Cheat A Little's "Hot August Nights"

August 2020

Creating "Cheat A Little" Memories

Dear Friend,

The current weather we’ve been having is really heating up the month of August!

This is a perfect time to get a small group of people together for a backyard barbecue, to host a cozy cocktail party, or to invite your closest family members and friends for an intimate dinner or a fun game night.

Get SOCIAL with PHYSICAL distancing.

Historically, at Cheat A Little Catering, the month of August we’ve catered numerous birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers, barbecues, summer camp send-offs, and a host of corporate events, including board meetings and seminars. Of course, many weddings in August (and nearly every other month of the year), as well as celebrations of life.

In light of Covid-19, large families have been restricted from holding memorial receptions for those who’ve passed on. If you have lost someone this year, we’d love to hear from you and work together to plan a memorable celebration of life reception to honor your loved one.

Most sincerely,

Brian Morriss

President & Owner

SAFETY FIRST

"CLEAN IS THE

NEW GREEN"

What is Cheat A Little doing to keep things safe for our clients, guests, and employees?

Staff/Company

· Stay educated and up-to-date on current reports and best practices

· Weekly Webinars and Zoom Calls with industry experts, wedding and events associations

· Regular reviews and updates from CDC, state and national news, and San Mateo county guidelines and mandates

· Revised internal policies and procedures

· Ongoing staff training, new information and data reviewed and posted for easy access by our staff

· Increased sanitization

· Workflows, redesigned flow in kitchen and warehouse facilities

· Office staff working remotely

· Culinary team working staggered shifts, or when together, with approx. 8 feet of distance

· Regular use of gloves, wearing masks, repeated use of hand sanitizer, and frequent handwashing between tasks for operations and preparations

Clients/Service

· Grab-and-go portions and small, covered plates for cocktail hour, and/or "one bite" hors d'oeuvres

· Plated meals, covered and served so guests can collect their own entrees, or personal, tableside service

· Buffets behind acrylic shields being served by our staff (no guest contact), strict sanitary service process

· Action stations, and served for individuals

· Boxed Meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner options; good for delivery only, as well as staffed events

· Cocktails "on-the-go" in pre-packaged containers

· Individually packaged condiments

· Serve Ware: single-use disposables (plates, utensils, wrapped/pre-packets), and rentals of china, glassware and flatware

· Convenient Delivery Only, Delivery & Setup, and Full-Service

· Contactless Payment

EVENTS AT

HOME

Large-scale, over-the-top events at prominent bay area venues have been temporarily placed on hold.

However, you can still host a truly high-level event without venturing beyond your front door.

We help you accomplish this with customizable décor and table accents, stylish rentals, specialized linens and table runners, beautiful floral arrangements, and printed invitations, menus and place cards.

Our bartender can create tasty cocktails, while our chef prepares one of many themed menu options, including Asian-fusion, Mediterranean faire, or good old-fashioned American comfort food.

Change up your next get-together with a different color palette and theme. Various Menu options abound!

With fewer guests, there’s likely to be extra room in the budget to take your next in-home event to another level. Some ideas include an outdoor movie night, complete with large movie screen and projection, comfortable seating, and outdoor lighting.

Add to this one of our themed meals, like our “Night at the Movies” package; fresh-popped popcorn, candies, soda (and juice boxes for the kids!), hot dogs and chips.

We’re always thinking of new and creative ways for our clients and guests to socialize with friends and family safely and responsibly during the current mandated restrictions.

We’d love to create a seamless, yet personal experience for you in the comforts of your home or backyard.

Head over to our website and complete a brief Event Request Form for your next special occasion.

EVENT

HIGHLIGHTS

We are thrilled to have been selected as the caterer for this wonderful couple. What started as a larger wedding with nearly 85 invited guests previously scheduled for May of this year, was postponed and became a more intimate “micro-wedding” of approximately 25 guests earlier this month at the San Mateo Garden Center.

Special touches included a Zoom feature of the ceremony and speeches, as well as two officiants, to accommodate a bilingual marriage ceremony. Our menu was comprised of three skewers, including a delicious spicy lamb kabob, a tasty fruit-pasta dish, and a meze spread of appetizers of the Mediterranean.

Congratulations to the beautiful couple!

Let us help you too. Take a look at our Wedding Packages and we will work with you to revise menu and services as needed to accommodate a smaller gathering this year, or to plan your dream wedding in 2021!

Although just the starting appetizer, our “fruit, cheese and veggie plate” is a meal in itself.

Chef’s selection of cheeses, dried fruits, fresh grapes, and crackers; and pita triangles, sliced cucumber and fresh-made tahini hummus… YUM!

This “delivery only” service was for an outdoor Baby Shower in the park, and also included a boxed lunch meal of barbecue pulled pork sandwich, gourmet wild rice and a fresh-Spinach salad.

This scrumptious porchetta pork roast was part of a meal for a family celebrating the 1^st birthday of their baby girl.

We’re so appreciative as this is the third event we’ve catered for this family. Also on the menu… orange-miso salmon, lemon-scented rice, roasted new potatoes and a crunchy kale-avocado salad.

Happy Birthday to the newest member of the family!

Check out the many services we offer as your "go-to" full-service caterer.

NEW

PREFERRED

VENUE

We truly appreciate the relationships we have with our venue partners. We are proud of the many venues with which we have “preferred caterer” status.

We recently formed a preferred caterer relationship with a new venue; an expansive, beautiful private estate in Woodside. The owners are taking a discerning approach to venue rental, and we work directly with the exclusive point-of-contact representing the estate.

The estate offers four acres total, 6,000 sq ft indoors and 3 levels of Spanish Revival Architecture. There are 4 rental Suites with overnight accommodations available; a gorgeous conservatory, and manicured gardens throughout this privately-gated property. Event rental options are numerous, for small guest counts on up to a maximum of 130 guests.

Our private clientele will love the large lawns, stunning views and beautiful, multiple rooms of the main estate for weddings, engagement parties, and special anniversaries, just to name a few.

For our corporate clientele, you’ll have a real appreciation for this “get-away” space to host your off-sites, board of directors’ meetings, employee recognition dinners, and networking receptions.

Give us a call or send a message to express your interest in this venue, and we’ll be happy to arrange for introductions and a site visit.

FOOD FEATURE:

ONIONS

Within the allium family of foods are onions, garlic, leeks, chives, shallots and scallions; and are certainly a staple in nearly every catering company and restaurant, as well as the home cook’s kitchen.

Different types of onions can add immense flavor to any dish, but choosing the right one for what you’re cooking will yield the best results.

Yellow onions are good for nearly all recipes as a standard cooking onion, especially for caramelizing, as they hold up well over a long, slow heat. Available year-round, they’re great in savory dips, soups and roasts.

Sweet onions (Vidalias, Walla Wallas, Mauis) are best in salads, relishes and garnishes. You can use them raw as they have a milder onion flavor with a touch of sweetness. Great when paired with a pickled cucumber salad or used in a relish topping for a brat dog.

Red onions are excellent in salads and sandwiches with their peppery, slightly spicy flavor and deep-purple color. Also, a good choice for roasting, grilling and pickling. Try them chopped atop avocado toast, grilled with steak, or raw in a summer salad.

Traditionally used in Mexican cuisine (salsas, guacamole, ceviche, tacos), White onions are strong, but tend to have less aftertaste. White onions are also good to use in prepared salads, such as potato and macaroni salads.

Good for sauces and dressings, Shallots have the taste of a garlic-onion hybrid, with a mild onion flavor. In French cooking, shallots are great in vinaigrettes and chopped finely in a sauce to top a steak. The subtle flavor makes a good choice for egg-based recipes and vegetable sides.

Scallions are synonymous with Asian and Mexican cuisine, as the two-tone onions can be eaten cooked or raw. With a milder flavor, these “green onions” are best used in stir-fries, soups, stews and braised dishes. Add them to a Chinese chicken salad or as a topping for a loaded baked potato.

Tips & Tricks

Purchase firm onions that are free of blemishes and have only a mild scent. Store them in a cool, dark place with plenty of ventilation; and avoid storing whole unpeeled onions in the refrigerator.

To tame the pungent flavor of raw onion, slice very thinly, ideally using a mandolin. You can also soak onion slices in cold water for an hour or even overnight to tone down their potency.

Don’t cry! Tears from cutting onions can be an issue for some. Aside from wearing goggles to block the fumes from the onion, use a sharp knife and cut slowly, as you’re less likely to rupture the cell walls of the onion that contain sulfur compounds, which react with the moisture in your eye, causing irritation and tears. Also, open your kitchen window to permit more ventilation before cutting into your favorite onion.

Recipe Request

If you'd like to receive one of our chef's unique onion recipes, drop us a line and we will email you a delicious recipe to try!

DROP-OFF MENUS

DELIVERY & SETUP SERVICES

IN-HOME & IN-OFFICE

BOXED BREAKFAST, LUNCH & DINNER

HYBRID & FULL SERVICE

MICRO WEDDINGS

MICRO EVENTS

Visit our website for more information:

www.cheatalittle.com

SOCIAL DISTANCING PROTOCOL

Cheat A Little Catering maintains strict adherence to all food safety regulations for cleanliness and food preparation, as mandated by the San Mateo County Health Department. Our Social Distancing Protocol includes: employees are prohibited from working if they are experiencing any illness; those working maintain six-foot distance and ensure no physical contact, and work alone on different shifts whenever possible; facility is cleaned and sanitized at the beginning of work times, in between stages of food preparation, and at the end of work times; high-contact surfaces are disinfected frequently; non-employees are not permitted at our place of business; we require contactless payment system.