Big Adventures with Little Foods

Bite Catering offers a variety of service formats, and if you are hosting an event with a limited budget or a casual affair that just does not call for service, our drop off format might be just the thing for you. Our signature bites are perfect for this, and you can still have a chic presentation of gorgeous and delicious food without the cost of hiring a staff to help during the event.

Select all room temperature bites if you would like to create a buffet of appetizers that your guests can help themselves too. You are welcome to select warm items as well, but you must be prepared to heat them and serve them right out of the oven. We do supply specific heating instructions if that is what you want to do.

Here are some tips for creating a beautiful display of Bites:

• Fresh flowers – one big or a couple of smaller bouquets – these can be ordered from us as well.
• Using real serving equipment rather than disposables.
• Candles
• Small pots of herbs for a rustic or Mediterranean theme – you can use these for cooking later!
• Linen for the buffet table; the color can match your decor or theme.
• Fun cocktail napkins that match the color or theme
• A Menu – simple print out in pretty lettering to ensure everybody knows what everything is. You can use a small chalkboard for a rustic look, or print it out and put it in a nice picture frame for an elegant touch.

Create different levels on the display. If you do not have custom serving pieces, you can most likely find something in your kitchen that will work. Try turning bowls, glasses, or baskets upside down and putting the trays on top. Or fill glasses with objects that match your theme – seasonal fruits or vegetables, candy for a kid’s party or dessert display – and use them as risers.

Look around in your kitchen – you may have things other than formal serving platters that you can use. For example, wood cutting boards are perfect for a cheese display, and baskets for bread or dippers. For sweets a cake plate is perfect – even if it is not a cake!

Think about what look you are going for. For a chic and modern display, white platters, glass, and clear bowls work perfectly. If it is a rustic look you are going for, go with wood and natural colors with rich red or green accents. For a tropical look, use tropical flowers such as orchids and woven baskets to complete the look.

When you place a drop off order with Bite Catering, your food will be delivered by one of our chefs. You can also order “set up” which means the chef will stay and help you create your display. We will make sure you have everything you need, just have it ready for the chef upon arrival.  Even if you just want to use our disposable platters - we will still help you create an eye catching display.

So it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Green Bay Packers this year and it’s time to suit up!  If you are planning to host a Super Bowl Party this year, here are some tips and resources that will help you score a touchdown!

Invites

Since a super bowl party is a casual affair, you want to keep the invites casual as well.  Online invitations rather than formal invitations would be perfect in this case.  You can use Evites, just simple emails, or invitations through Facebook.  Here is a great example of a simple yet fun invitation.

Decor

The sports theme is built in, so that’s easy!  Use the playing team’s colors, and if you are a real fan of either team you can play that up by hanging banners and using colors from that team.   A fun interactive approach to decorating is to create a table where the guests can make their own banners depending on which team they are rooting for.

Atmosphere

The main activity at any Super Bowl party is watching the game!  Create a fun viewing space with plenty of seating; make sure everyone in the room will be able to see the game from their spot.  Have snacks and drinks handy for easy access.  While creating the viewing space, don’t forget that there might be some guests who are not at all interested in the game; have a space for mingling as well, perhaps a separate room with a nice stationary display of snacks and a self serve bar. 

Menu

Last but certainly not least…the menu!  Classic super bowl food, such as buffalo wings or bbq ribs, falls into the comfort food category.  Because your guests will be preoccupied with watching the game, make the food easily accessible and even easier to eat!  Don’t forget our tips from last year and use the home towns of the playing teams for inspiration.  You can adjust the menu according to your crowd, but here are some fun ideas from our new 2011 Super Bowl Menu.  

Football Devilled Eggs with smoked paprika and chive garnish

Chili served in individual cups with cheese, sour cream and chives – you can play with the presentation of these chili cups by using take out containers and tying the spoon to the cup.

Mini Pulled BBQ Sandwiches (Pork, Chicken, or Brisket) served on a soft bun with tangy slaw

Football Cupcakes with vanilla bean pastry cream and topped with chocolate ganache, or something especially for the guys:  Guinness Cupcakes!

Get out your party shoes, send out those invitations, and return those RSVPs; the festive time of year has arrived! The parties will surely be plentiful! Let’s see, you’ll have the work party, a family gathering, the old friend’s get together, and of course don’t forget the yearly charity event! With all of these parties, the tough part is keeping things fresh and exciting.

