They had wanted to taste some gnocchi in a brightly flavored “Caprese” sauce with fresh heirloom tomatoes, basil and mozzarella; a smoke grilled salmon with a sprightly roasted red pepper/roasted sweet corn sauce; and a “classic” Ratatouille of Summer Vegetables. It was fortunate that I was able to get those ingredients, many of them at farm stands just getting ready to close down for the year, and ironic that we would be tasting such summer flavors with the November weather here in Salem plunging down to 40 degrees and below.

Although they were tasting between lunch and dinner, they were quite happy with what we served them and, hopefully, were able to picture tasting it under the warm summer sun. We look forward to seeing them again next June or July.

Our second tasting was a menu that I had devised and reflected more the food that one would like to eat on the rainy and chilly Sunday date we had for our tasting. Our future bride had to leave her future groom at home, he was exhausted from his around the clock vineyard work at harvest time, but she was here for our noon tasting.

Our tasting menu offered a Grilled Local Salmon w/Pommery Mustard Sauce with Wild Rice; Bacon Wrapped Roast Chicken Breast with a Chanterelle-Thyme Cream Sauce; and finally, Pinot Noir Braised Short Ribs with Root Vegetables, served over a Celery Root-Yukon Gold Puree.
The food came out wonderfully and after two bites our guest looked up and said, “Where do I sign up?”

So if you have an important day coming up in your life, please, let us create a menu for you; come and taste it with us, and let us put your mind at ease about the food you will be serving your guests on this special day.

I am looking forward to meeting you, discussing your special meal, and finally, cooking it so that it is just the way you like it and want it.

Chef David

Willabys was represented by Pedro Romero and myself serving up Little Corn Pancakes topped with Black Bean/Corn Salsa and garnished with a tiny dollop of Roasted Green Chile/Cilantro Cream.  We had wanted to feature some “last of the season” produce and since the local Willamette Valley corn has been SO sweet this year, it was a natural.  We grilled off 144 ears of corn and turned them into a delicious citrusy salsa and some very tasty (and very corny!!) little griddle cakes.

Sunday morning we returned to our prep kitchens after a Saturday night of doing two wedding receptions simultaneously (again at Willamette Valley Vineyards) for 66 and 125 (it’s all in the organization, folks) and got right back to it.  After putting out some hor’s d’oeuvres platters and sandwiches for 30 we set to cutting the corn off all those nicely grilled cobs and assembling our salsa and pancake batter.  Sweet grilled corn seemed to be flying everywhere as we took our knives to those grill-blackened cobs.

Once the salsa was made and the batter folded together with the cornmeal, yogurt and egg whites (secret ingredients!!), Pedro and I settled over the hot griddles and cooked off 850 of our little pancakes.  It took us nearly two and a half hours, but was yes, a labor of love.  We packed the ‘cakes into insulated boxes and bowled up our salsa.  Adam, who had roasted the chiles and chopped the cilantro, had pureed them both with sour cream and syphoned them into handy squirt bottles.  We packed the van and we were off.

We settled into our beautifully decorated table (Thanks, Sue!!!) in one corner of the tent and got to assembling our tasty treats.  All around us chefs were heating, chopping and saucing and the clink and clank of wine bottles filled the room.  We were so grateful that we had done the major share of our work back at the prep kitchen.  At 3:00 the first shuttle buses from the bottom of the hill would deposit the Early Arrivals (the first hour was for special donees and other VIPs) and everyone wanted to be ready.

The first hour passed smoothly and we had plenty of time to talk to our guests and eaters.  But from 4-6:0o Pedro and I were inundated with curious and hungry (not to mention thirsty) eaters and drinkers.  The guitarist in the opposite corner strummed away, the bottles and glasses sloshed and our supply of 850 pancakes fairly flew out over the table.  It was a festive and happy way to spend a Sunday afternoon and we got plenty of comments and compliments on how good and how different our little pancakes were.

And by 7:00 our supplies were nearly gone (good planning), the crowd had dwindled to a few stragglers, and the wine had been poured.  Pedro and I splashed out the raindrops with our empty platters and pointed our van down the hill.  It had been an amazing and fast paced afternoon and we felt great about how our part of it had gone.  Cooking and serving for a cause such as this can’t help but make you feel good.  Thank you again to everyone who made this year’s Chefs Night Out a raging success!!!

This September has been filled with one exciting event after another and we’ve been loving using the local bounty that seems to leap from the fields of the Willamette Valley in August and September. We’ve been roasting, braising, pickling and smoking in an attempt to use as much of our fresh local produce as we can. This last weekend we did a cocktail party in Ilahe that featured fresh local corn in DELICIOUS corn fritters, a platter of five different pickled vegetables and a bowl of roasted pumpkin hummus with spiced pita chips. Needless to say, these things fairly flew off the table.

In honor of the change of seasons we have begun making our own sausages right in the Willaby’s kitchens. We just cranked out a batch of delicious smoked pork and beef sausages in a Spanish Chorizo style and have a stack of recipes coming up. If you are not asking for these spicy, smoky delights at your next catering event, you certainly should be. Additionally, we are looking into getting certified so that we can package and sell these tasty homemade sausages to you to take home.

This Sunday, the 2nd of October we will be up at Willamette Valley Vineyards, participating in the Chef’s Night Out, benefitting the Marion-Polk Foodshare.  We will be sharing the venue with a number of wonderful local restaurants and caterers, along with a host of local wineries.  The food will be plentiful and the wine will be flowing, so please come out to support a local cause.  We will be serving more of those delicious Local Sweet Corn Fritters with a Black Bean and Corn Salsa and Green Chile/Cilantro Cream.  We hope to see you there.

Keep your eyes on our posts here as well as on Facebook for photos of recent events.  We hope to see you at one soon.

