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Brett Willard: Posted on Wednesday, March 02, 2011 9:02 PM
As a Seattle caterer, one of my jobs is to see to it that our clients have new choices all of the time. Some of our clients have gone through our entire menu with either lunches or special events and they rely on me to work with our Chef and suggest menu options. Recently the price of swordfish has been low enough that we can suggest it as an alternative to salmon. I suggested our Chef and asked him how he would suggest preparing it. The suggestion he made tuned out to be a big winner with our client and these are the kind of things I like to share. Chef Manolo suggested a grilled swordfish with a tropical salsa. It was simple, light and fantastic. All he did was brush the swordfish steaks with corn oil and season it with salt and pepper before grilling it four minutes on each side. He served it over a lemon leek risotto with asparagus spears. The real flavor came via the tropical salsa. He used peeled grapefruit, lime, lemon and orange sections with onions, peppers, cilantro and mint sprigs as a garnish. The plate was colorful, it had a summery scent and was full of flavor, but very light. I felt very proud to serve it and will promote it more in our catering business. The next time you are looking for a super simple alternative to salmon, try swordfish. At $9 to $13 per pound, you can't beat it. |
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Brett Willard: Posted on Thursday, January 20, 2011 3:27 PM
 I love healthy catering clients. I am so glad that we as a company are getting more calls for healthy and energy filled foods. It makes me so happy because I know the health concious client is going to continue to be enthused about what we offer. Today, we made the best and I mean best chicken chili for one our client's lunches tomorrow. When we are catering a client lunch with chicken chili, it is much better to cook and cool for a day or even two days. We do that with our pasta sauces and lentil soups too. I am not a nutritionist or a vegan or vegetarian. I personally demand a lot from my body in the form of running and I love the energy foods. The Chicken Chili that Manolo made for us today taste great, it isn't overly filling and it is full of beans and lean protein. It is nothing like the chili (which I also love) made with ground beef. There is almost no hint of grease or oil and I know the fat content is super low. I am putting his recipe down below on this blog because I hope you will try it. It is going to carry you through your long distance run or your day of skiing. I am going to use it to get my kids to stop those after school snacks that wind up being empty calories. Bon appetite His source for this recipe is Barefoot Contessa and his momma. Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
4 cups chopped yellow onion (2-3 onions)
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 bell peppers (I used 1 red, 1 orange and 1 yellow)
1 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ tsp. oregano
1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, finely diced
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 quart whole peeled tomatoes in puree, not drained
2 pints of black, pinto and kidney beans, drained and rinsed Directions: Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Sauté the onions 10-15 minutes, or until tender and translucent. Add the garlic to the pot and sauté just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Mix in the chopped bell peppers, chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, cayenne, oregano, chipotle, and kosher salt. Cook 5 more minutes. Place the canned tomatoes in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse briefly so the tomatoes are cut to large chunks. Add the tomatoes with the puree to the pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Stir in the shredded chicken and the beans, and allow to simmer for an hour. |
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Brett Willard: Posted on Wednesday, January 19, 2011 2:21 PM
Here is what we did recently that I thought was really cool because of the way that it worked out. We had an event that was designed to raise money for a local church. Our main involvement is the dinner. We wanted to deliver a great dinner without breaking their bank. Our very creative chef suggested that we do bone in loin of pork with a blackberry cabernet coulis. I am always nervous about serving loin of pork because it can dry out or cool off on the guest plate and seem very dry. Today's pork went perfectly. First of all, credit has to be given to Chef Manolo for his delicious Coulis. He used blackberries and Cabernet and it was delicious and visually appealing. It also added a natural sweetness to the loin of pork which gave us great review. I have put the recipe below. Whenever we do a big event like this, I do a catering trick that tells me what my feedback will be early. I watch the plates that come in when the servers are bussing the tables. I was happy to see that almost no pork came back un-eaten on the plates. That is a big clue for my feedback. Indeed, the feedback came in very good for taste, appearance and flavor. I am also pleased for the church because they did the event on a very tight budget. When we get good feedback on the food, I know they will be back with us next year so I am very happy. Blackberry Cabernet Coulis Ingredients - 1 cup cabernet wine
- 2 1/2 cups blackberries
- 2 tablespoons shallots
- 2 tablespoons ginger
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon
Directions: 1 Blender- combine wine and berries until puréed. Rub berry mixture through a fine strainer into a 2-quart pan. Add shallots, ginger, and sugar. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat while stirring . It will reduce to 1 cup. Turn off heat and stir in butter and more sugar to taste. |
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Brett Willard: Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 10:43 AM
 This is what we are serving today and it is mega good for us and our clients. I am glad to see them moving toward healthier food. It is still delicious and it keep them feeling good about us and food. Look at these ingredients: - 1 tablespoon olive oil - 1 tablespoon butter or margarine - 10 ounces frozen edamame - shelled, approximately 1 1/2 cups - 1/2 sweet onion - chopped - 1 red bell pepper - chopped - 15 1/4 ounces (1 cup) corn - drained or 1 ear of fresh sweet corn cut off the cob - 1 stalk celery - diced - 1 leek - sliced thin - 1 clove garlic - chopped - 1 tablespoon fresh oregano - chopped - 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper - more or less to taste - 1 fresh tomato - dicedsalt and pepper to taste This is a fantastic lunch salad that will last me the whole day and a 6 mile run. At the end of this meal, I won't feel guilty, I will only feel full of energy. |
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Brett Willard: Posted on Saturday, January 15, 2011 1:07 PM
How can it be that every diet that I look at has fat free refried beans on it. Once fried should be bad enough. Fried once and then fried again must be the equivelent of having your arteries spray coated with fat and colesterol. I am mistified only because you can eat a lot of them and still lose weight and maintain a high energy level. Here is the truth. The fact is that refried beans are only fried once. The confusion comes in the translation. Frijoles refritos is the term in espanol. It actually translates to "WELL FRIED BEANS" and somehow we have stated it as refried. They are only fried one time. Eat all of the super high fiber, healthy fat free frijoles refritos that you can. They are great for energy and they are filling. They are a magical fruit. |
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