busy amassing celebrity residents and a permanent place in the gossip columns, the North Fork has quietly gone about staging a revolution in winemaking and organic, sustainable agriculture. For serious foodies, this is where the real action is."
Excerpted from the I love NY site

Project soar Stewards of Americas Harvest
at the Suffolk County Farm
Bushels of naturally grown, pestide + chemical free veggies
...Yukkon gold potato
....Onions
....Green beans

Peter Danforth

Director of Operations for Project SOAR

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County

350 Yapank Rd.

Yaphank, NY 11980

631-300-5998

pd236@cornell.edu

Peter donated more than just produce with his organic and natural presents and charming presence

at the Sukkot event.

He spoke about farming and handed out literature

He solicited and collected the various donations and faciliated the delivery

without his help this event would have been much less ORGANIC and delicious

and we thank him for his naturally delicious contributions -

life is a journey and

Peter helped to make it a delicious one.

Peter is a

green mensch & a half

in my book...

KK's "THE FARM"
K.K. Haspel, Farmer

Southould

North Fork Long Island New York

"K.K. Haspel runs The Farm, where she practices a type of farming known as biodynamics, which is kind of like organic farming taken to a whole new level. “It’s spiritual,” Hayden explains. “It’s going back to the Native Americans. You follow lunar planting cycles, purging the earth of any impurities, planting frankincense, myrrh, all this stuff that goes back to the Bible—it gets a little wacky.”
But it works, he insists. What convinced him at first were her tomatoes. “Her tomatoes were the real deal. They were ugly and gnarly, but delicious. At the time she had a very small crop. If you go over there today she’s growing the entire seven acres with raised beds, three greenhouses. She makes her own compost, and it is like black gold. She grows everything from edemame to fresh ginger root. Her farm is unbelievable.”
And that growth is directly tied into the symbiotic relationship Haspel shares with the North Fork Table & Inn. If the restaurant needs something, Haspel plants it. If Haspel has a good batch of something else, the chefs swing by and add it to the menu. (Today it’s Russian red kale to complement the halibut.) And, if they need something, the chefs just pop up the road and clip it off the stalk themselves. “We’re serving stuff that’s three, four hours out of the ground,” Fleming adds. “You can’t beat that.”
After our chat, Hayden and Fleming sent us up the street (less than a mile) to see Haspel’s operation first hand. We drove up, and K.K., a lanky, amiable woman in her sixties, strolled out to meet us and take us around. She led us through her greenhouses and her fields, explaining her techniques. “I start everything from seed,” she says. “It’s a holistic approach to organics. Organic farming is more about the materials you use, like how you rotate your crops and not using pesticides. We do that, but biodynamics is actually about attracting positive cosmic influences. I plant with a certain calendar, depending on where the moon and star constellations are. In Europe it’s pretty mainstream.”
Hayden is right. It is a little wacky, but walking around Haspel’s farm, eating greens and vegetables right off the stalk, bursting with flavor, you couldn’t really argue. Learning about biodynamic farming is a bit like going to a yoga class. You can scoff at all the talk of chakras and energy fields, but, walking out loose and relaxed, darn it if you don’t feel a thousand times better than you did walking in. That night, sitting down to dinner at the North Fork Table & Inn, the beauty and benefits of biodynamics were on full display. From the restaurant’s tasting menu we enjoyed a vast spectrum of local produce and game, from delectable roasted golden beets with pistachios and ricotta to pancetta-crusted rabbit loin with fava beans and asparagus. A pairing of local North Fork wines with each course made the perfect accent to the fresh, flavorful fare."
excerpted from I LOVE NY SITE

special note from Lisa Teiger of CuisinEtc - I have personally visited and purchased organic green zebra plants for planting at Mark Unger's New York Natural Farm this summer - KK and her family have an amazing operation that runs smoothly and efficiently - she is most often found in faded farmers overalls - clipping flowers and veggies and prepping the farm along with her husband, son and many workers to produce the fantastic produce that we have come to crave. Thank you KK for all that you do and for participating in our Sukkot Harvest Feast- a- val - in my eyes, you are an Alice Waters of the North Fork...


KK the Farm
Biodynamic Farming
thank you for your donation of Fresh Turnips

which we turned into "turnip and honey apple soup"

(see recipe at bottom of this blog entry)

Ira & KK Haspel

khaspel@irahaspel.com

59945 Main Rd

Southold, NY 11971-4709

telephone: 631-765-2075

Affiliation: NOFA-NY Farmer's Pledge

Products: NCP: Heirloom Tomatoes, Strawberries, Raspberries, Yellow Wax Beans, Lettuce Mix, Swiss Chard, Garlic, Edamane, Potatoes, Leeks, Cut Flowers, Tomato Transplants

Locations: At Farm (see above address)

Sang Lee Farm
Fred & Karen Lee

25180 County Rd 48

Peconic New York 11958-1319
North Fork Long Island New York

Telephone 631-734-7001

Fax 631-734-7103

Email fred@sangleefarms.com

Web Site www.sangleefarms.com

Locations At Farm ((see above address)

Affiliation NOFA-NY Certified Organic

Products COP: Asian & Baby Salad Greens, Heirloom Tomatoes, Herbs, Specialty Peppers, Eggplant, Squash, Beans, Edaname, Chinese Cabbage, Baby Bok Choy, Asian Vegetables, Summer Melons | NCP: Edible Flowers, Perennials, Cut Flowers, Potted Flowering Plants

Sang Lee Farms is a family owned and operated Certified Organic Specialty Vegetable Farm selling through their retail farm stand, farm CSA and at several farmer's markets located around the Long Island area during the growing season.


They are especially well known for their Asian produce, Baby Salad greens, Heirloom Tomatoes and their own line of specialty food products that include Salad Dressings, Pestos, Dips, Cooking sauces, Pickled and Canned Vegetables. They offer U-pick Heirloom tomatoes, tours and special events with advanced arrangements and reservations. Please call or e-mail for more information.

You can find Sang Lee at NYC Greenmarkets (see various greenmarket locations)
eg Fulton Green Market in Brooklyn,
Union Square Farmers Market


thank you Sang Lee Farms for the contribution of
Organic Broccoli which many people got to take home

and we also demonstrated how to make Organic Thai style broccoli salad

(see recipe at the bottom of this blog post)

Garden of Eve
Chris & Eve Kaplan-Walbrecht

PO Box 216, 267 Pennys Rd, Riverhead

631-523-6608

farm stand is in Aquebogue or perhaps Mattituck

North Fork Long Island New York

Email farmer@gardenofevefarm.com

Web Site www.gardenofevefarm.com

Locations NYC: West Side, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, McCarren Pk, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Heights, Kensington, Windsor Ter, Manhassett, Bayport, Roslyn

Affiliation NOFA-NY Certified Organic

Products COP: Mesclun, Heirloom Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Zucchini, Swiss Chard, Kale, Squash, Pumpkin, Cut Flowers, Garlic, Berries, Herbs, Melons, Potted Herbs | NCP: Free-range Eggs

thanks to Garden of Eve for

their donation of Assorted Organic greens
Kale, Arugula, Swiss chard Collard greens Romaine + Napa

which many members got to take home

New York Natural Farm
Mattituck
North Fork Long Island New York


the accidental garden pumpkins and assorted squashes
Mark Unger, Farmer
Pumpkins & Assorted Squashes

thank you for your donation of pumpkins that were used

for the bowls and displays.

Briermere Farms - thank you to Clark Briermere and his family for donating the apples that we used for dipping in the caramel. and to Clark for his advice to farmer Mark on the accidental garden pumpkins too. Briermere Farms is a 2009 Particpant in the Agricultural Stewardship Program of Suffolk County. Here's the skinny on that

Briermere Farms

4414 Sound Avenue

Riverhead, NY 1190

(631) 722-8421

Participates in a project to reduce the number of fruit orchard moth pests by using pheromones; naturally occurring chemicals which are given off by the femal moth to attract the male.

The Stewardship Project in conjunction with Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County

Uses phereomones to disrupt the male moths' mating patterns. Pheromone saturated "ties" are hung in fruit trees. Adult males become distracted (just like teenagers) and cannot locate a female moth to mate, preventing future generations and eventually eliminating the pest. The goal is for pheromone disruption to become a common method of controlling pests.

Both Suffolk County and the rest of the world thanks Briermere farms for participating in the Program's ongoing research to find NATURAL methods of controlling pests in fruit orchards.

and I would personally like to thank Clark and his family for their delicious fruits, vegetables and especially for their incredible RASPBERRY PIES made on site at the farm using their own fruits and labors - truly a chowhound experience not to be missed is stopping by the various farms listed above and partaking in fresh, organic and naturally grown produce and baked goods - you and your family will cherish the experience.

and to the mensch of the day,
Peter Danforth

for his wonderful presentation
and dedication to the cause of promoting farming
and his personal Chocolate peppers
due to a glitch with the new Suffolk County Farm
there is no current web link for the programs such as SOAR

that Peter runs, but you can reach him directly

with questions and for information at 631.300.5998

I will update the blog with a direct link when it becomes available.




as part of the CuisinEtc experience and routine,

Chef Andrew and I frequent NYC Farmers markets

in the various boroughs

and for this event
also purchased various items from
the Union square Farmers Market
such as
colorful organic Mini peppers
farmstand yellow and red tomatoes
fresh organic herbs such as sage, mint, lavender, lemon thyme
Cape gooseberries
Romanesque broccoli
fresh zucchini and yellow squash
cilantro,


LI Fresh Turnips + Honey Roasted Harvest Apple Soup

recipe adapted from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant
a fantastic vegetarian legacy restaurant

Apple and Turnip Soup


1 medium onion, chopped

1 T butter

3 medium-large turnips, peeled and chopped (about 3 cups)

3 large crisp apples, peeled, cored, and sliceded (about 3 cups)

then sauteed with butter and honey until just soft but not mushy
1 -2 t fresh lemon thyme

1/2t salt

1 1/4C vegie stock or water

1 1/2-2C apple juice

freshly ground pepper


In a large saucepan, saute the onion in butter for about 5 minutes, until translucent but not browned.
Add the chopped turnips and honey roasted apples along with the salt and herbs.
Saute for another 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. 
Add the stock or water and cook, covered, on low heat for 20-30 minutes,
until the turnips are soft and tender.

Add the spices.
In a blender or food processor, puree the soup with the juice,
until smooth and thick.
Season with pepper to taste.
Serve with optional garnishes,
such as swirl of creme fraiche or greek yogurt, if desired.

Organic Thai Style Broccoli Salad

(thanks to CJ for the original recipe which we have modified natch)

INGREDIENTS:

1 -2 heads organic broccoli, broken into smallish florets

(did you all recognize the taste difference in the organic fresh broccoli from Eve's and how there was NO bitterness - just the fresh wonderful broccoli flavor)

4-5 organic baby red, orange + yellow peppers, cut into rings

(or 1-2 big sized organic colored peppers cut into julienne strips)

1 cup organic vegetable oil (do NOT use olive oil - you want a more neutral flavor here)

½ cup organic red wine vinegar

½ cup organic rice wine vinegar

1 cup organic demerara sugar

¼ cup organic wheat free tamari (wood aged) or if not good quality soy sauce

Salt

Pepper

Crushed organic red pepper flakes (to taste)

optional: 1 cup organic roasted cashews or organic roasted peanuts (honey roasted is great as are flavored nuts that you can get at Trader Joes)

optional: organic mandarin orange segments (preferably not sweetened)

optional: canned or fresh waterchestnuts peeled and sliced (harder to find organic)

PREPARATION:

1) Make Thai vinaigrette by whisking together oil, vinegars, sugar, soy sauce, salt (to taste), pepper (to taste) and crushed red pepper (to taste).

2) Marinate broccoli heads, rings of red, orange + yellow peppers in Thai vinaigrette (at least 4 hours, and up to 1 day in advance).

3) optional Just before serving, mix in/top with spiced cashews or honey roasted peanuts.

Yield: 4 to 8 servings

*** Dawn’s notes: Per Carl: can add a can crushed tomatoes; bring to a boil and cool before marinating veggies. Can also add sun dried cherries for a nice effect.

Break Fast - Yom Kippur Meal

break fast at the New Shul NYC

bubby's apple kugel

grilled salmon niscoise

bagels, pumpernickel rolls, buttermilk biscuits

country bread, vidalia egg salad

caesar salad

chocolate milk shakes went before everything else

everyone from young to old loved them

grilled asparagus + veggies yum!

New Shul Yom Kippur Break Fast at the VCS

peaking over the bread

at the vidalia egg salad

YOM KIPPUR Break Fast

Caprese salad with fresh mozzarella heirloom

cherry tomato & herbed pasta salad

Jewish Star Israeli Cous Cous

with Spicy Morrocan Chickpea Stew

Olive Tapenade Mousse on mini biscuits

Sunflower Hummous Display with Carrot Petals + Olive “Seeds”

green platter

Lemon Scented Dolmatis & Red Pepper Confetti

Cheese board Wheel of Romano

Spanish Manchego

dark irish cheddar + Guiness

Jarlsberg Light Slices

Blue Gouda

Pap

olives various glasses

Caesar salad with Croissant Croutons

Potato + Three Cheese Casserole

Grilled veggie salad

Grilled Salmon Niscoise Salad

(sliced baguettes on side)

with mixed greens and veggies

Our Outrageously good Vidalia Egg Salad

sesame studded pumpernickel rolls

dark rye

assorted bagels

coconut meringues

watermelon

pineapples & two colored grapes

creamy apple kugel

Halloween and the Haunted Luncheon

Halloween without a doubt one of the MOST fun holiday to cater

- a fabulous combo of great fall
harvest vegetables, natural and whimsical decor, fun desserts
and spooky manufactured props....

there are articles all over the web about how to put

together a fun and funky celebration that bring families

and neighbors together in the spirit of a good time.

Even (or shall we say whatever) Martha has compiled

terrific tips and examples of readers creativity over the years.

Here's a link to her articles on decorating your home

Earlier this week we were asked to put together a
Halloween Luncheon Menu for one of the Queens Malls
for their retail associates meeting.

here's the 2009 Halloween Catering Event Menu New York City

Décor: black and orange Halloween décor with touches of fall colors
and whimsical Halloween displays with fun and elegant displays
we were thrilled with some of the decorating tips that
martha's site offers especially the shimmerly spray painted
silver pumpkins - have used this technique on artichokes
and what a great idea to spray the pumpkins silver for
a very up-market elegant look

I have been a Martha decor devotee since my early days in catering
(today is the 26th anniversary of my first wedding catering job - my own wedding
in 1983) - and as always, Martha takes decorating pumpkins to a New Level

Associates Buffet Luncheon to include

Our outrageous housemade dips and spreads
Including
Olive and artichoke tapenade
Anti vampire parsley & roasted garlic hummous
& Chunky guacamole

Served in mini squashes & pumpkins
with mini bales of hay, fall leaves, pot of mums


and a wooden truck filled with
pita triangles, crackers, blue & gold tortilla chips
and baby carrots display
atop of riser of mini white or orange pumpkins


“Bloody Brains” Rondele Cheese Mound
garlic and herb cream cheese pate covered with fresh salsa “blood”
and surrounded by crackers

Popping Olive Eyeballs
pimento stuffed olives popping out of pastry eyelid


Large cauldron of turkey and black bean warlocks brew chili
served hot in an elegant copper round chafers to simulate
the pumpkin patch surrounded by mini pumpkin decor and wheatgrass

served with Baked Potato Bar

other toppings for Potato, besides the chili, to include
shredded cheddar
scallions
sour cream


Dem Bones
Petit Crestless Sandwiches cut into Bone Shapes
stuffed with our infamous Southern Pimento Cheddar Cheese Spread
(add ham as an optional extra)



Orange BBQ Spiders Eggs
Delicious citrus kissed bbq glazed
all beef meatballs topped with a veggie “spider” garnish


-Haunted Bisquits Mini Sandwiches
Spooky Cheddar & Black Sesame Biscuits,
wIth assorted fillings such as
Smoked Turkey,
Black Forest Ham & Brie ,
Tuna with Apples & Carrots
and Fresh Mozzarella with Pesto


Dessert Display - choose three varieties

..tombstone brownies..fingers of doom cookies
..witches hats filled with chocolate, Marcello, dried cran-raisons & nuts


..eye of the good witch vanilla cream puffs
..lockness monster finger pastries with nutella filling

CuisinEtc … Halloween Caterers in NYC and beyond

CuisinEtc, always more than just great food …

646-932-3496

Jewish New Years Customs - honey dipped apples + round challahs

A beautiful service tonight with the congregation singing traditional prayers, lead by Musical Director Ellen and untraditional sermon by Rabbi Dan espousing on how we are not being present in our here and now lives but often too busy focused ahead or on technology or our busy lives.

After services, a small nosh of farmers market apples slices & chunks of traditional rosh hashannah round challahs to dip in fresh honey along with colorful Terra Chips a glass of bubbly, or a sip of sparkling water - allowed the congregation to mingle wishing each other a Happy Healthy and Sweet New Year. I meet so many new people - there were about 150 at the erev rosh ha shannah services and am beginning to recognize some faces and even remember a few names.

The display was simple yet pretty - highlighting the fresh apples and colorful chips.

Apples Challah + Honey for a Sweet New Year - Shana Tova Vey Metucah

cheese glorious cheese

was thinking of entering a cheese contest

run by Ile De France Cheese
and started to look at the numerous

cheese displays from the various catering gigs that
we have managed to get photos of

(never have time to take photos

of the best ones it seems)
and it was just turned into

a cheese glorious cheese experience!!

Hope you enjoy looking at all these

delicious and pretty cheeses!

So figured I would share the wealth

so to speak or at least the photos.

Who said that man can not live on cheese alone

- certainly gout could be a problem, but oh what a way to go!

So the criteria for this blog is either straight up cheese board stuff
or food with cheese featured in them
- like the watermelon + feta salad with black olives + mint.

fabulous california + west coast cheese boards

for Sonoma Wine Dinner

window display of cheese stall

in central market Bologna Italy

french cheese board for Calyon Bank NYC

Parmesan storage in Parma Italy

triple creme brie frosted

with mango chutney

+ studded with pistachios

House made heart shaped rondele cheese torta

with edible flower garnish

& sundried tomato tapenade center

very very exclusive

expensive wedding cheese cart

now that's some cheese "cake"

crusted with hot pepper flakes

& pomegranite garnish

mac n cheese lollipop hors d'oeuvres

simply elegant wheel of parmesan

baked potato bar with

cheddar cheese,

sour cream,

& other non cheese accompaniments

lobster mac + cheese shortplate

Italian lollipops two ways

grana padana

Holiday Tree with

Cheese Stars

rosemary marinated

pepato cheese cubes

as bar display

sun kissed cheese display

with kumquats, olives + flatbreads

gaudi's mound

- spanish goats cheese

with orange zest,

chopped olives

& chives

antipasto cheese + meat display

atop impressive wheel of parmesan riser

feta + watermelon salad

with black olives + fresh mint

manchego + quince

aged provolone surrounded

by chunks of mortadella

early days corporate cheese board

(for delivery)

cheese stars surrounding

rondele cheese with

sundried tomato + parmesan tapenade

cheese surrounded by

+ topped with cheese

lighting the wheel of parmesan

getting ready for the pasta

don't you just love the elegant look of a whole wheel of parmesan

9-11 Memorial Dinner - @ the New Shul

The New Shul commemorated the 8th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks with a memorial service that included reading of the kaddash (the Jewish memorial prayer for the dead), members speaking about their own personal experiences, singing of prayers as well as a Oneg Shabbat dinner entitled "Shtelt Shabbat" Although a somber day for us all as both New Yorkers and Americans coming together as a community to pray, talk, and eat was a huge comfort - at least it was for me, a non religious jewish New Yorker who finds 9-11 a day that I crave the comfort of community.

And as caterers we have the absolute privilege of
bringing joy and comfort to folks in both happy and sad times
via the food that we cook and serve.

