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December 28, 2016

Happy New Years! Recipe for Black-Eyed Peas

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black-eyed peas are a staple for New Years. Tradition says if you eat this dish on New Years Day (Jan 1st), it will bring you good luck for the rest of the year! If you add collard greens to your black-eyed peas it is said to make them even luckier because it's the color of money! The beans are usually simmered with onion and a meaty bone like pork or ham and seasoned with just salt and pepper. 
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Ingredients
  • 2 pounds black-eyed peas, soaked overnight if possible
  • 2 pounds smoked ham hock, meaty ham bone or slab bacon (Daily's is our local favorite!)
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 large onion, peeled and stuck with 2 cloves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon allspice
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 2 pounds collard greens, cut in 1-inch ribbons (about 8 cups)
  • 1 bunch scallions, cleaned and chopped, for garnish
Preparation
  1. Drain peas and put them in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add ham hock or bone (if using slab bacon, cut it into 2-inch chunks), cover with 10 cups water and turn heat to high. Add salt, onion stuck with cloves, bay leaf, black pepper and allspice.
  2. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Skim off and discard any foam that rises to the surface. Simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until peas are tender. Throughout cooking, add water as necessary, always keeping liquid level 1 inch above surface, stirring with wooden spoon occasionally. Turn off heat. Check broth for salt and adjust seasoning. Mixture should be fairly brothy. With a pair of tongs, remove ham hock, ham bone or bacon. Chop meat and skin in rough pieces and set aside.
  3. Put a large wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add vegetable oil and heat until wavy. Add garlic and red pepper and let sizzle without browning. Add collard greens and stir to coat. Season with salt and add 1 cup water, stirring to help wilt greens. Add chopped ham and reduce heat to medium, then cover with lid slightly ajar and cook until greens are soft, about 20 minutes. Check seasoning.
  4. To serve, put greens and meat in low soup bowls, then ladle over hot black-eyed peas. Sprinkle with scallions.
Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at Www.Culinarycrafts.Com!

October 7, 2016

Friday Instagram of the Week!

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cc_igoftw86 Today's Instagram of the Week is a fun one and was captured BEAUTIFULLY by Gideon Photo!  Did you know that in addition to our amazing wedding and events eats, Culinary Crafts has also started making amazing cheese cakes?!  It's true!  For the couple who doesn't want a traditional cake (or a confection at all) we make gorgeous (and delectable) cakes made out of cheese!  Seriously, so good - and a wonderful idea for all of the cheese lovers out there!  Thank you again to Gideon Photo for this amazing capture!  And remember, for your chance to be next week's Instagram of the Week, just add the hashtag #culinarycrafts or tag us at @culinarycrafts and check back to see who gets picked!  Happy weekend, everyone! Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!

September 28, 2016

Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe

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It's super easy to homemake BBQ sauce. Just add a bunch of ingredients to a pot and let it simmer! You can customize it to your taste. Add sugar, honey, or molasses to make it sweeter.  Add more apple cider vinegar to make it tangy. Anything you want! It's perfect for the last grilling you'll do before the weather gets too cold. How to make homemade BBQ sauce. www.culinarycrafts.com Ingredients
  • 4 cups ketchup
  • 1 1/3 cup honey
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup worcestershire sauce
  • 1 large diced yellow onion
  • 1 large diced bell pepper (any color)
  • 1 TBSP Tabasco
  • 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 TBSP garlic powder
  • 1 cap liquid smoke
How to make homemade BBQ sauce. www.culinarycrafts.com The first thing you'll want to do is chop up the onions and bell peppers into a large dice. Put a large pot on the stove and turn it on to a high heat. Drizzle some olive oil into the pot. Add onions and bell peppers to the pot. How to make homemade BBQ sauce. www.culinarycrafts.com Let the onions and bell peppers sauté and caramelize in the pan. It will usually take around 5-7 minutes. It goes a lot faster if you have a gas stove rather than electric. In the picture below, you can see the difference of when the onions and peppers first went into the pot and then when it's ready. How to make homemade BBQ sauce. www.culinarycrafts.com After they're caramelized, you're going to deglaze the pan with the apple cider vinegar. Add it into the pot and let it steam and pick up the caramelization from the onions and bell peppers. Then add the ketchup and garlic powder to the pot. How to make homemade BBQ sauce. www.culinarycrafts.com Then add the brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and liquid smoke to the pot. How to make homemade BBQ sauce. www.culinarycrafts.com Next, add the honey and mix all the ingredients together. How to make homemade BBQ sauce. www.culinarycrafts.com Let the pot simmer on low for about 30 min to a hour. The onions and peppers will be soft when it's done. You can see the coloring difference in the picture on the right. How to make homemade BBQ sauce. www.culinarycrafts.com After it's done simmering, you can either blend everything together for a thicker sauce or you can strain the bell peppers out for a thinner BBQ sauce. We strained it out in this one. How to make homemade BBQ sauce. www.culinarycrafts.com Now you can see the BBQ sauce all done. Get some ribs or chicken and get a brush and brush on the sauce on top of the ribs. Now eat and enjoy! How to make homemade BBQ sauce. www.culinarycrafts.com   bbq-pinterest Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!

