We served a couple of our new Appetizers, Antipasto Skewers and Pesto Fontina Tartlets.  The beautiful and tasteful presentation stayed with in the Tuscan theme.   All of the guests enjoyed the tasty appetizers we served.

The Giracci Vineyards is a beautiful venue.  I looked around and could see how beautiful a Wedding caterer, such as Gourmet Caterers, could create the Wedding and reception of any Bride’s dreams.  I also could imagine how great a Corporate event would be if it was held at this venue.  I think the combination of Team Building, Food, and Wine Tasting would create such a successful event.

When planning your next event, be sure and call us at Gourmet Caterers, and we will be happy to assist you in planning your next event at Giracci Vineyards or another Orange County venue.  We look forward to speaking with you soon.

I’d like to share a little history of how and why we celebrate Mother’s Day.

Contrary To popular belief, Mother’s Day was not conceived and fine-tuned in the boardroom of Hallmark. The earliest tributes to mothers date back to the annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to Rhea, the mother of many deities, and to the offerings ancient Romans made to their Great Mother of Gods, Cybele.  Christians celebrated this festival on the fourth Sunday in Lent in honor of Mary, mother of Christ. In England this holiday was expanded to include all mothers and was called Mothering Sunday.

In the United States, Mother’s Day started nearly 150 years ago, when Anna Jarvis, an Appalachian homemaker, organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community, a cause she believed would be best advocated by mothers. She called it “Mother’s Work Day.”

Fifteen years later, Julia Ward Howe, a Boston poet, pacifist, suffragist, and author of the lyrics to the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” organized a day encouraging mothers to rally for peace, since she believed they bore the loss of human life more harshly than anyone else.

In 1905 when Anna Jarvis died, her daughter, also named Anna, began a campaign to memorialize the life work of her mother. Legend has it that young Anna remembered a Sunday school lesson that her mother gave in which she said, “I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother’s day. There are many days for men, but none for mothers.”

Anna began to lobby prominent businessmen like John Wannamaker, and politicians including Presidents Taft and Roosevelt to support her campaign to create a special day to honor mothers. At one of the first services organized to celebrate Anna’s mother in 1908, at her church in West Virginia, Anna handed out her mother’s favorite flower, the white carnation. Five years later, the House of Representatives adopted a resolution calling for officials of the federal government to wear white carnations on Mother’s Day. In 1914 Anna’s hard work paid off when Woodrow Wilson signed a bill recognizing Mother’s Day as a national holiday.

At first, people observed Mother’s Day by attending church, writing letters to their mothers, and eventually, by sending cards, presents, and flowers. With the increasing gift-giving activity associated with Mother’s Day, Anna Jarvis became enraged. She believed that the day’s sentiment was being sacrificed at the expense of greed and profit. In 1923 she filed a lawsuit to stop a Mother’s Day festival, and was even arrested for disturbing the peace at a convention selling carnations for a war mother’s group. Before her death in 1948, Jarvis is said to have confessed that she regretted ever starting the mother’s day tradition.

Despite Jarvis’s misgivings, Mother’s Day has flourished in the United States.  In fact, the second Sunday of May has become the most popular day of the year  to dine out, and telephone lines record their highest traffic, as sons and daughters everywhere take advantage of this day to honor and to express appreciation of their mothers.

Did you know that:

• There are more phone calls made on Mother’s Day than on  any other day of the year. (Pew Research)
• The number of people calling their moms on Mother’s Day  has declined in recent years due to e-mail and other electronic means of
  communication.
• While nearly 80 percent of Americans will buy a card  for mom this year, 83 percent of the cards will be purchased by daughters.
  (American Greetings)
• Mother’s Day is the third-largest card-sending holiday.
• Mother’s Day is the busiest day of the year for  restaurants.

And now to share some advice I’m sure you’ve heard at one time or another from your Mother:

• Always change your underwear; you never know when you’ll have an accident.
• Don’t make that face or  it’ll freeze in that position.
• Be careful or you’ll put your eye out.
• What if everyone jumped off a cliff? Would you do it, too?
• You have enough dirt behind those ears to grow potatoes!
• Close that door! Were you born in a barn?
• If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.
• Don’t put that in your mouth; you don’t know where it’s been!

Did any of that advice sound familiar, if it did, leave us a comment on our facebook page, www.facebook.com/gourmetcaterers

Give your Mom a hug and don’t forget to tell her how much you love her!

Happy Mother’s Day! 

