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LAKE OSWEGO REVIEW
DECEMBER 2013
6
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Story by
Barb Randall
|
Photography by
Vern Uyetake
It’s party time!
T
he most festive time of the
year is beginning. To help
you make the most of the
short party season reporter
Barb Randall asked cater-
ing experts Vicky Davies
from Gourmet Production and Rhonda
Johnson from Celebrate Catering to share
some tips for hosting a successful holiday
party. What follows are their answers to
Randall’s questions on how to make your
party a success, but if you are still nervous,
just turn the reins over to the pros. Their
contact information is at the bottom of the
article.
Barb Randall:
We have a pretty short
party season this year – there are three
weekends after Thanksgiving and Hanu-
kah until Christmas. How can we make
sure our party stands out as most memo-
rable above all others?
Vicky Davies, Gourmet Productions:
Switch it up a bit – make it a brunch, tea
or a luncheon. People get so harried they
just want a chance to catch up and visit
and relax. Plan a gift-gifting party where
guests bring something for a giving tree or
book donations to a local organization.
Rhonda Johnson, Celebrate Cater-
ing:
Have fun! Remember why you are
having a party – to be with people you
like. Think of what you would like at a
party and plan around that. Is it a theme
(casino night), is it a specific menu (Ital-
ian, Chinese), is it an event (sports, movie).
Whatever it is, work to plan everything
around that. Celebrate works closely with
each client to create the menu and atmo-
sphere the client desires for their event.
BR:
I know you’ve catered hundreds,
perhaps thousands of events in your ca-
reer. Can you think of three things that
always bring about a successful event?
VD:
1) Good food, 2) a good play list
and 3) a good mix of guests. Invite a few
“mystery” guests, people who have never
met.
RJ:
Plan ahead. Decide what you want
the feel to be, casual appetizers or formal
sit-down and carry that feel throughout
the party. Make sure the food all “fits
together;” if it is finger food-don’t have a
salad, if it is an Italian theme-don’t have
chips and salsa. Make it easy and fun for
your guests and their senses; sight, smell,
and taste.
Be prepared. Know how much food
and beverage you need, how many guests,
backup plans for weather, parking, etc. Be
flexible to handle the unexpected when
it happens. I had a party once where we
lost all power. We lit more candles, made
coffee in a press and finished the dinner
and dessert on a BBQ. It ended up being a
great party because of the way it was all
handled, no stress, no panic, just a change
of plan.
BR:
Is there any one thing that will
cause a party to bomb?
VD:
Too few guests in too big a space.
RJ:
Stress by the host/hostess. Plan
ahead and do as little as possible at your
party. Hire staff to do anything that will
take you away from your guests.
BR:
Ambiance created by music, light-
ing and décor is up to the host to set, but
what tricks can you offer that make buf-
fets/ party food look super appealing?
VD:
A quick word about ambiance: set
your thermostat a few degrees lower when
you have a crowd. The appeal of food
(beyond tasting good) is color, shape and
texture as well as layout. Choose items
of different shapes and flavor textures.
Place them on a variety of platter shapes
and dish patterns. Modern and clear is big
right now which is ideal for food.
RJ:
Some very simple ideas are to use
colors on your table. Use black or white
linen as your base and then ‘pool’ or drape
a contrasting color over that before setting
your buffet. Use risers so your food is dis-
played at different levels. Just like driving
down a straight highway can put us to
sleep - twists and turns keep us alert. A
flat buffet table bores us while color and
multiple levels keeps our eyes moving
around and is appealing.
BR:
What type of holiday party do
you prefer and why?
VD:
A dinner party of six guests max.
I like to be able to chat with all my guests
and have them feel connected. We did the
Feast of the Seven Fishes one year and it
was such a fun meal. Seven courses were
made using seven different fishes.
RJ:
Friends and family gathered in the
kitchen helping prepare food and then
hours spent eating, talking and laughing.
This gets everyone involved and in the
spirit of the party. Of course, throw in a
few good bottles of wine to accompany
the great food you have.
BR:
What are some special combina-
tions of foods and beverages and what is
your all-time favorite holiday appetizer?
VD:
I am a big time fan of crab cakes.
They can be made in many sizes from tiny
to main course. They go well with cham-
pagne, which is my go-to holiday beverage.
RJ:
I love chocolate mousse cups and
lemon tarts for the holiday. They look
great and taste even better. However, my
favorite holiday appetizer is crab cakes.
My daughter, Jessica Johnson, recently
modified my crab cake recipe and added a
little extra ‘zip’ to the recipe. She gave me
permission to share her version which is
found at lifeasastrawberry.com
BR:
How about a non-alcoholic special
cocktail or punch?
VD:
I’m about to reveal my top secret
to making punch. I like this one, a varia-
Local caterers offer tips on making the season merry
Gourmet Productions owner Vicky Davies, left, Bobby Franklin, store manager and server Olivia Richie pre-
pare to dig into the crab cakes.
Continued on Page 7 >>
Gourment Productions
Crab Cakes
Crab cakes evidently take top billing as the appetizer of the season, as both
Davies and Johnson chose to share their crab cake recipes for you to try.
Make both recipes and see which you prefer.
Gourmet Productions is located at 39 SW B Ave. in downtown Lake Os-
wego. The website is gopro-lo.com and phone number is 503-697-7355.
Celebrate Catering is located at 15555 SW Bangy Road in Lake Oswego.
The website is celebratecateringpdx.com and phone number is 503-603-4516.
Gourmet Productions Crab Cakes
2 pounds Dungeness crab meat
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 egg yolks
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chives, chopped
1 tablespoon minced orange zest
1 ¼ cup white bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl. Form 6-8 equal sized cakes. Coat
frying pan with ¼ inch of rice bran oil or grapeseed oil. Once oil is hot, pan
fry over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes per side. Serve with your favorite
aioli.
Celebrate Catering staff members Nicole Jorgensen,
left, and Jennifer Hormann are ready to help host
your event.
Caprese Crostini from Celebrate Catering.
