Time to Celebrate Sweet Freedom!

My dad has worked for many, many years. So when he retired last Friday, we wanted to throw him a surprise party that would be worthy of all the hard work he's put into his job over the last few decades. So my sister, mom and I schemed and plotted for a few weeks and decided to have it at my house, since I have a relatively large patio perfect for a big gathering.

We looked into catering companies, and while some of the menus looked impressive, we were hesitant. There is nothing WORSE than paying for mediocre food, which has happened to all of us at one point or another. What if the chicken was dry? Or the salad was overdressed?

So we followed the old adage of, "If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself." We planned our own menu, dividing up the work between the three of us, rented tables and chairs from a party company, and my mom worked on decorations including the incredible flower arrangements for each table. My bro-in-law's brother donated the wine from his winery, and I hit BevMo for liquor and mixers. You know what? It wasn't even that hard, and I think we all enjoyed doing the work for the party.

The party was a huge success. The guests all arrived on time. My dad was completely taken by surprise. And the food? Everything turned out great. The whole party, including the food, drinks, rentals, extra platters, ice buckets, etc., cost less than the price of a caterer's quote on JUST the food/service. Not to pat ourselves on the back, but I think the food wouldn't have been any better had we hired someone else to do it. Judge for yourselves....

We started off with an appetizer buffet which included the most popular app of the evening: tuna tartar and salmon tartar in wonton cups. We got the tartars from our favorite local sushi chef, and I made the cups myself. Using a cookie cutter, I simply cut out rounds from square wonton skins, pressed them into a mini muffin tin, sprayed with cooking oil and baked at 400 degrees for 6 minutes.

My sister made these delectable goat cheese and prosciutto crostini with fig jam. The sweet jam was the perfect compliment to the salty prosciutto and the tangy goat cheese.

She also made this fresh crab salad in endive cup appetizer. It was light and healthy and delicious.

Always a party favorite, I put together these caprese skewers using marinated mozzarella balls, fresh basil leaves and sweet plum tomatoes.

Here's a snap of everyone enjoying appetizers and drinks during the early portion of the evening.

Now on to the dinner: We also did a buffet for the main courses, which included my sister's summer squash gratin. I think many of our guests didn't realize they liked squash until they ate this!

She also made a polenta-crusted shrimp with a roasted tomato dipping sauce, which I believe she got from one of Giada DeLaurentis' cookbooks.

I made this easy salmon wrapped in puff pastry with dill and honey mustard. The last time I made this, at a birthday party for my dad, we didn't get to eat it because for some unknown reason, I stuck both of my BARE hands in the oven to pull out the baking sheet with the salmon. Needless to say, I dropped it onto the floor as soon as I felt the searing heat of the molten hot metal on my hands and the salmon ended up in a hundred flaky pieces on the floor. This time I remembered to put on oven mits.

I also made another one of my favorites, Michael Chiarello's Pea Panzanella salad. It's an Italian bread salad coated with a pea and cream puree, served over spring mix.

My sister made Wolfgang Puck's Chinois Chicken Salad. But she substituted almonds for the crispy wontons, fearing that they wouldn't stay crispy. Good call. The toasted almonds added a nice crunch and flavor to the salad.

The big hit of the evening was her simple but perfect beef tenderloin with a port wine reduction. The meat was wonderfully tender and flavorful.

There's the guest of honor, taking a little sample at the buffet table. He had a very good time!

We had a lovely group at the party, including Steve and Jeff, who we've known forever. My older sister Joy and her husband Rick came down from San Jose, and my sister's in-laws drove all the way down from Marin.

For dessert, we ordered a lemon and lemon cream cheese cake from Violet's in Pasadena. It was pretty good, though it was a bit dry for my taste.

The party went on well into the night, with a few of us taking the extra step to go into the early morning (you know who you are!). I think it's safe to say that everyone left full and happy, including my dad. Thanks again to everyone who came out for this very special event!

Party Food and Appetizer Ideas

My friend Stacy recently asked me for some appetizer suggestions for an afternoon party she was going to. The main issues? There would be a lot of people at the party (around 80, she thought), it was going to be outside (so the food would have to be good at room temperature or above) and it had to be easy (Stacy is mom to Miles, age 2.75).

As I typed out my list of suggestions, I thought of my brief stint as a caterer. In 2006, I embarked on Fare by Clare, a private chef/catering company. But after only three months, I was involved in an accident that left me unable to work, so I had to let the business go. I'm now mostly recovered, and am back to work, but can't really do the heavy lifting and physical labor that catering requires. So, Fare by Clare is now a fond but distant memory.

Sorry for getting a bit off topic! My point is that, as a caterer, I used to have to come up lots of appetizer ideas that had to meet all of Stacy's criteria. Since I still have some photos from my catering days, I wanted to share some of my standards with you in the hope that it will help you if you're ever in need of fun, creative and easy food ideas for a party. Enjoy! Oh, and thanks to Bridget Vezina, who was kind enough in the beginning of my catering business to send me great tips and ideas (one of her suggestions is included below). I saw her on Recipe for Success on the Food Network today and wanted to give her a shout-out.

1. Cilantro & garlic shrimp skewers: Marinate peeled and deveined shrimp in a mixture of minced cilantro, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper (puree in food processor for a smoother marinade). Skewer, and bake in a 400 degree oven on cookie sheets for 4-6 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.

2. Caprese skewers: Skewer fresh, Buffalo mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and basil leaves. Stick into a pineapple or other fun fruit. Serve with a bowl of balsamic dressing for dipping.

3. Chinese noodle salad: Boil chow mien noodles according to package directions. In the meantime, make a dressing with soy sauce, creamy peanut butter, crushed red pepper, rice wine vinegar, chopped green onions and a touch of sesame oil. Toss drained noodles with dressing and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve in a family size bowl or in these cute little Chinese takeaway cartons:

4. Endive cups with candied walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese: I think this one is pretty self-explanatory. I served them here on a bed of red cabbage, just for extra color:

5. Steak crostini: Slice baguette into slices, brush with garlic olive oil and toastin oven. Broil filet mignon medium rare and slice after resting the meat for 15 minutes. Top crostini with meat slices and finish with a dab of horseradish cream and chopped chives.

6. Cheese platter: Get your favorite cheeses (variety counts here) and add some great dried and fresh fruits, nuts and honey to the platter.

7. Potato with smoked salmon spread: Bake small red potatoes in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until done, but not too soft. Let cool. In the food processor, add cream cheese, sour cream, lemon juice, smoked salmon, salt and pepper. Blend until just mixed. Slice cooled potatoes into 1/2 inch thick slices, and top with smoked salmon mixture and chives.