School's in!

Yesterday was the official start of school. I don't have to be on campus until Wed, but my online classes opened yesterday. I have a real love/hate relationship with the first few days of the semester. I love getting the new school supplies and getting organized but I hate the cluster fuck that comes with setting priorities, and getting a feel for what can be last minute and what can't wait. Some classes are very casual and require only common sense, while others demand attention ASAP. I actually have already turned in 4 assignments, primarily start up stuff. I am as ready as possible for tomorrow on campus, having packed my knives, and cleaned my uniforms after 6 months of non use. I had to drop all in person classes last Jan after a car accident.I will be taking Quantity this semester which basically translates to working in the school's restaurant until December. I am excited about the pace, and the menu, according to the syllabus, looks great. We will be briefed this week on Fall's menu selections, and I will share it with you as soon as I can. I will also be keeping everyone up to date on what we learn in my classes and post recipes with technique notes and observations as they are discussed at school. Now I feel like I am getting closer to the mission of my blog...an outlet for school and life from an older student's perspective. Beware! Until I catch my groove and less serious students are weeded out due to natural selection, there will likely be lots of ranting. However as a crumb, I offer this... Public speaking online. Yeah, I found it humorous and sort of an oxymoron, too. That is until I signed up for my in person presentation. Now it makes a little more sense.
Okay, y'all..... it's go time!

Mission completed!!!

As promised, I am reporting on the catering gig. The result was flawless, with a call from my step mother last night giving me a glowing review, and promising more business. Getting there was a whole other story. As I said the other day, I had done a dry run and deemed the results good. Well, Tuesday morning was chaos. I woke up early to pad my production time, and thank God for that. The first two dozen biscuits were sad, pathetic, place adjective here. It seems that in my nervousness, I rolled the hell out of the dough and produced what appeared more like biscuit cookies. I cried as I took them out and examined them. I was frustrated, and sans coffee. Luckily, I was able to correct my mistake, and continue on to make 101 appropriately thick biscuits. Success. Next came assembly. As I cut and opened the biscuits, assembling them ten at a time, I used a basting brush to "paint" melted butter onto each side. Of course, in addition to taste, this provided much needed moisture since the goods would not be consumed until the following morning. Two large pieces of thick sliced ham, were then placed on to 98 of the biscuits. Wait...98? Didn't you promise 101 ham biscuits? Yes and yes. Sigh..... luckily, when I had the ham sliced at the deli, greedy little me requested a dozen sandwich thickness slices as well. So, I stacked those slices together and cut them to create the illusion of being the same. After all, the same meat was used for the others, and approximately the same thickness was achieved. As I packaged my wares in fancy little boxes (with cute name tags with the name of my operation on them) I began to think about delivery. They were due at 2:00. Of course my car broke down on Saturday, and the mechanic was coming to give last rites later Tues afternoon. (which in itself is another rant for another time) So at 12:30, I began trying to reach my best friend and "delivery guy" He has a no phone policy at the beach, and left me sweating until his 1:20 arrival. Personally I think he enjoyed it, as he loves picking on me like the sister he never had. At 1:50, Tuesday afternoon, the dropoff was complete. The lady who was actually in charge of coordinating the breakfast opened the boxes, and was pleased. Those are scratch! She proclaimed. She really thought I was going to use store bought biscuits and just pass the dish off as homemade. She also marveled at the size of the ham portion, smiling with anticipation.I was delighted that I had clearly exceeded her expectations. As I collected my check, I visited my stepmother's office. She has a great picture of my late father from back when he was still in good health. I clutched that check in my hand, hopefully the first of many, and silently thanked my Daddy for all he'd done and taught me. With tears in my eyes, we left and the first official job by my new venture was over.
Later that night, I was able to unwind by meeting my family, in from Atlanta, at the beach for some crabbing and fishing. Yup, despite the cookie biscuit fiasco earlier, Tuesday has to be honestly one of the best days of my life. I learned that I can do what I set my mind to, and fairly well at that. I just have to calm down a bit. I also learned to shirk my cheap ass ways and have ALL the ham for the next project cut uniformly and revel in the delight of a thick ham sammy should there be leftovers, or just not tempt fate and plan on eating turkey.
Last night, we had a celebratory dinner complete with steak, baked potatoes, and corn. I was so stirred up Tuesday, I had no time to immortalize the very first paid product I'd ever done, but I did take pics of dinner last night because it was so good, and really a celebration of my first solo success.It is featured in the margin. I know the potato does not look like a baker, but I am a skin girl married to Captain Starch so we split the potato for practicality and so he can hog all the chives.

