Northwest Food and Wine Festival

Hello all you FOODIES! Come out to the Northwest Food and Wine Festival on November 5th, 2011 at the DoubleTree Lloyed Center, Portland, OR from four o'clock to eight o'clock.

There will be some outstanding Chef's from Portland's best restaurants and caterers. In addition to premier NW award-winning wineries. Every caterer or restaurant will select and make a specific dish to create something very special for all of the attendees to enjoy and savor. Pairing these delectables with some very rare vintages and varietals, from their reserve cellars.

You can purchase your tickets at nwwinefestival.com while they last. We hope to see you all there. Don't forget to come hungry and thirsty!

Bon Appetit

Andrew Pollin, Alfresco Catering by Sheraton
A division of Starwood Hotels World Wide. In association with Pollin Hotels and supported by PMHS Hospitality Strategies - The difference is night and day!
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OUR FIRST EVENT

We want to thank Lucky Distributing for being the first ever client of Alfresco Catering by Sheraton. The event was on Monday, May 23rd. They selected our fantastic Alfresco Special Barbecue Menu and the employees and guests who attended all had a great time and raved about not only the terrific food but how well it was presented and the quality and friendliness of the staff. Thank you to Cheri Rutter who was in charge of putting this together for her company. She also sent us a very nice thank you letter making a point to single out the two wonderful servers we sent out Jose and George in addition to myself for putting it all together. So cudos all around, especially the Chef who prepared all the terrific food. All in all it could have not gone any better. We hope this will be beginning of a long and tasty career for all of us at Alfresco as well as a great relationship with Lucky Distributing.

Thanks again to Cheri Rutter at Lucky Distributing for giving us this exciting opportunity and a very successful launch.

Weddings of the World

This Sunday, May 15th at the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel we will be hosting a wedding show featuring ethnic weddings. The various cultures to be exhibited are Indian, Asian, Latino and Russian. The event will take place between one and five in the afternoon. We have some terrific vendors that will be showing off their wares from cake decorators, florists, caterers, rental companies, photographers and lots lots more.

We hope to see and meet a wonderful mix of interesting people. Even if you are not getting married for a while yet, its never too early to get some interesting and creative ideas. See you then!

Brunch at the Sheraton

We had a lot of hungry people on Easter Sunday at the hotel. We featured an Alfresco table with some wonderful pulled pork and some yummy cornbread. Don't forget to secure your date for your company picnic or graduation party. We can deliver food to you as well. We will also be having a Mother's Day Brunch on Sunday May 8th. at the Sheraton Airport Hotel. Make your reservations early to get the best times because it really fills up fast! We are still deciding what we are going to feature for our Alfresco table, but whatever it may be, you know its going to be out of this world. We will let you know in a day or two.

Look forward to seeing everyone there!

Your humble host,

Andrew

COMPANY PICNICS AFRESCO STYLE

Now is the time to reserve your date for your company picnic. Treat your employees to a truly memorable and tasty day! Start with our apple wood smoked pulled pork Memphis style, slow smoked rich and flavorful Texas style beef brisket, or of course our signature baby back ribs with our out of this world sweet and tangy Maui Onion barbecue sauce. Don't forget all of the delicious side dishes like eastern shore sweet white corn on the cob, melt in your mouth organic blue cornbread with lots of creamery fresh butter and warm African bee honey. Organic red potato salad with Raba farms blue cheese and caramelized baby shallots and fresh dill. Aged balsamic infused red and white spring cabbage cole slaw will round things out. Finish with our warm house baked cookie bars or melt in your mouth brownies. Alfresco catering will take care of everything you need for you to have a truly unique and fun experience. Prices starting as low as $16.95 per person. * CALL TODAY TO SECURE YOUR PICNIC. Reserve by May 15Th and receive 10% off of your event. *PRICES DO NOT INCLUDE APPLICABLE TAX OR SERVICE CHARGE

Terrific Shrimp!

Here is a simple yet delicious and tasty shrimp dish that I love to make. ITS EASY TOO! Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds shelled and devained large shrimp 21/25's are fine. You can use the 12's if you want bigger ones. 3 garlic cloves, sliced razor thin. One 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced. 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper or to taste. 1 large egg white. 2 teaspoons cornstarch. 3/4 cup ketchup. I know, but that is the secret to this dish. 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock. 1 tablespoon sugar. 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper. White works best, black will do. 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt. 1/4 canola oil 3 scallions, thinly sliced. 1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro. Directions: 1. In a large bowl, toss shrimp with the garlic, ginger, red pepper, egg white and 1 teaspoon of the cornstarch until well-coated. 2. In a medium bowl, whisk the ketchup with the broth, sugar, pepper, salt and the remaining 1 teaspoon of cornstarch. 3. In a very large skillet, or wok, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the shrimp and stir-fry over high heat until they begin to turn pink. Add the ketchup mixture and simmer until the shrimp are cooked, about 2 minutes. Stir in the scallions and cilantro and serve with some stir-fried noodles or white or brown rice. GUARANTEED TO PLEASE! ENJOY!

THE BETTER LIVING SHOW

Thank you to the folks who stopped by our booth at the BETTER LIVING SHOW this weekend at the Portland Expo Center. We met and talked with lots of wonderful, friendly people who were there to learn about how to help keep our planet green and sustainable as it relates to business. There were companies there from solar related industries to holistic healers and of course team members from the Sheraton, Hampton and Aloft Hotels. Thank you to the banquet department who took the time to make our booth look the best out of all the rest! It really did look snazzy. We look forward to seeing you all there next year as well.

One of my favorite beef dishes

Korean barbecue lacquered beef flank steak with rice cakes.

Make a paste of garlic, ginger, Asian pear, palm sugar, olive oil, lime zest, kaffir lime leaves, and Korean chili paste in soybean oil. Rub onto flank steak, marinate for 6 hours before wiping off. Season with salt and white pepper, sear, braise in a mixture of soy sauce, water, onions, garlic, ginger, Asian pear, palm sugar, and kaffir lime leaves. Braise covered for 90 minutes in a 325 degree oven in a coated cast iron casserole. Serve the braised flank steak lacquered with the reduced braising liquid. Also on the plate, thinly slice red kuri squash (or just yellow squash) cured in some of the same red chili paste with kaffir lime, lemongrass, lime zest, and salt; and griddled rice cakes made from sticky rice sauteed in caramelized shallots, ginger, finely chopped kaffir lime, lemongrass, salt, and white pepper with trimmed blanched Chinese budding kale, seasoned and dressed lightly in olive and sesame oils. Plate and serve. Your guests and family will love it! Even better the next day in a sandwich on some rustic crusty bread. Serve with a wonderful syrah or brunello.

Hello

Hello and welcome to Alfresco Catering by Sheraton. In the following weeks and months we will give you tips on cooking, terrific recipes, chef webinars, and how to help keep our earth and the environment around us healthy and sustainable as it relates to all things culinary and gastronomic, including wines and spirits.