Chef Dave

It is getting to be that time of the year that we truly look forward to at Willaby’s.  The sun is coming out, the first produce of a new season is arriving and we are busy, busy, busy creating and cooking the specialties that will help to make your wedding, your reception or your graduation party an event that you will remember forever.

We have just finished our kitchen expansion and this past weekend we sent out three lunches, a lovely cocktail party and seated dinners for 135 and 75 all on Saturday!  We have dusted off our Traeger smoker oven and are turning out Top Sirloin, Prime Rib and Chicken Breasts dusted with out special spice rub and smoked to perfection.  We are receiving “first of the season” local asparagus and strawberries and are counting the days until the arrival of a whole market basket full of local bounty.  This past Saturday night we served a Parfait of Local Strawberries in martini glasses that was a Show Stopper!

We followed up Saturday’s HUGE day by sending out two lunches on Sunday and then I cooked and served a tasting menu of Mexican specialties to a family who will be having a wedding next year at Domaine Margelle, the beautiful chateau in Scotts Mills.  I feel so lucky to have come to work at Willaby’s, a place where I can stretch out and use the skills I have developed in over 35 years of creating tasty and beautiful food.

We love working with you to create an event one that is custom tailored to give  you and your guests exactly what you want, be it Mexican, French, Italian, a classic American dinner, a picnic, or just “good ol’ BBQ”.  Please get in touch with us, schedule some time and we can help you put on the party of your dreams.  I hope to see you soon at Willaby’s to talk about the menu that will make you, your family and your guests feel as if they’ve gotten “exactly what they wanted”.

My name is David Mahler and I am excited to be the new Chef at Willaby’s Catering. I’ve moved here after two years of running the kitchen in an internationally known Eco-Lodge in Costa Rica. I am originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, where I was a restaurant chef for over 20 years, although my cooking has taken me not just to Costa Rica but all over the US.

What I bring to Willaby’s tasteful and well-known kitchen is a desire to work with clients and our staff developing menus custom tailored for you. I love to cook fresh made products sourced from local ingredients and Oregon is rich with a beautiful local bounty. In Costa Rica I worked directly with farmers and fishermen to get the best possible products for my guests and I plan on doing the same here in Salem.

I am thrilled to be working with Jean, Renee and Lisa in helping to create menus for your event whether it be a fabulous vineyard wedding, a special anniversary with friends and family, or a corporate luncheon that needs to be “just so”. I have a vast repertoire of dishes culled from coast to coast here in the US as well as a knowledge of seasonality and a flair for bright flavors and beautiful presentations.

I am looking forward to helping to create the meal for you that will turn your special occasion into an event that you and your guests will remember and savor.

Chef David

Domaine Margelle is truly breathtaking, even more so in person, but check out their site for some gorgeous vista views.

http://www.domainemargelle.com/index.html

We are always excited to see a new gorgeous venue emerge that truly offers something different. Domaine Margelle is a one-of-a-kind experience venue with its own Country Farmhouse on the property. It’s like a European Villa with its own stone wall. Fantastic! Lots of great spots for pictures and gorgeous backdrop for your guests to enjoy. Very exciting! Willaby’s is happy to be a preferred caterer for Domaine Margelle and would love to arrange a visit for you. After you get your ring, give us one!

This is always a fun event and we really enjoy getting the opportunity to meet potential brides and show off our work! Which is yummy food, so there’s really no down side.

We are a preferred caterer for Willamette Valley Vineyards so you’ll really get a chance to see what Willaby’s food + Willamette Valley views are all about. Hope to see you there!

Plus you’ll get the chance to meet other vendors we love including linens, music vendors and more. Get yourself squared away so you can enjoy the wedding process stress free! Booking vendors well in advance is absolutely essential and the best vendors go fast as we get closer to the summer.

In the intimate Founders’ Room at Willamette Valley Vineyards, Jean was escorted down the aisle by her three boys and met groom Scott surrounded by close friends, family and oodles of rose pedals.

Even more guests arrived for the new year’s bash that followed the sweet ceremony. Nerves and serious business done, it was time to party! The theme fit the occasion with lots of swank. Black, silver and pink adorned the tables and guests were able to kick back in a lounge of black couches, rugs and mood lighting.

Jean had a blast planning this space! Chandeliers were installed specifically for the event and soft candle lighting brought intimacy and charm to the special night. Gorgeous!

Featured drinks were Malibu Barbi Martinis, beer and naturally, lots of Willamette Valley Vineyards wine for all! The food alone made this a new year’s celebration to remember. Crab Cakes, beef medalions with pinot reduction sauce, sausage stuffed mushrooms, baked brie, roasted red pepper torta, chicken skewers with gorgonzola crème sauce, assorted cheeses and crackers and bacon wrapped dates with balsamic glaze. Happy guests refilled their plates as the party continued.

Speaking of happy guests, the bride and groom were surprised by a comedy performance from two of Scott’s firefighting coworkers. Much to the delight of everyone, Tillamook Bob and Santiam Stew performed a skit that really can’t be described, but here’s a pic so you can get an idea of the hilarity that went down. Seriously… we wish you could have seen this.

It was hysterical and tons of laughs were had. Thanks Bob and Stew!

Midnight came and went and guests were still having a blast! But all good things must come to an end. So we welcome 2011 with open arms and a fresh perspective on wedding catering and coordinating. Planning her own day was no small task and Jean took away plenty of ideas and excitement from the experience.

Congratulations to the happy couple, and welcome to the Willaby’s family, Scott! Try to resist those cutoff jeans and tassled jackets, though… we’re a classy bunch.

Stop by our booth to get great ideas and talk to us about your wedding vision. We’ll have some sample menus and other photos on hand ready to show off all we can do!