Y. Lo Epicure- Denver Catering

Y.Lo Saved Us All from the Zombies!!

yloepicure7 — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 17:09:26 +0000

Because we are a full-service catering company, we at Y.Lo Epicure don’t get surprised by much these days. We do it all! So when we have been asked to do weddings, birthday parties, baby showers, corporate parties, etc. nothing really makes us raise our eyebrows. But when we got a call from Reed Street Productions asking us to cater their Zombie Run, we had to stop for a second.

“I’m sorry – a WHAT?” I asked.

Apparently this “Zombie” craze has taken over the Country. This company tours major US cities and puts on a 5k run, where you sign up and have to make your way through an obstacle course while Zombies chase you and try to eat your brains and take your “health,” which is latched on to your waist, much like a flag football belt. There are health bonuses you can find along the way to save your own life, and you can choose your own path through the course, but if you’re not careful you could end up running more like a 10K. And if the Zombies get your health flags, you die and they win.

So at this point I’m wondering just how many people really go for this whole thing, and one of the directors, Alyssa Omelie, says to me, “Oh yeah, people love it. It helps to improve their running times. You’d be surprised how fast people will finish a 5K when they are being chased by Zombies.”

And I guess I can’t argue – Over 3,500 people in Colorado alone participated in this thing, 700 of which were zombies. Alyssa says the zombie positions are always the first ones to sell out. They pay a little extra and come early and have professionals do their makeup to make them look good and dead. Live or die, the event is not over at the finish line. No, no. After that, you go to the Apocalypse Party, where runners and zombies unite to enjoy food trucks, live music, and Beer in a festival-like environment.

This particular run was set up at Thunder Valley, a motor-cross cross nestled in the foothills close to Red Rocks. It took an entire week for set-up and I must say it was worth it. The event was literally quite a site to see. But the staff had to eat, and in those terms it was Y.Lo who saved the day. We brought dinner every night to hungry staff members and on event day, we provided breakfast, lunch, dinner and hors d’oeuvres to the staff and VIP tents. Who knew Zombies like to eat things like Homemade Enchiladas, Lasagna, and Stir Fry in substitution of humans? So you can thank us for keeping the Zombies fed so they didn’t go looking for…err….. some other things or people to eat.

Check out more of our pictures at Facebook.com

and if you’re crazy enough to join in the Zombie fun, the appropriately named website is runforyourlives.com

Make a Brie Heart for your Sweet Heart!

yloepicure7 — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:28:58 +0000

February is here and we all know what that means – Love is in the air! Now I agree that the way to a man’s heart is through his belly. But I believe it rings true for women, too! So I thought I would share a very delicious and sweet way to express your love for your Valentine: by making an easy version of one of Y.Lo Epicure’s most popular dishes- Baked Brie En Croute!

Cranberry Almond Baked Brie En Croute

Ingredients:
1 Wheel of Brie Cheese
2 Packages of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1/2 Cup of Dried Cranberries
1/3 Cup of Brown Sugar
1/3 Cup of Almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Open Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and roll one and a half packages of the dough in to one big ball, then flatten in to a circle shape. Place wheel of brie in the center of the dough. Top with cranberries, almonds and brown sugar. Pull the dough up around the brie to completely encase it. Take the remainder of the dough and roll flat. Use Cookie Cutter to cut out heart shapes. Place on top. Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes or until dough is golden brown (oven times may vary). Serve with puff pastries or crackers and enjoy!

We Were Holiday Party Animals!

yloepicure7 — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:33:06 +0000

Whew! What an amazing end to 2011! We partied hard, and we’re some of the lucky people because we got paid to do it. Y.Lo Epicure had so many fun events throughout the holidays. We don’t mean to brag (too much), but here is just a small overview of what went on, and you might even get an idea or two for next year.

A “Minute-to-Win-it” Holiday party- there’s nothing like seeing your co-workers try to yank all the tissues from a box using only one hand in only 60 seconds. (Go ahead. Go home and try it, we both know you want to.) This party was also a dance-fest while simultaneously having a special area upstairs for wrapping care packages for the homeless. Party people who give back. We like it!

An upscale house party where the staff got to dress in formal wear too, serving an amazing cocktail concoction called “Santa’s Hat”. Of course we won’t keep it to ourselves: One part pomegranate juice, two parts champagne, powdered sugar rim on the champagne glass. This was absolutely adorable!

A Private, modest one- bedroom apartment party that turned in to an 80 person blowout. Oh yeah. This person must have had amazing neighbors to go with his amazing view of Denver. Bartending from the kitchen seemed impossible at first, but it turned out to be an absolute blast with some really fun people!

A gorgeous drive to Boulder for a luncheon that dazzled during the day-time with all white linens and silver, glittery snowflakes dangling from the ceiling. As if this wasn’t sparkly enough, guests were blown away by being handed a glass of bubbly as they walked through the door.

