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 Sichuan Food and Fish Heads at Wonton Gourmet

The Saturday after Thanksgiving found us once again visiting Wonton Gourmet, in Cleveland Asiatown. 3211 Payne Ave, Cleveland, OH 44114-4505, (216) 875-7000. After sampling the Hot & Spicy Szechuan Fish on our last visit, I was determined to try more of the new Szechuan/Sichuan items Chef/Owner Tom has put on his wall menu.

We succeeded in trying two "new" dishes, one old favorite, and one milder, more Cantonese style dish recommended by our wonderful server. Wonton Gourmet scores again - and Tom says that due to demand from his Chinese customers, there will be more Szechuan delights showing up on his menu soon!

Szechuan Eggplant

We've had this before, but one of our companions was hankering for it. Spicy, yet rich in flavors and textures - I dream of getting my eggplant like this in my home wok, but it isn't going to happen. Wok Heh demands many more BTUs than my current stove will ever know.

Hot & Spicy Beef

This dish more than lived up to its name. Though you see the red chilies - it is the numbing Szechuan peppercorn that makes the dish special.

The layer of cabbage underneath the beef also enhanced the dish with a crunchy texture, and a bland foil for the heat.

I expected this dish to be the same preparation as the fish dish I'd sampled earlier; the last 4 characters of each dish's name are the same. Looking at my photos of the menu signs, though,

 

I realize that the beef dish has 2 additional characters, and the fish dish 1 additional character. This might explain why the dishes looked so similar, and were "spelled" so similar - but yet tasted very different. Any character readers out there who care to shed some light on this??

Anyway - returning to our lunch:

Hot & Spicy Szechuan Pork with Noodles

The flavor profile here was also Szechuan, but distinctly different from the chili-centric beef dish. It was more of a hot-sour, with a distinct marine flavor that Tom identified as shrimp paste. Very tasty - but very Chinese. I found it a little strongly flavored for my palate, though I did enjoy it.

Our last selection was recommended by our server, who knows we love the "real" stuff, and who has never steered us wrong!

Braised Salmon Heads with Ginger and Scallions 

Ok, so the name of this dish may not make you hungry. Forget "heads" and think "cheeks" - halibut cheeks, beef cheeks, pork cheeks - some of the most succulent meat in the animal kingdom is found in the cheeks. And so, we practically leapt to try this dish, and we were well rewarded for navigating around and through the bones.

 

A hot wok had crisped the skin, and the light sauce melded with the ginger and onion flavors while allowing the salmon to remain the star. You really have to eat this dish with chopsticks to negotiate the many bones - but it is so worth the trouble!

There are two other Szechuan items - a pork chop dish and a cold beef with two flavors - that we did not get to sample (and also spicy pork maw, which is not one of my favorite things, though I will probably try it at some point) - guess it means I need to go back to Wonton Gourmet again soon, to continue playing with Szechuan flavors not heretofore seen in Cleveland!

Fun Playing With Eddie's Pizzaria Cerino

Sorry to be gone so long - a series of personal issues, culminating with the surgical removal of a tooth last Friday, have made food a little less fun for me lately. But I am back in the proverbial blogging saddle, playing with food and writing about it again!

Saturday night, I joined about a dozen friends to sample the wares at Eddie's Pizzaria Cerino. On a street that is dominated by chains (Broadview Road in Seven Hills), it was a pleasure to drive up and see the size of the crowd at Cerino's, which is small and doesn't take reservations. We were advised, however, that this will change soon - the restaurant is expanding into the space next door, and will offer a full bar and additional seating shortly. This is good news for Seven Hills!

I don't know why I was so thirsty for a beer, but I was very pleased with the available choices, mostly on tap. This is a Pumpkin Ale from Akron's Thirsty Dog Brewery, rimmed with a bit of cinnamon sugar. Bob opted for the Great Lakes Oktoberfest.





Bud and Coors Light are among the domestic selections available for a gentle $2.75. There are also by-the-glass wines available for $4.50 and up.

Though the restaurant doesn't take reservations, it does allow parties of 8 or more to reserve the one large table in the room - we filled it and then some! Owner-Chef Eddie Cerino stopped by to introduce himself, and sent some complimentary off-the-menu flatbreads to the table:



I am not sure of exactly what this was - it had lovely salumi, and what seemed like a goat's cheese, and capers. The bread was tender and perfectly cooked, and the toppings tasty, though I thought this one was a little dry.






Flatbread Topped With Bolognese

I could have eaten a whole plate of this, it was so delicious. I enjoyed it so much, that I decided to have the Eggplant Parmesan with Bolognese Sauce for my entree.



But first - soups and salads. All of the soups, salads and pastas can be ordered in half sizes at incredibly gentle prices (and the full sizes are also very reasonably priced - the most expensive entree is only $16). The half salads I saw all looked wonderful, and the portions were very generous. Bob and I both decided to try a cup of soup. As we waited for the soups, fresh foccacia and seasoned olive oil appeared on the tables. Another tasty treat!






Italian Wedding Soup

My taste of Bob's soup was delightful - the meatball juicy and soft, the broth well flavored.


Seafood Chowder

Though the server said that this soup had clams, fish and shrimp, I didn't notice any shrimp (which was just fine with me) - the clams were fresh and tender, as was the whitefish. And even though I'm not normally a "dunker" - I really enjoyed the freshly crisped crouton in the soup.






EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA BOLOGNESE, Angel hair pasta and marinara

My entree. This massive plate was a mere $9.95. I was only able to eat about half of it; the rest became Sunday breakfast. I wasn't sure how the Bolognese would work with eggplant parm - but work it did. I'd eat this again any time!


Linguine with Clams and Pancetta

One of my dining companions enjoyed this off-menu special - but for my dental work, I'd have probably tried it also!




Butternut Squash Ravioli

A couple of folks at the table indulged in this lightly dressed, yet hearty fall treat - my taste was superb!


Half and Half Pizza

I believe that this was half Wild Mushroom (white sauce, mushrooms, portobello, shitake, oyster, roasted red peppers, ricotta salata, mozzarella and provolone cheese, Italian Parsley) and half something else - I don't want to guess! Bob also ordered pizza, which I neglected to photograph as a whole pie. Despite my dental work, I still wanted to try a slice:


SALUMI Pizza: red sauce, thin-sliced salumi, prosciutto ham, sun-dried tomato, mozzarella and asiago cheese

I am sorry to say that it was at the pizza where Chef Eddie lost me a little. While the flatbreads were beautifully cooked to chewy perfection on the oven floor - the pizzas were obviously cooked in pans, such that their bottoms didn't develop a nice crust. The dough was too thick for my taste (bearing in mind that my taste is for thin crust pizza; Eddie's makes a thin crust but no one at our table ordered it so I can't speak to it) and the dough didn't have that unctious "give" that the flatbread had. Still - the toppings were first rate and very enjoyable, so if you like Cleveland-style pizza, you will probably like the pizza here as well.

Only one person in our group had dessert - he requested "anything chocolate" - and it certainly looked like he was well rewarded, though I had already put the camera away.

Eddie's Pizzaria Cerino is a delightful, inexpensive place to enjoy a casual meal. Though ironically the pizza wasn't my favorite dish - there was plenty of other genuinely great food to play with. And for our table of 14, I think it is safe to say that a marvelous time was had by all!