I'll be popping up with open faced sandwiches at the next installment of Found Sound Nation at Pioneer Works on Friday, March 27th. More details and RSVP here. $10 suggested donation for admission.
Here's what I'm cooking:
Events
I'll be popping up with open faced sandwiches at the next installment of Found Sound Nation at Pioneer Works on Friday, March 27th. More details and RSVP here. $10 suggested donation for admission.
Here's what I'm cooking:
Venue: 501 Union, Gowanus Neighborhood, in Brooklyn
You never know the power of social media referrals. Brooklyn design and internet lady swissmiss (aka Tina Roth Eisenberg) tweeted that she needed a caterer. My dear friend Sam answered right back that she knew someone. I really got an email, I really did. I was jumping up and down!
When we decided to meet, it was literally the next office building away from mine in Dumbo. We talked about the party. Tina was throwing herself a prom in 1992 because she’d never been and that was the year she would have gone. I threw out my entire proposal and started from scratch. The 90’s are my JAM. I hit Facebook with “90’s snacks, go!” status and my friends delivered….Gushers, Squeez-its, Hot Pockets, even Dunk-a-roos!
The menu had to be practical and fun. I wanted it to be somewhat adult, too, since there was going to be a bar.
Whenever anyone asked me about the pulled pork, my answer was “What? It’s timeless!”
The event itself was unlike any prom I had been to. Amazing DJ, outrageous dresses and hair; it was a dream! All of the event staff wore shirts with Kelly Kapowski on it. I added some extra 90's sweetness with jars of Push Pops and Ring Pops for everyone to take home.
I love theme parties, so if you're throwing one and you need custom snacks-- holler at me!
A sampling of my work with Roquette Catering. And a story...
It wasn't like any other Craigslist job posting. From what I remember, it asked for a paragraph on why you'd want to take on freelance catering in Red Hook, Brooklyn. My 2015 self is cringing at the informality of my response and all of the exclamation points:
Hi there !
Just came across your craigslist post!
I'm interested in freelance catering this summer because I'm currently enrolled at the French Culinary Institute and cannot commit to a full time job yet. I just want to get as much supplemental opportunities and hands on experience as I can because I'm just a student and will be interning at Murray's Cheese shop (on Bleecker!) starting in August. I have a mediocre knowledge of wines, but I can learn quickly. I'm currently reading Stephen Jenkins' Cheese Primer (kind of an encyclopedia of CHEESE!) and it lists bunches of wine pairings.
My goal in life is to cater small scale and local music events, so I'd welcome any chance to work with you! My resume is attached. Thanks for the consideration!
However, it must have worked because I had a job interview that week. It was a gorgeous May day and I was an hour early for the interview. I was shading my bag as best as I could because along with copies of my resume, I had a wheel of Mt. Tam Cowgirl Creamery cheese. What could go wrong if I bribed an employer with cheese?
Everything went right.
Upon entering Tini Wine Bar (now known as Home/Made), I gasped at the color palette and flower arrangements. It was a cozy 10 seat restaurant, one of the table settings was a couch with a low coffee table. I was very honest about my lack of experience but Monica and Leisah took a chance on me. I had two weeks of shadowing Monica in the kitchen and she let me fly solo.
For the next 4 years, I'd embark on a challenging yet super rewarding apprenticeship through restaurant service, a restaurant move and dozens of weddings under the name Roquette Catering. I admired the Roquette style because they balanced beauty and flavor. Where most weddings failed with food and quality, Roquette was a burst of sunshine with abundant appetizer displays, fresh-out-the-oven flatbreads and family style piles of yummy short rib.
Sometimes Monica would also book herself as the wedding florist. I'd arrive at the venue, survey the kitchen, unload the truck and then check in on the menu. We worked so well together that I'd wander over to Monica while she had buckets of flowers around her and I'd talk through timing for the day. Little did I know that independence was a real life job skill. I also started calling Monica and Leisah my moms.
