Blog

March 8, 2019

By ACecala

Of course we never tire of hosting wine, cheese, charcuterie, whiskey, and chocolate tastings. Less common, but just as fun, we also love to sample a line up up fabulous olive oils.  It's a super fun experience to kick off a dinner party!  Moreover, slowing down to sample different high end oils will also improve your larger cooking experience as you find your favorite oils and use them in all your dishes.   What you'll need:

• Extra virgin olive oils. Start with 3-6 oils. Pick premium selections. And look to achieve as much variety as possible - oils of varying itensity, of different colors, and from multiple locales.
• Wine Glasses.
• Small Plates.
• Bread. Something with a great crust. Simple breads sans any flavors or accoutrements (the bread is simply to deliver the oil, not compete or contrast with it).
• Palate Cleanser(s). We suggest fresh fruit (apples, oranges, berries, etc.) and sparkling water.

Photo Credit: Olive Oil Source

1. First, pour about a tablespoon of the first olive oil into your wineglass.
2. Swirl the olive oil in the glass.  Cup the glass in one of your hands and cover the top of the glass with the other.  Swirl gently to release aromas.  The warmth from your hands with help the aromas release as well.
3. Uncover the glass and smell the oil deeply.  Take mental notes of what you smell.  Is it peppery? Fruity?  Buttery?
4. Next, take a sip of the oil almost in a 'soup-slurping' fashion.  Allow the oil to run across the palate. Breathe in through your nose. Try to smell the oil again before swallowing.
5. As you exhale, swallow the oil and concentrate on the flavor.  Think about some general categories such as fruitiness, pungency, bitterness, earthiness, pepperyness, etc.  Write down your observations and then compare them with your fellow tasters!  You can also re-taste the oil by pouring it on a small plate and dipping the bread in the oil and seeing how that affects the taste.
6. When you are ready to move on to the next oil, cleanse your palate with plain bread, a slice of apple, and/or sparkling water.
7. Repeat the process for the oils.

Taking notes helps. Putting your impressions into words and discussing them with others will help them take form and become more specific. It also helps to recall your thoughts later on when shopping for oils for unique purposes. Below is a great card that's fun to give each guest to help them take notes.Eat well!

February 13, 2019

By Ryan Crafts

Ryan is at it again, making a special night for his stunning wife. Perhaps this will offer some inspiration for your meal.  Apertif & Appetizer 14 Day Rose & Cherry Infused Valentine 75 Rose & Cherry cupcake Amuse American Ossetra caviar, french toast, creme fraiche, and buttermilk syrup Soup wild mushroom bisque with black garlic crouton and mascarpone Entree tuna, gooseberries, and shaved foie gras Entree chili pepper fried chicken with radish, kumquat and ginger salad Salad winter squash and citrus salad with shaved fennel, local greens, and sorrel rhubarb dressing Intermezzo pomegranate, grapefruit, and herb granita Dessert olive oil cake with poached pear, zabaglione, and warm granola Cheese and Honey local raw unfiltered honey and artisan cheese selections Chocolate flourless chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache, and chocolate cookie crumble, finished with edible gold flake Wishing you a romantic and delicious Valentine's Day!

