Monday, November 30, 2009

FANDANGO Catering Offers Holiday Event Tips---Part I

FANDANGO Catering is happy to share holiday event tips with you. Below, a how-to for organizing the beverage station at a buffet event--

Set Aside Three Tables for Serving: Drinks, Food, Dessert

The Drinks Table
  • Place a table just for beverages near the entrance so guests can sip and mingle away from where the food is being served. Alternately, put this table at the end of the food table but away from it if that works better with your party location.
  • If you want to make the drinks table self-service, equip it with wine glasses, tall glasses for soda or juice, a bottle opener, a corkscrew, an ice bucket with tongs, and some bar towels.
  • If you have nice trays you can put this and the beverages on them and then put the trays on the beverage table to make it easier to set up and clean up after the event. Include at least one non-alcoholic drink and you may want to include a few bottles of water also.
  • You can also consider hiring a bartender or a college student to serve beverages.
  • Place a trash can next to the beverage station and put a cooler with extra ice and drinks under the table (cover the table with a tablecloth to the floor).
  • If you're trying to save money, stick to red and white wine and/or bottled beer, or if you want mixed drinks you can choose one that can be prepared beforehand and prepare it in pitchers ready to pour.
  • Non-alcoholic drink ideas include fruit juices, club soda, cola, ginger ale, and vegetable or tomato juice. And iced tea down South where we are! You may also want to use drink garnishes such as maraschino cherries, sprigs of mint, and thin-sliced lemon or lime. Another idea is to have cups and a hot drink such as cider or hot chocolate or glogg.

More tips on organizing your holiday buffet later this week.

Bon Appetit!

Kristina

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

FANDANGO Catering to Offer Hors d'Oeuvres for the Holidays

FANDANGO Catering will be offering handmade delivered hors d'oeuvres for the holidays, in addition to its holiday desserts. Delivery dates up to Dec. 24, 2009.

Our delivered hors d'oeuvre selection includes:

  • Three-Cheese Mousse in Phyllo Cups
  • Spanish Eggplant-Cheddar Quiche Bites
  • Spanish Ensaladilla Rusa in Puff Pastry Shells
  • Tomato-Potato-Cheese Galette Bites
  • Cold Spanish Potato Omelet Bites (Tortilla Española)
  • Neapolitan Frittata Bites (ham, fontina, Parmigiano)
  • Picante Turkey and Cheese Rollups
  • Ricotta and Swiss Crisps with Chives
  • Turkey and Avocado Quesadilla Bites
  • Pesto Chicken, Quesadilla Cheese, and Roasted Red Pepper Mini Pinwheels
  • Caramelized Onion and Steak Quesadilla Bites with Handmade Tomatillo Sauce
  • Shrimp-Chive Butter Tartlets
  • Guacamole Mousse Tartlets
  • Tartaletas a la Segoviana (Segovian Bacon-Mushroom Tartlets)
  • Rosemary Ham or Prosciutto and Cheese Mini Sandwiches with Dijon Cream on Brioche Rounds

Enjoy!


Kristina

kristina@fandango-catering.com

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

FANDANGO Catering Celebrates Holiday 2009




FANDANGO Catering announces its Holiday 2009 Desserts!




Beginning Dec. 1, 2009, FANDANGO Catering will be offering the following gourmet desserts for your holiday events:

Castillo de España--Our rich citrus castle caked soaked in orange liqueur, beautifully decorated with confectioner's sugar and cocoa. Our bestseller!
Roscón--Our delicious Three Wise Men ring cake with glacéed fruit jewels on top and a decadent mound of chocolate bits in the middle, decorated with cream cheese frosting rosettes and a chocolate demi-crown, in your choice of citrus or chocolate chunk. Based on the traditional Roscón of Spain with French touches. Addictive!
Brazo de Gitano Navideño--Our moist, tender chocolate Yule log cake, covered with delectable chocolate liqueur glaze or milk chocolate frosting "bark" piping, filled with rich orange cream curd, and decorated with confectioner's sugar "snow." The only handmade chocolate Yule Log in Houston!
New! Catedral de Victoria--A delicious gingerbread Cathedral cake with rich Chocolate Ganache glaze, based on the Victoria magazine holiday issue! A lovely old-fashioned dessert.
New! Raspberry Cream Cheese Brownies--Handmade decadent brownie squares with layers of fresh raspberries and cream cheese, decorated with a sprinkling of powdered sugar.
New! Triple-Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake--Handmade old-fashioned chocolate sour cream cake studded with chocolate bits and a delicious chocolate cream glaze, the perfect dessert to please everyone!
Mini Desserts--Our signature bestselling mini desserts include Baby Cheesecakes, Double-Chocolate Brownie Bites with Cream Cheese Frosting, and Mini Orange and Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. Everyone loves the small bites!

We will also be offering handmade delivered Gourmet Party Foods and still have a few full-service event dates left this holiday season--more on that a little later this week.
E-mail us at info@fandango-catering.com or call us at (281) 796-9841 if you'd like our Holiday 2009 menu and price list e-mailed to you.

¡Felices Fiestas!/Happy Holidays!

Kristina








Sunday, November 8, 2009

FANDANGO Catering Upcoming Menus, News

Some of FANDANGO Catering's upcoming menus:

Ibiza-Style Strawberries Filled with Cream Cheese
Beef Tenderloin w/Portobello Sauce
Cheesy Shallot Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans in Marsala Reduction
Wedding Cake

Dados de Pastel de Berenjena y Queso (Spanish Sephardic Eggplant-Cheese Pie Bites)
Stuffed Mushrooms w/Cheese, Zucchini, Squash, and Fresh Herbs
Phyllo Cups Filled with Tarragon Chicken Salad

Organic Spinach and Roasted Tomato Salad w/Creamy Dijon Vinaigrette
Veal Cutlets w/Pojarski Sauce (Mushrooms, Madeira, Vermouth)
Asparagus Au Gratin
Rosemary-Parmesan Roasted Zucchini
Pear Tarte Tatin Drizzled w/Creme Fraiche

We are also beginning to interview prep & line cooks and pastry chefs. January will be a training month for us and in addition we will hold our semi-annual organizational meetings as well as conference calls with family investors in Spain.

Have a good week!

Kristina

Sunday, November 1, 2009

FANDANGO Catering Attended Wine Event and Interviewed for Catering Mag

Last week FANDANGO Catering representatives attended the "Great Match 09: Wine & Tapas" seminar and wine tasting event at Uptown Park. We tasted 9 wines during the seminar with Doug Frost, noted wine expert and particular expert on Spanish wines. Our favorites were the Martín Códax Albariño and the Martín Berdugo DO Ribera del Duero 100% Tempranillo.

The Martín Berdugo is going to be a good choice for our clients who like Spanish wines and want a red Rioja, 100% Tempranillo to go with their red meat events, particularly our big business in beef tenderloin-based menus. A nice change from Marqués de la Concordia for this type of menu. The Albariño is a great all-around white, in the style of the less-sweet Rieslings, and can go with all kinds of menus.

We were also interviewed by Linda Picone of CaterSource magazine for a January 2010 article on catering trends in 2009 and 2010. Among trends we've spotted for 2010:

  • The end of Asian-based hors d'oeuvres menus unless you're on the West Coast
  • Continuation of tropical and monstera leaves as decorative greenery at events
  • Deeper or medium colors for table linens
  • Food themes carried out throughout the starter and main course
Bon appetit, have a great week!

Kristina