During the holidays, restaurants double as office kitchens. Most restaurants cater, and the offerings range in price and cuisine, from inexpensive vegetarian sandwiches to pricy carved beef tenderloin.
The following is a sampling of restaurants and their catering menus:
Latin and Southwestern fusian dishes like pan con pernil asada; a pulled pork roast with pickled red cabbage and Carolina-style barbecue sauce and pollo aljedrea; and a rolled chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese, apricot, basil, spinach, shrimp and crimini mushrooms finished in a balsamic reduction sauce. There are empanadas, soups, salads, and beef, fish and chicken dishes.
Bring Cheuvront's sophisticated cheese choices, wines, flowers, linen service and staff to this year's party for a departure from the holiday buffet menu. The artisinal cheese platter includes cheeses from around the world, fresh and dried fruits, nuts and sliced baquette. Pate, fruit, caprese, shrimp and assorted canapé platters are also available in addition to heated appetizers and a variety of dessert options.
Vincent Guerithault, credited for upping the Valley's dining profile, brings his French country classic with a Southwestern twist to his catering menu. Offerings include a pasta station; a full-course meal including duck tamale with Anaheim chile and raisins, pear salad with spicy pecans and blue cheese; seared sea scallops with cream of butternut squash; sliced buffalo tenderloin with green peppercorn sauce served over sautéed spinach; and poached pears with raspberries and chocolate sauce.
Celebrate with fresh, flavor-packed munchies such as seafood kibis; crispy lobster and shrimp risotta cakes with pesto aioli; and a bruschetta plate with thin crisp crouton fingers and baguette bread served with tomato and onion jam, pesto and creamy artichoke spread. Main dishes include gourmet hamburgers, pesto and Dijon lamb chops, lemon caper chicken and a spicy Verona pasta.
A new catering menu includes a host of appetizers like marinated green olives, confit tomato tarte and foie gras. No ordinary sandwiches here. The selection includes an open face sandwich with goat cheese, tomatoes and smoked ham; spicy Moroccan sausage and piquillo pepper yogurt sauce; and grilled tomatoes, roasted peppers, artichoke, eggplant and feta.
This West Valley institution caters breakfast, lunch and dinner parties along with finger food for holiday cocktail parties and open houses. Kiss the Cook specializes in comfort food so some favorites are dishes like pot roast, chicken and dumplings, beef stroganoff, and chicken picatta. Other options are luncheon trays of sandwiches and pasta salads and breakfast buffets with the restaurant's signature muffins, quiche, fresh fruit and pecan rolls or owner Nancy Hagadorn Wallace's egg strata, fried potatoes, bacon and sausage.
A West Valley landmark, La Perla's can do a menu with roast beef and chicken cordon bleu, but the hands down favorites are the Mexican buffets and sampler appetizer platters. The buffet combinations include red or green beef chili con carne, cheese or chicken enchiladas, mini chimichangas, chile rellenos and tostados, fajita or taco bars with guacamole, sour cream, rice, beans and condiments.
For a casual office party, this gourmet soup, salad and sandwich eatery offers something for everybody, including Tuscan chicken and turkey cranberry sandwiches, made-from-scratch pastas, deli trays and Caesar salads. Desserts include double fudge or cream cheese brownies, carrot cake or a cookie tray.
First-rate, no-frills Chinese food with an emphasis on seafood plucked right out of the tank. Among the species you may encounter: scallops, oysters, geoduck, lobster, rockfish and crab. Other options include beef chow fun or Peking pork chop.
Chef Bryan Elliott offers the same, fresh innovative dishes from his classy north-Scottsdale restaurant for his catering customers. From crusty-edged pork chop to racks of lamb, his food makes for a memorable holiday party.
From elaborate California wine country inspired cheese platters and hefty sandwiches to salads that feed a crowd, this wine shop offers an extensive catering menu that combines gourmet ingredients and creative combinations.
This popular New York-style deli offers catering for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For a breakfast gathering, consider an omelet bar, with a choice of fresh vegetables, bacon, ham, cheddar and Swiss cheese.
