Help please, pasta warm!

[chanrico]

Hi,

I read a lot here, but not write a lot... But now I need a little help, please. I have a cool contract next week, and I will serve a cold buffet, except for 2 pasta dishes: one with pesto, and the other is al putanesca. I will cook them at my catering service prior to the night (they don't have any kitchen there), and I will use a chafer dish to reheat them... How do I keep them warm during the delivery (no cambro)??? And what is the amount required for 50 peoples, it is not the main dishes, it's just a part of the buffet!


Thanks for your help, and sorry for my english, I try hard!!!

Chanrico

[shroomgirl]

what's the rest of your menu? how far is the event site from your kitchen? Does the event site have stove/oven? Do you have portable burners?

[chanrico]

Hi,

There is my menu:

Amuse-Bouche:
-shooter of gaspacho
-Mini-muffin of pepper
-Mini onion tart and feta

Sanwiches:
-Chicken wrap
-Vege wrap

Salads:
-Spinach and mandarines
-Rice and roquette

Hot dish:
-pesto pasta
-pasta a la putanesca

And I'm about half an hour of the site, and no they don't have any stove. I do have a single propane burner (not big enough!!!)


And thank you very much for your help, it's very precious for me!

Chanrico

[shroomgirl]

ok....precook your pasta al dente

Take a large pot with you to the site with your burner, if you've not got one it's a very good investment....they can be fairly inexpensive Approx $20 for a cheap one, $65 for top of the line 16,000btu.

Have a bottle of olive oil and extra water. Make sure the water in your chafer is REAL HOT and the sterno is on.

Heat the sauce and add the pasta.....pesto first then putenesca (which honestly doesn't hurt to have a smidge of pesto in it.
Sometimes the cheap burners take FOREVER TO bring a dish up to temp.

DONOT heat all the pasta at once, keep some back to refill.

I'd heat right before service and treat it as a side dish 3oz pp sound generous guys?

Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

[kuan]

No cambro? Go get a cooler. A big one from the sporting goods store.

[chanrico]

Hi,

Thank you very much to you two.

I need some more information please.... First, I think I will buy a burner with propane (it is not what I have), but I'm not quite sure about the cooler at the sporting goods!!! Why do I need this?

And for the warming thing with my pasta, do I boil water with the burner for the chafing dish? Or do I warm my pasta with the burner...? I'm a little mix up! So do I warm with the chafing, which the water was warm by water with the burner!?

Thanks for your patience!

Chanrico

[shroomgirl]

even better than having hot pasta is having pasta salad served cold......

but if you want hot you can heat the water with the propane burner to put in the chafer, then use the same pot to reheat the sauce and pasta.....
place the hot pasta in the hot chafing dish.

If you want to try to take hot pasta from your kitchen to the event use a cooler, they are so well made they keep the heat in.....depending on how much time between cooking, travel and then serving, seems like an awfully long time for it to stay warm in a cooler.