Pure Joy Catering

A Pure Joy Vintage-Inspired Santa Barbara Wedding

2012-01-24T10:54:00.000-08:00

Beautifully exposed on Ruffled
Tanya & Dylan's wedding at La Bella Vita

Wedding Vendors (Santa Barbara, CA):

Ceremony Venue: Old Mission / Reception Venue: The Gardens of La Bella Vita / Wedding Photographer:joielala photographie / Event Coordinator: Toast / Invitations and Printed Materials: Paper & Thread / Wedding Dress: Tara Keely “Mon Amie” / Wedding Shoes: Manolo Blahnik / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: BCBG / Wedding Hair: Vanity Hair Salon / Wedding Makeup: Kacee Geoffroy / Groom’s and Groomsmen’s Suits: Jos A Bank / Groom’s and Groomsmen’s Shoes: Sperry / Wedding Caterer: Pure Joy / Cupcakes: Crushcakes / Wedding Rentals: Classic Party Rentals / Event Lighting: Bella Vista Designs / DJ: Chris Cote – chris.cote@transworld.com/ Photobooth: Scott Lawrence / Fabric Napkins: DIY by bride and bride’s mother

Postcards from a day in Brazil

2012-01-05T16:13:00.000-08:00

My son Max Cougar

Wish you were here! on the Brazilian side of the Iguazu Falls. Naturally we found some excellent cuisine. Caipirinhas - classic, and the Caipifruta made with fresh crushed strawberries - were perfect chillers as it is summer there in December. It was fantastic to get to see cocktails and menu items we've been making for years in their native land first hand. I gotta say we have the Brazilian BBQ down back at Pure Joy. The tapas-like Tira Gostos were super inspiring. Also loved the way they cut the limes for the Caipirinhas - another interesting thing was that they have them made with Vodka often; called Caipivodka - a flawless cocktail.

Caipifruta and Caipirinha

My son Lucas at the falls

Absolutely spectacular; Iguazu Falls one of the seven natural wonders of the world

A nice menu of some tapas-like Brazilian Tira Gostos

Love the way they cut into rather than cut up the lime, much tidier in the glass

Our beloved Brazilian BBQ; also a Pure Joy Specialty

Fantastic with Toasted Farofa, Chimichurri Sauce and Molho à Campanha

Brazilian Style BBQ, Churrascaria de Rodízio; Meats are grilled on swords then waiters move from table to table bringing different types of meats on skewers from which they slice portions onto your plate (here is ribs).

Sweet Sweet Indian Wedding

2011-12-14T16:29:00.000-08:00

Photos by Baron Spafford

Lessons from My Son Luc

2011-11-29T16:55:00.000-08:00

FOOD and HOME MAGAZINE
Cooking at Home Column
originally printed Fall 2005
Lessons from Luc
By Lynette La Mere

My year began as it always does with a lofty list of plans laid out like a child’s letter to Santa, only mine is to the Universal Powers that Be and, mostly, to myself. I intended to go through the process of finally reverting to my maiden name, grow my company another 25%, extend the passion and creativity in my work and somehow diminish the 90 hour work weeks. Be brave I’d written; challenged instead of overwhelmed, midway it states “I will parent with love and respect” along with what most would consider an insanely ambitious group of endeavors for the proprietor of a very healthy business and a single mom with sole custody of two lovely teenage sons.

Nowhere on there did it say I would face a monster named Crohn’s Disease with Luc, my thirteen year old boy; Luc’s year began very differently. Soon into January he began having occasional stomach pain, it quickly got sever. He would often buckle over and moan horribly after eating, one night I woke up to screaming and found him rolled into a hard sweaty ball yelling with pain in his sleep. “Don’t touch me, it hurts so much!” he was like a woman giving birth & then suddenly ok and still sound asleep. This continued. He couldn’t seem to eat anything with success. Luc had always been a big, strong, very healthy boy born 10 pounds 4 ounces. Suddenly he was literally dissolving before my eyes and no one could tell me why. Within ten weeks he lost twenty-five pounds.

My fifteen year old son, Max, and I were terrified. When we finally got the diagnosis we both crumbled with fear, that first night I will never forget. They told us Luc had an incurable disease called Crohn’s. What the hell is Crohn’s? I was so devastated I drove to the first home of a friend I could and literally fell apart.

Then I went to work. I studied everything I could get my hands on, that first week alone I finished three books. Crohn's disease is an inflammatory disorder involving the small intestines. It may also impair other parts of the digestive system, causes an autoimmune deficiency, malabsorption, and inhibits maturation and growth. There is no cure for Crohn's disease. I went on a relentless search for alternative answers, it seemed the only solution the Doctors had for him were a lifetime of pain, steroids and surgeries. He had gotten so skinny and frail, and there were days when I felt like I had no skin at all but I just plowed forward seeking a solution.

It is a digestive system disorder yet the medical community insists there is no dietary solution. Luc, Max and I all committed to finding a diet that didn’t “hurt”; food he could eat without getting pain, stop the inflammation and heal his body literally with food. As an ex-hippy and a chef I had always feed the boys good sourced natural foods, but over the years of working so much I had begun to cut corners and their diet had diminished.

What we finally found is working for Luc. He has not yet taken a single pill with the exception of a massive amount of nutritional supplements, A.M.P. Molo-cure and Probiotics. According to UCLA Children’s Hospital his disease is now fully in remission with no pain and he has maintained his weight now for about three months. (Update 11/29/11 Luc turned 20 today and is 6’2” tall and a very healthy Stanford University student still in remission thanks to his incredible diet and his dedication to health and being well).

Luc’s response to all of this has been so open to learning and change, so remarkably brave and willing. Max and I are still in awe of his level of acceptance and his ability to completely alter his life in order to heal. How can such a logical, seemingly obvious response be so unexplainably rare? He has spent most of the year getting acupuncture treatments two or three times a week from an incredibly loving and healing woman named Pamela Grant. He has become very spiritual, studying Buddhism and meditation. He absolutely avoids eating foods that don’t work for him; he is so dedicated to feeling well it is a lesson to all of us. He has given up all sugar and wheat and replaced them with a nutrient dense array of vegetables, fruits, legumes, alternative grains, ground nuts and proteins.

The following are some of his “crohnie” treats; foods he loves that have helped him heal and a few others. These two first recipes in particular are things I will feed the people I love forever, they are very special. Even friends who “don’t like nut” love these. So many people have told me these recipes have to be shared, Max and Luc’s friends will tell you these are really delicious even if you don’t have an illness to fight, they are healing and extremely nutritious for all of us.

Cashew Cookies
These are addictively delicious.

1 cup raw almonds
1/ 2 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1 cup natural pure cashew butter
1/ 2 cup local honey
¼ t. salt
2 eggs
1/ 4 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla

Pour the cup of almonds in a blender and grind to a flour. Mix this with the rest of the ingredients and refrigerate the dough. Once hard it can be scooped out and baked on a vegetable oil sprayed cookie sheet at 350 degrees until golden, about 8 minutes.

Cronie Brownies
These are magical; deeply satisfying, yummy and healing.

3/ 4 cup raw almonds
5 1/ 2 oz. virgin coconut oil
1 cup local honey
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/ 2 cup well-packed unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1/ 2 t. salt
1/ 2 cup chopped walnuts
3/ 4 t. baking soda

Blend it all together and bake at 350 till solid and done smelling.

Excellent and oh so easy Banana Bread
I like to bake this in a shallow pan but a loaf pans ok too, just be sure you bake it all the way, don’t pull it out too early.

3-4 ripe bananas
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 cup honey or dried maple sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 ½ cup oat flour
½ cup broken pecans if you like

Mix it up, spray the pan with olive oil and bake at 350 till very brown and done.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour the almonds in a blender and grind to a flour. Mix this well with the rest of the ingredients. Spray a 9x9 inch baking pan with vegetable oil and bake 35 to 40 minutes.

Vegetable Lasagna
Serves 6
I know Luc’s not the only one avoiding carbs out there so this is a good one for lots of us. I was surprised how very satisfying lasagna can be without pasta. Really any combination of vegetables would work well here, these are just suggestions. Lactose is another evil for him but a nice hard, aged parmesan cheese has a very low lactose level that he can tolerate. With proteins we look for natural sources and a low fat content, and we love the lean vintage natural beef for the flavor and integrity, however Luc no longer eats beef so tofu is a perfect alternative.

1 pound zucchini
olive oil spray
1 onion, diced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 1/ 2 pounds lean vintage natural ground beef or tofu
2 cups grated aged parmesan cheese (has very low lactose)
25 ounces of your favorite bottled marinara sauce with no sugar
8 sprigs fresh oregano, stemmed
1/ 2 bunch fresh basil, stemmed and torn

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Stem the zucchini and the slice length-wise in 1/ 6 inch wide long pieces. Spray with olive oil a standard 3 quart lasagna pan and then line the bottom with a layer of zucchini slices, season with salt & pepper. Sauté the diced onion in a hot pan sprayed with olive oil till translucent then add the garlic to the pan and remove after a few moments. Set that aside then spray more olive oil as needed and sauté the mushrooms then the beef seasoning well with salt and pepper as you go. As the beef browns break it up and add olive oil as needed. You’ll find the lean vintage beef doesn’t give off a lot fluid as it cooks so it browns well & smells great.

Sprinkle 1/ 2 cup of the parmesan on top of the layer of zucchini, top with 1/ 3 of the marinara sauce then layer on the onions, garlic, mushrooms and fresh herbs.

Top that with the rest of your sliced zucchini, season with salt & pepper then the beef, marinara sauce and the rest of the cheese. Bake for about 40 minutes.

Recommended reading; Patient Heal Thyself by Jordan Rubin, Breaking the Vicious Cycle (Intestinal Health Through Diet) by Elaine Gottschall

so so grateful to help

2011-11-15T10:49:00.000-08:00

All ya need is love, boopie dooby doo...wooooooo WE WON!!!

2011-10-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

Giant Thank you for your votes & LOVE!!!! We are sooooo grateful to get to make weddings and parties for a living, we adore our work & the fine people we work with. Thank you so much for branding us SANTA BARBARA’S BEST CATERER

Teddy Bear Cancer Fund Raiser was a Huge Success!

2011-10-18T15:44:00.000-07:00

“We believe that laughter is a great healer, and this year’s event honoring Carol Burnett, one of the funniest and most generous people on the planet, offers the right prescription,” the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation’s Marni Rozet said. “While raising much-needed funds, this unique event helped us to continue building community awareness about the organization during a fun and poignant evening of laughter and love! TBCF is a locally funded, grass-roots organization with a clear mission to serve the families in our community whose children have been diagnosed with cancer.”

Pure Joy Catering was happy to be involved with all food,

beverages and full service staff donated to the cause.

