FANDANGO Catering: New Kitchen Grand Opening

Many many thanks to all who came out to the grand opening of our new kitchen at Kitchen Incubator Sat. Oct. 16, 2010! Hundreds of people came to the grand opening, part of the "A Night at Market Square" festival downtown.

Executive Chef Jesús Lumbreras-Calvo gave a demo of his authentic Spanish gazpacho and we sampled some of our foods for the crowds who came by. A good time was had by all! Look for photos of this event soon!

At popular request here is our Exec Chef's gazpacho recipe, reposted from our blog post of last spring:

Gazpacho

Serves 4-6

4 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped
1 medium cucumber, peeled, medium dice
3 medium ripe tomatoes, cored, chopped
1 ¾ tsp. cumin
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup plus
1 tbsp. wine vinegar or cider vinegar
2 cups cold water
½ loaf day-old Italian or French bread, cut in small pieces (it should not be an ultra-skinny loaf)
Salt to taste

Place garlic, cucumbers, and tomatoes in a blender. Add cumin, oil, and vinegar. Blend at low speed 2-3 minutes, then on high for 2-3 minutes, or until a smooth puree without large lumps is obtained.
Add the bread pieces and again blend for 2-3 minutes at low speed and then for 2-3 minutes at high speed. Transfer this puree to a 2-qt. pitcher and add water.
Chill very well, preferably overnight, or at least 8 hours. Serve cold.

Warmly,

Kristina

Kristina Ríos de Lumbreras, Ph.D.
Partner, Director of Sales & Operations
(713) 522-0077
(281) 796-9841

FANDANGO Catering Offers 3 Tips for Plating Food Like a Restaurant

Plating food is not as difficult as many believe, and we offer 3 tips to help you plate food at your next dinner party attractively like a restaurant, caterer, or food stylist. And you don't need fancy equipment.

hough the days of so-called "architectural" food (food built up on the plate as high as it would go in all sorts of crisscrosses and outlandish configurations) are pretty much past, a little height on the plating is always attractive and sets you apart as a host.

Add height to spaghetti by using a spaghetti fork and twist of the wrist to shape nest-like portions. Top with fresh Parmigiano and/or some chopped fresh parsley or, more original, fresh basil.

Make a little hill of your side dish--whether a vegetable or starch (such as rice or potatoes) or both, make a little hill by placing them in the middle of the dish and building up a little height and then prop your meat, whether chops, steaks, or chicken breasts or pieces, against the little hill. This doesn't work as well with fish, which is delicate and may fall apart, but can work with shrimp or scallops also.

Add height to a layer cake by leaning chocolate shards (made by cutting from a chocolate bar with a chef's knife and then cutting what was cut from the bar in a rocking motion back and forth) against each other. Or pile chocolate curls or strips (made by shaving a chocolate bar with a vegetable peeler on the side) on top. Don't be discouraged if the curls don't come out perfectly, you can always chop them to use for the piled shards technique. Or, easier still, buy a box of small bonbons, such as Roche-Ferrer, and pile them on top of your cake in a pyramid, or buy organic flowers and pile some on top of your layer cake in the middle. Just make sure people don't eat the flowers!

Enjoy!

Kristina

Kristina Ríos de Lumbreras, Ph.D.
Partner, Director of Sales & Operations
FANDANGO Catering
(713) 522-0077
(281) 796-9841

FANDANGO Catering Offers Guide to Sizing Event Linens

If you will be hosting an event this fall and are considering using one or more tablecloths (or "linens" as they are called in the events profession), no worries! Here is a quick and easy basic guide to what you need to know.

If the event is at a venue--99.5% of the time you will need linens as venues use ugly banquet tables or hospitality "rounds" (round tables with removable tops). The three basic sizes you need to know are:

*6'--8' rectangular banquet tables: Use a 90" x 156" tablecloth, which will cover down to the floor--for a 6' table it will be a little longer but you can tuck it under or puddle it quite attractively. Or if you don't want to tuck or puddle use a 90" x 132"

*72" round: Usually used for wedding cake tables--Use a 132" round cloth

*60" rounds: A popular size used mainly for seating guests at an event--Use a 120" round cloth

If your event is at a private home--Private home events have a variety of table sizes but some guidelines to keep in mind are:

*Dining table--These can vary greatly in size but a 90" x 156" works for most oval and rectangular dining room tables. You can also use a 132" round if you have a very long oval table. With private home parties it's not as imperative that the linen go to the floor as usually the dining room table's legs aren't ugly as in a venue. If you decide to use a linen to the floor, it gives a lusher, more elegant look, and if your cloth is a little long you may tuck it or puddle it. If you do, take a minute and view the table with the linen from the entrance door to make sure it looks even, not too long on one side or another. Do this anyway when you use a tablecloth at an event.

