[shroomgirl]

Scenerio......

Sept. 11am memorial service, local food a priority, meat not so much (and we are in the midwest).....

So it's lunch, it's a few hundred people....many elderly.....it's in the nicest part of town....read into this, presentation is a huge deal.

I don't want hot food.....or if there is any, that it's passed.

Normally memorial receptions are a fairly quick deal, I'd like food to be easily taken from the buffet and easily eaten with fingers.

Tarts, Open faced sandwiches, Empanadas, Cheese Tortes, Closed Sandwiches, Vegetables/dips, cookies/bars/bitesize treats.

Thoughts?

[ED BUCHANAN]

You nailed it. We did one a month or so ago and I had cocktail naps printed with the name of deceased on it and date of memorial . They thought it nice touch? Also upity Palm Beach crowd.

[tigerwoman]

mini biscuits instead of sandwiches -
variety to include smoked salmon with herbed or wasabi cream cheese,
egg salad with bacon & scallions rim
filet mignon (doesn't take alot as these are small - and make the meat good, tender and upscale)

smoked turkey with apricot dijon mustard & greens

grilled zucchini with sundried tomato tapenade,

one of my catering friends takes the small round rolls that are baked in a 4 x 8 (I think) pull aparts and instead of cutting through the middle, she cuts a slit through the top (like a lobster roll ) and stuffs with fillings. Gives the open faced visual without the fuss and more bread too (not that much filling)

could you do a walk away salad bar with some nice salads already portioned into glasses - eg glass punch glasses, martini glasses or those stemless martini glasses (there's another name but it escapes me) even the nice squat disposable wine glasses with the short stem would work well. can be elegantly displayed - and use lots of local seasonal produce. Can be eaten easily with a fork sitting or standing.

Ed - what did you serve - would love to see the menu.

[shroomgirl]

Locally grown food is a priority for the client.
it's not viable to have beef tenderloin, nor turkey, obviously not salmon......
Love the split roll idea.

what we have:
lamb
beef....grassfed and not a meat I use much in catering
pork
trout
chicken....way expensive
wild and cultivated shrooms....shiitake are cultivated
lettuces are scarce in the heat of the summer
tomatoes
winter/summer squash
eggplant
onions
potatoes
blackberries
raspberries
garlic
sprouts (sunflower, pea shoots, radish)
squash blossoms
apples by then
melons maybe
green beans
kale/chard
peaches, nectarines....it would be the end of the season
I picked up damson plums tonight at market and am making a sauce to go on Greek yogurt for a lunch Friday
basil
chevres....blue, fresh, aged
pecans
black walnuts
black beans, red beans, sometimes edamome
cabbages
beets
apple cider jelly
sorghum
mustard
horseradish
some rices, arborio, jasmine, basmati