PRE SHOW VIP RECEPTION

Passed Appetizers

*American Wild Caviar with Lemon Crème Fraichè on a

Crisp Potato Star

*A Beautiful Variety of Cocktail Tarts; Tomato, Caramelized Onion, Olive and Goat Cheese with Basil, and other Provincial flavors

*Sweet Corn Tamale Poppers

*Grilled Prosciutto wrapped Figs, filled with Minted Goat Cheese with a Honey Mint Drizzle

*Bamboo skewered Curried Coconut Chicken with

Mongolian Dipping Sauce

*Warm Bacon and Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

*A Checkerboard of Crisp Wonton Squares with Seared Ahi with a Ginger - Wasabi Dollop and Spicy Tuna Tartar

*Mesquite Grilled Shrimp with Citrus Mint Dipping Sauce

*Bite Sized Monte Cristo Sandwiches,

Ham and Melted Swiss Cheese

POST SHOW VIP RECEPTION

PASS THE SUGAR!

*Mini Crème Brulee

*Fresh Berry Tart

*Rich & Tiny Macadamia Nut and

Belgian Chocolate Tortes

*Demitasse Mugs of Chocolate Espresso

Pots De Crème

Dear Patrick, Truly outstanding performance by you and your staff last night.... .

2011-10-17T12:28:00.000-07:00

lovely note from the father of the bride. Heres a few early pics

Amazing Days...

2011-10-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

Adorable shots of Ellen and Clarke's wedding from Sophie Spier at Amazing Days Events. Love the tables from our fav Discount Party Rentals. This venue is Condor Ridge Ranch, perfect for an outdoor rustic style celebration.

And the winner is....

2011-10-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

As a sweet farewell to a really fun event season I want to offer you a recipe of one of the years best sellers. Originally done for a News Press article & photo shoot this little gem of a side dish has gone on to serve thousands of happy revelers this year.

photo by Chad Nassif, Firestone Wedding

Watermelon with Pistachio Crusted Goat Cheese Medallions Dressed with Local Honey, Mint and Lime

Served 6-8

Quick, easy and quintessentially summer fare; this is an impressive presentation as well.

For the Local Honey, Mint and Lime Dressing;

2 tbl. lime juice (about 2 limes)

2 tsp. white wine

1.5 tsp. white wine vinegar

2 tsp. Santa Barbara honey

¼ tsp. pink peppercorns, crushed with the side of a knife

Pinch of salt

½ shallot, minced

1 tbl. mint, minced

¼ cup olive oil

Bed of Arugula

6 oz. log chevre (goat cheese) very cold

¼ cup shelled pistachio nuts

1.5 quarts cubed, seedless watermelon

¼ red onion, thin sliced

¼ cup shelled pistachios, garnish

8 mint leaves or sprigs, garnish

Whisk together the dressing ingredients to emulsify. Chop the pistachio nuts. Roll the goat cheese in the nuts pressing firmly & refrigerate till ready to cut. Spread your watermelon onto a salad platter over arugula. Top with the thin sliced red onions.

To slice the goat cheese it’s important that it’s nice & cold, use a thin knife, fishing line or dental floss and cut medallions. Arrange those on the watermelon then drizzle all with the dressing. Garnish with additional pistachios & mint.

all you need is love

2011-10-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

Great Stations Menu, perfectly planned event by Patrick Ward gets rave reviews

2011-09-24T13:14:00.000-07:00

All photos by Chad Nassif

Coconut Shrimp with Mango Chutney

Brazilian BBQ

Chef Jerry Wilson at Brazilian BBQ

Scallops on the half shell

Parmesan Baked Clams

Grilled Baby Lamb Chops with Fresh Mint Sauce

Organic Pizzas in Stone Oven

Pasta Station toss

Grilled Farmers Market Vegetables

Fresh Grilled Meats off the Brazilian BBQ


	Bolitas de Queso Fritas,	Little Yummy Cuban Cheese Balls, Crisp on the outside &	creamy on the inside

Sambuca Marinated Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp with Rosemary

Square Caramelized Lemon Tartlets

Demitasse Mugs of Chocolate Espresso Pots De Crème

Sweet Baby!

Wildlife Care Network, Catering by Pure Joy

2011-09-16T13:21:00.000-07:00

6 years in a row now we've catered this event out at sea for the Wildlife Care Network. These guys are saints! What they're doing for the injured wildlife right here in our community is thankless labor - Pure Joy is here to say THANK YOU!!!! to the staff and volunteers currently helping approximately 4,000 native animals each year. This charity is a favorite around here, we just adore them. Check it out: Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network

Last weekends Foley Winery Barrel Room Wedding

2011-09-14T14:53:00.000-07:00

Cha Cha Cha!!!

2011-09-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

Here comes the brides

2011-09-06T17:33:00.000-07:00

Delicious wedding catering; Pure Joy!

2011-09-02T14:26:00.000-07:00

Late Night Snack of Creamy Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

Style me Pretty Features another one of our weddings!

2011-08-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

Buffet Decor

holister ranch beach ceremony

Sharp Cheddar and Ortega Chili Corn Bread Muffins

Pure Joy Token Cutting Cake & Cupcakes

All photos by Mike Larson Photographers, Beautifully coordinated by Wine Country Events
See more shots;
stylemepretty.com
gallery

Exchange wows

2011-08-17T15:51:00.000-07:00

Yummy new menu items are causing quite a stir at our weddings; we're having a lot of fun wowing the guests

Seared Diver Scallop with Star Anise and Leeks on a Jarlsberg Crisp with a Persimmon Dollop served on a tiny black plate

In Pure Joy fashion a request for mini quiches inspired our own version with local organic spinach, sun dried tomatoes and caramelized onions coddled in a flaky puff pastry crust

Potato Stars and Caviar; American Wild Caviar with Lemon Crème Fraiche on a Crisp Potato Star. We passed them as "Fish and Chips" at a recent Park Lane Event

These adorable and oh-so-delish Sweet Corn Tamale Poppers were a huge hit at last weekends Firestone Wedding with a tasteful nod to the grooms heritage

Happy Happy Joy Joy!!!

2011-08-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

Willa Kveta Photography

Pure Joy Token Cutting Cake & Fresh Cupcakes, sooooo yummy, love the Coconut ones....

HOT HOT new shots!

2011-08-11T14:00:00.000-07:00

We're loving the fresh fun photos from
Willa Kveta Photography
805.633.4633
Check out this resent oh-so-Pure Joy Wedding; of course we have predictably focused on the food & decor and the happy couple.

weddings....