My favorite memories include the several times a bride and groom didn't want to cut the cake, so I awkwardly cut it in front of everyone. Several family members would try to stop me and say, "Isn't that bad luck?" and I'd squeak back," It's what they wanted!"Or the Thanksgiving party where a big guy said my knife "didn't work" as they were cutting the turkey. And I ended up carving up 4 turkeys with another cook. Our knives most certainly worked. Or the time no guests danced at a wedding and all of us working staff broke it down on the dance floor to "Brick House."
I did have my "Ugh not again" moments, for sure. I'd finish cleaning a package of mushrooms to discover there was a whole case of them. Or breaking my 3rd wine glass that week. But I'd persevere, biking the 4 miles from my house to work so I could cut the brunch potatoes. Many "culinary school graduates" would come and go during my tenure and I couldn't quite articulate it then, but they just didn't have what it took to manage a small kitchen on their own. Many moved on to be line cooks at larger places or as I would refer to them, "cogs in the machine." I was perfectly happy taking notes and learning so I could eventually own a catering business, too.
I've since moved on from full time work with Roquette but I come in every now and then to help with the big weddings. In fact, it all came full circle when Monica and Leisah tied the knot this past fall. It was poetic and wonderful to see two ladies who have catered hundreds of weddings, finally enjoying their own. And I, their culinary padawan, along with a few other alums ran the kitchen while they enjoyed the party.
Seriously, it was one of the most fun weddings, ever. It was flipped on its head: it started with the reception with a small intermission for the 10 minute ceremony. Instead of vows, they toasted each other and I went running around with champagne bottles, filling everyone up. The rest of the food came pouring of the kitchen and from a Neopolitan pizza truck. We had a cut off time for the kitchen staff, we threw off our aprons and joined in.
How lucky am I to have found family through a Craiglists ad in 2008? Even now, my goals and enthusiasm from that first email still ring true.
I met Victoria and Greg at the PGC Alumni Party in December. It hard to forget anyone who hangs around the food most of the night. We were really happy to hear that they needed food for their housewarming.
Our menu: | |
Crudite with Lemon Hummus Whipped Goat Cheese Dip Cheese Boards with Dried Fruit, Nuts & Jam Pork Charcuterie with Toast Points |
Adobo Beef Skewers Chicken Skewers with Herb Butter Grilled Vegetable skewers with Onion, Pepper & Mushroom |
It was a classy gathering in their brand new East Village apartment with great music and snuggles from Jess the dog.
Here's what Victoria had to say:
Thank you for making this house warming party a 200% success! Your service was exceptional, from being punctual to setting up with care and attention these gorgeous platters of food. All the ingredients were chosen to be pleasant both for the sight and the taste. Everybody complimented me on the food and the presentation, and you can be sure I'll spread the word.
If you'd like us to cater your housewarming party, sends us a note!
I had to talk Jeff out of soaking the beans with wood chips. He was on a smoke kick. He wanted every ingredient to be smokey for the then upcoming Brooklyn Chili Takedown. It was going to be tricky. We both were traveling on family business the two weeks prior to the contest, so we started three weeks early. Charred leeks? Nah. What kind of beans? Something new! This would be better if we had a smoker...
We landed on a recipe we were ecstatic to share and dubbed it THE SMOKEMONSTER (yup, from LOST). Also, not sorry that I made this dumb video:
Beans take forever. That is my only takeaway from this. If you don't have a smoker, you can dry the tasso in the oven on low, the door held open with a wooden spoon.
Things you'll need: | |
1 pack of Roman beans 1 jar of Pepperoncini (de-stem, chop and keep juice) 1 can of peeled tomatoes 1 onion, chopped 2 jalapenos, stemmed and chopped 1 chile de arbol, soaked in hot water 1 guajillo pepper, soaked in hot water |
2 lbs of boneless pork shoulder Allspice White pepper Kosher salt Slow cooker Smoker (optional) |
"I want everything to be smokey" Jeff said again.
I broke down each component in a Google Doc. How can we infuse smokiness in every single level of our competition chili? It had to start with our protein. Been a while since we cured anything, so I headed straight to my copy of Charcuterie. The recipe for tasso ham sang out at us and we had to test it.
