Confessions of a Caterer

Smoked Salmon Canapés with Florida Onion Confit

Serves 4-6

1/2 pound-1 pound sliced, smoked salmon

4 Florida or Vidalia onions

10 slices of fine, thin white bread, toasted, crust off

Fresh dill

Capers

Sauté slices of onions with one teaspoon olive oil, one tablespoon butter and dash of salt. Use a heavy sauté pan to sweat onions over low heat until caramelized (this will take some time). Let cool. Take slice of salmon and teaspoon of onion confit and roll into a pinwheel shape. Place on top of toast point and garnish with fresh dill and/or capers.

The Osso Buco Dance

Osso buco can be made with either lamb or veal. For one party featuring this dish, my husband chose veal shanks simmered until moist and succulent.

We arrived confidently at the home of our clients toting our osso buco in large cambros. What had slipped our minds, however, was that sharp turn we had taken in our catering vehicle about three miles back. We opened the cambro in our client's immaculate white kitchen only to watch the succulent sauce pour out and start flowing toward the white carpet in the adjacent dining room.

My husband, although a wonderful chef, does not excel in these situations. Rather than springing into action and grabbing some towels, he began dancing up and down, yelling, "Oh, no, osso buco, very bad, very bad, osso buco, very bad!" One of our assistants grabbed a pile of towels from one of our clients' drawers and quickly threw them over the mess, which was within inches of meeting the carpet. Our assistant had saved the day and the osso buco was salvaged. However, from that moment on, my husband was called the Rain Man of Osso Buco.

Osso Buco Gremolada

Serves 4

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4 large veal shanks, 10-14 ounces each

Flour for dredging

4 tablespoons butter or a combination of butter and olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 cup beef stock

Gremolada

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon minced orange zest

2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Tie butcher twine around the veal shanks. Select a large, ovenproof casserole that can later be covered. Dredge shanks in flour. When the casserole is hot, add half the butter andoil, and brown shanks. Sprinkle salt and pepper as they brown (this will take 10-15 minutes). Remove shanks.

Turn heat to medium and add remaining butter and oil. Cook vegetables and the thyme, stir for about 10 minutes, salt and pepper to taste. Deglaze with wine and reduce.

Lay shanks on top of vegetables and pour on remaining wine and stock. Cover and place in the oven. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, turning them several times during this process. Remove veal from vegetables and sauce. Reduce sauce. Garnish with gremolada and serve family- style or plated.

Serve over risotto or roasted red bliss potatoes.

CODE BLUE

We once catered an event where one of the guests was equipped with an oxygen tank. The entrée was filet mignon, and this particular guest had requested that his be well done. While service began, he gently called me aside to tell me his oxygen was running out and perhaps he should change his request to medium rare. He thought that he had about 30 minutes of easy breathing time left. I raced into the kitchen and announced to my husband, "Code blue, code blue, I need that filet now!" He reacted with lightning speed, tossed it on a plate and pushed it toward me.

After I raced the dinner out to him, the guest thanked me for my efforts. He appeared way too calm for what I considered a dire situation, but he assured me that he'd be able to get home before his oxygen ran out. He only lived next door and was planning to skip dessert, confessing that this was a great way to enjoy some good chow and avoid all the post-dinner chatter.

Italian-Style Whole Roasted Tenderloin

Serves 8-10

6-8 pounds whole tenderloin (ask butcher to remove silver skin)

1/8 cup fresh rosemary, chopped

1/8 cup fresh thyme, chopped

1/8 cup fresh oregano, chopped

8 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/4-1/2 pound imported prosciutto

Mix herbs and garlic together. Slowly add olive oil to make thick paste.

Salt and pepper the tenderloin. Rub the paste on the tenderloin and wrap prosciutto slices around it. Tightly wrap tenderloin in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and roast tenderloin for approximately five to10 minutes. Drop temperature to 325 and roast until internal temperature reaches 125-130 degrees (approximately 20-25 minutes). Remove from oven and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

Slice and serve.

Serve with tomato Provençal and rosemary roasted potatoes.

BAD DOG!

Many of our clients had wonderful pets. One had a happy black Labrador who loved to be the center of attention. He would hang around in the kitchen while my husband cooked, hoping for a morsel to fall on the floor or be tossed in his direction.

One evening our Labrador friend was particularly ravenous. An unsuspecting guest left for a moment to use the bathroom and much to her surprise returned to find her dinner missing. She turned to her husband, who was wearing a wide grin as he pointed to our furry friend nearby. There he sat with a Cornish game hen between his paws with the fork still in it. He did not look embarrassed, but proud and content.

Luckily, we were always prepared for such situations, and my husband had two extra entrées waiting in the oven. He immediately replated her hen and all was right with the world once again.

Roasted Cornish Game Hens

Serves 4

4 Cornish game hens

3 carrots, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 stalk lemongrass, chopped

1 bay leaf

4 tablespoons rosemary, chopped

4 tablespoons thyme, chopped

8 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Rinse hens and cut in half. Mix vegetables, herbs and garlic in large mixing bowl. Salt and pepper the inside of the hens. Stuff with vegetable, herb and garlic mixture. Place on roasting rack until golden brown (approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours). Turn hens halfway through and brown on all sides.

Serve with sweet-potato pancakes and ginger and lemongrass rice.

After five years of serving and cooking for Naples' finest, we closed As You Like It. We met many wonderful people and archived all sorts of memorable experiences, but we were ready for a lifestyle change. We longed for holidays and weekends that belonged to us, and a calmer, more predictable calling. Now I'm a writer and marketing professional, and my husband, Bryan, works in the building industry, specializing in renovations-where he helps design fine kitchens rather than cook in them.