Even more from the catering files

Today was a big move day for my office. Or should I say a massive reshuffling of personnel on our floor. It was such a large undertaking that all "non essential" employees were asked to stay home. Since I was one of the people unaffected by the move and there were some edits to keep an eye on, I was one of the few working on our floor today.

It stinks when you are at work and your co-workers are enjoying a day off (oh right, they are 'working from home') so what better way to soften the blow than to provide a nice lunch for those who did have to come into the office today?

Peanut D had ordered a surprisingly good sandwich platter from our in-house catering for a previous team lunch, so I decided to follow her lead and give it our gang a shot.

Our feast started with a mixed greens salad with tomatoes and shredded carrots, a second salad of artichoke hearts, tomatoes and mozzarella and a Caesar complete with roasted peppers. I am not a fan of the building's gelatinous dressings but the artichoke salad was already dressed and did not need anything extra. Not bad...

The sandwich platter included roast beef with olive tapenade that WW remarked was quite good, turkey with bacon and mayonnaise on a hearty ciabatta, and a chicken wrap with guacamole. I put in some extra time at the gym this morning in preparation for a large lunch but found that one turkey sandwich was quite filling and didn't get to sample the other offerings.

It goes without saying that my favorite were the desserts: brownies, blondies, rice krispie treats, chocolate chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies and coconut and pecan cookies. I ate about half my weight in rice krispie treats and when my stomach ache subsided, I hit the dessert tray again and finished off a brownie. Sometimes, I'm even shocked and disgusted by my own gluttony. Today, however, my self-loathing was overshadowed by the appreciation from my co-workers.

Sometimes a few cookies are all it takes to make someone happy!

Catering Redemption?

Another weekend spent at work. This time it is thanks to the fun, the horror and the spectacle that was this year's Grammy Awards. Saturday was a short day (no catering required) but Sunday there was lunch and dinner to be ordered for the team.

Sunday morning I was off to Jax's bridal shower, so I left J-Bends in charge of the food order. It was a small group for lunch, therefore, a quick call to Times Square's Bella Vita and the team was happy. Done and done.

I was a bit concerned about dinner. Apparently, I have gone overboard on the Havana Central orders for the past few events and the team was sick of it. Torches were lit and revolt was imminent if I dare order Cuban food for one more late night meal. Even the always pleasant Smunch had some harsh words for one more night of ropa vieja and empanadas.

Okay guys, I get it! This time I went for Chinese. What's a more quintessential New York late night meal than Chinese take out? After consulting with Peanut D, I chose John's Shanghai on 46th Street.

I ordered egg rolls, spring rolls, steamed dumplings, wonton soup, fried rice, lo mein, boneless spare ribs, vegetable moo shu, Chinese broccoli, General Tso's chicken, chicken in garlic sauce, baby shrimp in black bean sauce (a Ms. Foodie fave!), double sauteed sliced pork, beef with orange flavor and shredded beef.

The meal was such a hit (or perhaps the team was just ravenous and didn't care anymore) that I needed to order a second round of entrees to feed the late shift who hadn't arrived yet.

I'd like to think that I redeemed myself.

McCatering at McCain

Please excuse the lack of posts recently, it's been quite hectic for Ms. Foodie. While I certainly have been eating, it has been tough to find time to put together a proper post.

One of the things that has kept me busy was a recent trip to Manchester, New Hampshire where I worked on one in our series of Presidential Dialogues, this one with Senator John McCain.

Manchester was a quaint town, but my culinary experiences didn't get further than a daily trip to Dunkin' Donuts for coffee and a peanut butter on whole wheat bagel and an evening trip to the sports bar across from our hotel.

One of the highlights was our two days of catering courtesy of the staff of Southern New Hampshire University, our host school. The first meal was a Mexican theme; with ground beef, refried beans, Spanish rice and all the usual taco fixin's. I've learned from past production catering experiences that Mexican on a closed set isn't always the best option (for gastro-intestinal reasons) but it was actually pretty decent. The oatmeal raisin cookies were really the standout item in this meal!

The next day, the theme for lunch was Italian. Pasta with marinara sauce (this Italian girl passed), eggplant parmigiana, chicken parmigiana and some bland green beans filled out the offerings. Once again, dessert was the highlight... brownie sundaes with ice cream, hot fudge and whipped cream! Snow be damned, Ms. Foodie needs her sugar fix!

For the grand finale (aka dinner), the ladies stepped up their game. Curried chick peas with onions in tomato sauce was really quite delightful and the yellow rice was flavorful as well. The veggie blend (carrots, string beans, squash) was better than lunch's green beans and the chicken was passable. For dessert, it was apple crisp with whipped cream. Not bad and the chick peas really took me by surprise!

After the show was wrapped, a large group headed over to the Red Arrow Diner. On the recommendation of Lambert's Army, I decided to celebrate with the grilled chicken bomb. This sandwich was pretty much a chicken cheesesteak with peppers, onions, mushrooms and cheese but topped with a side of sweet potato fries and it was delicious!

The pies that a few of my co-workers ordered were giant slabs of custard and whipped cream but I was able to control myself and passed since as you can tell, I had my fill of dessert for the day!

Of course, the best thing about these remote productions is spending time with an amazing group of talented people and getting a job done, often in close quarters and challenging situations. A New England snow storm added to the fun of the weekend and needless to say, left some people a little stir crazy!

On Saturday, we covered the Live Earth concert at Giants Stadium. I'd give you my entire environmental spiel about how we mistreat the planet but this isn't really the forum for it. Plus what I really want to talk about is the on site catering! And needless to say, spending countless hours in a truck can drive you a bit batty (as evidenced by the photo on the right).

Our remote production was on a bit of a shoestring budget so I didn't go into Saturday with high culinary expectations. And fortunately or unfortunately, it was pretty much what I expected - passable fare that satisfied hunger pangs.

For lunch we were served a variety of wraps and sandwiches. I decided to pass on the grey cold cut meat and the mayonnaise based fare (egg salad, tuna salad, potato salad) since that doesn't always bode well in heat and direct sunlight and went with an okay chicken and roasted peppers wrap.

The Achilles heel for me is the treats: cookies, mini chocolates, chips, etc. If it isn't in my apartment I don't crave it but when it's in front of me... And really, who can pass up a three-pack of Milano cookies? Not me! And I (somewhat unfortunately) discovered Goldfish cinnamon graham crackers. UGH! I gave away my third pack of the day before I inflicted any more caloric damage on myself but not before I housed a few mini Twix bars, mini Snickers and God knows what else I got my hands on.

Dinner was the usual pizzeria-type fare: a large tray of tossed salad, chicken marsala, chicken parmigiana, some bland mixed vegetables, roasted potatoes, and a cream-based pasta (again dairy in the heat!) with an odd assortment of zucchini, corn, and carrots.

The chicken parm was actually the best offering of the bunch and I even went back for a small second helping. It was fried and probably super fattening but the most flavorful option of the day.

I actually feel bad slamming the catering since I know there probably weren't a lot of options and this got pulled together on short notice and at the end of the day, the pictures don't lie. But when you have an endless supply of Milano cookies at your disposal, you just MIGHT be able to forgive a subpar meal.