Defazio?s Catering Service in Richmond, Virginia

Golf, Grouper, and Gracious Hosts – Some things should never change.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit Myrtle Beach. Although the purpose of my trip was golf, my dining experience became the focus of my sojourn.  The group of men that invited me and organized the three day tournament is in my opinion highly unique. Unique, because this group has been converging on Myrtle Beach for over 50 years.  They gather twice a year for the same thing, it never changes, they won’t let it, it does not need to change, it is perfect as is. Golf is the excuse, laughter and needling are nonstop and the food is wonderful in a restaurant that is also largely unchanged.

Much like the group, this particular restaurant has been the mainstay for locals and tourists for a quarter of a century. It has proudly refused to succumb to the trendy fashions that plague so many of today’s restaurants.  Like the three generation of friends who meet there, it has no reason to change; nothing’s broke, it is perfect as is.

Not often have I witnessed a restaurant that the more it stays the same the better it tastes. Don’t get me wrong, I love the newest version of Asian fusion and I’ll be first in line to try the latest wok cooked pasta or whatever is claiming to be the cutting edge at the moment, however, the tried and true is definitely worth giving a shout out to.

If you love Italian, if you love seafood, if you love anything blackened, if you love classic Frank to dine by; you WILL love Rossi’s tried and true it is “the good stuff”.

By the way, did I mention that they also have a wonderful Piano Bar aptly named Eighty Eights……a perfect ending to your evening.

Thanks for stopping by,

Joe

If you have never heard of it do yourself a favor and Google it.

The City of Hope is a Los Angles based research center devoted to the study of and hopefully eradication of women’s cancers. It is one of only 40 such centers it the country. Currently Virginia does not have such a center.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of catering lunch for Team Markel which was over 200 strong of the estimated 1000 folks that converged on the nation’s capitol for the City of Hope’s walk for hope.
The purpose of this rally was simple; draw attention, educate and inform the public and raise awareness and money. Stories and testimonials were both inspiring and tear jerking. The statistics and numbers are frightening. Women of all ages, varying socioeconomic backgrounds and cultures are potential victims of the many debilitating and fatal forms cancer. At present the City of Hope has over 800 different studies and research projects under hand.

At the City of Hope’s request, Richmond’s own Anthony F. “Tony” Markel was asked and agreed to chair a very ambitious multiyear campaign to raise an unprecedented one billion dollars for research. To my knowledge there is no other effort in the county with goals set this high.

The Good Stuff.
Joe

Hello to all my foodie friends, my beloved customers, and my social network Fans. Finally…….drum roll please…… we have selected a date for DeFazio’s first official “Wives with Knives” quarterly social. Wednesday April 13, 2011

You are cordially invited to have a great time:

DeFazio’s Kitchen 2601 Tuckernuck Drive Richmond 23294
Join me and my staff along with other adventurous Foodies for a perfect, after work, salute to spring. There is no agenda and there is no charge except to meet new folks who share a love for The Good Stuff- and this time it’s all Italian.

We will taste, sample, and pair regional Italian wines including Prosecco to some of Italy’s premier cheese’s, We will –of course- play with knives, and offer expert instruction on basic knife skills.

It’s all Free; why? I say why not, we have all been cooped up all winter long, we all have been budget conscience, we all have been weight conscience ( at least the real foodies have) I say let’s celebrate DeFazio style. Come meet some new folks, share some recipes, drink some wine, eat some cheese, break some bread and play with knives in our 2700 sq ft kitchen.

Space is limited, there is no cost, this is a seasonal event and this one is free:

“ Wives with Knives” is The Good Stuff

The first 20 to register by emailing Joe@defazioscatering.com will be given a choice of a FREE PAIRING KNIFE ( the exact replica of the one that I use to carve vegetables into flowers and to flute mushrooms) or a grown from seed ORGANIC BASIL PLANT a perfect start for your herb garden.

For more information on DeFazio’s Catering, please visit our website or fan us on facebook.

Having been chosen to cater the commissioner’s suite at the CAA Tournament was quite an honor as we provided lots of delicious food and had so much fun! We have truly had a great time catering the Commissioner’s Suite at the CAA Tournament Friday – Sunday and even for the CAA Championship game tonight. It’s been a pleasure to have met so many great people.

