http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/ Cooking with Chef Michael Hutchings in Santa Barbara featuring catering news, wedding catering, dinner parties, recipes and more en-US Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:10:01 -0800 http://www.typepad.com/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification CookingOnTheAmericanRiviera-SantaBarbarahttp://feedburner.google.com http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2012/01/canapes-and-butler-passed-hors-doeuvres.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2012/01/canapes-and-butler-passed-hors-doeuvres.html Canapes Ready to Present We have a passion for little bites for cocktail receptions and "standing dinners." Canapés have come a long ways since the 50s when such "delights" as pigs in a blanket, chicken liver rumaki and cheese straws were the standard. Often we do a whole dinner a... Food, Drink, Recipes Michael Hutchings Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:10:01 -0800 http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2012/01/wedding-fair-at-rockwood.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2012/01/wedding-fair-at-rockwood.html Please join us at Simply the Best Wedding Showcase on February 26. I will be there from Michael's Catering with Christine Dahl of Christine Dahl Pastries. This showcase is a great one stop event for planning a wedding, rehearsal dinner or engagement party. We will be serving taste of delicious... Wedding News Michael Hutchings Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:22:46 -0800 http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2012/01/tangerine-tarts.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2012/01/tangerine-tarts.html Tangerine Tarts Chef Christine Dahl is a magician with sugar, eggs, chocolate, flour and fruit. She pulled these gems out of her "toque" for a local country club. Pate sucrée is a butter rich pastry dough with a crumbly texture well suited for fruit tarts. Stats: Crust, pate sucree Filling,... Food, Drink, Recipes Michael Hutchings Sun, 15 Jan 2012 11:18:07 -0800 http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2012/01/compliments-to-the-chef.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2012/01/compliments-to-the-chef.html Holiday Buffet We were delighted to cater the annual holiday reception for the Music Academy of the West this past December. The MAOW is a sixty year old plus organization that fosters the careers of young musicians. In fact my sculpting muse Dominick Laruccia Jr. attended in the summer of... Food, Drink, Recipes Michael Hutchings Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:15:32 -0800 http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/12/wedding-cake-classic.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/12/wedding-cake-classic.html Pastry chef Christine Dahl makes amazing cakes. The photo above and compliment below tells the story. Folks do not just like her creations, they are mesmerized! Chef Michael Hutchings "Dear Christine: I write simply to tell you that the wedding cake you built for Helen and Brendan this past weekend... Food, Drink, Recipes Michael Hutchings Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:51:10 -0800 http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/11/wed.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/11/wed.html Pastry Chef Christine Dahl, Chrsitine Dahl Pastries, creates amazine wedding cakes. Chef Christine creates some 175 unique wedding cakes every year. No two are alike. Not just a pretty cake, they also taste great. The reason is simple, 30 years of experience and dedication to the craft of baking. The... Food, Drink, Recipes Michael Hutchings Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:08:23 -0800 http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/10/lobero-theater-mangia-delarte-event.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/10/lobero-theater-mangia-delarte-event.html Last Saturday we were participated in an event at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara. The event, called Mangia del'Arte, was a sort of live theater in the round laced with performances, food and wine. I have catered a wide variety of events in my 40 year career. This event... Food, Drink, Recipes Michael Hutchings Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:55:13 -0700 http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/10/girls-inc-fundraiser-2011.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/10/girls-inc-fundraiser-2011.html Buffet Table of The Berryman Donations This past Sunday we catered an event at Girls Inc. in Carpinteria. A Taste for Carpinteria is a major fund raising event for Girls Inc. Carpinteria. This year, over 500 participants, vendors and sponsors came together to celebrate and support STRONG, SMART, BOLD girls... Food, Drink, Recipes Michael Hutchings Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:05:43 -0700 http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/09/wedding-cake-by-christine-dahl.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/09/wedding-cake-by-christine-dahl.html Sugar, spice and everything nice, that's what wedding cakes are made of Chef Christine Dahl, Christine Dahl Pastries, makes amazing cakes. What fantasies she spins from eggs, flour, sugar, butter and colors. The wedding season is in full swing and Chef Dahl creates up to eight of these masterpieces every... Food, Drink, Recipes Michael Hutchings Fri, 23 Sep 2011 08:14:18 -0700 http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/09/girls-inc-fundraiser.