December 26, 2018

By ACecala

Hope you all had a lovely holiday with your friends and family!  Today we have a VERY SPECIAL Culinary Crafts event to share with you all!  It’s our very own Meagan Crafts Price and Clayton Price’s baby shower - and, spoiler alert, it was GORGEOUS!  Held at The Tasting Room, our friends at Soiree Productions created a picture perfect brunch party.  Check it out! How pretty is this signage?  A perfect welcome to the party and those florals from Artisan Bloom are stunning! The Tasting Room was the perfect venue, don’t you think?  We love the mix of feminine florals with just a touch of blue for Meagan and Clayton’s baby boy, Tristan! Another peek at those beautiful tables!  SO PRETTY! We loved how many fun details were party of this shower as well!  Guests were invited to take a Polaroid of themselves to put in the guestbook with a note for the soon-to-be parents! We knew we had to have a fresh juice bar!  Fresh squeezed OJ, Pomegranate Lemonade, Cucumber Mint Water, and Mango Lemonade were all served.  Yum! Of course, since we hosted a brunch party, we made sure to have a signature Coffee Bar! This action bar with artisan cheeses, salad, crackers, and honeycomb was definitely a crowd favorite! Seriously, how pretty was this event???  I couldn’t help but share one more of this beautiful setup! We love our Ebelskiver action station!  How could you not love these delicious pancakes?  Plus the guests love having theirs made to order! The hand calligraphied menus were such a great addition to the event!  Also we served Eggs Benedict because you can’t have brunch with out Benes.  Our delicious version were also made to order and topped with whichever toppings the guests wanted.  So good! Of course we also had a whole selection of desserts!  Plus, we love displaying some of them in our honeycomb display.  Such a whimsical touch! Thank you to all of the wonderful people who came to celebrate Meagan, Clayton, and baby Tristan!  And thank you to Soiree Productions, Artisan Bloom, The Tasting Room, Logan Walker Photography, and Pepper Nix Photography for coming together to host such a beautiful event for them too!  It was the best day to celebrate the best soon to be parents! Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!  

December 7, 2017

By ACecala

Today, we are going to be showing you a little preview of some of the AMAZING things you can expect from Culinary Crafts's New Years's Eve Pop Up!  Every year, we make sure to showcase unforgettable eats and drinks to ring in a New Year and create a one-of-a-kind celebration for all of our guests - and this year is no exception.  Ryan Crafts has been creating this stellar menu for months (yes, months) and it incorporates quite a few specially aged elements.  One such offering?  The cocktails!  Check it out! The cocktail menu consists of a Barrel-Aged Blood Orange High West Old Fashioned, a Barrel-Aged Key Lime Beehive Gimlet, and a non-alcoholic Barrel-Aged Meyer Lemon and Cherry Soda.  Who else is intrigued?  I know I am! We LOVE our local distilleries and High West's American Prairie Bourbon was a perfect addition to Barrel-Aged Blood Orange High West Old Fashioned.  The proprietary blend of bourbons are aged from 2 to 13 years, creating a complex taste - which really added something special. Another interesting element?  Ryan Crafts decided to incorporate oak chips to every drink! Another fantastic local distillery is Beehive Distilling and we were so THRILLED to use it in the Barrel-Aged Key Lime Beehive Gimlet.  They use a blend of 7 botanicals that create a really unique profile.  Couple that with Key Lime?  A whole lotta awesome going on. Bing Cherries will serve as one of the garnishes and adds a touch of sweetness that is just perfect - especially for winter cocktails! As you can see, something really amazing is being put together for our NYE menu!  We hope you will join us for this extraordinary event - but hurry quick!  Tickets are going fast!  (Get them here.)  Happy dreaming, everyone! Check our more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!

December 4, 2017

By ACecala

Today's Instagram of the Week comes from M + B Events, who posted this BEAUTIFUL detail shot of an inspiration shoot we were a part of this year!  We LOVE this photo and think its perfect for the season, plus, pomegranates and gold leafed pears as table decor?  Yes, please!  Thank you so much, M + B Events for sharing!  And remember, for your chance to be next week's pick tag us at @culinarycrafts or add the hashtag #culinarycrafts to your post and check back to see who gets picked next!  Happy Monday, everyone! Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!

November 15, 2017

By ACecala

As promised, here is the tried-and-true Culinary Crafts's Thankgiving Game Plan!  Our very own Mary Crafts-Homer wrote this awesome timeline for those who are looking for a well planned, less stressful, and fabulous Thanksgiving - and don't we ALLLL want that?!  Yes, yes we do! We LOVE this plan because it really does make planning SOOO easy - but let's be honest too...  It's no fun for just one person to do this all by themselves!  You need your family (or friends) to join together to help make this a perfect holiday.  So, being the super smart woman Mary is, she wrote this plan with different tasks in mind to delegate out.  And believe me, when everyone lends a hand, that's when the best memories are made.  Happy planning everyone! Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!