During the tournament we wanted to switch it up a bit so we completely changed food spreads for every “session.” We had a variety of appetizing menu items to choose from. On Saturday, we have these tasty choices: BBQ, Mac and Cheese, Quesadillas, Tenderloin Kabobs and Meatballs. Then on Sunday, we thought we would do something a little fun, but simple too. On Sunday, we offered the following menu items: a taco bar (make your own tacos and nachos), Famous DeFazio’s “boat” of salads – tuna salad, chicken salad and pasta salads. Of course, we offered our yummy DeFazio’s desserts which included brownies, cookies, and cream puffs. Doesn’t all that food make your mouth water?

Come out and enjoy some of our incredible food while watching the VCU game. All of us here at DeFazio’s are excited and can’t wait for tonight’s final game! It’s going to be a close one! Go VCU!

For more information on DeFazio’s Catering, please visit our website or fan us on facebook.

March madness is of course basketball time, and it is a fun time for college basketball fans. DeFazio’s has been fortunate to have been selected to cater the commissioner’s suite, the media the players and sponsors over the years. This year we are proud to be back in the commissioner’s suit. We will provide lots of fun food and interesting Hors D’oeuvres for all the VIP s that attend.

The other Madness is Mardi Gras and New Orleans is one of my very favorite places to eat.

The mere mention of Mardi Gras can inspire many of us to blacken something, whip up a po-boy and spend Sunday slow cooking a file gumbo. If you have been to New Orleans then you know exactly what I mean. After two plus decades of professional foodie ism It is my opinion that New Orleans is in the top 3 cities in this country for food, not just Cajun food or spicy food but all food. Oysters, to benyets, street side lucky dogs, fried bayou catfish, chicory coffee, pralines and all the perfectly blended seasoning and spices make this town and region truly delicious. New Orleans is made up of Italians, French, African, American Indians, Irish , Germans, Greeks, Croatians, Spanish, Cubans and Filipinos all of whom have contributed to a flavors that are unequalled anywhere else in the world.

The food is truly gutsy full flavored and I love to cook it almost as much as I like to eat it. Join me and my “Wives with Knives” and we’ll make “the good stuff!”

PS: I have CAA tickets for my “Wives with Knives” send an email to joe@defazioscatering.com, tell me you favorite New Orleans restaurant or recipe and you could win tickets to your choice of games!!

For more information on DeFazio’s Catering, please visit our website or fan us on facebook.

OK,  I know that it’s ridiculously cold, enough so that I/we visit way too many Caribbean and Florida Keys websites when we have a spare moment. Just the thought of sandy beaches, wavy palm trees, blue  waters  —— makes you warm and fuzzy.  Then my mind drifts off,  as it often does,  blue waters just begs cold beer and the next ricocheting brain wave has me grilling on the beach with a cold beer ! Before you can say gas or charcoal I am searching for something to put on the barbee! Despite the fact that the temperature on my deck is minus nothing, birds are too cold to fly, the squirrels have on ear muffs, my cat refuses to go near the door for fear of joining the squirrels.  Fear not, I have fortitude , I have  passion,  I have thumbs (I have lost my mind according to my wife) and  I will grill.
So in the rare case that any of you suffer from this same affliction/addiction, the uncontrollable need to sink your teeth into whatever will transport  that charred taste across your tongue, I’m your man. Whatever  happens  to be pinging at your primordial desires,  be it meat, fish, fowl or even EVO laden portabella with a side of grilled eggplant.   I’m just saying…

Guessing that you don’t want to spend any more time than necessary cuddling your grill to stay warm, the following  grilling tips may come in handy.
First, use charcoal if at all possible.. The flavor is indisputably better and in the winter nothing is better than real fire.

Second, don’t rush. Give the coals plenty of time to reach maximum temperature. A light grey ash is your key.

Third, grill thermometers are never a bad idea. However, if you don’t have one don’t fret, your hand will do just fine. Place your palm exactly where you plan to place your food and count “one thousand one, one thousand two” you got it.  Six seconds is about 300 degrees, five seconds is about 325-350 and so on.  When 2 seconds results in OUCH or some other accepted cooking expletive, you are at 400 or higher. You may stop the palm torture and grill.

Fourth, controlling heat is a simple matter of regulating the air flow to the coals. All grills (I think) have one of those hickey- ma- jiggers that look like an old fashioned spin dial phone with no numbers. Close to lower heat and open to increase heat. Your grill lid should have holes or vents also. Always leave them open at least until you’re done grilling. The only time to close the top vent is when you want to smother the fire out.

Some grills allow you to raise and lower the grates to and away from the charcoal. This works too, but it is more fun to mess with the air flow. Grilling is “The Good Stuff.”

Thanks for stopping by… Joe.

For more information on DeFazio’s Catering, please visit our website or fan us on facebook.