Basically you make a curing salt rub and leave the meat in the fridge for a day. You rinse it and coat it in a thick rub consisting mostly of allspice. It goes into a smoker and then you can dice it up for any gumbo or in our case, chili. The only real modifications we made were in the rub, where we put in a diluted mix of ghost pepper powder and breadcrumbs.
We were lucky enough to have access to the smoker at Montana’s Trail House in Bushwick (thanks Nate!). If you don’t have a smoker, don’t worry, you can still accomplish stellar tasso in an oven on the lowest setting with a wooden spoon propping the door open.
When we tested 6 types of beans, our hands down favorite was the Roman variety (better known as the cranberry bean). It is very similar to a pinto bean but this Italian strain has a thicker skin. We liked that it didn’t disintegrate after long hours of cooking and still had a chewy yield.
Our beans were soaked overnight and rinsed. Don’t ever cook beans in the soaking liquid because it includes the indigestible sugars that makes you toot toot. But if you value flavor over gaseous comfort, by all means!
We threw the beans into the slow cooker with a can of whole peeled tomatoes, a whole jar of pepperoncinis (juice and all) and water to cover. As they were finishing, I charred the onion and jalapeños in the broiler, mashed those up and stirred that into the beans. Took the chile de arbol and guajillo, took their stems off and pureed them. Mixed that into the beans, too.
For competition day, I diced the tasso and tossed them in sugar for a quick broil before throwing them at the last minute into our chili. Usually I would advocate for putting the tasso into the beans right away to meld together, but I knew we’d have at least 2 hours of standing heat at the venue.
We ended up getting 2nd place, people's choice! Hooray!
Would you like us to make you a batch for your party? Let us know.
Photos by Heather Phelps-Lipton | Web | Wedding Portfolio
We were really happy to be introduced to Ben & Lucy last Summer. Together, we brainstormed a menu to feed two hundred people at their October 2014 wedding. Our venue was Pioneer Works, a large indoor gallery with a backyard garden and grill.
It was a team effort with Lucy's sister who made six assorted cakes for dessert and her mom who coordinated salads as well as jars of pickled goods; peach salsa, beets, cucumbers, piccalilli, and dilly beans. Fort Defiance, a local restaurant, handled the bar and cocktails.
Ben & Lucy's Wedding Menu | |
CHEESE PLATTER Sliced baguette, crackers, jam, dried fruit, fresh figs, bitter greens and nuts. MEAT PLATTER Prosciutto, bresaola, speck, chorizo, salumi and pate Sliced baguette, mustard, cornichon PULLED PORK sandwiches on focaccia Hot pepper vinegar & herbal raita |
CORNISH HENS with herb butter SHRIMP SKEWERS with lemon ZUCCHINI SLAW with pesto, lemon and kohlrabi CUCUMBER PICKLES SPICY KIMCHI |
Imagine large wooden boards, abundant with colorful food. Sizzles and smoke swirling into the night sky in a dewy garden alongside a bluesy brass band. It was quite a night!
Interested in working with us? Head to our Inquiries page to tell us more about your event.
My absolute favorite thing about Thanksgiving is leftovers. If you've been following me on Tumblr, you'll notice that I adore figuring out what to do with last night's leftovers. Back in November, my friends Julia Sherman and Sarah Keough organized Leftovers Special at Flux Factory. Here were my entries:
I’m a huge fan of Bee & Puppycat on Cartoon Hangover and we helped launch the show on the 24 hour livestream that took placeThursday, November 6th! If you love Sailor Moon, Adventure Time and grumpy pets, this show is DEFINITELY for you. WATCH IT BELOW!
Bee is fired from her job and happens upon a sleeping puppy…er…cat…thing in the rain. She takes him in and hilarity ensues. She also eats a whole pan of lasagna (relevantttt). I invited my good friend Emily Hanhan to put together a food segment for the livestream. Here are our recipes:
If you missed the stream, you can catch us at 3:34:
My friend Jessica was moving away and I already hadn't seen her in months. It's hard to keep up with good friends in New York, even if you live about a mile from each other. I promised to make her a random sandwich before she left for L.A. Our schedules clashed and smashed together, but we finally found a time. She invited me to a small, casual show she was playing with another band called Psychic Twin. I went to a nondescript loft building at the edge where Bushwick and Williamsburg kiss. Up, up, up about four flights of very long stairs and I found myself in a very welcoming living room.
I found Jess and she was loading in many keyboards. We caught up a little while she ate her bresaola sandwich. She introduced me to Erin, the singer from Psychic Twin and we hung out, sitting on the floor. What happened next was nothing short of a New York moment. About thirty people gathered around a small stage in the living room and a band started to play. All of their undivided attention. Not a clink of a glass or a tss from a beer can. How amazing it felt to be around these bands and people who love music.
One Thousand Birds is a mixing studio and sound design company who hosts this monthly get-together as "OTB: LIVE!" Three bands play 20 minutes, much like CMJ short sets but in this warm and intimate atmosphere. I had noticed that barely anyone descended down those four flights of stairs through the whole night. They must be hungry! I spoke to Laura and enthusiastically volunteered to bring food next time in exchange for donations.
Two birds but not quite a thousand, I had a brunch photo shoot scheduled for St. Patrick's Day with my friends Mo and Ramsey. Why not double everything and bring it to OTB later on?
Later on this past October, we had our first cold snap and I arrived with two batches of soup. I've found that people who are passionate about finding new music are also open to new food experiences. Upon entering the kitchen, people would exclaim that it smelled like fall.
Sign up for the OTB Live! mailing list here.
I owe it all to Jess! Check out her band Via Audio and latest album NATURAL LANGUAGE:
Other bands I've discovered through OTB:
I have a weird relationship with salad. Growing up, it was only ranch dressing, iceberg lettuce and croutons (my favorite part). My cousin Jonathan and I would skip right to the ranch with croutons at Sizzler. The plate swimming in dressing is what he called "ah-weet-waht." I'm still not sure what it meant, but there I was eating it by the forkful with a 3 year old. I guess that's it, isn't it? I've the salad acuity of a three year old.
Eating raw vegetables was somewhat of a foreign concept to my family and I. You only ate vegetables at fancy parties as cruditè, where the ranch was in a bowl in the middle. It was just a new appropriation of where to put the ranch! When I was 8 years old, on my first trip to New York City, my grandma Tita taught me how to make Thousand Island. It was lost on me because all I wanted to dip it in were french fries.
Fast forward to apartment life in Brooklyn. I'm an adult and I'm watching my roommate Jeff make a salad in his underwear. We have this set of mixing bowls and he picks the largest one. He chops a bunch of vegetables with romaine, makes a mustard dressing and proceeds to sit on the couch with this giant salad that takes up the whole of his lap. My job at the time was in the city and one afternoon, my coworker asked if I wanted to try that place "Chop't." I got stars in my eyes about adding fried chicken with ranch and arugula. When it rang up, the bucket of shredded mess was about $15. I was flabbergasted at our culture of "individual abundance." It took me about two meal sittings to finish the darn thing. There was a line out the door at this place and while the bucket salad is a relatively new trend, the idea of the "salad bar" is not. I'm not sure where the shift from side dish to full-on salad meal happened but I was suddenly starting to think I wasn't a salad person.
Yes, this blog is called "Randwiches," and I believe that we all have our choices what media in which we express ourselves. Cue the random email I got from Salad For President! I was excited to get an invitation to make salads on the roof at MoMA PS 1 with many rad food friends like Sarah Keough, Mitchell Kuga and one my idols, Alex Raij. Nervous like it was a first date, I over prepared a bunch of toppings and condiments. My results weren't so much salads but piles.
Here are my entries for that fateful evening:
Perhaps if we redefine salads to be simple piles that aren't exclusively lettuce, I think we would be calling this blog Saladwiches, Ranchwiches or "ah weet-waht."
Photos by the most awesome Trinh Huynh.