Butterfield Catering's Christmas Menu

Butterfield's Chanukah Menu

New At Butterfield

Talking Turkey - Prepping for Thanksgiving At The Butterfield Kitchen

Our kitchen is busy busy busy today, getting ready for Thanksgiving! Tomorrow is turkey day literally for the Butterfield Kitchen. We cook our turkeys for Thanksgiving Day on Thanksgiving.

If you were to walk into our kitchen right now, this is what you would see:

Butterfield Market Catering Will Only Be Accepting Thanksgiving Orders Until 4pm This Saturday

Remember to place your order!!

Butterfied Market offerd Vegan Thanksgiving Dinners

This year, we now are offering individual Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner plates, and entire Vegan Thanksgiving Packages.

We have recently started working and welcome to the Butterfield family a vegan specialist,Fernanda Capobianco. A native of Brazil, Fernanda previously ran and owned The Payard Restaurant and Pastry shops in Rio de Janeiro. While there she and Pastry Chef Francois Payard developed delicious pastries without eggs, with less sugar, healthier ingredients and exotic fruits like passion fruit, acai, cupuacu and caqui. Capobianco, herself a vegan for 15 years, started Payard Organic catering, which used fresh and organic ingredients.

We hit it off with Fernada right away. Her easy manner, dedication to doing right by the customer by developing high-quality products made her a great fit right with us from the outset.

We have brought her in to work with Butterfield Chefs to create delicious and healthy vegan menu items for drop-off and full service catering customers. In the short time we have spent around Fernanda we have learned that vegan food is often delicious food.

Our first collaboration wih Fernada is our vegan Thanksgiving.

If there is any way to add our Vegan Option to the our Thanksgiving writeup that would be great. Please call or email Fernanda o 212-772-8782 or email her fernanda@butterfieldmarket.com

Francois Payard’s Signature Pastries Available At Butterfield Market

Starting tomorrow, some of Francois Payard’s Signature Pastries will be available at Butterfield Market. Last week we started to carry Francois’ chocolates, truffles, macaroons, and flourless chocolate cookies. This week, his signature pastries, next week… who knows???
Butterfield will offer 4 of Payard’s delicious pastries to start. They will include:

Georges V: Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Sponge, Caramel with Peanuts, Vanilla Cremeux
Louvre:
Dark Chocolate Mousse, Hazelnut Dacquoise, Hazelnut Mousse, Hazelnut Wafer
Vienne: Sable Breton, Milk Chocolate Mousse, Soft Caramel, Orange Compote, Caramel Glazed with Fleur de Sel
The Tower: Chocolate Mousse, Feuilletine Hazelnuts, Pain de Geme Espresso, Mascarpone Sabayon

Vegan Expert Fernanda Capobiano Joins The Butterfield Market Family

We realize that over the last decade and a half many of our customers have either adopted a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle or have had a family member or close friend choose a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle. Still, many other customers are following low fat diets, dairy free diets or have sworn off refined sugar. Still others are watching their cholesterol.

It is with all this in mind that we welcome Fernanda Capobianco to the Butterfield Family. A native of Brazil, Fernanda previously ran The Payard Restaurant and Pastry shops in Rio de Janeiro. While there she and Pastry Chef Francois Payard developed delicious pastries without eggs, with less sugar, healthier ingredients and exotic fruits like passion fruit, acai, cupuacu and caqui. Capobianco, herself a vegan for 15 years, started Payard Organic catering, which used fresh and organic ingredients.

We hit it off with Fernada right away. Her easy manner, dedication to doing right by the customer by developing high-quality products made her a great fit right with us from the outset.

We have brought her in to work with Butterfield Chefs to create delicious and healthy vegan menu items for drop-off and full service catering customers. In the short time we have spent around Fernanda we have learned that vegan food is often delicious food.

Our first collaboration wih Fernada is our vegan Thanksgiving meal which will blog about soon.

We look forward to working with Fernada and our customers to develop some delicious Vegan dishes.

Thanksgiving Tastings - Wednesday November 11th and Thursday November 12th

Please join us for our Thanksgiving Tastings. We will be offering samples from our Thanksgiving Holiday Menu on Wednesday November 11th and Thursday November 12th from 3:30 to 6:30 PM at our Lexington Avenue location, Butterfield Market at 1114 Lexington Avenue between 77th and 78th Streets. We will be sampling items off our menu and *new* Vegan menu (with Butterfield’s “Vegan Expert” Fernanda Capobianco), as well as Tate's Pies, Adirondack Creamery Ice Cream (Traditional Vanilla and Pumpkin), and Fran Costigan’s Creamy Very Chocolate Tofu Mousse(vegan).

Butterfield Market Thanksgiving 2009 – The Menu

We like to be modest when we can. That said, the Butterfield Market’s Thanksgiving dinner usually delights and amazes. But again, don’t take our word for it.

Maybe its because Butterfield Market is the only caterer in Manhattan that cooks and delivers all of its turkeys on Thanksgiving Day.

We just completed our 2009 Thanksgiving Menu. This year we are also offering a choice of two complete dinner packages to feed either six or twelve guests.

We are mostly sticking with our tried-and-true dishes, so the menu is packed with old favorites like spiced pumpkin soup, cornbread and mushroom stuffing, praline sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce with orange zest.

We are offering an assortment of Tate’s pies for dessert.

We are planning an in-store tasting in mid-November. We will announce the date when we have finalized it.

The absolute deadline for accepting Thanksgiving orders is Saturday, November 21 at 4:00PM.

Gobble Gobble.

Tate's Bake Shop At Butterfield Market - "A Store Within A Store:

Edible East End wrote Tate's Bake Shop in Southampton. This is what the wrote when they mentioned Butterfield:

Butterfield’s Market on the Upper East Side has been carrying King’s cookies for almost 20 years and now contains a “store within a store” where one can find Tate’s pies, scones and cobblers while in Manhattan. All of the products, other than the cookies, are baked fresh on premise at Butterfield’s. According to Alan Obsatz, co-owner of Butterfield’s, “We are very selective when it comes to choosing what products we carry in the store. Tate’s products are wonderful and delicious. Many of our customers are familiar with Tate’s in Southampton and we have become a destination location to get those products on the Upper East Side.” If you find yourself too far out of reach of a buttery chocolate chip cookie you can order packages of cookies and bars online at tatesbakeshop.com.

Tate's Pie Tasting This Tuesday and Pie Sale This Week

Butterfield Market (77th & Lexington See Map) will host a yummy pie tasting on Tuesday, October 6, 2009 from 1:30pm to 4:30pm. The tasting will feature an assortment of pies from Tate's Bake Shop of Southampton, N.Y., one of the New York-area's most famous pie bakers. The pie flavors will include pecan, blueberry, cherry, three berry and raspberry peach.

All pies are also on sale this week marked down to $15 from $20.

Please come by and join us. And also make sure to try some of our wonderful frozen yogurt. It makes for a great twist on pie ala mode.

Man Men - Trudy Campell is a Customer

Ok seems like the secret's out. Trudy Campbell, wife of Pete Campbell, shops at The Butterfield Market.

As many friends of Butterfield Market and some customers noticed, Trudy gave away the secret to her fresh fruit salad during a particularly awkward meal with her husband towards the end of last night's episode. Some folks commenting on the Basket of Kisses Blog also seemed to notice.

Trudy buys her produce at Butterfield Market. We took particular notice that she mentioned our fresh cherries just as the great Nora Ephron had two months back.

It's four decades later but we still have freshest produce on the Upper East Side.

Mad Men mentions Butterfield Market Tonight!!

MAD MED MENTIONS BUTTERFIELD MARKET

A Cyberspace Tasting

We are planning an event for a woman in Utah. She was interested in tasting the hors d'oeuvres she selected. Unfortunately, we could not send pre-assembled hors d'oeuvres for her to try.... so we had Chef Domingo prepare a few of the items, took pictures of them (ourselves, not professionally!). This was our first virtual tasting!!

Here are a few of the photos:

Some Pictures From Foods On Our Break The Fast 2009 Menu

Cheese Blintz Casserole

Noodle Kugel

Matzoh Ball Soup

Scottish Smoked Salmon Platter

Cream Cheese
Pickled Herring In Cream Sauce

Accompaniments To The Smoked Salmon Platter

Now I am full :-)

Vegan Baked Goods

What are your thoughts about vegan baked gods at Butterfield Market?

Did you know vegan products are good for people that are allergic to milk & dairy, need low fat diets or are vegetarians?

Yom Kippur Menu 2009

Our break the fast menu is finally up on our website.

Traditional favorites, that include: Butterfield's Cheese Blintz Casserole, Noodle Kugel, Smoked Fishes, Tates Pies, Brownie Pudding Pie

Butterfield Market Rosh Hashanah Menu 2009

As the summer winds down you know that Rosh Hashanah can't be too far off.

Therefore, we present The Butterfield Market's 2009 Rosh Hashanah menu. As always our Rosh Hashanah menu includes some new additions as well as some old favorites.

* Chicken Soup with Matzoh Balls
* Sliced Brisket
* Roasted Capon (new item this year)
* Citrus Chicken
* Kasha Varnishkas
* Noodle Kugel
* String Beans with Wild Mushrooms
* Cheese Blintz Casserole
* Truffle Mashed Potatoes (new item this year)

We understand the importance of tasting the food you will be serving to your guests. In that spirit, we will be holding a tasting on Thursday September 10th from 3m-6pm that will feature selections from this year's menu. The tasting will be held at Butterfield Market, 1114 Lexington Avenue (77th and 78th streets and Lexington Ave)


We will be accepting orders until 6pm on Monday September 14th for Friday September 18ths and Saturday September 19th.

Butterfield Market's New "Butterfield Express" Allows Quick Access To Our Frozen Yogurt!

Butterfield Express is up and running! Now our customers do can get our delicious frozen yogurt faster – from our new “Butterfield Express” window, located in the most northern window of the Butterfield Market.










Our Frozen Yogurt has become very popular! We have a comments box. We thought we would receive suggestions from our customers. Practically all of the comments have been about how terrific and delicious the yogurt is. The other comments are requesting berry or chocolate flavors.


Eventually, the Butterfield Express window will have coffee and express breakfast items in the mornings, and during the winter afternoons, in addition to the yogurt, hot soups!

Nora Ephron - Mentioned Butterfield' s Cherries in an Article Today

She liked our Bing Cherries!

Butterfield Market Now Serving Frozen Yogurt

Today was the first day we had Butterfield's new Frozen Yogurt! If you like the frozen yogurt at Bloomingdale's then you should come in and sample ours!!! We have 2 flavors - Plain and Coffee - low in calories and fat!
As far as toppings: Blueberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, Mango, Pineapple, Kiwi, Walnuts, Butterfield's Homemade NUT FREE Granola, Carob Chips, Coconut, Walnuts and Tates Chocolate Chip Cookie Bits.

Come in for a sample!!!

New Member Of The Butterfield Family

We have added a new addition to our Butterfield and Obsatz family. On June 5th 2009 Evan and Jenn brought us Theodore "Theo" John Obsatz. He weighed 9.9 pounds - almost the size of our Thanksgiving Turkeys! If grandpa was here now, Theo already would be holding a bagel!