2011-07-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

1. WEDDINGS ARE EMOTIONAL RECKONINGS.
Have you dealt with your issues? I'm not talking about a few months in therapy and the occasional Xanax on a bad day -- I'm talking about really digging in, sitting under the Bodhi tree, and dealing with all the nasty icky hurts and fears and angers that have burned your face and clamped your guts since you were 5. If you have never once taken a hard look at what really triggers you emotionally, and figured out a way to release that trigger, you're in for a shock. Because ALL of your submerged emotions will rear their Gorgon heads during the process of planning a wedding. Prepare to be confronted.
First, there's your family. Ahh, family. The one group with perma-instant access to every emotional trigger in your psyche ("Of course your mother knows how to push all your buttons!" a matriarch once told me. "She created them!"). Do you still resent your mom for that "Honey, your thighs don't need that ice cream!" comment in 8th grade? Clinging to the last vestiges of anger at your dad for never kissing you goodnight or reading your term papers? Secretly seethe at your brother for moving far away and leaving you to deal with the full brunt of your parents' needs? Lucky you! You're going to experience all of it again, since each of these people will be intimately involved in your Big Megaspecial Day (whether you invite them or not). If you do not give up any and all familial anger, it will seize you in its talons and tear out your liver at least once a day, Prometheus style. You will find yourself shrieking over the fact that your mom disapproves of your choice of chair covers ("You never liked my clothes in junior high! Wail Sob!") or that your dad suggested "Psychokiller" as a father-daughter dance ("You spent my childhood in the office and now this!"). Any unresolved issue, annoyance or pin in the side that you've had since, well, birth will now be a part of your daily life. And we haven't even gotten to the fact that you may be asking them for money!
Then there's the invite list, which is basically a socially condoned form of friendship slaughter. Every minor dig and insult will rise from the depths of your consciousness when it comes time for the guest-list-culling. Who will be invited to the biggest public transition of your life? Are you really going to invite that wench who texted your ex for six months after you broke up? Or that a**clown who hasn't picked up a bar tab since, oh, college? If you're someone who holds grudges, your invite list will dwindle like an oak tree showered in acid. The girl who said your engagement ring was "cute"? DEATH. The guy who ruined the ending of "Game of Thrones" on purpose just to f*ck with you? OFF THE LIST.
Plus you have everyone's OPINIONS -- those are some of the biggest hurdles to navigate. Every friend will have views and needs to lob your way: this one doesn't like the bachelor party date since it conflicts with his annual fishing trip, that one thinks it's outrageous that your bridal shower is in another town, and don't even get them started on the hotel you chose for the bridal party. And then when they attend your actual wedding, it is a fundamental law that they will comment on how they would have done it differently "had it been MY wedding." Well, yes, a**hole, but it is not your wedding, and you have not subsisted on cabbage and rice for months so you could pay for that open bar you're currently guzzling. (See? There's that anger again! Damn.)
But before you begin your process of wreaking vengeance, remember just one thing: your wedding is not an opportunity to dole out justice to everyone who's ticked you off in the last decade. In fact, that's the furthest thing from its purpose. If you wield your wedding like a samurai sword, it's pretty much guaranteed that you'll do the same with other big events in your life. And die alone.
2. THIS EMOTIONAL RECKONING INCLUDES YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER.
Everything you don't absolutely adore about this magical human you've pledged yourself to is going to now manifest itself in wild screechy detail. You will fight about things you didn't even register during those blissful days of moonlit walks and Sunday afternoon sex. Eventually, you will have to face a stunning reality: The person you are marrying is exactly who she/he is, and will never be anyone else. Not now, and not once you're married. Whether that's a beatific thing or a source of night terrors all depends on you. (Note that I didn't say it depends on your partner. If you don't like what you're marrying, then it's on you to either get over it or call it off. Sorry!)
All your interactions will be weighed with a new gravity. When you do fight, it's fighting as a COUPLE THAT WILL BE MARRIED. Those things that were mere annoyances are now albatrosses draping your shoulders for eternity. (Seriously, it's no coincidence that Coleridge's Mariner ranted to a wedding guest).
The good news: Your incentive to get over these fights is sky high, since you've committed to this person and put down a venue deposit and changed your Facebook status and introduced him/her to your grandmother. So after a while, it can all fade into "Well, it's all part of the package -- and I guess his videogame habit is better than hookers n' blow!"
3. IT ALSO INCLUDES YOURSELF.
Your head can become a scary place in the months before your wedding. Any insecurity that has made its home nestled in your gray matter? You will come face to face with it now. Am I pretty enough to be getting married? Why is everyone in every wedding picture so much prettier? Will all the people I care about judge me as I walk down the aisle? Am I rich enough to be marrying this person? Am I rich enough to be marrying at ALL? Aren't I supposed to have paid off my student loans by now? What if I can't be the provider I want to be? Will it shred my masculinity like a 2010 Super Bowl ad? Will my partner start to resent me not pulling my weight? Can we afford this wedding? What if I get fired, and can't make the next catering payment? What if no one says yes to our invitations, since they all secretly hate us? What if too many people say yes, and we have to pay for them all? What if I lose sleep over our wedding budget and start to look haggard and my betrothed starts having second thoughts like, "Why am I binding myself to this haggard-looking worrywart anyway" and what if he/she leaves me and then I'm out of a catering deposit and out of a job and I'll have to return all these presents and my grandmother will pity me and everyone will mention my name in hushed tones at parties and I'll shut myself away until I die of infected bedsores and WHAT IF WHAT IF WHAT IF AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And then you have a drink.
4. YOUR WEDDING WILL MAKE YOU FACE EXACTLY WHO YOU ARE, EVEN IF THAT'S A PERSON YOU PREFER TO HIDE MOST OF THE TIME.
Wedding planning will give you a funny little window into who you really are in life. Not who you think you are, not who you say you are, but who you are.
"But I'm so down-to-earth!" you say. "I'm the furthest thing from psycho about these things! I don't even subscribe to any of that antiquated bourgeois nonsense!" Maybe so -- but maybe not. Get a few months into the planning process and see. Are you obsessive and controlling about every last detail? Overwhelmed by the whole thing? Laissez-faire to the point of doing nothing (and waiting for someone to bail you out)? Projecting false calm whilst mortgaging your organs to pay for the surf-and-turf entrée and Herrera gown? The ways in which you navigate these choices -- not what you tell yourself about them -- are some of the clearest indications you'll ever get of what's going on in the personal universe you call life.
And I don't mean the choice between peacock blue centerpieces and turquoise (although even those small choices will eventually come to mean something to you too, but more on that later). No, I'm talking the laborious internal decisions that govern the big picture. When it comes down to it, how big a deal is this wedding -- not the marriage, the wedding -- in your personal narrative? How much of your identity and self-esteem are you basing on this one event? How much are you focused, either consciously or unconsciously, on being someone who adores/despises being the center of attention? (Hint: they're basically the same thing.) What portion of your emotional needs are you expecting this wedding to fulfill?
We're smart people. We all know what the answers to these questions SHOULD be. But trafficking in "should be"'s won't do you much good when you're dissolving into sobs, supposedly over a turquoise bouquet that you REALLY THOUGHT should have been peacock.
5. THE REAL STRESS OF WEDDING PLANNING IS THINKING EVERYTHING MEANS SOMETHING.
We humans are remarkably good at ascribing meaning. If he doesn't call you back after a fantastic date, then it must mean that you're a complete dud of humanity who is destined to grow old alone. If you don't get that new job, it must mean that you're a mentally inferior troglodyte with nothing to offer the world.
Nowhere does the Mental Meaning Machine work as much overtime as during wedding preparations. It starts from the initial proposal: if the ring is not expensive enough to buy six orphans on the Siberian black-market, then it means you are stuck with a cheap bastard and your life is inferior to that of every rock-sporting wife. (Gays, please, renounce this practice.) From then on, every choice you make about your wedding, from cummerbund colors to china patterns, somehow brims over with alleged meaning about things like "who you are as a couple" and "what kind of life you'll have."
Ultimately, we all know this is foolish: Does it mean something if you pick the New Testament reading over the Yeats poem? Does it mean something if you serve the halibut instead of the chicken roulade? Of course not. But try telling that to the stream of brides pouring into the Plaza Ballroom for this year's Wedding Mega-Expo.
And alas, ascribing all this meaning is exhausting and, inevitably, disappointing. Getting your write-up in the Times wedding announcements doesn't mean that your marriage will be perfect, and having the latest Vera Wang hardly means your wedding will be the most blissful day on Earth. Rather, it simply means that you won't be able to eat. Seriously, Elizabethan corsets much?
6. IT IS EASY TO DEVELOP VERY BAD FINANCIAL HABITS WHILE PLANNING A WEDDING (OR VERY GOOD ONES).
Even if you opt for the most frugal of wedding receptions, the cash issue will come up. Paying for a wedding can be like wearing a hair shirt -- after a while, writing a four-figure check (or five-figure, or six-, all depending on your level of insanity) stops feeling like flesh-scouring pain.
The fact is that money (or rather, its scarcity) is a reality for everyone, and that reality shifts once you have to weigh the large, emotion-laden purchases that accompany weddings. Unless you're a hedge fund manager, in which case screw you, and go get a job that's useful to society (but invite me to your wedding! I like Dom Perignon fountains as much as the next gal!).
Still, for those who make it through the dark tunnel of wedding spending, you can look forward to one bright, beautiful moment: The day after your wedding. On that day, you get to choose if you ever lay another cent of your hard-earned (or inherited -- no judgments) cash on damask tablecloths or Waterford goblets. And all those Excel-spreadsheeting skills you've acquired can be used to budget your future finances. Or not. But at least it's up to you, and not your mother-in-law with her 80-person guest list.
Just promise me this: For the love of all that is remotely holy in this world, do NOT go into major debt to pay for your wedding. Which is what I say about law school, but no one ever listens to me.
7. YOU WILL LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE THAT WILL NEVER REALLY BE USEFUL AGAIN (EXCEPT WHEN DISCUSSING OTHER PEOPLE'S WEDDINGS).
We know a lot of words -- we sit on the Internet all day, we can't help but live in a word-driven world. But exotic, bizarre words like "chivari" and "shantung" and "Asscher" have never been in my vocabulary before now. These days, I spend more time swimming in them than I'd ever admit to my therapist. Don't fight the small battles: Embrace the wedding-speak and fold it into your lexicon, at least until the last gift check has been cashed. And know that when everyone nods after a wedding planner announces, "We'll just highlight the centerpieces with pinspots and up-lighting!" no one else knows what the hell she's talking about either.
8. THE THINGS NO ONE SAYS ARE IMPORTANT ARE IN FACT THE MOST IMPORTANT.
Two words: Premarital counseling. It is perhaps the most vital thing you can do before marching down the aisle. It doesn't matter if your love is so all-powerful it can superglue glaciers, you need to talk about the changes that are about to envelop your day-to-day lives. As a couple, you must sit down in a room not filled with cakes and hors d'oeuvres samplers and ask the squirmy, uncomfortable questions that no one ever really wants to ask: Who's going to pay the ConEd bill? Who's going to unload the dishwasher 99% of the time? Who's going to initiate sex when we're both bone-tired and haven't done it in a week? How strongly do we each feel about fidelity? What religion (if any) do we want to impart to our children? And how can we set ourselves up with the ability to keep discussing these things in the future? Because they will come up.
This crap -- these thorny, excruciating conversations -- is THE crap. It is the only reality. The ribbon-clad roses and monogrammed key chains and signature cocktails are not. Messy conversations are what you are signing up for, and what you will bump up against regularly for the remainder of your lives together. They are the gateway to a fulfilling and joyous relationship. And I can absolutely 100,000% guarantee you that not a single tux tailor or band singer or wedding planner or overbearing third cousin will ever tell you this. But your divorce lawyer certainly will.
One last final note: If you think I exempt myself from these rules, I assure you I do not. I have fallen into each and every sinkhole described here. Just ask my saintly fiancé, who somehow still wants to marry me.
This piece originally appeared on The Awl.

Watermelon Cocktail

2011-07-07T08:52:00.000-07:00

There is nothing that screams summer more than the watermelon- it's a luscious thirst-quencher on a hot sizzling day! Serve this crowd-pleasing cocktail at your next party!

Simple Ingredients - Powerful Flavor

By keeping the ingredients to a minimum allows the flavors to penetrate.

Recipe

Seedless Watermelon

Sea Salt

Fresh Basil

Vodka (optional)

Scoop out the watermelon and place in blender.

Add 15 basil leaves and a pinch of sea salt.

Add vodka- you decide the amount. Puree.

Serve over ice. Garnish with basil.

Another great idea for a blended icy summer cocktail from Pure Joy Bartender Julie Pickles is to freeze the watermelon chunks and blend later with Pear Vodka and a pinch of sugar, yum!

1 watermelon makes about 30 drinks.

H&M Launch event was a huge success!!

2011-06-24T13:25:00.000-07:00

So sweet !

We were so excited to hear from PaulWilmotCommunications in New York regarding the grand opening of Santa Barbara's new H&M store. The 15,000 square-foot shop occupies the old Barnes and Noble building on the 800 block of State Street. After considering several other caterers Pure Joy was chosen for our prompt and professional response to their requests for something really special, fun and on trend with H&M's young euro style. They were so excited about our runway caliber staff too as they had them all dressed in H&M attire for the grand opening. We've done many openings and this was most extravagant with few expenses spared, and really just a lot of fun.

We started the day with a hearty breakfast for 60 H&M staffers then served adorable and delicious handmade miniature summer fare to over 1000 shoppers for three hours. The Pure Joy Chefs made over 5000 little treats, all from scratch!! Although the crowds were huge and vivacious eaters we managed to not run out of food! That, the big wigs from Manhattan were especially thrilled with I'm sure! I also heard many "Oh my God these are delicious!!" comments from all. (photos by Chad Nassif)

the line began at 5am and went waaaay down State Street all the way to Macys!

Over 500 were in line when they opened the doors at 12:00

Fresh Chilled Fruit Skewered on Green Bamboo

Strawberry Milkshakes

Mini Pineapple Ginger Fizz, Minted Ice Tea and Cherry Lemonade

Breakfast for 60 before the doors opened

The Breakfast Show Stopper: Maple Glazed Bacon (Kevin Costner's favorite!)

Some of the Pure Joy Staff in the H&M attire

Such posers!

Yummy Breakfast, Scones & Devon Cream with Farmers Market Berry Jam

Pure Joy loads in plenty of awesome food!

Mini refreshments

Mini Hot Dogs & Burgers

Mini Prawn Tostadas

Mini Pies

Tiny Handmade Grilled Burgers

Pure Joy Staffers Adam Vaughn & Cyndi Smith

Mike Evans sporting H&M attire & Yummy Old School Milkshakes

Pure Joy Foley Wedding shot by Jen Rodriguez

2011-06-23T10:25:00.000-07:00

Photographer Jen Rodriguez captured the sweetness of the spring wine country wedding of Siobhan+Matt Spencer.
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SO many fab new estates on SantaBarbaraVenues.com, check it out

2011-05-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

Tropical Paradise

Las Montanas

new butterfly estate

SantaBarbaraVenues.com is a site I started last year to expose estates, vineyards and other creative and really fun event venues. The listing is free and so is the resource, and it's just a blast to cruise all of the dreamy estates and great wedding locations - there's over a hundred and lots of useful info too. Here are some resent acquisitions that may be just perfect..

