In preparation for the upcoming 2012 wedding season, we at Susanna’s Catering have been busy with exciting rehearsal dinner and wedding inquiries.  From menu tastings to venue selection, we love being involved with the wedding journey.  What’s not to love about weddings??

Some truly wonderful people have entrusted Susanna’s Catering with their once-in-a-lifetime soirees, and we are grateful for the upcoming opportunities.  Our calendar of events is almost full, and will celebrate rich traditions ranging from classic Vermont settings to a unique blend of Irish and Indian heritage, and an Italian and Greek stationed buffet.

To us, one of the more creative and exciting facets of wedding catering is menu design, when we use our skills of combining global dishes to create a well-rounded and truly unique meal.  Putting it all together is like creating a piece of art; no two menus are ever alike and each must address its own relevant elements of cultural palate, setting, season, style and budget.

Another important – and perhaps the most satisfying – part of wedding catering is sample menu tasting, when the newlyweds-to-be can enjoy their potential meal in peace!  To help determine final menu choices, Susanna’s provides a private tasting.  We love living vicariously through their first bites as the cuisine stimulates their senses and frames the story of how wonderful and seamless the wedding menu planning will truly be.

As we finetune the details of this year’s events, we can’t help but reminisce about the successes of 2011.  Susanna’s graced the tables of such amazing places as The Barn at Lang Farm in Essex Junction, Turner Farmhouse on Isle La Motte, West Branch Gallery in Stowe, and Dreaming Mountain in East Johnson, plus countless beautiful backyards from Elmore to Burlington and loads in between…and that’s just the weddings!  Our staff has had the pleasure of meeting literally hundreds of wonderful people, and we look forward to seeing some of these new friends at future engagements.  In terms of smart business growth, you can market all you want but the product must be able to speak for itself.  At Susanna’s, we stand by our mission of creating unparalleled, fresh global cuisine, exquisite presentation and exceptional service.  Our love of weddings – and all special events – is clear to see, smell and taste on every plate we prepare.  The result?  Happy, repeat customers.

What an amazing trip we had traveling from Memphis through New Orleans to Pensacola Beach, Florida 

Two weeks of incredible music, great weather and fabulous food, none of which was cooked by me. Now that is a true vacation !

From the best bbq in Memphis through 50 lbs of authentic New Orleans Crawfish Boil which was dumped on an outside picnic table to one of the best fish dishes that I have ever tasted, grilled skate wings in a ginger broth over grilled fingerling potatoes at the Grand Marlin Restaurant on Pensacola Beach, with the exception of one lousy meal that we were served at Muriels in New Orleans, our tour of the south was filled with amazing dishes and filled me with renewed inspiration.

One dish however stopped me in my tracks and has already made an entrance into my party repertoire – Fried Pickles !

We were traveling through Alabama on our way to the beach and timed the trip perfectly to pass through Mobile right around lunch time so that we could stop in at the historic Wintzell's Oyster House on Dauphin St

Wintzell's was opened in 1938 as a 6 seater oyster bar and is famous for it's great food, especially it's "Oysters-Fried, Stewed or Nude"

There are now a handful of locations throughout the area, we were lucky enough to visit the original one, which although sold by the Wintzell family in the 70's still maintains the original decor and boasts the same great food and service.

The oysters were superb, a mixed platter of baked oysters with toppings like bac'on blue and rockefeller totally hit the spot and the smoked tuna dip was divine.

And then came the fried pickles ! Maybe it is just me with my love of salty sweet and crunch, but I will never forget biting into those light crispy juicy chunks which had been dipped into the tangy briny sauce…….oh my !!!!

We were super impressed with the whole Wintzell's experience and carried on south to our beach house in Pensacola and three days of more great food at the likes of Peg Leg Pete's and the memorable Grand Marlin.

Back home now and heading joyfully into a busy summer of catering. I have however found the time to have one dinner party for some visiting relatives and local friends.

The menu; Fried Pickles followed by a Crawfish Boil and Smoky Pulled Pork

I found a good sounding recipe for the pickles courtesy of Bobby Flay on the Food Network web site

Give them a try……or give me a call and I'll have you over for dinner next time I have them on the menu !!!!

The Mississippi was already 10 ft above flood level and looking mighty muddy when we arrived to enjoy the Beale St music festival during Memphis in May.

Held at Tom Lee Park on the banks of the river and hosting over 100 000 people of every age over three days, this festival is more famous for it's huge variety of music and it's muddy conditions more than it's depth of cuisine.

Hey, if you have a craving for a pronto pups or a large waffle cake, you are going to be satisfied, but we learnt early on to enjoy a hearty lunch downtown before joining the eclectic throng of music fans funneling through the gates.

Luckily for us, The weather had been dry for a week before we arrived and it wasn't till the Sunday that the tornado sirens started sounding and the rains began.

After being evacuated from the Gibson Guitar Museum due to shattering glass, we took refuge at the bar in Silky Sullivans with a plan to wedge ourselves under the brass foot rail if necessary.

It didn't happen, thank God so we were able to shoot over to S.O.B (South of Beale) for a delicious late lunch on our last day in Memphis.

Part of the south bluff development which has really enhanced downtown Memphis in the last few years, SOB, Memphis's first gastro-pub offers a small menu of inspired southern cuisine with clever twists as well as a beer menu strong on the micro brews and  food friendly wines.

Every dish we tried was a success;

Pulled Pork Spring Rolls with a Pineapple Salsa

Fried Green Tomatoes w' Roasted Pepper Yogurt Dip

BBQ Shrimp & Crispy Cheesy Grit Fries

Spicy Pork Chop with Leek Mac & Cheese w' Asiago Cream

All good simple foods that showed a love of local and a passion for the different.

