Friday, July 9, 2010

Sassafras Catering- tomato pies, weddings and more

I am getting married this summer. My fiance and I both agreed from the get-go that food was something that mattered to both of us. n the process of meeting with caterers we learned to define what we were looking for as "organic, locally sourced, mostly vegetarian, but vegetarian that is so good that the carnivores wouldn't even notice that they weren't eating meat". We ended up selecting Sassafras Catering (not so coincidentally a vendor at the Montavilla Farmers Market) who could roast a chicken as well as they could saute a vegetable.

This past Friday I went down to St Paul to the wedding & reception site to meet Tricia, the head chef Erin and Cara, a new addition to the staff at Sassafras. We are getting married near the banks of the Willamette River just next door to Champoeg State Park.

I am super excited to be working with Sassafras Catering. Tricia, Erin and Cara are easy to work with and they really understand the feel that we are trying to create. Every conversation evolves into a brainstorming session dreaming up new flavor combinations and ways of preserving the bounty of the season. For us, food is a big part of the day and a decision not to be taken lightly. Here is the menu that Sassafras created for us:

Water chestnuts wrapped in hickory smoked bacon
Crostini with pimento jalapeno cheese
Mini Southern tomato pies
Cheese display with seasonal fruit, berries and Little t American Bakery bread
Roasted vegetable torte layered with goat cheese
Roasted lemon rosemary chicken
Green beans w/ hazelnuts
Quinoa Pilaf
Summer salad with berries, pine nuts and brie with tangerine vinaigrette

The Southern tomato pies are something you can get at their market stand, along with their jars of preserves, relishes and chutneys. I'm currently coveting a roasted beet and fennel preserve with horseradish and mint, doling out tiny spoonfuls until I know that a new crop of beets has replenished their supply. Look for Sassafras back at the Montavilla Market August 1st.


7 comments:

  1. Not a very interesting post. If you have personal comments, create your OWN blog, don't use the Montavilla blog as your own. And please identify yourself. Not very professional.

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  2. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy this post, Glenn. If you have suggestions for things you'd like to read about on this blog, please send some along and I'll try to incorporate them. I posted this because I'm proud to be able to support Montavilla Market vendors even if it's not at the Sunday market. Sassafras does creative things with produce they buy from other local growers and I wanted to share that with our blog readers.

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  3. You can still be proud and post information on your own blog. If you feel that the Montivilla site and all of it's forums are for your personal use, then I would have to question the use of your 501(c) (6) status as a non-profit org. Maybe spend more time suppling your followers as well as your vendors with news and features of the Market. Maybe offering recipes each week from a "Vendor of the Week" that would highlight vendors, the market and give a reason for the public to visit not only the site, but the Market as well. And also, professionally, if you write something, you really need to identify yourself.

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  4. Wait a minute, a profile of a Montavilla Farmers Market vendor on the Montavilla Farmers Market blog is not "professional?"

    Color me confused...

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  5. Thank you. It is helpful to hear what people are interested. As a new feature to the market, we're still finding our voice and rhythm for this blog and the feedback is helpful. Without comments, I have no way to know if people are reading and what you think.
    I'll update the blog profile as such, but my name is Carolyn and I am one of the MFM board members - though I won't be the only person to post blog entries. We can consider adding signatures to distinguish who the author is.

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  6. While not to belabor this thread, but by his comments, it is evident that true_slicky is confused. The blog post is not about the vendor. The primary focus IS on the activity with the vendor as a second.
    Additionally, having a blog post or article attributed to a person is an established professional practice. If one does not want to identify themselves for their comments do they deserve the credit or credibility? Thank you Carolyn for stepping up to the plate.

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  7. Well, I'm a frequent customer of the Montavilla Farmers Market and savored this article. Not everyone just wants to read strictly about the market so this was a welcome change of pace. Thanks for sharing Carolyn and not being a bot. Glenn, you should stop by and much on some berries, fresh corn, or organic black beans by The Better Bean Company. Thank me later.

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