The Boulder House, located in North Scottsdale in the landscape of the Sonoran Desert, is considered by many to be a cultural and architectural masterpiece. The house sits in, around, over and under 38,000 square feet of granite boulders and is very appropriately listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

We were honored to cater a reception at the Boulder House, with the menu featuring an elegant twist on Southwest cuisine.

While many Southwest menus include traditional nachos and tamales, the fare created for the event incorporated our modern perspective on the recipes. Our nachos were served with smoked duck and goat cheese paired with sweet potato and green chili tamales and blue point oysters served in a martini glass under a delicate Bloody Mary sauce and cracked pepper.

The appetizers went on to include crab cakes topped with smoked paprika and stone ground mustard aioli, as well as sweet Mexican shrimp sautéed with white wine and cilantro atop grilled rustic bread.

For dinner, guests had the option of toasted cumin beef tenderloin and sea bass served with green chili-cilantro mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus drizzled in a poblano red wine sauce or goat cheese and chive enchiladas.

The night finished with a Mexican chocolate cinnamon tart, a warm ancho-infused ganache, drizzled with cajeta and a goat cheese pound cake topped with fresh blackberries and jalapeno ice cream.

The Boulder House was the perfect venue to host this beautiful Santa Barbara Southwest menu.