A few weeks ago, I recieved a call from a close friend in a bind, she was having an open house in 5 days and found herself without anyone to cater it. I’m still not quite sure why I came to her mind but she asked for my help. Now, I have never catered anything in my life, but she believed in my abilities more than I did and I agreed to do my best. The event was 5 short days away and I had a few menu constraints. The event was for her clients and local business partners, about 30-40 people and was being held at her photography studio. This meant that there was no kitchen, no oven/stove, a very small refridgerator and a sink; I had to make sure the entire menu was room temperature or cold. The event was being held in the early evening/late afternoon so I wasn’t responsible for heavy hors d’oeuvres or dinner, which was a relief. I planned a menu that consisted mostly of appetizers and a few desserts. My menu inspiration was the Spring season which meant that I wanted to keep the menu light and full of color.

Here’s the menu rundown:

Goat Cheese Bruschetta
Spring Pea Crostini
Irish Soda Bread with Smoked Salmon
Bobbi Sandwiches
Proscuitto Wrapped Crudite
Orange Glazed Pound Cake
Rasberry Chocolate Macarons

All of the appetizers and desserts I made were simple, using a few ingredients and few steps to put together. I used quality ingredients and spent time making sure they were well assembled. Here are images and the full recipes from the event, all photos courtesy of KM Photography (as are many of the photos on my blog). I was so busy getting everything together, that I forgot to take pictures along the way, so here are photos of the finished spread and the full recipes. I plan to make everything again soon, so I will provide more details on each individual process then.

These dishes may also give you some inspriation if you’ve been asked to make Easter dinner this weekend, or bring a dish along for it.

Irish Soda Bread with Smoked Salmon

Here is the full recipe pulled from Epicurious.com:

Ingredients

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour plus additional
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits, plus 1 stick (1/2cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons well-shaken buttermilk
• 1/2 pound thinly sliced smoked salmon
• 1 bunch fresh chives, trimmed

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Whisk together flours, oats, wheat germ, baking soda, salt, and caraway seeds in a large bowl. Blend in 3/4 stick cold butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and stir until dough is evenly moistened. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface, dusting with flour to prevent sticking, 1 minute (dough should remain soft and slightly sticky). Shape dough into a ball.

Pat out dough on a lightly floured baking sheet into a 7-inch round. Dust dough with flour and spread lightly over round with your fingertips. Cut a 4- to 5-inch X (1/2inch deep) in top of dough.

Bake in middle of oven until bread sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool on a rack 2 hours before slicing.

Make canapés with bread, softened butter, salmon, chives, and pepper to taste.

Sweet Pea Crostini

Recipe from foodnetwork.com:

Ingredients

Sweet Peas:

• 2 cups chicken broth or water
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 (16-ounce) bag frozen peas
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped mint
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 3 ounces finely diced prosciutto

Crostini:

• 1 baguette, sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic

Directions

For the Sweet Peas: Warm the chicken broth and red pepper flakes in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until the broth boils. Add the frozen peas and cook until the peas are tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the peas in a mesh sieve.

Goat Cheese Bruschetta

Ingredients:

• 2 French Baguette sliced diagonally
• 5 Roma Tomatoes seeded and diced
• 3 Heirloom Tomotes seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup fresh Basil chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 8 oz Boursin herbed cream cheese
• 1 pkge feta cheese

Directions:

In a large bowl mix together tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil and slowly add enough olive to moisten the mixture. Allow to sit at room temperature, stirring occasionally, while prepping the baguette.

Brush baguette slices with olive oil and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, place under broiler for about 5 minutes until golden brown, check frequently to avoid burning. Once toasted, put a layer of Boursin cream cheese on each slice and top with tomato mixture (can be made one day ahead and stored in refridgerator). Sprinkle with feta cheese and enjoy!

Bobbi Sandwiches

The Bobbi began in the state of Delaware and was created by Cappriottis Sandwich shop. If you find yourself in Delaware I highly recommend locating the nearest Cappriottis and getting a Bobbi for yourself, this appetizer is a mini homeade version of the famous sub.

Ingredients:

• 1 box Stove Top stuffing mix, made according to directions
• 4-5 hoagie rolls
• 1 rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, all meat taken off and shredded
• 1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
• salt
• pepper

Directions

Cut open your hoagie rolls and lay open on a clean work surface. Put a layer of shredded chicken on the roll and top with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Using a butter knife, spread chicken with a  generous layer of cranberry sauce. Top with a layer of stuffing. Wrap each hoagie individually in plastic wrap, very tightly and refrigerate for a few hours (can be prepared one day ahead). To serve, unwrap sub and slice into 2 inch wide slices.

Prosciutto- Wrapped Crudite

Recipe from foodnetwork.com:

Ingredients:

• 20 paper-thin slices prosciutto or speck
• 1 fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced lengthwise
• 1/2 orange bell pepper, cut lengthwise into thin strips
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut lengthwise into thin strips
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut lengthwise into thin strips
• 10 stalks broccolini, blanched
• 1/4 head cauliflower, separated into small florets with stems intact, blanched
• 2 tablespoons Meyer lemon olive oil
• 1 (2-ounce) piece Parmesan
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Salt, for blanching water

Directions

Orange Glazed Pound Cake

This recipe is super easy, not to mention light and sweet; I chose it because it is so simple to make and because you can use your hands to eat it. This recipe calls for a cake mix. Typically, I don’t use cake mixes. I find it’s just as easy for me to make a cake from scratch as it is to make it with a mix. I have nothing against mixes, in fact I like Duncan Hines the best, but I do love cake so I always figure if I’m going to all the trouble to bake a cake, I’m going to do it from scratch. Anyway, this recipe uses the golden butter cake mix and then adds alot to it. It’s so delicious, I haven’t changed anything about it.

Ingredients

• 1 pkge Duncan Hines Butter Recipe Golden Cake Mix
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup plus 1-2 tbsp orange juice, divided
• 2 tbsp grated orange peel
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour 10-inch tube pan.

Combine cake mix, eggs, sour cream, oil, 1/4 cup orange juice and orange peel in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer for 2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 375 for45-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 25 minutes. Invert cooling rack. Cool completely.

Combine confectioners sugar and remainaing 1-2 tbsp. orange juice in a small bowl. Stir until smooth. Drizzle over cake. Slice, serve and enjoy!

Rasberry Chocolate French Macarons

I plan to make these again later this week, so a more detailed post is coming. I was completely intimidated by these and this was my first time making macarons of any kind. They turned out more fabulous than I imagined and I should have made twice as many!

This recipe is from epicurious.com:

Ingredients:

For macarons
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
3 large egg whites
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Red or pink food coloring

For chocolate raspberry ganache
3 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (60 to 64% cacao), finely chopped
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/16 teaspoon raspberry extract (preferably McCormick brand)

Special equipment: parchment paper; a gallon-size sealable plastic bag (not pleated)

Preparation:

I had a great time pretending to be a caterer and trying out lots of new recipes! Nothing turned out badly and I’m looking forward to making all of the dishes again soon, just not all at one time…