November 10, 2017

By ACecala

Today's Instagram of the Week comes from our friends at Studio 5 who we had the pleasure of joining this week to share our tips and tricks to a perfect Thanksgiving holiday!  (Don't worry for all of you who missed it, we are putting it ALLLL together in a post next week or you can see the video here!)  We absolutely LOVE this holiday and were so thankful to be able to share our love for Thanksgiving on the show!  Thank you for sharing, Studio 5!  Also, remember, for your chance to be next week's pick, tag us at @culinarycrafts or add the hashtag #culinarycrafts to your post and see who is chosen next!  Happy weekend, everyone! Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!

October 17, 2017

By ACecala

Today on the blog, I thought I'd show you one of our FABULOUS corporate events.  Now, I know that we showcase a LOT of weddings (because, I mean, they are GORGEOUS!) but we are also so lucky to get to be a part of some pretty AMAZING corporate events too!  Since we are heading out of wedding season and straight into holiday party time, we here at Culinary Crafts figured it was an excellent time to start getting your inspiration wheels turning!  Check it out! Don't you just love it when you are greeted to your table with a beautiful salad and decadent dessert?  I know it makes me excited for the meal to come! The Wells Fargo Building has SUCH amazing views!  I mean, check out this view of the Salt Lake Valley.  Gorgeous! Okay, back to the food! Our first course was a salad with Fresh Mozzarella, Heirloom Tomatoes, Arugula, Pine Nuts, and Balsamic Reduction.  Isn't it pretty?  Of course, the desserts were beautiful too.  Our Fresh Fruit Tarts with House Made Custard and our Black Satin Fudge Cake with Creme Anglaise and Fresh Mango were both so delicious.  I don't know how you would choose! We loved the simple, yet striking floral arrangements!  They fit the tables perfectly and gave a nod to the fall season, which was so great! Naturally, we have to bring even more yummy food to an event, so we made sure we had a variety of amazing butler passed hors d'ouevres!  Bacon Wrapped Figs, Goat Cheese & Artichoke Crostini, Seared Bistecca with Chimichurri on Polenta, and Duck Wonton Crisps were just some of the offerings!  YUM! Last but not least, these mini BLTs!  How cute are they?  I loved this appetizer! We served a show-stopping dual entree for the main course of Pan Seared Sea Scallops with Hazelnut Caper Butter over Roasted Asparagus Spears and Grass-Fed Utah Beef Tenderloin with Wild Mushroom, and Red Wine Reduction over Garlic Mashed Potatoes.  So good! The guests enjoyed a gorgeous sunset during dinner, which we thought topped of this event wonderfully!  Such a pretty night! I hope this gave you some inspiration for your upcoming parties!  We absolutely LOVED how this event turned out and are so happy we got to be a part of it!  Happy planning, everyone! Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!

