Chef Molly & Mom

Gourmet Holiday Appetizer & Dessert Sampler

2010-11-22T12:04:00.000-08:00

For the 2010 holiday season, Chef Molly Culinary Artistry and Simply Sweet Desserts have brought to market amazing Gourmet Holiday Hors d'oeuvre and Dessert Samplers.

We have been working at thinking outside the box to bring to our clients new and exciting products. We have been asking ourselves, "What is our specialty", "What do we do best"? It has become increasingly obvious that what we do best is make hors d'oeuvres. We pride ourselves in making everything pretty much from scratch. That includes making our own crackers and never using pre-prepared products. These are the items we are featuring right now in our samplers.

Chix Skewers w/spicy BBQ Ranch

Coconut Shrimp

Dark and White Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Caramels

Mini Baked Brie w/Mango Chutney & Almonds

Ginger Cookies w/Crystallized Ginger

Chef Molly Culinary Artistry and Simply Sweet Cakery are offering a special "Gourmet Holiday and Appetizer Sampler @ $79.95 for (60) pieces of yummy treats. Available by calling (949)206-9288 now to place your holiday order.

Bonnie Goldman is the Director of Catering for Chef Molly Culinary Artistry. She invites you to visit http://chefmolly.com/ to see more wonderful food and design concepts for your next event. Chef Molly Culinary Artistry is a full service catering and event production company located in Southern California. Contact us at http://chefmolly.com/ to discuss your next event.

Chef Molly to Teach at the Culinary Art School Tijuana, Mexico

2010-11-01T12:21:00.000-07:00

My trip to the Culinary Art School in Tijuana Mexico started back in August when I was asked to be one of the featured Woman Chef's of the Pacific Rim at Art San Diego at the Hilton San Diego Bay Front. That is where I first meet Javier Gonzlez Vizca. He and his wife Chef Ana Laura Martinez Gardoqui are the directors and founders of the school.

When I think of Tijuana I don't think of a stunning “state of the art Culinary School but low and behold that is what I found.

The new campus is only about two months old and already growing. There are three amazing instructional kitchens with top of the line equipment. They will be adding a fourth kitchen shortly.

I have been asked to be a guest instructor at the school to teach a series of catering classes.

Even the smallest of details have been seen to. These are the woman's lockers (I was told that the men's lockers have chili's names)

Our host Javier.

After a whirl wind tour of Tj Javier took us to a very cool coffee house owned by two of his former students.

Perfection!

We had the bright idea of parking State side so that we could just walk back across at the end of the day (I was told that it would only talk about 1/2 hour). It took over 2 hours to WALK back and then another 3/4 of a mile walk back to the car; next time we drive.

Retro Food - All That's Past Is New Again

2010-10-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

I remember when a computer had a punch card and the computer that was used in the launching of the first American space shuttle could fill a large warehouse. I also remember when I could buy one month's groceries for two people (pre Chef Molly) for $25.00, and we were good eaters. Things have really changed.

I no longer wear bell bottom shirts and pants, hair parted down the middle with long braids and my husband doesn't have long hair, side burns down to his chin and a biker mustache. Oh, yeah, I forgot he still has the mustache. His hair is long gone.

So what's all this have to do with food, catering and special events.

It got me thinking about Chef Molly's take on "Retro Food".

Our older clients tend to be sentimental about foods that evoke fond memories of the past and that have a sense of tradition. For our younger clients, the concept of retro eating is fun, chique. It's the idea they like rather than the past experience that they had. There is a myth about foods from the past: "they were wholesome because my mom made them", because they predated mass production and genetic farming. Au contraire. I grew up on Velveta, Doodles and Jello fruit molds. A myth debunked if I ever say one.

There are as many new angles to retro eating as there are memories of the past.

Some of Chef Molly Culinary Artistry retro foods are served in new and exciting ways. We serve braised short ribs on mashed potato cakes as an hors d’oeuvre, traditional Caesar salad in to go boxes with chop sticks, mini Yorkshire puddings with roast beef and horseradish cream and rich hot chocolate demi tasse topped with a berry whipped cream and of course these beautiful Pavlova with Berry Cream and Passion Fruit Glaze and S'mores Cupcakes. We serve Tequila Jelly shooters.

