Catering Services Proposal - Tokio Hotel Tour

Dear Tokio Hotel Management,

We’re looking forward to having you back in the U.S. for your Humanoid City Tour. We know you’re not ready to disclose details, but we want to help with the advance planning. As such, we present you with our proposal to be the band and crew’s hospitality and catering service.

Today and the next three days, you’ll see that we have wonderful meals lined up geared to the tour city, along with recipes for samples. We’ve even customized the menu for Tom’s and Bill’s vegetarianism, as well as Georg and Gustav’s more carnivorous tastes. We’d also be happy to make said recipes for your review.

Today, it’s New York. A city known for its wide variety of ethnic enclaves, and perhaps the best Italian food outside of Italy! We know that Tokio Hotel has their own ‘Kaulitz Pasta’, but maybe they might like to try this menu on for size:

Killer Koolaid
Caprese
Grilled Asparagus
Manicotti w/optional meatballs*
Toasted Garlic Bread
Tiramisu
*Manicotti w/optional meatballs, because the meatballs are the only non-vegetarian part of this dish. Tricia’s mother passed this recipe down to her.

Sauce: Start at least 4 hours ahead (can be made the day before)
3 large cans Progresso crushed tomatoes
1 small can Del Monte tomato sauce
Salt to taste
½ cup wine
½ tsp. chopped fresh basil
Pinch of oregano
Garlic (1 to 3 cloves to taste) sliced
Fry garlic in 1 tsp. olive oil until golden, not brown. Put all ingredients in a large pot with a lid (do not entirely cover pot, leave a vent). Simmer for 3 hours.

Manicotti: Dough-
2 cups flour
½ tsp. salt
1 egg
Enough water to make dough (about ¼ cup)

Make well in flour. Sprinkle with salt. Put egg in well and stir with finger until absorbed. Add enough water to form dough. Knead until smooth. Let rest for 15 minutes. Cut dough into fourths. Roll out ¼ at a time until opaque. Cut into rectangles and place on floured cloth to dry. Make filling. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Slowly add rectangles of dough in small batches. Keep at a boil while cooking each batch and immerse in cold water when noodles are al dente.

Filling –
2 large containers of ricotta
1 mozzarella, cubed
2 eggs
¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
(some milk if ricotta is dry)
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
Grated parmesan cheese for topping

Mix all ingredients, let stand in refrigerator while noodles dry.
Coat bottom of baking pan with sauce. Take one noodle at a time and drop a dollop of filling in middle of noodle. Roll up and place in pan. When pan is full, coat with more sauce, sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and freeze or bake in oven at 325degrees for 1 hour or until hot and bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Italian Meatballs:
1 lb. ground beef (over 10% fat, less than 20% fat)
3 slices day-old bread (slightly dry), crumbled in a blender
3 TBS fresh chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
3 TBS grated parmesan cheese
Salt to taste
1 egg
1/2 tsp lard (or olive oil, if you like, but lard makes it taste better)

In a large bowl, mix ground beef, bread, parsley, cheese, and salt with your hands. When well blended, add egg. Form into meatballs (about 1" to 1.5" diameter). Heat lard or oil in skillet, coating bottom. Add meatballs. Brown meatballs on all sides. Check center of one of the meatballs to see if it's cooked through. Add meatballs to your favorite sauce and let stew for at least 10 min.'s before serving. You can also leave them out of the sauce if you want to freeze them for a later date. Makes about 12 med. sized meatballs.

Thursday's menu heads to Houston, Texas.