First Catering Job was today

and it was great.I made chocolate cake, spring rolls, samosa, club sandwiches, fruit platters, vegetarian sausage rolls and caramel filled ballymaloe balloons.So while I was setting up this today my boss came in and said well you did well with this how about catering for 50 people next week.So of course I said sure lol the type of person coming to this is a little different as there will be CEO's and Chair persons etc so I am looking for idea's for this.

I was thinking to make some curry and onion crustini but I cant think what to top them with and well heck any ideas are welcomed and appreciated.

well done you!!!!!!!!!! can you tell us abit more about the ballymaloe balloons??? never heard of them.

Ditto re ballymaloe balloons

Oh sure they are nothing more than a cinnamon donut ball really but in the Rachel Allen cook book she calls them ballymaloe balloons I have just adapted it a little and used a piping bag to squirt some caramel in.

Off Google. Jamie Olliver. More there

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/15548907/ns/today-foodwine/

well done!

yum, they sound nice, I have found that people love to eat fresh and tasty food, what you made today sounds great. ceo's will be just as impressed with what you made today. not sure what you could put on your crustini perhaps just cream cheese and some yummy relish? salami, smoked salmon. Also some cheese platters. Old fashioned favourites (retro) foods are always popular, people laugh but a nice savoury egg (condensed milk dressing) is always one of the first things to go, also those pastries where you cut the pastry bake then jam and cream and ice with choc icing or raspberry icing.

Ive just remembered that I have 100 wonton skins I could do something with them also ???

everyone I know loves sushi.A heatlhier and tasty finger food option for those that want it especially with fresh salmon and avocado. Chicken satays, pinwheel sandwiches, cupcakes, fresh spring rolls

check out my ideas in ' I am getting married next weekend '..... a couple of posts ago.

Good luck

For our wedding we baked them in mini-muffin tins to make mini pastry cases, (just brush with oil before baking) then at the last minute stuffed them with Thai chicken salad (shredded chicken, mayo, sweet chili sauce, coriander etc) very yummy and a big hit

Where are you, north or south!
Upper part of the north island have GILMORES.
I know they're not in the south island, but there's a similar bulk foods outlet.
Go and register to get a card. Walk down the catering supplies aisle and be amazed.
But don't get carried away in the rest of the warehouse, they are often dearer than the supermarket.
You can buy brandy snaps, 50 to a box quite cheaply. Pipe whipped cream in, leaving a rosette at each end.
GILMORES have the piping bags in three different sizes, and the nozzles.
It takes a bit of practice to use the full piping bag with one hand, but soon it's a breeze.
They have a range of creme brulee, panacotta and no-bake egg custard by NESTLE' in a plastic tub.
It must be Nestle' the other brand in a packet is not so nice.
You can also buy pre-rolled pastry, puff, sweet short, and savour short.
Thaw, unroll and cut into managable squares, then refreeze. (I still do this although no longer catering)
Use fruit or baked beans tins open at both ends - different sizes for different products. By cutting both ends off, the air goes through and allows the pastry to come out easily.
Make in advance, blind baked sweet crust patty cases. Freeze if you want to. Make up the creme brulee according to the instructions, it's just cream and milk brought to the boil, and an amount of the powder added. (the quantities are on the container) Whisk for a minute, then pour into the prepared cases. It sets pretty quick. I use more powder than for the creme brulee recipe to be sure it sets. Pipe a rosette of whipped cream on top. They look and taste a million dollars, but don't cost much to make. There's a lot of powder in the tub, and it lasts well past the useby date.
Use muffin tins and line with puff pastry for mini quiches. I use shaved ham, about 1/3 slice per quiche, in the bottom, a few bits of finely diced onion, a small piece of tomato, and a generous pinch of grated cheese.
Mix 1 egg to half a cup of milk and beat lightly. 2 eggs should make a dozen quiches. Don't fill too generously or they will boil over the top.
bake at 180* till the egg is set, and pastry is browned, you're a cook, you'll know when.
Curried eggs, piped into the whites look tremendous. Doing it this way, you usually have some filling left over, use it with something else to make club sandwiches. or spread on crackers, and top with a slice of gherkin, or tomato, or.or. There are dozens of combinations.
Don't forget to display the curried eggs on a few leaves of lettuce, it makes them look more professional.
Cream cheese on crackers with a tiny bit of smoked salmon is delish.
Make sausage rolls from the bought ones, too fiddly to make yourself, cut them an inch long for bite size. Have a bowl of tomato sauce handy.
Bacon and egg tart made in the meat dish. This is where the pre-rolled pastry is good, you can cut it in one piece. Add some diced cold boiled potatoes to bulk it out. Don't forget the onion.
Meringues are easy to make if you use the piping bag, they look stupendous. Use the Edmonds recipe. Use the piping bag for the cream to join them together, it's really quick.
Upend them into eggs trays to make it even quicker to add cream to every one, then add fruit on top of the cream. Strawberries, blueberries, anything that is not too wet. Don't use peaches, the juice runs everywhere.
Lamingtons are easy, use a slab of suspermarket sponge. Freeze the sponge, make a jelly and let it partially set. have the coconut ready in a dish.
Cut a row off the sponge, cut into pieces and dip in the jelly and out again quite quickly, roll in coconut. When set, slash the top, and take the trusty piping bag with whipped cream to add a rosette of cream.
Have a ratio of more savour than sweet things. Allow about six pieces per person, unless it's for lunch, then allow at least ten pieces.
People always have eyes bigger than their stomachs.
Don't forget to have serviettes out. They are in Gilmores in all sorts of sizes

