Easy Menus For Planning The Perfect Dinner Party
Four top catering companies giving their best tips for planning your party menu
Photo courtesy of Three Tomatoes Catering | Grilled trout fish with lime, fried potato and fresh salad and vegetables on board.
Your daughter is getting married, or family members who are spread from coast to coast are finally getting together for a reunion. This time of year also is filled with birthdays, graduations and fundraisers. No matter the celebration, food enhances any event, creating memories and honoring traditions.To ensure your event will be stress-free, hire a caterer. Most provide set menus, which can make food choices easier, but they also are eager to customize selections. The food will be delicious and beautifully displayed, the service excellent, and you’ll be able to relax and enjoy the party while impressing your guests.
The following is a small sampling of menu ideas to whet your appetite.
Photo courtesy of Three Tomatoes Catering | Fish dish – roasted dorada with vegetables on wooden table
THREE TOMATOES CATERING
Clients love the ease of viewing and selecting menu items, and placing an order directly from the website, says Three Tomatoes Catering’s CEO and owner, Riccardo Mazzeo. “Our world is going more and more toward the direction of empowering clients to be in control with easy, intuitive technology without taking away customer care.”
Clients choose entrees, a salad and several side dishes for a set price per person from a variety of menus, including a build-your-own. “You know immediately your options and price for a menu,” he says.
A sample menu from Three Tomatoes Catering
Hors d’oeuvres
Coconut chicken skewers with mango habañero sauce
Bacon-wrapped Medjool dates stuffed with mascarpone served with pomegranate balsamic
Mediterranean board with hummus, olive tapenade, baba ghanoush, roasted peppers and zucchini, stuffed grape leaves, marinated olives and artichokes served with rice crackers and pita chips
Seasonal fruit garnished with mint
Entrées
Colorado bison short ribs, braised in red wine and au jus
Crispy Colorado trout, seared in butter and served with a white-wine lemon caper sauce
Salad
Spinach, apple and walnut salad with feta cheese, tossed in a sherry vinaigrette
Sides
Roasted potatoes tossed with rosemary, parsley, thyme and salt
Seasonal grilled vegetables
Dessert
Petite pastries, baklava, cookies, brownies, lemon bars and assorted dessert shots
THREE TOMATOES CATERING
303-900-7156
255 Yuma St., Denver 80223
Photo courtesy of Savory Cuisines
SAVORY CUISINES
“People are more adventurous with food these days,” says Bob Sargent, chef/founder of Savory Cuisines who opened the company 21 years ago. “We get a lot of requests where people come from different regions of the country, different countries or different cultures and they ask me to mash up” the menu.
He says the real joy for the client, and for him, comes from being able to provide any food requested, even matching favorite restaurant taste profiles. At a recent wedding event, where the groom’s family was from Mexico and the bride’s was from Texas, Sargent was asked to provide two buffets: an extensive taco menu and another with barbeque. In order for each to enjoy the other’s culture, the bride’s family was instructed to choose from the taco buffet first, while the groom’s family sampled the barbeque first. “[The couple] wanted guests to enjoy the other person’s culture through the food,” he says.
A sample menu from Savory Cuisines
Salad
Apple walnut salad with Granny Smith apples, greens, walnuts, blue cheese and balsamic vinaigrette
Entrées
Savory prime rib with cabernet au jus and a horseradish cream sauce
Herb-seared chicken medallions with a lemon gastrique streak
Sides
Roasted tri-colored fingerling potatoes Grilled asparagus and summer squash
SAVORY CUISINES
303-440-1016
5741 Arapahoe Ave. #1A Boulder 80303
Photo courtesy of Catering by Design
CATERING BY DESIGN
Catering by Design “offers a blend of artistic presentation, exceptional flavors and a meticulous attention to detail, ensuring each event is both visually stunning and gastronomically delightful,” says CEO Syd Sexton. The company is committed to sustainability and the use of locally sourced ingredients for menus that reflect the essence of an occasion and the individual tastes of clients.
A sample menu from Catering by Design
Hors d’oeuvres
Roasted yellow beet cubes with passion fruit caviar and lemon crème fraiche
Parmesan-crusted asparagus with white anchovy aioli
Entrées
Grilled ruby red trout with sage orange honey glaze
Roasted tenderloin with cilantro lemon gremolata
Salad
Quinoa and Palisade peach tabouleh salad
Sides
Fennel and gruyere potato gratin with onion soubise and truffled celery root straws
Polenta cake with roasted romesco, shaved asparagus, fennel, lemon and fresh herbs
Dessert
Marshmallow cream ice cream with an array of toppings
Toasted s’more truffle pops
Grilled goat cheese in a corn husk with grilled corn, fresno peppers, edible flower and honey comb
Spicy margherita pizza with roasted garlic olive oil, chili roast tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil
CATERING BY DESIGN
303-781-5335
11095 E. 45th Ave., Denver 80239
Photo coutesy of Epicurian | Bacon & Jalapeno Deviled Egg
EPICUREAN CATERING
Epicurean Catering founder Larry DiPasquale says its menus often reflect European fare, but client preferences are paramount. The 43-year-old company has recently catered many 60th or 70th birthday parties and anniversary events. “We’ve been fortunate to be around so long that we’ve done some anniversary parties for people that we did their weddings 30 years ago. I say, ‘People are coming back for seconds.’”
While beef entrees are popular, clients also ask for Asian cuisine—especially sushi. “We always utilize fresh vegetables, delicious proteins, and some tasty morsels for the kiddos.”
A sample menu from Epicurean Catering
Hors d’oeuvres
Strawberry meringue tarte with balsamic strawberries
Hard-boiled deviled egg halves with applewood smoked bacon, topped with candied jalapenos
Salad
Superfood salad with kale, red and green cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli slaw, radicchio, toasted pepitas, dried cranberries, and Meyer lemon poppyseed vinaigrette
Entrées
Bourbon brown sugar cedar-plank salmon
Kobe beef sliders with cheddar cheese and caramelized onions
Dessert
S’mores
Strawberry dessert shooters
EPICUREAN CATERING
303-770-8077
6800 S. Xanthia St., Centennial 80112
Cynthia Pasquale is a Denver writer.
