Will the cupcake survive this trend?  Will “cake pop” stores start popping up all over the midwest?   Will there be lollipop wars?  I doubt it, but I think they will be around for a while.

I roasted a whole, organic, free-range chicken and pulled all the meat from the bone (I then started to prepared chicken stock with the bones, no canned stock for us, thank you!).

For the tamarind barbeque sauce, I mixed tamarind paste with honey, chile garlic paste, cilantro, garlic, hoisin, ginger and chives.  Turned out sweet and tangy all at once.

The thai basil puree is pretty simple, basil, garlic, scallion and parsley pureed with a little canola, lime zest and salt.

 An easy way to serve this appetizer, would be to fry wontons, top it with the chicken,drizzle with a little basil puree and top it with either a cilantro sprig or fresh chives.

One of the best things about being a caterer is playing with our food!  We are going to be experimenting this week with cake “lollipops”.   We are catering an event for Children’s Mercy Hospital, and thought they would be whimsical and cheery.  We’ll keep you posted.

We worked with the bride to keep the theme of her wedding flowing… autumn, elegant, warm and of course, beautiful.   We used copper, wrought iron and chunky wood platters, chocolate brown, ivory and burnt orange linen.  Gorgeous pumpkins of all sizes and colors (the groom’s family grew all of the pumpkins) were abound. The larger pumpkins were filled with flowers.

The bride and groom thought candied apples, wrapped in cellophane and ribbon, would be a fun surprise for the guests.  We agreed!   So, we melted dark chocolate, white chocolate, caramels and washed and dried our Granny Smith, Jonathon and Gala apples.  We dipped, swirled, drizzled, rolled and sprinkled.  They turned out beautifully!   It was so much fun, I volunteered to dip apples with Brady and Wyatt’s (my 4 and 5 year old boys) preschool.  This will either be a lot of fun, or some serious hair pulling.  I will help them dip the apples in chocolate, and sprinkle with tiny marshmallow, rainbow sprinkles or cookie crumbs.  I bet they go for all three!

Mexican-Spiced Almonds, Peanuts, and Pumpkin Seeds

4 1/2 ounces sliced almonds

3 ounces roasted unsalted shelled peanuts

1 ounce raw pumpkin seeds

Spice Mix:

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Glaze:

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoons light brown sugar

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1.  Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.  LIne rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread almonds in even layer.  Toast 4 minutes, rotate pan; add peanuts and pumpkin seeds, spreading in even layer.  Continue to roast until fragrant and color deepens slightly, about 4 minutes longer.   Transfer cookie sheet with nuts to wire rack.

2.  For the spice mix:  While nuts and seeds are toasting, stir together sugar, salt, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, cayenne, and garlic powder in medium bowl; set aside.

3.  For the glaze:  Bring water, brown sugar, and butter to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking constantly.  Stir in toasted nuts and seeds and cook, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, until nuts are shiny and almost all liquid has evaporated, about 1 1/2 minutes.

4.  Transfer glazed nuts to bowl with spice mix; toss well to coat.  Return glazed and spiced nuts to parchment-lined cookie sheet to cool (can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days).

Don’t you just love fall in Kansas City? You know it is here that morning you wake up and the sound of the breeze through the trees is crisp and almost musical. There is that subtle excitement of pulling out the boots and sweaters and putting away the shorts and flip flops. We also feel the excitement here in the kitchen. We can put away the summer menus until next year and pull out our fall menus. Gazpacho soup shooters are replaced with Roasted Butternut Squash soup shooters.

This last weekend we had a wedding reception at the Arts Incubator and our Bride and Groom were not only excited about working closely with us to customize their menu to reflect their personalities, but were eager to challenge us to prepare their menu with only local product. We love a challenge!

We set out to find a farmer who could supply us with the meat we needed. We needed duck for their Sweet Potato Crisp with Local Maple Glazed Duck and Pomegranate Syrup. We needed pork for their Pulled Pork Sandwiches (the pork was braised in Apple Cider scented with cinnamon and caramelized onions). And we needed beef for their Gnocchi with Braised Short Rib Ragout with Organic Tomatoes, Pancetta, and Caramelized Onions.

So we packed the crew up for a field trip and headed out to the Bryant Family Farms in Leavenworth County. What a treat for everyone. There are goats and chickens everywhere. They pride themselves on raising their cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys free of hormones and antibiotics. They are grass fed and pasture raised. You can also purchase goat’s milk on the farm. We encourage everyone to check out Bryant Family Farms!

The party was fantastic.  We were stopped frequently to hear how fabulous the food was.  This is the kind of event that makes us shine.  We shared in the same “buy local” philosophy that our client believed.  They challenged us with the menu and we believe we were able to customize a one of a kind food experience that played a major part in a very successful party.

Bryant Family Farm pulled pork sandwiches with a fig compote.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Tarlets with Port Soaked Figs

Warm Spicy Tomato dip Topped with Goat Cheese and served with Garlic Crostini

Chicken coop at Bryant Family Farm

Roberts' family at the farm.