*If you have a particularly nice dining room table you may wish to use a lace or cutwork cloth so that the table shows through or a runner to add color or elegance.

*If you use a chafing dish or if your table is expensive or if you have sauces or beverages that might drip you should use a cloth to avoid anything marring the table.

*If you use an odd-size table such as a medium-sized round table, whether as an auxiliary table or as your buffet table (my aunts did this a lot when I was growing up), the best sizes are 108" round or 114" round.

*If you use a banquet table for a home event (such as for a beverage station or for additional seating), use a tablecloth to cover the legs (to the floor).

Remember, in general, if a linen is a little long you can always tuck or puddle it. And if you use hospitality-type tables with industrial-looking legs you will want to cover the legs completely.

Warmly,

Kristina

Kristina Ríos de Lumbreras, Ph.D.

Partner, Director of Sales & Operations

FANDANGO Catering

(713) 522-0077

(281) 796-9841

FANDANGO Catering Chef to Offer Demo, Tastings at Market Square Event

FANDANGO Catering's Executive Chef Jesús Lumbreras-Calvo will be offering a free chef's demo and tastings at FANDANGO's beautiful new kitchen facility at 907 Franklin St. as part of "A Night at Market Square" Oct. 16, 5-8pm, celebrating Downtown's revamped Historic District and its wonderful mix of restaurants, entrepreneurs, watering holes, and music venues.

Chef Jesús will provide a demo of his famous Spanish red gazpacho made easy from 5-6pm and will also offer free tastings of gazpacho and other specialties from 5-8pm as well as meeting and greeting visitors at our great new kitchen.

Free live music and happenings throughout Market Square.

More info on "A Night at Market Square" at http://www.downtownhouston.org/ or at Market Square Park's Facebook page.

For more information on the demos and our kitchen, contact us at (713) 522-0077 or chef@fandango-catering.com

See you at Market Square!

Kristina

Kristina Ríos de Lumbreras, PhD.

Partner, Director of Sales & Operations

FANDANGO Catering

(713) 522-0077

(281) 796-9841

FANDANGO Catering Offers Tips for Organizing a Fall Tapas Party

In Spain, tapas are a way of life and here in the U.S. serving a variety of little bites is a festive way to entertain friends.

The tradition of serving tapas (from the Spanish "tapar," or "to cover") began in the mid-1800s when Spanish tavern owners covered glasses of sherry or wine with small plates of nuts or ham to keep flying pests from drinks. Today, it's still popular to top off a drink with a plate there. Tapas are served in Spain in taverns, restaurants, and restaurant-bars between the hours of 10am and 1pm to stave off hunger until the traditional 2pm lunchtime and again between 7 and 9pm to keep hunger at bay until the 10pm dinnertime, with people taking their morning break for some tapas or having tapas as they leave work in the evening before going home for dinner.

If Spaniards eat these small plates foods at a home or private party they call them "apertivos" (appetizers) rather than tapas.

By any name they're fun and can be a unique and easy way to entertain. Use small saucers and put olives, almonds, jamón serrano or prosciutto, and cheese on the little plates and use the plates to cover glasses of Spanish wines or sherry. A more elaborate tapas spread might include small wedges of tortilla española, the traditional cold potato omelet, or small wedges of a frittata; tiny meatballs; shrimp in garlic sauce; or croquettes. If pressed for time, try buying these Spanish foods from a Spanish restaurant, caterer, or gourmet food shop. Use small forks if you have them or even toothpicks to spear the food, and put out plenty of napkins. If you don't want to cover your wine glasses with the saucers, line the saucers up in rows; they will still make a striking effect.

¡Salud!

Kristina

Kristina Ríos de Lumbreras, Ph.D.

Partner, Director of Sales & Operations

FANDANGO Catering

(713) 522-0077

(281) 796-9841

FANDANGO Catering Offers 3 Ideas for Fall Events

Now that fall is more or less here, we offer 3 ideas for creating wonderful fall events in the first of our new blog series, "Fall Entertaining."