Villa Espiranza

Hot Springs Oasis

Heartstone Ranch

Equestrian Estate

Las Ventanas

Saddlerock

Villa Del Sueno

Zaca

Toba Japan, our Sister City gets some support

2011-05-05T11:47:00.000-07:00

Pure Joy participated with other local businesses, the event was called "Oysters and Pearls", at the Cabrillo Arts Pavilion on April 28, raised over 24,000 to send to Santa Barbara’s oldest Sister City, Toba, Japan, where there was 24 million in damages to the oyster beds and nori seaweed farms along Toba’s coastline due to the tsunami.

Article

A Chef's Easter at Home

2011-04-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

Me and Dorothy Lawson, we made Hendricks Gin and Muddled Cucumber Cocktails (Photo by Jeff Kincade)

Maple Orange Glazed Bone in Ham, Soy Chorizo & Veggie Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms, Rosemary Roasted Leg of Lamb

Coconut Cupcakes and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes, (that frosting is super simple; just creamy peanut butter, coffee and powdered sugar and its soo good!!!)

Overnight marinated in rosemary and garlic then roasted, Leg of Lamb. Served with mint rosemary jelly and a fresh bosc pear salsa (recipe below)

Bottom Salad is Mache, Roasted Market Golden Beets, Goat Cheese, Toasted Pecans and Blood Orange Vinaigrette The top Salad is Butter Lettuce with Blood Oranges, Avocado and Red Onions with a Buttermilk Dressing, both very yummy!

And the hit of the day; Lobster Mac and Cheese

What a treat to get to cook for family and friends, I get so excited! We had Roquefort stuffed Dates and I love Tempranillo wine with that particular appetizer, it also pairs very well with the salads and Roasted Ham and Lamb too so I went ahead and did a tasting of Tempranillo Wines with the lunch. It was fun and out of a dozen different Spanish Tempranillos nearly all were scored very high by my guests and are surprising affordable.

Lobster Mac and Cheese
Serves 16
This defines decadence; first off you're buying lobster & then tossing it into mac and cheese. The bechamel is the dankness, it cooks for half an hour and is just sublime with fresh nutmeg and lots of fresh ground pepper and dry mustard. The cheese; nothing bland here - its a delicious mix of english and irish perfections and not over bearing for the lobbies, so, just to make it not TOO naughty I use brown rice pasta. Hopefully that redeems me for the utter decadence of this dish. I will say they devoured it and no one got heart failure - ya gotta live a little sometimes....

2 pounds macaroni, I like Tinkyada brown rice pasta, it comes out perfect
2.25 lb lobster tails, raw

for the bechamel sauce:
4 oz butter
4 oz flour (1 cup minus 2 tbl.)
2 quarts milk
1 small onion, cut the ends off, peel, leave whole
1 bay leaf (if you have one)
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tsp dry mustard
4 shakes of tabasco
salt and pepper to taste, be pretty generous

2 pounds mix of english / irish sharp cheddars and gruyere, grated

for the topping:
2.5 oz butter
2 cups fresh bread crumbs
pinch of salt and pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, last minute garnish

First the lobster; boil the tails in a large pot of water till just done. 6-8 minutes depending on their size. Pull them out with tongs, save the water. I use kitchen shears and cut them down the underside all the way to the tail tip then peel them. Clean as needed and chop. Strain the water and use it to boil the pasta. Drain when done and set aside.

For the bechamel: in a large pot make a roux stiring together the flour and butter over high heat till it gets a bit of color. In another pan heat the milk, gradually add it to the roux while whisking. Bring it to a boil then reduce heat to simmer. Pop in the onion and bay leaf and simmer 25-30 minutes on low. Taste and season with salt, pepper, mustard and nutmeg, adjust as you like. Remove from the heat, take out the leaf and onion.

For the topping: just melt that butter and saute the bread crumbs till golden and fragrant. Add the parsley and set aside.

Vegetable spray two or three large baking pans and pour in the pasta, toss in lobster and cheeses and bechamel. Top with crumbs. you can cover and hold here over night or go on into the oven at 350 degrees till golden and bubbly.

Bosc Pear Salsa
1.5 quarts
The secret here is to get the pears at least three days ahead so they ripen (out of the frig of course). This is my new fav with everything from salmon to lamb - even great with the orange and maple glazed ham. Its nice and light as sauces can go and super tasty.

3 pasilla chilis

3 bosc pears
3 jalapenos
1 small red onion
1 small bunch cilantro
3 limes, juiced
6 cloves roasted garlic, or 3 raw, minced
splash of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

I roast the pasillas over the open flame on my stove top turning on each side with tongs till charred well then pop them hot into a plastic bag, twist tight and let them steam a while. Fine dice everything else (I ditch the seeds and veins of the jalapenos). Toss it all together and serve.

Pure Joy's cookin' to help host a fundraiser for marine mammal rehab April 9th downtown SB and it's going to be fun, come on by!!

2011-04-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

Hookah Lounge & Tequila Tasting cocktail table centerpieces

2011-03-10T09:33:00.000-08:00

Hookah Lounges outside at the Arts Pavilion were very popular. With 220 guests there I was not sure how these two ideas would go, but they ended up being very successful. The patios there so often go to waste, we really wanted to get people out there and make it fun so we removed the existing tables & chairs and had Discount Party Rentals do lounges on both patios and eight heaters (it was cold!) and it worked beautifully. We had 3 hookah pipes on each patio and we had a hookah waitress available to change out coals and provide fun & exotic flavors like "sex on the beach" and the more traditional middle eastern flavors.

The second idea also went even better than I'd hoped. Tequila Tastings on some of the cocktail tables. I got sets of Blanco, Reposado and Anejo from four really nice Tequila producers and stacked cobalt blue shot glasses. Again, with so many guests, I was surprised how long they lasted and how everyone kind of discovered them and explored them and enjoyed the experience it added to the evening. It really brought people together and gave them something to do and talk about. Lots of new friends were made, I highly recommend it.

Pure Joy Turn 10 in big style!

2011-02-09T15:44:00.000-08:00

Ariel Dancer suspended from the ceiling, Arts Pavilion Pure Joy Lunar Eclipse event

Antipasto Tables

14 appetizers were passed, these are our Croquetas de Pollo, a traditional Spanish Tapas that taste like crisp little bites of mashed potatoes, roasted chicken and grandmas gravy. The Lobster Tempura passed on Asian soup spoons with ponzu sauce were favorites too.

Beautiful La Petite Chouette Aerial Dancers were suspended from the ceiling

lobby with draping & blue uplights

set up was cocktail environment, theme lunar eclipse, lighting LBPS

Suzie Q from Cirque Berzerk danced with the crowd on feathered stilts

Can you believe this is the lobby of the Arts Pavilion?? Lani from LBPS transformed that space into a very sexy lounge from the front door entrance all the way to the patios. Everyone was blown away :)

Orlando Napier rocked the first two hours with such hot style, then Gavin Roy with SBDJ's took over

Pear & Gorgonzola with toasted walnuts in crisp phillo triangles

Lynette La Mere and Patrick Ward

LBPS's neon bars took center stage

(photos of this event were done by Chelsea Renee Photography who also provided a team of paparazzi which made the guests feel super special as Signature Valet whisked away their cars. They entered on a Lunar Eclipse blue carpet for a very memorable evening)

Pure Joy Catering Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary

Tuesday, February 1, 2011 Press Release
Pure Joy Catering proudly celebrates its 10-year Anniversary this Saturday February 5th, 2011. Pure Joy offers award winning full service catering and special event planning in the Santa Barbara area. The Santa Barbara Based company will be hosting an extravagant event to mark the occasion, drawing together their staff, vendors, local businesses, family and friends. This invite only formal event is set to take place at the Cabrillo Arts Pavilion, Saturday February 5th, 2011 at 7pm. The 10-year anniversary marks a significant milestone in the company’s development. Proprietor, Lynette La Mere, has twenty six years of experience in the culinary arts, specifically as a catering specialist and Executive Chef, has done thousands of events over the years and is a recipient of the Top 50 Woman in Business Award. Recently featured in the Wall Street Journal, Pure Joy was also named one of the top 25 Woman Owned Businesses here in the Tri County Area and quoted in the Fall issue of Bride’s Magazine on trends for weddings in 2011.Pure Joy Catering has been selected to receive the prestigious annual Wedding Wire “Bride’s Choice Award” for 2011 in addition to 2010. Recognition for the “Bride’s Choice Award” is determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 WeddingWire.com newlyweds. They have also been Voted Best Full Service Caterer by the Reader’s of the News Press 2010. Other note worthyaccolades include being Voted the “Number One Wedding Planner” by readers of the Independent and “Best Caterer in Central California”, also rated the last 2 years by brides on The Knot .com “Best Of” 2010. Another fun fact; Pure Joy Catering owns the land their event planning facility is on; they are here to stay & business is better than ever! Their commercial kitchen, offices, and huge warehouse allow their planning team and culinary staff to work closely together on the custom creation of each Pure Joy event. The 10-year anniversary celebration complements the company’s ongoing passion and enthusiasm for event planning and catering in and around the Santa Barbara area. About Pure Joy Catering Pure Joy does full service catering exclusively; from concept to creation. They’ve got a great team that has made thousands of dream days a reality, let them help you

Giddy Girls!

2011-02-01T12:41:00.000-08:00

I'm beside myself excited, so many wonderful things are going on over here. Where to start? Well, first off we have two new additions to the Pure Joy Team. It was a tough call but after reviewing over 300 applications we have Cyndi Smith and Alizabeth Schotten on board full time to help with all the awesome events we have coming up this year. They're both bringing a lot of insight, experience, brilliance and joy to the many Pure Joy tables so I hope you get to meet or work with them soon.

Then we have a huge milestone to celebrate and we're pulling out all the stops on this one. Pure Joy Catering is officially ten years old!!! See the full article in the upcoming Independent issue
And to top that off we were just informed that we have won the 2011 Bride's Choice Award on Weddingwire!! Thank you to all the happy couples who voted for us. Our newest website, SantaBarbaraVenues.com continues to be a growing and excellent resource for new clients as well. We've gotten a lot of new wedding venues and it just keeps getting better.

Postcards from the Mediterranean

2010-12-03T12:14:00.000-08:00

Yes! It's true! I will travel for pastries!!!!