Be right back....

lots going on... but there was ham biscuit success.....more to come! I will try to put down details tonight.

Dry Run or The 5 Ps

Prior preparation prevents poor performance.
Yup, I don't know if you care to call me anal or just a dork, but I did a dry run on the extremely cost effective biscuit recipe tonight. It went well. So well in fact, we had bacon biscuits for dinner. The ham is being saved for tomorrow. I did make one ham biscuit tonght just to have the hub test for quality of portion size. I got a 2 thumbs up. All systems go!

First solo gig

I am very excited today. Tomorrow I have my first solo gig. I have always been focused on being a caterer, for that is why I chose to go to school. I am only halfway through my formal culinary education so I made the choice a long time ago to NOT tell people I am going into catering so I could learn the business through experience and classroom time. Of course those close to me, my cheerleaders, have all known my ultimate goal and subsequently requested a favorite dish from me from time to time. That has been a great practice ground, and I have honed techniques and strategies during these "dry runs." Now I have entered a new dimension. I got a call last week from my stepmother asking if I would like to try my hand at the "real thing" that is, cooking for people I don't know, and attaching my name to said efforts. Assured that this would be easy and really nothing I haven't done before, she made a simple request and I said yes. So now, I am really looking forward to making a favorite southern treat. The ubiquitous ham biscuit. Actually I am looking forward to making a hundred of those bad boys. Easy? Yes. Probably a little boring and redundant? Yes. But I cannot wait! They are due tomorrow for consumption on Wed. morning. I will be making them tomorrow so they will be ultra fresh when I deliver them. I am excited for the opportunity to make a little money for myself doing something I love. It's like my own Olympics. I have been training and dreaming about the day I finally started making money for myself not someone else. Cocky? No. Nervous? Yes. But I am sure the staff will enjoy my offerings, and hopefully call me for more. I still am not looking to go full fledged yet, as catering management is actually a class I start next week. I do hope though that I will field a random call here and there for an order. I feel like I can do this if it is only word of mouth, as the big caterers will always be a first option for most of these folks. Plan B is exactly what I want to be right now. I accept that really this should be my current station in life. I am not yet ready to run with the "big dogs" I know this. A hundred ham biscuits is not exactly a foray into the wide world of catering but a good start. I will finally get feedback from strangers, not afraid of hurting my feelings. I am thrilled! I have made my shopping list, and found cute boxes at the paper store, and am ready for the challenge. I have printed an invoice as required by stepmother's employers. (yeah, I felt like I was "playing office" when I designed and printed it, just like a little girl!) and competitively priced my product. I will take pictures and post them tomorrow. If the oven craps out, we'll have a rant, otherwise this happy chef in training will be back tomorrow.

Thanks for making me who I am.....

I lost my father back in May. It was very difficult and I swore off funerals for at least a year. This week I had 2 more I had to go to. I just want to thank Gram and Gary for helping me become the person I am today. Y'all both had the list right, God, Family and Country. Thank you for loving me and teaching me........

