Friday, December 31, 2010

New Year's Eve, or as they say here in the Caribbean, Old Year's Day. Jordan and I got up at 6am to take a 6:45am taxi to Sapphire Marina for an all day motor boat tour of the BVI. We visited "The Baths" at Virgin Gorda first which is about a two hours by boat from St Thomas. I've added a with April and Jordan picture and without while traversing the "walkabout" we did at the Baths. The Baths are located 1.2 miles south of Spanish Town, the largest settlement on the island. "The Baths" are a unique playground, for anyone limber enough, because of of a unique geologic formations made of giant granite boulders and saltwater filled pools. Some naturalists call it the "eighth wonder of the world". From there we motored to Marina Cay, a small island off of the east end Tortola. We had lunch at Pusser's, which has not only a beach restaurant and bar, but a small store. I did not buy anything as I pretty much live with island surroundings every day. After we got back on the boat, there was so much rocking, that I re up lunch. Haven't gotten seasick for years! From there we motored about half a mile to a portion of the coral reef that is just off Tortola. I stayed on the boat while Jordan snorkeled with the group. There was an older man who also had no desire to snorkel so we stayed on board and talked. He lives in Maryland near Annapolis with his wife. His kids are all grown with kids of their own. He would love to retire in St Thomas but his wife told him if he moves down here, he moves by himself so he just comes to visit. From the snorkeling adventure, we motored 45 minutes to Jost Van Dyke, our last stop. We had a drink at the "Soggy Dollar" Beach Bar, which got it's name from Americans who would swim to shore and pay for drinks with their "soggy dollars". I thought they were kidding, but when we arrived at Jost Van Dyke, we did indeed have to swim to shore or stay on the boat. I saw some of the larger sailboats had small dinghies attached to them so people could motor in, but otherwise there is no dock or water taxi service here. So, no choice but to jump in and swim ashore! There was already a LOT of partying going on as this is New Years Eve. We stayed for about an hour and then headed back to the USVI. We had to stop at St John, which is the Point of Entry for the USVI by boat. We went thru customs, then got back on the boat to return to St Thomas. It rained for ten minutes while we were on Jost Van Dyke and it turned cold (if you can call 70 degrees cold, lol). There were 2-6 foot swells on the Atalntic while we motored back so the captain had to slow the boat down so the ride was not rougher than it already was. A taxi driver named O Neal was there to pick us up and take us back to Bolongo.

We took warm showers, then headed to the Lobster Grille. This is where all the festivities for New Years was to happen. We had a nice dinner of NY Steak, Blu Cheese mashed potatoes and green beans. We finished about 9:30pm and went back to our room where I promptly fell asleep! Being outside all day wears you out, not to mention the fact that I've had a noisy neighbor the last five days (Jesse, one of the kitchen chefs. Bolongo has been fixing a leak in his apartment so had him move to the resort until it gets fixed.) who has woken us up at 1 or 2 am every night when he comes back from partying. :-(.

Jordan woke me up at five minutes to midnight so we could join the merry making at the Lobster Grille. "how often do you get to celebrate New Years in the Caribbean", he said. And he was right. We got our party hats after we got to the restaurant turned dance party, our noise makers and counted down the New Year with all the guests and employees at Bolongo. Every one was very happy! Jordan and I danced and hugged a few people and wished everyone a Happy New Year, then headed back to our room about 1am. I have to work at 9am tomorrow!! Ugh!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

The phone in my room rang at 7:30 this morning. It was Lori from HR. Some one had called in sick at the Lobster Grille and she wanted to know if I would work for a few hours. What could I say but yes? I told her I was still in bed and she said that was ok cause I just have to walk out the door to work. If I had know I was going to work today, I would have gone to bed earlier (it was after 11pm when we went to bed) and I would NOT have had two rum punches on the boat nor would I have had two glasses of wine with dinner! Needless to say, it took a while to wake up.

I was at work by 8am, and found Millie and Carl working. Cliff had called in sick. They told me to fill in where needed. As Carl was working pantry, I helped Millie with the line cooking. It was busy but not crazy. They are still running their breakfast buffet. By the end of the morning, she told me I was perfect at breakfast (who'd have thought?) unlike some people she knew (Carl?). I don't know about that...

I left at 11am. Jordan and I sat by the pool for a while and we are now heading to downtown Charlotte Amalie. Deloris Parsons from Tortola was our taxi driver and drove the taxi that first took us to Red Hook then downtown. Apparently there was a shortage of available taxis at the time we went. So we hitched a ride with people going to Red Hook to catch a ferry, then turned around and went back to Charlotte Amalie. We dropped off my laundry since it was on the way to Red Hook. I'm sure the other passengers thought I was crazy to be dropping off my laundry, but it works for me!

We walked thru the downtown area once we arrived. I'm afraid Jordan was quite disillusioned by it all. It was store after store of jewelry, clothing (some designer) or souvenirs. We kept walking until we got to Frenchtown in the eastern part of Charlotte Amalie. They have a few supposedly good restaurants there so we went on a search of menus for all these places. We saw Epernay, Craig & Sally's (their menu changes nightly and they don't post it until 5:30pm at night), Hook, Line &Sinker, Bella Blue, and Oceana. We ended up having a drink at Oceana. I've added a picture of our view from Oceana. I took some pictures which I will post soon. Sme important person's yacht was sitting off shore-it was huge! Then we walked back to Epernay for dinner. On our first trip, we met Asia, whose boyfriend is the owner. She's from Las Vegas. I don't know why, but we hit it off and she introduced me to Michael the owner, his business partner, their architect (who lives in New York) and the chef, Jake. We spent quite a bit of time talking. You never know when networking might come in handy! We had Goat Cheese Croquettes served on a bed of tomatoes all sitting in an endive leaf, garlic spinach and meatloaf with mashed potatoes ( I know, comfort food, but it just sounded good to me!). We took a cab back to Bolongo and had eggnog at the bar. We are getting up early to go the the BVI (British Virgin Islands) at 6:45 am tomorrow. It is an all day tour-should be fun!!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Third day on days. I was in pantry today and started by chopping fruit (cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon and pineapple). Millie must have taken my knife from me five times, trying to show me exactly how she wanted the fruit cut (I was cutting too small), then showing me how to chopped faster, and finally "borrowing" my knife to cut something for herself. I admit to being a little ticked off about that, the islanders think nothing of just picking upnamknife, cutting board, etc to use, instead of getting their own. Doesn't seem to matter if you were going to get something and then come back. You weren't using it when they picked it up were you? They thought I was made about being in pantry and not line cooking (I wasn't) because I think Millie was right, you need to learn all the stations. And I told them so, although I didn't tell them why I was really irritated, it wasn't worth the aggravation, I just need to work on my attitude, people are what they are.

Breakfast from 7:30-10:30am, lunch from 11:30am to 2:30pm. There is time to tear down then set back up for the next mealtime. And the regulars take lots of breaks. I brought a lunch meal to the kitchen so I could know what went with what. They do have specific ideas for plating each dish, but every one seems to do it a little differently. Kinda like the same, but different, lol.

After work (and rather than sitting around until quitting time, I leave when I am done), Jordan and I went on the sunset cruise. It is beautiful and relaxing. I love sailing! After we came back, we visited Harry at the bar, then had dinner at the Lobster Grille. Prime rib, mashed potatoes and asparagus. Jordan had a wedge salad. Turns out he did not like the sour sop dressing. It has an unusual taste and I think you either like it or you don't.

After dinner, we walked down to Iggie's where they were having "Carnaval". He got to see King Herron walk on glass (not on lighted glass, poor guy could not get it to burn, too windy) and do the limbo while balancing burning bottles (kind of like lighted candles). Then Jordan dragged me up on stage for the last dance of the evening. Vernita saw me and called out my name, so he felt he had to help her get people up on their little stage. Ah, well, there are worse things I could be asked to do! I am off tomorrow and am looking forward to sleeping in!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

For some reason the drains at the Lobster Grille backed up last night and they had a crew working on them all night. I didn't hear anything but Jordan says he could hear them snaking the lines intermittently during the night. Poor guy didn't get much sleep! Me, I really didn't hear much after I fell asleep.

My second day on day shift! I saw Janee left them a note that Paul (one of the owners) was getting complaints about the buffet food and that they needed to remember to season things AND not deep fry the sausage cause it was drying out too much. So, the sausage got baked in the oven along with the bacon. I saw they added heavy cream and sour cream to the scrambled eggs for the buffet. Roy, one of the day line cooks, appears to season most of the food he cooks. I made sure I added a little salt and pepper to things but just did it, I did not ask if I should or could. Jordan said he had the corned beef hash with eggs ("the New Englander") and that if was "ok". It just goes to show that turning out good food takes persistence and being vigilant. I still take it kind of personally though. I didn't put the corned beef hash dish together, just watched. Me, I don't care for it, not to mention it comes out of a can. I still am amazed at all the pre-made items they use here. And maybe every restaurant does, I don't know. But I think if you really want to be good, you need to make more from scratch.