This is a simple snack while waiting for our train to Rome....that center pastry is hand folded with about a thousand layers.....a time honored process that just brings me to my knees. From the Civitavecchia Port the train into Rome right by the Vatican is around 9 euro round trip.

In Sicily these fresh made right there gelato sandwiches are very popular for a late, weekday breakfast, beat that cheerios

the aux de province farmers market in France prompted a picnic, just a 60 euro / 20 minute taxi ride from the ship port in Marseilles, this is an area I've returned to several times. The people, the food, the charm are all pretty incomparable. From there Casis is not far (also by taxi) and a world class seaside resort I also adore. The seafood is so sweet...

Cheeses and charcuterie in an open air market in the south of France

Handmade chocolates, fruit jellies and marzipan in Barcelona

In Spain every imaginable fruit is fresh squeezed and ready to carry away 1.5 euro

Tapas in Barcelona

a booth in Mercat La Boqueria in Barcelona, one of the largest, most spectacular food markets in the world

Lynette on a camel in Tunis, weeeeeee! This man offered Patrick 3 camels for me, can you just imagine me in a Muslim country?! Yikes, don't think they'd let me stay long.

Patrick Ward and Lynette in the Tunisian Marketplace, this is a very foreign country! The tip of Africa, it had changed very much in the last 8 years, the new President has made it far more user friendly and taking the train from the port into the marketplace is a fun adventure.

A video clip of a few gondoliers in Venice, they are mesmerizing....did you know only 2 or 3 new licenses for operating a gondola are given out a year? with over a hundred applicants it's a very coveted and honored profession in Venice. We stayed three lovely days at the Hotel Rialto overlooking the canal and of course the Rialto Bridge then a train to Genoa where we boarded a MSC cruise around the Mediterranean.

De Poire, The Pear

2010-10-28T11:24:00.000-07:00

Pears are the flavor of fall, available year round but not even close to the same fruit you will find in the fall. They come into their own and can take over a salad with such aplomb you'll wonder why you never noticed them before - alas, they've simply entered their time. For Local produce seasons and other ideas see our Inspirations

Try Wedges of Pears wrapped in Prosciutto instead of the traditional melon, Pear Nectar Mimosas, Pears in Salad of Winter Greens with Blue Cheese and a good Tempranillo Wine or a Savory Pear and Stilton Tart with a Walnut-Pepper Crust. I leave for Europe in a few days and I can't wait for relaxing fall picnics following the local outdoor markets. A simple combination of pears, cheeses, breads and wine....ummmmm

Wedding Ceremony and Reception Pictures

2010-10-22T13:26:00.000-07:00

I just got the most adorable wedding reception and wedding ceremony pictures from photographer Baron Spafford, see more used on our new site SantaBarbaraVenues.com inspirations section

Our Favorite Non Profit

2010-09-23T14:59:00.000-07:00

Every year we help with the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network Fundraiser, it's a lovely event hosted on the Channel Cat and we've always done the food at cost and the staff donates their time. This year we were able to write a check to the organization. We hope next year to do more, we're all giant animal lovers here & so grateful for all they do! Big thank you to the Pure Joy Staff members who volunteered their Sunday this year; Danny Jack, Hayley Mac Nab and Jerry Wilson.

Comfort food, Pure Joy Catering Executive Chef

2010-09-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

(Delicious Photos by Loree Gold, see entire article in upcoming Food & Home issue)

The term "comfort food" (added to the Webster's Dictionary in 1972) is defined as foods consumed to achieve some level of improved emotional status, whether to relieve negative psychological affect or to increase positive. Comfort foods are also considered very trendy and are pretty darn hard to resist! They warm the hearth & the cockles of most mortal souls. You can tell if food is “comfort food” if your eyes close when you taste it (or sometimes even when you just think about it!). I love serving them in miniature so they don’t feel quite so naughty; they can be utterly adorable and just plain yummy!

Macaroni & Bay Scallops with Gruyere and Cheddar

Serves 6 – 8

Oh yea! Grown up mac & cheese; yes! You can have gooey and sophisticated at the same time and it’s oh so lovely.

12 oz. macaroni, boiled in salted water till tender, drained & rinsed to stop the cooking

2 oz. butter

1/3 of an onion, diced

“Shy” 1/2 cup flour (take off about 1 Tb.)

Salt & pepper to taste

1 qt. milk, hot

2 pinches nutmeg

1 tsp.dry mustard powder

1 dash Tabasco sauce

1 lb. grated good cheese (gruyere, cheddar, etc.)

For the scallops:

1.5 oz. butter

½ lb. bay scallops

For the Topping blend together:

1.5 oz. melted butter

1.3 cups bread crumbs

¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Melt the butter & over medium heat cook the onions till tender but not browned. Sprinkle in the flour and salt & pepper, whisk till sandy in color. Slowing whisk in the milk, nutmeg, mustard and Tabasco. Lower heat & simmer about 10 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat & stir in the cook macaroni & grated cheeses, taste and adjust seasoning.

Sauté half of the scallops in butter about 5 minutes till cooked through then stir them into the macaroni and cheese, pour into a casserole & sprinkle with the topping. Bake at 350° for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown. Sauté the other half of the scallops in the butter and pile them on top of the golden casserole to serve.

LAUNCHED!!!! SantaBarbaraVenues.com

2010-09-16T14:56:00.000-07:00

Oh Yea! Ah huh!! We did it!! OMG it was a load of work but our new sweet baby website is stuffed with oodles of info; 84 fab venues all in all, from Malibu to Santa Ynez and a gallery of inspirations and many more to come!! If you need an event venue this genius site by Citrus Media Group is your one stop shop, see it, check it out, ask your Q's and book it. Let the festivities begin!!!

Great Food, Great Weddings

2010-09-10T06:42:00.000-07:00

Farmer's Market is at it's peak right now; just spectacular produce.

We just did another weekend of fabulous weddings! This was their place cards at Godric, how adorable?! They also had a Raw Raw Raw! Oyster and Scallop on the half shell bar at appetizer hour and that was a huge hit, with four delicious sauces; Classic Mignonette, Ginger Mignonette, Sesame Chili Sauce and Sake Lime Sauce, the crown went wild! The bride is a butcher and actually hand cut all of the beef for her guests as well, each cut was grilled there to perfection and the seafood option was Pan Sauteed Halibut with Red Wine Butter Reduction.

Then back into the offices we have completed work on our new web site for venues and will be doing a soft launch today!!! It is just an awesome tool for event planning and we couldn't be more excited. We'll be at the Bridal Fair this weekend at Earl Warren showing it off for the first time.

Then just to put the cherry on our magnificent wedding season we were awarded 5 stars from WeddingMapper and another surprise huge vote for Pure Joy Catering was revealed to us and will be announced publicly in October

Style me Pretty

2010-09-02T14:35:00.001-07:00

We are now listed as one of the Best Wedding Vendors in the Style Me Pretty Little Black Book!! A rare honor. Thank you to all of our beautiful, blissful brides for your recommendations we wish you a very Happily Ever After

Fabulous Firestone Wedding

2010-08-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

Another one of our Firestone weddings was highlighted on the SantaBarbaraWedding blog. This one was for a adorable bride and groom; they just glowed with joy and that dress made me cry! They had a beautiful, elegant set up and then a plated Duet of Halibut & Braised Chicken Provencal; the Red Wine Reduction on the Halibut is musical with the deep flavors of the chicken, very yummy together and then all the bride needs is a vegetarian count so the week before the wedding is a bit easier on her with the duet instead of the preselected dinner choice, also of course theres no worry about guests changing their minds last minute. The groom is a dentist so - of course - a candy station was a de rigueur tongue in cheek addition that everyone just loved.

Pure Joy invited to be part of a "refreshingly couture wedding resource"

2010-08-10T18:46:00.000-07:00

We just got an exciting and quite flattering phone call today! Pure Joy Catering has been formally invited to be included in the Style Me Pretty Little Black Book!!
The E mail they sent after the call said;

Why have we selected you?

Because we genuinely admire the high quality of your catering, Lynette, your expertise in the following areas has impressed our team:
--exceptional customer care
--superior design style
--the continual honing of one’s craft
--a genuine interest in fostering a relationship with the client
--highly recommended by colleagues and clients

How good does that feel?! Honestly I think this is my favorite week ever (so far)...

Also just got some photos back from Photographer Alex Neumann of a Pure Joy event with Chef Manned Pasta Station, Cosmos of Salads and Grilled Bites, Sushi Rolling Station, Shake Shake Shake Martinis and it was yum & so fun for the lucky guests up on the top of the Santa Barbara Riviera.

Happy Groom!!!

2010-08-07T12:34:00.000-07:00

What a lovely & gracious man wrote this review of Pure Joy. I'm sure he has a wonderful Mother & now a very lucky Bride!!! It's so warming to read his kind words, Patrick, our Operations Manager & his whole staff are beaming and will for a while. Some day ~ if you haven't already ~ you must see our bathroom downstairs (really!) it is wallpapered with thank you notes, and for us it's like getting a great big hug going in there and seeing thousands of kind words and knowing people noticed our work on the busiest, happiest days of their lives. Makes these 14 hour days all the more worth it!

More reviews on us appear on weddingwire and on projectwedding

Ojai Ranch Wedding & Summer Menu Hits

2010-08-04T14:58:00.000-07:00

Pure Joy featured in the new Bride's Magazine

2010-07-16T11:24:00.000-07:00

This was exciting! Brides magazine called from New York. They are asking 6 wedding caterers across the country just what we thought the Next Big Thing in wedding catering was. That was an easy question for me! Here's the details if you haven't seen the issue yet (it's the fall/winter issue of Bride's Magazine Southern California)

Next “it” cuisine? Pure Joy Answer: Local, sustainable produce and seafood.

What is the new "poached salmon"? Pure Joy Answer: Grilled local vegetables stacked with polenta and halibut. The presentation provides an impressive ‘wow’ factor.

What is the next "It” hors d’eouvre? Pure Joy Answer: “Naughty” comfort foods! Sinfully delicious ‘junk food’ dishes served in small portions, like our New 'Southern Belles’—juicy slow-roasted barbecue pork on freshly-baked mini corn muffins.

Now upstaging cupcakes...Pure Joy Answer: (What could upstage Cupcakes?!, the Pure Joy Cupcakes are legendary, especially the German Chocolate!) But if something could it would be our Demi Mugs of Turkish Coffee Crème Brûlée served with a Chocolate-Dipped demi spoon.

Guests are loving?...Pure Joy Answer: S’mores stations! The classic S'mores are the most requested but add yummy cookies and a variety of marshmallow flavors for a twist.

Also posted on SantaBarbaraWedding!

Our New Salad makes its debute!

2010-06-25T13:08:00.000-07:00

Watermelon with Pistachio Crusted Goat Cheese Medalions Dressed with Local Honey, Mint and Lime

Featured in this week's Santa Barbara News Press and has already enjoyed quite a successful coming out at many tastings to RAVE reviews!!

