Holiday Pop Up Dinner: Eat, Drink, & Be Merry

The month of December was bustling for us! We moved into our new house, catered a private party for the Masons of Greenwood, and our biggest project; we threw a holiday pop up dinner. Initially we wanted to throw something small, with maybe 20 people, and definitely no more than 30. But once we started to tell our family and friends about the event, tickets sold out quickly.  In the end we sat 50 people, and turned away 20 inquiries. We were so busy the day of the event that we were unable to take proper photos of the food, but I took some photos on my phone to capture the overall ambiance, the venue, and feel of the event. The pop up was very inspiring and reaffirmed us that cooking for people, and making a living out of it is something we want to do for the rest of our lives. We are so thankful for our family and friends for all their help and support. Thankful to all our friends, and friends of friends who purchased tickets. Thankful to family and friends who helped set up and clean up. Thankful for all the love and kind words. Special thanks to our crew the night of the event Melanie who helped with decor, Annie Kathryn who took on the role as as the maitre' d, Claire who helped with the bar, and Gina who diligently put our appetizers together. It was the perfect way to end 2014, and a nice kick off to 2015. We are so excited to do more events and projects like this one. Stay tuned!

Michal was in charge of all the food and I did the production and creative side of the event from the graphic design, marketing, sourcing materials. Thanks to my friend Melanie for helping me tie the details together day of the event.

For $50 you get all the above. It was a steal in my opinion. We wanted to make sure no one left hungry, and upon arrival there was food ready! 

Here is the mackerel that Michal smoked and made delicious spread out of. 

A prep photo. Rabbit ragu sauce from scratch! And dumplings.

A quote that resonates with us. Instead of name placement cards we had quotes. 

The smoked mackerel bites during cocktail hour. 

Us. It was surprisingly stress free. There were a few kinks during the event, but nothing we couldn't handle. 

The hard copy of the tickets. 

 I wanted the colors of the event to match the flier, and was very adamant about the colors being burnt orange, baby blue, and gold. 

A couple weeks before the event I sourced materials from thrift stores, and dug up pieces from my own inventory. 

The event took place at Mallet Inc.

The duck. Really wish I got more photos from the event!

What's On the Menu: Brazilian Feast

A couple years ago Michal took a job at a Brazilian restaurant as a gaucho and bartender. After working there for a couple of months and becoming friends with the kitchen staff, he learned a thing or two about Brazilian cuisine. He took his knowledge from there and experimented at home. If were entertaining people we usually went the Brazilian route. It takes a lot of preparation, but the results are fresh, healthy, and a crowd pleaser. There's usually an array of items to choose from so meat eaters and vegetarians alike have the power to choose. Back in September my older sister Abigail wanted to do a birthday dinner different so we catered it and prepared a huge Brazilian feast for 20 or so people. For starters we made cod and shrimp ceviche, avocado salad, plantains. We grilled veggies such as squash, red onions, corn, red peppers, and more. Made filet mignon skewers, grilled chicken wings. And of course we had croquettes with manchego cheese and french ham as well as feijoada and rice. 

This right here is the star of the menu. Chimuchurri sauce. 

Croquettes. Made from potatoes, french ham, and manchego cheese. 

The plate with all the goods

Welcome to Gola's Kitchen

Hi everyone! My name is Osiris and Gola's Kitchen is a spin off from my Instagram hashtag #getinthekitchengola. The hashtag features all the meals Michal has made me throughout our relationship. Those who know me and my partner Michal, know that we love to eat and cook. When we met it was food that brought us together and 3 years later it is food that has kept us together. We are still in the beginning stages of developing a business model for Gola's Kitchen, but for starters I thought it would be nice to create a platform where we can share our journey, stories, recipes, etc.

Camping in Mount Shasta

We are hoping an online presence (from this blog, Facebook, Instagram, to our other social media pages) can help us get a better idea of the route we're headed. We want to host a few test kitchens, cater some private dinner parties for research purposes, so stay tuned. Thank you to our friends and family who have encouraged us to take this food thing more seriously. We don't know exactly what we're doing yet, but we are excited nonetheless.

Sunset in Gold Bluffs Beach