Thai Pasta Salad with Peanut Dressing

Date: June 20, 2016 » posted by admin » Comments: No Comments Tags: , , , ,

For your next poolside picnic, try one of my absolute favorite recipes – Thai Pasta Salad!  Check out the recipe below.

Thai Pasta Salad with Peanut Dressing

Ingredients

1 pound of Spaghetti
1 bunch Scallions
1 Tsp  Salt
1 Tsp  Pepper
1/3 cup  Soy Sauce
1/3 cup  Thai Peanut Sauce
1/3 cup  Thai Chili Sauce
1 Tsp fresh Ginger
1 Tsp fresh Garlic
½ cup Juliane Carrots
1 each Julienne Red and Green Peppers
1 small bag Sugar Snaps
2 cups Broccoli
1- 2 cups Julienne Nappa Cabbage
1 small bag Bean Sprouts
Crushed Peanuts

Boil the pasta al dente.  Blanch the Sugar Snap Peas and Broccoli.  Mix Salt, Pepper, Soy Sauce, Thai peanut sauce, Thai chili sauce, fresh Ginger, and fresh Garlic in a bowl.  Combine the pasta and vegetables and pour dressing over them. Top with crushed peanuts.  Enjoy!

Santa’s Favorite Recipe for the Big Night

Date: December 22, 2015 » posted by admin » Comments: No Comments Tags: , , ,

I have a new Director of Catering & Events named Anna Parker.  She was telling me about how excited her three children get to make the cookies to leave out for Santa.  They plan out what cookies they want to bake a couple days before Christmas Eve.  Their favorite part is to decorate the sugar cookies with sprinkles.  They leave them on a cute red and white plate just for Santa.   Since I’m a caterer, I’ve baked plenty of sugar cookies.  I always like to try new recipes but when it comes to sugar cookies the traditional frosted sugar cookie is always a hit.

Use this recipe to make delicious, chewy sugar cookies.

Ingredients
2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 cup softened butter
1.5 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 TB buttermilk
sprinkles or colored sugar for decorating

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

In large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.  Beat in the egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in dry ingredients.  Add enough of the buttermilk to moisten the dough and make it soft, not wet.

Roll rounded teaspoons of dough into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.  With a brush, moisten the top of each cookie with the remaining buttermilk and slightly flatten the top of each cookie.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until slightly golden.  Let stand for 2 minutes before removing to cool on a rack.

Icing Ingredients
One 12 ounce box confectioners’ sugar
3 TB meringue powder
1/3 cup warm water
food coloring
assorted sprinkles/toppings

In a medium bowl combine the confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder, and warm water with a wire whisk.  Stir until the icing is smooth.  Adjust consistency of the icing by adding more sugar or more water, if needed.  Add food coloring, if desired.  Spread the icing on top of cooled sugar cookie and decorate.

Don’t forget to leave a nice, cold glass of milk along with the cookies for Santa!

Your Perfect Latke!

Date: December 3, 2015 » posted by admin » Comments: No Comments Tags: , ,

A family staple of any Hanukkah celebration is the perfect potato latke.  I always enjoyed making these with my grandmother during the holidays.  I wanted to share a recipe that is simple but delicious for the perfect latke!

Ingredients include:

2 whole eggs, beaten
1 medium onion, grated
3 potatoes
Matzo Meal
1.5 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
pinch of baking powder
oil for frying

Grate the potatoes and onions by hand or in a food processor.  Drain off as much liquid as possible.  Stir in beaten egg, salt, and pepper to taste into mixture.  Add enough matzo meal (about 3 TB.) to absorb the liquid.  Heat oil.  Drop a heaping serving spoon of mixture into oil.  Brown each side.  Serve warm with sour cream and apple sauce.

potato-latkes-applesauce

Enjoy and Happy Hanukkah!

Chocolate Truffle Recipe – perfect for the holiday!

Date: September 16, 2015 » posted by admin » Comments: No Comments Tags: ,

Hello In Good Taste Catering Blog Readers,

The Holidays are just around the corner and we are busy catering great events. The holiday season is one of our favorites because we get to eat classic recipes and create new and exciting ones. I want to share a really quick and easy Chocolate Truffle Recipe. I serve this for my family and friends around the holiday and they are always asking me for more. If it were up to them I would prepare this all year long.

 This is what you will need:

8 oz. bitter sweet chocolate

½ cup plus 2 tbsp. heavy Cream

1 tbsp Brandy  Orange, Cherry any flavor,

½ tsp vanilla

 Instructions:

Heat cream then add the chocolate chips.  Whisk until all the chips are melted and have a silky appearance

Add the vanilla and Brandy

Cool for 30-40 minutes

With an electric mixer beat until fluffy about 3-4 minutes

Using cold wet hands, Roll and make small balls

You can then coat them in coconut, nuts, or sprinkles!

 

Refrigerate for 1 hour

This recipe is perfect to serve after a hearty meal. However, we love pairing the truffle with a steamy hot chocolate or coffee. It is the perfect ending to an holiday event. We encourage you to try this out and please let us know how it comes out. We love hearing from all of you and hope you enjoy our recipes!

Non-Dairy Deep Fried Calamari

Date: August 25, 2015 » posted by admin » Comments: No Comments Tags: , ,

Hello In Good Taste Catering Blog Readers,

In the past, on this blog, I have written about my son’s food allergies. Some might think that having a family member with a food allergy is limiting to a chef. On the contrary, it has opened me to possibilities for preparing dishes that I would never have thought of . . . and the results are delicious!

Many people love fried calamari. It is a virtual staple on appetizer menus across all cuisines. What many people don’t realize is that fried calamari is usually soaked in milk or buttermilk during its preparation. This is a huge issue for those who have lactose intolerance or dairy allergies.

So today, I am sharing my Dairy Free Fried Calamari Recipe. I will guarantee you will never tell the difference!

The secret is to soak the calamari in soymilk!

Ingredients:

2 cups                  Soy milk

1 pound               Calamari tubes and tentacle

2 cups                  Flour

1 tbsp.                 Baking powder

½ tsp                   Salt

½ tsp                   Pepper

 

Method:

Take your pound of calamari and slice the tubes in to thin ringlets. About the size of a half inch should do it. Don’t make them too thick or thin because the cooking times will change.

Take your ringlets and tentacles and soak them in the soymilk for at least a couple of hours.

Mix the baking powder with the salt, pepper and flour.

Add the calamari and coat them in the flour mixture.

Then it’s time to fry the calamari. There are many ways to fry at home, but some can be very dangerous if you aren’t careful (stovetop frying). My recommendation is to get a Presto Fry Daddy. They come in two sizes. For a home cook, the smaller size is more than enough to fry everything you will ever need.

I have had my Presto Fry Daddy for 7 years and have never had an issue with it. There are no buttons or knobs you have to worry about. Put the oil you want in it, plug it in and in a few minutes you’re ready to fry!

Let us know what you think of this recipe!

Next Page »