Been MIA-- food tasting, appetizer suggestions and the response cards. Advice please?

[Gypsy]

Sorry I''ve been MIA. I''ve been reasonably good on watching what I eat AND about taking my metformin.

So I am combining what should be three posts.

So PART ONE. THE VENT.

Well we had our tasting yesterday. It was... honestly dissappointing. 1/2 of the food was VERY good. Half... um, not so good (flat out bad??). The reviews on both the Wente (our runner up) and Garre (our venue) were that the chef''s were hit or miss and BOY is that accurate with regard of Garre.

SO we worked out a tentative menu... our plated appetizer is up the air (whether or not we''ll even have one), we we may only be doing a three course with salad, entree and cake. And we may nix the passed hords at the cocktail hour as only 1 out of 3 of the ones we tried were any good. So, I''m really worried about the AMOUNT of food, not just the quality.

And I''m nervous because we will not be able to try the meat dish in the duet plate-- don''t know what the sides are... and will have to HOPE that it comes out okay.

Right now I''m wishing we had our wedding in NJ or DC. The food quality at the banquet venues out there is just SO MUCH BETTER, from what we tried. Plus we would have been able to try the food BEFORE we booked (which no one out here would so much as consider!).

PART TWO: FOOD AND RECIPE SUGGESTIONS

So my first request: "food proof" appetizer suggestions? I was thinking shrimp cocktail as it''s just steamed shrimp and cocktail sauce -- and how hard can that be too screw up? But I''d like a few more suggestions if you all can think of them-- especially a vegetarian appetizer. The chef will consider anything I want (and if you have a recipe, it''s even better).

What we have so far:

Cheese and Grape display for cocktail hour.
Antipasto for cocktail hour.
Heirloom tomato caprese salad (mozzerella and basil)
Sliced tenderloin of beef and mahi mahi duet -- veggie pasta for non-meat eaters.
Cake and persian cookies.

PART THREE: RESPONSE CARD ADVICE

And finally, my response cards won''t have entree selections listed as we are doing a duet option for everyone except the veggies. SO would it be okay or weird if I just had something like.

The favor of your response is requested by...

---- seats have been reserved in your honor.

--- accepts.

--- declines.

--- vegetarian meals requested.

???? Or is that okay? And um... where do I write in their names, or where do THEY right in their names on the response cards... anyone got response card suggestions.

 

[FrekeChild]

I''m sorry you were disappointed. I''m afraid I won''t be much help tonight because my brain is FRIED from sleeping only 5 hours last night, working on a paper yesterday (into the very early morning hours of today), and trying to revise and FINISH THE &%$#*&#$ thing before tomorrow so I can spend most of the day tomorrow studying for the two exams I have on Wednesday. So after I get some sleep and study a bit, I''ll pull out the ol'' culinary books and take a break...

Having said that, everyone loves fruit and cheese, so that is a safe bet-good job on that one. Perhaps a fruit platter in general. Shrimp cocktail is one of my favorite things ever. Canapes (stuff on top of bread or crackers) are good and so are crudites (raw veggies). What about a bruschetta of some kind?

Ok back to my paper.

 

[diamondfan]

Can you leave a space where the people write in their names? then they can check the boxes. Not sure if that makes sense but...you have to have somewhere for them to write names. You can also assign each one a number, written small in pencil on the back corner, that corresponds with each guest. My friend did that for her son''s bar mitzvah, and thankfully so, as she got blank yes''s back and was able to go, oh, number 32, that is Fred and Ginger. Check.

As for food, make sure if you do shrimp cocktail that they are nice sized, DEVEINED and FRESH. Bad shrimp is simply gross and tastes like dirty water to me. Not pleasant.

Fruits, dried fruits, nuts, chutneys, amazing artisanal cheeses, crackers...those are all good. Add in some crudite maybe? Hot spinach/artichoke/parmasean dip?

Not really sure, but sorry the food is not tasting so great to you. I cannot imagine a place not allowing a tasting.

 

[FrekeChild]

Df and I are totally on the same page. Lol. Artichoke and spinach dip sounds GREAT right about now...