A one-thousand person event downtown with three bars, full-service buffet (Provided by yours truly, of course), a DJ and a live band. And how was it? Ah. Maz. Ing. This was a very young crowd who knew how to dress up and get down!

Not a bad run by some folks who started out as a small corporate caterer, right? By the time New Years’ actually came around and most people were ready to go out, we just wanted a NAP! Because as you can tell, Y.Lo Epicure does it all- and we did! But we had an absolute blast gaining all of this experience, and definitely makes us better at what we do every day. Cheers to Partying with you in 2012!

Bah Black Friday Humbug

yloepicure7 — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:06:45 +0000

AH Thanksgiving- you know it’s time when all the signs are present: Moms starting to plan seating arrangements, dads mentally preparing themselves for in-law visits, store displays of stuffing and canned pumpkin galore, and of course – Black Friday adds starting to pop up everywhere. Now I love Thanksgiving and enjoy taking the time to stop and acknowledge all that I have to be thankful for, but this time is also a little clouded for me with angst for what is to come sooner than I am ready- Christmas Shopping.
Like a lot of people, I’m one of those who is making an effort to not be the last-minute Christmas shopper this year. However, I am also constantly struggling to think of new and creative Christmas presents, which I will always maintain as my excuse for late shopping. Anybody with me?
So I got to thinking- what is it that people love this time of year? First thing that pops in to mind: FOOD! What do I do for a living now? FOOD! So do I need to share this light bulb that just went off with you guys? Absolutely.
Y.Lo Epicure does meal plans. Did you know that? One week to one month of them for any number of people. What a great gift idea for that expecting friend of family member of yours! It’s also very thoughtful for the family who has a sick loved one, or the work-aholic that doesn’t have time to cook. I actually have a few of these people in my life right now and voila- Shopping done!
So now that I’m done with a lot of shopping, I can relax and take the time to focus back on Thanksgiving, and letting you know how thankful we at Y.Lo are to have you as a client and friend!
Sincerely,
Y.Lo Epicure

Soup’s On!

yloepicure7 — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 19:53:33 +0000

Now that it’s officially FALL (where did the time go?) we are starting to add some of our favorite cold weather dishes back to our menu. Yolonda has been busy in our kitchen breaking out her recipes for one of my favorite cold weather dishes… Soup! Something I’m very excited for as I’m starting to find myself searching for Soup recipes to make on a lazy Sunday afternoon. At Y.Lo Epicure we have a wide variety of warm amazing soup dishes all of them Homemade and made daily in our kitchen! Our soups include:

Vegetable, Chicken Noodle

Cream Corn Chowder

Baked Potato

Creamy Chicken and Vegetable

Split Pea and Ham

Chicken Tortilla

Asparagus with Herbed Goat Cheese

Broccoli Cheddar

Black Bean & Bacon

They also come with Fresh Baked Mini Rolls and Fresh Baked Dessert. So next time you’re thinking about calling in a lunch order I recommend checking out our Deliciously Comforting Homemade Signature Soups! It’s such a great way to warm up the middle of your work day!

Happy Fall!

Courtney Hall & YLo Team

Have you booked your Holiday Party Yet?

yloepicure7 — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:51:03 +0000

With Fall in the air the Holiday Season is approaching FAST!!! Which means it’s time to start planning your Corporate and Family Holiday Parties! Let YLo plan your BIG event and make your party the HIGHLIGHT of the SEASON!! Sit back, Relax and Let us take care of everything from complimentary Holiday Decor to an amazing Custom Holiday Menu! We are sure to make your event UNFORGETTABLE and impress your friends, clients, colleagues, and family with our eye-catching displays and our professional and friendly staff! We will gladly help with any arrangements…all you need to do is ask! Get a Jump Start on the SEASON and Book your Event Today!

Happy Monday!

Courtney Hall & YLo Team!

Local Charity’s Benefit with Wine Walk & Haley’s Heart!!

yloepicure7 — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:09:21 +0000

The Lowry Town Center in Denver, Colorado has a bi-annual Wine Walk benefiting local charities in the Lowry Community. It’s a great event that allows members of the community together to socialize with other members and to promote the local businesses in the Lowry Town Center. It also benefits local charities such as the local school programs in the area. The local businesses get together to serve wine and food to the participates. Each business will have a selection of wine from a certain area of the world and participates get to try different wines from all over the world and food. This year we helped Haley’s Heart providing them with what we constantly heard was the BEST food of the night! They also made the event memorable with a Photo Booth outside of their store for everyone to take complimentary pictures in! Blue Sky Photo Booth brought lots of props for everyone to have fun with. Michelle and I even got in on the photo taking action taking silly pictures for us to remember how much fun we had catering this event! We were so Happy to work with them. They have by far the CUTEST Store at Lowry Town Center filled with everything from Rockstar Baby Pacifiers to Rockies Baseball Bracelets to Home decor like Apothecary Jars. If you are ever down around Quebec and 1st Street and the Lowry Town Center make sure to stop by and bring you’re wallet! You won’t want to leave empty handed!

