Summertime Archive
The Best Sandwich in Town
We take sandwiches seriously, maybe a little too seriously. Fresh bread, expeller pressed oils, grain-fed meats – there’s nothing artificial about our signature sandwiches! Whether it’s for office catering or an outside picnic, Saint Germain provides the Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia area with irresistibly delicious sandwiches. Our sandwiches use sophisticated fillings stacked between slices of fresh-baked ciabatta or focaccia bread. We never stop evolving our method in creating new ways to provide healthier and better tasting sandwiches. We recently switched to higher quality vendors that match our obsession with excellence. Here are two ways our sandwiches have changed for the better:
- The Meat. We demand high quality. We have upgraded our meat vendor to focus on healthier meats with high quality and delicious flavor all for the same price for you, our customer. We insist our meat is low fat, low salt, no trans-fat, no MSG but most of all, we insist on great taste. All of our sandwiches use briskets and rounds of meat in an extensive variety of whole muscle and processed cold cuts. The result? Juicy, tender and irresistible meat in our delicious sandwiches.
- The Bread. Our new bread is the greatest thing since sliced…uh, well…bread. No artificial colors or flavors, no preservatives, baked in a hearth oven, unbleached and untreated flour using long and natural fermentation. Our artisan bread is praised for its balanced, grainy-but-moist texture and pleasant flavor.
Next time you order from our lunch menu for your next office or picnic catering, try our savory Boardroom’s Best sandwich platter with fresh mozzarella, sundried tomato, red pepper, fresh basil and balsamic vinaigrette on a focaccia roll; or with roasted turkey, avocado and smoked bacon with sprouts, tomato, and herb mayo on a sourdough roll. Your taste buds will notice the excellence in quality.
We care about our food and welcome any tips on making a better sandwich. Respond in the comments below, tweet us at @SGCatering or post on our Facebook Fan Page!
6 Steps to Throwing an Awesome Grad Party!
Cheers to the Class of 2012! Graduation is a momentous achievement that deserves a congratulatory grad party to fit the occasion. A graduation party can be a difficult one to plan, but never fear, Saint Germain is here! We have helped plan unique grad parties for years now and have it down to a science. This blog post will go over some of the basics to help you through this process. And if you book your grad party with us, we will gladly give back 10% of the total dollar value to your school’s All-Night Grad Party!
- Pick a Date. Choose a date and time for the party. Remember that there are many festivities and family commitments scheduled at this time of year, so choose a date and time that allow graduates to be flexible.
- Set your budget. Set an approximate budget. This decision will help guide the others you need to make.
- Theme. Consider the type of party you want. Again, keeping in mind that a lot may be going on, perhaps an open house or drop-in type party might be best. Also plan decorations ahead of time if you want them. Consider school colors, graduation year or school sports teams as themes. Whatever you decide, make sure you communicate your ideas with the graduate and get him/her on board with the plans.
- Food. Decide on a menu. Keep the age of the partygoers in mind when choosing food and drink: Soda may be great for high school graduates, but college graduates may expect something more “sophisticated.” Saint Germain offers many custom menus for graduation parties; from hamburgers and hotdogs to grilled teriyaki chicken and pineapple glazed beef. Check out more of our items here.
- Who’s Invited? Make a guest list. You can limit the guests to close friends and family, or you can aim for a broader cross-section of friends or classmates. You can either make physical invitations or go digital with a Facebook event, Eventbrite, or Evite invitation. Remember to include the date and time of the party, a general idea of the dress code (whether “dressy” or “casual”) and indicate whether there will be a meal served or if it’s just hors d’oeuvres and drinks.
- Cake, Cake, Cake, Cake. No graduation party is complete without a “Congratulations Graduates!” cake to share!
Have any tips on throwing grad parties? Respond in the comments below, tweet us at @SGCatering or post on our Facebook Fan Page!