Photos from Butterfield Catering events on March 11th and March 5th

Here are some photos from two recent events that I (Joelle) took:

These are from an event we themed as a wine/food tasting. We had 8 different food stations, each representing a different country. We served one wine from each country, and at some stations beer as well, paired with a food served hor d'oeuvres style. The American Station had desserts available, and the hors d'oeuvres that were passed were American Style food.








what is this? a mac and cheese cup!



The following photos are from a black tie dinner at the Park Avenue Armory:

Another Update From Joelle - What's New At Butterfield

We are settled into our new kitchen, and it feels like we’ve been here for a long time! Since we moved in here, it’s been non stop action! The kitchen is busiest during the early hours of the day, and seems to slow down in the afternoon. Once the food is prepared, we start sending deliveries to our Market, and Café at the New York School Of Interior Design -breakfast foods come first: hard boiled eggs; fruit salads with cottage cheese and toasted nuts; smoked salmon sticks, ficelles with butter and choice of ham, salami or cheese. The Kitchen delivers fresh foods that are more time appropriate to them throughout the day. Once the food starts leaving the kitchen for the Market and Cafe, the daily catering drop off orders start: first breakfast, then lunch, then meetings, finally dinner and parties start

The catering phone lines are ringing – our catering planners are in the office starting at 9am and are usually around until 6:30/7pm - but Nerick and his crew are there much earlier. They are pretty good at picking up the phones before the catering offices open –if you NEED to speak with someone earlier, try 212-772-8782 x3 gets all the phones to ring (I think) – If you need the manager, press x206 .

Our catering department is busy! A lot more drop off orders than before. I think we are busier because we are very flexible; deliver our food (and often the entire party) to offices, homes, stores, and event spaces - which is more cost effective than going out to restaurants. Being that we do all types of catered events – Full Service and Drop Off - we have put ourselves in a good position by being able to accommodate basically anything: Corporate lunches, weddings, drop off breakfast meetings, 1000 person parties for art show openings, concessions for over 13 art shows, food for many religious celebrations; children’s birthday parties, showers, graduations, promotional events, food reciprocation of recipes for food promotional events, corporate parties; private seated dinner parties at home. Basically, we find out what each client wants and their budget, and then we work together to make them happy.

We have many more orders for lunches and small dinner parties… perhaps people are staying at home more? Good thing for us, people still need to eat! I have noticed that the some of our big repeat events do not have the same or any funding for this years event... many have cut their budgets drastically. One event that had a food budget over $15,000 last year scaled this years order down to $365. I have also noticed that people are having more extended kiddushes for bar/bat mitzvahs at the Synagogues (simple but nice lunch), in addition to doing a children’s party at night, instead of a huge adults/family/friends party…. BUT there are still some big events going on – and we seem to be getting lots of the rollover of clients that want high quality and good service, they just don’t want to spend 35% more that some of the larger high-end caterers charge

Hopefully our good food, diverse business, flexibility, our good reputation and personal touch, will make this Kitchen an asset to our growing Butterfield Family, your stomachs and also to our new neighborhood in Yorkville!

"Mr Butterfield", Ted Appelbaum, Dad, Grandpa, Papa Teddy

Tracy's Cooking Tips

Chef Tracy shares the first (we hope) of her tasty recipes with us...

Originally sold at her store - Tracy's On The Side in the Chelsea Market - now you can make it at home.

Miss Tracy's Garlic & Sundried Tomato Spread
8oz Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Feta Cheese
4oz Sundried Tomatoes (drained & chopped)
1 tbls Fresh Chopped Oregano
2 heads of Garlic (chopped)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor & serve with crackers, breads &/or crudite.

It's a great recipe for the holidays &, she says, was a real hit all year long. Abondanza!

Another Update From Joelle: What's Going On At The New Butterfield Kitchen?

Hello Blog Readers!

Thanksgiving was a success. We were able to cater to over 300 homes, and made over 120 deliveries throughout the city! Looking at all of the turkeys, and pounds of stuffing was incredible! We delivered warm moist turkeys to many happy feasters! We even received some reviews on City Search.
I felt happy when I sat down at our families table of 23 people to eat, of course our Butterfield feast, because I was relieved that all of our easy to critique guests enjoyed all of the food and loved it. It meant our customers were enjoying the food too. At the bottom of the post I will put some pictures from the kitchen on Thanksgiving.

This past Sunday, we donated 1000 cups of hot chocolate to our new neighbors that attended the 2008 Candlelight Tree Lighting and Caroling in Carl Schurz Park!

Now that we are up and running smoothly in the new Butterfield Kitchen we are ready to handle any exciting challenge that comes our way! The chefs are busy cooking away, the expediters are sending out orders, the retail area is being filled with prepared foods to go, baked goods, salads, sandwiches, snacks, cupcakes and coffee, and the catering department is busy creating menus and proposals for holiday parties, office meetings, Christmas dinners, and even parties for 2009.

Call our catering department 212-772-8782 to help you plan your next event – we are here to work with you to make this easy, fun, and successful! – Whatever type of event you are planning.

Tomorrow I will write a post on how to keep within a budget when planning your holiday (or not holiday) party…. If things get too hectic – the post will be on Wednesday :-)

Joelle
:0)

Just in time for the holidays: Butterfield Catering's Complete Cocktail Party Packages!

For this holiday season, we have created 3 Drop-Off Complete Cocktail Party Packages. Fun, budget-conscious, delicious and easy. Perfect for offices, homes, bars – basically anywhere you are partying!


COMPLETE DROP-OFF COCKTAIL PARTY PACKAGES

PACKAGE #1 – LET’S PARTY
Includes Cocktail Napkins, Small White Plates, Serving Utensils, Plastic Silver Knives for Cheese,
Disposable Rectangular Tablecloth


Up To 15 People - $425.00

Winter Crudité Platter offered with Dill Dipping Sauce
Small

Cheese Platter with Brie, Asiago, Comte, Vermont Cheddar offered with Baguette Rounds and Crackers
Small

Individual Hors d’Oeuvres (20 Pieces of Each)
Spicy Shrimp
Spanikopitas - Feta & Spinach (sent in aluminum pan and served warm OR plattered & served room temp)
Citrus Chicken Skewers
Mini Vegetarian Quiche (sent in aluminum pan and served warm OR plattered & served room temp)
Portobello Brushetta with Arugula and Wasabi Aioli on Pumpernickel Rounds
Roast Beef and Horseradish on Crostini

Assorted Mini Sandwiches (12 of each)
Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Mayo on Bite Sized Brioche Roll
Fresh Turkey, Granny Smith Apple, Cranberry Relish and Honey Mustard on Mini Current Scones
Baby Croissants with Brie and Raspberry Jam


15 To 30 People - $810.00

Winter Crudités Platter offered with Dill Dipping Sauce and Honey Mustard Dip
Large

Cheese Platter with Brie, Asiago, Comte, Vermont Cheddar offered with Baguette Rounds and Crackers
Large

Individual Hors d’Oeuvres (35 Pieces of Each)
Spicy Shrimp
Spanikopitas - Feta & Spinach (sent in aluminum pan and served warm OR plattered & served room temp)
Citrus Chicken Skewers
Mini Vegetarian Quiche (sent in aluminum pan and served warm OR plattered & served room temp)
Portobello Brushetta with Arugula and Wasabi Aioli on Pumpernickel Rounds
Roast Beef and Horseradish on Crostini

Assorted Mini Sandwiches (24 of each)
Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Mayo on Bite Sized Brioche Roll
Fresh Turkey, Granny Smith Apple, Cranberry Relish and Honey Mustard on Mini Current Scones
Baby Croissants with Brie and Raspberry Jam


PACKAGE #2 – KID AT HEART
Includes Cocktail Napkins, Small White Plates, Serving Utensils, Plastic Silver Knives for Cheese,
Disposable Chafing Dish, Disposable Rectangular Tablecloth


Up To 15 People - $515.00

Sullivan Street Flatbread Pizza Bites: Pomodoro, Potato & Rosemary
Medium Platter

Sent in Aluminum Pans with Disposable Chafing Dish and Sterno to be served warm - (40 of Each)
Pigs in Blankets offered with Deli Mustard
Mini Vegetarian Empanadas offered with Sour Cream

White Meat Chicken Fingers offered with Honey Mustard Dip
(25 Total)

Tea Sandwiches (16 of Each)
Nutella and Fresh Strawberries on White Bread
Peanut Butter and Jelly on Raison Nut Bread

Butterfield’s Mini Big Macs: Filet Mignon, Mini Pickle, Ketchup, and Mustard on Bite Sized Brioche Roll
(18 Total)

Bite Sized Assorted Cupcakes, S’mores, Rice Krispy Treats
Small


15-30 People - $900.00

Sullivan Street Flatbread Pizza Bites: Pomodoro, Potato & Rosemary, Cremini
Large Platter

Sent in Aluminum Pans with Disposable Chafing Dish and Sterno to be served warm - (70 of Each)
Pigs in Blankets offered with Deli Mustard
Mini Vegetarian Empanadas offered with Sour Cream

White Meat Chicken Fingers offered with Honey Mustard Dip
(40 Total)

Tea Sandwiches (32 of Each)
Nutella and Fresh Strawberries on White Bread
Peanut Butter and Jelly on Raison Nut Bread

Butterfield’s Mini Big Macs: Filet Mignon, Mini Pickle, Ketchup, and Mustard on Bite Sized Brioche Roll
(36 Total)

Bite Sized Assorted Cupcakes, S’mores, Rice Krispy Treats
Large



PACKAGE #3 – ELEGANT AFFAIR
Includes Cocktail Napkins, Small White Plates, Serving Utensils, Plastic Silver Knives for Cheese,
Disposable Chafing Dish, Disposable Rectangular Tablecloth


Up To 15 People - $675.00

Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail with Lemon Wedges and Cocktail Sauce
(40 Total)

Winter Crudité Platter offered with Dill Dipping Sauce
Small

Cheese and Pate Platter
Brie, Monchego, Comte, Truffle Mousse Pate, Country Pate served with Baguette Rounds and Mini Toasts
Medium Platter

Sent in Aluminum Pans with Disposable Chafing Dish and Sterno to be served warm
Truffle Risotto in Puff Pastry (40)
Duo of Spanikopita: Blueberry and Goat Cheese; Spinach and Feta (20 of Each)

Individual Hors d’Oeuvres (18 of Each)
Filet Mignon with Horseradish Cream on Crostini
Cucumbers Rounds with Salmon Caviar and Crème Fraiche
Smoked Salmon Diamonds with Cream Cheese and Fresh Dill on 7-Grain Bread
Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed with Mini Mozzarella Ball and Fresh Basil
Endive Petal with Roquefort Mousse

Mini Fruit Tarts and Bite Sized Mini Pastries (25 Total)


15-30 People - $1215.00

Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail with Lemon Wedges, Cocktail Sauce and Chipotle Aioli
(70 Total)

Winter Crudité Platter offered with Dill Dipping Sauce and Honey Mustard Dip
Large

Cheese and Pate Platter
Brie, Monchego, Comte, Truffle Mousse Pate, Country Pate served with Baguette Rounds and Mini Toasts
Large Platter

Sent in Aluminum Pans with Disposable Chafing Dish and Sterno to be served warm
Truffle Risotto in Puff Pastry (75)
Duo of Spanikopita: Blueberry and Goat Cheese; Spinach and Feta (40 of Each)

Individual Hors d’Oeuvres (35 of Each)
Filet Mignon with Horseradish Cream on Crostini
Cucumbers Rounds with Salmon Caviar and Crème Fraiche
Smoked Salmon Diamonds with Cream Cheese and Fresh Dill on 7-Grain Bread
Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed with Mini Mozzarella Ball and Fresh Basil
Endive Petal with Roquefort Mousse

Mini Fruit Tarts and Bite Sized Mini Pastries (45 Total)



PARTY PACKAGES BEVERAGE ADDITIONS

Up To 15 People $36.00
1 Sliced Lemon
1 Pellegrino
2 1-Liters Bottled Water
1-Liter Diet Coke
1-Liter Coke
1-Liter Gingerale
2 Packages Plastic Tumblers
Bowl of Ice with Serving Spoon
Disposable Tablecloth
1 Package Cocktail Napkins

Up To 30 People $72.00
2 Sliced Lemon
2 Pellegrino
3 1-Liters Bottled Water
2 1-Liters Diet Coke
2 1-Liters Coke
2 1-Liters Gingerale
4 Packages Plastic Tumblers
2 Bowls of Ice with Serving Spoon
Disposable Tablecloth
2 Packages Cocktail Napkins

Butterfield Catering will be in the New York Times Tomorrow: An East Side Market Gives Birth To A Caterer

In tomorrow's New York Times, Florence Fabricant writes about our new facility - the Butterfield Kitchen, and some of our 2008 Thanksgiving offerings!
Check out the article

Butterfield Catering and Butterfield Market 2008 Thanksgiving Festivities - cooked in our new Kitchen!!

