So you have decided to have a holiday event and you have decided to have it catered, the next question is how much notice is required to book the service.
Most large services have a policy in place recommending that you provide them with at the least 30 days for booking, however the smaller services, are not only a little bit more versatile but are also a little bit less expensive and are a little bit more flexible in booking. below is a general time frame that will assist you in when to book.
It is important to note that these are general time frames and are not set in stone. Each service will tell you how much time they will need. It is also important to know that many services also charge a a booking fee in order to hold the date for you. Generally this fee will be deducted from the final billing.
Holiday Recipe: Stuffed Turkey Breast
boneless turkey breasts (about
4 lbs)
½ ounce dried porcini
mushrooms
2 thick slices of bacon*
½ cup minced shallot
4 Tbsp chopped dried
cranberries
2 teaspoon minced sage
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons chopped
parsley
Salt and pepper
Poultry seasoning
¼ cup Dijon Mustard
2 cups chicken stock
1 Place dried porcini
mushrooms in a bowl. Cover with hot water and let sit for 15 minutes or so
while the bacon in the next step is cooking. Once rehydrated, then chop.
2 Slowly cook the
bacon in a medium frying pan on medium heat until crispy. Remove the bacon to a
paper-towel lined plate. Once cool enough to touch, chop. You should have at
least a tablespoon of fat in the pan. (If not, add butter or olive oil to make
up the difference.) Heat the same pan on medium (do not drain the fat rendered
out of the bacon), add the minced shallots and cook until the shallots begin to
brown. Add the chopped dried cranberries, minced sage and chopped mushrooms.
Stir well and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the breadcrumbs, the parsley, chopped
bacon, and the turkey or chicken stock and stir well. You want a rough paste, something
that will stick to itself. Remove from the heat and allow the stuffing to cool.
3 To make the stuffed
turkey breast, remove the skin from the turkey in one piece and reserve. Put
the turkey breast between two pieces of wax paper or plastic wrap and gently
pound with a mallet until it is about 1/4 inch thick. (It may be easier to
butterfly the breast first, depending on how big the breast is.)
4 Trim the pounded
breast until it is roughly a rectangle. Spread a thin layer of the stuffing
over the breast, leaving about 3/4 inch border around all sides. Tightly roll
the breast lengthwise. Lay the skin over the top of the rolled breast and tuck
any under the edges.
5 Tie the rolled
turkey breast tightly with kitchen string and set it on a roasting pan. Paint
it with olive oil, or smear butter or bacon fat over it and sprinkle with salt.
If you want more drippings for gravy, place pieces of a turkey wing on the
roasting pan as well.
6 Roast at 400° for 20
minutes, then drop the heat to 325° and roast for another 10-15 minutes, or
until the internal temperature of the breast reads about 155° on a meat
thermometer.
7 Once the turkey
reaches that temperature remove it from the roasting pan and tent it loosely
with foil. Let it rest at least 10 minutes, and up to 25 minutes.
8 While the turkey
breast is resting, if you want, you may be able to make a little gravy with the
drippings. Take the roasting pan with drippings and place over two burners on
the stove-top on medium (if using turkey wing, remove first). Sprinkle with
flour and stir until the flour is incorporated into the drippings. Slowly add
stock, whisking constantly, until smooth. Season with salt, pepper, and poultry
seasoning or ground sage or thyme. Let simmer on the stove until thickened to your
preference.
And The Winner Is...
The winner of this months certificate is....Shaun Stergios. Congratulations Shaun you have won a gift certificate for 100.00 off total billing for your next private gathering, meal planning, or company service. Enjoy!
Services We Provide:
One of the many services we at Longhorn Catering & Personal Chef Service provide is customized meal planning and preparation services. This involves meeting with the client and their family and working with them to create a healthy meal plan for the week. we then can either provide a concierge service for the shopping, or they can shop if they have a place they prefer to use. each week our service then comes in and prepares the full weeks meals in advance for them, so that all the family has to do, is to come home heat it up and serve. this service is designed to assist the busiest of families get on with their day, and still allow them to eat nutritious meals every day. to find out more about this service, please contact us and we will be more than happy to assist you.