Looking out over our snow covered landscape brings back memories & visits to the charming landscape of Iceland. It’s such a special place, unlike any other food exploration trips we’ve taken.

I can picture the geothermal pools shooting up wafts of steam, surrounded by glacial ice and snow formations, the sturdy Icelandic ponies and the rugged culture of the locals who live life to the fullest. Exploring the glaciers in the middle of the winter in tricked out SUV’s & pick-up trucks with hideously oversized tires is a hoot, to say the least and a must during this time of the year. Snowmobiling in Iceland is unlike any NH trail, trust me.

Our good friend, Ann Starbird, goat farmer, Chevre maker extraordinaire is currently on a working sabbatical trip to Iceland and studying with an Icelandic goat cheese maker. Ann has made trek’s to Ireland and France in recent years to broaden her repertoire of goat making experiences and no doubt is being reflected in the wonderful cheese that she produces in neighboring Sterling MA with her husband Eric.

I had recommended to Ann to be sure that she visit my friend, the eclectic Chef Gunni from Vin Barin, the hip Wine Bar located in Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital. Ann reported back that she stopped on her first night and spent 4 hours with Gunni who was a very amiable host & connoisseur of wine & Icelandic cuisine.

Thinking of Ann and her wonderful Chevre, we’d like to share a recipe for a terrific Roasted Beet, Chevre & Pistachio for your enjoyment.

Beet & Radicchio Salad, Goat Cheese & Pistachio

Yield 6-8 portions

2 lbs. Beets, peeled & cut into ¾ inch pieces

½ cup EVOO

2 ½ tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar

½ tsp. Kosher Salt

To Taste Fresh Ground Black Pepper

1 each Garlic Clove, large (smashed)

2 tbsp. Tarragon, freshly chopped

1 head Radicchio, chopped into 1 inch pieces

½ cup Parsley, coarsely chopped

4 oz. Fresh Goat Cheese

2/3 cup Pistachios, toasted & coarsely chopped

This is easy.

Marry the beets: ½ of the olive oil & kosher salt in a bowl and toss until beets are coated and roast in a 375f degree oven until done. Could be 20-30 minutes. Let cool when done. Using a convection oven is best, as it pulls much of the moisture out of the beet, concentrating the flavors.

Dressing: Add garlic, herbs & vinegar to the bowl you used for the beets and slowly whisk in the remaining EVOO and adjust seasoning of salt & pepper. You might add a pinch or two of sugar if you’d like to take some of the end off of the vinegar.

Marry all of your prepped ingredients with the dressing, give it a toss and plate up and enjoy, with perhaps a chilled glass of Sancerre.

This salad is quite attractive when presented in a Bibb Lettuce cup as a base. Enjoy!

With wedding season upon us, I have finalized the 2013 cake flavor menu adding four new flavors.  If you read my earlier blog, you already know that we voted in favor of the Spumoni and Chocolate Chai Tea cakes.  After trying three additional flavors, we landed on the Pink Lemonade cake and the Salted Caramel Devils Food cake. 

Our staff gave both flavors two thumbs up during our cake flavor and bridal tastings. The Pink Lemonade cake conveys our colorful theme for this season, and is perfect for a summer wedding with its bright and vibrant colors. The cake is lemonade flavored and consists of three pink shades filled with tart lemon curd and lemon mousse. 

After having Chocolate Caramel Fudge cake on last year’s menu, I can say the Salted Caramel cake has replaced it hands down.  This delicious dessert is a rich devil’s food cake filled with layers of salted caramel and dark chocolate ganache.  As one of our staff tasters put it “this is chocolate heaven!” Although I was wary about using salt, I have to admit, it’s a winner. 

The third cake was just as yummy, but more in line with a seasonal menu rather than our wedding menu.  I call it Pumpkin Gingerbread cake.  It’s made up of two layers of golden cake each with a layer of spicy gingerbread and filled with white chocolate ganache and pumpkin mousse.  I am putting it on the Holiday menu and if it’s a hit, will be available to all.  Next on the “to-do” list: a Dessert Buffet makeover...Stay tuned!

If you’re interested in a tasting with Pepper’s—Contact Us, we’d love to share our delicious cakes with you and work to create your dream wedding cake.

Have you thought about offering a signature drink at your wedding? It can be a fun way to showcase your personality to your family and friends, and there are so many ways to customize your cocktails to go along with your wedding design. You can share your favorite drink with your guests, create a colorful drink that matches your color scheme, or one that is inspired by the season. You can choose a cocktail that represents you as a couple or create "his and hers" cocktails. An added benefit of offering a signature drink is that instead of paying for a full bar your caterer can offer beer, wine and your signature cocktail. 

Have fun with your drink by adding unique garnishes, colored straws, or engraved stirrers. These will sure get your guests attention! One of our wedding couples chose Pepper’s Blueberry Lemonade cocktail to offer guests at their summer wedding. It was served in a highball glass with a blue and white straw. The guests loved sipping this whimsical, refreshing drink. More than the traditional glass of champagne, the presentation added much festive charm. 