I am finally realizing that no one here expects much of me-a difficult concept after all my years as the eldest daughter and being a nurse. So if I want to bake (which I am discovering is what really makes me happy), I ask permission, but just do it. No one see,s to mind. Today I made Oatmeal Cranberry cookies and Chocolate chip cookies. I took a tray of cookies up to the front desk, but put out the rest of the cookies for staff lunch. They quickly disappeared, lol! I also put together the dough (enough for one loaf), of the artisan bread I make at home (I did not learn this at school). It turns out well every time, so we'll see what it does here. It sits for 12-18 hours making pretty much it's own flavor from the length of time it ferments in the bowl. I left it out until I left work today, then I put it in the reach in to slow down the fermentation process. I also added more yeast. It is so warm and humid here, I didn't want it to get out of hand! We'll see what it
does in the morning.

It's raining in paradise so is cloudy. Not sure what we'll do tonight. The Lobster Grille is open for business tonight, the first Tuesday it's been open in many months. We opted to go to Red Hook to check out XO Bistro, but it was closed! We walked around a bit then settled on Coco Blue, the sister restaurant to Bella Blue in Frenchtown. I was so impressed by their Polenta Fries that I took a picture!

I think I may make more cookies tomorrow......

Monday, December 27, 2010

My first day shift on the Lobster Grille! It's not as easy getting up early as I used to working as a nurse, lol. BUT, I can get up at 6:15am and roll out the door (and walk the 20-30 feet to the Grille kitchen) in half an hour. I have a uniform, so don't worry about what I'll wear! I did a little prep-put unpeeled potatoes on to boil and chopped some onions, but jumped right to cooking on the line (I usually only get to do that at Iggie's). First set up for breakfast-they crack about four dozen eggs for the day, for use in scrambled eggs, omelets and the breakfast burrito (the Bolongorito). They make a huge vat of pancake mix about ever other day. They bake their bacon in the oven, about 3-4 pounds a day. Then I watched them deep fry their breakfast potatoes, the onions that go in the potatoes, and their sausage patties! Unfortunately the sausage dries out and tastes terrible! I must confess here that when I asked Jordan how breakfast was, he told me it was the worst meal he's ever eaten-which says a lot, because he rarely complains about food! He said none of the food had any taste and the sausage was very dry. He likes sausage so was very disappointed. The restaurant runs a buffet when they are full or close to it, to make it easiernon the kitchen staff and waiters. I must also confess that I passed this to Janee mainly because I feel this is a reflection on me, even though I didn't have anything to do with the buffet food, it was done by the time I came in. She said she'd take care of it. At 10:30am, we put all the breakfast things away. Lunch starts at 11:30am so once that's ready, everyone takes a break.

Lunch is hamburgers, hotdogs, fish sandwiches, french dip sandwiches, chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, French fries, deli-type sandwiches, salads, and probably a few things I don't remember. I didn't see them season anything today (!). In that regard, I think Iggie's does a better job at cooking these types of foods. At 2pm, when there was nothing else to do, I asked to leave. I guess I have a hard time sitting around doing nothing at work. I need to put a more positive spin on this somehow. I used Jordan as an excuse to leave when I wasmtold there was nothing else to do.

I went back to my room and showered, then Jordan and I walked down to Iggie's where I had hummus and chicken satay. They didn't realize I was the intern so were going to charge me, so I had to talk to the bartender because there wasn't a supervisor to talk to. When that proved to be unhelpful, the waitress told me she would just wait for a manager and let them deal with it. Nice! Dinner we ate in the room cause the Lobster Grille was busy. I am being eaten alive again by bugs! Ugh! More bug spray!

Saturday, December 25, 2010

It's Christmas Day and almost everyone is in a good mood, lol. Not everyone seems happy to be working Christmas and I guess I can't blame them. Jordan was suppose to be here by 12-12:30pm but his American flight was late getting into San Juan so he and quite a few other people missed their connecting flights. They finally got him on a local flight (8 seats!) and he was here at 3:30pm. Before he even put his bags in the room, he wanted a tour of Bolongo! So I showed him around and introduced him around. He loves this climate and the ocean, so he seems very happy so far. As I write, he is "taking a stroll in the night air", ever the geographer that wants to know exactly where he is. We had an actual sit-down dinner at the Lobster Grille. Victor was our waiter-he was very nice. The new menu is out, although they have been cooking from it already, practicing and offering the new items up as specials. Jordan and I shared the smoked salmon appetizer complete with dill cream cheese, toast points, capers, diced tomatoes and onions. Jordan had the Grille salad with Sour Sop dressing. I had to explain what sour sop was-it's a tropical fruit that tastes a little like pineapple but has a somewhat waxy consistency. He seemed to like it. Then I opted for the traditional meal, although I couldn't decide whether I wanted turkey or ham , so I had both! Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, bourbon glazed sweet potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and asparagus. It was really good! We sat in the upstairs dining area. I've never sat there before! Nice view! It is very nice having Jordan here.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas everyone! Although it still doesn't seem like Christmas! All I did today was prep, prep, prep. I feel I am nearing the expert level of potato peeling and chopping vegetables. We were busy tonight as it was a holiday and apparently we will be busy tomorrow night also. Despite that, I made island rice (finished what I started last night), peeled sweet potatoes, then sliced them-twice cause they were too thick the first time, peeled russet potatoes, chopped TWO different piles of mirepoix, opened two large cans of sliced apples and then flavored and sweetened them and cooked them, made a crumble to top apple pies, made lobster stuffing and then finished by putting the pies together (pre-made, frozen pie shells). All while Ryan, Janee and Jesse worked the line making dinners. And of course Willie on pantry. I was ready for the evening to be over.

Jordan comes tomorrow and I am looking forward to that, and to having two days off. My schedule next week is kind of crazy. I work 7am to 3pm Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday working breakfast and lunch at the Lobster Grille. Thursday I have off, Friday, New Years Eve, I work 2-10pm at the LG and Saturday(!!) 9am to 4pm. Kinda sucks, I think, but what do you do? Anyway, forget all that for now. Time for bed. I'll try to get some more pictures up, but need to use my computer for that and that means going to the conference center, so I'll work on that.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

I was feeling a little better this morning, although I only had toast for breakfast as I wasn't sure how my stomach would react. After a few texts, Janee lent me her car again so I could pick up my laundry and drop hers off at the same time. Otherwise, the morning was quiet. I got a call from Jackie Engel at Cook Street School, my Alma mater. She was checking on me to see how I was doing.

Janee was off, so it was Ryan, Drew, Willie and myself. Ryan started panicking because besides the regular menu, we offered a pre-fix holiday menu at the Lobster Grille. In all fairness to Ryan, Paul, one of the owners, had added a few things to the menu without discussing them with the kitchen staff. We had most of the items, but no one likes surprises like that! Everyone thought we were going to be very busy and we were, but not crazy busy. I made stuffing, turkey gravy, Bourbon glazed sweet potatoes (no recipe for me to follow, just "make some bourbon glazed sweet potatoes"! I looked online and adapted a Food Network recipe.). Ryan had already put the turkeys in to roast before I got there. Once all the prep was done, there was really nothing for me to do. It was kind of a discouraging day. Ryan basically just wanted me to stay out of the way while he and Drew worked the line. I do understand his thinking but it's moments like this that make me wonder why I'm here. Since I wasn't feeling all that great anyway, I asked to leave early.

I did get a package from Jordan today and a Christmas card from my friends Kasia and Gary. Always nice to get mail! It still doesn't feel like Christmas and given the setting, it likely won't. It's hard to complain about the setting though!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Iggie's at 9am was they way I started my day. I set up the pantry station, cut lettuce two ways, chopped tomatoes two ways (different applications), cubed watermelon, diced cucumbers and cleaned. Then it was time for the lunch crowd. I worked the line, mostly by myself. It was Mary and I although Eric, the new kitchen manager was in and out of the kitchen, only occasionally helping. I made hamburgers, mahi burgers and mahi salads, "Macho Nachos", made what seemed like a million French fries, my first fried oysters (!), fish and chips (did I mentioned I would not order this myself-too weird!), chips and salsa, turkey club sandwiches (no tomato, add cheese, hold the mayo), chicken satay, crab cakes, all the while trying to keep everything straight! On top of this, I was dizzy and nauseated (a couple of people have been sick here but I was fine up until breakfast this morning) but didn't want to leave Mary all by herself. Eric did not off to relieve me but did call John, his manager, to see if he could get someone to come in to relieve me. Mary also had to prep for the West Indies Buffet so she was pretty upset at Eric didn't offer to help-called him lazy, lol. I don't know..... By the time I got relief (2pm), I was feeling a little better but I've been sipping on ginger ale most of the day, hold the food.

