Caterer Offers Garden-Inspired Entertaining Ideas

Posted in Exhibitions, The Edible Garden on June 25 2010, by Plant Talk

Abigail Kirsch Booksigning and Chef Cooking Demos This Weekend

Alison Awerbuch is Chief Culinary Officer and Partner of Abigail Kirsch Catering Relationships.

Editor’s note: Abigail Kirsch Catering Relationships, which manages the Botanical Garden’s two cafes and the on-site catered events, will be featured this Saturday, June 26, during The Edible Garden. Corporate Executive Chef Mark Gagnon will present two cooking demonstrations, and Abigail Kirsch will sign her cookbooks, which will be available for purchase.

When creating menu items and presentations, we at Abigail Kirsch Catering Relationships pull from our surroundings and are often inspired by the garden. Whenever possible, we incorporate local, sustainable vegetables, fruits, and herbs into our offerings, and there is no better time for this in New York than in the spring, summer, and fall! We tap on local farmers for the freshest and most flavorful items to enhance our menus.

Below are inspired ways you can incorporate the garden when you entertain this summer.

Green Market Buffet
Whether close to home or far away, we are always inspired by what is happening in that locale’s food scene. For instance, a recent weekend in the Catskills offered a lush landscape of a thousand shades of green; an abundance of local, sustainable foods; and aisles upon aisles of retro chic at flea markets (although you have to dig hard to find just the right pieces).

This inspired me to create a “green market buffet” where our organic food presentations were displayed on rustic farm tables and our entire menu was served on a wonderful assortment of green pressed glass, rustic wood, and galvanized metal trays. Mix-and-match plates, flatware, and glassware along with retro linen created an uncomplicated, retro look.

The menu featured everything from New York State: cheeses; cured and grilled meats; wood-roasted oysters and clams; veggies and farm fresh eggs for bruschetta toppings; a variety of salads, breads, and condiments, including local honey; in-season fruit chutneys; homemade mustards; and assorted pickled vegetables and fruit.

Garden Libations
Reach into the vegetable bin for your cocktail. Our bartenders and culinary team have worked side by side to create a variety of spiked as well as liquor-free cocktails that are packed with items from the garden. The trick is to keep it simple so that the one or two flavor profiles you are featuring are noticed—by your nose prior to sipping as well as by your mouth once you partake.

Properly infused garden flavors are pure, rich, fresh, and the ideal complement to many of today’s cocktails. We love to use herbal-infused simple syrups; vegetable purees such as cucumber, green pepper, green onion, and tomato; intense fruit “waters” (pureed fruit) such as melons, berries, apples, pears, and citrus; macerated and muddled berries, herbs, and spices; and unique garnishes made from an ingredient in the drink. By combining several of these items with liquor, juices, mixers, or sparkling water, we have created tantalizing infused cocktails—shaken, stirred, or in the blender.

Our latest creations include: lavender-infused blackberry lemonade with organic citrus vodka; a garden Gibson, with green scallion, radish, parsley, and artisanal tonic; a champagne hibiscus sparkler with muddles of hibiscus flowers, ginger, and thyme; and a refreshing lime-cucumber-honeydew aqua fresca swirled with mint syrup.

We have creatively displayed our garden cocktails vertically on shelves and served them from there, incorporating ingredients used in the drinks as part of the décor.