Fun Catering for 195 Hungry Friends

Last weekend - or was it two weekend ago? Bob and I were in charge of food for the 2010 Cleveland Area Mensa Regional Gathering ("RG"), which was a party "So Superior, it's Eerie!" We had a total of 195 people in the house (actually, a local hotel) for a weekend of food, fun, speakers, games, tournaments, friends, a dunk tank and book sale to raise money for the David Jaquet Scholarship Fund, and so much more. It was exhausting and exhilarating, fun and silly. And we raised a lot of money for the Scholarship Fund, which honors the late David Jaquet, a former President and activist in our Mensa chapter, and which offers scholarships available to any student enrolling in higher level education through an essay contest (you do NOT need to be a member of Mensa to qualify, and the national contest has additional scholarship opportunities available - check out info here).

The prep had begun weeks in advance of the event. One of our members was able to obtain an obscene quantity of lunch meats, bacon, kielbasa and hot dogs through her mom's place of employment. When she got redeployed due to her fiance's good fortune (he won an all-expense-paid trip to NYC the weekend of our event) - Bob and I swooped in to collect the bounty from her basement. It all just barely fit in our outbuilding's refrigerator, consuming both the fridge and freezer compartments:

Our Mensa-member farmers, owners of Mr. G’s Produce, 13213 Arlington Road, Norwalk Ohio, provided some gorgeous winter squashes, which I turned into 8 quarts of delicious soup:

Garden-Based Vegetable Stock Simmers 

Sadly, I neglected to get a photo of the final product. The squash halves were dusted with salt and pepper and brushed with melted butter, then roasted in a slow oven until tender. The insides were scraped out and blended with the finished veggie stock, then frozen. After reheating for service, a bit of heavy cream was added. It was heavenly.

Nick and Kelley also provided Eggplant a couple of weeks in advance of the event, which was prepped a few days before service.

Though it lacked the intense smokiness that a charcoal fire would have added, Amir's Tahini gave this babaganoush so much flavor and a touch of smokey tones:

Sadly, the only meal I got any photos of was Friday dinner - it just got too insane after that. In addition to the squash soup and baba, we served:

Lots of Cold Cuts - with Bread - at every meal!

Ham and Noodles, provided by a longtime member who always brings something yummy to the RG!

Keeping with our "Eerie" theme for the dinner, these blurry meatballs were called "Lake Erie Monster Eyeballs" - each had a single, strategically placed pea. Or at least they did, until they were tossed with the "Vinegar Splashed Meatball" sauce. Oh well.

"Soylent Green" aka Urban Herbs's Spinach Cous Cous with Lemon and Mint

Salad Bar - Lettuce and Tomatoes from our wonderful farmers!

More Salad Fixings: Plain Tuna, Farmers' Radishes (2 types) and Cucumbers, Mushrooms and Shredded Cheese

Vegan Chili, made by another RG Volunteer cook

We had other fabulous soups, Garlic Chicken and roasted Kielbasa, Tortellini Salad with Farmers' Tomatoes and Broccoli, Sushi, St. Josephat's Pierogies and Koko Bakery Pork Buns, plus beautiful and tasty cakes and other desserts made by our wonderful volunteers - so many delicious and beautiful  foods that I failed to photograph because I was too, um, busy. But there is one more photo.

Chocolate Covered Bacon with Almonds a la Iron Chef Michael Symon

We had lots of Chocolate Covered Bacon (milk and dark Belgian chocolate - thank you Caren and the Pittsburgh RG!). People seem to either love it or hate it, but it's become a Cleveland RG staple as much as our root beer floats, with craft brewed root beer.

As always, we had great fun feeding the masses, though we did suffer a casualty on our home stove when an igniter shorted out after tortellini cooking water splashed (AC Plumbing, Heating and Mechanical will complete that repair tomorrow - thank you Tony Caruso!). A great time for a great cause - we love feeding our many friends at these events! But much as I love doing this, at the end of the weekend, my feet remind me that I'm not ready to quit my day job yet.

Fun Playing with Pig at Lolita

We enjoyed another fantastic pig roast at Lolita last night, accompanied by some very special friends - 1 year old twins Nolan and Reagan!


Miss Regan Says Hello


Master Nolan is too busy enjoying his bottle to be distracted.

For some reason, I find the lighting at Lolita (and Momocho) to present the greatest challenges to my [limited] photography skills - so bear with me.

We started with an early order of Lolita Polenta, for the kids:





As you can see, Miss Reagan is wearing a bit of hers. But they gobbled it up!


Miss Regan Contemplates Polenta, while Master Nolan Enjoys an H2O Cocktail

The 8 adults shared three appetizers and two pizzas to start. First (photos from a prior dinner) - one of my absolute favorites - Roasted Dates stuffed with almonds, garlic, pancetta and parsley. The word "sublime" was coined to describe food like this - velvety smooth and creamy, though with bite from the accouterments, richly flavored and just sweet enough:





We also shared an order of Fried Chicken Livers and tried two of the new appetizers:


Ricotta Cheese Dip





This was delicious - creamy, with a little spice and a little flavor of olive oil.


Fried Chicken Livers over Cheese Polenta with Wild Mushrooms and Pancetta

Our friend Linda adores these (and can frying the livers in duck fat ever be a bad thing?), and I enjoyed my bite. And that polenta is to die for!


Fried Zucchini Bites with Goat Cheese

For my taste, this dish was a huge improvement over its grilled predecessor. As noted, frying makes everything taste good - and this appetizer rocked!


Pizza Topped with Roasted Pork and Smoked Cheddar



I am a bit of a purist when it comes to pizza, as this EGullet thread describes. As a rule, I don't care for wild toppings or cheeses - a little meatball, maybe some ricotta or provolone, and I'm happy. Notwithstanding all of that - I do believe this was the most amazing pizza I've ever tasted. Perfect crust topped with perfectly cooked heritage pork (from the Pig Roast pig, said Chef Matt Harlan), and, I must admit, the right cheese to take the pork on. This was a combination of pizza and pork perfection.


"White prosciutto" Pizza (ie Lardo)



Ok - I admit that I'm not a huge fan of lardo, so this pizza did not excite me nearly as much as the pork/cheddar one. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious, but I'd rather have another slice of the pork/cheddar pie!

As noted, this was a Tuesday night, which at Lolita means Pig Roast!



Yep - this is how they do it! In goes the pig, in go the coals and a few hours later we get:



Every week, Chef Matt comes up with a new presentation for the pig, and this week's plate did not disappoint: luscious pig meat, a skin-covered rib and a crispy crackling, over a luxurious butternut squash/butter puree, accompanied by Brussels Sprouts sauteed in bacon. Seven of the eight adults ordered the Pig Roast, and we licked our plates clean!








Of course, one person had to be different. Shelley decided to try the meatballs.


Pork and Veal Meatballs in Tomato Broth with Fontina, Pancetta & Pine Nuts

This is served with the diner's choice of side (Shelley opted for more of that cheesy polenta).



My taste of this was oh-so-good! Darn that pig roast distracting me from the menu (well, not really).

We completed the meal with a round of Lemon Semifreddo, topped with the most ethereal Basil Syrup and fresh berries:





And the best part - even though it seemed like we had ordered (and therefore, eaten) a lot of food, we left sated but not stuffed, and we got to try so many wonderful tastes and textures! Lolita remains a Cleveland gem, especially on Tuesdays, when they play with their pig!