Puerto Vallarta stuffed fish caterer Grand Jct

 

One of the coolest things I get to do with the catering is develop new
recipes and try them out on people. I like it because I can literally
build anything I want to build. This year my dish development is
focusing on bringing together some low cost great tasting items so I can
remind the competition where their place is in the hierarchy. As we don't
do any low end work anymore, and have not for years, we have left the
utility caterers alone for several years. But I have noticed that as we
pushed up market over the last couple years they have experienced price
creep in the low echelons. So I decided we need to get profitable in the
$14.50 per plate range, but not lower our taste and quality standards.
JonesQ helped out with his recommendation of a wonderful beef product.
But I still needed a fish dish for the bottom end that still tastes like
our customers expect our food to taste.



Enter the lovely Alaskan Pollack. This nice white fish has all the
characteristics I was looking for, light, low oil content, thin fillets
for fast finishing, neutral in taste so I can jazz it up, and last it
costs under $3 per pound.



After three weeks of screwing around I finally settled on a crab, shrimp
stuffing with eggs, pimento, green chili and cayenne, along with a few
other spices. Made it at home, everyone liked it. Had a crew in digging
our irrigation ditches out, fed it to them, ate it all! So I take it
down to the kitchen and make it for Zane and Mary Lou (had to let Chef
Big Al taste it as well or he pouts) and they agree it is ready for a
test run. So last Saturday after I was done at the Soup Kitchen I
whipped by the Catering Kitchen and prepped up 25 of the little fish
dishes for a private dinner we were catering that evening.



Chef Big Al finished them for me in the oven before the event and they
were dropped off. Doing the garbagology we discovered the true answer of
what people thought of the dish. None left in the pans, none dumped in
the garbage! Pork left over, rellanos left over, enchiladas left over,
no fish left over! 18 people ate all 25 stuffed pollacks.



And so Puerto Vallarta Stuffed Pollack is on the menu and we are ready
to push forth the little summer surprise to anyone who has rested on
their laurels while we were making the high end our own!



If you have not had white fish in a while, get out to the store and
purchase a piece. Even if you just do it in butter, salt, pepper, and a
hint of red pepper you will enjoy it. And why not crack open a nice
bottle of Chardonnay to have with it. Lately I have been enjoying one
called Seven Heavenly Chards from California. $11 per bottle, nice
drinkable wine.



Til will talk again,

Chef Bob Ballantyne

The Cowboy and The Rose Catering

Grand Junction, Colorado