Crevier Classic Cars is located in Costa Mesa, near the Orange County airport.  Close to 100 privately owned classic, exotic, and rare vehicles are on display providing a timeless backdrop and unparalleled setting for your special event. In addition to the main event space, enjoy the beautifully decorated Ladies and Gentlemen’s lounge awarded the prestigious Calibre Award for architectural design.  The event space can hold up to 300 guests.   This is a great place to hold a Wedding or Corporate Event.

Bella Mar is located on the waterfront of Newport Harbor.  This is one of the only venues in Newport Beach on the water and available for Corporate events or Weddings.  The venue can seat up to 170 guests.  What a perfect venue for all events.  Nearby parking is available.  The staff at this venue is professional but willing to work with you to create the event vision you want to produce.

Euromasters Special Events Center is located in Fountain Valley, right off of the 405 freeway.  It has a contemporary atmosphere.  The venue will hold up to 1200 guests.  This venue is versatile and can be arranged to fit any event you bring to the venue.  From small Corporate meetings to large events, Euromasters can assist with your event.

Every time Gourmet Caterers goes out in to the community to visit venues, we find such versatile venues to share with our clients.  Call us today, 949-293-4688, for additional information on any of these venues.

While surfing today, I came upon this recipe.  It sounded good to me so I thought I’d see if anybody else thinks it tastes good.

The ultimate taco recipe: a double-decker taco with a soft flour tortilla wrapped around a crispy corn taco shell, giving them a crazy texture.

My Oh Maui Fish Tacos

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

1. In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the jalapeño, chopped red onion and garlic and cook for 4 minutes. In a small bowl, mash the black beans with the cumin and season with salt and pepper; cover.
2. In a large bowl, combine 2 tablespoons oil with the honey, hot sauce and lime juice; season with salt and pepper. Add the sliced onion, cabbage and cilantro; toss.
3. Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium. Coat the fish with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the lime peel. Cover and grill the fish, turning once, for 8 minutes.
4. Warm the taco shells and tortillas on the grill. Spread a few spoonfuls of mashed beans (stir 1 to 2 tablespoons hot water into the beans if too thick) on the outside of the tacos, and wrap a tortilla around each one, pressing to adhere.
5. Flake half a piece of fish into each taco shell and top with some cabbage slaw. Serve 2 tacos per person, with the crème fraîche and extra slaw on the side.

Gourmet Caterers would love for you to submit your favorite recipe to share with our readers.  Do you have anything?

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13×9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In 10-inch skillet, cook bacon and onion over medium-high heat about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until bacon is crisp and onion is tender; drain on paper towels.
3. In large bowl, toss bacon mixture, potatoes and cheeses. Spoon into baking dish. In same bowl, beat eggs, milk, sour cream, salt, mustard and pepper with fork or wire whisk until well blended. Pour over potato mixture.
4. Bake uncovered 35 minutes. In small bowl, toss cornflake crumbs and butter. Sprinkle over casserole. Bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

One of the locations we loved was Giracci Winery.  They are located in Silverado Canyon.  This is such a romantic spot to get married.  The venue features a Wine Tasting Room and Oak Tree Court which is located outside the tasting room, and is nestled under oak trees.  This area is large enough for 200 guests.

This venue also would be perfect for a Corporate event such as a picnic or team building event.  The event could start with team building events and finish up with wine Tasting.  Doesn’t that sound like the perfect way to spend the day away from the office?

Next we visited the White House Event Center.  It is located in Anaheim and is the perfect venue for large scale events.  They can host up to 800 guests at this venue which also includes the West Wing Room.  The West Wing Room has a more intimate Night Club feel.  

As a bride can you imagine being dropped off in the limo in front of the White House?  What great pictures and memories this would create.  The interiors of both sections of the venue lend themselves to both weddings and corporate events. 

Call us to discuss your next event and Gourmet Caterers will help you find the perfect venue

Do you have a favorite recipe to share? Send it to nancy@gourmetcaterers.net and we’ll feature it on our blog. Have you made one of our suggested recipes? Let us know what you thought!

Gourmet Caterers found this Cupcake Recipe to share with you this week.

Gourmet Caterers also provided food for a Fundraiser at  Beth Jacob.  It was a beautiful and suiccessful event.  All were happy with the results.

Gourmet Caterers served Corporate Menus for other satisfied clients during this busy month.

We look forward to the balance of 2010 as a satisfying and successful year.  Call us for all of your catering needs.