We ended our meal with Jack and Coke – a super cool dessert of coca-cola bread pudding  soaked in a boozy vanilla sauce and complimented with home-made Jack Daniels laced ice cream …. yummmmmmmy !!

Well satisfied ,onwards we went to celebrate the beginning of May in Memphis and to help close down the Beale St music festival with the great Betty LaVette powering her stuff in the blues tent.

FYI; The Mississippi is now more than 20 ft above flood level in Memphis, a part of the river has even been closed to barges as their wake is flooding into the low lying homes on the banks and the river walk where we danced to the likes of Macy Gray and John Mellencamp is now totally under water.

Heading down to Memphis for the Beale St music festival was a strategically planned trip which would take us as far away from the Vermont mud season and memories of snow as possible and hopefully drop us in the midst of great music, brilliant sunshine and fabulous barbeque food !

Having to navigate around 15ft deep potholes on the way out of town just made us more appreciative of the joy's to come.

Our first stop in Memphis was Central BBQ, a really unassuming joint which started as a stall at the Memphis BBQ fest which rages into town a couple of weeks into May every year.

As we drove in early on a mid week evening, the queue stretched way out of the swing door into the parking lot which we took as a good sign so we parked the car and  joined the snaking line.

The barbed wire fence surrounding the huge smoker was the next sign that these guys mean business and will do all it takes to protect their gear and their secrets

Before long we were at the food counter ordering slabs of slow smoked ribs half dry rubbed and half wet rubbed, pulled pork plates, sides of bbq beans, slaw and greens and pitchers of cold beer. Welcome to Memphis !!!!

My first bite into that rack of ribs was memorable, so deep in flavor and so soft in texture Just perfect !

Then it was time to test out the dipping sauces, the mild house bbq sauce, sweet and rich, the spicy sauce so full of bourbon and heat that you automatically reached for a cold swig of beer to wash it down and the vinegar dip which wasn't sour, just tangy and refreshing on the richly smoked pork.

Mud season in Vermont was forgotten and our tour of the south and it's delicacies had begun.

Was it really 30 plus years ago when I was asked to pick a profession for my high school 2 week work experience ?

Already too tall for airline stewardess and harboring way too much energy to sit in an office for more than two minutes, my mind started working on how I could turn this situation into a money making scheme so that I could start traveling.

I declared that I would like to spend 2 weeks in the kitchen at "Sevens Wine Bar " This trendy restaurant in downtown Farnham, Surrey was the hub for local business men & women as well as a social haven for young players literally lapping up the wine bar scene.

Run by a savvy & gregarious entrepreneur Tony Green, Sevens was on the "Nouveau Beaujolais run" which meant that once a year, on the third Thursday of November, almost immediately after bottling, the new vintage of Beaujolais wine was raced across the British Channel by boat or by plane to be poured and guzzled in wine bars through the British Isles.

It was of course sent all over the world but the proximity of England to France made it even more exciting.

Barely in my teens at this time,and  although I was already enjoying the occasional pint of hard cider or jug of my fathers home made brew, I was not allowed to drink the wine at Sevens,

I did however get caught up in the excitement and the buzz afforded this quaffable if unsophisticated beverage.

Anyway, My plan worked. I spent my allotted stint chopping vegetables, baking quiches, assembling coronation chicken salads and sweeping floors. then,  when it was time to return to school, I asked Tony if I could have a part time job.

Fast forward to 2011, after 10 years of traveling and cooking on private yachts in or on the waters of twenty plus countries and now running my own catering company in Vermont USA, I'm heading back to England for a short visit which always starts with a good pub dinner with Mum & Dad.. In Farnham's heyday, there were over 50 pubs and yes we did attempt to crawl from one to the other on a Saturday night

Sadly, Tony passed away a while ago and Seven's Wine bar is now a mediocre Italian restaurant, but his spirit of congenial hospitality lives on strong in his daughter Sam.

Sam, knee high when I worked for her father, is now a beautiful young woman with her fathers ready smile and a talent for making you feel as comfortable in her inn as you would be in your own living room.

Hearing that the food "rules" at her pub The  Fox , we made a reservation and luckily so as even on a Wednesday evening, the place was hopping.

Pub grub in England has turned into "gastro pub cuisine" over the last 20 years. The bangers and mash replaced with Mediterranean chicken sausage & celery root puree, steak and kidney pudding replaced with organic British beef & Abbott ale pie.

Creative & healthy vegetarian dishes from all over the world are scattered throughout menus holding their own against the local wild game,sustainable fish and organic poultry offerings.

I introduced myself to Sam as she welcomed us in and we warmly and enthusiastically discussed how her dad had inspired and encouraged us both.

Dinner was delicious !

I started with with a warm salad of spicy chorizo sausage, black pudding and sun blushed tomatoes whose soft and juicy texture were a great compliment to the sturdy and colorful locally sourced spring greens. My entree of grilled halibut filet on a minted pea puree w' citrus butter had great flavor even if the fish could have done with a little less cooking.

Other delicious sounding entrees included pan seared duck breast w' a blackberry & red wine sauce on a potato rosti .

We were too full for "pud" but I did glance over the dessert board and they all sounded delicious !

If you ever find yourself in the south of England, close to Farnham, do stop in at the Fox Pub for a bite. It's a great example of how an English pub can and will survive by upgrading the food and maximizing the ambience and the hospitality.