Conway offers these tips if you’re planning your own cocktail party:
— If the event is at 5 p.m., serve light hors d’oeuvres, the kind of thing people can pick up and eat without a fork. Featuring vegetables is a good choice, providing crunch while also being light.
— At 7 p.m., you’ll need heavier hors d’oeuvres – a protein, some starches – foods that involve a plate and a fork. Tapas-style items like risotto croquettes are a good choice.
— When thinking quantities, plan on four hors d’oeuvres per person. “If you’re serving three hors d’oeuvres, people will sample one of each and then have a second one of their favorite,” Conway said
— Finally, when deciding on your menu, try to walk the line between mainstream and cutting-edge. “You want a menu that will inspire and excite, but won’t scare your guests.”
You’re planning a cocktail party for 30 friends. Five are vegetarians, six are eating gluten-free and two are allergic to peanuts and eggs. It wouldn’t be going too far to say that the women are all on a diet and the men all want meat.
This is not an unusual situation for Cathy Conway, owner and executive chef of Avalon Catering, a full service catering and event planning company. “I got an email this week about a dinner we’re catering for a group of 35 people. They gave me a list of all the allergies and food sensitivities. Thirty percent of the people we’re serving at that dinner have some food issue,” Conway said.
Conway is not thrown by such challenges. Because she uses few processed products in her dishes, she’s able to work around those food sensitivities and create menus that will satisfy a variety of tastes at the party. Less processed food gives her control of what goes into each recipe. No surprise chicken broth, no hidden gluten, no peanuts that might have come in contact with something she’s serving.
Conway specializes in menus that are seasonally driven with the food sourced locally. “What our clients are looking for now is integrity in their food. They want to know how the food they’re eating is sourced and grown. When food comes from sources you know, it’s easier to deal with those food issues,” said Conway.
Much like today’s farm-to-table restaurants, Conway and her chef de cuisine Jenn Robbins can rattle off the source for each ingredient they use and they source 80 percent of their food from local producers and vendors. As much as possible, everything from cheese to fish to grits and vegetables comes from people they know and respect for the way they produce the food.
For the recipes featured with this article, Robbins noted that the arugula they prefer comes from Crystal Organics, “Nicolas Donck grows his arugula in a hoop house year round. As a result, his arugula is beautifully balanced in size, tenderness and spiciness.”
The tender young ginger in the Tomato-Ginger compote comes from D & A Farm and the shrimp that goes with the compote comes either from a shrimper in Brunswick or on the Gulf of Mexico. The sweet potatoes for the tostadas? They prefer the ones from Burge Organic Farm. The tomatoes in the Sweet Chile Sauce? They canned those this summer. The bresaola? Made in Marietta by Heywood Provision Company.
Topper:
These appetizers are seasonal, colorful and richly flavored. It’s a bonus that they’re as good for you as they are delicious. All recipes provided by Cathy Conway and Jenn Robbins of Avalon Catering.
Grilled Gulf Shrimp with Tomato-Ginger Jam
Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Makes: 20 appetizers
For a pretty presentation, serve these shrimp in deep china soup spoons, on small picks or on crackers or corn cakes. This dish can be served hot or at room temperature.
20 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup Tomato-Ginger Jam (see recipe)
In a medium bowl, combine shrimp, olive oil, salt, lemon juice and pepper flakes. Allow shrimp to marinate 30 minutes.
While shrimp is marinating, heat grill. When ready to cook, lightly oil grates.
Grill shrimp 3 minutes per side, being careful not to overcook. If not serving immediately, cover and set aside. Refrigerate if making more than 30 minutes ahead.
When ready to serve, garnish each shrimp with 1 teaspoon Tomato-Ginger Jam and serve immediately.
Per appetizer; 37 calories (percent of calories from fat, 30), 6 grams protein, 1 gram carbohydrates, trace fiber, 1 gram fat (trace saturated fat), 43 milligrams cholesterol, 160 milligrams sodium.
Tomato-Ginger Jam
Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Makes: 2 cups
Extra tomato-ginger jam will keep refrigerated for up to 1 month. Use leftover jam to glaze a meatloaf or in place of tomatoes in an autumn BLT.
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 shallot, cut into 1/8-inch dice
2 pints cherry tomatoes, rinsed and quartered
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 cup water, more if needed
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil until hot. Add shallots and sauté 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium and stir in tomatoes and ginger. Cook until tomatoes begin to cook down, adding water as needed to keep the tomatoes from scorching. When tomatoes have cooked to a jam-like consistency, about 1 hour, add lemon juice, salt and sugar. Taste for seasoning and cool.
Per 1-teaspoon serving: 2 calories (percent of calories from fat, 26), trace protein, trace carbohydrates, trace fiber, trace fat (no saturated fat), no cholesterol, 20 milligrams sodium.
Bresaola-wrapped Arugula Bundles
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
Makes: 20 appetizers
You can assemble these bundles up to 1 day ahead, adding the vinaigrette and garnishing just before serving. Baby arugula leaves will not work for this recipe. You need the full grown leaf, widely available at local farmers markets. For a variation, try this with leaves of locally grown leaf lettuce, or in the spring, with steamed asparagus.
