Kentucky Derby Celebration Tips

The Kentucky Derby is this Saturday, May 4 and we’re ready to celebrate. Don’t care about racing Horses? Who cares, you get to enjoy southern food and wear AMAZING hats! Here are a few things to help make your celebration a smashing success:

Free Menu Label Print Outs from Amy Atlas Events

 

DIY Paper Roses from Creations by Kara

 

Pickled Shrimp via Kentucky Derby Website

• 2 pounds shrimp – boiled and chilled
• 
2 medium red onions sliced in rings
• 1 C vegetable oil
• 
1.5 C white vinegar
• .5 C sugar
• 1.5 tsp celery seed
• 4 tsp capers

Make alternate layers of shrimp and onion slices in bowl. Mix all other ingredients and pour over. Refrigerate 6 or more hours stirring occasionally. Serve as hors d’oeuvre with crackers or tooth picks or serves 6 as a salad on top of lettuce.

 

Mint Julep via Chow

• 3 sprigs fresh mint
• 1 tsp water
• 1 tsp superfine sugar
• 2 oz bourbon

Muddle 2 mint sprigs, the water, and the sugar in a highball or collins glass or a silver julep cup. Fill the glass with crushed ice, and pour in the bourbon. Garnish with the remaining mint sprig. Variation: Omit the mint sprig garnish. Substitute brandy for the bourbon, and garnish with a slice of orange and a maraschino cherry.

 

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches via Good Life Eats

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 5 oz Garlic and Herb Boursin
• 2 – 3 Tbs fresh chives, sliced plus extra for garnish
• 1 English cucumber
• 1 bunch radishes
• 1 bunch watercress
• white sandwich bread
• pumpernickel sandwich bread

In a small food processor, combine the cream cheese and boursin, pureeing until well blended and combined. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in sliced fresh chives. Set aside. Slice the cucumber and radishes into 1/8 inch thick slices. Cut crusts off the bread, spread one side of each slice with the cream cheese mixture, tip with sliced cucumber, radish, and a few watercress leaves, then top with other piece of bread. Cut into triangles and garnish with a chive stem tied into a knot.

 

Don’t have a hat? Make Your Own

 

These are just a few fun things you can do this Saturday. Have some favorite Kentucky Derby activities? We’d love to hear about them!

Earth Day at Katherine’s

On Monday, April 22, volunteers from our office and kitchen staff at Katherine’s Catering decided to roll up their sleeves and clean up the area surrounding our offices. We picked up trash, set up a home-built flower box, sanded and sealed our picnic table, and did some general parking lot/garage beautification. We’re not done (we still have some gardening to do), but it was lovely to spend the SUNNY afternoon outside together getting our hands dirty!

Event Planner Beth Cleaning up some surrounding Trash

Katherine, Beth, and Rula showing off their trash haul!

Our side yard before the new flower box

Service Manager Michael putting together the flower box with help from Chef Raven

Service Manager Michael putting together the flower box with help from Administrative Chef Paul

Our new flower box!

 

Event Planner Kelsey working hard while scrubbing

Our picnic table, drying from the finishing in the sun

Katherine sweeping away

Event Planner Rula and Katherine discussing what project to start next

And no Earth Day gallery would be complete without a picture of a rake and some mulch!

Happy Earth Day!

WIN A Custom Green Floral Arrangement from Katherine’s Catering Event Design

Who doesn’t like winning free flowers??

Send us a limerick about Corned Beef and Cabbage by March 20 to information@katherines.com

The winning limerick will recieve a custom-made green floral arrangement from our Event Design team. For directions on how to create a Limerick, click here

To enter: send your Limerick to information@katherines.com

Think Outside the {Heart Shaped} Box: Valentine’s Day Flowers

With Valentine’s Day just 2 days away, there is one thought on everyone’s mind: the fear of bad flowers. It’s an easy trap to fall in to too, you scramble to the store to get the last sad, wilted bouquet for your Valentine, or you just get the same old boring flowers you pick up every year. Why not change it up this year? Tracy, our Event Designer has given us a number of fun arrangements to spice up your day of love. While some old favorites like Roses are still there, check out some of our more unique arrangements (birch bark and succulents!).

Red roses and baby cabbage

Red garden roses with lemon leaf and a birch-wrapped vase

Succulents in a wooden bowl with river rocks complemented with small bundles of bright flowers. This has purple stock and orange carnations (The succulents will live “forever” you can simply replace the flowers for a fresh new look…carnations can last up to 2 weeks)

Pink gerbers, billie balls and striking leaves as the vase

Tulips and greenery with birch bark fashioned into a vase

Gerber daisies, orchids, hydrangeas and calla lilies

Inexpensive Table Runner: Small bud vases filled with single blooms

Happy Decorating!

