chop A Culinary Playground

Infused Vodka Update

We had a pre -Christmas Brunch where we tested the infused vodkas on the Bloody Mary Bar.  Unfortunately my pictures did not come out very well. but here are the results.    The Jalapeno/Cumin was wonderful, especially in the Bloody Marys,  The cumin was a wonderful touch and gave it a real smokey flavor.  The Kaffir Lime/Lemon Grass was really good on its own, chilled over ice or shaken.  It was very aromatic.  It would also be great shaken with about a teaspoon of  Pacifikool Ginger Syrup

The Cucumber Dill vodka was not the greatest.  The dill was very over powering and gave off a biter taste.

Another git of the party was the Red Velvet Cup Cakes.

They were baked by my friend Abi at Cakeworks.

Setting up for a catering

I am back from a long break, everything from the flu hitting our house, the holidays. and an island wide black out has been keeping me away from posting.   I have lots of things to share so look forward to lots of posts in the coming days.

Right before Christmas we catered a holiday party for one of our favorite clients.  I thought I would share some of the set up.  The party was for about 100 people, they were mostly family members of our client. The location of the party was at one of his houses that he has for his car collection and to throw parties.  Please note that the Christmas decorations are kept up year long.

Here is our staff polishing the silver before it goes out on the buffet.

Lots of good wine to be served.  Part of the client's car collection in the back.

Beautiful Asparagus, it will be sauteed in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and seasoned with lemon zest and lemon grass.

Shannon from
Superb Sushi

  All the fish is prepped.  The most popular roll is the spicy tuna roll.

Putting the final touches on the cheese display.

The basics of making a cheese display are the following, always have at least one soft (Brie, St. Andre, , semi hard (Aged Cheddar, Jarlsberg) and hard cheese (Manchego, Parmigiano). Then you should have one of each,  a goat/sheep milk, cow milk and a blue cheese.  It is always nice to add either fresh fruit or dried fruit and nuts.  I also like to add honey or a quince paste to develop the salty sweet flavors.

We don't do much private catering because we concentrate on mostly on our film production business but we do have a few exclusive clients that we do parties for.  Out next catering is a sit down on New years Eve.  I will post some pics from that.

Eddie Ross

Check out Eddie Ross, Top Design contestant, and the expert on taking  flea market  finds and making beautiful table tops.  He has great posts on hostess gifts and an easy to do crudites!

Come back here soon to see  pics and recipes from this weekends parties.

Infused Vodka

I am having a Bloody Mary Bar at my up coming holiday party and decided to make some infused vodkas.
I used some 360  vodka bottles and made three types of vodka, jalapeno-cumin, lemon grass-kaffir lime and cucumber -dill.   He are all my ingredients prepped, a carefully washed and dried the ingredients before placing them in the bottles.  A chopstick was helpful in getting everything down the thin necks.
I realized after that I I should have used red jalapenos to look a little more festive.  I may add some later.

Have a Curry Party

A Curry Party is a great idea fo the holidays, it is easy to prepare and easy to serve.  It is prefect for an open house because it holds well and there are so many variations.   In Hawaii it was common for socialite and country club goers to host Curry Suppers.  They would consist of a basic Chicken Curry, and served with a variety of condiments like toasted coconut, pineapple, green onions, toasted almonds, mango chutney and chopped egg.  For my dinner I made an Indian style chicken curry and my condiments were Major, Grey's Chutney, Pateks Garlic Relish, dried currants,  Cucumber Raita, and Pistachios. The condiment  list is endless. golden raisins, dried mango, fried onions or garlic, chopped jalapeno, I could go on forever. 

So what do you need for a curry party?  A basic curry recipe, rice (Basmati or Jasmine are great), 4 or 5 condiments. and a green salad.  Pita or Naan bread would also be a nice touch.

Another idea is to serve a variety of curries  Thai, Indian, Japanese.

Bloody Mary Bar

I am planning a holiday brunch.  We will have a Bloody Mary Bar.  Here is what is on it.  Am I missing anything?  More of the menu to come.

Mary Bloody Bar

 

Freshly Pressed Tomato Juice

 

Jalapeno Infused Vodka

 

Lemon Grass and Kafir Lime Infused Vodka

 

Cucumber Dill Infused Vodka

 

360 Vodka, Level Vodka, Hendricks Gin, Sauza Tequila

 

Assorted Olives

 

Pickles

 

Skewered Shrimp

 

Cucumber Wedges

 

Celery Hearts

 

Celery, Chipotle and Hawaiian sea salts

 

Caper berries

 

Worcestershire Sauce

Variety of Hot Sauce

 

Kafir Lime Leaves

 

Meyer Lemon and Tahitian Lime Wedges

 

Ice

 

 

Short Rib Tostada

This is a great use for leftover short ribs

3     Cups shredded leftover short ribs
6     Corn Tortillas, brushed with oil and baked until crispy or deep fried
2     Avocados, scooped out and mashed
1      tomato chopped
1      Red Onion Sliced
1/4 Cup Cilantro
1      Teaspoon Cumin
1      Teaspoon Chipolte Powder
1      Cup Sliced Red Cabbage
1/2 Cup Cojita Cheese, crumbled
1      Cup Salsa

Heat the Left over meat in the microwave or in a pan.  Add the Cumin and Chipolte. Take off heat and add tomato, onion, and cilantro.    Divide the toppings evenly, over the 6 tortillas. Spread the avocado on the tortilla, layer the short rib mixture,  cabbage, salsa, and sour cream.  Sprinkle the cheese on top.  Enjoy with an icy Margarita!