One of our most popular wedding buffet items is a Macaroni & Cheese Bar. We serve the macaroni and cheese (4 imported cheeses) in martini glasses with serve yourself toppings in large martini glasses. Toppings like, baby shrimp, baby scallops, fresh English peas, crisped proscuitto, mascarpone, grilled mushrooms, onions and likes, well you get the idea. Sky's the limit, even caviar is on the table, so to speak. People also like mashed potato bars or risotto bars served the same way.

Bonnie Goldman is the Director of Catering for Chef Molly Culinary Artistry. She invites you to visit http://chefmolly.com/ to see more design and tablescape ideas for your next event. Chef Molly Culinary Artistry is a full service catering and event production company located in Southern California. Contact us athttp://chefmolly.com/ to discuss your next event.

San Diego Vintage

2010-09-20T12:17:00.000-07:00

I got a call a few months ago from my dear friend and old roommate from the CIA (The Culinary Institute of America) Lisa Redwine asking me if I would do an event for the San Diego chapter of AIWF. I jumped at the opportunity!

Nothing could excite me more than to create a menu for a group of people who's sole purpose in meeting was to talk about food and wine. My team and I created a small plate menu and some of our mouth watering desserts.

They started off with passed hors d'oeuvres:

Curry glass noodles w/pan seared duck breast served in to go containers

Mini baked brie w/mango in philo cups

Gazpacho shrimp shooter w/fresh avocado

Than on to small plates:

Grilled, sliced skirt steak & asparagus w/shallots & walnut vinegar

Tea smoked heirloom tomatoes & eggplant stacks w/roasted cauliflower

Salmon w/orange sorrel & hazelnut w/baby beets roasted w/cinnamon & balsamic

Kahlua pork wrapped in banana leaves w/coconut rice & plantains w/a choice of spicy or not banana ketchup

Followed by simply sweet sweets:

Summer berry galette

Figs w/Topanga honey & aged balsamic w/cracked black pepper

Bourbon laced chocolate mousse filled figs dipped in rich chocolate

It was a Sunday afternoon at an amazing home in San Diego with a 180° view of downtown and beyond from the back yard.

I have wanted to use Found Vintage Rentals ever since I first saw their stuff on a blog and this was my opportunity. They had two riddling racks that where a perfect addition to a wine and food event. I also found some really fun props to build up my tables so that I could use it as the back drop to the food.

Brooke Corpus of Simply Sweet Cakery created these darling cookie pops for us. Brooke got my vision spot on with these fun and unique pops.

The pops where a beautiful addition to all of our other desserts, especially first of the season Mission figs with Topanga honey, aged balsamic with fresh cracked black pepper. Oh the simple sweet pleasures.

I do have to say the best part of the evening for me was watching night fall and seeing the lights come up on down town San Diego. We could even see into Mexico. What a Sunday afternoon.

Molly Kruger is the Executive Chef for Chef Molly Culinary Artistry. She invites you to visit http://chefmolly.com/ to see more posts. Chef Molly Culinary Artistry is a full service catering and event production company located in Southern California. Contact us at http://chefmolly.com/ to discuss your next event.

Artist Preview Party Festival of Arts Pageant of the Masters Laguna Beach

2010-09-15T14:22:00.000-07:00

Wow! Now that the summer season is coming to a close and the kids are back in school I have a little time to sit down and organize my thoughts and review some of the amazing events that we helped create this summer.

The event of all events to start the summer season off with was the Artist Preview Party. Tickets for this party are by invite only. You have to be invited by an exhibiting artist or by the Festival of Arts directly. Every year many of the artists receive bogus e-mails seeking tickets for this event. I will bring you inside this event; no ticket needed; no bogus e-mail. Did I mention that this event is for 3400 guests?

The theme of the Pageant of the Masters this year was "Eat Drink and Be Merry". And as all good artists do our design team took poetic license in creating four tablescapes befitting the theme. I love the way greens and whites look together, they are refreshing and the options for decor are endless. We wanted to make a big splash and the best way was with a lot of big beautiful flower arrangements of apples, grapes, kiwis, lime, baby kale and artichokes in between hydrangeas, orchids, orange blossom, roses and whatever else I could get my hands on at the flower mart. The flowers were set on top of large cylinder vases filled to the top with limes. We used very simple table linens of lime green and black and popped it with white porcelain platters, flowers and of course the food for the most amazing visual impact.