August 11, 2016

Repost from All Seated: Top 5 Ways To Simplify Your Event

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Check out this AWESOME post from All Seated with tips from our very own Kaleb Crafts!
Kaleb Craft, Chief Sales Officer at Culinary Crafts is here today as a contributor to the AllSeated blog to share the top 5 ways to simplify planning your event. Thanks Kaleb! Planning a large event can be one of the more stressful experiences of your life! But, it can also be quite enjoyable if you do it the right way. Planning doesn’t depend on your personality as much as it depends on your approach to event planning. Event industry professionals aren’t always passionate about events to begin with. Often times they begin with a passion for organization and organizational systems, which in turns leads them into the event industry where they get a chance to use those skills to pull off incredible things they get to experience and share with others on a daily basis. Culinary Crafts Here are 5 quick tips the sales team here at Culinary Crafts use to make the process a bit smoother. Nail down your vision before you jump in. Contractors won’t start digging a hole, setting footings and pouring foundations the first day a client comes in a says “I want to build a home.” They have blue prints complete, engineered plans finished, building permits in place, and a plan in place to execute from start to finish before they turn the first shovel full of dirt. Stress free event planning starts the same way, you should have a general vision, budget, and concept in place before jumping in. This will prevent doubling back tasks multiple times. Ask yourself questions like, “What is my overall goal?” or “What feelings do I want my guests to have while at the event?” and “What is the single most important thing to me about the event?” Make a chronological checklist and itemizing the tasks to be done and prioritize by what makes the most sense to you. This usually helps paint a road map of what to do. We like to do things in this order, 1) pick a date 2) pick a venue and 3) pick a caterer. Complete your list with as many details as you can think of. Work through your list step-by-step. Research vendors that fit your style and budget. Often, people suppose that all event companies are created equal. That is not so. Each company has a niche type of event and demographic they work best with. Most can do many things, but that still doesn’t mean one company is going to be the perfect fit for every situation. I wouldn’t walk into a Ferrari dealership looking for the most fuel-efficient car on the planet. Similarly, if luxury is the single most important thing to me when it comes to buying a new car, I wouldn’t go to the Hyundai dealership. Consider styles, budgets, and overall healthy working relationships. Do some online research and narrow your vendors choices down to 2 or 3 for each category. Have a short 5-10 minute conversation with each one and see who you feel most comfortable with. Use your contracted vendors to your advantage. By now you have picked your first couple of vendors and you feel really good about them. They know their stuff, they are clear experts in their field, and they have oodles of experience creating exactly what you are looking for. Well, use that knowledge and expertise. Culinary Crafts Ask your caterer for recommendations on good florists, bands, and entertainment companies. Ask your AV company what additional services they offer. Often times, these vendors can help ease the stress of all those additional details. In fact, many times, they may be able to be your one stop shop for all things event. They can coordinate your ice sculpture, transportation, linens and everything else. Bring in additional help. Some events really are just more than one person can handle. If your event has the high level of detail that is just too overwhelming no matter how you organize, checklist and structure, then find a good event planner or coordinator. Let them know up front how much help you need. Determine if you need someone you can trust with everything and hand over the reins, or if you just need help with a few key tasks. Culinary Crafts Our bonus tip is to remember Rome wasn’t built in a day… don’t try to plan the event of the century in a day. Give yourself plenty of time. Enjoy the process and the smaller details. The best events are about creating memorable experiences and using all 5 senses to do that. Happy Planning! Learn more about Culinary Crafts by visiting their website and following along on social media: Instagram: @culinarycrafts Twitter: @culinarycrafts Pinterest: @culinarycrafts Of Possible Interest: Vendor Spotlight: Culinary Crafts Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!