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,,Baked Potato Bar with Down Home Toppings
Shredded Cheddar *** Sour Cream
Caramelized Mushrooms & Sage
Sesame Scented Edamame Beans

with Smoked Tofu

Savory Cheese Tortas
including

...Rondele Torta with Pesto & Sundried Tomato

….Barcelona Gaudi Cheese Mound
Spanish goat cheese, cream cheese
orange zest, green pimento

stuffed olives & scallions

.. Wild Salmon Topped with Morrocan Chermoula Sauce

.. Lemon Scented Orzo Salad

with Cherry Tomato, & Roasted Corn

.. Bulgarian Watermelon, Feta,

Cured Black Olives, Red Onion & Mint

surrounded by a bed of greens

... Zesty Sweet & Sour Broccoli,

Mandarin Oranges & Colored Peppers

.. Maple Roasted Pumpkin with Chickpeas,

Edamame & Roasted Garlic

.. Crunchy Romaine & Spinach Salad With
Thinly Shaved Red Onion, Salt & Pepper Walnuts
& Farm Stand Apples, Red Wine Vinaigrette

.. and for Yummy Dessert,
Eastern European Blintz Cupcakes topped with Fresh Fruit & Sour Cream

Thursday, September 10, 2009

bar and bat mitzvah kiddush menus

Menu A

assorted finger pastries to include rugelach & more

and our signature Krispie treats with chocolate drizzle

opened faced Tapas style sandwiches

..hummous flower with parsley atop toasted pita triangles

..waldorf tuna on 7 grain

..jewish white fish salad on pumpernickel squares

..smoked salmon & cream cheese mousse piped on mini bagels

..peanut butter and strawberry jam pinwheels

cherry cheese kugel squares

sliced fresh pineapple with grapes clusters

optional: add the following salads to menu A

red bliss potato salad with sour cream & fresh dill

pesto pasta salad – with broccoli, peppers, cherry tomato, sliced olives & havarti cheese

oriental cabbage salad

baby corn, snow pea pods, enoki mushrooms, julienned carrots, nappa cabbage

& black sesame seeds tossed sesame mandarin orange vinaigrette

Menu B

house-made treats to include

melt in your mouth chocolate and fruit filled handmade rugelach

tender sliced orange or lemon tea cake fingers

really chocolate chip cookies

and our signature Krispie treats with chocolate drizzle

sliced fresh pineapple & grapes display

freshly baked NY bagels...the real deal

served with cream cheese

albacore tuna salad with granny smith apples, carrots & scallions in lemon aioli

pickled herring in wine sauce

smoked salmon with bowtie pasta, asparagus & lemon poppy seed dressing.

balsamic mesculin greens, sugar snap peas and strawberry salad with goats cheese crumbles

for the kid in all of us: mac & cheese with Vermont cheddar & provolone

Menu C

house made treats to include

melt in your mouth chocolate, raspberry & apricot handmade rugelach

choice of old fashioned fall apple nut bundt cakes

or sliced double chocolate marble loaves

or zingy lemon or orange tea breads

and our signature Krispie treats with chocolate drizzle

falafel station - continuously cooked fresh by chef attendant

house made falafel – with fresh parsley, cilantro & middle eastern seasonings

mini pita bread

with choice of 2 accompaniments

..Israeli chopped vegetable salad with tomatoes, peppers & cucumbers,

..lemon scented Moroccan spiced carrots with roasted chickpeas

...east meets west ginger smoked eggplant baba ganoush

(or traditional creamy middle eastern version)

...red cabbage slaw with white wine vinaigrette & caraway seeds

med rim grazing station

hummous sunflower with cherry tomato petals & olive “seeds”

panini bytes with grilled eggplant, roasted pepper & pepato cheese

med rim citrus scented dolmatis with goats cheese & red pepper

fish and salad station

fresh salmon primavera –baked filet of salmon shingled with thinly sliced yellow squash, green zucchini, roasted lemon & rosy tomatoes

topped with gremalta of panko, fresh herbs & lemon zest.

orange scented cous-cous salad with dried fruits and nuts

Croissant Caesar

tender hearts of Romaine with house made vegetarian

Caesar dressing, studded with buttery herbed croissant croutons & hand shredded parmesan

Menu D

house-made treats to include

melt in your mouth raspberry & apricot handmade rugelach

rivers of milk and dark chocolate with fresh fruit & berries, cream puffs & marshmellow dippers

strongly suggested attendant to assist with dipping and drizzling

artfully arranged Smoked Salmon display

with capers, lemons, cucumber & sliced tomato

freshly baked NY bagels ,

Jewish Rye & Artisan Rosemary Foccacia...

served with assorted cream cheese & tapenades

including

..our outrageous oilive & artichoke tapenade,

..parmesan sundried tomato cream cheese mousse

..scallion cream cheese

& traditional cream cheese

plus two of the following salads

Jewish style whitefish salad

albacore tuna salad with white beans & oregano red wine vinagrette

Russian egg salad – studded with chopped olives & roasted red onions

plus two of the following salads

spinach & watercress salad with marinated artichokes & roasted peppers

wild rice & toasted orzo with grilled corn, vibrant Edamame beans,

currants, sun-dried apricots & toasted slivered almonds

fresh mozzarella and cherry tomatoes with bowtie pasta

drizzled with EVOO, fresh basil & balsamic pomegranate reduction

plus choose one hot dish of

old skool cheese blintzes , mango applesauce & sour cream

or

Old-fashioned mac and cheese

(add falafel station: $4.25 per guest plus staff charge)

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Tale of the Tiger Food Safari Day 2 - Billysburg Brooklyn + Union Square Market + Fresh HOT Matza

at the farmers market vegetables sometimes

come with instructions and suggestions

local honey produced in NYC

- Brooklyn has BEES

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

but to taste is to love

Scarsborough Fair Herbs

Parsley Sage Rosemary & Thyme - and Chocolate Mint

have you ever had fresh HOT matza right off the machine -

thank you Bella, the matza maven,

for giving us this fantastic treat.

We will probably never be able buy

matza from the supermarket again.

Chef Andrew remarked that

he hadn't realized that most matza

is stale until tasting the fresh one.

MMMMnnn MAtza

think of all the changes this business

has seen in their long hiatus in the lower east side

fun facades driving through hipster Billysburg

After a successful send-off and food safari with Ben and Hong Mei last week,

Andrew and I had another great day with just the two of us, exploring some stops from Manhattan's Lower East Side Streit's Matza Factory to the Wednesday market at Union Square and finally crossing the Williamsburg bridge on the ride back to Queens, we detoured into Hipster Billysburg for some great new adventures.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

tales of the tiger brooklyn food safari Day 1

Tales of the Tiger Food Safari's is an ongoing family tradition and often involves out of town visitors and family members.

This summer our son Ben and his girlfriend Hong Mei spent a few weeks with us while they were teaching at the New York Urban Debate League's High School Summer Debate Camp otherwise known as CITI - of course they were thrilled to have good home cooked meals organized by chef dad and chef mom - which ranged from gourmet to down home cooking.

A few times we prepped a feast of garlic infused fresh mussels - prepared in a few different styles - all delicious, fresh and enjoyable. This was everyone's favorite meal that had us all mnnning and groaning with delight. But Ben had a request that we take Hong Mei to DiFara's for Pizza - so what's a mom to do - but organize a food safari to the BK for world class pizza.

Those of you who know and love DiFara's Pizza - Avenue J and 15th Street in Midwood, Brooklyn probably realize that this is a fleeting experience that could disappear in the blink of an eye if something ever happened to Dom - the amazing pizza artisan.

Dom hand snipping a fresh basil shower onto a pie

Recently the New York Times reported that DiFara's raised their slice price to $5 a slice, making it one of the most expensive slices in NYC - and the pies are now $25 for the round and $30 for the sicilian pie (9 slices). And to top it off the wait for a pie is anywhere from a quick one hour up to 2.5 hours - but oh is it worth it... both in terms of money and time.

So the Sunday Ben was leaving to return to Baltimore for the fall semester we trekked off to Brooklyn on a Tale of the Tiger Food Safari.

First stop was actually White Castle - not planned but Hong Mei had never tried White Castle she requested we stop (she's a native of Singapore who has lived in Baltimore since High School and now goes to the New School/NYC) . While White Castle is certainly not gourmet cuisine, it is a long time player on the NY food scene - and as sliders are more popular than ever - not bad for a quick bite, but not our ultimate destination either.

We always stop and get something to eat before going for DiFara's Pizza - 'cause as I mentioned the wait can be quite long and if you are not starving when you get there certainly the aroma and the visual show of standing at the counter watching Dom make these beauties will cause you to get more and more anxious if you come in with an empty tummy.

So before hitting DiFara's (and they weren't answering the phone to place an order before we got there - not that that always works either ) we stopped in Brooklyn's Sunset Park Chinatown, and wandered down the long strip in search of some delicacies. We ended up sharing a big bowl of hand pulled noodles with beef "stew" as we watched the man behind the small counter swinging the dough around to stretch the noodles.

Walking back to the car, we encountered lots of asian fruits and veggies, like our favoriterambutan (hairy cousin to the lychee), fresh lychee & dragon fruit to name a few.

Hong Mei who is fluent in Mandarin & Cantonese,

helped to buy a taro root cake stuffed with bean paste

off a lady selling them from a granny cart

in the middle of one of the crowded blocks

- a bright orange concoction that had a pleasant

not too sweet somewhat starchy chewy taste.

The color is amazing!

Dom signed a pizza box - for Grace's birthday Pie

- she didn't want chocolate she wanted DiFara's Pizza

and her lovely husband waited on line

and then got Dom to autograph the box!

this is the flour encrusted hand of a pizza genius

Saturday, August 29, 2009

GREY'S ANATOMY Themed Event

So as you may have already figured out from reading

through our blog,the CuisinEtc team

(Food Stylist and Culinary Artist, Lisa Teiger

and Executive Chef Andrew Alexander-Crossan)

often collaborates with creative caterers

around the USA and Canada (and beyond)

on menu ideas, themes and actual events.

This fall, the team is headed to Northern California wine country

in the fallfor another year of harvest festival events

and thrilled to be working with Janet Woodson

of La-Tea-Da Catering, Charlotte, NC

and Chef Mark Baldwin, Blue Ridge Catering, Roanake, Va.

on this year's harvest weekend

and excited to be in Vermont collaborating on a big multi - station

wedding in October with the Elegant Touch Catering team.

These types of collaborations keep our ideas and menus

fresh and exciting, lending creative energy

that flows right back into all CuisinEtc events .

The phone rang late last night and my good friend and

catering buddy in Marksville, Louisiana, Dianne Evans,

of Best Catered Events who is a catering genius calls to ask

my help in ideas and reaching out to other caterers for

suggestions regarding a GREY'S ANATOMY PREMIERE

for ABC VIP guests, that she has been asked to cater in

Alexandria, Louisiana next month.

Dianne managed to get some great photos

of this event and the concepts listed below

and which you can see on her blog as well.

Here's what Dianne came up with after listening to

arious ideas posted on our catering buddies

on various forums suggested.

Once Dianne is on a roll there's no stopping her...


Here is what we are planning....for an amazing
"WOW" factor VIP Premiere Event

for Grey's Anatomy


The catering staff will dress
in Scrubs & Nurses Uniforms
complete with headgear,
stethoscopes and shoe covers.

The food concepts are as follows.
"Roving Transfusion Cart of "Tranfusion Shrimp"
....this cart will move throughout the venue
offering "Tranfusions" to all the guests.
(This will be margarita marinated shrimp,
and your guests will have a "Tranfusion"
of cocktail sauce put on the shrimp
by a staff member with an IV Pole holding
a bag of ...yep ...you guessed it....cocktail sauce!

McDreamy Berry and Dreamsicle Garden
... a stationary table garnished with wheatgrass
& loaded with dreamsicle cheesecake martinis
to be eaten with tongue depressors
and extra large fresh strawberries
piped full of heavenly cream cheese filling
...each one will have a pipette of
Grand Marnier Liquor
....As you eat the strawberry
you "infuse" the liquor into the berry
or directly into your mouth...oh, so good.