We are proud to announce an exciting agenda for this Thanksgiving--including holiday tastings (one already passed), a pie baking class, and turkeys cooked on Thanksgiving Day.

Butterfield Catering and Butterfield Market allows all customers to have a delicious freshly roasted turkey delivered warm to their front door on Thanksgiving Day. For those desiring a bit more authenticity, we also offers an Oven Ready Turkey which is trussed, seasoned, and basted in its own pan, along with included easy-to-use cooking instructions. Butterfield will be making deliveries until 6PM on Wednesday the 26th and until 1PM on Thursday the 27th, Thanksgiving Day.

From 3:30 to 6:30PM on Wednesday November 19th, Butterfield Market will be hosting a tasting from a selection of menu items offered on their Thanksgiving Holiday Menu at their store located at 1114 Lexington Avenue.

Kathleen King, owner and baker of Tate’s Bake Shop of South Hampton (which are now exclusively baked daily at both Butterfield Market and the Kitchen) will be holding a hands-on pie baking class on Thursday November 20th from 6-9PM at Butterfield’s new Kitchen.

Here is a link to our easy to order Thanksgiving Menu – orders must be placed by Sunday November 23rd

Thanksgiving Pie Baking Class Taught By Kathleen King, Baker and Owner of Tates Of South Hamption, at the new Butterfield Kitchen

Learn How to Bake Your Thanksgiving Pie!!!

We are proud to offer a hands-on pie baking class with Mrs. Kathleen King at the new Butterfield Kitchen. Mrs. King will be teaching how to bake her famous Buttermilk Pie Crust and Apple Pie. Each student will leave with a freshly baked pie, and priceless amount of pie baking knowledge. Class size is limited, so please call soon!

About Kathleen King
If you're in the Hamptons and walk around the charming little Atlantic coast town of Southampton, you'll see a primrose yellow Victorian structure with turquoise shutters, framed in flowers, that seems to attract people like bees to a hive. It's Tate's Bake Shop, the fairytale culmination of a dream that got started when 11-year-old Kathleen King began baking cookies to sell at her family's farm stand not far out of town. Today, those amazing cookies have attracted a loyal following from coast to coast. Mrs. King is also well known for her incredible dessert line and cookbook.

Class Date: Thursday November 20th
Class Time: 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Class Size: 15 People
Location: Butterfield Kitchen, 346 East 92nd St (1st & 2nd Avenue)
Price: $50 per person

To register for the class, e-mail evan@butterfieldmarket.com or call 212.772.8782 extension 209, and speak with Evan

Thank you. No, no. Thank you! - Disney's Club Penguin Event in Times Square

We always love to hear from happy customers. It sends us to the moon... Below is part of one of those letters that sends us even further out into space.

"THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The hot coco was a hit. The cupcakes were adorable and a hit. The servers were AWESOME and on it!!! And the cake.....OH MY GOSH, THE CAKE!!!

It became a photo opp for everyone!!! Soooo beautiful!!!! It looked absolutely gorgeous. The owner/CEO was all smiles. He said it looked exactly like the photo. Please extend a tremendous thank you and kudos to the chef/baker. AMAZING work.

You are the caterer of choice now my dear for NYC... THANK YOU. LOVE YOU. GREAT TO WORK WITH YOU!!!

Your new BFF, Jen Marie"


This is the actual cake for the event:



The baker was given this photo to try to create it:

Butterfield Receives a 2008 Halloween Inform Award

Jocelyn Jane listed "The Best UES Halloween Decorations" on The Upper Eastside Informer's blog site. And, Butterfield Market is one of her ten favorite! Check out her blog, Butterfield's decorations & the 2008 Halloween Inform Awards by clicking here.

PS... Happy Halloween!

Now Butterfield Market Is Baking Daily... drumroll please... Tate's Bake Shops' Pies (of South Hampton)

Butterfield Market is offering many products from Tates Bake Shop - and we will be baking Tates' pies daily. Come in for a fresh baked Blueberry, Apple, and even Chocolate Chip Pie.... The scents the pies give off is worth coming for.
All of the pies and delicious desserts, poundcake (yummy chocolate), coffee cake, blondies and brownies, and of course the cookies - can be added to your catered event by Butterfield Catering!!!




Click here to see inside Kathleen’s Bake Shop

She has won many awards for her chocolate chip cookies. I grew up eating them, and still love them! Check out Kathleen’s Publicity

Below are pictures from Butterfield Market's Tate's Display!

Talking About Some Spirit!

A West Side Spirit writer stopped in at Butterfield Market recently & (like others before them) ate, enjoyed & wrote about our flavorful options.... We're so pleased they shared their experience on their blog & we'd like to do so with you.

Click here to view the West Side Spirit's posting for Butterfield Market...

We've said it before & we'll say it again, we love to hear from happy eaters!

Some Photos From The Building Of The Butterfield Kitchen

Below are some pictures from our building of the Butterfield Kitchen.

An Informal Letter/Blog Post From Joelle - Our New Kitchen Is Up and Running!

Hello!

The past few months we have been so so busy. We have a new baby that basically was born today – the Butterfield Kitchen – which will house the Butterfield Catering Department, the Butterfield Kitchen (a beautiful, new commissary kitchen) – that will supply food for the Market, Café, Catering, and Concessions, in addition to having a retail area. We found the space last August – and as of today, started cooking at 346 East 92nd between 1st and 2nd. Come and visit two weeks from now! We should be pros by then!

The space was a basically a garage – no heat, no ventilation. You will be so impressed when you see what we’ve done. I am! Now we can do events for more than 10,000 people! Bring it on!

We moved our kitchen and chefs out of the store, in addition to promoting lots of our staff, and moving people from the market to the kitchen. With Evan (my brother), Stephen, Messias, Cande and Nerick’s planning, in addition to the rest of our staff, the move was a success and we had no hiccups today. Tomorrow will be easier… and within two weeks, the catering offices should be moved in, and the retail area should be up and running! Chef Domingo and his crew are cooking away!

Butterfield is Owned by the Obsatz/Appelbaum Family, but has a Butterfield Family of all the employees who have worked together for years to make this business a success. We look forward to many years of growing successful and enjoying what we do together.

Here are some photos from our first day in addition to a few of our soon to be used catering offices (those were taken a few weeks ago).

Come and visit us soon!

Looking forward to seeing you,
Joelle :-)

Our New Delivery Bikes!!!

Well, they're finally here. And, sorry, no - they're not for sale!

Boy are they cute - our new delivery bikes with beautiful Butterfield branding, images & colors! Check them out below...

There are two of them. One with our Butterfield strawberry, the other with our famous rooster & fish tail. So much fun!

Wow!

Every once in a while someone puts their thanks into writing & lets us share it with the world. Below is a lovely thank you from a very dear couple. It's our pleasure to share some of their words with you...

A tremendous thank you for last night's party. We had 60 people here & it was a total success. You should know everyone involved did a great job....

Our party planner thought of everything in the planning process. Every single last detail & it all appeared. She advised on mix of food, how much, whether to pass food... you name it.

Our captain walked in & I simply gave her the house. She was professional but flexible & knew exactly what kind of party we wanted. She was really the hostess, moving the food & keeping it looking beautiful. The minute I met her I knew to just put her in charge. In addition, we had a professional photographer & everything was seamless between them.

Regarding our bartender & server: Their titles were really irrelevant - they were hosts as well... really effective in making sure people were "well stocked." Both were exceptionally personable, invisible as servers but visible as party hosts. And, as a team, they operated wonderfully. I gather they work as a team often - just great.

So, if we have another party, it will be with you all. Thank you!

THANK YOU!

More Blogs from Bloggers...

Bloggers from THE ITIS recently stopped in at Butterfield Market & sampled the culinary treats herein... We're so happy they shared their experience on their blog & we'd like to share it with you.

Click here to view the ITIS' posting for Butterfield Market...

We love to hear from happy eaters!

Introducing Stephen's Cook(ing) Tips

Beginning this week, Stephen Cook, one of Butterfield's illustrious chefs, shares his recipes & tips on our blog. His sense of humor & extensive knowledge of food should make for an interesting & informative read. And so, without further ado (drum roll, please), may I introduce Stephen Cook & his Cook(ing) Tips!
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Stephen Cook & His Cook(ing) Tips #1: Help! My Yolks are Green (a.k.a., My Egg Salad is a Little Stinky or How to Boil an Egg)

When boiling eggs, does the final product leave a little to be desired? Worry no more! Here is a simple tip for boiling eggs that will solve the problem...

To boil eggs correctly, make sure there is twice as much water in the pot as there will be eggs added. No salt or vinegar is needed. Just twice as much water as eggs.

Bring the water to a full boil & then add the eggs to the pot. To prevent the eggs from cracking when they go in, place them on a large spoon, submerge them into the water & then gently slide the spoon out from under the eggs. The water will stop boiling for a bit.

When the water returns to a full boil, set the timer for 9 minutes & 30 seconds. Cooking the eggs for this amount of time should make the yolks a dark translucent yellow. If you like them to be light opaque yellow, add a full minute to your original cooking time.

When the timer goes off, pour off the hot water & run cold water over the eggs for at least 5-6 minutes. Then, let the eggs stand in cold water for another 10 minutes. This method of cooling will stop the cooking process in the egg & prevent the discoloration of your yolks.

By the by, if you are going to boil eggs, go ahead & do a whole dozen. Then, add them to potato salad or green salads, make deviled eggs, or eat them alone for a quick, clean source of protein.

That's the (Cook)ing Tip for today. Enjoy!

Someone Noshed

And we really appreciate it!

"Hungry Man" at nycnosh.com wrote some really descriptive & complimenatary words about our sandwiches & we were so pleased, we thought we'd share them with you.

Read his review to understand Butterfield Market's food on a whole new descriptive & gastronomical level!

