Posted on Author Patricia Catering Categories Events

PC and C’s Summer Instant Replay

While we still have a few more weeks of summer, kids are going back to school and the season seems to be wrapping up.  As we look forward to Harvest season, we reflect on the fun we had this summer grilling at company picnics, delivering pre and post-game meals to the San Antonio Missions baseball team, and catering beautiful Omaha wedding receptions.

Popular Summer Menus in 2019

All American Picnic

Our All American Picnic was created to satisfy your grill out desires.

All Beef 1/3 Pound Burgers and Hot Dogs

Molasses Baked Beans, Country Potato Salad, Bakery Buns, Condiments, & Cookies

Passed and Station Hors D’ Oeuvres

Having a station of Hors D’ Oeuvres while some of the menu is passed, creates an inviting atmosphere. Ask your caterer which way each item is best served.

For a July engagement party we passed beef tenderloin tartines, bacon wrapped meatballs with bourbon glaze, bacon wrapped water chestnuts with teriyaki sauce and jumbo shrimp with cocktail sauce.

A fresh fruit platter, brie en croute with toasted almonds and apricot filling and an assortment of dessert bars were displayed at a station. The customer ordered a sushi boat to add to the fun!

Mayors Dinner

For this outside event we started the evening passing Radish and Goat Cheese Canapes and a Mocktail created for the event.

Dinner Menu:

Chicken Skewers with Pineapple, Peppers, Onions, and Teriyaki Glaze

Sirloin Steak Skewers with Mushrooms, Zucchini, Tomatoes and a Roasted Red Pepper sauce

Roasted Sweet and russet Potato Medley seasoned with Garlic and Fresh Rosemary

Layered Fresh Mozzarella, Tomatoes, and Basil Salad Drizzled with Pesto and garnished with Chopped Avocado and Bacon Crumbles

Christmas Salad topped with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Fresh Baked Rolls, Sliced Baguettes, and Butter

And for Dessert:

Snickerdoodle Dessert Bar with Caramel Sauce

 SA Missions

Our catering crew loves a new challenge. We learned about pre-game and post-game meal requirements by menu planning for a visiting baseball team.

Tailgate during CWS at the Slowdown

Guests enjoyed a beautiful tent, TV Screens with the CWS games, a summer breeze, sounds of baseball fans and tourists soaking in the downtown vibes while eating heavy Hors D’ Oeuvres.

The menu:

Seasonal Fresh Fruit Skewers

Mango Summer Salsa with Fresh Fried Tortilla Chips and Corn Chips

BBQ Sliders and Mini Burgers with relishes and condiments on the side

Potato Salad and Coleslaw cups

Antipasto Picks, Salad Wedge on a Stick and Fresh Vegetables and Herb Dip

Wedding Reception at Falconwood Park

After the Spring’s devastating floods, the Falconwood Park crew was able to recreate the atmosphere couples have been falling in love with over the years just in time for some Spring and Summer weddings.

The Menu this couples said “I do” to:

Roast Beef au jus with and Horseradish Sauce on the Side

Demiglace for beef gravy on the side

Country Fried Chicken with hot sauce on the side

Pecan Encrusted Tilapia with Citrus Glaze

Mashed Potato Bake topped with Crispy Fried Onion Straws

Roasted Vegetable Medley of Carrots, Zucchini, Green Beans

Quinoa Salad (seasoning spices similar to tabbouleh)-with tomatoes, cucumber, basil chiffonade, and topped with crumbled feta cheese

Autumn Salad of greens with sliced apples and pears, shredded Havarti cheese, sugared walnuts, and topped with citrus vinaigrette

Fresh Baked Rolls, Sliced Baguettes, and butter

Favorite House Made Drinks

Signature drinks add a personal touch to your bar or beverage station. Signature drinks can tie in a theme or use a guest of honor’s favorite liquor. Whether it is adding a House Made Margarita to a taco bar birthday party or a Pina Colada to a Caribbean themed wedding.

Watermelon Margaritas

Our House Made Margaritas with a summer twist of Watermelon

Raspberry Hard Lemonade

Looking to switch it up? Change your fruit of choice and don’t forget to add a fresh garnish!

Summer Sangria

House wines

Favorite juices – a great way to customize to your taste

A glug glug of Brandy

Cut up fresh Fruit

Stay tuned for our next blog where we will discuss our harvest of organic non GMO veggies and canning tips.

Posted on Author Patricia Catering Categories Catering Tips

Why Hire a Professional Full Service Catering Company for Your Next Event?