Ok, so is everyone happy to be OVER the holidays? I for one always have mixed feelings.  Being the self-proclaimed neat-nick that I am, it is always a relief to get the house back in order. Simply reclaiming the frig and making the “clutter-b- gone “ (might be a cool name for a new ice cream filled with way too much stuff). I’ll get back to you after my next cooking class with my group of “Wives with Knives”. It’s certainly reason enough to rejoice in the season’s end.   At the same time, it’s sad to see the festivities come to an end and very sad to stop and wonder how many of us might not make Santa’s list next year. Or any list at all for that matter. We look so forward to being together as family. We visit our friends and we go to parties. We have parties we look back and remember past celebrations with fond memories and retrospect. All too often is the case that Christmas brings most of us together with friends, family, co-workers and neighbors, only to be over before we really have time to fully appreciate what just happened. Matters not if one is happy or sad to see it all come to an end we have little choice and we are painfully aware that the time has come for us to settle in and get a head start on another year. Also, we step on the scale and immediately decide nothing short of jogging to Pittsburg will correct the ills of our indiscretions. How could only twenty some days of 9000000000000 (which is about a bazillion) calories add up so fast? Scarrrry.

Looking forward to some healthy dining? I’ll be offering some great new recipes soon. If you can’t wait, call  or email me; ask me about “The Good Stuff.”

Thanks for stopping by… Joe.

For more information on DeFazio’s Catering, please visit our website or fan us on facebook.

Plantations, The James, more plantations, Herring Creek, Edge Water B & B, Christ Church and the Richmond skyline in your rear view mirror.  In just moments you can transcend time. In less time than it take to go through Car Pool, one can cruise out of the Bottom and into some of the most beautiful and historic farmland in the country.  Corn, wheat, barley, soybeans and never to be forgotten, cotton, are all grown on soil that so many before us, painstakingly cleared, toiled and died for in the name of freedom and a chance to make decisions for themselves.

The Charles City Tavern, formerly and fondly known as Indian Fields Tavern is a drive worth taking. The new owners Michael and Katie have managed to do what most of their predecessors could not.  They have become part of the community and are neighbors and friends with locals whom they care about and are cared for. One is certain to find a myriad of license plates in the parking lot. By design tourists make up a necessary portion of their business. But the locals count and it shows.  The food is hands down appropriate, prepared with care and skill and priced as it should be. The wine list, although a bit brief, offers a good quality affordable selection. The old farm house is full of charm and the staff is friendly and efficient.  If you go let me know what you think.

Thanks for stopping by… Joe.

For more information on DeFazio’s Catering, please visit our website or fan us on facebook.

Yesterday I had the occasion to join yet more friends, for more food and more wine and more cigars and more conversation laden with topics centering around more food and more wine and more cigars. With the occasional, mention of a horse, a hound, a fox (it was after all, Boxing Day, at least for us). It has been an eating, drinking, puffing marathon that I thought would end with the stroke of midnight.  And certainly I would wake up exactly the same weight I was on November 20th.      WRONG!

It’s as if the holidays will never end, it’s like Groundhog Day of self indulgence. It’s as if I haven’t already eaten everything from the  obligatory dry ham biscuits to succulent , mouth watering, char-grilled, rosemary rubbed, garlic flavored, Madeira glazed VEAL CHOP nearly the size of my lap-top. This Flintstone portion so spectacularly served with paper thin slices of gold potatoes layered in heavy, worth repeating, not light, but heavy cream with the slightest hint of shallots, nutmeg, white pepper and powdery mystifying sprinkle of Granna Padana, so, so, good.

But I digress.

For the majority of foodies and those who are forced to live with them/us I would suspect most were holed up at home watching one of the thousands of bowl games contemplating lypo or plastic. Many, I would argue had already begun that 1st of the year rite of passage when their resolve, guilt and self promises beckons them to open the frig and throw out everything that was not titled “light” or “low fat” or “free from something or other”.   Keeping and weeping only the celery and lettuce were to be salvaged.  But not my friends, not this group who will stop drop and roll out a dinner party, a tailgate, a BBQ, a lamb roast, a full  blown proper picnic, even a glamorous formal ball with the speed and grace of a stallion.  A hearty bunch that believe in the here and now. That all times should be good times, and yesterday and tomorrow are no different. It was “The Good Stuff.” And it all happened at the Charles City Tavern. Next time: the menu, the chef, the wine, the plantations, the reason to go and who to know.

Thanks for stopping by… Joe.

For more information on DeFazio’s Catering, please visit our website or fan us on facebook.