Tag parties that cook

Parties That Cook’s 2011 Corporate Holiday Events Wrap-Up: Part I

0 comments By The Kitchen Whisperer Filed in Entertaining, News & Events Tagged with , , , , , , , , , January 9th, 2012 @ 1:25 pm

2011 is OVER. Time to close that great chapter, and begin the next. There’s just a little something we have to take care of first… This post is Part I of the final round-up of our corporate team building events and private cooking parties for 2011!

In mid-November, McGraw-Hill Higher Education hosted the first of a series of Parties That Cook events for a mix of staff and customers in Chicago. After finding us through an internet search, host Megan G. thought we had offered the most flexibility, the best venues… and “awesome recipes!” On working with our Chicago event planner, Megan said, “Christina Turner is top notch! She is a real asset to your organization. Right away, everything went smoothly and she made me feel completely at ease with the process. She was professional, friendly, and accommodating.” What kind (yet accurate) words!

The bar was set high with Christina’s customer service, but we did not disappoint! After the event, the raves continued. “The event was a great kick-off and a great way to achieve camaraderie right off the bat. It provided us with a way to make our customers comfortable and to break the ice before our event officially started.” Megan added, “Molly, Brandy and the team were amazing. We were so lucky to have had them running our event, they really went above and beyond!”

A few days later, Genentech hosted an intimate Chef’s Table, 4-course meal for 13, at the gorgeous Mumm Napa. Host Lisa D. is no stranger to Parties That Cook, and opted to stick with us after a successful first experience. On working with veteran event planner, Rosie, she commented, “Rosie made the event seem super easy and everything was organized and complete in a timely manner. The party was wonderful! The best part was the teambuilding and fun!!!!” *No exclamation marks were added to this statement.

To round out November, VelocX hosted a fun event for 16 in Portland!! It’s always so exciting to see events come in for our newer cities. After checking out a few of our different corporate event ideas, host Holly F. thought Sumptuous Small Plates was the “best event for the type of meeting [she] was planning.” No buyer’s remorse here! Despite some fears of skeptics in her group, post-event, Holly reported, “All of the guests were engaged and enjoyed the evening. The event was successful due to Chef Carolyn and her work in supporting our objectives.“

Carolyn, our wonderful Operations Manager and event chef, agreed! “It was lots of fun! They were a great group, we made delicious food, and the venue worked out well (Great to hear of our first Bargreen Ellingson experience). Everyone loved it, even the skeptical ones that Holly forewarned us about. Lots of thank you’s from the guests, and interest in what else we do. Holly loved it and said she could see using our services again for her clients.”

Closing out a 15-event week for Parties That Cook was an especially fun Clearwater Group dinner in Seattle. This wasn’t just any corporate dinner. Host Paulette L. opted for the beautifully decorated destination venue: Efeste Winery. She also spiced things up a bit by adding a competition twist to their evening of Sumptuous Small Plates. “It sounded like it would be a fun way to have a party,” Paulette explained. And she was right! Lead Chef Pam noted that this was a fun, enthusiastic group, and that it was a great menu for them. Afterwards, Paulette reported that the best part of the event was “the interactive nature of cooking together as a team, and yes, event was very successful!”

Parties That Cook Reinvents the Thanksgiving Pie: Mini Apple, Roquefort and Caramelized Onion Pie Recipe

0 comments By The Kitchen Whisperer Filed in Menus & Recipes Tagged with , , , , , , , November 8th, 2011 @ 1:43 am

Let’s reexamine the Thanksgiving meal. In the last ten years, how many times did your turkey day dinner include pumpkin pie? Be honest. Six times? Nine?? Ten?! Geeze. This holiday season, give pumpkin pie a rest and try this delicious, simple and savory mini pie recipe at your next holiday party! This recipe is just one part of the mouthwatering menu for our upcoming Thanksgiving Appetizers cooking class in Chicago!

To prove we don’t have anything against pumpkin, we’ve also posted this delicious alternative to the usual pumpkin desserts: a Pumpkin Roulade with Ginger-Cream Cheese Frosting – YUM!

Mini Apple, Roquefort and Caramelized Onion Pies with Honey Recipe
This recipe can also be found in our Appetizer Recipe Library!

Ingredients
Pastry:
 1 1/2 cups AP flour + more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
9 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½” pieces, frozen if possible
1/3 cup ice water
2-inch round cookie cutters
24-cup mini muffin tins

Apple, Roquefort and Caramelized Onion Filling:
 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 cup water
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, halved and cored
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, plus thyme leaves for garnish
3 ounces Roquefort cheese, crumbled
2 Tablespoons honey

Methods/Steps
 Preheat oven to 400°F

Make Pastry: Place the flour, salt and butter into the bowl of a food processor. Run the machine for 30 seconds or until the mix looks like pea size crumbles. Add the water and pulse just until a dough ball starts to form. A tablespoon or so more of ice water may be needed. Do not over work the dough or the crust will be tough. Gather all of the dough and press into a disk. If you are not rolling the dough immediately, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until ready to use.

Roll and Cut Pastry: Place the dough disk onto a well floured surface. With a floured rolling pin, roll dough to about a 1/4-inch thick. With a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut 24 rounds from disk of dough. You cannot re-roll this dough so cut the rounds carefully and without wasting space between cuts. Gently press dough rounds evenly into the cups of a 24-cup mini muffin tin. Bake crust for 15 minutes. When pie shells come out of the oven, they will have puffed. Gently use a spoon or a fingertip to tap shells back down.

Cook Onion/Apple Mixture: In a sauté pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat until it is hot and beginning to brown. Add the onions and salt to the pan. Stir to make sure all the onions are coated with oil. Add the water to the pan, reduce heat to low and cover for 10 minutes to allow the onions to soften.

Dice Apples: Dice the halved apple into 1/4-inch cube. Once the onions are softened, add the diced apples and continue cooking, uncovered, until the apples are soft and the onions are golden brown, approximately 15 minutes. Stir to prevent burning. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Add the chopped Thyme and Roquefort.

Assemble and Bake Tartlets: Place a heaping spoonful of the filling into each pie shell. Bake in the oven until the cheese is bubbling, about 5 minutes.

Serve: While still hot, drizzle the mini pies with honey and garnish with the thyme buds.

Serves/Makes
 Makes 24 mini pies

Recipe adapted by Parties That Cook www.PartiesThatCook.com from Parties That Cook Lead Chef, Mick Dimas

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