I did need to drop off my laundry though, otherwise I wouldn't have anything to wear to work! Janee was too busy to take me but lent me her jeep (as long as I trusted myself to drive, lol). I had to keep reminding myself to drive on the left side of the road! I dropped off my laundry, wondering if I would have enough gas, so stopped to fill Janee's gas tank. After I filled the tank and turned the car back on but nothing happened! It was then I discovered NONE of the dashboard gauges worked! I had been so concerned about driving on the correct side of the road and having enough gas, I never noticed the gauges didn't work, lol! Oh, well, Janee has been nice enough to run me around tp places when I need to go out, it was the least I could do.

I spent the rest of the day and evening in my room, sipping ginger ale and skipping dinner. Hopefully what ever this is will pass quickly.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

I was up at 7:30 this morning but certainly not awake! It's hard to work til 10pm and then go home and go to bed. After a few cups of coffee and a good breakfast, I was off to Iggie's for the day. I worked with Mary. She is an islander, although originally from Dominica. She has such a strong accent and talks so fast, I often have to ask her to repeat herself. I made coleslaw again (6 heads of cabbage this time), cleaned chicken hindquarters of the extra fat but then also cut off the extra skin and separated the legs from the thighs (Mary showed me one way, then Eric the new kitchen manager/chef showed me another way, then Mary came back and was upset I wasn't doing it HER way. I finally had to tell her I couldn't do it her way-two whacks and she has the parts separated-that did not work for me!). I chopped a few other things then started working the line with her. We were busy for a couple of hours so time passed quickly. At the end of the day Mary told me I was a fast learner! Will wonders never cease! She also told me it was very nice working with me. I was suppose to work at Iggie's til 4 but the day shift from the Lobster Grille called and asked Eric to send me down there to help cook lobsters. When I walked oitside, it was cloudy and looked like rain, so maybe this was a good day to work. Apparently we got a shipment of fresh lobster and they must be cooked while they are still alive. The staff had not been able to finish cooking the lobsters, so I got to stay and finish. I've never had to plung those bug like creatures to their death! And let me tell you, most of them do NOT want to be boiled in anything, lol. When you pick them up either from their big "antenna" of by grabbing their back, their tails flap back and forth like little clickers. Can't say as I blame them! I finished about 5:30pm, then showered and went to have a drink with Harry, the bartender. Gotta watch Harry, he makes really strong drinks!

I walked down to Iggie's for dinner. Skipped the "all you can eat crab" and had a cheese quesadea. I've discovered there are things I won't eat at Iggie's-like their fish and chips, after working in the kitchen. There are many chefs who don't like eating out, saying they can make better food themselves. I wonder if they are ever concerned with how things are made? And THAT'S why they eat at home, lol. Who knows? I ran into Jesse, Ryan and Janee coming back from a day on a power boat with Pogan (whose also a bartender here at Bolongo-it's a small island, lol). They said it was cold but they had a good time anyway. I stayed for a bit to talk with them, or rather listen to Jesse who could talk your ear off! Since I need to go to bed at a reasonable time, I didn't stay late. I am back at Iggie's tomorrow. We'll see what adventures await!

Monday, December 20, 2010

It was a quiet morning, spent reading up on bread baking. I went into work a little early so I could start my bread dough rising. The first rise went well, although the dough was quite wet and ended up being hard to work with. I made up eight loaves but only four were usable because they failed to rise much in the second rising. Janee told me she's had to use twice the yeast for bread she's made on St Thomas. I was already planning to decrease the water in my recipe. It called for 6 cups of lukewarm water, 3 Tbsp yeast, 3 Tbsp salt and 13 cups of flour which made 8 one pound loaves. I'll need to pay more attention to the way the dough looks and feels and not so much on exact measurements. At least the bread tasted good!

I ran the pantry by myself today. Which means I made lots of salads-wedge salads, grille salads, ceasar salads-and plated desserts (key lime pie, banana chocolate chip cake, mango cheesecake and tiramisu. I was really ready to sit down when it was all over! I think I'm getting better at plating desserts but don't really feel they need a lot of "hoo ha" on the plate. It should hilight the dessert!

Tomorrow and Wednesday, I work down at Iggie's, 9am to 4pm. I'm suppose to work the line so we'll see what happens. I'm not sure everyone at Iggie's knows what to do with me, lol! Bolongo just hired a kitchen manager so hopefully he will "whip those people into shape".

Sunday, December 19, 2010

It was another lovely day in paradise. I slept in, had breakfast while watching a group of new comers with children sit by the pool. One of the iguanas showed up poolside and everyone went crazy. Then Vernita (from the gift shop and the lady in charge of activities) showed up and showed them how to feed the iguana (she fed it hibiscus flowers). The Richard (one of the owners) showed up and about had a cow, saying NO one was suppose to feed the iguanas because they didn't want to keep cleaning up iguana poop and next time it happened they were going to call Vernita to clean it up. It was pretty funny to watch, lol.

I did not get a tour, I've been waiting to see which ones Jordan would like to do when he arrives on Saturday, Christmas Day. Instead, I read a cookbook on bread making-very interesting. I did sit out by the pool for about 1 and 1/2 hours, working on a tan. I talked to my sister, Janell for a while, then walked up to Mim's restaurant for dinner. If you follow the beach toward Iggie's and then keep going, you run out of beach. At that point there are stairs you can walk up and there is Mim's. It seems like a nice little place. They sat me outside with a great view of the bay. The pictures I took are a little dark-no "city" lights to brighten them up. Mim's charge for lobster starts at $49.99 and goes up from there! Wow! The Lobster Grille (LG) charges less for their lobster, so if I decide I want lobster, I'll eat it at the LG! I stopped in at the LG and had a drink with Harry, the bartender. He's a really nice guy in his 70's. He's French but was born here on St Thomas. Nice man. Then back to my room to read for a bit before bed.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Since it was such a pretty day, I spent some time lying out by the pool. Jordan sent some of the books I bought while in school but I didn't get a chance to read so until they get here, I am doing online searches for cooking related articles/courses. Interesting to see what's out there!

When I got to work today, I made another big vat of island rice, then made guacamole. I made up some mushroom ran goons after that. The secret to getting the won ton wrappers to stand up nicely, is the let the wrappers sit out (lay then out individually on the counter) for about ten minutes. Then you can place your filling, rub the endure with beaten eggs and pull the sides up (they remind me of the paper finger puzzles we made as kids!) and you're done! We freeze them at this point, deep frying them as we need them. I then, at the last minute, had to come up with the employee dinner. Jesse had already taken out chicken hindquarters and asked me to season and cook them (at 4:30pm when the dinner is suppose to be out by 5pm). I used salt and pepper, sage and granulated garlic and onions then baked them. They looked done on top, but the underside was still raw, so I had to flip them over and put them back in the oven. I served leftover island rice but added corn to it. Denise, the evening front of the house manager called me over and told me that Caribbean people like lots of spice on their chicken-she didn't think I had put anything on the chicken! Good one day, not so good the next day, I guess. The islanders certainly eat a lot of chicken! I spent the remainder of the evening at the appetizer station, this time working with Jesse. It does get easier with practice. We were pretty busy which always makes the time go more quickly. I've been getting out later the last two nights, finishing after 10pm, but I'd rather be busy than not. And working appetizers helps me work on my plating!

Tomorrow I am off. Still have not decided how I am going to spend my day, lol. Monday, I will be working pantry all by myself. Cool!

Friday, December 17, 2010

I actually got to cook today! There was not much prepping to do for today. A lot of it got done yesterday because we were so slow. Tonight it was Drew, Janee and myself as well as Willie, who comes in later than the rest of us. Because there wasn't much to do, I actually also got to bake cookies! I made Oatmeal Raisin cookies as well as White Chocolate Chip Cranberry cookies. Fortunately, they were well received! I also made the staff dinner, although Janee told me what to use-left over Mac and cheese from Wednesday's West Indies buffet and chicken hind quarters. The Mac and Cheese just needed to be reheated, the chicken I seasoned then roasted in the oven. When they chicken was almost done, I brushed on a mixture of soy sauce and honey. Laura from the gift shop, came back to tell me it was the best chicken she's ever had. My oh my! That made me feel good!

I cooked on the line doing hot appetizers. Our appetizer special was Coconut breaded chicken tenders served with mango sauce. One of the other things I did early in the afternoon was set up a breading station so I could coat the chicken tenders. Dredge the tenders in flour, then dip in egg, then dip in a mixture of toasted coconut and Panko. Not bad! We found out, however, that the outside breading browned very quickly, but the inside did not cook in the deep fryer. So we browned them first in the deep fryer, then finished cooking them in the oven. I made arancini, mushroom ran goons, coconut shrimp, heated up French onion soup and lobster bisque, and cooked the vegetables that were served with dinner. We were fairly busy because the time flew by! Then it was time for clean up and our work was done.