How to Grill the Perfect Steak
Sunshine with the scent of fresh-cut grass, charcoal and the rich, smoky aroma of meat sizzling over an open fire . . . May is here and that means its National Barbeque Month! Around this time of year, we get requests for tons of events that require outdoor barbecue grilling for company barbecues and picnics. You’ll quickly discover why we’re the best BBQ catering service in the area. We absolutely love summer picnics and catering outdoor events for offices, and we especially love grilling.
Crisp and caramelized on the outside, but never burnt, with a bite that melts in your mouth as the savory, perfectly seasoned flavor of beef hits your palate. Forget the steakhouse; we’re going to help you reach steak nirvana on your own.
- Meet your Meat! Start with the best prime-grade, dry-aged beef or substitute a one-and-a-half-inch-thick choice steak from your local grocery store. We recommend prime New York strip steaks. Try to pick the meat with the most marbling, i.e., visible grains of fat running through the steak. As the steak is cooking, the fat will melt and naturally tenderize the meat and build in flavor.
- Fire it Up! Begin by stacking around 35 pieces of charcoal in the center of your grill to get it started. Let the fire burn for 15-20 minutes, until the coals turn about halfway white; then spread them out to one side, leaving a cool spot on the grill. Cover your grill with the lid and leave the top vent open for 3-5 minutes until it’s very, very hot! You need it hot enough to sear the outside quickly and form a crust. Remember your goal – the perfect steak – is defined by the contrast between the charred exterior and the warm, juicy center.
- Pre-game Warm Up! For four 14 to 16 ounce pieces of meat, grab 1/2 cup corn oil, 8 teaspoons each of kosher salt and cracked black pepper, and 2 sticks unsalted butter. Melt the butter and skim the solids from the surface, set aside to cool. Remove the steaks from the refrigerator 30 to 40 minutes before cooking to allow them to hit room temperature. Make sure to shape the steaks by pushing the side into the center to create height.
- Marinate – Mix the oil and ½ cup of clarified butter on a large serving plate. Put the steaks into the oil-butter mix to coast each side, and then lift the steaks to allow the excess oil to drip off. Also make sure the steaks don’t have too much oil-butter mix on them or it will create flare-ups on the grill. Coat each side of the steaks with a teaspoon of salt and pepper each. (Salt helps make a great crust!)
- Grillmaster Time – Throw the meat on the hottest part of the grill. If the grill flares up, move the steaks to the outside edge, and then return them to the center when the flame dies down. It is really important you do not slide the meat across the grill. Gently pick the steaks up with tongs; you do not want to pierce the meat at all! Also you do not want to flip them around too much; limit yourself to three flips, cooking each side for 3 minutes at a time.
- How Do YOU Like It? There is no exact science to knowing when a steak is done. Most people cut a small slit in the steak to see the color of the meat, but the best way to do it is by comparing the meat’s firmness to your hand’s firmness. It sounds strange, but try it out some time. If the softer, fleshy part at the base of your thumb is the same density as the meat, the meat is rare. The firm center of your palm is the feel of a well-done steak.
Before you devour your perfect steak, allow the meat to rest for 3 to 4 minutes before serving to allow the juices to emerge from the center.
What’s your favorite grilling technique? Respond in the comments below, tweet us at @SGCatering or post on our Facebook Fan Page!
image via flickr user secretlondon123
How to Cook the Perfect Burger
Graduations and picnics galore! It’s grilling season and we have one thing on our minds: consistently juicy, perfectly seasoned and precisely medium-rare cheeseburgers! There is an insatiable appetite for making the perfect burger, and we figured we would bestow our griddled wisdom for your next barbeque event.
The heart of every burger is the patty and most people prefer beef, so that’s where we’ll start. For maximum flavor and juiciness, grinding your own burger meat does the trick. The golden ratio is 80 percent fattier chuck-eye steak and 20 percent leaner flank or skirt steak. Try to always use whole cuts, not scraps or pre-cubed meat. It is important to keep both the grinder and the meat cold so the fat doesn’t melt out. Try to freeze the beef and tools for about 20 minutes or until a layer of ice spreads across the meat.