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/09/girls-inc-fundraiser.html We are delighted to be part of Girls Inc. of Carpinteria 2011 "A Taste for Carpinteria" garden party and auction. Local wineries, chefs and restaurants will be offering delicious tastes of their specialties. Come and support this important organization that empowers young girls. Chef Michael Hutchings A Taste for Carpinteria... Food, Drink, Recipes Michael Hutchings Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:41:50 -0700 http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/potato-appetizers.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/potato-appetizers.html Photos Idaho Potato Board Potatoes are one of those "blank canvass" foods like eggs, veal and chicken that has innumerable treatments, cooking methods and sauce combinations. Most often they are a side dish to an entree of some sort. By Chef Bart Hosmer from a Mariott hotel came up with... Food, Drink, Recipes Michael Hutchings Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:07:45 -0700 http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/fall-dinner-entrees.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/fall-dinner-entrees.html Here are some of my latest menu additions for the fall and winter catering season. They play off the seasons and offer deluxe and more modest menu items. Call today for a complimentary catering proposal. Chef Michael Hutchings Michael's Catering Modest Menu Entrees Roasted Atlantic Cod Sauce Americaine seasonal vegetables,... Food, Drink, Recipes Michael Hutchings Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:32:04 -0700 http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/gourmet-hamburger-buffet.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/gourmet-hamburger-buffet.html Deluxe Hamburger Buffet Growing up in Southern California meant that hamburger joints were our Morton's Steakhouse. Going out to McDonalds was a treat for the whole family. I fondly remember having 10¢ hamburgers and a vanilla shake at Joe's after delivering my newspaper route (delivered on bicycle, hand folded). The... Food, Drink, Recipes Michael Hutchings Tue, 30 Aug 2011 09:11:58 -0700 http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/chanterelle-the-last-one-standing.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/chanterelle-the-last-one-standing.html Lone Chanterelle Fruiting August 13, 2011 Followers of this blog will have read a number of postings about the fantastic chanterelle season we had this last winter and the very rare summer harvest that followed. We went out to our "Spot" yesterday to see what might have cropped up. Every... Food, Drink, Recipes Michael Hutchings Sun, 14 Aug 2011 09:46:57 -0700 http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/wine-in-santa-barbara.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/wine-in-santa-barbara.html Saint Emilion Château Fonplegade Santa Barbara is often called The American Riviera. It is clearly an upscale, lifestyle community. Living in proximity to one of the world's premium wine regions is a plus to the area. On a recent bike excursion on State Street, the main street through the business... Food, Drink, Recipes Michael Hutchings Fri, 12 Aug 2011 10:48:52 -0700 http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/ridgeback-shrimp-from-santa-barbara-channel.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/ridgeback-shrimp-from-santa-barbara-channel.html The Santa Barbara Sellfish Company has been serving up local seafood since the early 1980s. There are live tanks that hold crabs, abalone and lobsters from local resources. One of the most delicious catches is the Ridgeback Shrimp. Back in the early 80s there was a considerable harvest of the... Food, Drink, Recipes Michael Hutchings Fri, 12 Aug 2011 10:16:45 -0700 http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/fall-menus-for-weddings-and-entertaining.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/fall-menus-for-weddings-and-entertaining.html Looking for a few new menu ideas? Cooking for six is not the same as cooking for one-hundred and six. Having the right menu is the keystone for a successful dinner. Below are a few new quivers for our culinary bow. I have some upscale menus with versions that are... Wedding News Michael Hutchings Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:47:44 -0700 http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/menu-from-may-25m-1895.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/menu-from-may-25m-1895.html Menu from May 25, 1895 Much is made of the modernists approach to cooking. By modernist I mean manipulating food using vacuum chambers, desiccators, siphons, sous vide cooking devises, centrifuges. The latest edition from Nathan Myhrvold call Modernist Cuisine has compiled and expanded a technical-scientific approach to cooking that is... Michael Hutchings Tue, 09 Aug 2011 09:23:00 -0700 http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/fiesta-santa-barbara-2011.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/fiesta-santa-barbara-2011.html Sopas with Chicken The city of Santa Barbara has held a fiesta call Old Spanish Days Fiesta since 1924. The fiesta celebrates the Spanish heritage of the city as well as serving as a way to stimulate the local economy. Numerous non-profit organizations have food booths to raise funds for... Food, Drink, Recipes Michael Hutchings Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:35:32 -0700 http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/picnic-at-thompson-vineyards-with-jaffurs-cellars.html http://blog.michaelscateringsb.com/cooking_on_the_american_r/2011/08/picnic-at-thompson-vineyards-with-jaffurs-cellars.html This past weekend we catered an alfresco event for Jaffurs Cellars at the Thompson Vineyard in the Los Alamos area of Santa Barbara County. The setting was under an oak tree and next to a pond on the vineyard property. I created a Frenchified picnic menu that would compliment the... Food, Drink, Recipes Michael Hutchings Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:46:46 -0700