Guests will also be able to enjoy
"Izzie's Stress buster mini cupcakes"
served on a bed of antidepressants
- you know multi colored jelly beans
(which will also garnish the tops of these
"Izzies Stress Buster Cupcakes")

Organ Donation Station

"Loaded Baked Potato Soup Bar"
.... with all the fixings your guests
want to pair with a rich baked potato
soup....made to order by ...you guessed it
...A Nurse with a prescription pad
will be taking the "orders"

Scrub Station

Lime & Mint Mojito Jello Shots.....mini cups
with Mojito Jello Shot Poppers....kept cool
by frozen colored surgical gloves (ballooned)
....in a large glass punch bowl.


Now that's a fun party to cater or attend...
other ideas that popped into my head since then

Band-Aid Crackers (or strips)
with Broken Bone Ribettes...



can you think of other ideas
- email me cuisinetc.catering@gmail.com

Thursday, August 27, 2009

happy birthday celebration eastern long island backyard BBQ

Happy Birthday Honey

international breads and spreads

Carving the Grilled Meats

Backyard Buffet Display

Our Famous Caesar Salad

with Housemade Croutons

Guests enjoying the outdoor dinner buffet

in our clients pretty backyard

Table of delicious and pretty nibbles on the patio

Cinnamon Spiked Tomato Chutney for Grilled Meats

Fresh Grilled Asparagus with Edible Flowers

Balsamic & Herb Spiked

Grilled Vegetable Platter

Patriotic Desserts Honoring the Returning Iraqi Vets

fun desserts including fresh fruit, cream puffs,

old fashioned candy cigarettes and more...

Friday, August 14, 2009

HECUBA - a classic Greek tragedy with modern interpretation!

the Director of HECUBA Joan Kane and the producer Bruce Kramer asked us to come up with a opening night menu that would reflect the play and please the audience. Ode to the greek but modern twists and touches. One of the guests commented tha it was more of a Roman orgy of foods-

Greek Influenced Roman Orgy of Finger Foods

..Lemon Scented Greek Dolmatis
with Crumbled Grilled Haloumi & Roasted Peppers

..Sunflower Hummous & Carrot Display

..Modern Archetectural Crudite Display

..Cocktail Lamb Meatballs with Greek Glaze

..NYC Smoked Salmon & Horseradish on Petit Biscuits

..Filet Mignon with Med Rim Sauce on Petit Cheese Biscuits

..Dill & Garlic Marinated Shrimp Cocktail

.. Brie & Mango Chutney Crostinis

..Thai Peanut Chicken in Lotus Cups (cause everyone loves them)

..Our Signature Mini Samosa (cause everyone loves them)
triangular shaped in ode to the ubiquitous spanikopita

.. Rosemary & Potato Herb Crusted Chicken Tenders with Fruity Mustard Dip

...Smoky Greek Eggplant on Cucumber Crowns

..Lemongrass Peanut Biscuits, English Watercrackers
& Biscuits served with Imported Cheeses & Fruits

..Oreo Bomb Tartlets & Strawberry Cheesecake Tartlets

Congratulations to Joan and Bruce for a fabulous and entertaining production.

HEBUBA - a Greek Tragedy

Price: 15.00 per ticket

Show runs from
Thursday, August 13, 2009
thru
Sunday, August 23, 2009

with various show times (some matinees)

Location:
Theater for the New City
1st Avenue @ 10th Street
212.254.1109

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

oreo bomb tartlets - they're da bomb!

My Oh My Oreo Bomb Tartlets

Recipe courtesy of John S - Catersource Buddy

Johns instructions were as follows

"Oreo bombs are really easy. Take 1 16oz package of oreos and pulse in a food processor to crush.
Once they're crumbly add 1 8oz package cream cheese and pulse to incorporate.
The resulting product should have a greasy looking sheen,
roll the mix like you would cheesecake lolipops and then dip in chocolate
and top as you would cheesecake lolipops.
These are great because you don't have to let the mixture cool or set up overnight
and eating one tastes like you just jammed a 1000 oreos in your mouth. "

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Comfort Food >>>> Finger Food with an Summer Attitude

shrimp and chips

- not your daddy's fish and chips

Philly Cheesesteaks the CuisinEtc way -

with filet of beef, pepato cheese fondue

& caramelized zinfandel onion chutney

summer corn salsa

with grilled corn & grilled pineapple

in mini corn cups

cilantro corn fritters

with tequila shrimp & chipotle crema

citrus marinated shrimp

summer berry vodka gastrique pipette

sail away with

cones of tortellini antipasto salad

whimsical housemade cheesy flatbreads

tuscan pesto & sundried tomato cheese torta

thai lotus cups with peanut chicken -

skewerless satay

no picks, sticks or mess...

jelly donut bytes

with double chocolate milk shake sippers

Friday, July 10, 2009

Shabbat on the High Line with the New Shul

fabulous views of Lady Liberty & the Hudson

from the High Line Park in NYC

Rabbi Dan of the New Shul leads the shabbat services

amid the trees in Chelsea's newest park the High Line

The New Shul - a progressive synagogue in the West Village
organized another one of their innovative shabbot programs

tonight at New York City's newest park the High Line in Chelsea.

Life in NYC's hustle and bustle is often vibrant and unexpected.

Visitors are surprised to learn that NYC City life offers

hidden treasures and quiet moments of reflections daily

and this past Friday was no exception.

Approximately 50 New Yorkers came by to

enjoy this outdoor summer Shabbat service,

glorious weather, delicious food, warm community

and of course the beautiful new High Line Park.

Some folks joking renamed the park

the "Chai" Line for this special Friday night

Shabbat service hosted by the New Shul.

Throughout the evening visitors to the High Line stopped to

take photos, ask questions and even join in the services

and partake in the wonderful ecclectic food

that a potluck in NYC offers.

The Shabbat services lead by Rabbi Dan Ain

and assisted by Ellen Gould, co-founder of the New Shul

and it's musical director, were followed by

a potluck dinner supplemented with
catering by CuisinEtc Catering and Special Events.

The mandate was light summer fare

- no meat, chicken or tref
(noshellfish, pork, Etc)
so basically vegetarian fare

CuisinEtc Catering & Special Events
Culinary Artist Lisa Teiger
setting up food displays for the High Line Shabbat

CuisinEtc Catering was honored to provide some of

our innovative vegetarian and salad selections.

Stone Fruit Salsa with Stone Ground Tortilla Chips
Fresh fruit only - the best of the summers bounty
mango, cherries, apricots, donut peaches, fresh watercress
& finely diced vidalia onion,
add a touch of jalapeno & lime zest
and you have a dance in your mouth fantastic
juxtaposition of natural acidity balanced with natural sweetness.
A really delicious taste of summer goodness.



Fresh Mozzarella, Fresh Basil & Diced Roma Tomato
with Bowtie Pasta, Garlic, Herbs & EVOO.
Another Summer Winner!

Our Classic Rondele Cheese Swirled with
Housemade Sundried Tomato Tapenade and Basil Pesto
served with CuisinEtc 's infamous

Nigella Seed & Parmesan Flatbreads

Sunflower Basket of Housemade
Calabrese Spinach Empanaditas
Rich Cream Cheese Pastry Filled with
Sauteed Spinach, Olives, Raisons,
Peppered Asiago Cheese & Spices
Baked with Sesame Seed Crust.

This is a tried and true CuisinEtc Catering Recipe
that dates back to our earliest days of catering.
We once made this dish on the beach at Key West
out of our Volkswagen camper and mini stove top.
Now that's creative catering for you!

Sailing Ship filled with Mandarin & Gold Cones of
3 Cheese Tortellini Antipasto Salad

with Olives, Capers, Gerkins
and Housemade Italian Vinaigrette.

Sailing alongside the Hudson River on the High Line

with cones of Tortellini Antipasta Salad

Chef Andrew Alexander-Crossan

of CuisinEtc Catering and Special Events

prepping cones of Tortellini Salad on the High Line

TriColored Carrot Salad
Fresh Yellow, Orange and Red Carrots
Dressed with Chili Lime Vinaigrette
This was one of those dishes that we created after
shopping at the Union Square Market this week
and finding fantastic fresh produce that was just begging to be created into a CuisinEtc Catering masterpieces.

Naturally gorgeous and delicious!

Bhel Puri Indian Potato Salad
Yukon Gold Potatoes, Chickpeas, Cilantro
& Vidalia Onions with Housemade Dual Chutney Dressing
The tastes and textures just expode in your mouth!

and
CuisinEtc Signature Coconut Meringue Clouds
those creamy crispy dreamy coconut cookies that everyone clamours for!

The New Shul's Shabbat services lead by Rabbi Dan Ain

with the help of founder Ellen Gould were brief but lively

and many the passers by stopped

to enjoy the unique atmosphere the Shabbat services

lent to the beautiful July summer night.

Celebrating Shabbat amid the trees

and above the busy streets of NYC

on the High Line in Chelsea

enjoying the food, the services and Shabbat

outdoors on the High Line

singing and clapping to traditional Shabbat songs

Rabbi Dan Ain leads the brief but lively Shabbat services

Executive Director Amy Eichenwald Golding

got to the High Line early

to secure the space and welcome everyone

Thanks Amy for organizing a wonderful evening!

singing with Shabbat

enthusiasm,

spirit

and soul.

Another fabulous

NYC experience

once again proving that Life

as a caterer

is

never

DULL!!!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

.......... A Wonder Filled Walk in The Park .......... New York City's Central Park

2009 Parks Opportunity Program Awards

Catered by

CuisinEtc Catering & Special Events

Fantastic Playful Squirrels and Vibrant Green Apples

adorn the Asian Noodle Station

Colorful Garden Vegetable Dip

Skyline Crudite, Rondele with Sundried Tomato & Greek Dolmatis

A Walk in the Park "Cows in the Comforter" Display

Not every catering event has a big budget

never the less, many times the events have a big heart and support great causes.

In these tough economic times budgets are stretched further and further

yet the events still merit the care and attention a professional caterer like

Creative CuisinEtc brings to the table.

Such was the case last night as

the New York City Parks Department

honored its partners in the POPs program

(Parks Opportunity Program)

- a welfare to work program that

provided over 500 jobs this year alone

for formerly unemployed New Yorkers.

Even the summer rainstorm did not diminish the smiles,

enthusiasm and warm spirit of the evening.

The event was held in Central Park's oldest building

the Arsenal, originally scheduled for the rooftop garden

but due to the rain, was held in the 3rd floor gallery

which featured a lovely painting exhibition.

The rooftop garden which in sunny weather

would have been the party space offers lovely views

of the unique nature of Central Park

surrounded by NYC Skyscrapers & historic buildings.

Central Park Arsenal Building Roof Top Garden

To honor their vendors and partners the NYC Parks Department

hosts a yearly awards ceremony and reception.