Blueberry Lemonade

2 oz blueberry vodka

4 oz lemonade

Mix with Ice

Serve with candied blueberries and a lemon wedge 

When people think of beverage infusions, they  often think of an ice-cold Arnold Palmer, or strawberry lemonade, but why stop at crafting beverages for summer enjoyment? There are plenty of wonderful beverage infusions that can also warm you up on a cold winter’s night!

The other day we visited with friends who had an aromatic, simmering pot of mulled cider that was enhanced with nuances of star anise, cinnamon and juniper berries. Wow, it was delicious!

No matter the season, winter or summer, there are a plethora of opportunities to craft a hot or cold beverage using combinations of locally sourced herbs, fruits and spices. Any of these could be the basis of a signature drink at an event, wedding or for simply entertaining at home.

Peppers Fine Catering is often called upon to craft a signature non-alcoholic beverage cocktail for catered events. We love doing this because it gives us an opportunity to create an extremely memorable and unique catering opportunity.

By using a simple French Press coffee maker or tea pot, you can produce a delightful and aromatic beverage, too. You can also garner plenty of ideas with a quick Google search for tisanes or infusions.

Here are some examples straight from my own kitchen:

During the summer when our mint patch is bursting, I like to put a few cups of mint leaves (whole) into a French press with a few lemon slices, add a couple teaspoons of sugar and fill the vessel with boiling water. Let this steep for 3-4 minutes and then push down the strainer, for a soothing mint tea that can be enjoyed warm or chilled.

With the grocery store stocked with seasonal fruits like clementines, a particularly sweet and delicious member of the citrus family, why not try a Lemon Clementine Infusion?

Scrape the zest from 6 each clementines into a bowl using a microplane. Cut the clementines in half and squeeze the juice into the same bowl as the zest. Repeat this process with the 2 lemons as well, making sure to include the zest and juice.

In a saucepan, combine 2 tablespoons of sugar with 6 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and then remove the heat and add in the zest and juice from the clementine and lemon. Let everything steep, covered for 3-4 minutes and enjoy warm or chilled.

Consider playing around with other ingredients like orange and tarragon, apple cider, thyme, ginger, celery or pineapple. Mix and match, have some fun with them. See what other recipes you can come up with!

If you try a new creative drink infusion, be sure to let us know by posting to our Facebook wall!

Hors d’oeuvres are an ever popular staple at any party— they can be eaten on the move, allowing guests to easily mingle. But the same stale dishes always seem to be passed around at every party. Scallops wrapped in bacon, shrimp cocktail, and the ever popular fruit and cheese tray are all a bit overdone at this point.

As we start fresh with a New Year, we thought why not share a fresh, new recipe as well? 

One trend in Hors d’oeuvres is the desire for more vegetarian fare. Our Parmesan tuille with arugula, mascarpone and roasted pear could be considered a play on the classic fruit and cheese pairing. This new hors d’oeuvre we have been experimenting with has been satisfying guests with great reception in the past few months, ever since we introduced it at an event at the Boston Design Center.

When it comes to assembling our Hors d’ oeuvres menu, we like to keep it fresh, local, simple and visually appealing, with at least 4-5 components all adding complementary tastes and different textures.

Parmesan Tuille, arugula, roasted pear & mascarpone cheese

2              ounces                 Parmesan Cheese, fine shred or grated

2              ounces                 Mascarpone Cheese, whipped at slightly below room temperature. We like Vermont Butter and Cheese for locally produced

1              each                    Pear, nearly ripe & from local source. Split, core, medium dice

¼             oz.                      Arugula

Procedure:

The making of the tuilles is best done on a silpat mat. These can be found at better kitchen stores that are geared for cooks and chefs. Stores such as Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table.

1. Place 1/2 teaspoon of the grated parmesan onto the silpat sheet, forming rounded shapes. Spread so that it is an even layer and barely covering the area. This is a time when “less is more” for the grated parmesan. You can probably get 24 to 30 cheese discs to a sheet. Bake in a pre-heated 275 degree oven until the tuilles are getting golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool. Do not refrigerate or make a day ahead. This is to be done the day you plan on serving them, as they will lose the desired texture.

2. Whip the mascarpone with a beater attachment for one minute at a medium speed. This will lighten up the texture and allow you to easily pipe it onto the tuilles.

3. An hour or so before guests arrive, pipe out a rosette of the whipped mascarpone onto tuilles that have been topped with 2 leaves of arugula. Be aware to pipe some of the mascarpone onto the tuille to have it “stick.”

4. Top the whipped rosette with the fresh chopped pear pieces. I will share with you that we have also done a fresh fig variation, we have roasted under ripe pears, poached apple and I’ll bet by this time next year have come up with another  half dozen variations, so please have fun and experiment with this tasty little appetizer.

So here we are at the beginning of November, which means I will soon be spending a few days on the shore of the Cape, gathering my favorite mollusks to enjoy with family and friends. Nothing beats gathering and eating local foods. Oysters, along with sweet corn and littleneck clams, are a few of the top ten items on my list of favorite local fare.

