Indiana Seasonal Feast: Menu Items for Fall and Winter Events

The leaves in the tree line along the lake behind Montage, our headquarters, are beginning to change color! There is a very distinct fall crispness in the air and our minds have most certainly flipped the switch to brightly colored pumpkins, fall foliage, and rustic color palettes. While the day’s of farmer’s markets are waning, at Kahn’s Catering, we don’t waste a moment lamenting the end of the hot weather. Instead, we embrace that a new season is upon us and it’s time to pull on the heavy sweaters and start thinking of the cozier meals and events that allow us to showcase some of the season’s best in Indiana.

The key to any successful menu for the cold weather months is to think about comfort food. Close your eyes and image what you’d want to eat next to a crackling fire. What comes to mind? Earthy, creamy, spicy and meaty immediately come to ours. Here are some of our top picks for menu items that showcase the best of the colder months in Indiana from our 2016 seasonal menu.

Hors d’oeuvres
Utilize the season’s fruits: Fresh-picked pears and apples are a crunch staple of Indiana living in the fall, and using them in a hors d’oeuvre, like a bruschetta, turns them into a savory, luxury edition of creamy cheese and perfectly paired crunch. Our selections for this year include:

Baby French pear bruschetta, whipped goat cheese, cranberry kumquat compote
Tart cherry apple phyllo pie, candied ginger mousse
Grilled apple bruschetta, gorgonzola cheese, raspberry balsamic glaze

Create comfort foods that surprise. Thinking outside the box using savory meats and spice in a dish brings the coziness up a notch. This year we created a few truly comforting hors d’oeuvres sure to please a crowd:

Maple glazed pork belly, pumpkin spice cake, crushed pecans, micro greens
Short rib potato croquette, horseradish blue cheese cream sauce

Salads
Think salty and sweet for salads. The tart fruit of the season is the perfect accompaniment to your salad starter. Instead of focusing on traditional vegetable salads, consider adding berries and strong cheese, spiced nuts, and savory dressings. Our salad selections this year include:

Baby iceberg wedge, smoking goose guanciale lardons, dried figs, goat brie cheese, toasted pumpkin seeds, cardamom apricot vinaigrette
Arugula, sweet pickled gold beets, shaved fennel, brie, roasted butternut squash, honey cider vinaigrette

Entrées
Dress it up! A filet, short ribs, or pork are a perfect main dishes for cooler weather, but its how you dress them up that warms your guests. Consider this entrée:

Braised short rib mushroom wellington, bordelaise
Applewood smoked ham, pistachio apple chutney

Use surprising ingredients. Some fall and winter harvest ingredients are perfect for dinner and help add an unexpected balance to the meal. Our favorites from this year’s menu include:

Juniper berry roasted domestic leg of lamb, sassafras demi-glace
Spicebush berry scented maple leaf farms duck breast, pomegranate gastrique
Pan seared blue sea farms cobia, sweet vermouth caviar beurre blanc

Accompaniments
Let rustic vegetables shine in your sides. These heart vegetables can stand up to a creamy grain. Compile the best of what is fresh and roast or braise. All of our sides are delicious, but these are our favorites:

Roasted Brussel sprouts, kalettes, vadilia onion, pancetta
Shitake mushroom chestnut dressing
Stuffed Yukon gold potatoes, whipped sweet potatoes, chai tea crème de brie

Dessert
Bring a spicy ending. Ginger is a perfect dessert ingrident to create a warm ending to your meal. Consider some of these zesty enders:

Chai tea pot de crème, honey ginger whipped cream
Pumpkin cheesecake, fresh ginger whipped cream

Savor every bite. Even desserts can be savory and filling. Desserts are meant to be creamy, sweet, savory, and simply splendid just like these two standouts:

White chocolate macadamia nut bread pudding, horchata rum cream anglaise
Bananas foster tart, grand marnier whipped cream
Pumpkin spice cake, cardamom rum glaze

Of course no meal would be complete without a wonderful soul warming beverage to pair it all with. This year’s menu features Kahlua hot chocolate with cinnamon whipped cream and chocolate shavings, as well as spiced apple cider. We hope this little sneak peek at our winter menu has piqued your interest! Keep in mind this isn’t everything, there is still more on our full menu. Download our  full seasonal menu here.