Big Adventures with Little Foods

Our new Santa Monica Bakery & Wine Bar (wine bar coming soon) featured in DailyCandy

Whether a wedding is based on tried and true traditions, or a modern affair with a twist, there is a formula that is almost certainly followed: First the ceremony, followed by a cocktail hour and meal, dancing and more drinking, cake, and some more dancing and drinking. At the end of the night, the crowd shrinks as people say their goodbyes and wish the happy couple well; but, there is always a crowd that keeps the party alive late into the night. Whether the party continues at the venue or moves to a family member’s house or suite, it is only fair (and good sense) to offer those late night troupers a late night snack!

There are a number of ways to incorporate the late night snack concept into your wedding or party. One way is to have a dessert and candy display that stays out for people to munch on at their leisure. If you want to go with the dessert bar but want to offer a savory option as well, a gourmet cheese spread with fruit, nuts, and crackers is the perfect addition.a href=”http://biteblog.bitecatering.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Doughnut-Cone.bmp”>

Another popular option is to offer a round of appetizers one hour before the end of the reception. You can be sure the crowd remaining has worked up an appetite from all that drinking and dancing. Think about what people crave after leaving the bars at closing time. The majority generally crave salty snacks. Just visualize those taquerias and burger joints busting at the seams at 2am. Bite’s Comfort Food and California Chic menus provide inspiration: Offer some mini bacon cheeseburgers, gourmet corn dogs, mac ‘n cheese bites, fish tacos, quesadillas, or mini pizzas. To be sure you have something for everyone, add in a tray of brownie bites and milkshake shots.

Today’s reality for many people planning a wedding is a tight budget that may not allow for yet another round of food service. In this case, a fun way to add the late night snack is to combine it with the wedding favor. A small to-go bag of snacks, either savory or sweet with packaging that goes with your theme kills two birds with one treat.

Great video by Jamie Oliver, winner of the Ted Prize on the need to take on ignorance around food.

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“The most romantic day of the year,” some say about Valentine’s Day.  Others say that sentiment only applies to those who do not have a romantic bone in their body.  After all, does buying the obligatory chocolate heart or stuffed teddy bear really count as romance?  The majority may answer “no” to that question, but that is definitely what the majority does.

Bite Catering challenges you to spice it up this year.  Whether you are in a relationship or not, get out there and celebrate the romance…the romance of food that is!  After all, isn’t food sexy?  Valentine’s Day happens to fall on a weekend this year which also happens to be the best time of the week to throw a party!    

Some of your ideas for Valentine’s parties this year are: A Girlfriend’s Party (for all you single ladies!) with elegant finger food and lots of chocolate desserts.  Or a children’s party– invite the class over for an evening of comfort food and valentine’s cards and, of course, can’t forget the dessert party-those strawberries and marshmallows dipped in chocolate fondue!  For all you romance haters out there, don’t worry…you can throw an Anti Valentines Party!

Decide who will be on your guest list, and create a menu geared towards that group.  Create a theme for your party.  If the theme is Valentine’s Day, love, or romance, choose foods that are known to compliment that atmosphere.  Don’t forget the favorites:  oysters, asparagus, almonds, chocolate, chocolate, and chocolate!

Maybe you get the point; Valentine’s Day and desserts go romantically hand-in-hand.  Create a dessert and/or candy display for your guests. Use a buffet, dining room, or side table covered with linens that complement the theme and décor of your party.  How you create the display will depend on what you are serving.  Think out of the box for presentation ideas. Use mason and apothecary jars filled with candy or cookies. Play with making labels for the jars, or just tying colorful ribbons around them.  Real china platters, wooden cutting boards, cake plates, and pretty baskets will all help your display come alive. 

Don’t forget the fresh flowers—long stemmed roses in a vase, strewn on a table, or simply the petals, scattered around the party food.  Oh, did you know that you might EAT those flowers?  Candied flowers-roses, lavender, and others will add an extra sparkle to the candy dish.  Organic, edible flowers inject that romantic extra touch to salad, dinner, or dessert plates.