When you’re making plans for an event or special occasion, a lot of planning goes towards food and beverages.  At some point, you may ask yourself if you should hire a catering service to help out. It’s a good question. When you hire a catering service you’re getting more than just food and beverages. Let’s take a closer look at some of the ways a full service catering operation can help make your next event memorable.

Enough Food & Beverages for Everyone

One of your biggest fears for your event is likely running out of food and drinks. Doing the calculations for how much food to have prepared can be a daunting task. When you hire a professional catering company you can rest assured knowing that the right amount of food and beverages will be prepared to satisfy all your guests for the duration of your event or party.

Time

Preparing food and beverages for everyone at your event will take time. A lot of time. It starts with planning the menu, buying ingredients, getting help with food prep, presentation, serving, and cleaning up. It’s a lot of work. When you hire a catering company it frees your time to focus on your guests and are actually able to enjoy your event.

Details Matter

Caterers do a lot more than just bring food and beverages to events. A professional catering company brings all the little details together help create a lovely atmosphere and great experience for everyone. From the way the napkins are folded to little garnishes in your guest’s drinks, it’s these little details that can turn an average event into an unforgettable one.

A Treat for Your Guest

When you hire a full service professional catering company you’re hiring their entire staff. This means you’ll have a fully staffed professional crew ready at all times. There will be people there to prepare and serve the food and beverages, make sure dirty dishes are cleaned up, and guests feel pampered and happy.

Hire a Professional Full Service Caterer for Your Next Event

Patricia Catering and Cocktails exists to make events and parties memorable and enjoyable for the host and the guests. If you’re planning a party or event and want to enjoy yourself rather than worry about the keeping guests fed and drinks filled, consider hiring a professional catering company.

Posted on Author Patricia Catering Categories News

Our Personal Zero-Waste Transition

 

When Patricia Catering and Cocktails decided to participate in the Zero-Waste initiative, we knew it was important to embrace it at the office and at home. Like any major habit shift, the beginning was not easy. We had lots of questions about what goes where and how to best set up our office and homes to efficiently implement Zero-Waste into our lives. Although it’s been a challenge at times, it’s been a rewarding process, and keeps getting easier the more we learn.

How We’ve Changed

We didn’t become Zero-Waste overnight, but the transition was quicker than we imagined. Many little changes have helped us get closer to our goal. The key is to focus on one change at a time.  One of the first and easiest changes we made was bringing our own water bottles instead of using single-use plastics. Our head chef Beau started an herb garden using Hillside Solutions compost, instead of only buying from vendors. You can find most of our team members at local farmer’s markets on the weekend sourcing fresh local produce and other items.

Patricia (Founder & Owner)

Patricia is now buying compost from Hillside Solutions (our waste removal partner) bringing the cycle full circle. She uses the compost in her personal and company garden to grow farm to table herbs and vegetables. At home, she has incorporated recycling and composting and uses sustainable products instead of single-use plastics.

Beau (Head Chef)

Beau has started using Hillside Solutions compost to grow fresh non-GMO herbs to use in his cuisine. He also uses the compost at home in his personal garden. Beau has also incorporated the sustainable practice of seed collecting from the herbs he grows to plant out the next rotation – a completely self-contained system.

Sarah (Administrative & Marketing)

Sarah has incorporated recycling and composting at home. Instead of just throwing stuff away, she tries to think of ways to repurpose items and recycles what can’t be repurposed. In addition, Sarah has committed herself to using more sustainable products instead of single-use plastics.

Bree (Lead Server)

Bree has incorporated recycling at home. She bought recycling cans and labeled them to make it easy for her family to know where to put each item.

Emma (Lead Server)

Emma has become more conscious of what is trash and what is recyclable. She is educating and encouraging her family to pay more attention as well.

Chris (Dishwasher)

Chris lives in an apartment complex that doesn’t offer recycling and compost. But that hasn’t stopped him. He still separates his trash and brings his recyclables and compost to our facility.

Want to Join the Zero-Waste Initiative?

Incorporating Zero-Waste into our personal lives has been an empowering experience. We feel like we’re actively participating in helping make the world a better place. One person can’t change the world as a whole, but when you change your personal world, you’re making an impact.

We look forward to keeping you posted with our Zero-Waste journey, and hope to see you at your next event!

Posted on Author Patricia Catering Categories News

Patricia Catering and Cocktails is Now Zero Waste

We’re excited to announce that Patricia Catering and Cocktails is the area’s only Zero Waste caterer!  We are now focused on reusing, recycling and reducing our waste in all aspects of our operation. We have phased out all Styrofoam, and now use 100% compostable plates, cups and napkins. Our kitchen and office are 100% zero waste, and we now offer sustainable products and zero waste events for your next company event or Omaha wedding.