At the event we served our addicting Chicken Curry Puffs, Sun Dried Tomato Marinated Tomato and Mozzarella Balls, and Roasted Fennel and Artichoke Dip served with Toasted Crostini. Everyone was definetely coming back for seconds with this amazing array of appetizers!

Have a Great Weekend!!

Courtney Hall & YLo Team!

Close the Window on Hunger with Champion Windows!

yloepicure7 — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 21:36:34 +0000

Last week YLo helped Champion Windows Company of Denver end their Summer “Close the Window on Hunger” Campain with an amazing event at their 45th Street North Denver location! Their campaign resulted in a total of 106,786 POUNDS of FOOD!!!! The food will be donated to the Food Bank of the Rockies and Boulder Community Food. Please check out their campaign on their Facebook page here. We were soo Happy to be a part of this event! We loved being able to provide everyone who made their campaign sooooo successful with some amazing food! The Beautiful dessert display of Mini Cheese Cakes, Chocolate Covered Strawberries, and Chocolate Drizzled Cream Puffs was soo cute you couldn’t wait to eat to eat them up! We also did an appetizer buffet including our BBQ Mini Meatballs, Bison Sliders with Caramelized Onion, and Chicken Empanadas with Dried Apricots and Cranberries. Chef Yolonda also made her amazing Caramel Walnut Baked Brie en Croute with Fresh Berries and Crackers. The Brie is baked in puff pastry and you can wait to cut into it and get the Creamy Brie, Sweet Caramel Sauce, and savory Puff Pastry on your plate! It was such a fun event and we loved working with Lisa and the rest of the Champion Staff!

Happy Tuesday!

Courtney Hall & YLo Team!

The Votes are IN and the A-List Winners are…..

yloepicure7 — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 03:18:08 +0000

Thank you for all the support and votes we received form our Loving Friends, Family and of course amazing CLIENTS!!! Y. Lo Epicure recieved…….…..2nd Place!!!!!! For best caterer!!

Please check out the results here

We couldn’t be more excited because it gives us the chance to work even harder next year to get to be #1!!! We continue to thank you for all your support! We love the ability to continue to provide you with amazing food, personal service, and eye catching displays! We are also very thankful to be a rapidly growing small women owned business with the ability to be active in the community. And of course it is all THANKS to you, our clients, and the relationships you have allowed us to build with you. We thank you again for all of your and support!

Thank you again!

Courtney Hall & YLo Team!

Celebrate Labor Day with these Patriotic Dishes!

yloepicure7 — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 21:29:28 +0000

Where did the summer go? We can’t believe it’s already September and that it’s time to start switching out the warm summer shorts and t-shirts for jeans and sweatshirts! So before the cold weather officially arrives we’re celebrating Labor Day out in the warm sun with friends and family and some of these amazing Patriotic Dishes! We want to wish Everyone a Fabulous Holiday and hope you are able to enjoy some of these dishes as well!

Red, White and Blue Burgers

Ingredients

2lb Ground Beef

1 Cup finely chopped Red Onion

1/2 package Dry Ranch Salad Dressing Mix

1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup Red Wine (Cabernet Savignon preferred)

8 ounces Blue Cheese Crumbles

Directions

Preheat Grill to Medium-High Heat and lightly oil the grate. Mix together the above ingredients in a large bowl. Form 8 burgers. Cook for 8-10 minutes on each side until they are cook to your desired temperature. Have fun topping the burgers with more Blue Cheese, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Caramelized Red Onions, Bacon, etc and Enjoy!

Crowd Pleasing Very Berry Trifle

(courtesy of Sunny Anderson and Food Network)

Ingredients

1/4 cup plus 2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 premade angel food cake, cut into 1-inch slices
1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups heavy cream, at room temperature
2 pints blueberries
2 pints strawberries, hulled and sliced

Directions

Heat 1/4 cup sugar, the lemon juice and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and stir in the almond extract. Brush both sides of each slice of cake with the syrup. Cut the slices into 1-inch cubes. Beat the remaining 2/3 cup sugar and the cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until smooth and light. Add the cream and beat on medium-high speed until smooth and the consistency of whipped cream. Arrange half of the cake cubes in the bottom of a 13-cup trifle dish. Sprinkle evenly with a layer of blueberries. Dollop half of the cream mixture over the blueberries and gently spread. Top with a layer of strawberries. Layer the remaining cake cubes on top of the strawberries, then sprinkle with more blueberries and top with the remaining cream mixture. Finish with the remaining strawberries and blueberries, arranging them in a decorative pattern. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

We hope everyone has a FABULOUS Holiday Weekend!

Courtney Hall & YLo Team!