The other nice thing that happened today, is I got three Christmas cards in the mail! It felt very nice to actually get real mail, lol!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

It was cloudy when I woke up this morning. The weather girl says we've been spoiled so far this month, but what more would you ask in paradise?

At 2pm, it was Ryan, Drew and myself. Willie comes in at 3pm. I started making the spinach mushroom stuffing for the roasted pork loin, but we didn't have any spinach, so I put together the mushroom, onion and garlic portion which is sauted then worchestershire sauce isnadded as well as two cups of beef stock. The mixture is then cooked until the beef stock is evaporated. So all I need to do is add chopped cooked spinach tomorrow. Once that was done, Ryan asked me to make the employee dinner. Not so fun, lol, younhave to actually THINK to come up with something. Today, I consulted my iPhone Internet and found a recipe for chicken in a tomato-basil sauce served over pasta. I poached the chicken breasts in white wine in the oven, then sauted onions and garlic in a large saute pan, then added the chicken to diced tomatoes (out of a can) as well as tobasco sauce and salt. It turned out well, I think. Then I made a basil pesto mayonnaise and a mayonnaise base with paprika and Cajun blackening powder. The latter is what the lobster is rubbed with before it is placed in the oven. It keeps the lobster from drying out. I cleaned and then peeled more potatoes for service tomorrow. After that, there was not much to do. We still are in need of a few more supplies in order for me to bake anything, so couldn't bake. I also sliced my thumb open cleaning a knife. That should teach me to be more careful! I had to go back to my room for bandaids, lol. I watched Ryan and Drew cook and plate until 8pm, then left. Business is suppose to pick up soon-I hope so, cause I like to stay busy at work!

Christmas decorations are finally up! No one seems to know why they waited so long to put up decorations but better late than never! I did find out that the employee Christmas party is not until January 6, 2011. Apparently they have it after the holidays because they are busy
during the holidays. All the new people have to work. Iggie's will be open but the Lobster Grille will close as the employee party is held at the Lobster Grille.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

I woke up to rain today and it rained off and on the entire day. I guess even in paradise there are bad days! So I spent the day, mostly indoors either reading, on the computer or watching movies. Just like home, lol.

I did get a package in the mail today. Jordan sent me a box filled with chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, pecans, walnuts and almond paste. Plus a few other things. So after dinner, I baked chocolate chip cookies. They got the chef vote of approval, lol. It is hard to believe that there aren't measuring spoons and only a half cup and one cup measure and the kitchen aid has no paddle or dough hook!

Anyway, This will definitely be short! Night everyone!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

I had dinner last night at the Lobster Grille. Paul (one of the owners) and his wife Colleen were sitting at the bar, sampling the arancini so we talked for a bit. Janee stopped by to talk to us and asked about the Christmas party for employees. I'm not sure exactly when they are having their Christmas party (and I'm not sure they know either!), but Janee would like to just go this year and not have to cook first. Paul suggested there were other people who could cook the employee dinner, reminding her she also had an intern she could use so she did not have to cook. We'll see what happens....

12 noon as I head toward Iggie's. They have not finished installing the hood in the kitchen so it gets about 115 degrees in there. Holy cow, is it hot!!! I am tempted to spend the day sitting in front of one of the fans they have set up there, but that's not what I'm here for, lol. I ask Mary what she would like me to do. Most of the kitchen staff at Iggie's are islanders. With heavy island accents, which sometimes I have a hard time understanding (and I thought I was good at accents!). I often have to ask them to repeat themselves. First I made coleslaw (3 head of ca-badge, tree ca-rote, one red pep-pa, den you use the salt and da pep-pa, a lee-tle honey, sam su-gar an den da coleslaw dressin'). I had to use the slicer to shred the cabbage and I have to say I am happy I used it when I was in school, otherwise, I'd be in trouble! Then I made hamburger patties out of two ten pound packages of ground beef. I was told to cut the packages in half (ok, so I cut them in half thru the middle when Mary wanted me to cut them length-wise), salt and pepper the meat, then fold it in half, get the scale, and measure the meat into 8 oz portions and place them on a tray. Once I had weighed all the meat, I was shown how to use the hamburger press so they would be round, look nice, etc, between pieces of deli paper. I think the only reason they don't think I'm totally stupid, is that I catch on quickly (at least that's what Arthur told me tonight when I was helping him with the all you can eat crab-that I catch on quick). Once I was done with the burgers, Mary had a sink full of thigh/leg chicken quarters that she wanted me to clean. I had to take off all the extra
fat and the "stuff" under the spine (their chicken quarters look like they cut the chicken in half through the "waist", then straight through the middle of the spine, so that it is still attached to the thigh (if that makes any sense). Once I finished that, Mary told me she didn't have any more for me to do so sHe sent me on a break.

When I came back, she had me work with Arthur, who isnin charge of setting up and getting ready for "all you can eat crab night" at Iggie's. They actually set it up outside of the restaurant on the stage, so everything has to be carried out onto the beach (3 tables, 5 chafing dishes, the two burner unit that attaches to propane tanks and two extremely large pots in which the crab gets boiled in, plates, napkins, serving pieces, buckets for the crab legs). Besides snow crab legs, you are served island rice, corn on the cob, clarified butter, a lemon wedge and cornbread with honey butter. I thought the guests came up and served themselves, but they don't. The order comes out onto the beach, they we make up the plates and the waitresses come and pick them up and deliver then food to each guest. The waitresses come back out to pick up more crab legs as needed. I was ready to go by 8pm! Nice I didn't have to clean up, lol!

The fans in the kitchen at Iggie's are working, at least a little, so it wasn't as hot as it has been. There was another wedding on the beach today. They had a one man steel drum band play for them, then he moved over to entertain at Iggie's. It's the same guy that plays at the Lobster Grille on weekends. He says he does "other people's music my way" (calypso). The wedding party had their dinner up by the Lobster Grille, althou they sat by the pool. It looked like a very nice set up.

Just before I left Iggie's we had another power outage. At least I knew I would have power to my room (as well as both restaurants and the lobby. No TV though. Anyway, tomorrow is my day off. The only thing I really need to get done is laundry. Maybe Sunday I'll try to do another tour of some sort.

Monday, December 13, 2010

I was up early this morning so I could go work at Bolongo's private warehouse. It is on property so I can walk there. I was expecting to spend the day with Gene, the purchasing manager, but spent the day with Luz, his assistant, and Bolo, the "warehouse guy". They were both really nice although by lunch time, Luz couldn't resist asking me, "Aren't you a little OLD to be an intern?". I explained about changing careers, but I don't think they understand leaving a good paying job or just wanting to follow your dream. They expected a young insecure person they could "scare". They got me instead, lol. I don't scare or intimidate easily! When I told Janee about it later in the day, she admitted someone had asked her if I was her mother. Oh, my, I don't think I look THAT old, but maybe I'm wrong, lol!

I started off working with Bolo, filling orders orders from the Lobster Grille, Iggie's and the gift shop (what purchasing calls retail). There were dry goods, refrigerated goods and frozen goods. They made me take a jacket with me to work in refrigeration-it gets cold in there! The reason they chose Monday is because they get the majority of their deliveries on Mondays (and Wednesdays). We received food of every variety and also received a large alcohol shipment. I can't believe what they have. Apparently hard liquor is cheaper than wine, as hard liquor is their majority inventory. Bolo then delivers the restaurant orders up to twice a day (food in one load, liquor in another delivery. Lug showed me how she enters all the orders so she could then do costing. She has an Excel spread sheet that will automatically figure the cost of all their inventory. She first enters each restaurant's order,then inputs it into another spread sheet that shows everyone's individual spending/orders, then what it costs the entire resort to run their business. It was interesting seeing their numbers. They spend a lot of money! Janee had shown me yesterday, her menu costing. Her food costs runs about 14-30%. Not too bad. Janee also reviewed the cost of each dish vs what the resort charges for each meal. Luz and Bolo finished work at 4pm, so I was free to go. I have the evening to myself.

I also met the new Iggie's kitchen manager (looks like a chef-white jacket and black and white chef pants). I guess I'll be working with him tomorrow when I'm down at Iggie's working from 12-8pm. All you can eat crab night at Iggie's!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

I went to bed about midnight, slept for about an hour, then woke up wide awake! I hate when that happens! I was itchy-always new bug bites no matter what I do. I read until 4am, when I finally fell asleep. I was up at 10am, had a light breakfast and lots of coffee! Janee changed my in time to 1pm because of all the prep I did yesterday. The day is partly cloudy-the weather predicts rain off and on all week. The temperature here rarely varies. It's always between 72-81 degrees. Not too difficult to tolerate, lol, as long as I don't get eaten alive by bugs! The picture is one of the flowering bushs that grows on property-Bird of Paradise. Lovely!

