 This year, we’re going to gather our closest friends and family into our homes and celebrate together. Now, what does every good gathering need? Plenty of laughter, warm lighting, and a charcuterie cheese board that is as delicious as it is beautiful. The holidays are the best time to show off your creativity! Let’s talk about the elements that make for a show stopping combination, starting with the main attraction: the cheese. I try to include as many different kinds as I can and the more they vary in taste, texture, and appearance, the better. As an example, when you have a tart, peppery and soft goat cheese add a hard, smoky yet mild gouda to the mix for a tasty contrast! Adding slices of preserved meats add an element of salty umami to your board in the form of thinly sliced prosciutto, salami or a spicy pepperoni. Folding the pieces into small triangles makes for perfect presentation and easy to layer on crackers. The elements to play with are the nuts and fruits, don’t be afraid to really work with the seasonal flavors, such as a winter fig spread with nutmeg spiced nuts. The final element you don’t want to forget is a special Zing! There's no other way to describe this category. This is where I recommend putting strongly flavored tidbits on your board. Anything from mixed olive tapenade to homemade pickles. You need something with a serious flavor pop! What makes a charcuterie cheese board so enticing are the different elements and flavors coming together in harmony, salt, fat, acid, heat and just a little bit of sweetness. Keep this in mind when building your board! My favorite way to spruce up a charcuterie is adding flora and fauna, sprigs of lavender add a special pop of color and a sweet scent to the presentation. Roses, edible pansies, rosemary, or festive holly give any cheese board a wow-factor (not to mention a pretty pop of color). They say we eat with our eyes first! This is such a satisfying dish to create and share with the ones you love, just don't forget the fancy crackers.
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Nola’s Events has been honored to navigate these new wedding planning waters with our couples, many of whom needed to reschedule, relocate and reinvent their vision. Some have opted to drastically alter the scope, size and serving style for their celebrations. As plans evolve, we work closely with our clients as they reimagine these details. One of our favorite intimate weddings was held at the beautiful Treehouse Point where we crafted our first “boxed” wedding dinners to the delight and rave reviews of the guests. We also created customized wedding favors to accompany the cute boxed dinners. Guests were able to simply pick up a boxed dinner bag & favors as they headed off to their individual treehouses to commiserate. Pacific NW Perfection! ~Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for providing such amazing catering and florals. The food was delicious, and we are super grateful to you for finding a way to cook the food on site. We appreciate how quickly you responded to every message since we threw this together last minute. Also, the wedding favors were a hit. We love how they turned out. They literally were perfect for the setting at Treehouse Point. Nola, you and your team are wonderful at what you do and you sure know how to make a bride and groom feel special. We can't thank you enough. ~Merissa & Eric
Nola's Events is thrilled to be offering fabulous delivery and drop off catering options. These dishes are curated to work well as a simple and safe drop off service and are guaranteed to enhance any special occasion. From festive boxed meals with salad to amazing holiday dinners, we can compliment the feel of your event with flavorful bites that are sure to delight!     Some of our NEW Summer offerings! We know you will enjoy these savory, sweet and tasty bites as much as we do. Creative flavors created with fresh local ingredients! You can order them from Nolas Events for your next gathering OR pick some up at our Local West Seattle Thriftway in the Deli Section for your family dinner. Bon Appetit ~  I finally mustered up the courage to go to our Beloved Pike Place Market last week to support and pay tribute to our Seattle Icon that truly represents the Heart of our City. I have been shopping there for over 30 years and have many vendors as friends. I had not been downtown since March so as I went up 1st Avenue, after maneuvering my way there without the West Seattle Bridge, I was struck with how empty and eerie it was so see so many of our storefronts boarded up, even the Seattle Art Museum. What made it bearable was seeing the murals and art on the boarded up buildings.  Many local artists created them with their own time, talents and costs to beautify and show their support of the community, even as their livelihoods have been greatly affected.  When I got to the market and started my walk I was very sad to see all the empty stalls flowerless stands and businesses that count on locals and tourists to thrive, gone.  Mid-way through however, as I stopped at Pike Place Fish, seeing only empty bins of ice, one of my fish mongers saw me and said "can I get you anything Nola?" Crying I said "Well, yes how about some scallops". It felt like home again. I walked further and there was Sosio's Produce stand, bright and full of life with colorful organic fruits and vegetables. Oh, this would go wonderful with my scallops as I bought bok choy, ginger, garlic, tomatoes and some beautiful cherries. Next to 3 Girls Bakery for some housemade bread. My spirits lifted, and I felt hope again. That night I ceremoniously prepared my feast and felt such gratitude. Perhaps one of the gifts of this time is feeling just that, gratitude for the things we do have; our families, our friends, our neighbors and communities.   So remember to support your local restaurants, artists, artisans in whatever way you can. We look forward to serving you again when we can with new recipes, open hearts and tremendous gratitude for you! Take good care. From all of us at Nola's Events.  |