Well done! Sleep well on the laurels:) You deserve them. All the best for the future.

The old asparagus roll always goes really quick - make them a bit different by mixing cream cheese and grated cheese and spread on or make salmon and cream cheese rolls.

cut crusts off bread, spread with cream cheese and then place gherkins length wise on it roll and cut into bite sized bits, yummy and you get heaps.

Well done on your first effort. Hope you made a good profit. Meringues.people will be in business clothes. have you ever eaten a merigue without being a little sprayed with crumbs! Not the way to make an impression and likely to be avoided for that reason.I make a larger shell with a dip in the middle. Don't join but put cream and !part of a strawberry on the top, much easier to eat and attractive to look at.

ansypansy - what a lot of trouble to go to for a year old thread.

Ooops, I didn't even realise Duh.

You weren't alone, one day just seems to roll into the others, didn't take much notice of the dates lol

Doesn't matter. It was still an interesting thread.

Your suggestions were really interesting, in fact I am almost wondering if I could cater for 30 people myself - at the moment am getting quotes in from caterers as I am a coward.

But you made me think!

and it was great.I made chocolate cake, spring rolls, samosa, club sandwiches, fruit platters, vegetarian sausage rolls and caramel filled ballymaloe balloons.So while I was setting up this today my boss came in and said well you did well with this how about catering for 50 people next week.So of course I said sure lol the type of person coming to this is a little different as there will be CEO's and Chair persons etc so I am looking for idea's for this.

I was thinking to make some curry and onion crustini but I cant think what to top them with and well heck any ideas are welcomed and appreciated.

well done you! can you tell us abit more about the ballymaloe balloons! never heard of them.

yum, they sound nice, I have found that people love to eat fresh and tasty food, what you made today sounds great. ceo's will be just as impressed with what you made today. not sure what you could put on your crustini perhaps just cream cheese and some yummy relish! salami, smoked salmon. Also some cheese platters. Old fashioned favourites (retro) foods are always popular, people laugh but a nice savoury egg (condensed milk dressing) is always one of the first things to go, also those pastries where you cut the pastry bake then jam and cream and ice with choc icing or raspberry icing.

Ive just remembered that I have 100 wonton skins I could do something with them also !