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Vista Hill Gala: An Evening Not to be Forgoten!

The annual Vista Hill Gala went off last Sunday, October 10^th, without a hitch. Vista Hill is one of the most prominent community service leaders in the San Diego non-profit organizations. Specializing in domestic violence and drug rehabilitation assistance, Vista Hill has its hands into many corners of the greater San Diego community. Once a year the friends and families responsible for Vista Hill’s immense success congregate to celebrate their accomplishments over fine dining and dancing. Included in this wonderful evening is an auction: the purpose being to raise money for the upcoming year’s trials and tribulations. This year’s fundraising auction was the most successful ever; we would like to give a special Thank You to everyone who participated!

Crown Point Catering provided a fabulous sit down dinner for the 260 attendees. Our talented party managers in correlation with Rachel Peniche and Pacific Events, turned what looked originally like an abandoned warehouse into an elegant ballroom. In the spirit of 10/10/10, the theme of the evening, we provided a 10 topping salad, a duo entrée with 10-ounce portions, and people sitting around tables of 10. There was a stunning performance by Chula Vista’s High-School Glee Club. We had a wonderful staff that worked extremely hard to ensure the quality standards of these two organizations were met. Thank You!

Our Towering Skewer Grilling Station

We introduced a new station at the annual YMCA Mission Valley fundraiser Saturday October 2^nd, 2010. In the spirit of the Brazilian themed event, we wanted to have a station that represented the South American “Churrasco.” A true Churrasco is similar to an all day American Potluck BBQ. Each family brings different types of meats to be placed on skewers and roasted over and open coal pit. A typical Churrasco lasts all day; people eat, drink, celebrate life, and then eat some more. For obvious reasons we did not ask our clientele to bring different types of meats for the skewers, however in the spirit of the event we brought custom designed 3 1/2 foot skewers. We slow roasted Linguisa, Chicken, and Flank Steak and served the partygoers their meats carved fresh off the skewers. Overall, the event was a huge success and our newest station stole the show. Nearly every one, of the 400 in attendance, hoarded around the sizzling Churrasco style station. The guests watched intently as our staff entertainingly and efficiently carved up the delicious meats for the partygoers pleasure.

The event as a whole was festive and included face painting (for the staff and guests), dancing, and auctions to raise money for the YMCA. Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time; leaving the party with their belly’s full and wallets empty. Thanks to all the participants who made this event a success.

Designed By: Omar

Making the LOLLYWOOD Glam:

When I first got the message from Lolly regarding her birthday party I got really excited about the Hollywood theme. The ideas started flying through my head thinking how I could make this something beautiful, glamorous, marvelous and something she will never forget!

It all started when she told me about her daughter’s idea of Lollywood for the party theme, Perfect theme because her name is Lolly. I had my concept! I instantly thought of the red carpet, black and white dance floor, red martini glasses, velvet draping, the lounge furniture, specialty linens and of course diamonds, LOTS of diamonds. Everything that Hollywood has to offer. Because I couldn’t express my ideas to a florist completely I decided to do the flowers myself and here is a picture.

Her website is: www.conceptseventdesign.com

The lighting was a big deal to Lolly. One of her requests was to have twinkle lights everywhere, she said: “I love them”.

This was one more addition that really made this Lollywood glam one of the best ever!
Together with Concepts we came up with a beautiful setting which everybody really enjoyed.

The Masking Tape Master: Leo
When I first saw these very unusualoversize boxes in our offices I had no idea what it was or what it was for. Julie happened to be in the office and mentioned to me that it was the foam core material for a project that Omar had for one of his upcoming events.

I thought that creating something like this would be very interesting and challenging
Therefore I decided to help in the creation of the LOLLYWOOD sign.

With a few years of engineering and industrial design background, it wasn’t that complicated for me. But, I first had to figure out the scale of the original HOLLYWOOD sign in order to make an exact replica of the LOLLYWOOD sign. With no more tools than a roll of masking tape and a kitchen knife, like a Top Chef Ninja, I spent a day and half slicing & dicing the foam core to create the life size LOLLYWOOD sign.

The Food:

Salad:

1 Bag of Mixed Greens (enough for 10 Plates)
1 Pound of Candied Walnuts -Can be made or you can buy them (We make our own)**
1 Cup of Feta Cheese
1 Small Box of Raspberries (about 40-50)
10 Fresh Strawberries (sliced)

Dressing:

1/3 Cup of Raspberry vinegar
2 Tablespoon of dijon mustard
5 Garlic cloves minced
2 Shallots minced
1 Lemon (Juice and Zest)
1 Cup of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients except the oil in a bowl or food processor. Whisk the ingredients and start pouring the oil little by little (whisking vigorously) until you add one cup. If it is too thick, add more vinegar.If it is too thin, add mustard and oil.

Candied Walnuts:

4 Cups Shelled Whole walnuts
4 Cups of Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Salt
2 Tablespoon of Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon of Turmeric
1 Teaspoon of Cumin
Peanut or corn oil for Frying

Poach the Nuts in a large pot of boiling water for less than 1 minute. Remove the nuts with a strainer, shaking off, as much water as possible, and toss them immediately with the mixed remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Fill a deep heavy saucepan to a depth of approximately 3 inches with the peanut oil and heat to 340^O to 350^O. Fry the nuts in the oil until they begin to turn golden brown. Remove them with a strainer let them sit on a dry towel for a few minutes and toss a second time in the remaining sugar and spices. Remove. Shake off the excess, and let cool on a wire rack or on top of a paper towel. The Nuts will turn crispy as they cool. Serve the nuts at room temperature.

** You can store the nuts for at least 3 weeks in the refrigerator or 5-8 weeks in the freezer.**

In a large bowl mix the salad with the candied walnuts, raspberries and feta cheese, and desired amount of dressing. Add sliced strawberries on top.

The Photography:

Jaclyn Anne captured this Lollywood birthday party best with beautiful photos.
Check out more pictures at her website www.jaclynanne.com

Please stay tuned for our next featured event!
and Thank you you checking Crown Point Catering blog!