To make four juicy and tender beef patties, start with 1 ¼ pounds of beef and heat your grill to medium-high.
Step 1: Divide the meat and gently form it into 4 balls.
Step 2: Flatten the balls into ¾-inch-thick patties. Also flatten the top and sides of each patty to ensure that the thickness is the same throughout.
Step 3: Use your fingers to make a dimple in to the top of each patty (this will prevent from over plumping and make it easier to put on the bun and stack the toppings). Liberally season the patties with salt and pepper.
Step 4: Oil the grill grate with a pair of tongs and a paper towel dipped in canola oil. (Never spray the oil or you’ll risk a flare-up.)
Step 5: Grill, with the wells facing up, until the burgers release easily, 4 to 5 minutes for medium. (We know it’s fun, but resist the urge to press or flatten the meat! We recommend using tongs to avoid unnecessarily poking or piercing the burger.) Flip patties and cook 4 to 5 minutes more. Instead of prodding the patty with a knife or a finger, gauge doneness by sight: no juices flowing from small cracks at the top of the burger means it’s rare; red juices indicate medium-rare; and rosy to pale liquid means it’s medium-well to well-done.
Step 6: If you are making cheeseburgers, add your preferred cheese 2 minutes before the burger is done and cook with the grill covered. To get that oozing, melted effect everyone craves, be sure the cheese
you’re using is properly prepped. Firm cheeses (Cheddar, Swiss, American) should be sliced or grated; soft cheeses (fresh goat cheese, feta, blue) should be crumbled.
What are your secrets for grilling the perfect burger? Respond in the comments below, tweet us at @SGCatering or post on our Facebook Fan Page !
Unique Desserts & Candy Stations For Your Wedding Reception
If you’ve been to a Wedding lately you may have noticed that instead of a cake, there was a whole table dedicated to several desserts and a variety of candy. Sweets, Treats and Candy displays are expanding trend. A dessert display can be filled with trays of desserts and ornate glass jars full of candy that coordinates with the colors of your event or Wedding. Desserts can include cake pops, cheesecake lollipops, miniature pies, french macaroons, cookies & milk shooters.
The options for making these displays unique to your Wedding are endless. Not everyone loves cake, so why not try a dessert display full of cookies or pies? You can make your display unique by adding custom candy tags, a table linen that matches your wedding colors, or include your favorite childhood candy such as Smarties, Lemonheads and Snowcaps. A dessert display can also double as a favor for your guests to take home. Provide candy scoops and treat bags that can be use and they are a perfect way to get your guests involved.
Presenting your treats in a fun and unique way will make your guests feel like a kid in a candy store. Ask your wedding coordinator at Saint Germain Catering for ideas on how to display desserts for your next Wedding or event. it will leave a lasting impression and have your guests talking.
It’s *Easy* Being Green with Sugarcane Utensils!
We’re proudly participating in being a greener company by offering our customers bioplastics, which are sugarcane-based utensils. For us, it was a no-brainer. And for our customers, we hope it’s a no-brainer, too!
And how’d we discover this new, greener utensil? Well, not surprisingly, many sustainably-conscious companies and individuals today are opting for biodegradable versions of just about everything. This is a trend we’re seeing in the hospitality industry, especially. Plus, we recently watched one person’s social experiment — the No Impact Project — and wondered how we might be able to create a smaller environmental impact as a company and for our customers, too.
No Blizzards Ruined *This* Holiday Party!
Remember the first blizzard in the Washington DC region last December? It knocked us all down for a long weekend. Then, we got knocked down again … and again… by back-to-back storms in January.
One of our customers, Donna, had worked with us to cater her company’s holiday party in December… and then again in January.
Quick Tips for a Perfect Picnic
Got a Posh Picnic Planned?
It’s summertime, the season of graduations, weddings, family reunions, picnics in the park, and backyard barbeques!
Speaking of BBQs, the smell of grilled food, a plate full of fresh fruit and colorful casseroles, the sound of laughter and great music in the background, and a bug-bite-free setting can make even the most antisocial people come together and smile each summer.
