What a season!!!!  Well, the economy is certainly on the rebound!!  We are busy!  September reigns again as the busiest wedding month of the year – though Becky still insists winter weddings are the best…  That is another post!

The Cantering Caterer was just selected to cater and provide event design work for Earthplace in Westport!  This is their annual fundraiser and their first actually at Earthplace!  The space is fantastic.  It features dozens of acres of woods and hiking trials, a wildlife sanctuary (with some pretty amazing rare birds of prey!), a play-based pre-school, a dynamite space for a corporate retreat, or even a fantastic outdoor wedding.  Please be sure to check out their event calendar – you would not believe the things they are doing right under our noses…!  Visit, join, participate!

We are doing an event at an estate (one of our favorite clients homes!) this weekend featuring Senator Coburn from Oklahoma, 2 Events for the new David YurmanStore in Westchester, and getting ready for Rosh Hashana next week…

We have a very intimate and special wedding in Milford – the property is fantastic, a really nice wedding at the Fairfield Beach Club, – the last wedding we did there saw a full moon that simply melted into the horizon, and we are providing food for a clients jet as their family travels to Asia for a quick vacation… Lots going on!

We are pleased to announce that Jeanette Buttner has joined our staff. Jeanette runs our offices (and helps keep Christian organized!!!!!!) and assists with customers. She is usually the happy voice you hear on the phone. She is near the completion of a BA from WCSU in Danbury, CT. Jeanette sings with The Naugatuck Valley Community College Choir and Vox Concordis in Waterbury and Saint Thomas More Chapel at Yale University in New Haven. Jeanette is a member of the Performing Arts Collaborative in New Haven and is currently working on their production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
We are very excited to have Jeanette on board.

We have enjoyed this summer’s harvest from our own organic vegetable plot! Our success was overwhelming (well, my mother and Becky’s success)! The tomatoes, lettuce’s, squash, peppers… You name it! We will definitely expand this next year – don’t miss out on the late season corn available now – the sweetest of the year! My kids will even eat it without butter – for those that know my kids, that is a big deal!!

Summer is the time to party.

Well, summer is here and it’s time to plan your outdoor party.  Whether an intimate wedding on the beach, a cocktail party by the pool, a child’s birthday party, barbeque (BBQ), or a corporate picnic, the staff at The Cantering Caterer are here to help you plan and produce the best party ever.  We take pride in our clients’ happiness!!

Grilling is the summer thing and our chefs love it.  Combined with cool and festive salads – many of our veggies are from local and organic farms -  we can complete a meal that stands out from the norm.  Color, flavor, texture….  Don’t forget just the right location to take the party over the top.

A wedding on the beach in Westport is just so romantic – we did one on Compo last week. The cool breeze and spectacular sunset just made it perfect!!  Grilled Peach Glazed Chicken Breast, crunchy natural Hot Dogs and Rich Manâ Burgers served with Watermelon, Tomato & Cucumber Salad, Quattro Potato Salad with Rosemary Infused Olive Oil and a Baby Spinach/ Blueberry/ Strawberry Salad with a Poppy Seed Dressing will thrill you guests.  We are doing a similar menu for a Fourth of July Party this week!

A cocktail party by the pool is a great way to build business, re-bond the family, or just kick back and relax with friends.  Cool Hemingway Bellini’s, Minty Mojitos and Rum Iced Green Tea by the pool.  Casual fair with a flair.  Panko Fried Chicken Tidbits with Ginger Apricot Glaze, mini Sirloin Sliders with Balsamic Shallots, mini Pork Tacos with Mango Salsa, Sesame Crusted Tuna with Wasabi Foam, Grilled Ripe Carolina Peaches with Balsamic Drizzle, and maybe some Connecticut Oyster or Clam Spicy Shooters.  Make a Sunday evening one to remember.

Kid’s birthday parties can have two slightly different menus to appeal to everyone.  Mini Hot Dogs, grilled Meatloaf Dogs (easier to eat than a Burger), grilled Polenta Sticks along with Melon Wedges will thrill the kids with all sorts of condiments.  Hummel Long Dogs, assorted Brats and Sausages and Rosemary Chicken Kebobs served with Grilled Polenta Cakes, Broccolini & Shiitake Salad and a Radicchio, Chive and Parsley.  Condiments such as Sweet Onion and Pepper Relish, Honey Mustard, roasted Tri Colored Peppers and Roasted Garlic Eggplant Tapenade round out the party.  Make your own Ice Cream Sundaes for dessert!  We just found a small company in Port Chester that makes purple ice cream!