With fall come myriad opportunities for entertaining, some more casual, such as a friends' gathering, and some to celebrate more official or more formal occasions, such as a wedding, open house, or fundraiser. Below are ideas that can be used at many types of fall events this year.

Choose autumn decor--Deeper-colored tablecloths, flowers, votives, and foliage signal that fall is here. Another good color theme for fall is the use of gold accents.

Choose at least two fall-inspired foods--What foods say "fall" to you? Try to choose at least two foods that say fall is here, whether at a casual or formal occasion. For example, mushrooms, squashes, cream sauces, gourmet warming chilis, comfort foods, or apple- or pear-based desserts signal that fall has arrived. These choices can be as down-home or as elegant as your occasion requires. For example, a friends' gathering could showcase fall's wonderful apples in an apple cobbler or crisp while at a more formal dinner party an elegant tarte tatin would highlight the season's apple bounty.

Choose an "autumn" wine--Ask your wine or liquor store for suggestions for wines that go with fall foods and your menu, such as Beaujolais or other wines that are NOT the crisp whites and reds of summer. For non-alcoholic options try warming non-alcoholic cider for a more casual gathering or a gourmet coffee bar, which is easy to set up on a side area with coffee, cream, cocoa powder, cinnamon sticks, and if you have true coffee aficionados, perhaps a liqueur to add to the coffee such as Amaretto, Frangelico, or Drambuie--impressive!

Warmly,

Kristina

Kristina Ríos de Lumbreras
Partner, Director of Sales & Operations
FANDANGO Catering
(713) 522-0077
(281) 796-9841

FANDANGO Catering Offers 8 Tips to Avoid Problems at Your Catered Event

In order to avoid problems at your catered event, head them off at the pass with just a little bit of foresight.

Below, we offer 8 tips to help you avoid problems at your catered event.

If you serve more than one type of entree, make sure your guests understand your wishes--If you serve more than one type of entree (such as beef and chicken), and you ask the caterer to divide the entrees among the guest list (such as 50 beef entrees and 50 chicken entrees for 100 guests), make sure your guests understand that they are to choose only ONE entree. Use an entree selection box on your RSVP; call or e-mail guests; make this clear on any menus used at your event; ask the catering manager, your MC, or a relative to relay this to guests at the beginning of the event; or pay for more entrees to avoid running out of food. This is your job, not the caterer's.
Along the same line, be realistic in estimating how much your group will eat or drink--A wedding with many twentysomething guests will require more food and an extra bartender and barback to accomodate young people's hearty appetites and constant visits to the bar.
Wherever your event takes place, make sure you provide a room, closet, or other storage area besides the kitchen--Unless your kitchen is VERY roomy, your caterer needs an area not seen by guests to put things like racks of dishes, coolers, etc. These things should not be seen behind a buffet or bar because they ruin the effect.
Assign someone if you don't have time to take charge of a "potluck" table--These include potluck dessert, beverage, and appetizer tables that you aren't having taken care of by the caterer. Please don't ruin the caterer's hard work in setting up the food nicely with an unattractive potluck table. Ask someone to take charge of such tables and use decent plates and serving pieces (no Tupperware please!). And please don't ask or expect your caterer to "fix up" such tables unless you've paid for it or tip generously.
If you say you will be responsible for doing something at your event by the time the caterer arrives, do it or have someone else do it--Recently a frazzled client living out of town promised to provide serving pieces for her dessert buffet, an ice bucket and tongs for a courtyard table, and sodas for her bar, none of which she did, we assume because they didn't want to pay (she had asked for prices for these things). We were left scrambling though we managed to do it; and we had to listen to guests' complain that there were no non-alcoholic beverages besides water.
Along this line, and most importantly, be realistic about what your budget can and can't provide--Better to do a lavish hors d'oeuvres spread than to try to do a dinner and have to cut corners where guests will notice.
Visualize your event start to finish--At least TRY this exercise: Sit down for 20 minutes and imagine your event from beginning at least up through the food portion. I GUARANTEE you that you'll think of things you hadn't that you need to take care of and/or discuss with your caterer.

Here's to problem-free events!

Kristina

Kristina Ríos de Lumbreras, Ph.D.
Partner, Director of Sales & Operations
FANDANGO Catering
(713) 522-0077
(281) 796-9841