Gourmet Caterers Orange County

May 31, 2011

Memorial Day!

Filed under: Barbeque,Corporate Catering,corporate Menus,Holiday Parties,Miscellaneous,orange county catering — Tags: , , — nancy @ 2:03 am

Gourmet Caterers wishes to salute Memorial Day.  It is not just a day to have a family Barbeque.  There is much more meaning than that.  Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day.  It was and still is a day to honor our Veterans.  Those men and women who have given their lives to ensure our freedom.

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States, observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, which was first recorded to have been observed by Freedmen (freed enslaved southern blacks) in Charleston, South Carolina in 1865, at the Washington Race Course, to remember the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War. The recognition of the fallen victims was then enacted under the name Memorial Day by an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War. Over time, it was extended after World War I to honor all Americans who have died in all wars. Now known as Memorial Day, it is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

Memorial Day often marks the start of the summer vacation season, and Labor Day its end.  Now is the time to plan your Summer Picnic.  Gourmet Caterers is an Orange County Caterer, who loves to serve you great BBQ food at your picnic.

Begun as a ritual of remembrance and reconciliation after the Civil War, by the early 20th century, Memorial Day was an occasion for more general expressions of memory, as ordinary people visited the graves of their deceased relatives, whether they had served in the military or not. It also became a long weekend increasingly devoted to shopping, family get-togethers, fireworks, trips to the beach, and national media events such as the Indianapolis 500 auto race, held since 1911 on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend..

Happy Summer to you and yours.

 

May 13, 2011

Graduations, Weddings & Family Gatherings are coming!

Filed under: Appetizer event,brunch,Dessert Party,Graduation Party,Indian Foods,Italian foods,orange county catering,Wedding — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — nancy @ 6:48 am

Gourmet Caterers knows that May and June bring many opportunities to celebrate with your family and friends.  We want to be the one you think of for Catering Orange County.  Celebrations always include food in my family, how about yours?  We love to eat food, good food and plenty of it.  Maybe some Appetizers, or a BBQ, a Brunch, or even a Dessert Party.  We can choose from Italian foods or maybe we should be adventurous and try Indian Food.  I have to say my all time favorite is Mexican Food.

How many of you have a Graduate that is finishing High School or College?  Now is the time to start planning for that event.  My Niece is graduating from High School on June 1st.  Her celebration will be held a few days later.  I am very proud of her accomplishments and her upcoming admission to UCSD.  I wish her congratulations and Best wishes for a Successful future.

Later on this summer, my Cousin is getting married.  This too will be a family celebration.  and yes, more eating.  Family, celebration and food all go together hand in hand.  Weddings are a wonderful time to get friends and family together to experience the love and commitment to the future the couple are making.

What celebrations are happening in your family?  Or with your friends?  Please share them with us on our FaceBook page.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/GourmetCaterers

Have a wonderful week and remember Gourmet Caterers would love to help you and yours celebrate your milestones.

April 26, 2011

Mahi Fish Tacos

Filed under: Barrmitzvah weekend,brunch,Conference Catering,Corporate Catering,corporate Menus,Fundraisers,Graduation Party,Miscellaneous,nationality buffets,orange county catering,recipes,satisfied clients — Tags: , , , , , — nancy @ 2:09 am

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

  • 1 jalapeño chile, seeded and finely chopped
  • 1 small red onion, one-quarter finely chopped, the remainder thinly sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, grated or finely chopped
  • One 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
  • Juice of 2 limes, plus 2 teaspoons grated peel
  • 1/2 head red cabbage, shredded
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro (a generous handful)
  • Four 6-ounce mahi mahi fillets
  • 8 corn taco shells
  • 1 cup crème fraîche or sour cream

    •  

    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?

    May 6, 2008

    Suggestions and Ideas on Planning that Special Party

    Filed under: Planning that party,Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Nina Varkel @ 9:29 pm

    So many decisions to make…Firstly the reason for having the party. A birthday, Anniversary, Bar mitzvah, wedding, or corporate holiday party. Venue is of the utmost importance. Depending on what you are having, whether its a sport museum, or home party, or just a large venue-Gourmet Caterers can assist you with lots of suggestions-we have catered in most venues in Orange County so we can certainly advise you on whats out there. Then you have to decide what time of day you want your party. In Winter an outside venue would need to be a morning to midday party, or you would need to bring in heaters, although this is fine, its not optiomal. In Summer, a nice beach Luaui or outsid e BBQ is great. Entertainment is something else to think about, a disco, band, a comedian or kids entertainment, we can assist you with all of these and more. Decor is very important, and again Gourmet Caterers with all their experience can help you, create that special vibe and look for your party, we have lots of vendors that work with us. We also work with wonderful vendors who can help with Lighting, video, photography, decor and entertainment. Of course to us the most important is the Menu. Choosing the right menu to fit the right setting and right kind of party. We offer a lot of different Nationality catering. Mexican, Indian, Mediterranean, Asian, french and any other cuisine that you want, we love doing nationality stations. Also when planning the menus, do we need an appetizer hour, to either pass appetizers or an appetizer station, with cold or hot foods so guests can help themselves. Depending on the amount of guests that are invited, we have many options of serving the foods. We can have a few stations around the room, examples are a salad station with a selection of 6 salads, a meditteranean station with Schwarma, fellafel pita and fillings, a pasta station with a selection of three pastas and fresh hot pizza, and an asian station with sushi, and a couple of stir frys being done in front of guests. Or you could have all in one or two lines, salad and breadrolls, two main entrees- rare roast beef served with mushroom sauce, a stuffed chicken breast, two vegetables – asparagus and spinach, and two starches – a risotto rice and potatoes in onion sauce. And a dessert buffet, with an assortment of little pastries and dessert french style. Or you could have every course served to the table. We at Gourmet Caterers offer a great variety and can help you every step of the way to select competent vendors, great food and make it so you can enjoy your party like a guest.

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