The dressing is really great!

Watermelon with Pistachio Crusted Goat Cheese Medallions Dressed with

Local Honey, Mint and Lime
Served 6-8
Quick, easy and quintessentially summer fare; this is an impressive presentation as well.

For the Local Honey, Mint and Lime Dressing;
2 tbl. lime juice (about 2 limes)
2 tsp. white wine
1.5 tsp. white wine vinegar
2 tsp. Santa Barbara honey
¼ tsp. pink peppercorns, crushed with the side of a knife
Pinch of salt
½ shallot, minced
1 tbl. mint, minced
¼ cup olive oil

6 oz. log chevre (goat cheese) very cold
¼ cup shelled pistachio nuts
1.5 quarts cubed, seedless watermelon
¼ red onion, thin sliced
¼ cup shelled pistachios, garnish
8 mint leaves or sprigs, garnish

Whisk together the dressing ingredients to emulsify. Chop the pistachio nuts. Roll the goat cheese in the nuts pressing firmly & refrigerate till ready to cut. Spread your watermelon onto a salad platter. Top with the thin sliced red onions.

To slice the goat cheese it’s important that it’s nice & cold, use a thin knife, fishing line or dental floss and cut medallions. Arrange those on the watermelon then drizzle all with the dressing. Garnish with additional pistachios & mint.

A Beautiful Wine Country Wedding

2010-06-22T18:41:00.000-07:00

Look! Look! Look! the beautiful web site StyleMePretty.com is featuring one of our Figueroa Farmhouse weddings. Coordinated by the awesome Jill LaFleur. The amazing food by Pure Joy Catering included passed appetizers of caramelized onion tarts & tomato, mesquite grilled shrimp with citrus mint dipping sauce, and ocean fresh ceviche, with guacamole dollop served in cosmopolitan glasses with chips. The sunset views and ambiance were incredible as you can see from BB Photography’s amazing photos by BB.

THIS is Pure Joy!!

2010-06-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

There is SO much excitement over here! Spectacular events on the weekend, so beautiful and it's finally officially summer so the sun, the breeze, the view and Farmer's Market is awesome now, the figs are in and the tomatoes and basil is all bushy, life in Santa Barbara is at it's peak!

Eling's Godric Grove Wedding for Joanna Manning and Graham Simon had a delicious menu and beautiful decor. Giant prawns sauteed right there so fresh & yummy, Grilled Baby Back Ribs & Tri Tip, fresh baked cheddar biscuits and a couple nice salads, loads of local berries. They also had our adorable mini mac and cheese pots on the buffet, the guests were so thrilled with the food, they just kept coming back for mare. The bride was so happy and called today to rave about her wedding, her dad came by too. A really lovely family! Hope to have pictures of the other wonderful events we just did in our portfolios soon for everyone to see.

But heres the cherry on our first day of Pure Joy summer...Sharon, our business manager, brought by her ridiculously beautiful super model brand new baby girl Taylor this morning!!! She's honestly the cutest baby I've ever seen!!!!!

Brazilian BBQ Cha Cha Cha!!!

2010-06-18T13:49:00.000-07:00

We are planning a really exciting large wedding with Brazilian BBQ on the menu and the great guys at Discount Party Rentals are looking into making us a Brazilian BBQ Grill. Pure Joy Event Planner's are busy are work on that one and it is going to be at the perfect rustic yet elegant old Hope Ranch Riding Club Estate.

Another big project around here is our new Venue Web Site, the first mock ups are in and it's super exciting! It's being designed by the very dynamic Citrus Media Group and will be like our santabarbaraeventlocations.com site only a lot more spiffy and sophisticated. I'm already really excited. The project is going so quickly!! These guys are just awesome. I'm thrilled to create a very useful source of info for destination clients or even locals looking for a venue for special events. More on that soon!

Rock & Roll Bride

2010-06-16T16:46:00.000-07:00

Jaime Pack and Nick Kostechko's wedding at Rockwood has been featured in a great blog called Rock & Roll Bride It was a beautiful wedding, really fun & feisty, check it out!

Wedding at Firestone Winery

2010-06-11T09:22:00.000-07:00

Picture this; a beautiful warm early summer day in Santa Ynez, sweet breeze, ceremony with a spectacular view, great wines, delicious appetizers then into the cool, deep oak and merlot scented barrel room where a dramatic long feasting table awaits. Later, dancing under the stars in the courtyard. That's Firestone.

Dinner was a Duet Entree Course*Oven Roasted Salmon with Sun Dried Tomato and Pine Nut Crust & Fresh Tomato Coulis, USDA Choice Medium Rare Tri Tip of Beef with Madeira Green Peppercorn Sauce Presented with Grilled Parmesan Rosemary Polenta Triangles with Truffle Oil & Shaved Parmesan and Grilled Vegetables with a Virgin Oil Herb Drizzle. That was followed by a lot of dancing and merriment

Pure Joy Summer Sweets

2010-06-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

Pure Joy Illuminated Chocolate River Station; Six Feet of Warm Belgian Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate and Caramel Fondues beautifully presented with Ripe Local Berries, Bananas, Apples Wedges, Marshmallows, Homemade Rice Crispy Squares, Fresh Baked Cookies, Pretzels, Shortbread Fingers, Graham Crackers, Dried Apricots and Chopped Nuts.

The caramel fondue is actually a Dulce de Leche that is slow cooked for 3 hours and .. well.. pretty amazing.

Farmer's Market Peaches and Berries are fantastic now which makes the Peach Pies extra wonderful, and the Berry Peach Cobbler as well. We use the fresh peaches in our Sangria and Belinis too.

Another great use of the local berries is our Giddy Berries which is a mix of sweet local berries tossed lightly with Lemoncello, topped with a dollop of our house made creme fraiche and a wedge of thin citrus shortbread. A really nice light presentation with a lot of wow.

The berries grown in Santa Barbara are just beautiful and make a spectacular shortcake station with fresh baked old fashioned shortcakes, freshly whipped cream, pound cake and for a real treat adding brownies is pretty amazing. I have tried all the brownie recipes you can imagine and these are still my favorite. Based on Katherine Hepburn’s original brownie recipe these are truly glorious. Here's the recipe;

Brownies

8 oz. butter
5 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
2 1 /2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 “shy” cup of flour (take out 1 Tbl.)
1 /4 tsp. salt
1 Tbl. Vanilla
3 /4 cup of chocolate chips, mini chips or chopped chocolate bar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10 inch baking pan. Melt gently over low heat in a small sauce pan the butter and unsweetened chocolate cubes. Take off the heat and add the sugar, eggs flour, salt, vanilla and the chocolate chips. Fold together with a rubber spatula and then scrape out into the prepared pan and bake till just pulling away from the sides of the pan, about 25-30 minutes. Grandpa always said watch the food not the clock!

More May Events

2010-05-31T12:21:00.000-07:00

We were honored to be a part of some amazing events in May. Here's just a few shots from Firestone, Hacienda House, Figueroa Mountain, The Granada, the Barn at Dos Pueblos, the Arts Pavilion and Tres Hermanas. We also did some adorable cup cakes there at the (the Cherries are in season!) and a great sushi station with fresh sushi being made right there that was a huge hit. Our chefs are amazing, headed up by Jerry Wilson who never stops astounding our guests.

Farmer's Market is in full swing with all the tomatoes just in and the pit fruit, I'm having a fantastic time shopping for the events!!

Our full time event designer Mike Evans is back from his annual trip to his plot of land in Nicaragua where he has actually built a house now!! He's livin' the dream! He's already done several beautiful events this last week and you'll be seeing a lot more of his creativity as the event season unfolds!!

May Happenings at Pure Joy

2010-05-31T11:03:00.000-07:00

What a whirl wind beginning of wedding season we've had! It's been exceptionally exciting around here.

Our precious Business Manager, Sharon McClung, is about to have her baby and has officially left on maternity leave till August. We can't wait to see little Taylor!!

The Wall Street journal Article ran, Isaac Hernandez was the photographer and took some fun shots that went onto the slide show on the Wall Street Journal site as well as on his blog. Here are a few of his photos from Pure Joy; This is a meeting in our conference room and Luc and I in the kitchen at Pure Joy.

Mother's Day

2010-05-06T07:42:00.000-07:00

I thought...since it's Mother's Day, I could get away with going on about my adorable boys just a bit. Lucas, my youngest, and I just spent Monday with a photographer from the Wall Street Journal here at the kitchen and at our home. They contacted us last week and did an interview. The article is slated to appear in next weekend's issue. Luc, who will begin studies at Stanford in the fall, took some of the photos in our portfolios here at Pure Joy as well as the ones from the Malibu Wedding where he worked, my last blog entry. My oldest son, Cougar, just won a very special Oral Presentation Award at Stanford. Portions of it are actually being used in a Humanities required course text book! The presentation is fun to watch if you have time, its a fascinating take on the effects of technology (Max Cougar Oswald, Technology is Advancing, are we?); Cougar Oswald

Malibu Wedding

2010-04-29T08:49:00.001-07:00

The historic Adamson House on the beach in malibu is a magical place for a wedding! We just catered this wedding last weekend and it was spectacular. The day started out foggy but in true Pure Joy fashion it ended up to be beautiful, sunny and perfect. Pure Joy Event Planner Patrick Ward headed up the staff and did an outstanding job planning with this really joyful couple. Dinner was plated Duet Entree of Chicken Roulade; Breasts of Chicken rolled with Spinach, Goat Cheese and Toasted Pine Nuts with a Mushroom and Fresh Herb Sauce & Tender Char Grilled Sirloin with Red Wine Mushroom Bordelaise. The children were served our housemade Chicken Tenders (that all the Dad's just love!), mac & cheese and fresh veggies.

(All photos by Lucas Oswald)

Southern Belles!!

2010-04-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

Friday we had a little celebration here, we were just informed that we were voted best [full service] caterer in Santa Barbara again!! It's not been published yet but we just can't pass up an opportunity to celebrate!!

We had some friends over to taste a few new appetizers and help us name them. The tiny cheddar corn muffins filled with pulled BBQ pork and topped with just a pinch of pickled red cabbage (it turns bright pink) and is such a perfect touch with the little pop of rich pulled pork and the yummy & so perky cheddar corn muffin was the hit of the evening. The problem was I just couldn't think of the right name and as you can see the description was just too long.

Well one of our new brides, Jessica Burch, is a true Southern Girl and she came up with the perfect name! Southern Belles. She said this just tastes like the South, Dane, her adorable fiance, agreed. In an e mail after the cocktail party; "I am so excited!!!!! I called my mom, who is in Tennessee right now with my 98 year old grandma, to tell her about the pork sliders. Her response was, "bless her heart, those are Southern!"=) We are DEFINITELY having those at the wedding!!! We loved being able to coming by yesterday. Thank you again!" That's PURE JOY.