What is Zero Waste?

The simple answer is zero waste aims to send nothing to the landfill. We reuse as much as we can, send recyclables to get recycled, and compost the rest.

The more in-depth answer is that zero waste is about redefining the system. Currently, the system the majority of people are participating in is linear. We take resources from the Earth and then dump them in a giant hole in the ground.   The goal of zero waste is to move to a circular system where whatever extras we have the Earth is able to absorb or compost them naturally.

How do We Do It?

We’ve partnered with Hillside Solutions, an organization that was created to connect schools, apartments communities, and businesses with landfill, recycling, and compostable hauling services. Their focus is diverting materials from the landfill, providing people with sustainable alternatives, and enabling and inspiring the community to live a zero waste lifestyle. Hillside solutions partners with Gretna Sanitation and Soil Dynamics to bring zero waste to Omaha.

The Problem with Landfills

The average American is sending 4.4lbs of trash to the landfill every day. None of the materials get sorted out, and some of it composts, and a lot of it doesn’t. Because everything is just thrown together, landfills have become toxic. They’re responsible for 20% of the methane emissions in the U.S. and aren’t adequately aerated for optimal decomposition of natural materials. Toxins from cleaners, batteries, small electronics, and other items leach into the soil and run off into the ocean and groundwater. Plastics, in particular, are causing problems in our oceans. Plastic doesn’t biodegrade – it just gets smaller.

Why Recycling can’t Solve the Problem

Recycling is great, but it can’t be the only solution. There’s simply too much to process. And processing takes energy! Only 9% of plastic gets recycled. Most of our recycling isn’t even processed in the U.S. It’s processed in China. The three R’s of sustainability are: “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” The last line of defense is recycling, and in the future, it will likely be dedicated to the recycling of technology components.

What Does this Mean for Patricia Catering and Cocktails Clients?

This means that your next event can be a zero waste event.  If your event requires hot foods, we use stainless steel pans and containers that will be washed and reused rather than disposable aluminum.

Recyclable Items

  • All plastics
  • Cardboard
  • Tin cans
  • Paper
  • Styrofoam

Compostable Products

  • 9 oz. and 12 oz. cups
  • Palm leaf constructed plates
  • Cornstalk and sugar cane constructed bowls
  • Napkins
  • All food scraps

Do You Want Your Next Event to be Zero Waste?

If you’re interested in learning more about zero waste and making your event zero waste, please call us. Once we learn more about your event, we can design a plan to ensure it’s zero waste, and still meet all of your expectations for an unforgettable event, whether it’s a beautiful Omaha wedding or a celebration event at your company.

Posted on Author Patricia Catering Categories Cocktail Omaha Events, Events, News

Pop Up Event with Chips & Salsa Bar!

Patricia Catering & Cocktails was pleased to serve another Pop Up Happy Hour event last night. This event was hosted by Heartland Family Service in conjunction with the annual Omaha Gives event. The Happy Hour was held at the SAC Federal Credit Union atrium on Hwy. 370 and 72nd Street.

There were four different wines by the glass to choose from and a variety of domestic and import beers, too. Mixed drinks with Call and Premium liquors were available and a Specialty Drink – a Mai Tai – was only $5 and it was amazing!

The biggest hit, however, was a build-your-own Chips and Salsa Bar with house-made flour and corn chips, a hot queso dip, a pineapple and fresh fruit salsa, traditional salsa, fresh house-made Guacamole and Pico de Gallo, served with fresh-cut limes and Jalapenos.  We received many compliments on the Hawaiian Pineapple Salsa that was served.  Muy Bueno!

If you are planning a summer event of any kind, we’d love to help you make it a success.  We highly recommend you try this Chips and Salsa Bar idea, as it was a huge hit with our event attendees last night!

Our  kitchen staff is the best at making the food for your event just what you envisioned, and our servers are eager to please.  We specialize in a number of Bar formats and will tailor one of them to meet YOUR needs.  Specialty drinks are a favorite with us, so keep us in mind for your next event!

Besides, who can resist warm chips and all those fresh goodies on a warm summer evening (by the pool, perhaps?)?!!  Did someone say, “Margarita – with salt!”?

Posted on Author Patricia Catering Categories News

What Makes PC&C Special

I have worked off and on for PC&C for many years and wanted to say a little about what makes this caterer so special.  First, the service is impeccable!  Ask a former customer – they all rave about the service.  And that doesn’t come by chance.  Patricia herself emphasizes that we are here to make the customer happy!  The amount of time put into planning and attention to detail is unbelievable!