I went into work at 1pm as instructed and found Janee there slicing the turkeys. I put the potatoes on to boil, made a balsamic vinaigrette, and put the sweet potato stuffing in a smaller pan. Janee took great pleasure in informing me that the "island stuffing" was actually made from instant mashed potatoes, catsup and raisins(!?!). Who'd have thought? It LOOKS just like sweet potatoes but certainly doesn't taste like sweet potatoes! Most of the island food is peasant type fair, lots of stews, etc. The Rotary dinner was to be at 4pm, but the ladies started to show up at 2pm and wanted to eat. Lori, Bolongo's wedding coordinator and event planner, went and talked to them. She did put off the serving time (we were not ready for a 2pm dinner). Unfortunately not only did they want to change the time, but also wanted to change the menu (and let me tell you-that was not going to happen!). Poor Lori was stuck dealing with this. She says that half of them are senile but that this is their one big event a year and they look forward to it (and reminded us all that we would one day be in their position!). So to the already full menu of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, ham, roasted sweet potatoes, green beans, "island stuffing", gravy, mixed green salad with two dressings, bread and apple crumble cake, (store bought) we got a hotel pan of island rice from Iggie's to serve them. I didn't hear any more, so I guess they must have been satisfied after that, lol. We also had a 7pm cocktail party. I made up a cheese plate with smoked Gouda, cheddar cheese, Brie and Pepperjack cheese. I made the platter look pretty using strawberries and cut flowers. The nice thing about the tropics, is that you can just walk outside and cut flowers off the flowering bushes that are every where. Just remember to check them for bugs!! They also got a platter of what I now think of as the famous vegetarian spring rolls served with sweet pepper sauce. I made arancini to be used as appetizers-the lobster risotto (funny that you can call a dish lobster this and lobster that even though there is not any lobster in it just lobster base or essence) wrapped around small cubes of smoked Gouda, then breaded in the usual manner (dipped in white flour, then beaten eggs then Panko). They are deep fried right before they are served, a la minute, as they used to say in
school.

Richard, one of the owners, came in this afternoon to make himself a sandwich. He talked about how bad business looked for the next few months. He said that the Marriott was offering all sorts of deals as were some of then other resorts on the island, so no one was doing well. It made me wonder if my internship was going to be shortened! Time will tell.

Tomorrow I am at the Bolongo warehouse so it's to bed soon as I start there at 8am, a real switch for me!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

My first trip to the island Kmart! Janee picked me up at 10:30am and drove me around the island. There Stengel Kmarts here, one downtown and the other one "in the country", which is what they call the interior of the island. Other that the type of restaurant inside the store (Island Tropic restaurant), it looks the same as back in the States. I bought a couple of things. They don't pay any type of salesntax and no state tax (of course they are a territory, not a state). They island is beautiful, lush and green. The iguana rules here-they are everywhere.

I was at work by 2pm. It said prep by my name on the schedule. Little did I know what that meant! The Rotary Christmas party is Sunday afternoon. They are having a Thanksgiving type dinner at 4pm. So I spent most of the shift prepping for that. I must have peeled 50 pounds of potatoes (I know I did, I emptied the 50 pound bag)!!! The potatoes were for mashed potatoes both for the party and for Sunday service. I also peeled and cubes sweet potatoes, about 5 pounds of those. I roasted two 20 pound turkeys, cut the meat off of two spiral cut hams, made two pans of stuffing (using two large bags of seasoned pre-made croutons, made two large platters of salad (6 heads of romaine, 6 tomatoes, 2 each of red and green peppers, 2 red onions, 2 cucumbers, 1 carrot shredded). The mashed potatoes will be made the day of the party as will a fresh vegetable of Janee's choice. When I finished the prep for the party, she had me doing "odds and ends". I took all the romaine out of the walk-in (1 and 1/2 cases) and go through them taking off the rotted bits ( food goes bad quickly here in the Caribbean even refrigerated). Then I took lobsters out of a large container, rinsed them off and placed them in a bus tub. There is a reason they are called spiny lobsters! I ended up having several puncture wounds in my fingers because there is no way to pick them up without being poked in some way. And I cleaned and cleaned some more. I guess youmreally DO have to pay your dues starting new in any profession.... I think even Janee felt bad cause she let me go a little early.

I went back to my room and showered. I wasn't even hungry by that time (sometimes I don't eat until after my shift is over). The lobsters give off some of black stuff (I'm notnsure exactly what it is) and I ended up with black fingertips that did not come off entirely in the shower, which is why you rinse off the lobsters periodically because the black will stain the lobster meat. Ugh!

Friday, December 10, 2010

I was off today, so mostly played tourist. It was cloudy again this morning and during breakfast, it started to pour down rain! It lasted for about 10 minutes, then cleared up. Miss Viola closed the curtain in the Lobster Grille so no one got rained on. I watched the movie, ET, this morning, because I thought it was going to stay cloudy and rainy. I haven't seen that movie in years!

I sat in the sun (once it came out, lol) in the afternoon, by the pool and answered emails. The guest WiFi is finally back online so I am going to add some pictures to my blog. I snapped a picture of one of the iguana climbing one of the many palm trees around the pool. I had no idea they climbed trees. One of the guests said, "great, now we have to watch out not only for bird poop, but for iguana poop from above". That made me laugh!

I had a nice rum drink at the Grille, then walked down to Iggie's for dinner. I have been wanting to try their rib dinner. They also got a new band at Iggie's. They play old rock and roll, which was a nice change from the usual calypso and reggae music (the SAME songs over and over unfortunately). The rib dinner was tasty. They use a mango BBQ sauce. I'm not sure if they buy it or make it. I'll have to ask.

Altogether a quiet day, but I can't complain. The setting remains beautiful. I work my usual 2-10pm tomorrow in the Grille.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

It's cloudy again today, although the sun is peeking out occasionally. I woke up during the night to pouring rain. I hope it does clear up because we have three wedding parties here, one of whom is getting married here today. Apparently Bolongo is, if not the only, then one of the few resorts right on the beach. You can get married on the beach, under their special wooden trellis (arch). How romantic is that? Lol

I went in at 12 noon but Janee was at a meeting. She left me instructions to make a mixed salad (l3 heads of lettuce, 1 shredded carrot, one red onion, three tomatoes, one cucumber) and pineapple salsa (one pineapple, one red pepper, one green pepper, one red onion, 2 Tbsp cilantro and honey, salt and pepper and lime juice to taste). After that, I marinated some mahi pieces in oil and blackened fish spices from Paul Prudhomme. Then we put grill marks on it and places it in a pan, then put the pineapple salsa over that and then we finished it in the oven. Janee said for this type of buffet, where food needs to be made ahead of time, you can get the "grilled" taste without cooking it through, then it doesn't dry out in the oven or warmer when it gets reheated. The bridal dinner was Mixed green salad with two choices of dressing (Ranch dressing that is store bought and vinaigrette, which we make up ourselves), marinated flank steak, mahi mahi with pineapple salsa, cheddar cheese mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus and for dessert: Mango Mamma Cheesecake and Key Lime Pie. I put grill marks on the flank steak, "shingled" them in a hotel pan, then surrounded by caramelized onions (flavored with sugar and balsamic vinegar). I trimmed and partially roasted asparagus, so those would not be over done, then mashed the red potatoes ( a very large pot) Janee had put on the stover earlier to boil. One pound of butter, salt and white pepper, shredded cheddar cheese, and 1/3 quart of heavy cream. Wow! They were good, though, lol. Then we got a little breather and while Janee went over to Iggie's to make sure the table and been set up properly, I made more mashed potatoes to use for serving in the restaurant tonight. At 5pm, we loaded up the golf cart they use for transport, and rode down to Iggie's. They were taking pictures of the wedding party. The bride was from North Dakota, her husband was in the military. Everyone was barefoot, lol. There were a pile of shoes next to the walkway for the bridal trellis/arch. Cute!

We stored the food, then Janee went to make a phone call. Today her (second) divorce was finalized. She was very happy when she came back. While Janee was gone, she had me help Jennifer in the kitchen at Iggie's. Someone had called in sick. His 80+ mother had driven her brand new car onto the roof of her house and broke a few bones. She had to have surgery today. Hens the only child (out of 8) still living on the island. The woman must have stepped on the wrong pedal! I guess Thursdays are pretty slow at Iggie's so there was not much to do. I made Conch fritters by myself (not to worry, I couldn't have messed up too much, they come already mixed in a plastic bucket, all you have to do is scoop them out. Not too much or they remain mushy inside.). I made some fries, nachos x 2 (just put some chips on a small platter, scoop hot cheese sauce on them, sprinkle with chopped parsley and slice black olives and voila! They are done). I also helped plate cheeseburgers and french dips before Janee returned. After we got the buffet set up, Janee let me off. The Lobster Grille is not very busy tonight so there was not much else to do. I met the purchasing manager, who says I am spending Monday with him. I also met Katarina, who is Richard's wife (one of the owners).