Here are some tips to help you stage a fresh, modern holiday party. There are two key elements to a cocktail party…the cocktails and the food! You might think you can get away with having a foodless cocktail party, but about an hour in you will see that you have made a terrible mistake as your guests begin to kick off their shoes and clear a space on the table top for a dance floor.

A popular approach for today’s cocktail parties is to choose a few select signature drinks. Rather than having a full bar, which can be quite costly, you choose two or three drinks to go along with the theme of your party. Set up drink stations for your various signature drinks! Let’s say that your drink menu is: artisan craft beer, local wines, Bellinis, and martinis. You can create three stations out of this menu and accompany each drink station with a stationary appetizer or two.

The first station is your beer and wine station. Cover the table with a linen and some holiday decorations. Arrange the beer and wine on the table along with the appropriate glassware. Create markers with the name and a brief description of each beer/wine so people know what they are drinking and are more inclined to try something new. Accompany the beer and wine with a beautiful display of artisan cheeses, fresh fruit, nuts, breads, and crackers.

The second station is the Bellini bar. This station has Prosecco and some fruit purees so people can create the flavor of their choice. Popular Bellini flavors are pear, cranberry (or mix the two for a great pear cranberry flavor), peach, and mango. Again, arrange the table with a linen, decorations, bottles of Prosecco, and you can have fun filling up assorted mason jars or pitchers with the various fruit purees. The colorful fruit purees make a lovely display on their own. Have fun making a sign letting people know how to prepare their own Bellini. Add a plate of assorted crostinis with seasonal flavors and colors to accompany the Bellini station. One of Bite’s winter favorites is pear and winter squash with crispy sage and freshy shaved ricotta salata.

Finally, have fun creating a martini station. Offer a traditional gin or vodka martini, a cosmopolitan, and something fun and sweet like a lemon drop or an apple martini. You can offer one, two, or all of them at this drink station. A Brie and artichoke dip and a spicy shrimp cocktail would work perfectly here.
Accompany the stations with some warm tray-passed appetizers or you can keep it casual and self-serve with the stationary displays. Either way, your guests will be sure to enjoy the creative and festive atmosphere, and your tables won’t show marks from those dancing shoes!

Give Bite Catering a call to help you plan your next Holiday Party.

 The Pork Tenderloin vs. The Po’ Boy

Is this the ghost of your Superbowls past: a group of guys sitting around in the basement rec room watching the game on the big screen TV, eating chips and dip with one hand, and gulping a can of Budweiser with the other?  Well, folks, it doesn’t have to be that way!  If you plan on entertaining (other than little brother Billy and Cousin Frankie) check out these creative ideas for a festive atmosphere while paying tribute to the teams that have made it to the top!

This year, the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints go helmet-to-shoulder pad in Super Bowl XLIV. Pay respect to those teams with a typical menu from the teams’ home towns.  If you are a fan of one team or the other (or their home town’s food!), create a theme and a menu based on your favorite team.  But, if your team didn’t quite make it this year and you just want to celebrate those that did, combine the two — a menu of selections from both cities.  You can even create your own competition: put the teams’ food on separate tables and have your guests choose the winning side!

Indianapolis may not have New Orleans’ internationally recognized cuisine, but there are certainly some local favorites.  One that cannot go unrecognized is the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich which is famous all across Indiana.  Think comfort food for other ideas, such as corn or popcorn, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and biscuits and gravy just to name a few.  Try a sugar cream pie for dessert!!

New Orleans is famous for their Creole and Cajun cuisine.  When thinking about food from New Orleans, your mind might immediately draw up images of blackened catfish or Oysters Louisiana.  Some other favorites that are sure to please your guests are gumbo, jambalaya, crab cakes, and po’ boy sandwiches.  For dessert how about some beignets, and don’t forget the hurricanes!

Stay tuned to see how Bite would do it.

Bite Catering is thrilled that the holiday season is upon us.  We’re happy to to share our new Halloween and Thanksgiving catering menus.

Let us know how we can help to make your Los Angeles Halloween party a scary good time!

Halloween Catering Menu

Your family will want to gobble up our tasty Thanksgiving treats! We deliver a full Thanksgiving menu from Woodland Hills to Pasadena to Manhattan and Redondo Beach.
Bite’s Catered Thanksgiving Dinner (2009)

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