Not such a pleasure

Again, one of my top 5 fave blogs has gone to hell. It seems there is a troll who has effectively turned me off. This nutjob managed to post under several different names, with each one having a different unsavory point of view. I am saddened that this psycho chose to turn a healthy discussion area into something where normal people like me are afraid to comment due to the rediculous replies. Nevermind the fact that I witnessed personal attacks on folks I respect who come off as balanced, opinionated (in a healthy way), and far from malicious. This jerk went so far as to dig up private info and threaten to exploit a person who in my opinion really has nothing to hide. This is disgusting. I am seriously considering issuing a warning not about this site but the fringe element of freaks the blogger's (well deserved) fame is bringing. I refuse to name names.Why won't I do it? Simple. I respect the owner and am capable of discerning blogger from commenter. It would not be fair to the blogger. This person is busy doing what attacted me in the first place (writing very well) and does not deserve anything but praise. Still this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. There is no effective way to eliminate the bad without alienating the good. I am frustrated by the lack of courtesy the troll extends to his host the blogger and the otherwise amiable audience and participants. I am uncomfortable by the threats and personal attacks. If you have aggression you need to turn loose, join a fight club or take martial arts or ride your bike as hard and fast as you can (call Ed for safety lessons, he is what is rght with cycling...a proactive educator) Do something, anything. Just please get out of the belltower with your laptop. When used by fairly sane people, the comment section of any blog can be enlightening and fun. I have learned plenty of great things and had many lol moments. When used irresponsibly, it can turn an otherwise good experience into one that leaves people on the fence about further particpation. That is where my seat is these days.
So..... what can be done? Obviously the blogger can delete comments at any time. I got rid of an advertisement on here the other day because all 5 of us that know this corner exists don't need to deal with that. But what about the highly successful blogs run by folks who may not be able to monitor comments daily (or monthly as is all I need) How should that work? As exhibited on the blog in question, replies from the other commenters only added fuel to the 7 named snake's fire. (yup something like 7 screen names!) Ignoring this kook only spawned other screen names and opinions, and the frequency of seeing his/her names on the screen actually shot up. The need for attention was amazing. Now after being called out in an equally scary way (I choose not to elaborate but let's leave it at fire with fire) the troll has gone back under the bridge. But not before doing exactly what he set out to do....scare off particpants. I am done with commenting as this is the second freak I've encountered in 4 months. While I doubt any of these sociopaths could ever actually track me down, I am sick of being afraid of comments and threats. I am sick of negativity on other's sites. I have my forum for ranting, and it affects nobody's readership but mine. It's like being at a pool party versus giving one. You can play Ratt's greatest hits at your house and that is fine. I'd opt for a mix of beach music. You can do whatever the hell you want at your house but it does not have to be okay at mine.The same is true for my cyber living room. If it is not appropriate or in the spirit of the blog you are visiting, go and put your fingers of fury to work at your own site.
Still she digresses. Has anyone got any creative solutions for dealing with lunatics on a blog? Or to tie this into food somehow, what do you do when your favorite restaurant is not as appealing because of a few bad patrons that are always there when you are? How do you breach this without being "that complaining dude"?
Lastly a crumb for thought..... does Ratt even have enough songs to warrant a "greatest hits" or does that just falsely imply they had more than one hit?

Sausage!

It is approximately 5 million degrees here, and we are hungry. I really do not feel like "cooking" but we have to eat, right? Ahhhh, one trip to Earth Fare later and we are stoked about dinner. The easy way. Hans All Natural sausages are our favorite solution for the dinner conundrum. Delicious and easy to prepare, these amazing treats come in several varieties, my fave being Spinach and Feta. The Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic always makes it into the basket as it's the hub's fave. They come in so many flavors, surely anyone can find a favorite. For those seeking heat, I find the basil and sundried tomato recipe will do you right.They all go well with nearly anything, but usually, I whip up a pasta salad or some other easy side. Tonight it was a quick fettucine alfredo. Of course, the sausages can also be used in most recipes where sausage is an ingredient.We like to mix and match, and these sausages are priced right for even the most frugal among us to pick up a couple types. I am not sure about other places, but Hans also can be gotten from the butcher at Whole Foods and Earth Fare. This is great for the noncommittal among us as you can literally get one of everything so you can do some sampling and find your "flavor fit" The fresh (arriving frozen as one butcher let me know) sausages are slightly larger than those that are prepackaged, so an adjustment will have to be made for portioning. All in all, these sausages save me from spending time in the kitchen on hot days, and are great for a busy winter day as well. I highly recommend this easy delicious food to all, they are wonderful. Priced right, they are great for any budget and perfect for large or small groups of diners.


What has this got to do with the chef in training? I have garde manger in the spring, and this food makes me look forward to the charcuterie portion of the class so much more. The rant? I'm not sure my husband will like my links as much as he adores Hans.

the end is near!

It is official, August is here. The end of a long summer. School starts on the 20th of this month. I can go purchase my books soon, and decide which elements of my uniform need to be replaced. I plan on picking up binders next time I am at Target, and the printer has new ink to print all my sylabi. I have a stable of white shirts to wear nder my coats, and the Danskos will most likely make it to December. I personally love the Dansko brand, having worn them for years now. I hate getting new ones because they take so long to break in. I try to purchase new ones during the winter so I can wear them alot in a short amount of time to break them in. (during the summer, I HATE shoes!) I have been working on my knife skills, and terms so it will not be as obvious that I haven't been in a kitchen lab in 8 months. I plan on practicing cutting a chicken, and my husband fishes under the guise of helping me practice cleaning fish. I guess the biggest challenge is going to be packing the knife kit. I washed my knife kits this summer, I had two one for pastry and one for everything else. I now have to wade through a ton of knives and figure out which ones are necessary.
Yes, the party is over, and I cannot ait for school.