Blogging the Blog

Our branding by Mucca Design has gotten lots of press! They've helped us create something we're very proud of - including the fact that Butterfield Market & Butterfield Catering are officially two businesses now!

The newest article is at stepinsidedesign.com (STEPMagazine). It's an interesting article about our branding with many pictures & lots of information. We enjoyed it & hope you will, too!

Another Magical Wedding

Recently, we catered another wedding at Gary's Loft. And, again, something magical happened there...

Just like the last wedding we catered there, the morning of this one started out filled with clouds & fog. And again, like last time, this was a most unfortunate occurance, since one of the key features of the loft space is the amazing view of the Empire State Building through the loft's giant skylights.

And (once more, like last time) as guests began to arrive, the fog magically lifted from the top of the Empire State Building, the sun came out & the view was beautifully restored.

Question. Does this happen every time there’s a wedding at this space? And, if so, what a great selling point!

But I digress…

To begin, the bride & groom conducted a beautiful tea ceremony attended by their nearest & dearest. The bride was absolutely stunning dressed in a short-sleeved cheongsam (the customary long, red, Chinese wedding dress).

While family & dear friends watched the ceremony, other guests sipped delicious strawberry agua frescas (a traditional iced Mexican beverage - made with fresh fruits & a little natural sugar. Butterfield Market now serves a variety of these refreshing drinks everyday in our retail store. But I digress again...)

At the end of the tea ceremony, guests proceeded upstairs to the Penthouse where the wedding ceremony was to take place. When everyone was seated, two of the groom’s men unfurled a long green processional carpet. The wedding music began & 125 guests spun around in their seats with camera phones raised high. Who needs a professional photographer when Verizon Wireless can shoot your wedding?

First on the green carpet was the flower girl, looking simply cherubic with long brown ringlet’s flowing down the middle of her back. Luckily, unlike the last wedding we catered at Gary's, this flower girl didn’t run away kicking & screaming.

Soon it was the bride’s turn. All eyes stared as a vision in white strolled elegantly to the alter to join her husband-to-be. Wise words from the Reverend were spoken... vows were exchanged... kisses were shared... & the ceremony ended. Then it was back downstairs for cocktails, where guests were treated to an array of enticing passed hors d’oeuvres including:
- Phyllo encrusted Mushroom Truffle Risotto
- Filet Mignon with Horseradish Cream on Crostini
- Grilled Spicy Shrimp
- Prosciutto di Parma wrapped around Asparagus Tips
- Seared Tuna on Wonton Crisps with Wasabi Aioli

To quench their thirst, guests had a choice of Prosecco & wine, but the big draw at the bar were the long crispy plantain chips.

Following the cocktail hour, guests ascended to the Penthouse for a seated lunch. Tables were covered in sage colored linens, a perfect complement to white walls, white wood floors & gorgeous sunlight flowing through floor-to-ceiling windows & skylights.

Next to the bride & groom’s table was another table covered in khaki linens. As guests looked more closely, they discovered that the table was covered with a wedding cake made entirely of cupcakes. Arranged on square glass cubes & round glass plates, it was a stunning array of green, peach & purple confections. More about that later.

First, of course, the First Course...
- The Salad:
Mesclun, Dried Cranberries, Shitake Mushrooms & Roasted Tomato accented with Citrus Vinaigrette

- The Entrée:
Salmon with Lemon-Caper Sauce OR
Filet of Beef with Brandy Cream au Poivre

- The Accompaniments:
Grilled Asparagus &
Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

In between courses there were toasts & toasts & more toasts. And then there were some more toasts.

Finally, it was time for the Wedding Cake Ceremony & the most important toast of all. With arms intertwined & each holding a glass of Prosecco, the bride & groom toasted each other & thanked their guests

For the first taste of the wedding “cake,” the newlyweds chose refinement over tradition & (in keeping with the civilized tone of the reception) shared a single cupcake sliced in half.

The rest of the colorful cupcakes were served to the guests, who were all very pleased they didn’t have to share theirs with anyone. Though the magic, needless to say, was shared by all.

Keep Those Cards & Letters Coming!

To all our customers who send us written & verbal thanks for catered events & delivery drop offs... Thank you so much for your feedback. It raises our spirits & helps us know we're on the right track. We can't tell you how much it means to us!

We'd especially like to thank Burcu, who wanted to "add something to our blog." It turned out to be a wonderful letter, which you can read below...

Thank you for all your help for our home party on May 3rd. The food was complimented and the hardworking and friendly staff was appreciated by all our guests.

All the Hors D'oeuvres, from crab cakes to spring rolls were really liked and the lamb chops and the tuna were big hits. Food was truly delicious.

My husband and I felt very comfortable from the start (with all of your staff. Your captain) was the excellent team leader that I know her to be from my previous meeting. It was a pleasure to work with them all. They made the whole event go quite smoothly by making many rounds, filling lots of glasses and keeping a friendly and smiling face through out. We will be delighted to work with the same staff again in our future events.

We certainly look forward to using Butterfield Catering again in future. Thank you for making our party a success.
Sincerely, Burcu

Burcu, THANK YOU!

The Transmorgrification of Butterfield's Bris Menu

Earlier this Spring, we planned & catered a “Cocktail Style” bris.

By transforming traditional bris food into passed hors d’ouvres & cocktail stations, we created an evening filled with familiar Jewish comfort food easily eaten while standing, on small plates or with one's fingers...

Some of the foods we've "reconstructed" into finger foods include:
- Mini Bagels with Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese & Tomato
- Bite-Sized Potato Pancakes with Sour Cream
- Egg Cream Shooters made with U-Bet Syrups
- Mini Blueberry & Goat Cheese Blintzes
- Bite-Sized Noodle Kugel Pie
- Mini Currant Scones with Dilled Egg Salad & Romaine
- Endive Petals with Whitefish Salad
- Pigs in a Blanket offered with Deli Mustard
- Cherry Tomatoes stuffed with Mini Mozzarella & Fresh Basil
- Little Challah Rolls with Tuna Salad
- Bite-Sized Three Cheese Baby Quiche

Small in size... BIG IN TASTE!

We're Turning Green... with Eco-Friendly Products

We now have bio degradable cutlery available for our catering customers.

The cutlery & plates are made from corn starch & can decompose quickly in natural environments.

These bio-material based products help eliminate exposure to potentially harmful toxins in plastic products. Instead of waiting 9 million years for a new barrel of oil to form, raw materials are re-grown in just 90 days using the power of the sun. These products are an excellent substitute toward the elimination of "white pollution" & are great for protecting our ecological environment.

Corn starch cutlery & plates are now being offered with Butterfield Catering deliveries & events at $1.00 per person. Join the green movement with us!

Passover Tasting this Wednesday & Thursday - You Should NOT Pass-Over This!

Tomorrow, Wednesday April 9th, and Thursday, April 10th from 3:30-6:30pm, we will be offering samples from our Passover Menu for you to come and try. Before many holidays, we do a free tasting in the store. This offers our customers a chance to taste what we're offering & what they're thinking of bringing home for their friends & family.

This year's menu includes:
- Chopped Liver
- Homemade Gefilte Fish
- Brisket with Yummy Gravy
- Matzoh Meatloaf
- Apricot Chicken Breasts
- Matzoh Stuffing
- Zucchini Linguini
- Apple Matzoh Kugel
- Cauliflower Kugel
- Tzimmis
- Honey Braised Carrots
- Flourless Chocolate Torte
- Cool Lime Pie with Toasted Pecan & Matzoh Crust…
Plus all the necessities & traditional dishes of Passover!

PLEASE NOTE: All Passover orders must be placed by Tuesday Aptil 15th – 4pm.

Check out our menu.

We are the CitySearch Audience Winner for Gourmet!!

The audience voted for the Best Gourmet in New York & Butterfield Market is the #1 audience favorite! Click here to check it out!

Our Clients Write In...

Every once in a while we share a letter with you from one of our guests. This one is from a woman who child's birthday party we helped plan. She told us she wanted to say thank you. We think she did a wonderful job...

"Thank you very much for your terrific service. Butterfield Market did a tremendous job and made our event that much more wonderful! Everything was easy, extremely well done, and absolutely delicious! We look forward to using Butterfield Market for all of our future catering events. Thanks!"

Keep those cards & letters (& emails) coming. We love to hear from you!

They Like Us... They Really Like Us!

People are talking about our new branding... And they seem to really like it!!! Check out Design Sponge's blog...

Written Up... Down on Grub Street

New York Magazine's Grub Street - recently wrote up Butterfield Market's extraordinary Valentine's Day arrival... Japan’s Kyushu Island Amou Strawberries... the "kobe beef of strawberries."



Japan's most expensive strawberries, these berries are large, sweet, juicy & beautiful.

Let's Talk Turkey

We have been so busy with events, we have not had time to blog recently!!! We promise to post pictures and event synopsis as soon as we get a break from our partying :)

Next Wednesday (November 14th) and Thursday (November 15th) we will be holding a tasting in our store, Butterfield Market, so people can come and sample some items from our Thanksgiving menu. In addition sampling our stuffings and sides, we will also be offering samples of Tates Pies, and Adirondack Creamery homemade ice cream. If you are around 78th and Lexington between 3-6, stop by!!!!

This is our thanksgiving menu:
STARTERS
Spiced Pumpkin Soup
Corn Chowder
Pigs in Blankets
Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail
Vegetable Crudité with Honey Mustard Dip
Mixed Greens with Sliced Oranges, Dried Cranberries, & Candied Pecans offered with Citrus Vinaigrette

MAIN COURSES
Oven Ready Free Range Turkey (Available 12 Pounds and Over): Each turkey is cleaned, trussed, stuffed with apples, onions, celery, & fresh herbs (for seasoning purposes only), basted, seasoned & placed in a double aluminum tray with easy cooking instructions.
Whole-Roasted, Free Range Turkey (14-16 Pounds)
Stuffed Free Range Turkey (Traditional Stuffing)
Fresh Roast Sliced Turkey Breast
Cranberry-Stuffed Pork Lion
Grilled Sirloin Steak with Roasted Chestnut Gravy

DRESSINGS/STUFFINGSTraditional Stuffing with Fresh Herbs
Chestnut and Sausage Stuffing
Corn Bread and Wild Mushroom Stuffing
Wild Rice Dressing with Cranberries and Pine Nuts

CONDIMENTS AND GRAVY
Homemade Turkey Gravy
Butterfield Market’s Fresh Autumn Apple Sauce
Cranberry Sauce with Orange Zest and Apples

SIDES
Praline Sweet Potatoes - Mashed Sweet Potatoes Topped with Candied Praline
Corn Pudding
Green Beans with Wild Mushrooms
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Garlic
Honey Roasted Baby Carrots
Mashed Potatoes
Country Corn Bread

BREADS
Parker House Rolls (Soft, White, Dinner Rolls)
Raisin Nut Bread (Whole or Sliced)
Seven Grain Bread (Whole or Sliced)
Tuscan Bread (Whole or Sliced)

DESSERTS - All Pies are baked by Tates of South Hampton
Apple Crumb Pie (10 Inch)
Traditional Apple Pie (10 Inch)
Pumpkin Pie (10 Inch)
Pecan Pie (10 Inch)
Fruit Platter
Fruit and Pastry Platter (Assorted Cookies and Desserts)
Assorted Fresh Baked Cookies

Our Branders Speak

As many of you know, Butterfield Market has been rolling out, almost on a daily basis, new versions of our new branding. Everything from bags & t-shirts, to menus & delivery vans.