 

[Gypsy]

DF... Thank you! I was just going to (if I decided on shrimp cocktail) specify large prawns. But the cleaned and de-veined is VERY important. I agree, sometimes shrimp cocktail tastes like dirty fish water. Yeah, I''m going to have to include their names. And I will number them... great reminder. I was VERY dissappointed and frustrated that most of the places out here require you book before tasting... and in teh case of Wente... no tasting PERIOD. I''m still east coast with my event planning experience where you walk in for a tour and they stuff with you canapes and fingerfoods that knock your socks off in order to woo you into booking.

Freke honey, GET SOME SLEEP, then worry about studying-- you are so amazing going to school after culinary school and working so hard! I look forward to the input when you are un-fried. Canapes would be lovely... but despite my worries both mothers favor the ''feel'' of passed hords... and the only edible ones were canapes (we won''t relive the awful crake cakes and chicken skewers would wanted to poke your eye out with). I was thinking Bruschetta but I''m wondering if it''s too similar to the heirloom tomato caprese??

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 5/6/2008 1:32:20 AM
Author: FrekeChild
Df and I are totally on the same page. Lol. Artichoke and spinach dip sounds GREAT right about now...

Can we do individually plated dips for a seated hord? When you mentioned that I thought.. .ANOTHER great display option for the cocktail hour, and this one a HOT option.

 

[diamondfan]

I am a bit hungry right now!

I love the idea of passed stuff too, but can they get it going? I mean, did you tell them your thoughts, and ask what they were going to do about it? I would be ashamed to be the catering manager and send out that level of quality from my kitchen. What did they do when you told them yuck? I think they need to make it right.

What about an olive/artichoke tapenade on toasts, instead of brushetta?

grapes dusted with blue cheese and rolled in crushed walnuts on the cheese tray? Cured olives, fresh grapes, glaceed apricots, fresh figs, mango chutney...cheeses with dried cranberries, cured lemon rind, herbs? You can have tons of great cheeses and interesting crackers, along with fruits and nibbles. Oh yes I am hungry right now.

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 5/6/2008 1:41:32 AM
Author: diamondfan
I am a bit hungry right now!

I love the idea of passed stuff too, but can they get it going? I mean, did you tell them your thoughts, and ask what they were going to do about it? I would be ashamed to be the catering manager and send out that level of quality from my kitchen. What did they do when you told them yuck? I think they need to make it right.

What about an olive/artichoke tapenade on toasts, instead of brushetta?

grapes dusted with blue cheese and rolled in crushed walnuts on the cheese tray? Cured olives, fresh grapes, glaceed apricots, fresh figs, mango chutney...cheeses with dried cranberries, cured lemon rind, herbs? You can have tons of great cheeses and interesting crackers, along with fruits and nibbles. Oh yes I am hungry right now.

Mmmmmmmmm. You are making me hungry. We are definitely doing a cheese board with grapes for the cocktail hour. So far we''ve chosen that and the antipasto for the cocktail hour displays.

Here''s the note I wrote to the venue... And here was their reponse. I had a friend revise my note to them, as the first THREE revisions were umm... really harsh, and I didn''t want to risk them doing something to the food by being too negative.



Here''s my letter to them today:

Hello CATERING MANAGER, it was nice to see you yesterday at the tasting.

I know you value honest feedback so here are our comments:

Hits:

The Wine Country salad was excellent. Love those figs.

The house smoked salmon on crostini were very good. Generous portions. Not too salty. Could use a nice top garnish though.

The tri-tip was great.

The mahi mahi-- the fish, when paired with the mango salsa, was really good.

The pork, the meat was very good, not dry, and tender. Different sauce needed, please see comment below.

Misses:

Chicken skewers: salty, tough, and 85% of them were overcooked and dried out. Very little flavor beyond salt.

Crab cakes: these tasted and looked like something I would pick up in the super market freezer section and cook in my home oven.

The balsamic glaze on the pork. The sauce was not good. Tasted catsup-ey. The pork was nice itself though.

The chicken "marsala"-- really? Is that what it was supposed to be? I''ve had chicken Marsala before and it''s never been like this. It tasted like plain stewed chicken. It was GOOD stewed chicken. Just terrible chicken marsala. It was also unappetizing to look at.