Here is Bite Catering’s suggestion for a Valentine’s Day menu.

 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.

Bites in photo booth at Smog Shoppe wedding

Check out Chris posing with our mini burgers at Elaine and Jeff’s wedding at Smog Shoppe!

Thanks Elaine for sending the fun picture!

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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Saw an interesting note on a chefs competition– for hospital food!  Food Contest Helps Hospital Chefs Move Beyond ‘First, Do No Harm’ – WSJ.com.

Hospital food, which has traditionally ranked somewhere between prison chow and high-school cafeteria fare on the institutional dining scale, has undergone a transformation recently. Jell-O molds and soggy sandwiches are out; crusted trout and fresh-baked scones are in. Hospitals are installing pizza ovens, sushi stations and salad bars featuring organic produce. And they’re hiring chefs from big-name hotels and restaurants.

Not sure if the cuisine at a hospital will ever become daily fare, but it is terrific that food is becoming increasingly a focus.  Great food can heal and its a shame that hospitals have not considered the food they serve as part of the treatment paradigm.

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Lauren Bush shows off the new FEED bag in Santa Monica

FEED Health Backpack Launch Party (Catering by Bite Catering Couture)

Bite Catering Couture brought a local organic menu to Kenneth Cole Awearness‘s launch of the FEED backback, the latest from Lauren Bush and Ellen Gustafson.  A purchase of each bag in the US will send an identical bag filled with medical supplies to an African village.  Event was co-hosted by Vanity Fair and Planet Green.

The party was held at the Santa Monica LivingHome and it was a lively crowd  (per Bizbash):

A throng of about 250 guests (many of them celebrities—like actresses Ali Larter and Shenae Grimes—who arrived amid a sea of flashbulbs) filled the multi-story home in a subdued residential neighborhood. Passed hors d’oeuvres from Bite Catering Couture included mini cheeseburgers, truffled fries, fish tacos in crisp cone shells, and quesadilla duos—all organic and locally made—and a bar offered organic beer and wine plus cocktails from Veev.

The overall purpose is to use a more holistic approach in getting past the cycle of poverty in Africa.  Per Ellen Gustafson (from the Awearness blog)

It’s not so much the case that there’s a lack of food overall in the world, but it is not distributed equitably. Political instability obviously plays a role. And environmental degradation, including deforestation and a worsening drought/flood cycle, contributes to loss of soil fertility and agricultural productivity in the areas where it’s needed most. So with the Millenium Villages, the entity that FEED pairs with, a wholistic approach is taken to address all the factors that keep people food insecure and in extreme poverty. For example, food aid is brought in while local residents work to rehabilitate their soils to grow healthy, bountiful crops. If children are able to eat a good meal at school, they are far more likely to continue their education. And the new FEED Health Backpack is filled with micronutrient supplements for children, malaria tests, first aid kit, family planning supplies, a scale for weighing infants and a growth chart to check the infants’ development, among other items.

We brought a fun menu to the event:

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Photo by Emily Heston/ Foodista

Strange fact…August 10th is National S’mores Day.

While Bite Catering has its own mini S’more that we need to take some pictures of (they’re very cute but a secret for the moment), we’ve posted a few links to others with S’mores recipes and the like.

Recipes from Food Network

History of S’mores

S’mores are a favorite campsite treat for young and old kids. If you’re at a campfire, chances are, there’s S’mores. Sticky and gooey, and loaded with sugar and carbs, S’mores are nothing short of delicious. Who was the first person to create S’mores? We don’t know. But, we’re all sure glad they did!

National S’mores Day celebrates this tasty summer treat. It’s appropriately placed in August…campfire prime time. But, don’t limit your consumption of S’ores to the campfire. They are popular with kids year round, and can be baked in the oven or microwave.

The origin of S’mores dates back to the 1920′s. It’s believed the recipe was first discovered by Girl Scouts. S’more folklore suggests that S’mores got its name right by the campfire. After eating one, young kids chanted “gimme some more!”

S'meeps, Photo by Grace Kang

For those who’ve run out of marshmallows, there is also the S’meep.  I’m not sure what to think of this one…

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