We're very excited about the branding & our customers are too. And now, it's official, our branders are excited about our branding (& the experience of working on it with us)!

Please take a look at Mucca Design's website for their take on Butterfield Market. They're located at "muccadesign.com" & we're featured in the "brand new" section. You can also find information about us at their site by clicking on "our work: by client" & selecting (who else?) "Butterfield Market."
We enjoyed reading about us there & hope you do too!

In Old Russia/A La Vielle Russie

Butterfield Catering joined with A La Vielle Russie, an arts & antiques dealer, to host an elegant cocktail party celebrating Project Kesher, an international Jewish women's activist group. The family-owned & operated business specializes in American & European antique jewelry along with Russian art & antiques (including Faberge & other European works of art).

The artwork & antiques of A La Vielle Russie provided an exotic backdrop for Butterfield's Crudites Baskets offered with Roasted Beet & Goat Cheese Dip & Cheese Platters of Brie, Comte & Manchego. While the beautiful members of Project Kesher simply added to the fairytale splendor of the Tsars of Russia & Russian Imperial Style works of art. It was an evening of fantasy & extravagant beauty.

Beautiful, Beautiful Bride

A wedding at Temple Israel including cocktails in the courtyard, hundreds of flickering candles, mango mojitos, lovely lavendar attired attendants & a very beautiful bride – WHAT A WAY TO GO!





And then, the food:
- Pigs in Blankets
- Phyllo-Encrusted Mushroom Truffle Risotto
- Carrot-Ginger Dipped Rice Paper Spring Rolls
- Miniature Bruschetta with Mozzarella, Tomatoes & Fresh Basil
- Chicken Empanadas with Chipotle Aioli
- Filet Mignon & Horseradish Cream Rounds
- Raspberry & Roquefort Mousseline on Endive Spears
- Petit Potato Pancakes with Sour Cream & Apple Sauce

And that's just the hors d’oeuvres.

It took a winding Hora to work off the "starters" before guests sat down to a choice of:
- Halibut with Tarragon Cream & Wild Rice
- Sirloin of Beef with Mushroom Sauce & Mashed Potatoes
- Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms (each with Grilled Asparagus)

And the bride & groom? Without missing a beat, or an entree, they tried all three options.

Lucky for everyone, the orchestra knew every one of the great dance tunes. And to be sure the guests worked off their meal... Do you know what a MAZZINKA is? The surprised Father of the Bride does. And he has the Crown to prove it!*

Finally, the cake cutting was anything but traditional... tiers of exquisitely Decorated Mini Cupcakes formed the "wedding cake," which was served following dessert service & included individual Chocolate Brownie Cakes.





The party was extended, of course. And when the guests finally started for home, they left with bags of fresh lavendar, full bellies & a thousand fabulous memories. It was quite an event!

*PS - A Mazzinka is a traditional dance that includes paying respect to the father of the bride... a crown is bestowed upon him during the celebration. A very spirited dance & full of love. We should all dance the Mazzinka!

Roll Out the Red Carpet... It's Oscar Time

Picture this: It's winter time... the Academy Awards are on the big screen... in a snug & retro pied-à-terre in midtown New York City.

As the charming invitées sip their smart cocktails, they delicately munch:
- Prosciutto Di Palma wrapped around Jumbo Asparagus Tips
- Belgian Endive with Roquefort Mousse
- Carrot-Ginger dressed Rice Paper Chicken Spring Rolls
- Roast Beef & Horseradish Rounds
- Cherry Tomatoes stuffed with Fresh Mozzarella & Basil
- Petit Goat Cheese & Chorizo Quesadillas offered with Guacamole
- Spicy Peanut Chicken Satays

Grouped around the huge plasma screen on the plush sofas & settees, the witty movie cognoscienti help themselves to:
- Assorted Maki Rolls
(including California, Vegetarian, Tuna, Spicy Tuna & Yellow Tail)
- A High Tea Basket of delicate mini sandwiches
(with Black Forest Ham & Brie on Petit Scones, Cucumbers & Sweet Butter on White Bread, Norwegian Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese on Black Bread, Tuna & Caper Salad on 7-Grain Bread & Marscapone & Fresh Strawberries on Raisin Nut Bread)
- A Tuscan Antipasto Basket
(including Au Poivre Salami, Prosciutto Di Parma, Bocconcini Mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, Grilled Zucchini, Marinated Eggplant, Roasted Red Peppers & Italian Olives offered with Hearth Baked Breads)
- And, Platters of Imported Cheeses & Fresh Sliced Fruit

All too smart & too charming. The only ones missing? Dorothy Parker & Alexander Woollcott.

Kitchens-A-Go-Go

Many times we're called upon to cater events in unique spaces & unusual venues.

This can be very exciting for our clients & their guests. And it can be a challenge for our staff.

Although we're in the catering business (also refered to as the food service industry), we often have to prepare our menus in places that don't actually have kitchens. In these situations, we do what we have to do. And, what we have to do is create a kitchen...

Whether indoors or out, where there's a will, Butterfield's staff & chefs will find a way. And we have...

In elevators, on roofs, in offices & board rooms, in closets, dressing rooms, staircases & backyards, in driveways, on curbs, even from the back of a truck - It's amazing what we've done in spaces not originally designed for cooking!

We've even been known to prepare & plate hors d'oeuvres & a full three course dinner for more than 100 guests... all in a narrow hallway!

Amazing? Yes. However, perhaps just as amazing is the fact that, more often than not, the kitchens we create are much bigger than the kitchens in a typical New York apartment. As Cindy Adams says, "Only in New York, kids, only in New York."

A Jug of Wine & Thou...

Sometimes we cater events that, surprise of surprises, focuses more on the location than our food. For instance, recently we helped plan an event where we were asked to provide just beer, wine, crudités & mini burgers & the staff to serve this simple fare...

The menu may have been a quiet affair but the venue... Oh my goodness.

A huge, open-spaced penthouse in DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) with walls of windows looking directly onto the East River with the Williamsburg Bridge to the south & the Manhattan Bridge to the north served as a stunning backdrop for the party.

As the evening began, sunlight sparkled on the water. Then, as the sun set behind the incredible skyline, the lights of Manhattan began twinkling as a hundred young photo artists drank wine or bottled beer & downed sliders & crudités.

Sometimes, if the view is truly spectacular, a jug of wine & good company really is almost all you need.

SoHo - Argentinian Connection

How does one bridge the many miles between South America & the Big Apple? Why, with an Argentinian BBQ menu served in a NYC Soho loft...

The Location:
An industrial building in downtown Manhattan. More specifically, a wood-planked rooftop terrace in a former textile factory.

The Hors d'ouevres Menu:
- Goat Cheese & Chorizo Quesadillas
- Chicken Empanadas offered with Chipotle Aioli
- Black Bean Empanadas
- Baby Mozzarella Stuffed Cherry Tomato with Fresh Basil
- Roasted Stuffed Crimini with Black Truffle Pate
- Plantain Chips

The Buffet Menu:
- Garlic Studded Sirloin of Beef offered with Sweet Onion Relish & Chimichurri
- Grilled Spicy Salmon with Stewed Tomatoes & Sweet Roasted Garlic Ragout
- Soy Marinated Portobella Mushrooms - Chicken Empanadas offered with Chipotle Aioli
- Black Bean Empanadas
- Baby Mozzarella Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes with Fresh Basil
- Roasted Stuffed Crimini with Black Truffle Pate
- Plantain Chips

The Atmosphere:
As cosmopolitan as the guests... Overlooking downtown Manhattan, the terrace lush with tropical plants, a pond & a flowing fountain illuminated by twinkling lights & the urban sky.

Lights, Action & More Wine, Please

On a bone chilling Friday night, Gering & López Gallery co-hosted their inaugural exhibition presenting new works by Leo Villareal.

The exhibition featured three large-scale light sculptures, each employing a varied application of Villareal's custom software. Made up of thousands of LEDs (light emitting diodes), these new works MOVED – the lights changed form, scale & rhythm.

In one piece, the LEDs were covered by an overlay diffusing the red, green & blue light & resulting in pulsating, hypnotic color.

Another work was suspended from the ceiling of the gallery &, in order to view the piece, guests lay on the floor as they sipped wine & were offered the hors d’oeuvres.

The art & Butterfield's food were a success, including:
- Namani Spiced Tuna with Wasabi Aioli on Wonton Crisp
- Scottish Smoked Salmon Triangles on 7-Grain Bread
- Seared Ginger Shrimp, Beef & Red Bell Peppers Sates
- Mini Potato Latkes with Homemade Apple Sauce
- Apricot Chicken Skewers with Apricot Glaze Dipping Sauce
- Spanikopitas
- Gruyere Tartlets with Herb de Provence

In fact, the atmosphere was so warm & inviting, & the food & art proved so popular, that our coat check could not contain all the arrivals... The entry hall became a furrier’s salon with a floor piled high with garments. And, we had to send out for wine reinforcements twice!

Let's All Go to the Zoo

Kids love the zoo. Parents love their kids to go to the zoo. And everyone loves to eat Butterfield's tastry treats while at the zoo!

For the past three years we've catered children's events at Central Park Zoo through Linda Kaye Partymakers. Linda & her stellar group of planners execute the parties & we provide the food for them.

We serve lots of little teddy bear shaped sandwiches & some very cute elephant sandwiches. We make fruit cups (no grapes!), chicken fingers & even watermelon pigs filled with fruit salad. We have french fries, spaghetti cups &, of course, pigs in a blanket & juice boxes.

In addition to feeding the children, the adults also get hungry & we're there to take care of them, too... Wraps, fruit platters, crudités baskets & hummus platters are among the favorites. For early parties, we provide lox & bagels, pastries & coffee.

However, we do not feed the animals.

Konichiwa

Sometimes, along with our wonderful Butterfield food & planning, we incorporate the influence of other vendors & cultures... Recently we catered an event with a Japanese twist.

In addition to Butterfield's beautiful High Tea, Celebration & Indian Influence baskets, an exotic Sushi Station was set up.



Greeted by a kimono clad host, guests were sent in the direction of an exotic Sushi Station, which was set up on a table & included a refrigerated sushi case, authentic decorations (including colorful masks & dragons) & chopsticks. With the chef dressed in a kimono too, she helped create the look of an authentic Japanese restaurant sushi bar.

Not only was the Sushi Station mobbed, our baskets & platters of decadent-looking desserts were gobbled up just as quickly. Domo arigato!

25 Years of Wedded Bliss

The Century terrace was lush. The rooftop landscaped. And music serenaded our guests as the sun passed over Central Park to set over the Hudson. This was the surrounding as friends & family gathered to celebrate the 25th Wedding Anniversary of our young host's parents.
However, in spite of the beautiful setting, gale-force winds almost prevented us from passing hors d'oeuvres including:
- Phyllo Encrusted Mushroom Truffle Risotto
- Salmon Tartar on Cucumber Crisps
- Shrimp Cocktail with Cocktail Sauce
- Five Spice Duck Crepes with Hoisin Sauce
- Mini Sirloin Burgers on Baby Brioche Rolls
- Pigs in Blankets
- Chicken Sates with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce
- Filet Mignon & Horseradish Cream
- Seared Tuna on Wonton Crackers with Wasabi Aioli
- Crabcakes offered with Cajun Remoulade.