August 3, 2016

Local Cheese And Apple Hors D’oeuvre

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Here at Culinary Crafts we use local and fresh ingredients for all of our dishes. (Except when our clients want a dish that is asian or mediterranean influenced, because lets be real, it's hard to find some of the ingredients locally for those dishes!) For this hors d'oeuvre we only used 3 ingredients; apples, cheese, and honey. We love using local honey because it is raw and unfiltered. Processed honey takes out the amazing flavor honey have to offer, so buy local! Wherever the bees are located and getting their pollen from is how the honey will taste. If the bees are up in wildflowers, the honey will have a floral taste to it. Same with if they are by a pumpkin patch, they will have the hint of pumpkin. Local Cheese And Apple Hors D'oeuvre www.culinarycrafts.com Some of our favorite cheeses is Beehive Cheese, Heber Valley Cheese, Deer Valley and our own cheeses we made in-house. Pictured is the Barely Buzzed cheese from Beehive Cheeses, located in Northern Utah. Beehive cheese sources the milk used in the cheese from Wade’s Dairy, also in Northern Utah. The Barely Buzzed cheese is a white cheddar cheese with an espresso rub on the outside. They get the rub exclusively make for them from Colorado Legacy Fine Coffee. It is made from espresso and lavender with subtle notes of butterscotch and caramel. Barely Buzzed is then aged in their humidity controlled facility and moved to two different temperatures during the aging process to develop texture and flavor. Local Cheese And Apple Hors D'oeuvre www.culinarycrafts.com We love Mountainland Apples in Santaquin, Utah. For this hors d'oeuvre we used a delicious granny apple. Local Cheese And Apple Hors D'oeuvre www.culinarycrafts.com Below is our really popular local cheese and apple hors d'oeuvre. Utah apples are harvested in the late Summer/Fall. Apples hold really well in a really cold storage but they're at their best when you get them at a farmers market or a orchard because they'll be extra juicy. Because of the cold storage, we're able to serve this delicious hors d'oeuvre year-round. Local Cheese And Apple Hors D'oeuvre www.culinarycrafts.com We used clover honey from Miller Farms which is made in Salt Lake City, Utah. The hives were surrounded by clover fields, which is where they got the pollen from and it's affects the taste. Local Cheese And Apple Hors D'oeuvre www.culinarycrafts.com We love this hors d'oeuvre because you get the sweetness from the apple and the savory from the cheese which has a little bit of fat in it so it coats your mouth, and then the honey gives it a nice extra flavor. You can garnish it with a micro green or herb. We used thyme in these pictures. Local Cheese And Apple Hors D'oeuvre www.culinarycrafts.com Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!

July 27, 2016

How To Make Homemade Vanilla Extract

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It only take two ingredients to make homemade vanilla extract. It's so easy! You'll never go back to store-bought vanilla extract after making this recipe.

How to make homemade vanilla extract www.culinarycrafts.com

You can even find a fun cute bottle to reuse just like the one pictured here. Or you can use the rum bottle and add in the vanilla beans!

How to make homemade vanilla extract www.culinarycrafts.com

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup rum
  • 3 vanilla beans

Other things you'll need

  • Bowl
  • Knife
  • Cutting board
  • Funnel
  • Storage container
  • Liquid measuring cup

Vanilla beans are easier to find than you think. If you prep ahead of time you can order them online, but you can also find them in Williams Sonoma or Harmons here in Utah.

The first thing you do is measure out the rum into a bowl. Then take the vanilla beans and cut it lengthwise right down the middle as straight as possible. Take your knife and scrape out the vanilla beans. Put the beans in the bowl with the rum.

How to make homemade vanilla extract www.culinarycrafts.com

Use your hands to scrape any remaining seeds from the pod into the bowl.

How to make homemade vanilla extract www.culinarycrafts.com

Pour the mixture of rum and beans into your storage container.

How to make homemade vanilla extract www.culinarycrafts.com

You'll want to let the ingredients sit together for, at the very least, a month, but it's best to let sit for 3 months before you start using it. Great news, it can last forever! It will never expire.

Here is a side-by-side comparison of what your mixture will look like right after you put it together versus what it will look like after 3 months. You can see how much darker the mixture will get!

How to make homemade vanilla extract www.culinarycrafts.com

Now take a break, put it in your panty, and enjoy some delicious chocolate chip cookies with your homemade vanilla in 3 months!

Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!

 

July 21, 2016

Gotta Try Our Panna Cotta

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Summer is in full swing and temperatures are high! Here’s a cool and refreshing, easy to make dessert that is perfect for serving at barbecues and summer soirees. It chills for a few hours before serving, which makes it super easy to serve whenever the time is right. This would be a great dessert to serve at your Pioneer Day celebration next week! I featured the panna cotta (along with several other patriotic themed desserts) when I was a guest on KSL’s “Studio 5” earlier this month. Check out the video here!  

JULY RECIPE OF THE MONTH Buttermilk Panna Cotta

Serves 8 INGREDIENTS 1/4 cup Water 1 TB. Gelatin 2 cups Cream 2 tsp. Lemon Zest 1 cup Sugar 4 cups Buttermilk 2 tsp. Vanilla
METHOD 1) Bloom gelatin in ice cold water for 10 minutes 2) Heat cream, zest and sugar to low boil. 3) Add gelatin off of heat. Stir until dissolved. 4) Cool mixture to lukewarm stirring often. 5) Stir in buttermilk and vanilla. 6) Pour into ramekins or glasses, (or use push-pop mold as shown at left) and chill at least 4 hours.

