Parties That Cook’s Fall Event Recap: Cooking Up Teamwork Outside the Office

It’s that time of the week again: Time to reflect on some of our fun events in recent Parties That Cook history. From traditional Sumptuous Small Plates events to full blown Executive Kitchen Challenges, this post features some of the latest and greatest of our corporate team building events!

First, we’ll finish off September with a fun Chicago event. ADM hosted a Small Plates event on the 29th, and from what we’ve heard, the dishes were all a hit! Chef Molly reported that all the recipes turned out great. This “fantastic” group was very energetic and very competitive. Molly added, “Everyone got into every aspect and had a great time. In the end, at least 7 different people told me that this was the best team event they had ever done.” Fantastic! The ADM host, Lori, commented, “Nothing could have made it more enjoyable… It was well organized, clean and a totally different experience.” She even made sure to note the impact Chef Molly (and her personality) had on the success of the event!

Near the end of October’s first week, Chef Irfan led MAP Pharmaceuticals in a Small Plates event, as well. Chef Irfan believed it was a great menu, and received plenty of positive feedback on the recipes from the guests. Who wouldn’t love a menu with Sweet Potato Pancakes, Hot Crab Dip with Soft Pretzels, and Mini Apple, Roquefort and Onion Pies?? MAP Pharma host, Trudi, thought Irfan was fun and insightful, and said the PTC team was “knowledgeable and made us all feel like we were learning something at the same time that we made delicious food.” Not too shabby for an outing when your team can “see each other in a different setting without talking about work.” (Trudi thought this was the best part about the event!) Great job, team!

A week later, SVB decided to customize things a bit. Chef Scott led this Sumptuous Small Plates event with an added “challenge” component, and the guests really got into it! SVB host, Namita, said the best part was the presentation of the plates after the cooking. She added that she thought Chef Scott was a great teacher, and even said, “The event was successful because we had our head and sous chefs helping us. We may have had disasters otherwise.” We’d never let that happen, Namita!

To round things out, Kaiser hosted an Executive Kitchen Challenge – professional business coach and all! Second-time Kaiser host, Celina, wanted an opportunity for staff to become better acquainted with peers outside the work setting. As you can see, things got a little intense when blindfolds were brought into the equation (talk about a need for good communication skills!).

After the event, Celina reported that the event was successful because everyone was engaged in the team building activities and there was excellent facilitation by our event staff. Jed thought our usual Executive Kitchen Challenge facilitator/business coach, Starla, was “on her game”. Celina added, “Jed is awesome! He makes the event lots of fun and also provides a learning opportunity. Heather (the Sous Chef) was very encouraging and provided guidance but encouraged us to make our own decisions.” Great job, PTC Team!

If you would like to see your event featured in one of our Event Blogs, let us know!
We hope to see you in the kitchen soon!

Parties That Cook’s Go-To Holiday Party Dessert: Pumpkin Roulade with Ginger-Cream Cheese Frosting

Halloween weekend is almost here. Get ready for parties, costumes, candy and more parties! Whether you’re hosting, or just attending, you’re going to need some sweet reinforcements. We’re arming you with a great go-to recipe that’s sure to please through the entire holiday season! (We’re talkin’ Halloween, Thanksgiving AND Christmas!) See this recipe in action at our Thanksgiving Boot Camp: Desserts cooking class!

Looking for something a little more… savory? Check out our upcoming Thanksgiving Boot Camp: Appetizer and Entree classes, starting as early as this Tuesday, November 1st! The same great appetizer menus (including Mini Apple, Roquefort and Caramelized Onion Pies with Honey – YUM) will be featured in Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle.

Mini Pumpkin Roulade Filled with Ginger and Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
This recipe can also be found in our Dessert Recipe Library!

Ingredients
Cake:
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
5 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup powdered sugar for dusting cakes

Ginger and Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, plus 1 cup more for sifting on top of roulade
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 Tablespoon ginger juice, from about a 2 inch piece of ginger
2 cups heavy cream

Prepare Pan:
Nonstick baking spray
Parchment paper
AP flour for dusting
2 13×18 inch half sheet pans

Methods/Steps
Prepare Pans: Spray the sheet pans heavily with nonstick spray. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit into the bottom only of the sheet pans. Spray paper with the nonstick spray and dust the entire pan well with flour. Tap out the excess flour and set aside.

Preheat oven to 3750ºF.

Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt.

Make Batter: Crack the eggs into another bowl and add the sugar. Using a hand or stand mixer, whip the eggs and sugar on medium high speed for at least 3 minutes or until thick, light yellow and almost double in volume. Turn the mixer to low and add the pumpkin. Mix well to combine. Add the flour and mix gently, just until incorporated. Do not over mix or cake will be tough. Use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the bottom of the batter.

Bake Cake: Divide batter among the sheet pans (about 4 cups of batter per pan) Using an offset spatula, gently spread the batter, evenly, into the pans. Bake cake for 10-12 minutes.

Prepare Rolling Surface: While cakes are baking, place a piece of parchment paper (same size or slightly bigger than cake) onto a cutting board or work surface (one piece of parchment is needed per pan of cake). Generously dust the parchment with powdered sugar.

Roll Cake: This step must be done while the cake is still warm. Remove cake from oven and loosen the edges of cakes with a knife or bench scraper. Immediately invert the cakes onto the sugared parchment. Gently peel off the layer of parchment paper baked onto the cake and cut the cake in half down the middle. While the cake is still warm, generously dust the top with powdered sugar. Gently roll the cake and parchment into a long tube. Place the cake roll seam side down onto a work surface and let cool, about 10 minutes.

Make Frosting: Using a hand mixer, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt until the cream cheese is light and fluffy.

Add Cream: Slowly start to add the cream while beating (If added to fast you may get lumps). Whip until cream is thick, doubled in volume and holds stiff peaks.

Frost Cakes: Gently unroll cakes. Divide frosting (about 1 cup frosting per roll) and frost evenly over cake. Gently re-roll the cake without the parchment this time. Again, dust top with powdered sugar to hide any cracks.

Cut Cake: Trim the edges if necessary. Cut the rolls into 12 pieces each. Place the pieces into cupcake liners and serve.

Serves/Makes
Makes about 48 large pieces

Recipe created by Parties That Cook® | www.PartiesThatCook.com