Raffle prizes included tickets to Shakespeare in the Park,

VIP tickets for the Thanksgiving Day Parade

and tickets tothe Philharmonic Concerts in Central Park.

CuisinEtc Catering and Special Events contributed

to the POPS Awards Ceremony festivities

with an economical yet elegant and whimsical

display of delicious and healthy indulgences.

Our culinary team from CuisinEtc Catering & Special Events

including event designer, Lisa Teiger

& Chef Andrew Alexander-Crossan

had great fun decorating the hors d'oeuvres table

with playful park inspired touches such as twin squirrels

Frick and Frack, who greatly enjoyed

their romp in Central Park.

Props such as the squirrels, garnered from our travels throughout the world,

and colorful ladies boots that held toothpicks add a whimsical touch that

brings delight to guests and hosts alike.

Greek Dolmatis with Feta and Red Pepper

Whimsical Decor Touches Enhance the Food

It was heartwarming to receive numerous compliments

throughout the evening on both the CuisinEtc displays and the delicious food

that was enjoyed in Central Park's historic Arsenal building last night.

The "Walk in the Park" menu included an

international theme that pays homage

to the melting pot that New York is and offered beef, chicken

vegetarian and even vegan offerings that cater to the diverse

tastes and dietary needs of any large NYC gathering.

Last nights goodies included

...Skyline NYC Crudite with Garden Dip

..Housemade Rondele Cheese

with Roasted Pepper Tapenade & Crackers

...Miniature Cones of 3 Cheese Tortellini & Roasted Corn

with Red Pepper Vinaigrette

..Cow's in the Comforter - Kosher all Beef Hot Dogs

in Pastry Blankets

served with Coney Island Mustard

..Tropical Orange Pineapple BBQ All Beef Meatballs

..Greek Dolmatis with Feta and Red Pepper

..Sunflower Hummous Display with Carrot & Pita Petals

..Red Asian Boxes with Spinach Noodles & Stir Fry Veggies

perched atop a glass shelf floating on green apples and flanked by

Frick and Frack our park friendly squirrels

..Tuscan Grilled Chicken with Sundried Tomato Cocktail Sandwiches

..Sassy Potato Samosas with CuisinEtc Signature Coconut Chutney

CuisinEtc looks forward to partnering with the NYC Parks Department

on many future events.

No matter your budget CuisinEtc always goes the distance

to make your event a Wonder Filled Walk in the Park!

For information on the Parks Opportunity Program

please contact pop@parks.nyc.gov

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Celebrating Graduates - CuisinEtc Style....

ICE Graduation 2009

at Cooper Union

catered by CuisinEtc Catering & Special Events

yummy housemade treats produced & styled

by CuisinEtc Catering & Special Events

to celebrate the graduating class

of a unique NYC public school.

The Institute for Collaborative Education is an incredible

NYC Public School that is making a difference

in the education of our young citizens.

At the Institute for Collaborative Education,

Students, Teachers, Staff and Parents work together

and it's a place of true diversity and learning.

unique displays for fruit tartlets,

such as this natural wood shelf

atop wire risers filled with green apples

this is only half of the 40 Foot dessert buffet

that CuisinEtc put together

and over 300 guests enjoyed!

blue and white cupcakes in the school's colors

CuisinEtc cookie bonanza

- an assortment of housemade goodies

including coconut clouds, cran-orange oaties,

all american chocolate chip & rugelach

delicious refreshing fruit in starburst pattern

to honor the graduating "stars" of

the Institute for Collaborative Education

tons of fruit to start (one of 5 platters)

there was very little fruit left at the end

even with all the baked goodies

fabulous fresh fruit

is ALWAYS appreciated

CuisinEtc Housemade Goodies

coconut pyramids

rice krispie treats drizzled with chocolate

double chocolate chip & cran-orange oaties

Young and old alike enjoyed

the delicious treats and beautiful displays

created by CuisinEtc Catering & Special Events

yet another successful graduation

see you next year !!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Simply Elegant Corporate Board Luncheon

Great Caterers are often magicians, 

and we can pull the proverbial rabbit out of a hat even on short notice!

Last night around 5 pm - got a emergency call from a client requesting

a NYC Board Room Luncheon to be delivered by 11:30 this morning.

We talked for a few minutes and I suggested the following menu

Room temperature Surf and Turf
.....Sliced Filet Mignon
.....Grilled Herb Marinated Chicken Breast
.....Whole Shrimp
Dressings: Asian Fruited Aioli, Apricot Mustard, Cocktail Sauce

Med Rim Pasta Salad
with marinated artichokes and haricot vert

Herb Cured Olives 

Mixed Field Greens Salad
Goats Cheese Stuffed Baby Peppers
Pomegranite Vinaigrette

Ciabatta Rolls And Multi Grain Bread

Fresh Fruit and Berry Display 

Chocolate Drizzled Profiteroles
Apricot, Raspberry and Cinnamon Rugelach

Cocoa Dusted Meringues
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries


The Client, an executive assistant for Barclays Capital was thrilled
she was having trouble finding a NYC Caterer for even the simplest of sandwiches
to be delivered on a SUNDAY morning in midtown Manhattan.

We were happy to accomodate this last minute request
and thrilled at the results the CuisinEtc culinary team was able to
pull out of their "bag of tricks" with less than 24 hours notice.

doesn't  this salad look scrumptious!!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

cuisinEtc - a culinary journey via catering: food fun love

cuisinEtc - a culinary journey via catering: food fun love

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Bacon Mania

Don't know about you but

We love

....... LOVE

..........LOVE

Bacon BACON Bacon BACON

and

am certainly are not alone in that addiction.

Have you noticed that all sorts of interesting bacon enhanced

foods are popping up in the news and on menus lately.

Have to say that CuisinEtc has been on to this trend for a while

and you may remember the Elmer's Fudd Delight

that was part of the Wine Country Tasting Menu that we helped Susan Parish Schwab cater in Healdsburg California last November.

We have been serving Chocolate Dipped Bacon

at NYC Catered Events ever since

and our clients certainly love it too!

CuisinEtc even used the recipe for Chocolate Dipped Bacon

when we were catering for Christmas Eve in Baton Rouge Louisiana.

http://cuisinetc-catering.blogspot.com/2008/11/tasting-menu-for-sonoma-harvest-dinner.html

It's fairly easy to make and a fun thing to serve your guests

Chocolate Dipped Bacon aka "Elmer Fudd's Delight"

Buy some thick cut sliced bacon

we actually bought Neiman Ranch Applewood Bacon

as well as the Ultra Thick Cut version from Costco (in the section with the hummous)

and preferred the Costco version for this recipe.

Lay the bacon out on a cookie or sheet pan

lined with parchment paper (makes cleanup so much easier)

and bake at 350 until crispy

drain, pat off excess grease and let cool.

You can cut the bacon in half lengthwise at this point

or just cut some of them in half

so that you have various lengths for display.

Melt GOOD quality MILK chocolate

approximately 1/2 pound of chocolate per pound of bacon

(you may have to come up with some fun thing to do with the left over chocolate)

for some reason the juxtapostition of the

creamy sweet milk chocolate with the

salty fatty bacon works better than dark chocolate

one of the few instances I would recommend

milk chocolate over dark!

When the chocolate is melted and fluid

dip the cooled slices of bacon as you would chocolate covered strawberries

my trick is to scrape some of the chocolate off the back

before laying down on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper

You could also use a new or clean "food only" paint/pastry brush

to brush the chocolate onto one side only

If you want to guild the lily, dip the still wet chocolate

into chopped toasted pecans or slivered almonds.

Let chocolate harden in a cool place or pop into the frig

(pull out for a half an hour before serving to take the chill off)

We actually did a combination of both

"Elmer Fudd's Delight" - Thick Cut Bacon Dipped in Milk Chocolate and Almond Crusted

A version of this is sold at Roni Sue's

in the Essex Street Market on New York's Lower East Side.

They call it Pig Candy!

Recently I was reading a post on chowhound.com

and the poster was looking for bacon ice cream

read chowhound post here

although there was no definitive answer on where to find it commercially,rest assured one will pop up soon.

The New York Post's Bacon Whoppee article reveals more bacon madness around NYC

including bacon infused alcohol and bacon doughnuts

My buddy Cowboy John over in Houston Texas

does some amazing things with bacon.

he created a couple of way cool bacon items

including

The Bacon Basket

which can be filled with salad

(sort of an inside out BLT)

and

the Bacon Weave Wrapped Alien Probe

Sausage wrapped around an Anaheim pepper stuffed

with cheese wrapped in the bacon weave
and smoked for a couple of hours.

John calls it manly food but I just call it delicious sounding

photo and directions for bacon fun

Cowboy John really likes to play with his bacon!

Another Catering friend, Mich, in Pennsylvania also likes to play with her food

she created this display of Sugared Bacon Lollipops for a bridal shower

sugared bacon lollipops

and more recently she created this bacon head hair dressing "thing"

with their sugared bacon lollipops

and cheese and fruit skewers

enhanced with foil strips - kind of the new streaky bacon thing perhaps???

Note: As I find more bacon mania items I am adding them
check out this easy and delicious looking appetizer of Bacon Wrapped Breadsticks from
Stacey Snacks Blog



and for the latest in bacon fashion
there is the BACON BRA -
from Seattle's alternative paper
bacon bra



bacon floss



bacon briefcase for the piggy-licious executive

BA-K-47 - that could be one of the few guns we might covet
bacon-ater - obliterating the world one pig at a time

make your own bacon
great article in an Ohio newspaper complete with Ruhlman recipe

latest update 09-27-09
the New York Vendy Awards dessert award nominees all featured bacon in their sweet treats.

Vosges Chocolate Shop on Spring Street in Soho NYC has

this fun display in their shop window this fall

Mo's Bacon Bar and Bacon Caramel Toffee

Their window proudly proclaims

BACON + CHOCOLATE RENDEZVOUS...

...what does taste better with bacon !!

crunchy smoky sweet love... oh yeah baby...

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Passover Catering NYC - aka second night seder at the Actors Temple

You may remember that last year CuisinEtc catered a wonderful Sephardic influenced second night Passover Seder for the congregation at the Actors Temple in midtown Manhattan.  This wonderful old NYC synagogue 

http://www.theactorstemple.org/history.html

This is our second year and extereme pleasure of
working with Rabbi Jill Hausman
of the Actors Temple in Hell's Kitchen New York City
on the westside of Manhattan
(real estate agents call Hells Kitchen "Clinton" or Clinton Heights
but the traditional new york city name
is Hells Kitchen and we are proud of it) -

so off the culinary team here at cuisinEtc
embarks on another culinary adventure
passover seder catering for a wonderful historic temple
or as my kosher frum friends would say
That may be a pesach seder - but it's certainly not kosher


PASSOVER SECOND SEDER,
The Actor's Temple
Hells Kitchen New York City
Thursday, April 9th at 6 PM:
Dairy/Fish/Vegetable Dinner
catered by Creative Cuisinetc,
with reservations required.