In addition to braving the winds to share carefully selected hors d'oeuvres, we had to anchor cocktail napkins to stationary platters (including our Celebrity Celebration Basket & a Sushi Platter) for our grazing guests.
But when the sun did go down, & cleverly placed pin-lights illuminated the shadows, we were easily able to butler the following sweet desserts:
- Assorted Fruit Sorbets
- Bite Sized Cupcakes
- Mini Italian Pastries
- Petit Fours

See, love really does conquer all...

(Mid) West Meets East (of New York/the French)

A reception was hosted by The French Cultural Services of the French Embassy for guests from The University of Illinois. The gathering celebrated the co-publication of “As You Were Saying: American Writers Respond to Their French Contemporaries” along with the establishment of a Center for Translation Studies at the University.

In a beautiful intermingling of dialects & palates, accents & hors d'ouevres ran the gamut as did the conversation.







Butlered hors d’oeuvres included:
- Sautéed Mushrooms with Truffle Oil Crostini
- Walnut & Brie Tart topped with Grape Salsa
- Bite Sized Bruschetta with Tomatoes, Mozzarella & Basil
- Filet of Beef with Truffle Mousse on Crostini
- Seared Spicy Shrimp
Mini Finger Sweets were also served (including Petit Fours, Fruit Tartlets, Mini Pastries, Chocolate Covered Strawberries, Bite Sized Cupcakes & Fruit Shaped Ices)









Stationary platters of Canapés & Mini Sandwiches included:
- Asparagus & Roquefort
- Smoked Salmon & Chive Cream Cheese
- Mini Brioche Rolls with Turkey, Cranberry Relish & Romaine
- Roast Beef with Horseradish Cream on Baby Brioche Rolls
- Seared Tuna with Wasabi Aioli on Cucumber Crisps
- Roquefort Mousse in Endive Petal with Fresh Raspberry
- Imported Prosciutto di Palma wrapped around Asparagus Tips
- Cucumber Rounds with Salmon Caviar & Crème Fraîche
- Traditional Mini Quiche
- Truffle Mousse Pate
The midwestern crowd enjoyed their champagne, sparkling water & French wines with much gusto. And everyone savoured the view of upper Fifth Avenue & Central Park on a balmy intercontinental summer evening.


FYI - This is a photo of our Roquefort Cheese, Asparagus & Frisee on Brioche canape. Tres magnifique!

One More Branded Item (in situ)

We can't wait for the coffee cups to come!!!

C’EST MAGNIFIQUE!

On April 23, we catered an event at the French Cultural Services - Embassy of France. While we passed & poured, Ambassador Jean-David Levitte conferred the insignia of “Commander of the Order of Arts & Letters” on Paul Auster for his contributions to literature & to the spread of French culture.

The ceremony took place during the opening night of PEN’s World Voices, a major event celebrating international literature & sponsored by the Embassy of France. In attendance were numerous literary celebrities including Michael Ondaatje & Salman Rushdie along with an adoring group of 200 guests.

Though the evening was brief, the celebrating crowd enthusiastically devoured every morsel offered while sipping on wine & (naturally) Champagne. Can you blame anyone when the following hors d’ oeuvres are served? Très bon!

Hors d’ oeuvres of the Evening:
Assorted Cheeses & Truffle Mousse Pate
Canapés offered on Assorted Fresh & Toasted Breads including:
- Brie & Roasted Pear on White Bread
- Smoked Salmon & Chive Cream Cheese on Pumpernickel
- Cucumber, Watercress & Sweet Butter on 7-Grain
- Roast Beef with Horseradish Cream on Pumpernickel
Seared Tuna with Wasabi Aioli on Cucumber Crisps
Roquefort Mousse in Endive Petal with Fresh Raspberry
Imported Prosciutto De Palma Wrapped Around Asparagus
Seared Spicy Shrimp
Traditional & Vegetarian Mini Quiche

Some Photos of Our New Logo & Branding!

JUST KIDDING! This image is from about 1990.

HERE ARE THE REAL PHOTOS OF OUR NEW BRANDED ITEMS!!
Many, many more to come.... but here's a start.

What a Nice Letter to Get in the Mail...

We just opened this wonderful note today… We sure do appreciate good feedback!
PS - You can open it, too, by clicking on the image!

Branding Status from Joelle

In the past year, we've been working with a design company to "brand" Butterfield Market & Butterfield Catering. In addition to many, many meetings this process includes lots of decisions, too. What is our mission? What are our goals? Our "personality?" Our colors? Logo? Style? This has been, & continues to be, a major project for my father, brother & me.

As a third generation, family-run business & possibly the only remaining original old-time market in New York City, it's important to us that you know what sets our services apart from everybody else. Butterfield Market has a long history (est. 1915) of selling high quality produce & providing personal service to our loyal clientele. Sophisticated products, old fashioned values & a healthy dose of New York style are some of the ideas we've tried to encompass when considering "the branding of Butterfield's."

After many months of work, we are finally receiving some of our newly branded products & are very excited to share them with you...

The first items to be finished were our Business Cards, All-purpose Stickers & Letterhead. Next, our Logo appeared on the store door & our windows were printed with our New Signs & Fonts. We've begun to incorporate the style into the Catering Department & our documents there. And, two weeks ago, we finally got our New Vans, including a specially refrigerated van. You'll recognize them by their sage exteriors & eggplant lettering. I love them all! And think they're great!

It's very exciting to have our branding make its debut. However, here in the Catering Department, I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Press Kits & Drop Off Menus. My brother, Evan, on the other hand, is probably more interested in the newly printed Cups & Bags that'll be used in the store. I'm looking forward to seeing them, too. But have to admit to being just a little more excited about the Menu! I guess it's all a matter of perspective. And a few more days...

I'll be posting some photos of our newly branded items soon. I hope you like them, too!

Joelle :)

New Hors d'Oeuvres for Summer!!!

Although we've been busy with parties & haven't had time to blog about them yet, we have had time to debut Butterfield Catering’s NEW 2007 SUMMER BUTLERED HORS D’OEUVRES!

Delicious, trendy & seasonal, may we introduce the season's new hors d' oeuvres to you...

Petite Panzanella on Garlic Crostini
Finely Diced Cucumber, Tomato, Red Onion & Toasted Breads
Seasoned with Red Wine Vinegar & Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Served on Roasted Garlic Crostini

Summer Melon & Prosecco Soup with Chive Oil & Sea Salt

Smoked Chicken & Pistachios with Crème Fraiche
On Toasted Brioche Rounds

Spicy Poached Shrimp Pate in Basil Cone
Poached Shrimp, Thai Chili Sauce, Lime Zest & Mayo
Pureed & Wrapped in Large Blanched Basil Leaves

Asparagus Crepe Napoleon & Truffle Scented Goat Cheese
Asparagus Infused Crepe Layered with
Truffled Goat Cheese &
Garnished with Tomato Concasse

Hudson Valley Strawberries Wrapped in Duck Proscuitto
Green Market Fresh Berries Wrapped in
Paper Thin Slices of Duck Proscuitto
With Port Chocolate Sauce

Here's to a tasty & inspired summer. Enjoy!

Howdy, Pardner

This week we catered a western-inspired evening flush with theme "hootch & grub."

With an 18th floor view of the "big sky" (along with Central Park & Fifth Avenue), our bandana wearing "posse" greeted guests with specialty Root Beer Floats (spiked with a little "sumthin' extry").





The bars were stocked to quench a parched cowboy's "pie-hole" including assorted bourbons at "Rock Gut Gulch", tequilas at "Rancho Borracho" & beers (including Lone Star, Rogue Dead Man's Pale Ale & Sierra Nevada).







Hors d'eouvres were served around our lasso weilding cowboy & cowgirl & included:
- Lil’ Chicken Pot Pies
- Beef ”Jerky” on a Stick
- Corn Fritters & Maple Mayo
- Pigs in Blankets
with Spicy Mustard & Baked Bean Ketchup
- Apple Smoked Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
- Fire Roasted Vegetable Skewers
- BBQ Chicken Bites
- Baby “Bison” Burgers





The leather covered buffets were decorated with "Wanted" posters, long-horn steer (cut-outs), boot shaped mugs & our specialty finger foods (including the Southwestern-Style Basket & BBQ Shrimp Platter, of course).


After "feedin' & waterin'" our "cowboys & cowgirls" under a beautiful sky, they headed off into the sunset satisfied & full. Guess it's a good thing we didn't bring the mechanical bull...

A Casual Birthday a la Butterfield Catering

Two weeks ago we catered a birthday party at a duplex overlooking Central Park.

The host asked that the evening be casual, so our staff dressed in black pants and fresh black t-shirts.

The home’s beautiful wall of doors opened onto a terrace that, had the weather accommodated us, would’ve hosted a bar and cocktail tables. Instead, champagne was poured and hors d’ oeuvres were passed by our laid-back waiters.

In honor of the predominantly French crowd, the hors d’ oeuvres and desserts included:
- Petit Fours
- Fruit Tartlets
- Petit Quiche Lorraine
- Lobster Salad in Endive Petals
- Spiced Salmon Tartar on Cucumber Crisps
- Filet of Beef with Truffle Mousse on Crostini
- Smoked Salmon Roulade with Tomatoes & Sweet Red Onion

The event, I am told, was magnifique!

Mr. Big has Nothing on Us

Often we work with party planners when catering large events and our most recent “big one” was no exception…

Last week, we catered a two-day conference brought to us by a party planner we know well. The event was held at Digital Sandbox, which has been established as an international hub for the information technology industry, and was attended by nearly 400 marketing professionals.

Since each day was an all-day event, we provided breakfast, lunch, coffee and snacks on both days and catered a cocktail party on the evening of the first day.

The client told us that people raved about our food, singling out the lunchtime sandwiches and Brooklyn Bridge Wraps (which include Bacon, Provolone, Turkey, Black Forest Ham and Honey Mustard and are also a store favorite). Deliveries ran smoothly, too, and our displays continued to bring compliments, so… another happy client and another successful Butterfield event!

Next week we’re catering another two-day conference but this time with 1200 people each day! I guess last week’s event was our practice run for the next “big one!”

Live & Silent Auctions, Purim & Nightclub Celebrations, Oh My…

A few weeks ago, we (Butterfield Catering) planned & catered a benefit for one of the nursery schools in the neighborhood. The evening combined Purim & nightclub themes. How, you might ask, was that achieved? Well…

As the evening began, we passed Mojitos to arriving guests. Traditionally made of mint, rum, sugar, lime & club soda, the combination of sweetness & refreshing citrus & mint masks the potent kick of the rum making this cocktail a popular summer drink.

In part, we suppose, because the Mojitos were such a hit, cocktail hour was extended to an hour & a half. The Middle Eastern inspired buffets opened midway into the cocktail “hour & a half” & continued into the evening. So, the night maintained the feel of a long cocktail party with a substantial amount of delicious food.

Aside from a plethora of wonderful live & silent auction items, there were also games (including Pop-A-Shot basketball), strolling entertainment, a roulette wheel, tarot card reader, belly dancers & a popcorn machine. (I even learned how to make popcorn with one of our waiters.)