Bresaola is spiced, air-cured beef. You can find it at local charcuteries like Marietta’s Heywood Provision Company or at the DeKalb Farmers Market. Can’t find it? Substitute half slices of prosciutto.
2 (6-ounce) bunches arugula, rinsed and dried
1/4 pound bresaola, very thinly sliced
1/4 cup Farm Egg Vinaigrette (see recipe)
If your arugula came from the farmers market with roots attached, trim the roots and most of the stem.
Separate trimmed arugula leaves into 20 bundles. Tightly wrap a slice of bresaola around the stems of each bundle. If the bundles begin to unfurl, wrap each with a strip of plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Arrange on platter. If not serving right away, cover platter with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
When ready to serve, drizzle bundles with vinaigrette and garnish with sieved egg whites from vinaigrette recipe.
Per appetizer: 24 calories (percent of calories from fat, 73), 1 gram protein, trace carbohydrates, trace fiber, 2 grams fat (trace saturated fat), 4 milligrams cholesterol, 6 milligrams sodium.
Farm Egg Vinaigrette
Hands on: 5 minutes
Total time: 5 minutes
Makes: 1 2/3 cups
The egg yolk in this vinaigrette helps keep it from separating, a very nice kitchen trick. This is a variation on sauce gribiche, a cold sauce traditionally served with boiled chicken or fish. Extra vinaigrette will keep 1 week in the refrigerator. Use it to dress salads or cold vegetables, meat or seafood like poached salmon. The “farm egg” in the name comes from the farm-fresh eggs Avalon Catering uses when preparing their food.
1 hard-boiled egg
1 cup olive oil
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons capers, drained, finely chopped
2 teaspoons chopped shallots, 1/8-inch dice
2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon finely chopped tarragon
1 small garlic clove, pressed through garlic press
Salt
Peel egg and press white and yolk through a sieve separately. Reserve white for garnish.
In a small bowl, whisk together sieved egg yolk, olive oil, vinegar, capers, shallots, whole grain mustard, Dijon mustard, parsley, tarragon and garlic. Taste for seasoning. If not using immediately, refrigerate vinaigrette and egg whites separately.
Per 1-tablespoon serving: 74 calories (percent of calories from fat, 97), trace protein, trace carbohydrates, trace fiber, 8 grams fat (1 gram saturated), 8 milligrams cholesterol, 12 milligrams sodium.
Sweet Potato Tostadas
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Makes: 20 appetizers
Pepitas are shelled pumpkin seeds. Cojita is a Mexican grating cheese made from cow’s milk and easily found these days in most groceries and stores carrying Hispanic groceries.
1 8-ounce sweet potato, rinsed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 6-inch flour tortillas
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup pepitas
1/4 cup Sweet Chile Sauce (see recipe)
1 ounce Cojita, crumbled
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Wrap sweet potato in foil and bake until it can be pierced with a fork, about 1 hour. Remove from oven, unwrap and peel immediately. The peel will pull right off.
In the bowl of a food processor, puree hot sweet potato and salt until very smooth. Set aside. May be refrigerated up to 1 day ahead. Bring to room temperature before serving.
While sweet potato is baking, cut 20 2-inch rounds from tortillas. Discard tortilla scraps. Pour olive oil in center of a small rimmed baking sheet. Dip pastry brush into olive oil and brush both sides of each round. Arrange rounds on baking sheet. When all rounds are oiled, bake for 6 minutes or until rounds are crisp and golden. May be made up to 1 day ahead and stored in an air-tight container.
While sweet potatoes and tortilla rounds are cooking, in a small dry skillet, heat pepitas until they begin popping and have puffed, about 7 minutes. Shake skillet or stir frequently to keep pepitas from scorching. Remove from heat and set aside. Use half for the Sweet Chile Sauce (see recipe) and reserve half for garnish. May be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in an air-tight container.
When ready to serve, divide sweet potato puree between tortilla rounds. Top each round with 1/2 teaspoon Sweet Chile Sauce. Sprinkle Cojita and reserved toasted pepitas over rounds and serve immediately.
Per appetizer: 37 calories (percent of calories from fat, 28), 1 gram protein, 6 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 1 gram fat (trace saturated fat), 1 milligram cholesterol, 150 milligrams sodium.
Sweet Chile Sauce
Hands on: 5 minutes
Total time: 5 minutes
Makes: 1 1/2 cups sauce
The long list of ingredients may make this recipe look complicated, but it goes together in just minutes. It’s a simplified version of the 20-plus ingredient chile-chocolate mole Avalon Catering makes for this appetizer. Extra Sweet Chile Sauce plus a can of tomato sauce would make a delicious sauce for enchiladas. The sauce also works as a marinade for chicken, or to flavor a dish of black beans and rice.
1 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup toasted pepitas (see Sweet Potato Tostada recipe)
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons agave nectar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground anise or fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
In the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine tomatoes, pepitas, chili powder, agave nectar, salt, cocoa, cloves, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, anise or fennel seeds, lime juice and allspice. Blend until smooth. Sauce may be used immediately or refrigerated for up to a month.
Per 1/2-teaspoon serving: 2 calories (percent of calories from fat, 19), trace protein, trace carbohydrates, trace fiber, trace fat (no saturated fat), no cholesterol, 13 milligrams sodium.