When I worked in the ER as a nurse and food service people would come in (with cuts or burns usually), there was always a smell to them, a little like raw onions but more than just onions. I discovered early on, that I now have that same smell when I get off work. It gets on your skin, your clothes and your hair. So I always shower after work. The guest WiFi is down, somI can't add the pictures of St John or of the wedding site like I wanted to, so I guess you'll all have to check back later!

I haven't made up my mind about dinner yet-whether to eat or where to eat, so am working on my blog instead. I still think working at the Lobster Grille is better but Iggie's seems to have their routine down to a science, so food turns around fast there.

I'm off tomorrow. No real plans, it's still suppose to be cloudy with possible rain, so maybe I'll just read and spend the day on R&R.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

I worked at Iggie's today. 1-8pm. Janee walked down to Iggie's with me so she could introduce me around. I met Mary and Chris and the dishwasher, Michael. Mary was making Johnnycakes so I got to help her make those. Our tour guide from my St John tour talked about johnnycakes and how the originally name had been "journey cakes" because they were made for long journeys. They are a cross between a sweet bread and a sweet cake, that are rolled into a ball then deep fried. Shaping the little balls were a lot like making dinner rolls in school. That skill, came back quickly, lol. Other than that, there was not much to do until Gabriel came. I chopped some cucumbers, poked around the kitchen and read the local paper. Gabriel is in charge of the West Indies buffet on Wednesday nights. Together we set up 7 rectangular chaffing dishes and one round chafing dish. The food was made before I even got there so the only thing Gabriel and I had to do was set things up. However, once we got the chaffing dishes out, we found they needed to be cleaned. Someone had put them away dirty! (say it isn't so!). So after cleaning the chaffing dishes and gathering all the serving pieces and setting up the warmer (a large cart that plugs in and keeps your food warm for however long you need it to), we were ready to bring the food out. The hotel is not very full so for the first half hour the buffet was open, no one came. It did pick up after that, but not much. I left a little before 8 because it was so slow.

One thing I have noticed about working in the kitchen, is that during the day, ALL the kitchen staff listen to one (I thought) radio station that only plays Christian music. Today at Iggie's I learned there was another Christian radio station, sponsored by the Methodist church on St Thomas. Interesting. When the evening crew at the Lobster Grille comes in, the radio gets changed to rap music. However, the radio station that plays rap and some rock only has two advertisers so we hear the same commercials over and over and over.... The other night I turned to Ryan and asked, "aren't there any other radio stations?!". That's when I found out there were only two to choose from. Yikes!! A girl could go crazy!!

I prefer the Lobster Grille to Iggie's when working, but we'll see what I'll be doing in the future. Tomorrow I'll be helping Janee with a wedding party dinner. We currently have three wedding parties at Bolongo. Apparently this is a destination for weddings. Who'd a thought?!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

I was off today. I had scheduled a tour of St John Island. The tour bus driver picked us up at a little after 8am and whisked us off to the marina at the eastern most side of the island. We boarded a ferry to St John, which is 3 and 3/4 miles from St Thomas (point to point as they say here). We were met on St John's by Charlie, who said he was our cook and that we didn't want him to drive, lol. Well, it turns out he was our driver on the island! And, he speaks Danish! Now there's something you don't expect from an islander.

He drove us all over the island and was just not showing us the sites, but was also giving us biology lessons. There are 1100 different species of plants on St John. They are never without a fruit in season. They grow oranges, papaya, bananas, avocados, and guavas to name a few. They also grow spices: tamarind, mint, oregano. The list seems to go on and on! There are also huge nests of termites. The islanders call termites, tree lice. An apt name! The islands were originally Spanish, then taken over by the Danes alternating with the British, until it was finally held by the Danes. The US bought 62 islands back in 1917, the third largest being St John. The largest island in the USVI is St Croix (which mostly belonged to the French), the second largest is St Thomas. Only about half of the 62 islands are inhabited. Two thirds of St Johns is National Forest, donated by one of the Rockefellers. There is a large hotel which is still operating with the National Forest. We visited an old sugar cane plantation, that has been reduced to ruins. Sugar cane was the major industry for 150 years during the 18th and 19th centuries. 90% of the island was deforested during this time. Once you see the island, it's hard to believe. St John is SO green and lush. Lunch was provided by Tropic Tours. Uninspired but not bad. We had some beach time at Trunk Beach after lunch. It is inside the National Forest also. The park rangers talked about snorkeling and the fact that Trunk Beach is also a marine sanctuary. In other words, leave everything you find in the water. It has been overcast all day, which resulted in a rough surf. I was befriended by a couple from New York, Stephan and Mirra- very nice people! Mirra and I were standing in the water
when a wave hit me unexpectedly. I was rolled over, dunked underwater and lost my glasses! We never did find them. I left word at the Ranger Station that if my glasses were found, to please let me know. I have a number so I can check to see if anyone found them. When I talked to the lifeguards about the possibility of my glasses washing up on shore, they just shook their heads no and told me (paraphrased here) that only stupid people wear their glasses into the ocean. I guess there is nothing to do but wait. Thank goodness I had an extra pair of glasses at Bolongo. However, that means for the rest of the afternoon, I couldn't see very well! At least there was only an hour or so until it was time to leave. And, unfortunately, once I got back on St Thomas, I got on the wrong tour bus back to Bolongo so had to catch a taxi from the Windham hotel! Not a good finish to the day!

But I am back in my room at Bolongo, wearing my second pair of glasses. It started to rain after I got back and too early for dinner, so here I am. Since the Lobster Grille is closed tonight, I'm having dinner at Iggie's so hope the rain has stopped. (Our tour guide says it never rains in the USVI, there is just liquid sunshine!).

Monday, December 6, 2010

Another day in paradise.... Janee took me to the laundromat today (excitement everywhere) so I could get my laundry done. Apparently it is cheaper to have someone else do your laundry. Since there is no laundry facilities on property at Bolongo Bay, that works for me!

Iggie's is closed today for renovations, so the Lobster Grille was busier than usual for this time of year. I made Island Rice again after getting to work at 2pm, then thawed shrimp and mahi. I was also tasked with coming up with the employee dinner. Think, think... The islanders love chicken wings, so I thawed some out, made my own BBQ sauce (I couldn't remember everything that's goes into BBQ sauce any more, so had to wing it-no pun intended, lol), and roasted them in the oven. I served them with french fries. They seemed to go over well! Then they put me in charge of appetizers for the Managers Cocktail party. Janee and Ryan had already decided to serve spring rolls again, so all I had to do was deep-fry them, cut them at an angle, platter them with two sauces (already made) and send them off. I guess Ryan didn't think I was working fast enough, because he told me to cut three rolls at a time, on the diagonal, throw them on the plate cause people were going to scarf them down so it wasn't worth making them look pretty. Ah, well, speed should come with experience. Ar 25 years old, he has cooked in a commercial kitchen for at least ten years. He really is good at what he does. The rest of the evening, I worked the pantry with Judy. I made salads, lobster cocktails and served up desserts-Chocolate Banana Cake, Key Lime Pie, Mango Cheesecake and "Hot Chocolate"-a baked chocolate souffle type of dessert. That is the only dessert I have't tried. In between orders, I pulled the strings off of sugar snap peas. Judy couldn't believe how quick I was. Finally!! Something I'm quick at, lol. I didn't get outnof there until after 10pm. They have me clocking in and out, I guess to make sure I really am working the hours they are giving me room and board for, lol.

We are all off tomorrow as the Lobster Grille is closed on Tuesdays at least for the next two weeks. I need to get out more, I'm getting a little claustrophobic staying on property so much, so tomorrow I am taking a tour of St John, one of the other USVIs. They pick me up at 8am and drop me back at Bolongo at 5pm. I am looking forward to getting out and about! Wednesday Janee and I are going to do a little island sightseeing and maybe go to K-Mart so I can check it out, and to help me pick up my laundry. Hey, you have to get your excitement where you can!

My legs look like I have the chickenpox! They have red bug bites all over, from the knees down. I counted 50 on one leg alone the other day! Yikes!! Benadryl and aloe have helped but I'll have to protect myself more. I finally unpacked because they haven't talked about moving me yet. It's midnight, so time for bed if I am going to get up at 7am to take my tour. Night everyone!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

There are always flies in the kitchen and I hate that! Drew, however, told me it doesn't help to hate them-you have to make peace with them. Flies are always around but they seem to hang around more when the day shift is working. They do seem to clear out a bit later in the evening. And we are an outdoor kitchen. Ah, the tropics.......