Winter Flowers

 

Thoughts of Spring can fill your head with images of fresh flowers and bright colors, while thoughts of Winter fill your head with scraping ice and snow off your car–AGAIN. Let’s change that! There are plenty of beautiful Winter flowers available this time of year to brighten up your home, office, desk, or any area that could use a look-at-the-brighter-side-of-Winter disposition. The following pictures are from the Mayesh Wholesale Florist website.

Orchids

Jasmine

Hydrangea

Gerbera

Carnations

Anemone

Amaryllis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Want to think outside the box? Here are some suggestions from our Event Planner Tracy to put into a fun Winter arrangement:

 

Baby Kale

Kumquats

Lemons

Birch Bark

Curly Willow

Pine Cones

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now go forward, and brighten your Winter days!

Event and Floral Design from Katherine’s Catering

While we love event planning and food here at Katherine’s Catering, we also love creating the atmosphere for your event. Tracy Tolliver, our Event Designer and Florist has great and creative experience in event planning, design, and arrangements. She has been designing exclusively at Katherine’s for roughly a year, and has tremendously grown our Event Design and Floral capabilities. While she is able to do almost anything you can dream up, here is a list of just some of the things she has done in the past:

• Centerpieces
• Fabric Draping
• Lighting
• Room Dividers
• Bridal Boquets
• Boutonniere/Corsage
• Table Runner
• Tented Lighting
• Hanging Design Elements
• Funeral Flowers
• Ceremony Decor
• Aisleway Runners
• Balloons
• Seasonal Office Decorations and Accents

Tracy is able to alter her creations to your vision, for example any of these elements can be made eco-friendly or contain a running theme for the event. While we can go on and on about the beautiful work she does, it’s better if we just show you…

Zero Waste Tailgate at Crisler Arena

Alice In Wonderland-themed Cocktail Party and Reception

Some of our Favorite Floral Arrangements

Table Arrangements and Ambient Design

Furthermore, this is what she put together while we were writing this post:

If your event needs a little extra something, whether it’s custom lighting, or a great centerpiece, contact Tracy directly at tracy@katherines.com

Holiday Decorating Tips: Inside the House

There are many ways to decorate inside the home to prepare for holiday entertaining, but it’s always more fun to add a little elbow grease and create some of your own pieces.

Homemade Appetizer Stands

Recently we had the opportunity to cater the Cocktail Party for the St. Joe’s Ball which had a “Wonderland” theme. Rather than purchasing different food or cake stands for the presentation, we created our own.

Pictured with our Artichoke-Caper Barquettes

We simply took an Aryd Candle Holder and topped it with a Skurar Candle Dish (both from Ikea), held together with a hot glue gun. These candle holders come in different heights, creating a variety in the landscape of presentation. To add more color, we selected brightly-colored scrapbooking paper (available at Michael’s starting at $0.30 a sheet), and cut out large circles to fit in the candle dish as the backdrop for the food.

Another plate pictured from above, with Apricot Pistachio Tartlets

Once these stands are assembled, you will have them for future use for almost anything: presenting cupcakes, adding height to a centerpiece of flowers, placing halloween candy out on your front stoop, or even for keeping your keys!

Selecting Colors

While many people opt to decorate based on traditional holiday colors (red and green, white and blue, etc), it’s more fun to pick a theme and select decorations to embody this theme. In our office we’ve decided to decorate our entryway in a festive holiday manner with our corporate colors (green, purple, and gold).

Our Office Holiday Table

Stuck on colors? You can never go wrong this time of year with green and gold!

Holiday Decorating Tips: Outside the House

The air is starting to chill, twinkling lights decorate neighbor’s porches and trees, stores have extended hours, and all you want to do is sip hot drinks spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. It can only mean one thing: the holidays are here.

When decorating your home for this festive time of year, don’t be afraid to think outside the box!

 

Metallic Foliage

Dress up an outdoor potter of any size with good old-fashioned spray paint. The twist? Use metallic shades to give it an out-of-this world feel. Seek out items to fill the potter that can withstand the cold and harsh outdoor conditions, such as birch branches and spheres made of grapevines. Spray select items (you want to achieve a good balance of color) and arrange items in potter. Feel free to finish with other festive items such as lights, ornaments, and bows.

• Spray Paint ($3-$10 at most hardware stores)
• Birch Branches (starting at around $7 a bunch)
• Birch Branches with Lights (starting at around $15 a bunch)

Feeding you Winter Birds in Style

Just because it’s cold out doesn’t mean your bird bath needs to sit there unused. Dress your bird bath with a bounty of bird-friendly branches and seed heads such as rosehips, cattails, millet, and more. For an extra special treat add a dish of bird seed or sunflower seeds to the middle of the display.

Have your own special outdoor holiday decor? We’d love to hear about it!

Katherine’s Catering, The Heart of Your Event™