In keeping with the theme of Purim, as the evening continued on, we also placed plates of assorted Hamantaschen, Chocolate Dipped Apricots, Halvah, Jelly Rings, Honey Cookies, Lemon Mousse in Chocolate Tartlets & Seedless Grapes on each table during the live auction.
The evening ended with Turkish Coffee & Fried Dough stations. At the Fried Dough Station, guests were given gold takeout containers in which they could store the warm doughy treats to take home to their families or eat later themselves.

The evening, & the menu below, was a definite highlight for us & a hit with the guests…

For Passed Hors d’oeuvres we served:
- Moroccan Spiced Tuna Tartar on Lentil Crisp
- Petite Lamb Meatball
- Balsamic Glazed Chicken Skewer with Spicy Fig Pesto
- Eggplant Caviar on Flatbread Crostini
- Cucumber and Mint Soup (served in demitasse cups)
- Sumac Crusted Chicken
- And, for the kid in all of us, Mini Hot Dogs offered with Mustard

We had three different Buffets for dinner:
Meze - The Antipasti of Kings.
- Mixed Olives, Roasted Peppers & Grilled Squashes,
- Cucumber Salad, Roasted Tomato & Marinated Cauliflower
- Hummus, Baba Ghanoush, Tabbouleh & Chick Pea Salad
- All offered with Toasted Pita, Flatbreads & Crostini

Gyro & Falafel - Traditional Sandwiches Made to Order.
- Homemade Falafel & Richly Flavored Gyro in Fresh Pita
- Marinated Tomato, Crisp Lettuce & Julienne of Cucumber
- Tahini Sauce, Lemon Yogurt & Chili Apricot Dressing

Meat Skewers – Made Your Own Way, By You
- Cubed & Ready to Skewer Cumin Crusted Chicken & Tajine Beef
- Grilled Peppers, Onions & Marinated Mushrooms
- Couscous with Dried Cranberries & Yellow Raisins

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

Last week we catered an anniversary party in celebration of the founding of the Lenox Hill Democratic Club. The founders of the club hosted a reunion dinner at the Bohemian National Hall for some very lovely folks... We thought the event went very well and the letter they sent to the party captain confirmed that they felt the same way... Thank you, dearhearts, for your wonderful feedback below...

"Thank you for all that you did to make our dreams come true last night... Seventy-five wonderful friends had a glorious reunion.

You are a marvel and so (is) everyone from Butterfield (including the liquor store & florist) for every aspect of the evening. Everything looked so beautiful & tasted so delicious. Your amazingly professional staff made the evening glide through its phases with apparent effortlessnes.

The space is beautiful, but the navy tablecloths & white napkins & delightful flowerpots surrounded by beautiful chairs upholstered in navy blue truly created a gracious setting.

Everything met my MOTHER'S HIGHEST STANDARD: 'SIMPLY PERFECT.'

Again, thank you all so much. You are the best & everyone at our party agreed."

“You've Been Served”

An Analysis of the Eating Habits of Foreign Law School Students vs. New York City Law School Students as Observed by a Professional Caterer

One of our clients at Butterfield Catering is a very large international law firm.

In the last two weeks we've done two events for them at their offices. One for foreign law students and one for students from NYU and Columbia Law Schools. The purpose had something to do with summer internships but the details about that are not the focus of this missive.

Anyway, any time we do an event there, we always have food left over… especially from our Reception Baskets (see www.butterfieldmarket.com). Our Reception Baskets are beautifully designed finger foods served, of course, in a basket each with a different theme (e.g., Mediterranean, Southwestern, Mardi Gras, etc.). Ask anyone who’s ever ordered them. They are literally packed full of food, similar to the packing of people on the Lexington Avenue subway at rush hour. To our knowledge, no client in the history of Butterfield Market has ever finished one during an event (after, maybe, with help but never during…).

Let’s just say that every time this very large international law firm hosts an event, whether it’s for partners, clients, potential employees, whatever, there is always something left over – not because people don’t like the food but because there is so much.

Which brings me to the title of this blog…

Last week was the Foreign Student Reception held for one hundred students from all over the world. Arrival time: 6:00PM. Our wait staff began to pass… Coconut Shrimp, Mini Crabcakes, Mini Potato Pancakes, Steamed Dumplings. Ten minutes later, back came the wait staff with Coconut Shrimp, Mini Crabcakes, Mini Potato Pancakes and Steamed Dumplings.

Out again they went. Back again they came. The same result. Hardly anyone would indulge in an hors d’oeuvres let alone walk over to the stationary food table - that was out of the question.

We did run out of one thing, however… don’t bother guessing… it was orange juice. I’ve been to many events so believe me when I say nobody, since Anita Bryant, has ever consumed so much orange juice in so short a time.

The next week it was time for the NYU and Columbia Law Students. Similar set-up, similar menu. What did we run out of? EVERYTHING!!! Out went the waiters with hors d’oeuvres… back they came with empty trays. Out again… and back again. At least we have some control over the pace of what we pass. Forget the stationary baskets... The students even consumed the decorative lettuce at the bottom. We were sure that if we left the baskets out, they’d soon start eating the decorative peppers that we hollow out and fill with dressing.

At least we didn’t have to run out for more orange juice.

What to conclude about the eating habits of foreign students?
A. They have small appetites and do not drink any beverage except orange juice.
B. They may be hungry but will never indulge in food and drink in a formal setting.
C. They all have colds!! (Remember the OJ.)

What to conclude about the eating habits of New York City students?
1. It doesn’t matter where they are or who they’re with – when they’re hungry, they eat. When they’re thirsty, they drink. When the food runs out, they leave.

They’ve been served, your lesson has been served and this blog has served its purpose.

Argentine Kosher Style Menu

Last week, one of the temples that we work with hosted a visiting Rabbi and two Cantors from Argentina. They performed traditional Argentinean “canciones” and a medley of Hebrew and American songs for the congregation. We provided a kosher style Argentinean menu for 150 guests that included passed hors d’oeuvres and a dinner buffet (see below). The evening was a wonderful success, a great celebration and a tasty testament to the beauty of cross cultural experiences!

The Kosher Style Argentinean Menu included:

Passed Hors d’ Oeuvres -
- Baby Chicken & Olive Empanadas with Guacamole
- Mini Beef Empanadas offered with Chipotle Mayonnaise
- Blue & Gold Tortilla Chips with Black Bean Dip, Guacamole & Salsa

Dinner Buffet -
- Chimichurri Marinated Sirloin
- Red Snapper Sautéed over Puttanesca Ragout
- Red Beans & Rice
- Romaine Lettuce & Tomatoes with Olive Oil & Red Wine Vinegar
- Sautéed Green Beans
- Sliced Breads
- Chocolate Brownies & Rice Krispy Treats

A Romantic Valentines Day

Butterfield Market is offering something very special (& romantic) for Valentines Day…
A private dinner for two with five sensual courses & selected wines served by Butterfield’s private chef in the quiet privacy of your own home.

From our specially developed holiday menu, you select each course.
Our chef chooses wine to compliment the menu you’ve created.
And then, you relax & experience a most tasteful, romantic & memorable way to celebrate the day with your very special someone.

Take a moment to imagine your favorites for each course from our Valentine Dinner menu options...

FIRST COURSE - SALAD:
Slow Roasted Beets & Bûcheron
with Candied Walnuts over Baby Field Greens

Petite Vegetable Antipasto
With Portobello Mushroom, Grilled Asparagus,
Roasted Bell Peppers & Balsamic Onion Chutney
Topped with Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano

Hearts of Palm & Peppery Arugula
With Cherry Tomato & Tangerine

SECOND COURSE – SOUP:
(All served with Heart Shaped Crostini)

Vichysoisse with Crispy Leeks Drizzled with Chive Oil

Wild Mushroom Bisque with Truffled Crème Fraîche

Sweet Tomato Purèe with Basil Pesto

INTERMEZZO:
Champagne Sorbet

Sweet Ginger Iced Martini

Fresh Berries with Balsamic Syrup

THIRD COURSE - ENTREE:
(All Served with Petite Dinner Rolls & Sweet French Butter)
(And, sides may be exchanged between entrées)

Roasted Chicken Supreme Au Jus
Stuffed with Fava Bean Puree
Over Wild Rice with Steamed Asparagus

Peppercorn Crusted Sirloin of Beef
With Brandy Cream Sauce offered
With Creamy Mashed Potato & Wild Mushroom Ragout

Pan Seared Tuna Medallions
With Scallion Infused Forbidden Rice &
Slow Honey Braised Baby Carrots
Offered with Lemon Crème Fraîche

Salmon with Fine Herbs Sautéed
Offered with Fingerling Potato & Haricots Verts Almandine
With a Lemon Beurre Noisette

Herb Encrusted Baby Rack of Lamb
Sliced into Lollipops offered with Red Wine Dijon Demi-glace
With Gruyère Potato Galette & Grilled Vegetable Napolèon

Beef Tournedos Rossini:
Medallions of Beef Tenderloin Lightly Seasoned &
Pan Seared, Finished under the Broiler &
Topped with a Slice of Terrine of Foie Gras
Served with Bliss Potato & Baby Vegetable Medley of
Patty Pan Squash, Baby Zucchini, Pearl Onion,
Cremini Mushrooms, Snap Peas & Asparagus Tips
Sautéed in French Butter & Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pan Seared Veal Medallions & Porcini Mushroom Ravioli
Offered with Oven Roasted Tomato Fondue

Sweet Lobster Risotto with Truffle Butter:
Tender Maine Lobster Lightly Poached & Served Over
Creamy Risotto with Scallion & Tomato Concassé
Finished with Truffle Butter & Parmigiano-Reggiano

FOURTH COURSE - DESSERT:
Tiramisu:
Espresso Flavored Lady Fingers
With Whipped Mascarpone & Dusted with Cocoa Powder

Mezzaluna:
Light Chocolate Mousse on Génoise with Ganache

Lemon Meringue:
Tangy Lemon Curd Topped with
Lightly Browned & Sweetened Whipped Egg Whites

Strawberry Galette with Crème Fraîche

Stemmed Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Mixed Berry Tartlet with Vanilla Pastry Cream

Raspberry Sorbet & Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
With Warmed Brownie Heart

Ring Ring Ring… Ring Ring Ring…

The holiday season is here & bells are ringing at the Butterfield Catering Department.

Christmas bells? Not quite. More like phones ringing off the hook.

Thanksgiving Get-Togethers, Holiday Parties, Chanukah Celebrations, Christmas Dinners… from the weeks up to Thanksgiving straight into the New Year it’s been non-stop… to say nothing of the usual day-to-day orders.

Talk about leaving things until the last minute! How about deciding to have 100 guests over for brunch the next day? Or ordering 500 champagne glasses for a party, then canceling them, then ordering them again the day before the event? Apparently, those 500 guests decided to come after all.

One trend this year appears to be the Thanksgiving Office Party in place of a Christmas Party… Proof that everyone isn’t wallowing in Dom Perignon & Kobe Beef along with Wall Street.

Of course the menu is only one part of what we do. Ordering rentals (all the china, utensils, tables, linens, serving pieces, buffet necessities, kitchen equipment, etc.) can be a massive undertaking. Figuring out down to the cheese knife & gravy ladle what an event requires takes careful planning. Even then, there’s no accounting for a situation where 75 guests use 750 glasses. Or when a single item is missing… like the fryer… for a buffet where the center of attraction is the beignet station.