Treat your company for a job well done in the first half of the year by throwing a family corporate picnic.  There are many state and town parks that can be utilized as a venue – Compo Beach in Westport, Sherwood Island State Park, Penfield Pavillion in Fairfield, the list goes on…  Some have covered facilities, just in case.  Start off with grilled Pizzas with Humus, Grilled Veggies and Parmesan Cheese.  Or, maybe some Pulled Pork Sliders?  Blueberry Iced Tea and Raspberry Lemonade to cool everyone down.  Barbecued Boneless Chicken is the dish of the day.  Both dark and white meat seasoned well and served with a variety of barbeque sauces.  Teriyaki Glaze, Roasted Garlic, Spicy Tex- Mex and a traditional BBQ.  5 Bean Salad, Tri Colored Cheese Tortellini with Basil Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Caesar Salad with Olives and Ricotta Salata Cheese and mini Ciabatta Rolls.  End the day with Iced Caramel Coffees and seasonal Fresh Fruit.  A day your staff will remember.

Whatever your party needs are this summer, The Catering Caterer will be happy to meet your needs with the freshest, most flavorful foods and the a pleasant professional staff to make sure everything is perfect.  Speak to our Event Planners today.  They will help you work out all the details.  Lets have a party!!

Chef Scott G.

May is busy and we are excited to be working, planning, and partying with all of you!!  It is a big summer coming up…  Shaking off the cold and the economic blues.  We have lots of outdoor weddings this summer as people opt for less formal venues – Lots of second weddings too, mine is June 7!!  Very exciting!  The cocktail party season had an early start this year when people heard that last weekend would be in the eighties – our phone started ringing off the hook!  So, shake it off, everything will be alright and Have a Party!

Christian is mentioned in Chinese Weddings By the Knot!  Scroll through a few cocktails, photos, and ingredients!  All are absolutely perfect for Summer!  Some of his ideas are also mentioned in the 2009 Wedding Guide, Boulder Colorado!

-The RiverVine is open and booking fast!  We are excited to start a “Saturday Night Fish Fry on Thursday Nights!”  Beginning Thursday, May 14 from 4:00-9:00pm, The RiveVine will feature a traditional New Orleans Fish Fry menu and live music!  The Cobalt Rythym Kings are playing the 28th from 6:00-9:00pm.  They are amazing and play blues and jazzy favorites from John Lee Hooker, Louis Jordan, and originals…  Check out the Vine website for more info and to make a reservation!!  Kayak fan??  Come check out our new 1938 Folbot wood frame canoe plant holder!  This thing is cool!

-The Cantering Caterer launched a new program to combat hunger in our community.  “Feed our Friends,” is a project to collect safely held leftover foods from caterers and restaurants in Fairfield County and deliver to a shelter in Bridgeport.  This particular shelter feeds 2200 people per day!  Lets take hunger off the table because while we may be hungry, they are starving.  It seems so simple that here in this country, in this county, there are hungry people…  There are.  Let’s help together.

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What a beautiful day!The threat of spring is in the air, the birds are chirping, the sun shining and there is even a fly buzzing around! I look outside at the pool and long for warmer days, but I can feel it coming and it feels great! The first thing I think of on a day like today is a party!  I have an idea! A kick off to spring BBQ!  Why do we have to wait until summer? The weather is nice enough to light the grill, fresh produce is always available, let’s have a party! We have all been so depressed with the economy the way it is, the beautiful winter is no longer beautiful, we need to end the gloom and doom with some great food, family and friends! Kick off to Spring Menu From the grill
-Thick Chicken Burgers with Pickled Onions and Smokey Red Pepper Sauce- grilled to perfection (a low fat option of course, we need to get rid of that extra winter weight!)

-Cedar plank Grilled Salmon with Cilantro Butter (one of our specialties!)

-Marinated Skirt Steak with Wasabi-Garlic Cream and Artisanal Rolls Side

-Roasted Potato Salad with Chick Peas, Red Swiss Chard, Celery and Bacon Dressing

- Organic Mixed Greens with Fresh Vegetables

- Julienne Carrots, English Cucumber Sticks, Vine Ripened Tomato, garnished with Sweet Potato Chips, Manchego Cheese and Lime-Basil Vinaigrette.

- Orzo with Dried Fruit, Nuts and Herbs infused with Ginger Oil

Dessert¦

-Ginger Cake with Fresh Cinnamon Cream-Macadamia Cookies To drink¦-Fresh Raspberry Mojitos with Fresh Mint, Raspberry Puree and Sugar Cane!-Cucumber Infused Spring Water This menu won’t break the budget, will impress your friends and family and will be a perfect start to a fantastic spring season! Call us at The Cantering Caterer and plan your party now!

Also, have you seen the Downtown Cabaret Theatre in Bridgeport lately??  We have done a few weddings there recently and the space is HOT!  A deco theatre with modern lighting, amazing staff, and it works in most budgets!!  Call us to visit – we have fantastic photos!

Did I mention The RiverVine??!!?  We are open and ready for your business!  Please email us for an invite to the kick off party.  The Cantering Caterer is hosting its annual “kick off the season bash” on Thursday, April 23 in our Westport office.  Please let me know if you would like to attend – it is invite only and last year we had so many people that we shut down the post road!!  Come one, come all!  Fine food, good wine, happy people…

Have you seen our new Facebook page?  Become a fan for “fan only news and specials!”

This week Christian will be on WFSB 3, Better Connecticut with Scott Haney.  This is our third appearance on the show and we will be discussing ideas for spring parties.  Christian will prepare a few sample hors d’oeuvre and have some interesting cocktail and decor suggestions.  The show is live on Wednesday from 10:ooam-11:00am. 

The Cantering Caterer was just hired to cater and design a fantastic wedding in Easton, CT.  Working out of an acre sized clearing in the woods we will deliver a memorable night to 100 guests under a tent and canopy of trees.  The very next day we will transform a private home into a magical setting based on “Where the Wild Things Are,” for a childrens birthday party.

We were hired today to cater an opening for a French artist at the home gallery of a prominent collector in Greenwich.  We will do a classic French menu, paired with amazing wines, (all white!), and our service staff that day will all be native to France.  This will be an unbelievable event!

Roger Williams University just contracted us to cater their tailgate before and after an away lacrosse game on Saturday.  We will have an exciting barbeque in the cold as we cheer The Hawks to victory!

 Every caterer says “now is the time to start planning your summer party.”  Now, its true!  Now IS the time to schedule your date.  Despite the gloom and doom in the financial papers lately people are booking parties and events more that ever before.  We noticed that over the Christmas school break many people that normally would have been away stayed home and had parties.  Small dinner parties, large cocktail parties…  Now really is the time…

Lastly, we were just contracted to cater a Kentucky Derby Party.  This is the day of the year in the sport of kings!  We are service a traditional Derby menu and we start testing Mint Juleps this week!

-Locations – we are seeing lots of non-traditional venues…  Museums, galleries, beaches, private homes.  We have been named exclusive caterer at the Downtowm Cabaret Theatre in Bridgeport and this is one of the most amazing places we have ever worked.  2 floors, cabaret style seating, a fantastic stage and light system.  The theatre has some sound capability, and the staff is very friendly and easy to work with.  The price is right and we have recently done 2 weddings and a Bar Mitzvah there – it is definitely worth looking into.

Speaking of lighting, we are seeing more attention being paid to lighting this year.  Candles can create an intimate atmosphere and in some situations can reduce the need for more expensive equipment.  With creative lighting you can make a large space smaller and a smaller space appear larger.  Using ambers and pinks will really make your skin look great in photos too.

 Another fun thing we are noticing is brides with 2 dresses.  The traditional formal wedding gown that gets ditched after the ceremony!  I have seen cocktail dresses, slim gowns, and a really hot red dress recently.

 Rental jewels…  You can rent a pair of Vera Wang designer diamond earings valued at 2600.00 for about $100.00! 

Documentary style wedding videography catches the whole day from begining to end…  It is on the expensive side but will give you a great look at the buildup to that fantastic moment! 

-By not trucking foods all over the world we are reducing emissions.

-Buying locally supports your economy – in fact, we are going to hire a driver this spring to pick up our produce and meats from local farms daily.  We can now tell you that the lettuce you are eating at 6:00pm was cut at 4:30am!

-Flavor, freshness, quality!  We can see the products that we serve as they grow!  We visit the farms, talk with the farmers, taste things as they develop…  One local farm is going to grow organic herbs just for us this year.

-Organic and Fresh is healthy!  No preservatives, no growth hormones, no pesticides.

Sustainable food sources are another hot item.  We are buying our fish from sustainable populations only.  As the world gets smaller and access to once exotic ingredients is easier we are able to be less dependant on stocks that have been overfished.  For example, once rare Baramundi from Australia and New Zealand is in our local grocery stores right now…

Next week we will post some ”green decor” tips. 

Some helpful green links:

When it comes to holiday catering and party planning, it’s easier than you think to do it on a budget! Christian was recently featured on Fox TV’s Good Day New York to talk about catering, event planning and design, and some really sharp ideas about entertaining on a budget without sacrificing quality.