I’m often asked if it’s true that you should only eat oysters in months that end in the letter R. This is simply not true, a rule of thumb dating back to before refrigeration was commonplace.  However there is one caveat in my eyes. Warm summer oysters can be of inferior quality, as they may be watery, with a much milder flavor. With global shipping now more accessible, oysters can be enjoyed year round from sources such as Europe and Canada, but generally we’re able to find great oysters from somewhere on the east coast all year long.

How do you enjoy oysters?

For me, the possibilities are endless.

Roasted? Sure! Roast them over a hot fire, topped with seaweed for a roasted and steamed combo that always works well.

Raw? Absolutely! Add some lemon, cocktail sauce or a mignonette sauce, and I’m in.

Fried? One of my favorites! If I don’t use them in a Po’ Boy Sandwich, then topped with a Thai Chili Sauce works for me. When I’m doing a slaw for my Po’boy, I vary from the creamy version with celery seed to a Fennel Slaw with rice vinegar and olive oil vinaigrette, adding just a smidge of Dijon to help bind the dressing.

Cape Cod has a plethora of oyster farms, and farmers are being awarded oyster grants every year, so keep an eye out for local oysters from your favorite seafood sources. I have seen Roche Brothers market in Westborough carry Duxbury oysters as well as Onset Bay oysters which were both very succulent.

If you’re interested in learning more about oysters, Mark Kurlansky’s The Big Oyster is a lively, historic read that captures the heady days of early New York City and the impact of its oyster trade and the global economy.

Enjoy some oysters while you read about oysters with this recipe:

Raw Oysters with Apple Cider Mignonette Sauce

2               each      Shallots                                peeled and fine minced (set into a glass or ceramic bowl)

½             each      Granny Smith Apple       peeled, cored & finely diced

½`           cup         apple cider                         

½             cup         apple cider vinegar

2              teas.      Black Pepper, fresh ground

Blend all ingredients and let them come together for about 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Serve over your raw oysters.

However I prepare my oysters, I always have to throw a few down with simply nothing added. It’s wonderful how little nuances of brine or cucumber show up in the taste, depending on the location of the oyster farm and how the currents are running.

Apples contribute more than 2 billion dollars to our national economy. Just as importantly though, they help contribute to a healthy diet. Apples contain valuable fiber and antioxidants, plus they are cholesterol and fat free.

It was the Pilgrims that first introduced the apple to the America’s. Today, over 2500 varieties are grown in the USA. The value of the annual Massachusetts apple crop is nearly 22 million dollars. That adds up to a whole lot of apples.

With nearly 400 apple orchards in Massachusetts, virtually everyone has a local apple source just minutes away for fresh picked goodness.

If you’re planning a fall wedding in New England, what could be a more perfect and picturesque venue than an apple orchard? There are plenty of orchards in the area that would be more than willing to accommodate your event. Pepper’s Fine Catering has worked with a few of these orchards, including Carlson Orchards in Harvard and Red Apple Farm in Phillipston.

Making apple sauce, apple cake and apple crisp are terrific, mouth watering ways to add some apple to your seasonal enjoyment, but there are plenty of other creative ways to incorporate apples. Have you ever considered adding diced Granny Smith apples to a Lobster Salad with lemon mayonnaise & bacon? Oh, my! Play with that idea for a bit. Complementing the crunch of celery with the crisp tart apple is simply wonderful.

One of my favorite, simple apple treats is a variation on apple fritters. I say variation as I rarely repeat the exact recipe components. Sometimes it's the variety of apple I use, or sometimes it’s combining apple with dried cranberry, candied orange, candied lemon, or even candied ginger.

The variations are truly endless. Give the following recipe a try and be mindful to play with your food. 

For more info about our local apples, click here.

Apple Cranberry Fritters 

1/2 Cup.         Apple Jack or Calvados

1/3 Cup.         Half & Half

1 Stick.           Butter, unsalted

1 Tbsp.           Sugar

1/4 Cup.         Dried Cranberry, coarsely chopped

1 Tbsp.           Orange zest

1/4 Tsp.          Sea Salt or Kosher salt (omit if you have neither)

2 Cups.           Flour, unbleached all-purpose

5 Ea.               Eggs, large

1/2 Tsp.         Baking powder

2 Ea.               Cortland apples or your favorite

1 Qt.               Vegetable or canola oil

Directions

Combine the first 4 ingredients and bring to a boil. Add in the cranberry and let sit for a minute to soften, then mix in the flour. Follow the flour by adding the eggs, one at a time. Next, add the baking powder and lastly, the apples. You’re looking for a thick consistency like that of pancake batter.

Heat your vegetable oil to 360- 370 degrees and drop tablespoon size portions into the heated oil, with 5-7 per batch. Try not to overcrowd the oil. Turn the fritters over in the oil and cook until golden brown, about 1.5 - 2 minutes, and transfer to a paper towel lined pan. Dust immediately with sugar or a cinnamon-sugar blend (do this as soon as they come out of the hot oil, as the oil helps the mixture stick) and serve warm. These are terrific with a warm mug of mulled cider.

A pinch of Vietnamese cinnamon is a nice touch to add to the batter, as well. Vietnamese cinnamon, also known as Saigon cinnamon, has the highest concentration of essential oils out of all the cinnamon varieties. 

photo credit: paco lyptic