Funny enough the small historic synagogue
is housed right next door to a previous home away from home,
our son Ben's elementary school - for those of you who don't know
is our avid collegiate debator - once again, working at the Actors Temple
is a walk down memory lane for us, to an "old neigborhood"

In any case, Rabbi Jill and the culinary team at CuisinEtc catering
came up with a selection
of fish dairy menus featuring fresh salmon
that would be kosher style -
for the temples second night seder service and dinner.
following along with kosher style,
since we are serving dairy items, no meat, chicken or poultry
(like chicken soup, chopped liver, or pot roast)
can be served with this meal.

Here's what we will be serving next month -

Hopefully this year we will have time to take some photos
during the seder dinner. But thought you would all
enjoy looking at the ecclectic NYC Manhattan style passover seder menu
CuisinEtc is serving this year

Many thanks to my kosher catering
friends for their assistance and patience
in guiding me through this process.
For anyone looking for kosher caterers throughout the United States
please don't hesitate to contact me
and I can probably hook you up from coast to coast
via my networking contacts and good friends
in the kosher and non kosher catering business.

I recently heard an elderly woman comment that she marks the passage of time by the Jewish holidays.
Well Purim has just passed and we are on the road to Passover
- or Pesach as my religious friends would say.

One of my very dear friends, sister in arms and fellow catering buddy,
Mimi Markowsky, of Elite Kosher Catering in West Bloomfield,
right outside of Detroit, is already getting ready for the onslaught
of orders she and her kitchen crew will produce for Pesach 2009.
For those of you in the Detroit area- you cannt go wrong to give Mimi
a call about your Pesach Seder needs.
From traditional to avante garde Mimi Markowsky of Elite Kosher Catering, a maven of Passover, Jewish Holidays and Gourmet Food in general.

www.findlocalcatering.com/Michigan/Elite-Kosher-Catering-19998.html

Back to the New York City and Manhattan Passover Catering scene.


As always the challenge for the culinary team here at CuisinEtc, is

as boutique caterers we don't follow set menus but customize every event,

and we want to offer food that is

**healthy yet delicious and nutritious**,

**appropriate to the occasion**
(in this case lots of restrictions
because of "kosher for passover style"
which I'll address shortly)

**not too way out **
- appealing to a variety of sophisticated New York palates,

but also to folks who want the comfort food that holiday meals often provide

Menu A

The Actors Temple

Second Night Pesach Seder Dinner Buffet

Services Start at 6:00 pm
Buffet Dinner Service to start by 8:00 pm

Menu Passover 2009
Roasted Salmon Moroccan Style
Sassy Sephardic Salmon –
filet of salmon seared in a Med Rim spice rub, nestled in a bed of aramelized onions and carrots
and finished with a honey-lemon reduction sauce

Vegetarian Alternative:
Fritada de Espinaca
- Creamy Sephardic spinach-cheese casserole

Med Rim Spinach Salad
- fresh spinach, chiffonade of fresh basil and watercress with marinated artichokes & cherry tomatoes tossed with a pomegranite balsamic vinaigrette

Thai Inspired Broccoli Salad
- Fresh Broccoli with Sweet & Tangy Apple Cider Vinaigrette, Colorful Bell Peppers & Roasted Cashews (not spicy)

- Cardamom and Spice Roasted Sweet Potato

and our Fabulous Signature Dessert Finale:
“Rivers of Sweets”
A bountiful display of ”flowing” river of
dark kosher for Pesach chocolate
Surrounded by dippable goodies such as
coconut macaroons, meringue cookies,
kosher for Pesach marshmallows, fresh fruit
such as strawberries,pineapple
grapes, and more



interested in using CuisinEtc for your New York City passover catering

or for an upcoming milestone event like a bar or bat mitzvah

and want a menu and event that

speaks to who your family represents culturally and personally -

here at CuisinEtc we are always happy to work closely with you to

design and execute the event you envision!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

catersource trade show - a few highlights

As always there were some new and exciting catering products 

Chef Andrew and I saw this year at the Las Vegas Catersource Tradeshow

One company that always has great products is Indian Harvest

if you are looking for wild rice, that's just one of the many offerings they have

check out this green tea flavored Bamboo Rice in the gorgeous celdon green color

the jasmine blend has petit yellow lentils which add a nice contrast

we've used the products extensively over the years and are very

excited by some of the newer offerings.

www.indianharvest.com/Products

Although not a new concept - we can never resist 

the gang at Bedazzle My Bon Bons

CuisinEtc has used their bon bons at some of 

our Indian Fusion Weddings and Events 

even matching the colors of the bon bons to 

the colors of the ceiling at the Prince George Ballroom.

www.bedazzlemybonbons.com

Sasha is a doll to deal with and really comes 

through with enthusiasm for her clients

lots of little "disposable" hors d'oeuvre plates 

these  mini leaves are just darling...

Colored and Edible Cones were available from a few vendors 

and the pretty gold tone palate holder was extra incentive.

there was a definite theme of mini and edible vehicles 

for creative fillings  caterers like us love to work with...

empty egg shells - There is a tool to do this yourself 

but what a nice treat to just be able to 

buy the vehicle in and prepare our own yummy fillings.

 Truffled Eggs with Caviar anyone?

wildflower linens out of Southern California

very upmarket very fun and fru fru

edible spray on colors for desserts, chocolate and pastries

there were many other palates and colors available.

chef Andrew Crossan enjoying the show!

Saturday, February 28, 2009

food fun love

a wonderful mentor in the catering world
Pauline Parry of Goodness! Gracious Events 

Beverly Hills California

goodness gracious! website

has recently written a book entitled

"food fun love" which was introduced
at the Catersource 2009 conference in Las Vegas










Pauline Parry, always an innovator in marketing
had these adorable young men walking around
the wedding party on Tuesday night promoting her book.

Chef Andrew and I had the pleasure of hanging
out with Pauline and her team in the ICA Resource Room

We have a tradition of meeting and hanging with Pauline Parry
before or after parties (starting with Cade and Ingrids Opening)
and this year was no exception...

Sunday, January 11, 2009

NYC Food Safari

so anyone who has been following our adventures lately knows that we ended 2008 and started the New Year immersed in FOOD

WHAT ELSE would folks in the food biz be immersed in certainly Fabulous food at that.

Chef Andrew and I have always used our travels to expand our food repetoire and knowledge

Monday, January 5, 2009

N'Awlins

Mardi Gras Meets Manhattan Wedding Reception

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Who's your Mama, Are you Catholic and can You make A ROUX !! ??

click on the link to see a video of our friend Dianne Evans of Best Catered Events, CENLA's newest caterer, demonstrating mardi gras slaw on a local Louisiana TV show sponsored by the Louisiana Restaurant Association




www.cenlamedia.com/alb/index.php/web_only/creative_cooking/

recipe for 

Mardi Gras Slaw 

Dianne Evans
Best Catered Events

CENLA  

Marksville, Louisiana
318- 305-7689
www.bestcateredevents.com


Mardi Gras Slaw
1 package coleslaw Mix
1 cup sunflower kernels
1 cup slivered almonds
1 bunch chopped scallions (green onions)
2 packages crushed Beef flavored Ramen noodles

Combine Above. 

Toss together with the following dressing.

2 packages of seasoning from the Ramen Noodles
1/3 cup white vinegar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar

Whisk together the above ingredients 

and toss with the coleslaw mixture.

Serves 8 to 10

Dianne served the Mardi Gras Salad 

in red Asian take out boxes 

that CuisinEtc 

shipped to her from NYC Chinatown

crawfish bisque

stuffed crawfish heads

closeup of the stuffed crawfish that was in the bisque
(Pats Fishermans Wharf in Henderson La,
only serves this delicacy floating in the bisque)

Mr. Rick enjoying the fresh oysters

loaded with seafood gumbo

some really fine glistening oysters

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Cruising the Hudson in Luxury....CuisinEtc

One of our exciting new catering venues where luxury is the norm.

A fabulous Yacht Cruise on the Hudson while dining CuisinEtc Style and enjoying cocktails

the real housewives of Central Louisiana tm

We have joking dubbed this party that was the most entertaining for both the guests and the caterers on this fabulous trip to Central Louisiana "the real" housewifes of CENLA (Central Louisiana ) watch out Atlanta, NY and Orange County cause these femme fatales 

and their belting rendition of "redneck woman" 

is sure to stay in my memory long after you have faded!

http://www.flattownmusic.com/soundclips/zhr1010-03clip.mp3


http://www.geocities.com/pittman1978/horace.html

so long 2008 hello 2009 NYE in Houston Amazing friends and New Age Tex Mex

today we had what was literally the best restaurant meal of 2008 and the last one we will eat this year
at The Original Ninfa's on Navigation in Houston Texas

So taking a break from caterng events in Cenla and NO Dianne, Rick, Andrew and I a
re on a busmans holiday and quick road trip here in Houston Texas for the New Years

We had a fun and informative visit and sitdown with Linda West, the gracious owner of
Melange Fine Events and Catering, one of Houston's premier caterers
and recent past President of the International Caterers Association. She graciously toured us
around her amazing commissary and warehouse here in Houston and then steered us to some of the best
Tex Mex food we have ever had and in reality one of the most fun and delicious meals of 2008,

what a fitting end to a great year of food, friends and travel.

I hope to post some photos eventually, since Dianne had her camera, but mine seems to be lost
- hopefully it will show up soon as I feel I have lost an appendage almost. So many photo opportunities have been lost even in just one day!!

So we plug Ninfa's into the GPS after spending about 3 hours visiting with Linda
and up comes about 6 location choices, Linda and her manager warned us to only go the
"the original Ninfa's on Navigation Street" and after punching down the line of Ninfa's finally
shouted EUREKA - this one is on Navigation.
parking lot was fairly full and the patio well populated when we arrived after 3 - but since the sun was shining and the weather warm and sunny we asked to be seated outside and after about 5 baskets (no joke) of fantastic fresh chips served with green creamy tomatillo sauce and mild but tasty housemade salsa, we finally get down to ordering. A few mojitos and rum and dt cokes later our apps arrive
andrew and I split a dinner order of the original fajitas they are famous for, the menu stated

" This is where it all started, where Mama Ninfa
first stuffed chargrilled sliced beef into a handmade
flour tortilla and launxed the national fajita craze"
- very old school but absolutely delicious


I know our just off the wagon from being vegetarian son would have loved the MEAT!
Tender strips of marinated and grilled beef skirt steak which was cooked to perfection
medium rare yet tender and juicy, and while it sounds like a shill, believe me it's true!

good guacamole, sour crema, sauteed onions, red and green peppers and a hotter than expected
grilled jalapeno rounded out the platter with warm housemade flour tortillas,
that waitstaff graciously refilled upon request...

on to lunch

choicing was close to impossible but Chef Alex Padilla's specials just jumped out at us and said
ORDER ME - YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY and we were thrilled, happy, stuffed, intrigued and satisfied beyond belief,,.,.

we decided to share (ikinda sort of)

Lamb Shank Mole which was a gorgeous beyond imagination (wait until you see the photos) oversized
square plate with a huge Fresh Colorado Lamb Shank dramatically presented with Rosemary Skewered into the shank and smothered in Oaxacan style red mole sauce which was as complex and lucisous to eat as it was to look at
this was one of those show stopper dishes that you eat with your eyes first before devouring down to the last scrap on the bone and the marrow from within. I got in touch with my inner marrow today!

