A couple of weeks ago, I was privileged to cater a milestone birthday party (always an important occasion) for a lovely lady. The birthday girl had spent a good deal of time in a certain region of Spain, and requested a menu of tapas and paella (click on the link to my L.A. Party Planning column for a paella recipe ) for her party. She was also concerned that the food be very authentic, and somewhat specific to that region.
I'm often asked how I work with clients to come up with the menu for their celebration. Each client is different. Some come with no idea of what they want served, some come with very specific ideas, and sometimes, I get to elegantly dance (to borrow a term from sales mentor Eric Lofholm) with the client in designing a menu. It's always a welcome challenge for me when a client offers specific menu ideas for their party. In this case, I had to research the tapas of the region, and while I was familiar with (and loved) some of items, a couple were new to me.
Tapas are a great way for your guests to mix and mingle, trying several different tastes- a way I personally love to dine. They can stand alone as a party menu- in which case I would offer 8-10 different tapas- or can be offered at a cocktail and appetizer time before the main event, which is what we did for this party. We ended up serving the following wonderfully fun menu (with pics and a recipe for you), and I can safely say, a good time was had by all.
Tapas
Grilled Asparagus with Truffle Mayonnaise
Bacalao Fritters with Saffron Aioli
Roasted Manchego Stuffed Dates Wrapped with Pancetta
Thinly Sliced Serrano Ham
Dinner
Salad of Mixed Baby Greens, Chives and Toasted Walnuts
with Sherry Vinaigrette
Chicken, Sausage and Seafood Paella
Birthday Cake of Almond Pound Cake
Layered with Apricot Puree and Iced with Praline Buttercream
Grilled Asparagus with Truffle Mayonnaise
More pics and the recipe for Grilled Asparagus with Truffle Mayonnaise follows:
Bacalao Fritters with Saffron Aioli
Roasted Manchego Stuffed Dates Wrapped with Pancetta (for recipe click here)
Salad of Mixed Baby Greens with Chives and Manchego
Seafood and Chicken Paella
Grilled Asparagus with Truffle Mayonnaise
2 pounds asparagus, trimmed
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Coat asparagus with olive oil and grilled over hot coals. Remove form the grill, and sprinkle liberally with the salt and pepper.
Truffle Mayonnaise
1 egg
1 egg yolk
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup vegetable oil
3-4 tablespoons Black Truffle Oil
2 teaspoons champagne vinegar
Kosher or sea salt, and freshly cracked white pepper.
Place egg and yolk in a food processor. Pour the lemon juice over it and let sit for 5 minutes or so. Drizzle the olive oil, then the truffle oil through the feed tube in a slow steady stream as you run the processor. Stir in the champagne vinegar. Stir in salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 6-8