July 20, 2016

How To Make House-Made Chips

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Chips are the perfect side dish for anything this summer. Whether you're inside or outside on a hot summer day this July, homemade chips will be perfect. It's such a fun, personal touch when you make your own chips instead of just opening a bag. You can specialize the taste of them to whatever you want too, they're super customizable. How To Make House-Made Chips www.culinarycrafts.com Ingredients
  • Potatoes (any kind, but we used russet here)
  • Seasoning (you put together to taste)
  • Canola Oil
  • Mandolin slicer
How To Make House-Made Chips www.culinarycrafts.com First slice your potatoes with the mandolin slicer. You'll want to use the thinnest setting so they really get the potato chip texture. Then put in a bowl and rinse the potato slices with water to get the starch off. Drain the water. Repeat 4 times, or until the water is clear. How To Make House-Made Chips www.culinarycrafts.com Then put the potato slices onto a towel and pat dry. Water and oil don't mix so this step is important! How To Make House-Made Chips www.culinarycrafts.com After all the water is off the potato slices, it's time to fry them! If you're doing thin slices like what we did, anywhere from 300-350 degrees is a perfect temperature. Test one potato slice first to make sure the oil is hot enough. You'll know it's hot enough when the potato floats on the top instead of sinking. Make sure the slices don't stick to each other because spots on the potato won't be able to cook fully if they touch. How To Make House-Made Chips www.culinarycrafts.com It will take about 2 minutes per side, or golden brown. You'll be able to tell when it done because the potato slices won't be bubbling anymore. Take a strainer and scoop out the chips. How To Make House-Made Chips www.culinarycrafts.com Put them on a towel and let it soak up the oil, but not too much because that's how you get the seasoning to stick to the chips. How To Make House-Made Chips www.culinarycrafts.com For the seasoning you can mix whatever you'd like together. You could just do salt, or you can made it more of a BBQ flavor, or whatever you'd like! For the seasoning we used, it's a mix of sugar, salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, ground mustard, onion powder, and garlic powder. Those are the flavors Chef Danielle likes, but you can mix it together and taste test it to make it perfect. Take the seasoning and sprinkle it on your chips and mix thoroughly to coat evenly. How To Make House-Made Chips www.culinarycrafts.com Now they're done! Enjoy your homemade chips, they will be delicious! How To Make House-Made Chips www.culinarycrafts.com Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com! How To Make House-Made Chips www.culinarycrafts.com

July 13, 2016

How To Make Southern Pecan Caramel Squares

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These pecan caramel squares are the most delicious treats and are perfect for any occasion. The shortbread combined with caramel goodness and pecans ... oh my gosh your tastebuds will thank us! Pecan Caramel Squares recipe www.culinarycrafts.com These bars are no doubt going to impress your guests at your next party. They're super was to make too. Without further adu, here is the recipe for the Southern Pecan Caramel Squares. Pecan Caramel Squares recipe www.culinarycrafts.com Ingredients Crust
  • 1 lb. 4 oz. flour
  • 1 lb. butter
  • 8 oz. powdered sugar
Filling
  • 1 lb. 12 oz. walnuts
  • 1 lb. 12 oz. pecans
  • 10 oz. butter
  • 1 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup cream
  • 8 oz. brown sugar
Directions
  1. For the crust: Combine all ingredients until fully incorporated. Press into a greased 10"x15" sheet pan. Bake at 350 degrees 8-10 minutes until slightly golden and barely set. Allow to cool to room temperature. (You do not want the crust to be baked all the way. It should be soft and slightly doughy.)
  2. Combine butter, honey, cream and brown sugar in a pot and bring to a boil.
  3. While mixture is coming to a boil, sprinkle the nuts over the cooled crust. Sprinkle evenly over the whole pan.
  4. Pour caramel evenly over nuts and crust.
  5. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes until the center starts to bubble.
  6. Cool at room temperature. Cut into desired shape and size. Enjoy your pecan caramel squares!
AMAZING photos by Kristina Curtis Photography Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com! Caramel Pecan Bars  

July 1, 2016

Friday Instagram of the Week!

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CC_IGofTW77 Today's Instagram of the Week comes from our friends at Studio 5 where our very own Mary Crafts-Homer showed the viewers some FANTASTIC 4th of July party ideas!  (I mean, sparklers in a patriotic cake?!  Yes please!)  We love celebrating the 4th of July and love to come up with such fun and creative eats!  Thank you to Brooke and Studio 5 for sharing this pic and also letting us share our ideas with your viewers!  We had so much fun!  Remember, for your chance to be next week's Instagram of the Week, just add the hashtag #culinarycrafts to your posts or tag us at @culinarycrafts and check back to see who next week's pick is!  Happy 4th of July, everyone! Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!

27x winner Utah’s Best of State

24x Best of State Caterer

3x Best of the Best / Hospitality

1x Entrepreneur of the Year