Finished potato-y goodness, minus some paprika and parm we sprinkled on at the end.
I wrote a long, satisfying blog post yesterday, forgot to hit “save,” and left the computer in a hurry. Turns out autosave only works if you’ve manually saved at least once.
Bleh.
I told the long version of this week’s restaurant service at school, most notably when I nearly cut off the end of my left index finger with a peeler. Typing this is extremely difficult. I hope you’re feeling the love through my efforts here.
I suppose I’ll try to rewrite it, because it was actually quite good. Dangit. So I’ll just give you a brief rundown of what we did in another class this week.
In banquets and catering, we had a long (looong) discussion on the business end of starting a catering business: insurance, taxes, and pricing to make a profit. If you’ve ever priced an event and nearly fell out at the cost, I now know it’s with good reason. In our book’s example, the caterer had to build about $1300 into every job just to cover overhead. Wow.
At least now we know how to actually make money and not blow it on the light bill (and rent, and salaries) we forgot to work in.
A fellow student pipes the yummy potato mixture back into the baked shells.
Afterward, we went into the kitchen to make some appetizers for an event the school was catering. My group made the most awesome tiny, twice-baked potatoes. We were given some leeway on how to flavor the filling, so my friend Deborah and I came up with chives, goat cheese and a splash of worchestershire. Oh, and a buncha butter. And salt and pepper, of course. Turned out great.
I started to type a recipe, and quickly found I have no idea how to quantify it. But basically, you get size “B” red potatoes (the smallish ones), cut off the ends, and cut the whole thing in half. With the larger (from the middle) side up, scoop out some potato with a melon baller or teaspoon. Oil and season the “shells,” and bake at 325 for about 40 minutes, or until they’re browned and done all the way through.
Meanwhile, boil all the scooped out potato in some salted water, and when it’s tender, drain, reserving some of the water. Put in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and some butter, and mix until smooth. Now the fun part: mix in cheese, herbs, whatever you want. If the mixture is dry, pour back in some of the starchy water.
Put the resulting yummy goodness in a piping bag and pipe into the shells. (Or, you could just use a spoon if you want.) Top with paprika and shredded cheese if you like. We froze them at this point for later use, but you can go ahead and brown them in the oven some more and serve.
These were yummay! I’m starting to think it may not be so horrible to cater an event. The idea horrified me before. These little bits of deliciousness were inspiring.
What kind of little goodies have you made for formal events? Ever cater anything? Let me know your thoughts.