Tastebuds: A Taste Catering Blog

BRAVO TOP CHEFS: Just Desserts

I am thrilled to announce that our Executive Pastry Chef, Yigit Pura has been chosen as one of twelve chefs to participate in the Bravo Channel's new Fall show, Top Chefs Just Desserts, premiering on September 15th at 11:00.  Go Yigit!

 

More to come...

 

Creating a Successful Holiday Dinner

These Holiday entertaining tips are from my segment with Lisa Quinn on ABC's View From the Bay. 

Organization, this is the time of year for list making.

Create your holiday menu.

• Create your shopping list in advance at least one week in advance
• Look at the menu and decide what items can be prepared ahead of time
• Create a schedule of when to prepare each menu item
• If guests have asked to bring something let them know what to bring. It is essential to let them know what you are preparing so that you don't have overlapping menu items

 

The day before your dinner set the table.

One of the biggest holiday dilemmas is space: especially if you have decorated and have a tree in your house

• At the very least you may have to move some furniture around
• Maybe you will need to move some furniture out of the room such as a ottoman or a chair to open up some space

Think outside the "room".

• Do you have a spare bedroom? Possibly this could be emptied for the day and a table set-up for dinner
• It's a good way to clean a room too. Nothing like having guests over to clean out corners

Perhaps a sit down dinner is not the way to go.

• You can always set up a buffet
• Just make sure everything is easy to eat and does not need a knife if guests don't have a place to sit

Thanks to the following Bay Area rental companies for their help:  Hartmann Studios, Classic Party Rentals, Blue Water and Wine Country Party & Events.

Homemade Hostess Gifts

Many people have asked where to find the hostess gift items that I discussed in my ABC's View From the Bay Segment on creating Homemade Hostess Gifts.  Many of the ideas that centered around fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, cheeses and herbs can be found at the San Francisco Ferry Building Farmers Market or at many of the other fine Farmer's Markets that have cropped up around the Bay Area.  Specifically, the wonderful peaches used in our Peach Chutney came from Blossom Bluff Orchards, the blackberries used in our Blackberry Syrup came from Yerena Farms, the Tamari Almonds from Lagier Ranches, the Mt Tam Cheese from Cowgirl Creamery and the assortment of fresh organic herbs from the Kingdom of Herbs.  You can find recipes for our wonderful Peach Chutney and Blackberry Syrup on the View From the Bay Hostess Gifts segment.  As a tasty alternative to our Peach Chutney, you might try June Taylor's lovely Quince Paste.  It is fabulous with the Mt. Tam!

In our business, presentation makes all the difference.  The same is true for gifts.  Often what makes a gift special is the container in which it comes.    With a little hunting, you can find unique, fun and inexpensive containers everywhere.  The under $5.00 bamboo box I used came from Dandelion on Portrero Ave. in San Francisco.  Dandelion is one  of my favorite places to find unusual,fun and rich looking (yet inexpensive) containers to really finish a gift, giving it that special feeling.  Also wonderful is The Gardener at the Ferry Building where I found the the great baskets used on the VFTB segment.

The main thing to remember when considering a host or hostess gift is that it need not be expensive but it will be more memorable if you put some of yourself into it.