Then there’s the staffing… this time of year, not an easy thing to do. Try hiring 15 servers when someone calls you at the last minute (there’s that last minute thing again) for a huge benefit in two days… Especially when every waiter and bartender you know is already booked. Lucky for us, our staff manager is a magician who somehow conjures up workers where none seem to exist.

And, of course, there are the cancellations. After three 45-minute discussions on how much filet mignon will feed 35 guests, what it costs, how it’s plattered and what goes with it, the client decides all she really wants are two dozen potato latkes. In all fairness, she ordered apple sauce too. My particular favorite was the woman who put me on two 20-minute conference calls with her husband to discuss a breakfast of assorted pastries & smoked salmon... for 10... the next day, of course. And, of course, 30 minutes later they changed their minds.

One of the worst parts for me are all those wasted sheets of paper that come with revising, revising & more revising. I would hate for Al Gore to pay us a visit. At least most of us are environmentally inclined & do our best to recycle.

Ultimately, however, without all the holiday chaos, we wouldn’t be the successful company we are today. And, bottom line, we really do enjoy planning our clientele’s events.

So as the ring, ring, ring, ringing of the phones begins to fade with the last few days of December, we’ll be busy ring, ring, ringing back to round up more business for the New Year... Happy Holidays!

New Orleans Food & Jazz

Recently we planned & catered an auction & benefit for a nursery school with a New Orleans/Jazz theme. There was no seating but rather a stadium style for the auction & tall cocktail tables for snacking from the buffet. Because of the absence of seating, all food was served knife free & as easy to eat as possible.
During the hour & a half cocktail hour, there was a Gumbo Station that served spicy Andouille Sausage & Shrimp Gumbo in addition to a plethora of passed hors d’oeuvres that included:
- Cajun Burgers on Brioche
- A Duo of Mini Muffaletta Sandwiches (traditional & vegetarian)
- Grilled Vegetable Skewers offered with Cajun Remoulade
- Spicy Crabcakes with Remoulade
- Blackened Chicken with Bourbon Honey Mustard
- Tangy Carolina Pulled Pork on Cornbread Biscuit.
(My personal favorites were the Shrimp Gumbo & the Pulled Pork on Cornbread Biscuit).




Towards the end of the cocktail hour, we opened the buffet & kept serving at the Gumbo Station. On our buffets we served:
- New Orleans Style Cole Slaw
- Lima Bean & Tomato Succotash
- Red Beans & Rice
- Breast of Chicken with Wild Mushrooms & Bell Peppers Au Jus
- And both Jalapeno & Plain Cornbreads

The highlight of the evening (at least the highlight for me – I have a sweet tooth) was the Beignets Station. A beignet is similar to fried dough &, at our station, are topped with cinnamon & powdered sugar. We served the beignets in traditional brown paper bags, similar to the street vendors in New Orleans. In addition, we had a dessert station that included:
- Double Chocolate Brownies
- Assorted Cookies
- Fresh Cantaloupe & Honeydew Slices with Fine Sea Salt & Ground Sugar
And finally, Pralines benefitting a charity for children were ordered directly from New Orleans.

This is a behind-the-scenes look at us busy in the kitchen:
The 250 guests had a great time & the auction was a success.

New Food for the Season

For our Holiday Parties, these are some of the new hors d’oeuvres we (Butterfield Market) have been offering and serving:

Pomegranate Cigars
Offered with Herbed Goat Cheese Dipping Sauce

Cream of Mushroom Bisque
Offered Out of Espresso Cups or Tall Square Shot Glasses

Pesto Chicken and Cherry Tomato Skewers

Walnut and Brie Tart
Topped with Grape Salsa

Mini BLT on Brioche

Grecian Phyllo Cup with
Calamata Olives, Cucumber, Tomato and Feta Cheese

Tuscan White Bean Ragout Croustade

Beggars Purse with Fresh Apple Chutney, Jalapenos and Brie

Mini Chicken Pot Pies
Topped with Vermont Cheddar

Mini Sweet Potato and Puree of Chestnut Pies

Beet and Goat Cheese Tart with Balsamic Syrup

French Onion Soup Crostini

Black Mission Figs and Goat Cheese in Puff Pastry

Herbed Blueberries and Goat Cheese Spanikopitas

Beef Taco Bite Topped with Sour Cream
On Crispy Tortilla Crostini

Open Faced Beef Wellington
In Puff Pastry Tart

Lemongrass Shrimp Skewers

Petit Croque Monsieur

Vegetarian Samosa Spanikopitas with
Toasted Spices, Tomatoes and Paneer

Smoked Swiss and Bacon Quiche

Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving is one of our busiest catering days of the year. We’re open & cook our turkeys fresh on Thanksgiving Day so they arrive at their dinner destinations hot & ready for our clients (& your guests).

This year we delivered nearly 200 pre-ordered Thanksgiving requests. It was the smoothest Thanksgiving yet & a most successful holiday! We must be doing something right ‘cause we’ve already received a wonderful review about our Thanksgiving Catering.

Butterfield is my family’s business so, of course, for our Thanksgiving celebration we had Butterfield Market cater the food. We ate at my parents’ house, had 23 guests & hired two cater waiters to help us. It was a wonderful & very tasty event…

This is what my family ordered (yummy!):

Appetizers:
- Pigs in Blankets
- Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail

First Course:
- Corn Chowder

Second Course:
- Mixed Greens with Clementines, Dried Cranberries & Candied Walnuts

Main Course:
- Turkey with Homemade Gravy
- Pork Loin stuffed with Cranberries

Vegetables:
- Praline Sweet Potatoes
- Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta
- String Beans & Mushrooms
- Mashed Potatoes

Accoutrement:
- Chestnut Stuffing with Sausage
- Traditional Stuffing
- Homemade Cranberry Sauce
- Homemade Apple Sauce
- Parker House Rolls & Corned Bread

Dessert:
- Pumpkin Pie
- Apple Pie
- Assorted Homemade Cookies
- Mixed Fruit Platter

A New Baby, A New (And Another) Bris

One type of event that we often cater is a bris. For those of you not in the know, a bris is the Jewish circumcision ceremony for baby boys.

A bris is typically performed on the eighth day after the baby’s birth, attended by family and close friends, and followed by an afternoon “nosh” (or light fare reception).

Although people want the celebration to be nice, a bris is usually a lower-key and lower budget event.

Last week’s gathering after the bris was simple and fun with about 65 guests. It took place in the reception hall of the synagogue where the bris occurred.

Tables were decorated with balloon centerpieces made with a large baby bottle balloon surrounded by four baby blue and white balloons.

Food included traditional Jewish treats including: white fish salad, pickled herring, lox and bagels, noodle Kugel, assorted cookies, fruit salad and, of course, fresh Challah. Mini bagels were included for the children that came. And, finally, individually wrapped chocolate hearts represented the love present at the event and added beautifully to the decorations.

Simple, inexpensive and heartfelt.

Chris & Natalie's Wedding

The morning started out with torrential rains which was unfortunate since one of the key features of the loft space where the wedding was to be held were giant skylights and a roof looking straight up at the Empire State Building. The forecast was for heavy rain all day.

As the rains came down, the bride was busy getting dressed in the make-shift dressing room which was really a huge old-fashioned bathroom complete with a tub on legs. This actually worked out very well, since, due to limited space in the loft, the dressing room was doubling as a coat room and where better to store those dripping umbrellas than in the old-fashioned bath tub?

Well, someone in the family must have great connections with someone somewhere because just as the photographer arrived to take photos of the bride, groom and family, the sun came out of nowhere and cast a gorgeous light all over the loft.

This was definitely a sign of good things to come.

Oh, except for the flower girl who refused to go down the aisle and started screaming at the top of her lungs. Apparently she thought everyone was enjoying this since she continued yelling all through the ceremony -- even when her mother dragged her into the bathroom/dressing room/coat room which now officially became the romper room.


Anyway, since we were working with limited space, we pre-set the dinner tables with everything except glasses, keeping them back toward the kitchen area until the ceremony was over. Then, as the guests moved toward the bar area, we moved the tables into the ceremony area and placed the chairs at the tables.

By the way the Jewish Minister – no, not a Jewish rabbi – a Jewish Minister, who married the couple was really great. She recited the Indian Love Call, which turns out was the same passage read at our chef’s wedding. He was very moved by her words. She was moved by his hors d' oeuvres. It was a match made in… well, to be perfectly honest, it was made in the bath/dressing/coat/romper room where they were introduced.

As the cocktail party progressed, the staff put finishing touches on the dinner tables. The sun had set and the antique gold table cloths looked beautiful lit warmly by the swarm of votive candles we meticulously placed all over the loft.

The groom’s choice of Viking Blue champagne glasses were as perfect for the table setting as his choice of music was for the reception.

As for the food, the couple are cheese connoisseurs so, of course, there was a sophisticated cheese table.

The centerpiece was a luscious Brie En Croute.

After a first course of Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, the guests were invited to a mirrored buffet which included:
Roasted Pork Loin stuffed with Apples, Walnuts and Sage and offered with Cranberry Relish, Seafood Paella with Roasted Mussels, Clams, Shrimp, Chicken and Spanish Chorizo, Penne Ala Vodka Cream with Diced San Romano Tomatos and Baby Spinach and, finally, Farfalle Ala Pesto.

Since the bride and groom didn’t want an elaborate wedding cake, we got them a ceremonial “Gift Box Cake” which looked exactly like a small present. It was four inches square with white frosting and gorgeous ribbon made of sugar.

The rest of the guests were served mini pastries, cookies and chocolate-dipped strawberries at the tables.

They ate and then partied on. Eventually our staff had to set them up with a self-service bar so that they could go home before the sun came shining through those dazzling skylights again.

Black & White Evening

When selecting a theme for your event, consider choosing a color scheme & applying it to every aspect of your party.

That’s what we did for a Black & White Engagement Party.

Not only did the guests wear black & white but the tablecloths, napkins, dishes, candles, flowers & even the food were black or white.

The tables were covered with black & white tablecloths, decorated with alternating black & white napkins & folding chairs & featured white rose centerpieces.

Hors d’ oeuvres included a Black & White Soup Tasting (with Chilled Potato Leek & Pureed Black Bean Soups), Portobello Bruschetta (with Wasabi Aioli & Arugula on Pumpernickel Rounds) & Assorted Maki Sushi (offered with Pickled Ginger, Wasabi & Soy Sauce). Each hors d’ oeuvres platter was decorated with a white flower (including roses, daisies, lilies & orchids) & served on either a black or white platter.

The seated dinner for 18 featured Broiled Halibut with Tarragon Cream, Sautéed Eggplant (without the skins) & Grilled White Asparagus. Wild Rice with Toasted Shallots rounded out the color scheme with a touch of black. And the coup de grace was added with Individual Tiramisus served with Whipped Cream, Dark Chocolate Shavings & Dark & White Chocolate Truffles.

A very black & white evening was had by all!

First Post

Hello!

Welcome to the Butterfield Catering blog! We are a catering company in New York City that plan all kinds of events.

The purpose of this blog is for us to remember the events we've done & for you to get to read about them!

The posts will be put up when we have time & will describe some of the events we're catering.

Posts will be written by different people in our department - so there may be multiple posts for the same event - from different people's views.

Hope you enjoy!

The pictures below are from a Giants themed bar mitzvah that we planned last weekend: