Table for 20

We haven't had a chance to serve others through cooking for a little while now, so when we were asked to cater for a table of 20, Paul and i leapt at the chance! We were helping to cook breakfast, morning tea and lunch for my church's Leadership Day, which was both exciting because my church was having a day to plan for the future direction of the church, and that we could cook and give back a little to these lovely people in my life. 

We (or at least I) were also eager to find a distraction from wedding planning, and it was great that we had the opportunity to do something we both enjoy, spend a day in the kitchen and just cook to our heart's content whilst serving other people! :)

Making our separate doughs the night before; Paul making croissant pastry dough and i'm making pasta dough

Pumpkin, ricotta and parmesan ravioli

Late night pasta making = half success, half failures :'(

Breakfast

Poached eggs with sauté sweet potato, wilted spinach and kale mix and lime aioli

Morning tea

Fresh croissants and chocolate croissants! They disappeared so fast i didn't get a chance to photograph the final products :'(

Lunch

Pumpkin and ricotta ravioli with mix mushroom sauce, pine nuts, and crispy sage

Poached lemon chicken salad with asparagus and silvered almonds

As with every big cooking event, there is always so much to learn, here are a few lessons from this time;

1. Fresh ravioli pasta does NOT dry well overnight on baking paper. Major sticking issues when the pumpkin mix dampens and sticks ~ sticky tearing ravioli first thing in the morning = stress!

2. Sweet potato hash requires some kind of sticking agent, e.g. potatoes or flour... 

3. Always take all the ingredients out when preparing in a rush ~ we forget the smoked salmon for breakfast! 

4. When using a new oven, always preheat way in advance! The poor croissants suffered from the oven not being at the right temp...

5. Always pack extra flour, oil, salt and pepper when going to a new kitchen (and paper towels and tea towels). The basics are called the basics for a reason!

6. Think through early preparation and storage, especially when playing with pastry! May need to trial anything new the week before!
7. Fresh pastry and pasta from scratch is a little bit too ambitious after a working week! :$