Second of all, the food is always ample and delish!  Patricia’s comes up with some of the most wonderful dishes and they are always freshly-made and full of flavor.  As an example, the Antipasto skewers use fresh cherry tomatoes, small basil leaves (generally grown on site), and fresh Mozzarella balls – all on a small skewer and topped with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and seasonings – what could be fresher or tastier?

Last of all, this caterer is the most flexible!  We do breakfasts, appetizer bars, Nacho bars, chicken and waffles brunch … you name it!  Need an idea?  Just call and talk to one of the friendly and helpful staff.  Have an idea?  Give them a call and be surprised at what they can do!  — Sharon

Posted on Author Patricia Catering Categories Notes from the Chef

Season your Spring!

All of us at Patricia Catering and Cocktails love Spring. It means good weather is coming, trees are budding, and gardeners are getting their indoor gardens ready for the last frost to pass. When Spring comes we love to get our hands dirty and start our herbs in fresh potting soil with organic non GMO seeds. Fresh herbs are key ingredients in our mouth watering foods, appetizers, and refreshing drinks. The sweet basil we grow is used in our signature Layered Herb Cheese and Pesto Torte. Fresh herbs can make a dish go from good to spectacular!

Some herbs that we start indoors include Summer Savory, Marjoram, Cilantro, Italian Parsley, Curly Parsley, and lemon grass. There are even edible flowers like Marigolds in out plant pots that we use to garnish our display! Our perennial plants that reseed themselves and come back every year are Mint, Dill, and Thyme.

Some advice from our Sous Chef is, “Don’t over water your plants and keep pinching back blossoms to encourage a bigger harvest.” And a few words from our very own Patricia, “My best advice is to experiment with new flavors to enhance your own dishes.” Wise words Patricia, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves!

Check out our next blog for a recipe using our very own herbs!

Posted on Author Patricia Catering Categories Notes from the Chef

Your Very Own Vinaigrette!

When talking with our fellow peers, most of them are surprised that you can make your own salad dressing and that it doesn’t have to come from a store bought bottle. Vinaigrette is the most common dressing and starts with these two items as a base: Oil and Vinegar. If your new in a kitchen, the word emulsify can seem a little too scientific. Have no fear! All it means is to bring two ingredients together that normally wouldn’t mix. When whisking the the oil into the vinegar causes them to emulsify. When done gradually, they will combine what doesn’t mix. In an emulsified dressing the oil and vinegar doesn’t separate after it has been mixed.

You can use any vinegar, though White Vinegar and Balsamic Vinegar are most commonly used in kitchens. For your oil; a simple vegetable oil will have less flavor and color, olive oil has more flavor and a slightly darker color, extra virgin olive oil-which is a higher quality oil-has a more bold flavor and darker color.

Tools you will need is a bowl, whisk, and any additional herbs/seasonings you wish to add. Generally the ratio for this dressing is 3:1 oil to vinegar, but feel free to adjust to your tastes.
Start with your vinegar in a bowl, gradually add the oil in very small amounts, and whisk. For those of you that are more advanced, whisk while pouring a thin stream of oil into your vinegar. The vinaigrette should thicken as you gradually add the oil. Then feel free to add fresh herbs, garlic, and other seasonings.

Count it as a success and show off your new skill as you present them with a dressing that’s fresh and homemade!

Cheers! Anna and the Crew at Patricia Catering and Cocktails

Posted on Author Patricia Catering Categories News

Valentines Day Cocktails

With all the pressure of Valentines day it’s important to remember to spend quality time with your significant other. Why not take some time to relax at home with a specialty drink made by your own hands? Here are a few simple drink recipes for some one-on-one time for that special someone.

Soft Love 

3/4 oz. Creme de banana

3/4 oz Cherry Vodka

3/4 oz Heavy Whipping Cream

1 Tsp. Grenadine

Fill a shaker half way with ice and pour in all ingredients. Shake well and strain into a cordial glass. The berry-banana flavor is tied together with the whipping cream, though this drink is on the sweeter side, it pairs well with salty treats and snacks.

Blushing Lady

1 Oz Pama Pomegranate Liqueur

2 Oz. Vodka

1 Oz Pink Grapefruit Juice

Fill shaker with Ice and add all ingredients. Shake well and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a lemon twist. This citrusy drink packs a punch, completed with a sweet/sour note from the pink grapefruit juice.

Share a picture of your valentines day drinks on our Facebook page, we would love to see your creations!

Cheers! Anna and the Crew at Patricia Catering and Cocktails

Photos and recipes from mixthatdrink.com and liquor.com