To follow up on our conversation yesterday, we would like to do a duet plate, but most likely with either sliced beef tenderloin (not on menu, whole tenderloin of beef is easier to carve than individual filet mignons) with the Mahi mahi. Can you price this for us?

We also are hoping for a couple more plated appetizer options, we did not like your crabcakes, and carpaccio and quail do not have broad appeal. We do not want another fish-- we are already having the mahi mahi. Something else would be lovely. You mentioned you would look at the Friday night menus for ideas. We would appreciate that.

Can you also tell us if the heirloom tomato salad is on the menu for the Friday night dinners? I would like to try them, and everything else we will be ordering before the wedding as I am very concerned about the quality of the food now.

Thank you,

Layla


HER RESPONSE. No abject apology.

Thanks for all the great feedback; I will definitely pass it along. Attached is a tentative lunch and dinner menu for the summer, it may change slightly but this is what was given to me for now. I don''t see the caprese salad on the menu right now, unfortunately. It is the chef’s day off today but I just left a message on his cell phone to get pricing on the filet, and let him know you need to know asap. So, hopefully I will get an answer soon. I am sure the appetizers on the cocktail hour menu could be done for a plated appetizer as well. Also, looking over the menu for passed apps, I think the Bruschetta or Prosciutto wrapped Asparagus could all be done in addition to the Ahi Appetizer we discussed. Hope this helps, Talk soon!

I don''t want another fish, so the tuna is out. The asparagus doesn''t sound appealing... if it were proscuito with melon maybe... but there''s the whole pork issue. I''d like to avoid pork and not deal with it. And the bruschetta, well I think its too similar to the caprese salad.

 

[FrekeChild]

DF is so the person to help out right now! I'm almost done editing the paper. Thank god for BF and his crazy editing skills. I had incomplete sentences floating around. Literally. I had trailed off without finishing them. His notes made me laugh pretty hard. Mostly at myself.

What about a soup course?

 

[diamondfan]

Well, I do not think she is adequately addressing your direct issues. Not to stir the soup but she nees to be much more proactive. Your comments were clear and useful and it is your wedding so you should not be miserable about what people are eating that you paid for. Is there anyone else you can bring in from the venue without stepping on her toes too much? She seemed much too breezy and dismissive of your observations.

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 5/6/2008 2:03:10 AM
Author: diamondfan
Well, I do not think she is adequately addressing your direct issues. Not to stir the soup but she nees to be much more proactive. Your comments were clear and useful and it is your wedding so you should not be miserable about what people are eating that you paid for. Is there anyone else you can bring in from the venue without stepping on her toes too much? She seemed much too breezy and dismissive of your observations.

Yeah. She''s off tomorrow. So I can call, and talk to one of the other catering managers I''ve talked to before who is honestly, much better about addressing problems. I think I''ll do that. I really am concerned.

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 5/6/2008 2:01:05 AM
Author: FrekeChild
DF is so the person to help out right now! I'm almost done editing the paper. Thank god for BF and his crazy editing skills. I had incomplete sentences floating around. Literally. I had trailed off without finishing them. His notes made me laugh pretty hard. Mostly at myself.

What about a soup course?

That was my second thought Freke. I make an (if I do say so myself) awesome yukon gold potato and leek soup. I've never written the recipe out, but it's John's favorite and one of mine too. I was thinking of making it soon and writing down the recipe and asking them to just make that. What do you think?

Yukon Gold Potato leek soup or shrimp cocktail?

 

[FrekeChild]

What about fresh figs stuffed with blue cheese mousse? Ceviche? Carpaccio? Smoked salmon?

I think the soup sounds great but I'm always going to go for shrimp cocktail. Seriously. We're having it at our wedding. No ifs ands or buts about it. It's my favorite. And buffalo wings. I don't care who thinks we're ghetto/white trash-his favorite are the wings and mine is the shrimp. Plus we had our first real bonding session over a heaping plate of wings when he declared me the perfect girlfriend ever. Can't beat that.

Ok I think I'm going to bed. Paper is done enough to leave it for minor revisions tomorrow (like revisiting the subtitles) and then printing.