THE MENU DESCRIPTION
Lamb Shank Mole - Slow roasted for four hours in banana leaf, served with traditional mole sauce
(and very reasonably priced at 16.95

Our other dish was Chile Pasilla Rellenos
pretty too but even more spectacular in taste with the mmmnnns and ahhs flowing with each bite!

CHILE PASILLA RELLENOS
stuffed with cheese, pork, chicken, raisins and slivered almonds,
served with creamy guajillo sauce 15.95

not sure which dish had the side of yummy yellow spanish rice and smokey Charra beans with Bacon
which you know made the Pork Queen of Queens very happy!

At some point, Dianne mentioned to our waitress that we were visiting chefs from NYC and all of a sudden
a lovely man in chefs whites appeared at our table and started what turned into a 2 hours visit
with lots of exchange of food travel and cooking techniques

chef Alex Padilla, originally a Houstonian who trained under the well-regarded Nancy Oakes at Boulevard in San Francisco.
is the executive chef for both the restaurant and the catering kitchen was a blast to hang with
he has worked in NYC, NJ, Northern California including with Thomas Keller and at Boulevard Restaurant in San Francisco and even opened a greek restaurant at some point in his career. He originally hails from Honduras, but has strong roots in Mexican cooking and often fuses styles and techniques with his Mexican city born wife and her fabulous family of cooks.

Best Catering Best Practices---------------------New York Meets Cream Cheese and Crawfish Head on

Since Dianne and Rick are friends and family with EVERYONE
here’s our over the top (and already trimmed ) xmas menus


Xmas Eve Fun Food

..Spiked eggnog milkshake shooters
..Twisted Knishes – assorted flavors
.. Elmer Fudd’s delightful chocolate pepper crusted bacon
..Mimi’s Blintz Cupcakes with Strawberry Strusel
..Errol’s Mini Natchitoches (knack- a - dish)
meat pies filled with Louisiana seasoned beef
..Grey goose vanilla Caribbean shrimp shooters
..Sleeping Pigs
Sliced bread and cream cheese
blanketed with crispy bacon
(pork queen of queens meets the cream cheese queen of new Orleans)
..Braided sleeping with the enemy knots
drizzled with dark and white chocolate
..Hotter than hell layered sunshine dip
with housemade tortilla chips
..Crawfish cream cheese stuffed baguette bytes
..Chop chop chinese chicken pinwheels
..Bhel puri Indian potato chaat
..Mini samosas with chef Andrew’s
signature coconut cilantro chutney
..N'awlins BBQ shrimp crostinis
..Bayou smoked brisket on cucumber crowns
..Honey Pineapple Cinnamon Glazed Old Fashioned Ham 

with Grilled Pineapple Chutney on Mini Muffaletta Rolls
Divine Divinity Bytes
Petit Pecan Pralines
Triple Chocolate Threat Brownie Bytes
on Cocktail Forks
Old Fashioned Soda Cracker Candy
with nuts, chocolate and housemade Toffee
Fresh Blackberry Cobbler Spoons
with Amaretto Crème Fraiche
Pumpkin Roll Pinwheel on Chantilly Cream Cloud
Sweet Potato Crumble
Asian Spoons of Baguette Bread Pudding
with Pecan Praline Sauce
Hot rum toddies
Pack a punch rum
Pomegranite teenis
Left out apple martinis
Ron’s Wine
Black and Blue Mary Martini
Old Number 7 and Ale Boilmakers
(Jack and Coke watch out)
I may finally get Andrew drunk after 30 years of trying, Warning Hand all car keys to valet attendant before entering,





Christmas dinner

Hand rubbed marinated and smoked pork loin and beef brisket with wasabi horseradish crème and cranberry jalapeno chutney
Stevenot Tawny Port
and Lavender Infused Leg of Lamb
Adobe sweet and hot fresh yams
Freshly baked sweet yeast rolls
Pigout bbq baked beans
Down home country buttermilk Cornbread stuffing dressing
Cajun rice dressing
CJ’s sweet and spicy Thai broccoli mandarin peanut salad

Chef Di’s Imfamous Chocolate
Mississipi Mud Sliders
Old Skool Lemon Chiffon Pie
Santa’s Leftover Chimney Cookies
southern bourbon drizzle over hand churned new England vanilla bean ice cream

See what happens when NYC and Baton Rouge meet in CENLA
(central Louisiana)
food will never be the same again!

What kind of fusion cooking could we call this?????????

...New York Knockout
...N'Awlins Indian Fusion
...New York Meets Cream Cheese and Crawfish Collision



cuisinEtc....
unique catering and event decor
coming to you from NYC and ALWAYS going beyond

Best Catered Events
catering with a heart
we don't just bring the food, we deliver events!
Marksville, Louisiana

CENLA will never be the same again ------------ OM SHALOM meets Southern Hospitality

the door opened into a treasure chest of history and an amazing family homestead 

that has housed 10 generations of americans since the original land grant 

in the mid 1800's.  

Frithland is EVERYTHING northerners like myself imagine 

when dreaming of southern hospitality and antique furnishings.   

And those who have been to chez Teiger know of our family's 

love of antique furniture, collectible glassware 

and international antique china.  

This historic home (not usually open to the public)

 is a collectors wet dream!

Dateline: Bunkie CENLA (Central Louisiana)
Event: Rotary Club of Bunkie Annual Christmas Banquet and Citzens of the Year Awards
Venue: Frithland Plantation,
Date: Thursday December 18, 2008



If you were privileged enough to be invited to the Rotary Club of Bunkie’s 

Christmas and Citizen of the Year Awards Event, this past Thursday a

nd had previously attended this annual event held at Frithland Plantation, 

Central Louisiana you would not have been surprised to find yourself 

in the elegant setting that the Frithland Plantation’s main house is. 

But what would have knocked your socks off is the abundant, 

delicious Louisiana food and elegant presentation offered up by 

Cenla’s newest caterer Best Catered Events  right on Highway One in Marksville, La

Rick and Dianne Evans, who the owners, are new to the area, 

but certainly NOT new to catering.   They have over 18 years of 

catering experience (almost 40 combined years) and boy did 

their sumptuous spread and over the top holiday décor 

delight Bunkie’s Elite Thursday night. 

As if this was not enough, as an extra added touch, 

Best Catering collaborated with guest chef Andrew Alexander-Crossan 

and event designer Lisa Teiger of CuisinEtc Catering and Special Events 

out of New York City.   Another Dynamic Duo with over 25 years of 

catering experience from coast to coast and around the globe,  

coming to you from New York City, but always going beyond!

Cenla may not know what has hit them, 

but Dianne and Rick who opened their doors in Marksville 

just last month in November with a state of the art mobile kitchen,  

ready to cater any event from restoration catering 

to your daughters wedding, have gone from zero to sixty

 in just a few short months. 

After selling their catering facility 

and relocating from Baton Rouge 

this energetic can do couple have taken the area 

by a storm booking party after party 

for the 2008 holiday season and 

weddings and corporate events well 

into August and December of 2009. 

Rick and Dianne are peoples people 

-comfortable in any setting from the bayou to the boardroom!

Thursday nights team,

Chef Andrew Alexander- Crossan, 

Waitress Sara Richardson, 

Best Catered Events Owners Dianne & Rick Evans

Lisa Teiger, Event Designer (see below) was busy taking pictures!

Catering Collaborators 

Lisa Teiger, cuisinEtc catering and decor NYC and  beyond....

with Dianne Evans, Best Catered Events, CENLA, Marksville, Louisiana

One taste of Dianne’s made from scratch Louisiana cooking 

pared with cutting edge presentations 

such as triple chocolate threat brownie squares 

served skewered with mini forks 

has folks from across CENLA stopping by the Best Catering Kitchens 

on Highway One in Marksville 

to order pick ups, takeouts and full service events. 

Having booked over 100 events for this month, 

Dianne rarely turns anyone away, offering them 

a taste of her warm southern hospitality, no matter the size of the order. 

The only exception being Christmas eve which Dianne 

says is reserved for their daughters, son in laws and grandbabies.

 “after all these years of working ourselves to the bone in 

Baton Rouge we promised each other that this year 

we would enjoy Christmas and by darn, we are working hard here too 

but what a pleasure the local people have been to deal with”

Dianne, who is an active member of several national catering 

organizations (which is how the collaboration with CuisinEtc came about)

and who is constantly attending and upgrading her skills via educational 

seminars with top chefs around the country can cook them all 

under the table with her sunny smile and her incredible work ethic. 

Chef Andrew Alexander-Crossan, visiting NYC guest chef 

commented that Dianne Evans is one of the few that has the stamina

 he is known for to run multiple events, cook, prep, manage 

and do it all with a smile!!!

That takes a special kind of chef with an absolute love of food and people! 

Chef Dianne and Chef Andrew between them have slept

 a TOTAL of perhaps 10 hours in the past week 

prepping and serving food for the citizens of Cenla’s holiday celebrations!






The menu for the Rotary Club of Bunkies  Citizen of the Year Event 

included several passed hors d’oeuvres including 

Crawfish Filo Tartlets 

Dates Stuffed with Cream Cheese Wrapped in Bacon, 

and Pinwheels of Asparagus and Ham with Buttermilk Ranch Cheese Pate

crawfish filo cups

The buffet fork friendly supper served on real china and flatware 

was highlighted with Rick Evan’s hand rubbed, 4 day cured 

& low n slow smoked brisket and pork tenderloins, 

smoked on premise with pecan wood, in their state of the art 

Southern Pride Smoker. 

