Allison Balow

Beach wedding on a budget.

Allison — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 22:58:09 +0000

I recently catered a beach-side wedding for a good friends brother who was getting married. They had a tight budget and wanted to just do appetizers. I had to get creative and look for items that would serve more for less $. The wedding had a vintage theme so I found old vases, plates, glasses and table clothes at thrift stores. Here’s a peak:

A Baby Blessing.

Allison — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 22:23:57 +0000

My friend Alli is expecting her first baby in October. I have a few other friends who are very involved in birth and wanted to throw Alli a special type of baby “shower” this one a little more spiritual and focused on the mother. Never have experienced this myself I opted to do the food and decorations and let them take care of the rest.

Care to Macarena?

Allison — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 22:16:49 +0000

My father tuned 60 this spring and we knew a surprise was in order. We decided on a “fiesta” theme, well equipped with margaritas, corona, taco bar, giant pinata, Spanish music and guests were encouraged to dress the part.

Xmas Treats.

Allison — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 22:02:44 +0000

I do really like the holidays, aside from the over played holiday tunes and the mass consumption, I can dig it. This year I made a bunch of treats for friends of mine. I found these great cardboard containers that worked well with chocolate covered “cigar-pretzels”, beer nuts, cranberry-almond bark, and homemade dog treats.

Embracing 30.

Allison — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 21:51:28 +0000

I have never been a big fan of my own birthday. But turning 30 this year I decided the only thing I could do was to embrace it. I decided to rent a cabin up on the north shore near the town of Tofte, MN. I have always loved it up there and found a great place that would sleep 12 people. I created my own invitations including a save the date, sent out secret dinner themes to guests ( teams of two would be responsible to create a meal following my chosen theme for them, like “Night on the Mediterranean” or “Minnesota Comfort”) This way all the meals were planned and everyone only had to worry about one. I also decided that there was to be a talent show. The Cabin afforded a lot of space for this and it turned out to be an incredibly funny evening and I was impressed how much effort my friends had put into preparing their talents. I guess turning 30 wast so bad after all ;)

Gift bags I made to say “Thanks” included some of my favorites; bit-o-honey, cowgirl cookies, and a compilation CD composed of a favorite “dance song” I requested each quest to send me.

Grooms Dinner with 100% Chance of Rain.

Allison — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 21:40:44 +0000

I was asked to cater for a family friend’s grooms dinner. There were to be around 60 people, and this was my first paid cater gig. Along with the bride and groom we decided on a “French Country” theme. Which would consist of a big white tent in the open air on a hill, lots of comfort food, wine in mason jars, candles, music and lots of flowers. A few of the items I made were pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw, panko crusted chicken pops, roasted corn salad, apple slaw salad, cheese board, bruchetta, stuffed mushrooms, white chocolate dipped cherries, lots of bread with homemade honey butter. I had a budget and found lots of the items at thrift stores including,white table cloths, vases, and picture frames.

The day of the dinner the weather looked scary…and about two hours before the tornado sirens were screaming. Before everyone arrived we had to jump into plan B mode and create a space indoors that would work for all the quests and the tables. Even though it wasn’t quite the aesthetic I was going for (having the party move inside) it worked.

A Thai Farewell.

Allison — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:55:25 +0000

My younger brother Ryan was excepted to the Peace Corps in Thailand. So a great send-off party was in order. I decided a Thai theme, so thoese who were not familiar with the culture and food could get a little taste. The menu consisted of curries, spring rolls, satay, rice, shrimp, fruit, noodles, Thai Ice Tea and lots of beer. I created a postcard for the invitation along with fact card about Thailand and the Peace corps to set on tables, we had books on Thailand, videos in the the background playing travel shows on Thailand, and we tried to dress as “Thai” as we could find. It was a fun party and I think it helped my brother get a little more excited for his venture.

I created a blog for friends and family to follow Ryan throughout, these were little cards they could take along so to remember the URL.