DF, what did you get your Masters in? Was it Psych by any chance?

ETA: Proscuitto on melon will be at our wedding too. Right next to chips and salsa. Oh boy...

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 5/6/2008 2:11:34 AM
Author: FrekeChild
What about fresh figs stuffed with blue cheese mousse? Ceviche? Carpaccio?

Ok I think I''m going to bed. Paper is done enough to leave it for minor revisions tomorrow (like revisiting the subtitles) and then printing.

DF, what did you get your Masters in? Was it Psych by any chance?

Mmmmmm. I do love figs. I think stuffed figs was on one of their menus-- I''ll follow up onn that.

Ceviche and Carpaccio are great personally... but I''m imagining grandma looking at it, and well... its not a good image. LOL. Sleep honey. I''m off to bed as well.

Good night DF! Thanks so much for all the help, both of you.

 

[diamondfan]

I LOVE soup. Yummm. Soup can be a lovely option, would they be open to incorporating your recipe if you say it is something you both love and is special to the two of you?

It is a vineyard, right? So maybe utilize wine flavors a teeny bit in some of the choices...like, fresh figs stuff with a port scented blue cheese? Not to get too crazy that way, but here and there it could be nice. (sound delish Liz, but I love figs and blue cheese!)

I like the idea of melon with proscuitto. I also like dates stuffed with blue cheese or something. Also a nice smoked salmon, not too salty, with a dilled creme fraiche? I have had them where it is a pinwheel or a bit of the salmon rolled up with the stuff inside, no bread.

What about a mashed potato with truffle or a polenta of some type in a martini glass? Can be tough to keep warm and not gluey, but I have seen it work.

Yes, my masters is in clinical psych. Never practiced but thrilled I did get my degree, it was not an easy road. Why do you ask? (I hope for a good reason...)

 

[bee*]

Wow-she really didn''t respond adequately to your feedback. I would definitely follow her up on that. I think a soup course would be great, or what about little mini tartlets or something like that. I was at a wedding where they served mini tartlets as appetizers and they were delicious.

 

[zoebartlett]

I just saw this -- sorry this is turning into a nightmare, Layla. I think it''s a good idea that you''re going to speak to another catering manager. Hopefully this one will actually address your concerns.

Here are a few other things I thought I''d throw out there:

-- Baked brie with walnuts and brown sugar on top, served with French bread. It''s amazing and one of my favorite apps. ever. I''m not sure how this could be done for a large group (I''m assuming a few big wheels of brie or many small wheels).

-- Stuffed mushrooms with different kinds of stuffing. I can''t remember what we''re having for apps. at the moment but I know we''re having a few different types of mushrooms.

-- Spanikopita (I hope I spelled that correctly) -- it''s basically spinach [and cheese?] stuffed into phylo (filo?) dough and then baked.

-- Bacon wrapped scallops or crab or something -- anything wrapped in bacon is good, in my opinion. Oh wait, do you eat bacon?

-- Veggie skewers -- this really can''t be messed up, can it?

Okay, that''s all I can think of for now. It''s early and my brain hasn''t fully kicked in. Have a good day and best of luck talking with another manager at Garre.

 

[diamondfan]

Zoe, sounds great!

Just know though that even veggies can be messed up if the place tries hard enough!!!!

 

[Gypsy]

Yeah, I''m definitely going to follow up with the other catering manager. Maybe even the person above them... depending who that is.

AND... I know this is drastic, but I''m going to call my DOC and see if the new catering hall at a close by winery that was trying to get permits for banquets when we were looking finally got their permits. If they did... I may call and see if they have my date available. I''m going to tell the invite lady to stop the invite production till next week. In case we decide to switch venues. Outside chance of that... but I do like to keep my options open.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Everyone has great ideas so far! I just wanted to say I hope things work out Gypsy, sorry they are being kind of uncooperative and stress-causing. ((Hugs))

 

[Gypsy]

Okay well I just spoke to the manager of the catering managers.

She was defensive and gave me excuses. First excuse, the head chef was not there that night. It was the staff that did the tasting. Sorry, no dice. They are his recipes, and still his responsibility. Will you guarantee he''ll be at my wedding? What if he''s ill?