Tonight it was just Janee and Ryan and myself in the kitchen with Judy working salads and desserts. I started off by making mango salsa-lots of chopping, lol. Then I was tasked with making French Onion soup. They have recipes for both these things, which makes my job a little easier, lol. I worked the appetizer station with Janee. We served 44 dinners tonight. Not too bad. Tomorrow night we will be busier because Iggie's will be closed for renovations. I think the most difficult for me is plating. There are about 9 squeeze bottles, each containing a different sauce. Then there are salsas, and other things that are matched to each appetizer. Sometimes it seems confusing! I know eventually I'll remember but just in time for the menu to change! Janee made spring rolls tonight with a peanut sauce to go with them. The other thing I made before dinner service started was bacon wrapped scallops-yum! People always seem to want lobster, so we make a lot of stuffed lobster (the lobster here is a spiny lobster, unlike lobster Americans are used to)-stuffed withma seafood stuffing. The other favoritemis steak, either filet or New York strip. No baked potatoes, either roasted or mashed and island rice. The vegetables change between asparagus, broccoli and green beans. You work with what you can get down here. I find it interesting that our mushrooms come from Watsonville, California. Other vegetables come from South American and the butter comes from New Zealand!

After work, I had a drink with Janee and Ryan. I always like to hear why people have ended up here in St Thomas. Janee vacationed here with her aunt and they both decided they wanted to live here. Janee left her husband and her kids to move here after she finishedncooking school. Ryan moved her because he wanted to getnaway from the cold New England area. He doesn't even think about going back! Janee and Ryan moved on to Iggie's after that and I went back to my room-I just can't drink that much!

The new schedule is out, I have Tuesday and Friday off this week. I work one day at Iggie's and two days orienting to banquets with Janee. Should prove interesting!

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Saturday, my day off! It was pretty much a lazy day. I went to the beach in the morning, did a little reading, talked to Jordan, took a nap (went to bed too late last night), then went on the Sunset Cruise on Heavenly Daze, Bolongo's catamaran. We boarded at 4:15pm, sailed at 4:30pm out toward St Croix, then over toward Frenchman's bay in Charlotte Amalie, the capital of St Thomas. The bay was originally a dead end bay until the US bought it and the military wanted one way in and another way out (for submarines), so they blasted out the bay leaving two islands but three ways into the bay. It does look quite nice actually. We saw where cruise ships dock, you can see the hospital on the side of the hill in town, and one of the popular shopping centers. The sunset on the way back to Bolongo was beautiful and the colors seemed to last for a long, long time. There was the captain-who has lived here since he was 28 (much older now, lol), and two crew members, Jolene and Theo. Theo is an islander who comes from a very large family. He has 14 brothers and 5 sisters. He was the 8th child. I can NOT imagine having that many kids!! But he seems to love his mama, lol. Jolene moved here with her boyfriend from Florida and will be returning to the mainland in about two months. She calls this a "means to an end". Now I am back at Bolongo Bay Resort and ready to have some dinner. There is a steel drum, one man band outside playing. He got the rhythm, mon, but not a very good voice. It's interesting to hear the intro to a song here, thinking it's a song you recognize then all of a sudden it turns into a song with a calypso beat! Kinda weird.. It was nice to get out for a bit. It still seems strange to actually live in paradise and not just vacationing. It's been one week since I got here and I am thinking I need more time to acclimate. There are no laundry services at the resort, so on Monday, Janee is going to drive me to the place she gets her laundry done (it is almost cheaper to have someone else do it rather than try to do it yourself!!). What excitement, aye? I will be back to work tomorrow so will have another update then. 'Night all!!

Friday, December 3, 2010

As I write the date, it's hard to believe that it's December already! I spent this morning sitting in the sun by the pool. It was cloudy again this morning, then cleared by noon or so. Ryan asked if any of us thought it was getting colder lately? I said what, like 78 instead of 80? He laughed, but he's right, there is a difference.

At work, it was just Ryan, Drew, old Willie and me. Willie took care of salads and desserts. His cooling station broke down again. He gets so angry when that happens, I feel bad for him. I started off making Island Rice-they actually have a recipe for that, lol. (1 carrot, 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper, 1 onion, 3 quarts of rice, 6 quarts of water, 3 Tbsp of tomato paste, 1/4 of a jar of lobster base, 1 Tbsp cumin, 3 Tbsp granulated garlic, and 1 Tbsp of paprika.). After that, I was put in charge of making the employee dinner. After some debate, as I still am not entirely sure what they have or don't have, I ended up making Tarragon Chicken with rice pilaf. Ryan took a plate and tried it then rolled is eyes at me. I asked what was wrong and he told me he couldn't believe more people didn't want to eat what comes out of our kitchen. I took that as a compliment, lol. After that, we tried to get ready for the evening. You never know how many people you will end up serving at any given time. The only thing Ryan knew for certain was that there were reservations for a party of 16 (!!). Orders rolled in slowly, until the 6 people got here. They all wanted salads and appetizers and main dishes and we were scrambling. I felt after a while that I was more a hindrance than a help, especially for Drew, as he is still being oriented to the kitchen. So I stepped back and played "go-fer". Ryan can certainly crank out a lot of food and seems to be able to keep 4-5 pans going at one time! I should ever be that good. I told him at the end of the shift that I was sorry I couldn't be more of a help. He asked me if I had ever worked as a line cook-I had to say no. He told me I did just fine, which helped me feel a little better, lol. I can't even bake to relieve some of my stress, lol! They have no chocolate chips, no chips of any kind, no dried fruit, not much of anything for baking. I have to remind myself that this was just my first week. I'll get used to it and I'll get better.

Willie went home and the three of us left to have a drink together. Drew and Ryan really are nice guys. Did you know that rum is cheaper than water here? Part of it is that Cuzan rum is made in St Crouix-no shipping! Tomorrow I have off-so will try for more R&R- there's a lot of that going on down here.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Another quiet morning. I was expecting housekeeping today but the front desk said Fridays they come in. It was cloudy most of the morning, but cleared up by noon and the sun came out. I am still slowly working on a tan, don't want a sunburn. I signed up for the Sunset Cruise on the Bolongo Bay boat, Heavenly Daze. You board at 4:15pm and get back around 7pm. We'll see what they have to offer!

I heard Miss Viola (who told me she has worked at Bolongo Bay for 38 years and she loves Jesus) say the Grille was not open tonight, but as I am scheduled for work tonight (and off Saturday, not Sunday-they write their schedules out a little different) so I hope we ARE open, lol. The day crew (waitresses and cooks) are not quite as friendly as the swing shift, but at least they aren't asking me to

Most of the employees still think the Lobster Grille is closed on Thursdays, but I knew I was scheduled to work, so showed up at 2 pm anyway. Sure 'nuf we were open! My first assignment was to make a soup as a special. I could make anything I wanted, which again, sometimes is overwhelming faced with all those ingredients! But I went with mushroom soup (sometimes you have to use up either what is starting to go bad or that you have too much of, but we had just gotten new supplies so anything and everything was up for grabs. I made mirepouix, sauted it in butter and olive oil, then heated up chicken stock. I then sauted slice mushrooms in butter and added everything into the stock as well as a small amount of roux, thyme, a bay leaf, salt and pepper and left it to simmer. Once it was done, I purred it and stained it. Knead going to add some cream but everyone thought it tasted good on it's own, so I left it alone. It will actually be served tomorrow night. Then I got food ready for the day cruise tomorrow on Heavenly Daze. I sliced roast beef and turkey breast on the slicer, made tuna salad (no specific recipe, just make it however I want), baked pre-made chocolate chip cookies (who would have though they didn't make them from scratch!) and plated pre-made potato salad (after putting some lettuce down on the plate to make it more decorative). Savory food on (colorful) plastic platters, cookies on silver trays. I'll get this down eventually. After doing all this, Janee sent me home because there was not much else to do and we had lots of help in the kitchen. I ate dinner at the bar (after taking a quick shower and changing into street clothes), salmon en croute, mashed potatoes and string beans and a glass of Chardonnay. I am slowly working my way
through the menu, lol. Then off to relax--this is definitely a place to relax!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

It's Thursday, so I am a little behind on writing, so for this entry, pretend it's still Wednesday, lol.

Wednesday morning I just took it easy, for some reason I did not get much sleep. Could be all that itching from bug bites on my legs and arms. Oh, well, this to shall pass.

When I got to work I started helping Janee with the Rotary dinner. I made a huge salad with romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, shreded carrots and diced red onion. Once that was done, it was on to cutting and roasting huge batch of of red potatoes (potatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic). I also made a vinaigrette of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and a touch of honey to take the edge off the tartness of the vinaigrette. Then I sliced and roasted a smaller batch of red potatoes (using olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme). I sliced bread and then did some cleaning. Two of our coolers went down today so food needed to be moved and stored elsewhere or just thrown away. I also organized and cleaned up the walk-in. Drew is still orienting and I think they would like to get him further along before they put me on hotline, etc. Being an intern is not very glamourous but if I can learn all I can learn now, that's ok.

Janee sent me to Iggie's to see how they set up their West Indies buffet. The only things I recognized were chicken, broccoli and cauliflower, island rice and peas (a different version of what they use at the Lobster Grille, which is just white rice, mirepouix and seasonings), mac'n'cheese (!?!) and fish. There were also some cold salads and desserts and a carving station with roasted beef and pork. Gabriel showed me around and explained how they set up, etc. Gabriel was born in LA, moved to Brazil with his family, then back to LA and experienced what he calls "culture shock". Apparently things were not the same as when he left, lol. He has a little bit of an accent, which is why I asked where he was from originally. Then it was back to the Grille and more cleaning.

