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Sherrill Gonterman, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York, started LaCHEF & Co. catering in 1981; she and her crew have catered and styled countless upscale private events, as well as parties for the likes of Saks Fifth Avenue and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Here, she talks about the recipes she graciously shared with AT HOME, as well as her approach to creating holiday food and décor.
Q: Let’s start with the recipes you chose. what inspired this menu?
SG: These recipes really are very flavorful and somewhat special; we served them quite a lot last year and will continue to this year. The cranberry relish, we put it in just about everything—it sets the mood for the holidays. Cranberries don’t come into season until November. We serve it with almost every carved meat, from our roasted cranberry turkey breast to pork loin. It goes well on sandwiches and even over ice cream. There’s a lot you can do with it, and it’s much better than what you can buy at the store, or even the carryout places, because it’s all fresh cranberries, oranges and apricots. It’s more fruity than anything.
The wild mushrooms are really popular this time of year because of their earthy taste and smell; the brie soup is great when it’s chilly out. It’s very rich, and we serve it as an hors d’oeuvres. When people walk in the door, they take off their coats and we hand it to them in a demitasse to warm them up. It’s great for a cold, chilly night.
The dessert is just nice and rich and chocolate.
Q: That dessert list really caught our eye—there was a lot on there ...
Beginning early in November, we start making a lot of desserts. We sell probably more desserts than anything else. But they might be little finger desserts that look pretty on buffet, or something a little different than the homemade cookies that all of us are making that time of year. They’re things you wouldn’t necessarily make for yourself because they’re time-consuming. Obviously, cookies are big, but these are a little bit different. For the holidays, I turn my entire office into a mini Crate & Barrel. It’s consumed with custom linens and twinkle lights and stars and pine cones. We package all sorts of pretty little gifts with bow ties that we use as props. So all of these are props for our buffets that set the mood, and we even do handmade ornament cookies that we use to decorate buffets and dessert trays. All those things add to the presentation.
Q: When does the season begin to kick in for you guys? Probably soon?
We’ve started booking parties already [late September]. In fact, when the first of October hits, we start calling all of our clients who did holiday parties last year, because we give them first choice for dates. We do close out Fridays and Saturday in December—there’s only so many parties we can take, and those are obviously the busiest nights. Most of our clients know to book early. We do a lot of turkeys for Thanksgiving. We do deliveries and carryout turkeys and stuffing and cranberry relish and pies and all of that. That’s the start of the season, and from then on out, we’re just crunching and cooking.
Q: So you’re talking about residential parties, rather than company parties?
Well, we do a lot of in-home parties. That’s more our forte than anything, doing buffets on dining-room tables and coming in and helping people decorate their homes. But a lot of corporations are back to doing holiday parties, and more in a big way than five years ago. A lot of companies, too, have their parties at someone’s home, or at a venue, rather than at the office.
Q: Do you have any advice for folks who are doing smaller-scale parties that might not call for a fully catered meal, who are cooking at home for themselves?
We have a lot of clients who just come by to pick up specialty items, to fill in the blanks. Even if it’s just the relish or the penne pasta—you can pick up food from us, even if it’s not a full-fledged, staffed event. Everyone’s got a lot of food out there, but our trays are all garnished with sugared cranberries and kumquats and we’ll even put a little rosemary and cinnamon stick. We do an edible garnish on all of our carryout trays so they can just kinda put it out and it already looks holiday-ish.
LaCHEF and Co., 7169 Manchester, 314-647-5350
MENU
- House-Smoked Strip Loin of Beef drizzled with cognac peppercorn sauce
- Carved Cranberry Barbecue Turkey Breast, served on walnut bread with cranberry relish and baby spinach
- Iced Jumbo Prawn Martinis, served with vodka horseradish sauce and garnished with three olive skewers
- Mini Yorkshire Puddings
- French Gougeres & Holiday Sweet Bacon, served in gold foil candy boxes
- Warm Brie Bisque with Madeira, in demitasse sippers
- Wild Mushroom Penne Pasta, garnished with pomegranate seeds
- Winter Crudités Nouveau, both grilled and fresh
- Desserts surrounded by frosted grapes, sugared cranberries,spiced pecans & handmade cookie ornaments
- Tuxedo Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries
- Spiked Pecan Diamonds
- Cappuccino Bars
- Peppermint Ice Cream Shots with chocolate sauce and a candy cane
- Pumpkin Mousse and Ginger Snap Crunch
RECIPES
CRANBERRY-APRICOT RELISH
4 ounces apricots, dried
ounce cranberries, fresh
3 whole oranges
1 whole red apple
1 cup sugar
cup water
Dice apricots and place in large bowl. Rinse cranberries and chop of them in the food processor. Core and dice apple into small pieces. Peel and seed oranges and take out middle pith. Dice oranges and set aside. Squeeze juice from pith into sauce pan and heat to a boil. Add sugar, cranberries and cup water. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook just until berries begin to pop (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes. Pour over apricots and let stand 10 minutes. Stir in the oranges and apple. Refrigerate at least two hours. Relish will thicken as it cools.
HOLIDAY SWEET BACON
16 thick slices of bacon, cut in half
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sliced almonds, finely ground
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place cooling rack on jelly roll pan lined with parchment paper. Lay bacon on cooling racks. Combine almonds and brown sugar. Thinly cover one side of bacon with tablespoon of the sugar/almond mixture. Cook bacon 20-25 minutes until crisp.
Can freeze at this point and warm in oven just before serving.
For the holidays, serve on a tray covered with fresh cranberries.
WARM BRIE SOUP WITH MADEIRA
3 tablespoons salted butter
cup Madeira
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
cup white wine
1 cup green onion, chopped
1 cup brie, rind removed, cubed
1 cup carrots, shredded
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
4 tablespoons cornstarch, diluted in water
teaspoon thyme, dried
1 cup heavy cream
4 cups chicken stock
cup parsley, chopped
In saucepan, sauté mushrooms, onions, carrots, garlic and thyme in butter for 4 minutes. Add broth, Madeira and wine. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium. Toss brie in flour. Add brie to pan, whisking constantly until melted. Add diluted cornstarch and whisk. Add cream and stir until heated. Garnish with parsley.
WILD MUSHROOM PENNE PASTA
pound shiitake mushrooms
1 teaspoon minced garlic
pound button mushrooms
tablespoon minced shallots
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 pound penne pasta
cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
cup shredded Asiago
Toss mushrooms with vinegar, olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper.
Bake at 375 degrees for 10–15 minutes on greased sheet pan until tender and dried on edges. For sauce: sauté shallots and garlic in butter; add cream, and heat until hot. Cook penne in boiling salted water until al dente. Just before serving, toss mushrooms, pasta, sauce and cheeses. Salt and pepper to taste.
CAPUCCINO BARS
2/3 cup butter, melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup margarine
2 cups heavy cream
48 ounces dark chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup cappuccino
Combine melted butter and graham cracker crumbs. Spread evenly into small sheet pan. For ganache: melt margarine in saucepan. Take off heat, add cream, vanilla and chocolate. Add cappuccino after chocolate has melted. Pour ganache over crust. Knock gently on table to release air bubbles. Chill and cut into x ” squares. Decorate according to season!