Second excuse, when I complained about the service. The staff at the tasting were not the restuarant staff, they were banquet staff, so they didn''t know where things were in the restuarant. Okay. How does that explain that *I* had to pick up shards of broken glass ON OUR TABLE and point them out to the server, because she was just staring down, confused about what to do and what the problem was. (I broke a bud vase).

I''m looking at other venues. I''ll eat the 1200 if I have to. Seriously.

She asked me what I wanted, I said that I wanted her to get in touch with the chef, and arrange for me to try all the things we are serving so that I KNOW what we are serving our guests is good quality and tastes good. So, we''ll see.

Off to hunt down venues. Maybe they''ll give me a last minute booking discount.

 

[bee*]

I''d do the same as you and I''d look for other venues. She should be doing everything in her power to reassure you and make sure that
you''re happy-not just sit there and give excuses. That''s not good enough for the amount of money that you have to pay. Sorry to hear about this Gypsy.

 

[Gypsy]

Thank you bee, and zoe, and DF and freke. Yeah, I''m just waiting till my DOC is in the office, then I''ll give her a call and see what she can come up with at the last minute. The excuses did irritate me.

And when I pointed out that there seemed to be a lanugage barrier with EVERY SINGLE SERVER THERE she was like, well, they aren''t like restuarant servers, the banquet staff don''t have to interact with guests so it''s not really necessary.

Um. WHAT? I had a broken vase and couldn''t COMMUNICATE the problem to the server without PICKING UP GLASS. That is unacceptable. What if it were one of my guests and they cut themselves!

 

[LAJennifer]

Whevener I am at a party with passed apps - I always go for the spanakopita and the potstickers.

 

[Gypsy]

Okay. So my DOC no longer works at her old place of employment. STRESS.

Elope. Elope. Elope.

 

[goldenstar]

Oh Gypsy! I''m so sorry that you''re going through this.

Will your DOC still be able to help you? I don''t see why she couldn''t.

I recently went to a wedding showcase at Casa Real in Livermore. Its lovely. But its brand new so I don''t know how the food and service would be.

Palm Event Center at Mitchell Katz Winery is also very nice. FI''s sister got married there last fall.

I''ll keep thinking about other possible venues.

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 5/6/2008 2:55:17 PM
Author: goldenstar
Oh Gypsy! I''m so sorry that you''re going through this.

Will your DOC still be able to help you? I don''t see why she couldn''t.

I recently went to a wedding showcase at Casa Real in Livermore. Its lovely. But its brand new so I don''t know how the food and service would be.

Palm Event Center at Mitchell Katz Winery is also very nice. FI''s sister got married there last fall.

I''ll keep thinking about other possible venues.

Those two were my first choices when we were booking. Unfortunately they had a 14K food and beverage minimum I couldn''t meet (closer to 11K for me). I called, and if I book in the July spot they have, they will work with me. I can''t do July though. : (

So the hunt is on. There is a place along 24 that I''ve called, they are working on information for me. They may be do-able. We''ll see.

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 5/6/2008 2:21:18 AM
Author: diamondfan
Yes, my masters is in clinical psych. Never practiced but thrilled I did get my degree, it was not an easy road. Why do you ask? (I hope for a good reason...)

Because i have a nasty exam tomorrow over sleep, biological rhythms, amnesia, thinking and all kinds of other stuff...Maybe if I have some questions later, you'll be around to answer a little bit? ...Hopefully...

ETA: mini quiche? Um...still thinking about it. As for the catering manager, drop that a semi-famous chef from NYC will be attending your wedding and things will shape up really quickly...

Ok, that's not very ethical, but it would work!

 

[diamondfan]

Happy to do my best. Graduated over ten years ago and never did practice, but hopefully even with three kids I have SOME brain cells left!!!

Good luck with your test.

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 5/6/2008 7:06:03 PM
Author: diamondfan
Happy to do my best. Graduated over ten years ago and never did practice, but hopefully even with three kids I have SOME brain cells left!!!

Good luck with your test.

Thanks DF. I won''t be bugging you until later. And I''ll probably do a call out in Hangout.

Sorry for the mini threadjack Gypsy!