Here are some behind the scene shots of making it all come together:

Chef Molly Culinary Artistry has an amazing team. Bonnie and I are maticulice at writing a time line and developing list after planning list. On a big event like this there is NO way I want to say to my client “oops sorry we are not ready.” I want to say “Why, yes! We CAN start serving 15 minutes early.”

I wish that I had more photos of the event to share with you but as always I get so caught up in the event that I forget to take out my trusty camera to document the evening.

I almost forgot to share the menu with you.

Displays

• Charcuterie (smoke meats, e.g. salumi, sausages, galantines, pâtés, etc.)

• Tri Salad Plate (summer salad w/apples & beets, potato salad & grain salad w/raisons & walnuts)

Hors d'oeuvres

• Braised short ribs w/horseradish mashed potatoes

• Figs & gruyere palmiers

• Black bean, chicken & sour cream in corn cups

• Bacon wrapped apricots w/sage & a whole toasted almond

• Mini brie cups w/mango chutney

• Corn flake crusted chicken breast w/honey mustard sauce

• Coconut rice cakes w/kalua pork

Desserts

• Lemon meringue pies

• Buckeye candies

• Fried bananas, dolce con leche, coconut & sesame

• Mini Pavlov w/berry mousse & passion fruit glaze

A good time was had by all.

Décor Design #1 “Wedding Tablescape for a Catered Springtime Reception”

2010-09-09T16:48:00.000-07:00

Beautifully prepared food alone can appeal to the senses of taste, smell, and sight - perhaps even touch, but decorations and ambiance can play a significant part in a successful event.

Ask yourself, “what is your vision?” what is your style?” Our wedding couple said: “We want our catered wedding reception to be in May. We have large families and lots of friends. We want to make everyone happy. We have a generous budget. Our style is a little formal, but not fussy. Our reception will be held on the grounds of a beautiful home”.

This is the design of a Springtime Wedding Reception in Laguna Beach, California. It was held at a private park in a gated community overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Springtime is about the earth’s renewal. The ambience of the day is about the smell of new grass, spring flowers blooming and a warm breeze in the air.

We started by decorating the hors d’oeuvre table with a “Crudité Garden”, that set the mood for the entire wedding.

Instructions for the Crudité Garden

· The color theme: green and white with a splash of color from flowers.

· Use a 60” square table with crisp white linen.

· Purchase enough flats of wheat grass from your local vegetable or health food store.

· Cut wheat grass to fit the table leaving 8” all around the edge for the plates, silverware and napkins.

· For a nice touch use square white plates, sterling silverware and crisp white folded napkins.

· Buy white paper parasols on line.

· Use pots for decoration, they can be metal, ceramic, clay, etc.

· Some vegetables need brief blanching, e.g. broccoli, cauliflower, string beans, carrots & squashes. Blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes then immediately put into ice water to stop the cooking process. Other veggies like mushrooms, radishes, tomatoes, etc. do not require cooking at all.

· Place the veggies in separate spots in the “garden”. Serve with spinach, water chestnut dip. Use whatever vegetables are in season, be creative.

Instructions for Designing the Reception Area

· For the sit down portion of the event use a combination of round and square tables.

· The food tables and the photo display tables will be square.

· Display the food using the same elements as the “Crudité Garden using 6’ or 8’ table, it depends on how many items you are serving.

· Decorate with umbrellas, flowers, wheat grass, etc.

· Use a 48” square table for desserts.

· Use crisp celadon (spring green) linens on 60” round tables with (8) white wood folding chairs at each table for guests to eat at.

· Put small umbrellas in the center of each table turned upside down and fill with spring flowers.

· Use wild flowers picked from an adjoining hillside. Simplicity is the best approach.

· Use a 48” square table with crisp white linen for a display of pictures of the engaged couple. Insert the pictures into an assortment of frames with crystals, gem colored stones, etc.

· Show a video of the bride and groom’s childhood and courtship on a wall in the family room.

· This will be fun for the guests and make them feel welcome.

· Use no party favors for this concept, but a good choice would be a beautifully decorated single cupcake in individual clear plastic boxes, placed at each table setting.

Retro Food - All That's Past Is New Again

2010-08-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

So what's all this have to do with food, catering and special events.

It got me thinking about Chef Molly's take on "Retro Food".

There are as many new angles to retro eating as there are memories of the past.