St. John Catering

Birthday Bash - Heavy Passed Appetizers - Boathouse - 3/1/09 - 30 Guests

How sweet is Mary Sue Cox?  As sweet as spun sugar, that’s how.  For her husband Mort’s 75th birthday, she decided to go all out and have a vast array of passed appetizers with a chef on site for about 30 guests.  Tim, Kaete, and I pulled up to the Boathouse in Great Cruz Bay and were immediately greeted by Mary’s smiling face. She had her arm in a cast and had bruised herself in a recent fall, but still managed to keep up her unwavering spirit.  So full of life and vibrant to the cores, Mary and her husband have been coming down for more than three decades, at first by sailboat and now by plane.  She introduced us to Mort and their son Jeffrey and we started getting the food together.  The favorite seemed to be a toss-up between the Scallops and the Pot Stickers with Truffle Oil.  Here's what we served:

Chilled Smoked Tofu ‘Scallops’ with Roasted Pepper-Hoison Vinaigrette
Basil Buffalo Mozzarella Pops with Smoked Tomato Dip
Grilled Chicken Skewers with Thai Peanut Dip or Pineapple Chutney
Mini Flank Steak Kebabs with Roasted Corn-Blue Cheese Dip 
Baby Back Ribs with Sweet Hoison-Red Pepper-Peanut Glaze 
Crab and Potato Pot Stickers with Fresh Chive and White Truffle Drizzle 
Smoked Salmon-Wrapped Asparagus Spears with Spicy Miso Vinaigrette 
Seared Scallops on Flatbread with Lettuce, Pickled Onion, Blue Cheese and Caesar Dressing
Mini Chocolate Cheesecake Bites
Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites
Key Lime Pie Bites 


We put together a tray of Cheesecake Bites and put Mort’s candles in his ‘birthday cake’.  He blew them out in one try (there wasn’t even a question) and the dessert was devoured.  Thank you, Jeff, for the pictures.

After the guests had their fill, Mary Sue offered us a glass of wine, and we packed all of her extra food up.  She probably had enough for a few days! 

I’ve seen Mary Sue a couple of times in town now, and she always makes a point of stopping and saying hello, even going so far as to chase me down a hallway at the Marketplace when I was too focused on my Blackberry.  She is one of those people who you just talk to and they make you feel better about the world.  Great client, great host, great event.