Tastings over the weekend sealed the deal, these are just awesome & already on several upcoming wedding menus. Other appetizers we tried were the Persian Beef Kabobs; moist , tender & loaded with great flavor. The Rock Shrimp Lollipops with Pasilla Chili Almond Sauce, the Lemony Parmesan Artichoke Bottoms (always PERFECT) and some new Cocktail tartlets that Jerry has created.

A ridiculously good time....

2010-04-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

If you've ever called Pure Joy or been into the offices for a meeting or an event you've met Sharon McClung, our business manager. She's a tech whiz and a amazing information resource on anything event related, all in all a very loved & precious part of the Pure Joy Management Team and the day-to-day operations.

Sharon, and her husband Josh, are having a baby! My sons were raised by the Pure Joy Family, but Taylor will be the first baby born in the Pure Joy Family. So Patrick, Jerry and I did a tea party for her baby shower with her dear friend Lacey (that's gorgeous Lacey there in the picture holding the scones). I have to say I had the most fabulous time working on the shower!! I really reminded me why I started this business in the first place! The genuine JOY I get from entertaining is an awesome energizer.

Just seeing the joy on her face & her guests, working on the creative decor aspects and the tea fare (I'm a dedicated lifetime student of the art of Tea!) was so much fun for me.

We served a Farmer's Market Berry Spritzer and Raspberry Champagne Cocktails. Tiny shot glasses of naturally pink and so delicious market beet dip and jicama sticks, cosmo glasses of pear salad with walnut vinaigrette and candied walnuts, adorable petite fours by Christine Dahl and for the take away favors I made handmade delicious "mom tarts", a play on pop tarts frosted pink and preset them with double pink ribbon tied cotton napkins. For the florals I did topiaries of fresh local orchids, garden roses and gerberas.

The Tea sandwiches and scones are a culmination of really the best in the world - I'm not kidding! With tongue in cheek I've spent more than 20 years on this! Traveling and going to tea all over the world and gathering information, books and recipes and techniques and then practicing them hundreds of times; adding modern twists and charm, all the while having the most ridiculously good time of it all! And that, I think, is why I'm so joyously content to work 12+ hours a day, year in and year out in this crazy business that I simply adore!

Soon Taylor with be here and I hope we get to do a tea party for her too! I thoroughly intend to enlighten her in the art of taking tea and having a ridiculously good time!

An Evening in Venice Maritime Gala a delicious success!

2010-03-29T09:35:00.000-07:00

The Maritime Gala was such a fun event to cater! The guests arrived in costumes and the decor was very, very Venician. The specialty cocktail was a Starry Starry Night, the guest list included Italian Dignitaries and the guest table centerpieces were beautiful! What was the most fun for me was how many times people came back to the buffet for seconds, usually on Galas they don't so that was a real compliment! The buffet was decorated with precious la Bottega dei Mascareri Venician masks with harbor fresh Seafood, Pasta Sugo di Pomidoro, deeply flavored Braised Chicken with Plum Tomatoes, Onions, Orange Zest, Kalamata Olives, Red, Yellow Bells and Madera.

Dessert was fun Italian Classic Cookies, Italian Roast Coffee and Miniature Mascarpone Italian Cream Cheese Berry Tartlets and cute little raspberry topped authentic Tiramisus.

Snippet & Ink

2010-03-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

The fabulous & very stylish wedding blogger Kathryn Storke of Snippet & Ink has featured images from June & Paul's wedding in Santa Barbara catered by Pure Joy with rave reviews. http://snippetandink.blogspot.com/2010/03/real-wedding-june-paul.html

Groove Gala a Huge Success!!

2010-03-19T14:04:00.001-07:00

Temple B'nai B'rith hosted their annual Gala Fund Raiser and it was a 70's pop theme with fun & yummy stations. Marcy, Elizabeth and Judi were truly on the ball with making this such fun while keeping these recessionary times in mind simultaneously and with great pizazz. The Fondue Station was "I Heard it Through the Grapevine", the Salad Station was "Strawberry Fields Forever" and had a great house made genuinely Pure Joy Blue Cheese Dressing on a Wedge Salad with local Spring Tomatoes, Chinese Take out boxes of our Chinese Island Salad and our famous Caesar Salad, the decor; a huge cascade of local strawberries. The "Temptation Station" was BBQ'ed on site Soul Food; we make our own BBQ Sauce & the Chicken was so tender & delicious, Homemade Mac & Cheese, fresh biscuits, picnic watermelon wedges, Old fashioned Cole Slaw and green beans. The Diner Station had fresh grilled sliders, salmon sliders, sweet potato fries and regular fries; both adorably displayed. Dessert was "Sugar Sugar" and the highlight there was topiaries of Ding Dongs, Ho ho's and Twinkies, warm milk & cookies and fun little cups of Skippy peanut butter and Hershey's chocolate. LBPS did an outstanding job on the lighting and the band was flawless! Fresh Orange Tangatinis and Gimlets made it just perfect!

Catering Staff (Happy Happy Pure Joy Bride!)

2010-03-12T12:16:00.000-08:00

A very funny and unsuspected joy from our reception was the catering staff. The CUTE catering staff. It wasn't me who said or even noticed that they were attractive, it was my younger cousins and college friends. A few asked, "did you hand select the staff?" and "Of course she would have cute boys serving us". But I tell you, I really had no idea. I just chose Pure Joy based on their food! If the staff was cute, bonus!

Heeheee ;)

Another Pure Joy Bride!

2010-03-12T08:44:00.000-08:00

We have some great shots from our OH! Bridal Tasting. Here are some of our appetizers; the one on the left is a tiny white plate with a fresh yellow bell pepper sauce on the bottom topped with our Glazed Salomon and garnished with Wasabi Caviar, next to that is our yummy Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese in a Demi Mug.

Our Cupcake Station was another big hit and these are a few of our flavors. The Stations were fabulous too and all in all we did about 60 menu items!

Every week we have a Pure Joy Management Pow Wow and we always start with reading our thank you notes from clients. They are so sweet and we get so attached to our brides in particular. Well, this week we got a thank you blog post I wanted to share because she was just so adorable... OmniBride Her pictures and review of our food & work that night are a good read.

Today is our first day back from the Catersource Catering Convention at the Paris in Las Vegas where we picked up about a million new ideas! We love the classes (there are over 100!) and seeing all the new foods and event trends. The trade show was also incredible with a lot of new decor & serving pieces as well as small wares, exciting new ingredients and systems and sources. This is the largest educational gathering of caterers in the world so you can imagine how much we all get out of it, and boy was I surprised to find out my picture was on the cover of the binder with the one & only Michael Roman! That was my 11th year attending Catersource and going there with my whole team is big fun.

2010-03-01T09:15:00.000-08:00

Posted by Bitchy Bride on February 25th, 2010

Food is one of our favorite things! And this week we are featuring the wonderful, and eye-catching appetizers of Pure Joy Catering, in Santa Barbara, CA.

Pure Joy is one of the best known caterers in town. We’ve worked with them on plenty of weddings and special events, and their food and presentation never disappoint!

Pure Joy has offered to share with us some of their most popular appetizers that have catered at weddings!

Baked Artichoke Bottoms with Lemony Parmesan Filling
These are so delicious we hear about them years later, people still remember them! Perfect with wine and very elegant vegetarian option.

Cocktail Hamburgers
Perfect bite sized burgers with all the right trimmings. These baby burgers are grilled fresh on site, with hand made the buns and fresh cut cheddar & farmers market cherry tomatoes. Very adorable & delicious passed on tiny French fries.

Glazed Salmon with Wasabi Caviar on Ginger Yellow Bell Sauce
A perfect bite of flavors & a beautiful presentation.

Heres another cute one, Demitasse Mugs of Warm, Creamy Tomato Soup with Mini Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Thank You to All of our Brides!

2010-02-02T16:18:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all of our Fantastic Brides who voted for us for the Wedding Wire Bride's Choice 2010 Award. It is our honor to work with all of you!!!

Post Cards from Madrid

2010-01-14T12:27:00.000-08:00

OK we’re all settled in to our apartment in Madrid.

Its ridiculous. I will remember this the rest of my life.

I know I will be back here, Luc wants to buy the apartment so maybe we’ll all be back here one day, it is so incredibly beautiful. Ancient and large with high ceilings and thick wood polished floors. Each room so elegant and the views! Those high full length shuttered windows that step out onto tiny iron balconies…The kitchen is my domaine and I'm so happy shopping all the fresh markets and cooking up a storm. This is the reason I came here; it is a chefs dream. The bathrooms make me want to cry, the marble is so thick & the tub is heaven, the fixtures are so nice. The food here is delicious, ahhhhh crusty jamon manchego sandwiches and icy mugs of beer 1$ each. We are right next to Plaza Mayor the town center in the Gothic district and its all christmassy. The boys adorably have chosen to share a room b/c the bed is so giant and neither wanted to be on the other side of the apartment alone. Its full of big modern art and ancient furniture all antique and beautiful. Get this, here in Madrid theres normally 2 breakfasts; 1st breaky early is churros hot n' fresh (they make them right there in front of you) with this Spanish hot chocolate that is like thick chocolate warm pudding. then 2nd breaky around 11am is tortilla (kind of a golden potato omelet) and beer and these fried eggs that are orange in the yolk not at all like we have. its so perfect!! We found a flea market that went on for miles yesterday we nearly danced through! We are going to go to the Prado then a soccer game tonight (futbol!) .

Love, Lynette

Day three....

It's snowing today, how magical Madrid looks in her white white cloak! We went to the Prado museum and saw Goya and Velasquez works and loads of Italian art too and look forward to comparing them to the pieces Picasso did when studying these same works. But of course the café was my fav, the jamon and sweet winter melon … oh honey. These tiny pasterias with the most beautiful little bits of food art and nougat and marzipan and it’s all Christmassy and the tapas are yum! I can't wait to do our new tapas stations. I have to say a lot of our tapas we already do are spot on and could really hold up here as very authentic, especially our Paella; it's (I'm proud to say) pretty great and the Spanish chefs I've met here would be impressed with our renditions. That said, I'm learning like crazy! So many new tapas and fab ideas I'm like the tapas paparazzi with my camera! We’re cooking tons, the seafood is awesome, Spain is second only to Japan in per capita seafood consumption and the fish and shellfish are just sweet, the delicious green olive oil and I got a nice flake salt, the saffron and paprika’s are the finest in the world. I am working on acquiring a taste for Spanish brandy; it's so delicious and smooth. We went to my favorite pharmacia Santa Maria Novella, hair products, cream from almonds and fragrance made by Florentine nuns for 400 years, they have one here. Madrid is so not touristy. We really feel like spies among them, aliens almost trying to delicately forage our way through the curvy cobbled streets and tiny shops; this one hats that one ribbons, you know? It’s very Italian in style, many areas remind me so much of Italy and its very nice to not be assaulted with ashtray and plastic magnet stores and bad food. The shoes and clothes are very fine and I only wish the rain would let up but the next week in Barcelona looks like it’ll be dryer. It’s not bad snuggling under umbrellas though and tucking inside for a café con leche. I resisted all day yesterday but perhaps today I’ll have a churro and that thick hot chocolate again…

Love, the luckiest girl in world!

