Whipping Up a Cat Power Special: Catering to All Tastes on Tour

Last week the esteemed indie artist CAT POWER, renowned for her soul-stirring tracks like "The Greatest" and "Sea of Love," graced the stage of the Pabst Theater as part of her 2024 tour, "Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert." Following a mesmerizing performance, detailed in a review by Milwaukee Record, she and her crew relished a meticulously prepared backstage meal courtesy of our talented Chef, Kevin Sloan, and his culinary team.

Before crafting a menu for an upcoming tour, we always start by reviewing what's known as the rider. This document outlines the hospitality needs of the tour, including dietary preferences and restrictions. It's essential to understand the group's dietary requirements before finalizing the menu.

For this particular show, like many others, we had a diverse range of dietary preferences to consider. Alongside those who are open to any cuisine, we had vegetarians, vegans, and individuals avoiding gluten and dairy. Here's a prime example of a dish we love to prepare for such guests. While we could have opted for traditional pasta, we chose to use zucchini noodles to cater to our gluten-free attendees.

 

What you will need:

3-4 zucchini

! tablespoon each of chopped garlic and shallot

4 oz mushrooms (We used king trumpet and oyster mushrooms)

1/2 cup vegetable stock

1-16 can of your favorite tomato sauce

3-4 ounces soy chorizo

4 oz or a handful of baby arugula

4-6 threads of saffron 

Extra virgin olive oil 

Procedure: 

Although zucchini noodles are found at most grocery stores these days, it's a noticeable upgrade to cut your "noodles" fresh at home. To do that, hop online and google "spiralizer". There are several affordable options out there and it's a fun piece of equipment to use. 

For the sauce:

In a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Add a drop of oil and saute your mushrooms. After a couple minutes add your garlic, shallot and chorizo. Add your veggie stock and reduce by half. Turn the heat to low and add your tomato sauce, stir to combine. Add your saffron, salt and pepper and turn the heat to low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. At the last minute you can stir in your arugula. 

For the Noodles:

Put your zucchini in the spiralizer turn out your 3-4 zucchini. When your done put the noodles in a mixing bowl, add 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive, and some salt and pepper and toss to combine. 

Plate up your noodles, and top with a ladle full of your tomato sauce!

Author

By: Kevin Sloan

Kevin Sloan is the executive chef for The Pabst Theater Group, leading the backstage experience for artists who visit the Group's venues. He has lead the full-service catering team since 2010.