Fork tender and melt in your mouth meats, 

horseradish dressing, honey mustard & mayo 

served with mini baked on premise soft yeast rolls that I just couldn't stop eating 

(carbs be damned this season), 

warm and gooey crabmeat au gratin with fancy european crackers,

Best Caterings signature chicken cordon bleu pasta Alfredo, 

Diannes warm crawfish baguettes, 

old fashioned country devilled eggs with a touch of mustard and cayenne, 

sumptious cut fruit such as juicy watermelon, luciuous pineapple, 

fresh huge driscoll strawberries and bountiful grapes 

with a beautiful cheese display and fancy crackers, 

mini muffalettas on authentic New Orleans Cartozza Bakery Muffaletta Bread! 

Without even knowing we brought several monkeys for part of the display, 

turns out that Bunkie was named after a pet Monkey!

Catering is often serindipitous like that!

mini muffalettas displayed on bird adorned shelves

country devilled eggs

Dianne tweaking the buffet

Did I mention the desserts yet?  

Which were available from the minute folks walked in the door 

and in the tradition of our Indian clients, our southern guests also 

like to nibble on something sweet before they dug into the savory food.  

Dianne's housemade dessert buffet  included traditional southern favorites

 such as homemade Divinities topped with Pecans, which when 

Chef Andrew Alexander-Crossan inquired as to why they are called divinity 

a simultaneous shout out came back from everyone

 "BECAUSE THEY ARE DIVINE !!!!!"

other goodies we all enjoyed were 

Crème De Pirouline Rolled Wafers with 

Chocolate Hazelnut and Pumpkin Spice, 

Triple Chocolate Threat Brownie Squares 

skewered with mini cocktail forks, 

and old fashioned soda cracker Pecan Praline Candy, 

Holiday Candies, Mudpie Shooters  and more….









All this food highlighted the gracious southern hospitality

 of Hope and Bill
Along with interesting conversation and 

a history lesson of Frithland Plantation and the TEN generations 

that have continuously lived on the property since the original 

land grant in 1839 after the Louisinana purchase.

Bunkies citizens graciously filled me in the history of the area

 from the Jewish families that Jim Levy told me were always well accepted 

and integrated into the community “of lovely people” 

to Miss Mary who grew up in Columbia South America 

 is one of the best home cooks in the Parish 

and in her 70's has started a baking business.  

We are hoping that Miss Mary will find the time after Christmas

 to show us a few of her down home recipes

that we can take back to our clients in NYC 

 It would be such an honor for us!

Way to go Miss Mary, you are my role model and hero - 

Hoping to have your energy and grace when Andrew and I  get to your age!

gorgeous fireplaces and oversized mirrors abound!

beautiful family heirlooms 

cuisinetc - a culinary journey via catering: Mehendi Party - hands across america and india

cuisinetc - a culinary journey via catering: Mehendi Party - hands across america and india

Mehendi Party - hands across america and india

so as many of you know by now we are catering our wedding of the year and in fact the last wedding we are catering in NYC this year (no not the last wedding - don't start any nasty rumours)

Jenn and Venkats indian fusion wedding (the hind-jew wedding of the year) is both funny and fun, touching and touchy feely, amazing and over the top, and full of great times, great memories and fantastic new friends and family. Our ever expanding family of brides and grooms and their entourages has blossomed once again. This time we have been priviledged to spend time with Jenn and Venkat and both of their families in the many many hours of planning this historic event!
OM SHALOM and welcome to the tribe Venkat - whose new pet name for my purposes will forever be BEN KATZ MOT (that's another blog and I need to finish getting ready for the feastivities later today)

but back to the story at hand (you all know I can never make a long story short!)

so when the e-vite came to
attend Jenn's Mehendi Party - promising samosas, mimosas (mango no less) and henna,
the day before the BIG DAY, there was no way I could miss the comraderie of so many loving women surrounding Jenn and sending her on her journey into marriage

and besides how cool does this look
forget about getting a manicure - henna is the way to go for beautiful hands at any age!!! and Renee your love for your daughters and her friends shines beauty from within that completely bedazzles us, despite your attempts to hide your hands...



Sandhya (pronounced Sandi) must have sat there for three hours at least, painting hand after hand FREEHAND NO LESS, and even an ankle or two, with designs of our choice. The younger members of the party had to wait to do it again, but by 4:00 she had touched each of us and delighted the crowd of 40 or so woman and young girls with her creations. We all admired each others choices, so different and yet with a similar thread. - a bonding, a sisterhood that bridged any language or cultural gaps - and that spoke the language of love and smiles.















Sandy@hennastudio.com
www.hennastudio.com 917.587.2616
like you Jenn found Sandy online, so please send my best regards when you contact her and remind her that she and I are going to work on henna designs for wedding cakes for CuisinEtc's indian fusion weddings

this was right after Sandhya painted on the intricate design (which took her all of 12 minutes since she is so talented and quick but the details are amazing. Now, hours later the black has chipped off leaving behind the red stain that should last for a few days. I am now part of a sisterhood of friends and family that watched and admired and hung out and ate and chatted and hugged and laughed and basically are all soo thrilled for Jenn that she has found such a kind good gentle and loving man and that he has found his soul mate too!











So for this party, I got to be a guest and eat some delicious Indian food and take photos of the wonderful hands that make up our sisterhood of friendship and family.


















Look at the expression of love that Lakshmi and her daughter have for Jenn and the wonderous gaze at her lovely hands as she prepares to enter into a new and expanded family while mingling the traditions of new and old cultures, religions and languages. Love does conquer all - and we are were all enriched today by this touching touchy feely experience!

and Andrew and I now have family to visit in Madras - have already started to plan the trip in my head

OM- Shalom HIND-JEW Bollywood with a huge heart and a magen david wedding of the year

Jenn and Venkat are clients that have become friends and family. They are the cutest, sweetest couple one could ever hope to work with and we have spent hundreds of hours laughing, crying and planning this Bollywood with a heart event coordinating ideas and blending culture for a indian fusion wedding that promises to knock everyones socks off while having the most fun ever!!

for more background on the bride and groom go to their website

www.jenniferandvenkat.com

Jenn and Venkat's Wedding Celebration

cocktail hour from 5 - 6 pm

including Stationary and Passed Hors D'oeuvres

bhelpuri chick pea & potato chaat
with chef attendant making them ala minute served in antique punch cups


For the Kidz in All of Us
Old Fashioned Mac and Cheese
BBQ Meatballs
Homemade Chicken Fingers
Also Served in punch cups and/or red asian boxes
(platters of kids food to be placed on kids tables when buffet opens)
Preeti”s Staff will be the kids attendants during dinner and help them with the food and drinks

breads and spreads
…Crispy indian snacks•
…Flowering display of tandoori baby corn
…hummous sunflower with carrot and cucumber petals and black olive seeds
…bruschetta with tricolored olive artichoke tapenade
…rondele cheese torta with red pepper pesto
… dolmatis w/feta & red pepper
…goats cheese or brie topped with mango salsa
…assorted crackers, flatbreads, and more

served on colorful glass rimmed plates
good luck red and colorful cocktail napkins

Passed hors d’oeuvres
…mushroom truffle risotto bundles

…crispy potato latkes
topped with harozet apple chutney

…sassy samosas
crispy potato filled bundles with our signature coconut cilantro chutney

…pav bhaji crostinis

…smoked salmon wasabi biscuits

…absolut shrimp shooters
coconut Caribbean spices with absolut citron vodka infusion (you supply the vodka)

…mango tango cashew chicken salad on mini pompadom

…soup sip of curried lentil soup in mini glass espresso cups


Creative CuisinEtc … More than just great food …







Hot Pink shot glasses of Venkat’s Moms Payasam (recreated by CuisinEtc) at table

Dinner Buffet Service 6:30 – 7:45
~chilled marinated artichokes, roasted red potatoes, & haricot vert medley (v)

~Indian tomatoes, onions, peppers & cucumber salad with sprouted chickpeas and mung beans (like the sprouts we had from fairway) (v)

~lemon scented julienne of carrots accented with black sesame seeds (v)

~teriyaki grilled salmon over bowtie pasta
with haricot vert & cherry tomatoes in our signature cilantro honey lime vinaigrette

~basmati rice with garnished with scallions & cashews (v)

~ east meets west artisan breads including nan (provided from local restaurant) (v)

~thai bang bang chicken with green curry & kaffir leaves

~garlic pumpkin & sweet potato curry (v)

~cardamom chickpea & zucchini curry(v)

~mandarin sesame spinach & romaine salad (v)

~boneless lamb provençal, oven roasted late harvest tomatoes, greens & white beans

Wedding Cupcakes and Dessert 8:45 – 9:30
your “wedding cake” - 200 mini cupcakes from Cupcake Café (provided by bride)
Chocolate Dipping Pond – Imported European Milk & Dark Chocolate…Cannolis…
Old Fashioned Housemade Rugelach…Vanilla Cream Puffs… Lisa’s Cookies…Fresh Fruit
plus a few amazing & delicious surprises for you and your guests delight!!!
Indian desserts brought by Venkat’s sister from India
Assorted Platters and Display provided by Caterer
Beer Wine, Soft Drinks and Ice Provided by Client, Coffee and Tea Provided by Caterer


CuisinEtc’s passion for dazzling & matchless ingredients & décor has fostered the development of a unparalleled network of suppliers, atypical in its range and depth. We carefully cultivate sources of ingredients & spend many hours shopping , from the farmstand to the out of the way Indian supermarket, to insure access to the folks who grow & harvest food, be it curry & kafir lime leaves or fish that truly defines the word fresh.


This passion for raw ingredients is what drives our menus. Tonight’s menu is inspired not only by the unique ingredients available, but by the fusion of trans global cuisines. The excitement of Indian fusion paired with Jewish traditions are well represented by Jenn & Venkat’s choices for their wedding celebration. We are privileged to be able to partake in making this an incredible day of celebration for you, your wonderful family & cherished friends.

presented with much love, Lisa and Andrew, Creative CuisinEtc…..

service to city - New York City that is...

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New York City Finger Food Menu

...NYC skyline crudite vegetable display with garden dip
...italian sundried tomato & roasted pepper rondele cheese with crackers
...middle eastern hummous sunflower with carrot and pita petals
...greek dolmatis with feta and red peppers

harlem jazz meets lower east side
...southern bbq meatballs - our signature tangy sauce with all beef cocktail meatballs
...cows in the comforter – all beef mini hotdogs in pastry blankets
served with coney island mustard
canal and mott street
...asian boxes with spinach noodles, stir fried veggies, black sesame mandarin dressing
pretty colors and delicious tastes.
...mini samosas with our signature cilantro coconut chutney
little italy
...three cheese tortellini salad tossed with fire roasted pepper pesto
displayed in paper cones
...grilled tuscan chicken cocktail sandwiches

NY NY Winter Wonderland Holiday Food Festival

crudite boat with christmas tree dips

hummous sunflower

breads and spreads

feathers and tortillas

Like everywhere across this great nation of ours (and perhaps around the world) the 2008 Holiday season is subdued with the budget crisis, news that we are "officially" in a recessi