PS This is my son, Cougar, enjoying a pot of Hot Spanish Chocolate fondue

Is it wrong to blog a blog?

2010-01-09T06:49:00.000-08:00

I just saw a adorable wedding we did last season on MiBella's Blog I wanted to show you http://blog.mibelleinc.com/2010_01_01_archive.html. We are admittedly laxed on blogging here at PJ...the last month has been a flurry of exceptional holiday events and then we close our doors for two luscious weeks and off we go! The team scattered from Canada to Madrid to celebrate an incredible year of events and weddings like never before. It was so rewarding for me to sit with the management team on the end of the Santa Barbara Pier, eat hot Chipino and share some good wine and champagne right before we all took off and hear everyone's exciting plans. After seeing them all work most weekends of the year a bit of down time is long overdue.

We've begun the new year with renewed zest for life and the events for 2010 already have everyone quite excited. I was in Spain for the holidays and am dieing to replicate the delicious tapas we grazed on. I rented an apartment so I could COOK; the markets of Spain are some of the best in the world and the inspirations are endless.

Pure Joy is Number One!

2009-10-30T14:17:00.001-07:00

Pure Joy was recently voted "Best Caterer on the Central Coast" by the SB Independent Reader's Poll!

We'd like to thank all who voted for us as we are truly lucky to have such a supportive community. We truly love the work that we do and are honored that the rest of the Santa Barbara area has taken notice.

Thanks again for all your support!

Pure Joy From a Pure Joy Employee

2009-10-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

Hi all! My name is Sara and I'm the new office intern for Pure Joy. Though I'm new to the office, I've been waitressing the events for Pure Joy for a couple of years now. I just wanted to take this time to give you a little insight on what its like to be on the wait staff for Pure Joy.

First off, all the supervisors/coordinators are amazing. No matter what type of event it is-wedding, birthday, corporate party, etc.- they put their whole heart into making it as perfect as possible. Having worked at these different events, I've seen first hand how hard the coordinators work to fulfill their client's vision. Whether its making last minute changes that their client wants, or just managing a very detail-oriented event, no one can do it with as much expetise as the coordinators/supervisers at Pure Joy.

Another thing about working for Pure Joy at events is that it doesn't feel like work. I can work a 10 hour shift without looking at the clock once because I'm having such a good time w0rking. It is also very rare to come across a rude or unhappy waiter because the wait staff who show up for an event are there because they want to be.

I hope I've enlightened you a little bit on what it's like to be an employee for Pure Joy. I really couldn't have found a better company to work for.

Until next time,

Sara

P.S. Check out this table decor we did at the Firestone Winery a few events ago (I actually worked at this one and help set it up!):

Simply Gorgeous!

It's Wedding Time!

2009-06-25T16:11:00.000-07:00

Summer in Santa Barbara means it's wedding time! At Pure Joy Catering, we are here to help you create the wedding of your dreams and have had the pleasure of working at Orela Ranch, The Historical Museum, and many more great sites in the Santa Barbara area. We hope you enjoy some of our recent event pictures and be sure to check out our new YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpeVSr89DTc for an inside look at Pure Joy Catering!

Summer Is Here!

2009-05-27T12:51:00.000-07:00

We kicked off the summer with a weekend filled with fabulous events. From the zoo, to the beaches, to the beautiful wine country, Pure Joy Catering was there to ensure that every event was extra special. We are now gearing up for our cocktail party where we will be welcoming two new event planners, Toby and Patrick, to our team. We are looking forward to a wonderful summer season!

new menu items

2009-04-27T16:25:00.001-07:00

This is our Ponzu Ahi Tower Salad, it is so yummy and perfect with the local citrus flavor...the bite sized Cocktail Burgers are going to be in the Scene Section of the News Press this Friday. They had their own tini tiny photo shoot! The squares are mini vanilla bean creme brulles on our little new saucers.

Fabulous Wine Country!

2009-04-16T14:10:00.000-07:00

Santa Ynez Valley Wine Country is not only gorgeous in the summer & fall, but is the ideal location for a springtime wedding. While the nights get chilly, a simple tent is the perfect solution, and creates such great ambiance. Check out these photos from a wedding we catered at Fess Parker Winery this past weekend.

We had such an amazing event team that included fabulous Coordinator Kerry Lee Dicky, LBPS Lighting & Event Design, Discount Party Rental Tenting and yummy wedding cupcakes by Decadence.

Acolades!

2009-04-07T11:44:00.000-07:00

Thank you to our loyal clients, amazing staff and fellow event professionals for all your support!

Pure Joy Catering
Best Central Coast Caterer “Pick”
2008 & 2009

And….as if that weren’t enough, we also were recognized as Top 50 Women in Business by the Pacific Coast Business Times! Honorees include top executives and business owners from the Tri County region.

Pure Joy Wins Again! The Knot Best of Weddings 2008/2009 Pick

2009-03-31T14:39:00.000-07:00

Pure Joy wins again!

For the second year in a row, we are proud to announce that Pure Joy Catering has been rated by local brides and voted The Knot Best of Weddings 2008/2009 Pick. Please pick up a copy of The Knot Best of Weddings 2009 magazine and check out our listing.

Bridal Tasting & Mike Roman comes to Pure Joy!

2009-03-17T15:32:00.000-07:00

We had our annual Bridal Open House & Tasting and it was a smashing success, 300 guests began their visit with curbside Signature Valet & were treated to a seemingly endless array of delicious menu items and lots of fun and cocktails! Many of our most favorite vendors were here to strut their stuff and make the whole thing POP and it was really over the top! If you were here or not, know that these are the very best & most trusted participants; (PS THE ACTION PHOTO BOOTH LINK HAS COPIES OF THE PHOTO BOOTH PICS TAKEN HERE THAT DAY..)

Discount Party Rentals
You’re The Star Video Productions
LBPS Lighting and Decor
Signature Valet
Kaleidoscope Florals
Robert Boyd
Grandfolia Plant Rentals
Music by Bonnie
Action Photo Booth
Officiant Rev. Joy Margolis (joymargolis@cox.net)
Chocolates du Cali Bressan

Then, that night, the GODFATHER of catering, Michael Roman of Catersource arrived for his visit!! He was here till Wednesday giving us advice and kudos. Hes been so instrumental for the entire life of Pure Joy that it was an incredible honor to have him and Bernice come see our new building and review our operations, we got an A+. The new economy has prompted our culinary team to create a variety of new money-saving menus and theme solutions and Michael was full of great ideas.

Hers some more pics of the open house & tasting we did, this is our fresh peach bellini, fresh squeezed margaritas (cha cha cha) , our red velvet cupcakes (we also did our new German chocolate cupcakes & 5 others and the last shot is from our "honey I shrank the chicken entree station", this ones the chicken provencial, very yummy on orzo. But the seafood, tenderloin carving station with 5 sauces, the chef manned pasta with handmade gnocchi and the mini take away desserts...all so lovely!

Catersource Catering Convention!

2009-03-05T15:48:00.000-08:00

We just got back from a week in Las Vegas at the Annual Catersource Catering Convention and boy, did we learn a lot! We have all finally recovered from our long week in Vegas and our heads are just spinning with all the new ideas and trends we want to share for this upcoming wedding season. From trends like small plates to using feathers (everywhere!) to this seasons color (mimosa!) we are just so excited to start working out all the details for our brides this year.

We can't wait to share all the new information with you. Call us today at 805-963-5766.

~Kristin and Sharon

2009-02-19T08:39:00.001-08:00

Are you in search of the perfect wedding or event location? Pure Joy is here to help. :)

Check out our helpful locations resource website:
http://www.santabarbaraeventlocations.com

This website if filled with fabulous locations ideas, in and around the Santa Barbara area. If you would like to discuss any of these locations in more detail, please give us a call.

Baby it's cold outside!

2009-02-17T08:59:00.000-08:00

For an icy winter we're very busy around here plotting some amazing destination weddings; in fact the weddings seem to be getting better and better in spite of the economy. We even have a couple coming in from Japan! We leave for the international catering convention in 3 days and there are many wedding planning classes and panels, wedding design classes, new buffet & station concepts, fabulous chefs from all over the world teaching catering specific dishes and cocktails, it's going to be so much fun for us all.

We just finished a very fun Tea Party for one of our favorite non-profit fund raisers; Lorna Berger at the Sansum Medical Clinic. I love Tea Parties and have actually studied the taking of tea my whole life, traveling all over the world to enjoy this lavish past time & to learn just how it's done and what I can tell you is that it's just not done enough! What a fab simple entertaining plan! If anyone wants a perfect scone recipe just e mail me!

By for now~Lynette

OH Bridal Open house & Tasting

2009-01-23T08:44:00.001-08:00

We've got our evite out now and already have 100 rsvps! We're very excited about it. As it's the winter season we've got some fun stuff ahead; we'll be shooting our virtual tour of the new location for the website with You're the Star Video Productions (ok, honestly we'll all a little nervous about that), we're heading off to our annual Catersource International Catering Convention in Las Vegas which is soooo fun every year & hugely academic; yes we do actually attend classes all day and several of the evenings. Our Chef Jerry & I always start collecting champagnes in December for our evening champagne tastings & we get to see over 2000 other caterers, it's a lot of fun. We're also shooting a cover shot for the magazine the magazine I write for, Food & Home so watch for that. Another big part of the winter season is writing; I've got about 11 articles due throughout the year and now is the time to write them because later the days get so busy with events. So, I've been cooking up a storm developing recipes, every night this week we've had risotto!
Lynette
Executive Chef
Pure Joy Catering

Pure Joy Bridal Open House & Tasting

2009-01-21T08:17:00.000-08:00

Pure Joy Catering will hold its annual Bridal Open House and Tasting Event on Sunday, March 8th.

For information, and to RSVP, please contact our offices:

805.963.5766 phone
events@purejoycatering.com

Pure Joy Catering Moves to New Facility!

2009-01-19T10:24:00.000-08:00

Pure Joy Catering is pleased to announce that we have recently relocated to a new catering and event planning facility, located at 111 East Haley Street. The building, designed by Owner and Executive Chef Lynette La Mere, features office space, a commercial kitchen, and equipment warehouse. Please come by - we love to give tours of our new space!