At 8pm, Janee sent me back to Iggie's so I could watch the Carnival Celebration. Apparently this happens almost every Wednesday. Veronica, who runs the gift shop, is the MC for this show. She had told me my first day that she was in charge of all things fun, lol, I guess that's true! First they had a Congo line and she took everyone in the Congo line back up on stage with her. Then came Karen, an already tall woman wearing stilts and a sparkly costume (all of which made her 7-8 feet tall!). She got all the men, then all the women, then all the children to dance with her. I think I would need a lot of alcohol or maybe just knowing that I was on vacation for me to get up there! After Karen, came what Vernita calls "Dancing with the Stars, Island Style". She asked for four couples to come up on the stage. She also said they had to be married. Cuple number one had been married 23 years, couple number two had been married for seven years, couple number three for 14 years and couple number four for ONE HOUR! Each couple danced to a song the steel drum band played, then the audience chose the winner. Couple #4 won. Each couple got some sort of prize, so everyone was a winner. Then came King Herod, who hails from Aruba. He's a small, thin, black man with long dreadlocks who comes on stage bear foot. First he walked on glass (wine and beer bottles that he broke right in front of the audience), then he poured lighter fluid on the glass and set it on fire and jumped onto the burning glass from the height of a chair. The finale of his act was doing the limbo. He had three bottles that were burning from cloth that had been soaked in lighter fluid. He held one bottle in each hand and balanced the third bottle on his forehead. Each pass brought the bar lower and lower and the bottle on his forehead started the limbo bar on fire. He took the burning bar and placed it on the bottom set of hooks, then did the limbo and had to lay flat to get under the burning bar. Impressive, but he is crazy! There are also island crafts for sale outside the bar area before, during and after the show.

After the show (I did not stay for the end where everyone was suppose to come up on stage and dance) I went back to the Grille, where Ryan made me a deconstructed Salad Nicoise for dinner. They roast potatoes (the ones I roasted earlier), put those on a plate, grill some tuna steaks (rare-medium rare), put that on top, then top the tuna with a Mediterranean salsa and basil aioli. That is then surrounded by quartered hard boiled eggs. It is one of our new menu items. Very nice!

So not a very exciting life, but what a beautiful place to live! I will come back later and add a picture of King Herod (wonder how he got that name?).

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Greetings! I am blogging today for two days as I was too tired to blog last night. The restaurant is closed today so I have the day off. I am sitting on the beach under a huge palm tree as I write this. I am slowly working on a tan as I can't afford to work with a sunburn. The kitchen is already hot enough! Yesterday I slept in (I wake up earlier but am trying to make sure I get at least 8 hours of sleep a night). It's hard to get off work at 10, then go to my room, shower and go to bed right away-too wound up, lol.

After breakfast Monday morning, I got a call from Lori Dezendorf, the HR director. I had to fill out some paperwork (employee type paperwork) and they also gave me two uniforms to wear while I am here. I spent about 1 and 1/2 hours there so did not have much time to eat and get dressed for work. Janee was going to put me in charge of making dinner for the employees, but then changed her mind and asked me to make appetizers for the Manager's Cocktail party. Every Monday, the managers have a little get together for the guests so they can meet the managers and share any complements or complaints they might have. Janee told me to make whatever I wanted, which while sounding nice, is complicated by a certain lack of equipment and supplies, not to mention it takes some imagination! So I went "shopping" in the walk-in and the reach-in storage. I had to come up with appetizers for 50. I took cherry tomatoes, scored them with an "X", then piped them full of goat cheese (chevre) mixed with an Italian herb mix, then topped off with a sprinkle of chopped parsley. The second appetizer (I only made two) was crostini toasts topped with shaved roast beef, a roasted red pepper and garlic coulis that Ryan had made a couple of nights ago for Janee's birthday dinner, and a sliver of avocado. Apparently they were much enjoyed from what I heard, but then again, they have been getting a lot of pre-made spring rolls, etc so maybe it was the fact that they were getting something new, lol. There was one downside though, I burned my forearm taking the toasts out of the oven. This made me realize, that although I had packed well, I did NOT bring anything for burns. Last night I iced the burn and this morning bought some aloe in the gift shop (as well as an Iggy's t-shirt and a Bolongo Bay coverup) and started using it this morning. I guess it just goes to show that no matter how hard you try, you can't always remember everything!

Janee has a bunch of bananas sitting in her office, so took me up on my offer to bake. I made four loaves of Banana Walnut Bread. They turned out well. The restaurant does not have much in the way of bake wear so if I am going to make anything but cookies, they will need some muffin tins and some better loaf pans (they are reusing the disposable tin loaf pans). Then I was assigned to Judy, who works the same station as Willie-salads and desserts. Judy works here two days a week when Willie is off and the rest of the time at the Westin Resort. She is originally from Tortola. All the natives down here have that singsong lilt to their voices. Judy says, "I work two job so I kin buy myself watteva I want. No one gonna tell me no, you can't have dat.". She's a hoot! I learned how to plate a Grille salad (a medium sized mound of romaine lettuce in the middle of the bowl, 4-5 slices of hearts of palm, 3 tomato chunks equally spread on the sides, a small spoonful of pickled onions on top, then two scoops of ranch dressing) and a lettuce wedge (a half a head of lettuce if the head is very small, 1/4 if the head of lettuce is large. Flatten the wedge out a bit, slice two cherry tomatoes in half, put three halves at the bottom of the bowl-kind of a smiley face, one half at the top of the bowl, top with blue cheese dressing, thinly sliced red onions and a sprinkle of crispy bacon pieces). Pretty much all of the desserts are ordered frozen from a company called "Sweet Treats". I've tasted all but the Key Lime Pie (all in the name of education, mind you) and found them to be pretty good! The Lobster Grille offers a Banana Chocolate Chip Cake (a banana cake with chocolate chips, banana filling and chocolate icing), Mango Cheesecake (I shared a piece of that last night with Judy-sinfully good actually), Key Lime Pie, Melted Chocolate (which is their version of a Molten Lava Cake) and various ice creams (they do make their own ice cream in small batches). When Judy was not busy, I watched Ryan and Drew work the hotline and appetizer lines. Both these young guys are amazing, so quick, even Drew who just started last week!

If anyone out there is thinking about a Christmas present for me, I would love a book on the art of plating food.

Judy told me to plate the desserts however I wanted, but I seem to be slow at coming up with decorative little "who hahs" to put on the plate. I think I am over-thinking things, but I was taught not to just fill the plate with "garnish", it should have a purpose of some kind or reflect the flavors of the dish you are serving. The Grille has about 8 squeeze bottles filled with things like kiwi puree, raspberry puree, chocolate, and lord knows what else! She puts the dessert on the plate, then goes back and forth over the plate and dessert with first one squeeze bottle, then the other direction back and forth with a second squeeze bottle. She wants it to look pretty. I think I'm a little slow for her, lol. Oh, well, I guess I'll learn soon enough!

After cleaning up the kitchen, I sat at the bar with Janee, Ryan and Drew and had the complimentary drink you get after you finish your shift (just food and beverage people). If course, you have to change your clothes first, because they don't want the guests to think employees are drinking on the job! I get that part. I am expected to adhere to all the employee rules, even as an intern. We sat and talked for about half an hour then went our separate ways. I talked with Jordan, then went to bed. Between the glass of wine and standing on my feet (concrete floors) for 8 hours, I was a tired girl.

This morning I opted for Mango pancakes with sausage for for breakfast. I got bacon instead but didn't send it back. They make their pancakes from a mix they keep in the cooler (you have to take care as there is a rodent/bug problem down here but I have yet to see anything other than flies, knats and iguana). There was some disagreement about how much money I was allowed to spend for meals, so after breakfast I went back to see Lori and Paul to get it straightened out. They want to give me back the $2.50 I spent on breakfast but all I want to know is what are the rules and then to have everyone else know the rules so eating will be more of a pleasure than a dread.

So, there you have it, my life so far. Today I am going to take it easy. I've moved up to the pool area since starting to type, where there is more shade. Don't know if I've mentioned that the beaches are sandy but the bottom of the bay seems covered in rocks, so a dip in the pool is more refreshing (and colder) than swimming in the sea. I'll save my free sail to St John's for another week or two. I found out from sitting at breakfast yesterday, that it is St Croix I am seeing off the coast. Bolongo Bay looks south and St Croix is the long island that we see. All the dining tables in the Lobster Grille have old fashioned maps on them. It's amazing what you can learn even while eating! There is another, small island to the left of St Croix but I am not sure yet which island that is. I'll have to find out!


The picture I added was a view of the sunset outside the Lobster Grill kitchen. Just beautiful!