September 21, 2017

By ACecala

Everyone here at Culinary Crafts is getting excited for fall!  I mean, how could you not?  Believe me, we love summer, but there's always a welcome feeling for the change of season and we are loving it!  This gorgeous wedding is a perfect fall showstopper at one of our favorite venues, Red Cliff Ranch - and it happens to be the couple's wedding anniversary this weekend too!  Pretty perfect, right?  We also love this wedding because this bride was on a pretty tight budget, but it was still a STUNNING wedding with delicious Culinary Crafts food!  Now, check out this beautiful fall Red Cliff Ranch wedding! Oh, Red Cliff Ranch, even your entrance is beautiful.  And isn't that fall color amazing?! I love all of the horses on the property and they are so friendly!  It's such a great part of getting married at Red Cliff Ranch! How pretty is this bouquet?  Great inspiration for a beautiful bouquet that is perfect for a fall wedding without getting too crazy.  Simple and gorgeous! The beautiful bride and groom.  We love the bride's fun cowboy boots and the groom's snazzy vest was perfect for this fall fete! This meadow at Red Cliff Ranch is easily one of our FAVORITE ceremony spots.  The couple kept their casual, rustic vibe by having guests sit on hay bales and the addition of a simple wooden ceremony arch decorated with more pretty sunflowers was so beautiful! Who says simple can't be stunning?  The tablescape was so pretty, but kept the decor minimal.  We absolutely LOVED how it turned out! For cocktail hour we offered these beautiful Artisan Cheese Platters with local cheese and honey and a variety of fruits and crackers.  Such an easy way to add a special touch to cocktail hour! The guests loved this light snack that allowed them to mix and mingle.  Plus, how cute are those little Bamboo bowls! We made sure the guests had something fabulous to drink and we loved offering our infused waters in these rustic water vessels.  So fun! To keep with the rustic, laid back vibe of this wedding, we served a delicious buffet with all the fixin's to make yummy Pulled Pork Sandwiches!  Easily, one of my favorite low-key offerings! Of course, we made sure to add amazing sides to the buffet like our Roasted Vegetable Salad and our Coleslaw!  So good! The couple gave their guests these cute favors with a sweet treat and we loved how fun these little boxes were. Another gorgeous pic of this couple!  Love! For the reception party, we loved this lounge area and it was perfect for the style of the day! How fun are these Polaroids?  A perfect way to end this post for this amazing wedding day.  And happy anniversary to Ari and Derek!  We loved this wedding day and love how it can inspire any couple on any budget to make their wedding day amazingly gorgeous!  Happy planning, everyone! Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com! Photos by Trevor Hooper Photography

September 19, 2017

By ACecala

QUICK NOTE BEFORE WE GET TO TODAY'S BLOG: Thank you to everyone who joined us at the ‘Showdown for Support’ yesterday! It was such a great evening and we loved having you all there to support such a great cause! As we plunge into cooler temperatures (and then back out, because Utah likes to keep us on our toes), our thoughts turn toward fall and winter weddings and their GORGEOUS color palettes that we love so much.  Today, we have a Culinary Crafts wedding that just screams 'winter beauty' with its rich blues and accents of silver.  Pair that with elegant white and blue florals?  Well, I think you'll see why we love this event so much!  Check it out! Isn't this GORGEOUS???  We absolutely LOVED the sequined runners and the navy linens.  So pretty! Every Blooming Thing's elegant florals were so perfect for this wedding!  Plus, isn't the cake from Carrie's Cakes AMAZING? Another gorgeous floral arrangement!  We loved the use of different heights and types of arrangement to create a more visually interesting space. This couple was so fun!  They gave each table an 'assignment' to encourage guests to mingle and share stories about the couple.  Such a fun idea! How cool is this head table?  The use of the aspens trunks really added some drama to the table design! Another cool element on these tables were these super chic table numbers! Now, onto the food - which we thought was pretty amazing, if we do say so ourselves!  Guests were greeted with butler-passed hors d'oeuvres like these Pomme Frites with Aioli Dipping Sauce in bamboo cones.  Yum! Another shot of these delicious fries, because why not? Another butler-passed hors d'oeuvres was our Argentinian-Style Chicken Empanadas with Chimichurri Sauce - so good! The couple chose to serve an amazing buffet which included our Miso-glazed Salmon and, of course, our House Made Breads with Sea Salted Butter! Along with the Miso-glazed Salmon, we also served Teriyaki Grilled Chicken, Sautéed Zucchini, and Asparagus Risotto with Mascarpone Cream.  Such a decadently delicious winter menu! Another fun element?  The bride and her mom created this candy table for guests to fill a box to take home as their wedding favor!  We love how pretty it turned out! We absolutely loved this glam wedding and think the Rice Eccles Tower was the perfect venue!  We hope this inspires all of you with winter events to maybe add a little sparkle to your event!  You won't be disappointed!  Happy planning, everyone! Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com! Vendors: Venue - Rice Eccles Tower // Catering and Tablescapes - Culinary Crafts // Lighting and Decor - Scenemakers // Cake - Carrie’s Cakes // Florals - Every Blooming Thing // Linens - Creative Coverings // Rentals - Diamond Rentals // Photos by Kelli Bramble