Leslie and I wanted to host a baby shower for our friends Sallie and Ash, who are expecting their baby (aka The Kid Johnson) in April. Sallie and Ash live in Seattle, but were here in New York for a wedding this weekend, so we took advantage of the timing and threw a brunch in their honor at my apartment on Sunday.
Leslie has experience throwing big parties with lots of people at her in-laws’ place in Long Island. This usually involves firing up the grill and throwing down lots of meat — chorizo, skirt steaks, hamburgers & hot dogs — and putting together an amazing chimichurri.
Unfortunately, I’ve got no outdoor space, and unpredictable weather in November meant there would be no grilling going on this weekend. So instead, we hired my sister, Christina, to cater our party. I bought some bagels, cream cheese and lox, but this would be supplemented by her home-made quiches (2 bacon and onion, 2 goat cheese and leek) and 2 dozen blueberry scones, also made from scratch. We also served up some bacon from Flying Pigs Farm.
Of course I’ve been fed by Christina many times before, but I was really impressed by the quality of the food she made for my party. Everyone really loved her food, so much so, in fact, that only two or three bagels were consumed (anyone want some bagels?), while all of the stuff she made was completely demolished by our guests, about 20 adults. Leslie’s spicy bloody marys helped loosen everyone up as well; everyone abandoned the mimosas after tasting the bloodys (anyone want some OJ?).
So with the holiday season approaching, please think of Christina to cater your party. There’s no web site yet, but you can leave comments on this blog or find me on twitter or email me directly if you actually know me and my email address. She’ll do such a great job for you that you’ll wish you had leftovers. But you won’t (at least not of her food).
Unfortunately, the one picture I took of all the dishes was really poorly shot, so here’s a pic of one of the quiches and some of the scones cooling before we served them:
