Thursday-Friday, December 29 & 30, 2011

Thursday Cris and I were up and back to mixing, cooking and baking for the big party. We must have assembled hundreds of little appetizers! He had quite a variety of food.

The party was suppose to start at 3pm, so shortly before we stopped work and changed into casual party clothes. The first guests, however, did not start arriving until after 4pm. Ten people in all showed up, out of the 35-40 invited, most of whom said they would come. I felt bad for Cris! Those of us at the party, however, ate very well and had some great wines! So it was their loss.. The last people left about 11pm. Once the guests were gone, off we went to bed. Clean up can wait!

Friday morning, no one got up early, lol. I was the first one up, so I reheated some coffee from the evening before and had a couple cookies. The others got up about an hour later and after coffee all around, we did finally clean up the dining room-kitchen area. We ended up throwing the rest of the food away. It had been sitting out too long. And as Cris pointed out, there was no place for it in the refrigerator. :-(

After we cleaned up, Cris drove me into town and we had lunch at "Wahoo", a local Denver restaurant. Pretty good actually. A fresh Tex-Mex type of place. After lunch, we went over to Kim's house. That's where I'm spending the night tonight. Cris, Kim, Dave (Kim's husband) and I talked about Cris and Kim's new business. They want to open a bakery and cafe. They have a building picked out, now all they need to find is financing and finish work on their business plan. A big undertaking for these two! After Crish left, Kim and I ran to the store for a few things, then came back to the house and made marshmallows. For New Year's Eve, Kim is making deep fried s'mores. She made her own marshmallows today and tomorrow she'll stuff them with chocolate, roll them into a ball, dip them in eggs, then roll them in crushed graham crackers. At that point these little confections get deep-fried. Sounds good to me!

We went out to dinner tonight. We were hoping to eat at Potager's but they were closed. Instead, we had dinner at Parallel 17. Kind of a French-Asian restaurant on 17th Street. The food was excellent! As was the company (Kim and Dave). We've spent the evening and almost until midnight talking about cooking and businesses. I've missed both Kim. And Cris!

Kim has three cats, and they decided at midnight, it was time for us to go to bed. The cats are pretty funny! I return to Reno tomorrow and meet up with Jordan in Las Vegas (he's returning from Phoenix, AZ). It's New Year's Eve tomorrow!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

I was off to Denver early this morning. Smooth ride on Southwest. And what was the first thing I saw as we descended into Denver? Snow! Haven't seen that in a while. Guess they had a white Christmas. The weather was nice with temperatures in the 50's and sunny, clear skies.

My friend, Cris, picked me up at the airport (which is at least 20 miles outside of the Denver city limits). Cris and I went to culinary school together. It's so good to see him again! We stopped by his work (Lifestyles Catering) so he could pick up some extra trays for the party he and his partner are having tomorrow night. Then we had lunch (sushi) at Mt Fugi. After lunch we stopped by Capitol Hill Mansion B&B to see Carl and Bailey (Carl's daughter). I lived at Capitol Hill while I went to culinary school. Carl was so surprised. THings have changed at Capitol Hill. He has a new sous chef, Eric, who has not gone to culinary school but from the pictures Carl's been taking of the food-the guy seems to have a natural talent for not only cooking, but plating.

Next stop was the grocery store for a few last minute buys, then up the mountain (Cris lives in Golden, just outside the state park there). They have a great home, set in a wooded area (hence the state park, I guess, lol), slightly rustic with lots of artwork. Cris put me to work cooking the things that could be made ahead. I made Parmesan Crips, a cracker made with Parmesan cheese, flour, butter, egg yolks, salt and a pinch of mustard. They turned out well, albeit somewhat fragile. These crackers will be topped with herbed goat cheese (which I also mixed up-goat cheese, cream cheese, a little cream, fresh thyme, oregano and dried garlic) topped with a cranberry compote. My next task was making a crab salad (crab, mayo, sour cream, celery, green onions, salt, pepper). We'll put the crab salad on crackers and top with a sprinkle of parsley and an olive slice. Cris made a chorizo filling and a lamb filling for empanadas we'll make tomorrow. We also cooked up some bacon for Flamekucken, a pizza type dish topped with creamy onions and bacon. It's an Alsatian dish we learned to make in school. YUM!

Dinner was oven fried chicken, Fettucine Alfredo and Sautéed Italian veggies (zucchini, yellow squash, onions, tomatoes and herbs sautéed in olive oil). We watched a movie (now I can't remember what it was called, lol), then off to bed for everyone-long day. It's a little like staying in a house at Lake Tahoe. I forgot how cold it gets when you live in the mountains, lol!

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Today was a work day, believe it or not. I was back to doing personal chef work for one of my first clients. I had a couple of errands in the morning, then a little shopping. Things went quicker than I expected! I make quite a few dishes today-New Yoark Steak with Madiera Sauce, Rolled Pork Florentine, Thai Pork with Noodles, Rosemary Marinated Lamb Chops, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, two kinds of roasted vegetables, Baked Pasta Shells with Fresh Spinach and Tomatoes, Crab and Celery Remoulade, two salads and a few others I can't think of, lol. All in all, a busy day!

Tomorrow morning I Lear for Denver. I'll be gone til the evening of the 31st visiting friends. The ticket was a Christmas present from Jordan. Should be fun!

Monday, December 26, 2011

Friday, December 23, we were up early and off to the airport to return home to Reno. Jordan picked us up and once I got home, i started to work on the appetizers for the cocktail party I was catering that night. My sister, Janell gratiously did my shopping for me (although lots of calls went on, she wanted to get everything just right!) so everything I needed was right there. She and my mom also came over to help. We made Breaded Artichoke Bottoms on a bed of greens tossed with vinaigrette, Spinach and Goat Cheese Tarts, Lobster Salad served in Porcelain Spoons, Tomato Basil Mozzarella Skeres with a pesto dip, Thyme Roasted Tomato Bruschetta, and Rosemary Chicken Skewers with a Spicy Dip. It took right up until delivery time to get everything done! We loaded up Janell's SUV and drove over to drop the food off at my client's house.

And what a house! A beautiful old Tudor style home, all decorated for Christmas. We arranged all the dishes on the dining room table, then I helped set up a cheese tray with crackers and bread slices, took the desserts out of the box (no wonder he only asked for hors D'oeuvres!) that my client had gotten at Backstubbe, had a small glass of wine, then left it up to the hosts. Everyone was tired by the end of the day! Jordan took me out to dinner so I didn't have to cook even more, lol.

Saturday I got a text saying the food was a huge success, the favorites being the lobster salad and the spinach and goat cheese tarts. Yeah!! I did the grocery shopping for Christmas dinner, then came home to relax. At 3:30pm, I went over and picked up my dishes from my client and got paid at the same time! Yeah! Every time I do a job I learn something. Whether it's how to cut the cheese differently for a better presentation, or how to keep hot food hot and cold food cold or how to best present a dish. Always learning!

By Christmas morning I was still undecided about dessert-Icebox cake or Cheesecake? Cheesecake won, so I made a chocolate graham cracker crust and a cream cheese filling. I topped it with Colonial Cranberries when serving. You take 2 cups of cranberries sliced in half, 1 cup brown sugar and 1/2 tsp orange zest and mix together in a casserole dish. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until soft then remove from the oven. Add 2 tsp vanilla when you remove them from the oven, then cool and store in the fridge for up to one week. Yummy! The cranberries can also be flavored with liqours. I made a Beef Rib Roast crusted with mustard, salt and pepper, muffin tin Potatoes Gratin, and Vichy Carrots (a form of glazed carrots). We finally got to eat around 4pm. I did have a couple of appetizers-Goat cheese studded with dried cranberries and pecans and some bruschetta with prosciutto and mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. We opened Janell's bottle of Muscato d'Asti to have with the appetizers. We opened presents and also watched a Christmas movie called Family Stone. Pretty good movie.

Today I did some of the shopping for my work day tomorrow. I am doing meals for a week for my personal chef client. Just like old times (he's been in Hawaii for almost two months). I also made a Chocolate Truffle Cake and Ribolita. Otherwise it was a quiet day spent reading and watching a movie. Me and Ah Choo....

And ere she went to bed, she was heard to say, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

We were off to the airport by 5:15am this morning. Our Hawaiian Airlines flight took off at 8am. And did I mention we flew back first class??? Oh, so nice! We arrive in Vegas at 3:30pm (direct flight) and arrived at the Mandarin Oriental at 4pm. What a lovely hotel! We had dinner at Sage in the Aria Hotel Casino. Another great restaurant experience, or 7-8 as my companion said. An amuse bouche of soup, appetizers of sweetbreads and octopus, and main courses of scallops and pork belly. Dessert was maple cake and clementine claflouti. The only downside were my gritty scallops-"not up to standards" as they say and no maple taste in the maple cake. Otherwise we had a good time.

Back to Reno in the morning.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

A few random pictures I've taken while on Maui. The flowers here are beautiful and so plentiful! This is indeed an ideal growing place for almost anything. Today we will be cleaning out the refrigerator so it is a kind of "potluck" day. The skies are clearing and the sun peaks out occasionally. We'll see what the rest of the day holds. I think I am as tan as I will get for my two weeks here so don't know if I'll make it to the pool or not. Early tomorrow morning it is off to Vegas via Hawaiian Air, where we'll go out to dinner at "Sage" restaurant at the Aria Hotel, then fly back to Reno Friday morning. It has been a privilege to be able to come out here these two weeks.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Compared to the other days here, it really did rain all day today! Still warm though, so it can't be all bad, can it? Here are some pictures taken of me in the kitchen. I am looking up in one of them because I was suppose to stand under a light but didn't know if I was standing under a light unless I looked up. They snapped a picture then and it was so funny I decided to keep it. "Looking for divine inspiration!"

Papaya for breakfast, Curried Chicken Salad on a croissant for lunch with leftover chickpea salad and out to dinner in the evening. It was a quiet day, reading and on the computer.

We had dinner at Roy's down the street. Very nice food. We thought we would go early and get a drink in the bar at 5 but Roy's doesn't open until 5:30pm. Oh, well...we sat outside until it was time for them to open. Met a couple from Canada and talked with them while we waited. We shared an "appetizer boat" that had tuna poke (raw tuna), crab and shrimp lumpia (deep fried crust filled with the crab and shrimp), Korean BBQ ribs, potstickers, and BBQ shrimp on a skewer. I had butterfish (black cod) that literally melts in your mouth like butter. Amazing texture and taste. It was served with what looked like a California sushi roll. Lots of fish on the menu at Roy's.

One more day in paradise, then back stateside. It's still raining, lol, I can hear it dripping off the eaves as I lay in bed.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Rain, rain, rain....at least until about mid-day. I carved a pineapple and made a yogurt-oatmeal-chopped pineapple meusli-type mix for breakfast (last night) and served it for breakfast. The pineapple (Hawaiian Gold) was quite good. There was a trip to the grocery store for a couple of things. With everything so expensive here, when I saw all-purpose flour on sale for $1.99 for five pounds, we bought it! That doesn't usually happen, even stateside! It will be there when I come back in January.

I did manage a trip to the pool this morning for a bit. After all that rain, it managed to turn into a nice day. Lunch was chicken and couscous leftovers. Still tasty.

Dinner was Garlic Shrimp and pasta with a salad. A combination of new shrimp and leftover pasta and vegetables.

Dessert was mini apple pies with whipped cream. I'm actually tired tonight so am going to bed early. Not many days left in Hawaii!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

This morning dawned bright and sunny again-very nice to see! We went out for Sunday brunch at the Ka'anipali Beach Resort. They are the only Sunday brunch on the island apparently! And it's a champagne brunch, lol! Most everyone is seated outside, although the brunch buffet was inside what looked to be a showroom of some sort. They offered a lot of Chinese style dishes as well as roasted potatoes, breakfast sausages (sorry, no bacon), and scrambled eggs. After that long set of tables was the the salad bar with fresh fruit (watermelon, pineapple and green melon). They had an omelet station and a seafood station with sushi. Lots of food! There was also a separate dessert set of tables complete with a chocolate fountain. It did bring back memories of Bolongo, although we didn't do anything so grand as this buffet.

After brunch we went walking on Ka'anipali Beach and I walked a bit in the water. It's cold! I was told the water temperature of the ocean in Hawaii is about 78 degrees, but it felt colder than that. Ah, well. We also stopped at the store in the Kapalua complex and looked around. They have a small grocery store, deli and gift shop. A pound of strawberries was $10.49!! A pint of raspberries was $6.98 but a pint of blueberries from Chile was only $5.55 (only! Guess it all depends on your point of view). I did take pictures so I'll have to come back and add them.

I was planning on going to the pool in the afternoon, but it rained. The sun did end up coming out for a bit and I did get to go to the pool, but when it started to rain again, that was the end of it. Dinner was Roasted Ribeye Steak with a Red Wine Pan Sauce, baked Muffin Pan Potato Gratin and a green salad with Emmenthaler Cheese and walnuts and Dijon Vinaigrette. Nice dinner! Especially since there was a bottle of 2007 Chateauneuf de Pape from France. Very smooth!

No Charlie Brown special tonight,lol. Instead it was Masterpiece Theater on PBS. Not much else to report...

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Another day in paradise (I know, no one feels sorry for me, rain or no rain, lol). I decided to do a real breakfast this morning so made a variation of Eggs Benedict. Only difference was, I used regular bacon instead of Canadian bacon. It came together quickly. I guess all those months doing breakfast at Bolongo made a difference! I got everything going pretty much all at once. I made the Hollandaise in the blender with eggs, butter, lemon juice, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. It ended up a light sauce but I could have used more egg yolks as well as a little more butter but you don't need that much sauce for only a few people. And Hollandaise sauce doesn't keep. I toasted the English muffins whirl I fried the bacon and boiled water to poach the eggs. Like I said, it all came together pretty quickly. It was cloudy the better part of the day and the sun did come out, so I went to the pool in the afternoon instead of the morning. I read, watched a little TV and did some laundry. Dinner was Tangerine Thyme Tuna, Couscous with Roasted Eggplant and Steamed Asparagus. I made Carrot Bran muffins after dinner to have over the next few days. We watched the Wizard of Oz-haven't seen that in years! During a commercial break I made the Coffee Cup Chocolate Cake you bake in the microwave. I added extra chocolate this time so it was quite rich. I must admit, though, that I recently watched an episode of a show that showcases "Pastry Geniuses" and there was a contestant that microwaved a cake and got blasted for doing so. The pastry expert did not consider baking in a microwave a good use of baking talent. So is baking a moist, tasty cake in the microwave in a coffee cup genius or cop-out? I don't know. Good cake though! Tomorrow morning we go out for Sunday brunch. How exciting!

Friday, December 16, 2011

Another sunny day in paradise! Went to the store early, then off to the pool for an hour. Breakfast was easy, coffee and Mandarin Orange cake. Lunch was a little more work: Chickpea salad (chickpeas, celery, red peppers and onions in a balsamic vinaigrette). There were also last Nita's leftovers of tuna and roasted root vegetables. A more substantial lunch than usual but just as good the second day as they were the first day. In the afternoon, we lost water pressure but never did find out why. Just as suddenly, things started working! Good thing with the weekend coming up. The problem did prompt a visit with the next door neighbors and we spent some time talking. Apparently they are both from NYC but love Maui so live here now. He's a math teachers and does private tutoring and his wife is a stay at home mom. They have one little girl, about three years old. You definitely know when she is happy and when she is sad (she is quite verbal, lol). The wife asked for help making cookies for a cookie exchange, so I told her I would help her. We'll see what happens. For dinner, we had a Curry Chicken Salad with rice served on a bed of lettuce. I added a few La Panzanella crackers and we were set. For dessert we had the mini apple pies I had made (apple with a Strusel top) topped with whipped cream. We bought some disposable muffin tins so I made four pies in those and baked the leftover apples by themselves in the extra slot. Early to bed (even if I am not early to rise, lol). A little reading first, though.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Today dawned bright and sunny for a change! Hallelujah! I was awakened, however, by the birds chattering this morning. As soon as it gets light, it sounds like a jungle! Such noise! Amazing.... And then of course, Thursday is lawn mowing day, so there were machines going for quite some time. In order to keep all these ground so "well-manicured", they need constant attention. The only "mar" on the days, the constant machinery running to upkeep this complex. Coffee and Mandarin Orange cake for breakfast. The cake is still moist and not too sweet. Makes for a nice breakfast sweet. After breakfast, I went to the pool for about an hour. Need to take advantage of the sun while I can! I was the only one there. We found out from the next door neighbors the other day that the complex keeps herbs in large planters by the pool. Sure enough, there they were. Quite a large variety too. Who'd have thought? Lunch today was sliced Bosc pears wrapped in prosciutto and served with slices of Manchego cheese as well as some crackers. It made for a filling but light lunch. I'll have to remember that one! I read some in the afternoon as well as fussed with recipes. I am trying to figure put how much to charge for the appetizers I am providing for a cocktail party the day I get back from Maui. Now the numbers are 30-40 people! There are six different appetizers. I went for festive and elegant. Should turn out well. For dinner we had Teriyaki Tuna, Roasted Root Vegetables and a mixed green salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette. Just chocolate ice cream for dessert. My boss says it's just like having room service, lol. Always happy to hear someone say they like my food! We watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas" after dinner. Haven't seen that in a good long while! It's interesting to see how simple things were back in 1965 when this program was just made, especially as compared to now, when special effects are what entertain most people. I did get a little pink from my time in the sun today. Nice to have a little color, lol. I am definitely a white girl! It's early to bed for me. Life here is definitely slower than back in Reno. The joys and perils of paradise, I guess.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

The day started out sunny! What a surprise, lol! I was up early, had coffee, then wrote an article on Holiday entertaining for Examiner.com. I made Oatmeal Creme Brûlée for breakfast topped with walnuts. A trick I learned from Carl at Capitol Hill B&B. We went for a walk after breakfast to take advantage of the sun. It was beautiful! So much grows here with little effort. Lunch was Pasta with glazed vegetables in a butter-sour cream sauce. After lunch the weather turned cloudy so I decided it was time for a nap, lol. What better way to spend a rainy afternoon? Tonight we went to the Ritz-Carlton for dinner at the Banyon Tree. The Ritz was beautifully decorated for Christmas. I wanted to take one of the Christmas trees home. Oh my gosh! Our waiter was Robert ("Ro-ber", very French, from Lyon) who took great care of us. We split a bottle of 1994 Chaval Blanc and ate the tasting menu the chef was offering. Saffron poached shrimp with bulgur salad (there was a dipping sauce that had a "christmas flower" decoration on top, just beautiful, very clever), Halibut on a bed of purée, Pot Au Fue (beef), and Ginger Napolean. What a fantastic meal! Thank you, thank you! It is back to reality though and back to cooking tomorrow, lol. Night, all....

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Well....the sun did not come out on Tuesday, lol. Rained a lot with flash flood warnings for the island. Bummer.... Toast in the morning with coffee (Pumpkin Cranberry Walnut bread). Then a trip to the post office to send out Christmas cards I wrote last night. I had Christmas cards in Reno but did not get them sent out before I left and forgot to bring them with me. So I sent out Hawaiian Christmas cards. Pretty funny, lol. So maybe you'll get a Merry Christmas from Maui card! We walked around a couple of the stores near the post office in the Napali shopping center-not much of interest. Then back home for a Papaya-Banana smoothie. Since it's raining off and on, more time on the computer. Not a day to be outside, although that does not seem to stop the grounds keepers! Lots of noise from leaf blowers and lawnmowers. The price, I suppose, of well-manicured grounds. Lunch is leftover Corn Crab Chowder. Don't want to waste food! And it was darned tasty. The afternoon was spent online again, although I did read a little. I am getting into a routine. A small meal at 8am, again about 10-10:30am, lunch about 12:30-1pm, then start dinner about 5pm. At first, it was easy to get distracted, so I had to remind myself (or be reminded, lol), that it was time for a meal. And just when I think I have it all down, it will be time to leave! Dinner was Oriental Beef Wraps (using lettuce for wrapping). It turned out well. Dessert was Mandarin Orange Cake. It had a brown sugar-milk glaze you pour over the cake when it first comes out of the oven. I'll have to remember that glaze. It has kind of a caramel taste. Pretty good, actually. The sun did come out some this afternoon, which is nice. Hope tomorrow is nicer still!

Monday, December 12, 2011

More rain today!! Living in Nevada for so many years I've forgotten what it's like when it rains day in and day out. It is warm rain, however, and I am not here on vacation, so I guess I can't complain too much.

We went to Starbucks this morning for coffee and a Danish, and then to the grocery store for a couple of things. I now have pretty much everything I need for the rest of the week (mostly just more chicken). We also stopped off at another grocery store we didn't know was there. It's a lot like Whole Foods, but has a wine and gourmet food section that is fantastic! And it's a LOT closer to the condo than Whole Foods. I guess this will be the new favorite gourmet/organic grocery store for this household! A quick stop at the Barnes and Noble Book store (same shopping center) and it was home again. I was finally able to get an article done for Examiner.com on gingerbread houses. I wrote it twice yesterday but ended up losing it because of Internet problems! Brother! Guess I felt I had to write it and get it off my plate, so to speak.

We polished off more of the Pumpkin Walnut Cranberry bread by toasting it. The bread really does grow on you! It makes great toast. For lunch I made a Cherry Tomato Tart Tartan. It is interesting what you take for granted when cooking at home! I have lots of equipment to use which makes life easy. Not so here-you work with what you have. So instead of making the Tart Tartan in an 8 inch frying pan, I ended up making it Ina bread pan, lol. It still came out well, although I wonder if the cherry tomatoes would have caramelized more if the dish had been baked in a heavy frying pan. Oh, well.... I also put a small square of puff pastry over yesterday's Ham-Emmenthaler "quiche" and served that along side the Cherry Tomato Tart Tartan. Very good!

There was a cheese snack in the afternoon and for dinner, there was Cardamom-Dusted Chicken Thighs with a Rich Vanilla Sauce and Moroccan Couscous.

I served a green salad on the side with a Balsamic vinaigrette. All yummy stuff (one would hope I could put all that training to good use, lol!). Dessert was sauteed strawberries with whipped cream. That turned out a little too "saucy" but had good flavor. Something else to work on!

We found out what all our Internet problems were yesterday. Something knocked out cell phone and Internet serves all over Maui. So I guess we weren't the only ones having problems! Everything worked this morning, so it must have gotten fixed last night.

I spent more time on the computer looking at special Christmas appetizers. I feel better having an "arsenal" of recipes ready, than to have to scramble at the last minute looking for that "special recipe". All it takes is time and since I have the time, I did some recipe gathering. I was also able to talk with Jordan and catch up, see how he's doing without me! (Just fine.).

More of the same tomorrow! And who knows, maybe the sun will come out tomorrow.....

Sunday, December 11, 2011

It rained quite a bit Saturday night and most of Sunday. It's interesting to watch the rain come and go, sheets of rain coming down much heavier than we see in Nevada. I guess I am not bothered by all this rain because this is not a vacation, but a "working vacation". Or work in an exotic setting, if you will.

The Pumpkin Walnut Cranberry bread from yesterday came out a little flatter than I expected, but in all fairness, I think I let it over rise the second time. The flavor, however, was still good and it makes for good toast. It is not a sweet bread, but definitely a yeasty tasting bread flavored mainly by the pumpkin. The recipe for this bread can be found at www.thekitchn.com should anyone want to give it a try.

First breakfast was coffee and the Pumpkin Walnut

Crannberry bread toasted (I had a little jam on mine-Lavender Passion Fruit). Then more online work for me, trying to decide on appetizers for a cocktail party that would be elegant and festive. I did come up with two appetizer menus, one eclectic, the other Italian based appetizers. I emailed them off to Dr. Lynch and will wait to hear from him. I did call my sister to see if she would go shopping for me before I get back. She said she will. That will make my job easier and she is also willing to help me out the day of the cocktail party. That will also help tremendously!

Second breakfast or brunch, actually, was mini Ham Emmenthaler Tarts baked in the oven. We bought some puff pastry shells at Safeway and I pre-baked them and was going to fill them with the royal I had mixed up (classic royale is three eggs and 1 cup of milk, cream or half 'n' half, flavored with either a savory profile or a sweet profile-very versatile). I spooned ham and cheese in first, then added the royale and what to my wondering eyes did appear, but tasty Royale leaking out the bottom of the puff pastry!! Oh, no! So back into the bowl went what was left of the royale. I decided to partially cook the royale aster that so see if it would stay put. It did, so I scooped the partially cooked Royale back into the shells and finished baking them. Definitely a learning experience, lol! They were quite tasty. I used thyme, salt and pepper to flavor the royale.

We had Internet issues Sunday. The wireless router stopped working and there seemed to be no fixing it. I even had trouble getting my iPad and iPhone to get on the Internet. Don't know what that was all about!

There was time spent reading in the afternoon, then it was time to start dinner. I made Walu (a type of whitefish) with Lime Butter Sauce, rice, and zucchini sautéed in butter and garlic. Food does not have to be fancy to be good! The fish was from the local market and not bad. From what I understand, expensive cuts of fish are often imitated with lesser types of fish so this fish wasn't great but was flaky and moist and had a mild flavor. I made microwave chocolate cake for dessert. Impressive that you can bake a moist flavorful cake in a coffee mug, in the microwave, making just enough for one serving each! We decided it could have used some ice cream or frosting of some sort or Creme Anglaise on top, but it was tasty all the same, lol.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

It rained like crazy last night and woke me up, so with interrupted sleep, I didn't wake up until 7am this morning (9am back in Nevada!). Coffee, then prepared half a papaya for "first breakfast", as I have been calling it. Mostly because there is then yogurt or a fruit smoothie for "second breakfast" about mid-morning. I did make a yogurt parfait with strawberries and bananas this morning. The strawberries don't seem to last very long here, even in the refrigerator! I'm a little surprised, but they had the same problem on St Thomas at Bolongo, so it must be the tropical climate.

Today was a lazy day. The sun did peek out at times, but it was cloudy and rained off and on. I did receive a call from Jim Lynch (while on his way to London!) asking if I could do a cocktail party on December 23. What could I say but yes! I am gonna have to move my butt, (I get back to Reno Friday morning) but am happy to have the opportunity. So I spent part of the day looking at appetizer recipes so I can put something nice together for 30 people.

Lunch today was leftovers (can't let them go to waste!). I made Pumpkin Walnut Cranberry Bread this afternoon. It turned out flatter than I expected but I seem to have a harder time making bread at sea level than I do in Reno or Denver for that matter. Hopefully it will taste good! Dinner was Seasoned Ribeye, a baked potato (wrapped in bacon and baked in the oven) and a mixed green salad with Dijon Vinaigrette. I made ice cream sandwiches with a couple of the chocolate chip cookies. There was Rum Raisin ice cream in the freezer. It tasted better than I thought it would, lol!

But now, it's early to bed... I need to add some pictures tomorrow. I have been taking photos!

Friday, December 9, 2011

I woke up at 5am this morning! Hawaii is two hours behind Reno, so that was just about right for Reno time, lol. We went to Safeway (having been to Costco on the way back from the airport and spending $400!!!) this morning. I bought most of what we need for the next week or more. Unfortunately, there are no spices at the house so besides food, there were spices to buy. $306!!!! Everything here is SO expensive. I am mindful of doing a good job, so that it will have been worthwhile bringing me out here!

We came back from shopping, put groceries away, then I mixed up a fruit smoothie with strawberries and banana, yogurt and milk, guava juice and cinnamon. Very tasty. I was up so early, it was only 10:15am when we got back, lol. About an hour later, I started lunch. Corn and Crab Chowder. It rained off and on today, never for very long. Makes everything greener. I did take pictures of my view out the kitchen window and I will add those tomorrow. This afternoon we went to Maui Prime, the island gourmet store. It wasn't as big as I thought it would be, but they had lots of food items. We bought cheese and crackers, Lavender Passion Fruit Jam, duck breast (the last one on Maui we were told!), and Manchego cheese. when we got back from Maui Prime, we met our next door neighbor, John. We chatted for a bit, then he was off to teach. John is a school teacher and does tutoring on the side.

I also made chocolate chip cookies this afternoon, then took some over to the neighbors (we had so many anyway). We met John's wife and little girl. Cute girl.

Dinner was Seared Tuna with a cannelini beans flavored with carrots, celery and onions as well as thyme and lemon zest. There was also a Sun-dried Tomato Sauce. It turned out yummy! That paired with a nice French wine was a perfect ending to the day!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Wednesday I had my mom and Janell over for lunch as I am leaving in the morning for two weeks. I served a variation of shrimp scampi, still using garlic and olive oil, but adding orange zest, orange juice, cilantro and a few pepper flakes rather than adding parsley. I made an icebox cake for dessert. Icebox cakes were popular decades ago. You layer chocolate wafer cookies or graham crackers with either whipped cream or pudding or something just as creamy, put in the icebox (refrigerator) for at least four hours and are rewarded with what looks like an intricate layer cake when you cut into it. The whipped cream softens the cookies so they taste more like cake. It's yummy! A nice "retro" dessert.

Jordan didn't think I should cook my last night in Reno, so he took me out to dinner at Charlie Palmer's Steakhouse at the Grand Sierra. A little bit of a sticker shock there, but good food. We split a steak/shrimp combo. I'd forgotten what it was like to order food that is all ala carte! I guess nothing is simple, lol.

I started on a new adventure today! I took a flight to Maui this morning via Seattle, to take a private chef job for two weeks. Beautiful setting here. We are on the northwest section of Maui called Kapalua at "The Ridge" near the Ritz Carlton. Beautifully manicured grounds, lush and green, although not all of Maui is green. They are in the middle of a drought. It's always a difficult concept for me when an island (in the middle of a large body of water) is said to be a desert island! Just doesn't seem possible, lol. As it's been a long day, we went out to dinner at Merriman's, a restaurant up the street. Lovely view, excellent food, excellent French wine, and good company. Tomorrow I begin working, although I don't think this will be a hard job. I'll be doing what I love to do-cook! This does feel like a dream....being paid to do what I love, in an exotic setting. I feel very lucky!

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Monday I had lunch with one of the girls I used to work with at SCOR. We had sushi and caught up. After lunch, it was time to get down to business, so to speak. I had assembled my mini apple pies in the morning so baked them after lunch. I also made Irish Soda Bread. Then put the pork roast in the oven to roast, made the Soy-Honey-Bourbon sauce and made the Stewed Green Beans with Bacon. I had about an hour before it was time to deliver my meal, when I realized I forgot to put the Bourbon Sweet Potatoes in the oven to roast! A near disaster! I quickly put them into roast (I had actually mixed all the spices and brown sugar with the potatoes earlier in the day, then put them aside. So aside I almost forgot them, lol! Everything turned out well, though. I delivered the meal and came back home to leftover Hoisin Short Ribs (not quite as good as the first night).

After dinner, I finished wrapping the Cake Truffles and boxed them up. Then bed. It was a long day!

Today I spent the morning working on the computer and having a meeting with Jordan and David in LA regarding the LAHI project. David seemed pleased with the information I came up with, so who knows? Maybe it will result in a little paid work for LA county or SKK or LAED.

I dropped off the cake truffles to Jennifer. She was pleased with the packaging (which is always a relief) and wrote me a check (even better!). I picked up my dishes from last night and talked to a few of the nurses I used to work with. It was nice chatting with them. Once I got home, it was time to get tonight's dinner going. New York Stead Roast with Marsala Pan Sauce, Roasted Spiced Carrot, Parsnip and Potato Coins, Mixed Green Salad with Toasted Walnuts and Gruyere, and Strawberry Almond Crumble Pie. Anne said everything last night was very good, especially the Mini Apple Pies. Yeah!

Tomorrow I'll go pick up my dishes, and then be done with it all for a couple of weeks. Off to Maui on Thursday!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

We had brunch today at Hobey's, breakfast really, with my mom and Janell. Jordan went off to program and I went home. I dipped cake truffles most of the afternoon. Spice cake dipped in white chocolate then sprinkled with roasted Saigon cinnamon and chocolate cake with coffee added for more depth of flavor, dipped in dark chocolate with chocolate jimmies sprinkled on top. I'm getting better at dipping, but I still need more practice. Practice makes perfect, right? I got the cake truffles boxed up, four to a box. I'll finish them off with ribbon tomorrow and a label saying they are from Jennifer. I did remember to take pictures of everything, I just need to be on my computer to upload them onto the blog and I'm afraid I usually write this on my iPad. It's so much more convenient to use!

I thought I might get my little mini apple pies baked today, but alas, I did not. More to do tomorrow! I still need to pick up a pork roast for tomorrow and some chocolate wafer cookies for Tuesday, but other than that, I have everything I need. A nice feeling. I get less "worked up" about all this cooking, so I guess practice does make perfect as far as cooking goes (although I am far from perfect, lol).

Only four more days until I am off to Maui for my next culinary adventure! Hardly seems possible it is already here....

And I WILL come back and add pictures!!

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Had lunch yesterday with my mom, Janell and Kasia at Bangkok Cuisine, Thai food. Pretty good actually! We had a nice time. Janell and mom and I did a little shopping at Kohl's-mom wanted a new purse. A stop at Walmart for MVIs and fiber, and we were off, lol. I spent part of the day working on the LAHI project and the rest of the time looking at recipes. I also tried to come up with a list of kitchen basics for my Maui job. It's set to start in less than a week! Jordan and I watched a movie again-Pirates of the Caribbean, Uncharted Waters (or something similar). It was ok, although I liked the other Pirates movies better.

Today I went shopping at Trader Joe's with Janell. I bought quite a few of the things I'll need for my Monday and Tuesday jobs. I'll just need to pick up the meat Sunday or Monday. I also received a call from Laurie at SOE. Apparently the corporate chef (Rachelle) wants to come up to Reno to do the last demo of the year. Guess they forgot to tell me! Laurie thought Chef Rachelle was going to contact me-I don't know what Chef Rachelle was thinking. It's kind of a bummer because I'll be losing income, but on the other hand, I won't be rushing to pack to leave on Thursday and it allows more more time with Jordan and my family. Gotta look on the bright side!

I got some baking time in today. I took pictures so will add them tomorrow. I made Spiced Nuts (Janell had given me an empty package from some sugared walnuts she bought at Whole Foods and asked me if I could mimic the recipe), Chocolate Cocoa Kiss cookies (another recipe Janell gave me and asked me to make) and Turtle Bars. I haven't been baking much because other than the few sources I have for clients or giving it away, I have no outlet for a lot of baking. Seems a waste to always give goodies away (although I am sure everyone appreciates it). I need to pay for all that schooling in the culinary arts somehow, lol! Guess I need to work on solving that dilemma.

Watched another movie tonight-Pirate Radio (a Pirate theme this weekend, lol). Great music! That movie ended up being much better than I thought it would be and after googling "pirate radio 1960s, found the movie was based on the history of pirate radio stations in the UK. We laughed a lot during the movie. The cat on the other hand, liked Pirates of the Caribbean better, lol. During that movie he stood on the chair in front of the TV and watched the TV for quite a while. Too cute!

I did more work today on the LAHI project-I'll have to see what happens with that. Just tidying up my list a d verbiage. Tomorrow is breakfast out with Jordan, Janell and Mom. Hobey's I think they wanted. Otherwise tomorrow will be chocolate dipping day!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

December already!! Only 24 days til Christmas, lol! And only a week before I leave for my Maui private chef gig. Just as it is starting to get cold in Reno......

I wrapped Christmas presents this morning, then went and had lunch with John Springgate at Silver Peak. I parked at his office and we walked over there. It was cold on the way there, but nicer by the time we finished lunch. A salad and pot stickers for me, corn chowder and a salad for him. They have surprisingly good pots tickers. I say surprisingly, because they are not a Chinese restaurant, lol.

After that, I ran some errands, did a little grocery shopping, then came home and started dinner.

I made Hoisin Short Ribs, which take a little time. Take 2-3 pounds of short ribs, salt and pepper them, then brown them in oil in a Dutch oven on top of the stove. Remove the meat and drain off all but 1 Tbsp fat and add 10 cloves of peeled garlic and a one inch piece of fresh sliced ginger to the oil. Stir for 1-2 minutes, then add 12 oz of a hearty ale and 3 Tbsp of rice wine vinegar. Mix, then return the meat to the pan. Simmer on top of the stove for 2 1/2 hours, covered. After 2 1/2 hours, add 1 cup Hoisin sauce to the pan over the ribs and place in a preheated 300 degree oven for 30-60 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve with mashed potatoes and Sesame Seed Sugar Snap Peas (sauté the sugar snap peas in 1-2 Tbsp of oil and 1 Tbsp sesame seed oil until softened. Add in 1 Tbsp sesame seeds, salt and pepper to taste, stir and serve. Everyone seemed happy with the meals, which is always a good thing. I made some chocolate mousse for dessert.

My sister and mom and I watched "Santa Clause Is Coming To Town" on TV (I love Christmas!) then they went home. It was a nice evening.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The last three days have not been very exciting....

Monday my mom and Janell came over for lunch. I made Turkey and Mashed Potato Potpie (ala Martha Stewart) with all the left overs. It turned out well. I had enough to put two ramekins into the freezer for another day. Can't go wrong with mushrooms, leeks, turkey and potatoes. I even threw in the rest of the corn, lol. We watched movies in the afternoon then went out to dinner at Hacienda. Jordan made it home from LA safe and sound.

Tuesday I baked the cakes (chocolate and spice cakes) for my cake truffles due Monday December 5. Once they cooled, I cut them into pieces and put them into the food processor to make fine crumbs. I put the crumbs into a large bowl, then mixed in cream cheese frosting. Once all the frosting was incorporated, I put the mixture into the fridge to firm up. I left them in overnight. The rest of the day was spent doing errands.

Today, more errands in the morning, then I rolled the cake truffle mixture into balls, put them in a Tupperware container and placed them in the freezer. They can stay in the freezer for some time, but I will likely dip the cake balls in chocolate on Friday or Saturday in anticipation of delivery on Monday. I have not come up with a topping for the chocolate, but I plan on dipping the spice balls into white chocolate, then sprinkling the white chocolate with a little cinnamon before the chocolate sets. Should be very tasty!

Jordan called at 4pm to see if I wanted to see a movie on Patagonia at UNR. I said yes! The movie was about Patagonia and the five dams they are talking about putting on the two largest rivers, the Baker and (oh, great, now I can't think of the name of the second river, lol!).....
There were pros and cons, but I have to say, I had no idea how much dams damage the ecosystems surrounding them. It was an eye-opening film.

Janell and Mom are coming for dinner tomorrow, so guess I better decide what to make!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

A quiet weekend. I did not go out shopping on Black Friday, just went to get my haircut. Lots of people out, I guess they spent a good amount of money Friday! Jordan and I watched a movie called "Woman Cut in Two", a French film with subtitles. Jordan is not a big movie fan so I was a little surprised he came home with four (!) movies to choose from. It was an ok film about a young woman and the choices she makes in life. It's a little sad really.

Saturday I had lunch with my sister and my mom. We went to Grimaldi's Pizzeria. Just ok, but now I am going to write a review of it (I still owe ABBI PR a review of the place) and need to be kind. The pizza is not bad, in fact the crust is quite good. The toppings and side salads, however, do not have a lot of taste. I told my sister and mom to put some salt on things, it would help, lol, and it did somewhat. Saturday evening Jordan and I watched a second movie, "The Proposal" with Sandra Bullock and Ryan McPherson (?). Cute movie, made me laugh a few times. Jordan said it could have ended two different ways but I prefer the happy ending. He says both endings could have been happy.

Jordan left this morning for LA. He has meetings tomorrow at USC. It was just me and the cat. I thought I was going to have company (Mom and Janell) but they stayed home today. I baked some Baby Berry Pastries, using leftover cranberry sauce, cream cheese and Pillsbury Crescent rolls. They turned out better tasting than I expected! See what you think-I included a picture.

Baby Berry Pastries

1 can Pillsbury Crescent rolls (8 count)
1/2 cup whipped cream cheese (spreads easier than regular cream cheese)
1/2 cup cranberry sauce (or raspberrry jam)
For Glaze: 1 Tbsp butter, 1 Tbsp milk, 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Open the crescent rolls on the parchment lined baking sheet and divide them into 8 triangles. Spread with cream cheese, then the cranberry sauce. Cut the triangles in half lengthwise with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Roll the smaller triangles up, stretching the dough slightly as you roll. You should have 16 crescents. Reposition them evenly on the baking sheet and bake in the pre-heated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool before you glaze them. Heat the milk and the butter either in the microwave or on the stovetop until the butter is melted. Slowly mix in the powdered sugar using a fork. Drizzle the glaze over each of the crescents and let set before you serve. Enjoy!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

I finished the two side dishes I needed to make for my sister and my mom, first thing this morning. I also made up the mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving as one of the side dishes was mashed potatoes with caramelized onions. Yum! I baked a pumpkin pie using a new recipe out of a book my sister lent me called "Perfect Pies". Nice book, good pictures.

My mom and sister came over about 11am. I baked the Pumpkin French Toast dish, fried up some bacon and made a small fruit and yogurt cup. Then we finished watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Dinner was ready by 4pm. We had stuffed turkey breast, mashed potatoes, cheese corn casserole, roasted Brussels sprouts, stuffing Janell made, and cranberry sauce. A good time was had by all!

Jordan napped but after dinner Janell, my mom and I watched Christmas movies, then had pie. The little mini apple pies baked in the half pint canning jars sure are cute! And taste as good as the full sized pies. Mom and Janell left about 9pm. After spending some time with Jordan, it's time for bed.

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

It's the day before Thanksgiving and I spent it making dinners for my mom and sister (they are clients now!) rather than getting ready for Thanksgiving. My sister wants to be able to do some of the cooking, so I readied the meat and shrimp (2 chicken dishes, 2 pork dishes, 1 beef dish and 1 shrimp dish). I also made up the sauces for each dish (Balsamic Mushroom Sauce for chicken, Orange Ginger Sauce for the beef, a sweet spicy sauce for Piri Piri Shrimp, and a Pomegranate Glaze). I also made a casserole she can bake later (Easy Chicken Parmesan). And finally a Corn and Crab Chowder. Once I was finished cooking and putting things together, I delivered the meals. Turns out my mom and sister had the Corn and Crab Chowder for dinner tonight. My sister called after dinner to say how much they liked the chowder. Happy to hear that!

I did get some small apple pies baked this morning. All I need to do is make a pumpkin pie. I have a turkey breast stuffed and ready to roast. Just need to made mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, cheesy corn casserole and Brussels sprouts for tomorrow. Couldn't make up my mind about rolls, so will likely go with crescent rolls.

I also put together a baked French toast dish. It looks more like a bread pudding than French toast, as the bread is cubed. 8 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, pinch of salt, one 15 oz can puréed pumpkin, 1Tbsp sugar, one loaf thick cut bread (I usually use ciabatta for bread puddings)-cubed, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbsp flour, 2 Tbsp butter (softened), 1/2 tsp cinnamon is all you need for Baked Pumpkin French Toast. Mix together the eggs, vanilla, spices, sugar and salt together. Once those ingredients are mixed, add the pumpkin purée. Layer the bread cubes into a 9x13 inch pan, in a single layer if possible. Pour the pumpkin mixture over it. Next, using a fork, mix the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter until crumbled. Sprinkle this over you pumpkin bread mix. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until top is golden. I stopped short of baking this because it's for tomorrow. I wrapped it up and put it in the fridge. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Had my last bout of PT this morning, so won't be doing that anymore. Body Wisdom has been very good in helping me work out the aches and pains of returning to a normal gait post-op. Of course, it helped that they loved the goodies I brought them.

I had my mom and sister over for dinner this evening. I baked a Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake (I need to take a picture, lol) this afternoon. For dinner, I made Plum Curry Glazed Cornish Game Hens, Wild Rice Pilaf, and Roasted Broccoli. Everyone thought it was good. Jordan asked my mom what she thought of my leaving nursing to make a new career out of cooking. My mom told him as long as I could make a living, she's ok with it (and she thinks I'm a good cook!). It's been nice seeing my mom again. Hope she has a good time while she's here!

Monday, November 21, 2011

I made some cookies this morning to give my mom and sister. Dried Cranberry, Macadamia Nut and White Chocolate cookies in a cinnamon dough. Not bad, lots of flavor. I had some computer work to do (Jordan has given me the same assignment to do as he gave his students to see how long it would take me and if a lay person could do the assignment), which took up an hour or two this morning.

Janell picked me up at 12:15pm and we went to the airport and picked up my mom. It was so good to see her again. It's been almost a year since we've seen her! She's staying with Janell but I'll still get to see lots of her. We went to lunch as India Kabob-Indian being one of my mom's favorite foods, but not so much for Janell, lol. I like Indian food but don't get to go often so it was a treat for me.

We did just a little shopping then took my mom to Janell's apartment to rest. She came with two suitcases, an overnight bag and a rather large walker with four of the biggest wheels I've ever seen on a walker. My mom says it works well, plus has a seat she can either sit down in or rest her purse and coat on. She came all this way and brought her own chair, lol!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Friday the wind was so strong that I ran a few errands then came home. Not to mention the fires around southwest Reno. My oh my!
I did manage to get some baking in. I was going to make Pumpkin Pie Pops but the filling was a little too runny for that I thought, so a compromise. I made mini Spiced Pumpkin pies (besides the usual spices, I added a few more including Cayenne pepper to add a little bite). They turned out ok, but I won't be buying pumpkin pie mix anytime soon (and I'll read the label first, lol)! It was snowing by the end of the day, so I was really glad I decided to stay home!

Saturday, Jordan and I had breakfast with friends at Krumblz, a deli and bakery started by two pastry chefs who had been working at the Sienna when it closed. They decided to go into business for themselves. Breakfast out is almost always good. Nice people at Krumblz. The rest of the day was spent working on the LAHI project. When I couldn't do any more, I looked at cookie recipes! Love baking cookies, just don't have enough outlets so don't bake as much as I used to.

After dinner we watched "Men Who Stare at Goats". The movie has George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey. Strange but funny.

Thursday, November 17 2011

I was up early because I needed to make cookies for Karen (of Hill Billy Hot Dogs). She forgot to call me over the weekend to ask for a dozen bags of chocolate chip cookies. Only I had to go out and buy eggs before I could make cookies! I'd forgotten I used all my eggs for the 40 loaves of Spiced Pumpkin Bread. I finished baking and packaging the chocolate chip cookies pretty quickly, got them delivered, then went and saw Janell for a little bit. She had two bags of "stuff" for me.

I had a 2pm conference call with Jordan and David, which went well. David acknowledged the information we need on LA hospitals is "out there", it will just take someone doing research to pull it all together. We'll see if this turns into some type of employment for me (like Jordan thinks will happen-at least something to supplement my income).

I spent part of the day sitting on the couch, working on the computer, which Ah Choo loves. He likes the attention! And the belly rubs, lol. Jordan says he's not sure which one of us is more trained to do the bidding of the other.

I am reading about pies and small or miniature desserts, which have taken center stage right along with cupcakes. People don't feel so guilty buying and eating one cupcake, but don't always want to buy an entire cake. Same with pies and candies and other little pastries. I am making mini pies for one of my meetings in December. And they really are cute!

I managed to finally make "Holiday Jam" and get it canned. Holiday Jam has fresh cranberries, strawberries and sugar cooked together and reduced to a wonderfully thick consistency. Nice combination, cranberries and strawberries.

Jordan and I had dinner out at the Steakhouse at Hobey's in Lemmon Valley. The food was quite good and the restaurant itself reminded me of Harrah's Steakhouse. Kind of old school, old world decor and service (although nothing "table side"). We'll definitely go again. I had lobster bisque that had big chunks of lobster in it (usually lobster bisque is more "essence" of lobster, so the chunks were a surprise) and we split a steak. For dessert we had chocolate cheesecake. The restaurant makes everything in-house! That's not as common as it used to be-at any restaurant. Marco, the maitre'd has worked at several high end restaurants in Reno as well as the Bay area. He's been at Hobey's for 9 years. Nice guy, Marco.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

I delivered my (biblical sounding) 40 loaves of Spiced Pumpkin Bread this morning. I figured since I was done with them, I might as well just deliver them (and bill for them, lol). They turned out well and Anne seemed to like them, so that makes me happy!

I did a little more work on the LAHI project. David sent Jordan and I an example of what he is looking for. I'm not sure that info is out there, at least not in one place. Not to mention the fact that most of the hospital websites do not offer a picture or diagram of their facility, which is what is needed to give David the info he wants. We'll see what happens tomorrow when we conference call. My Internet stopped working this afternoon, so I couldn't finish the work.

I had lunch with Ric at Arlington Gardens. They changed their lunch menu-"dummied" it down some. Probably economics. They do offer interesting specials. We both had Pasta with Bolognese Sauce. Pretty good actually!

Home for a couple of hours, then I went to Campo's grand opening. The early session of 4-6pm was for the media (still hard to think of myself as "the media"). We got a small tour, got to look behind the scenes at the kitchen, etc, had some wine and food (pizza, charcuterie (made right there by Mark Estée), olives, dips, chocolate truffles, chocolate orange mini biscotti and Limoncello mini cupcakes) before the general public came. By 7pm, the place was packed! They also had a live jazz band playing. I met a few new people and saw some old acquaintances. Michael, who used to be matre'd at Harrah's Steakhouse, was there and he even remembered me! He says hello to the doctor by the way. I left about 7:30pm-too many people. I'll go back another time with Jordan and try out the menu. I liked their pizza (made in a wood burning Italian pizza oven) and the charcuterie was fabulous!

Jordan had to teach from UNR tonight because of no Internet so he didn't get home until late. Guess we'll figure out the whole Internet thing tomorrow. I'll also try to add some Campo pictures tomorrow once we have Internet service again.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

PT early this morning. Only one more left after this one, then I am on my own. After PT, I made another trip to the grocery store. More eggs, ground cloves, pumpkin and a couple miscellaneous items. I made a rookie mistake though! I bought pumpkin pie mix in a can instead of the pumpkin puree! Didn't even look at the label! AND, I didn't realize it until I had opened the can to use it and looked at the label then, lol. Oh, well, guess I'll be making pumpkin pies soon!

Believe it or not, I finished baking my 40 loaves of Spiced Pumpkin Bread by 2pm! I let them cool and had them wrapped and boxed before 5pm. Sometimes I amaze even myself (just kidding, lol!). Either I am getting faster or more organized, not sure which it is. And making quick bread (bread made with baking soda and baking powder instead of yeast) , is as the name implies, quick. Now I just need to figure out what to make for dinner. Jordan brought home lamb chops last night but I had already made chicken and rice, so I'll use the lamb tonight.

I have been obsessed with pies since seeing a show on the Cooking Channel called "For the Love of Pies". They all looked so cool! I especially like the small or mini pies made in muffin tins and the pies made in little mason jars. And a couple of the people interviewed, had some unusual ideas. I liked that! Putting chopped chocolate in pie crust or flavoring the pie dough with cinnamon to add a boost of flavor to the entire pie. It inspires me to be more creative myself!

I guess my next job is making some meals for Janell and my mom. They just need to let me know what to make! (Just pick off the menus I gave them-how easy is that?)

Monday, November 14, 2011

I worked on the LAHI project this morning while waiting for my "paper" pans to come (which they did about 2pm). Jordan looked at the list before he left for work and showed me a few places that needed to be "cleaned up". Once that was done I sent the list off to PhuongLan Nguyen to look at to see what she could add. Since it's GIS week (not sure exactly what that means but it made sense to Jordan), she will not get a look at it until Wednesday. I also added a list of services hospitals offer, which at some point in the future will be matched up to the various hospitals.

Once my pans got here, I started baking. I made 14 loaves of the spiced pumpkin bread this afternoon! It went quickly so I think this won't take me long. I was thinking as I mixed a double batch of batter, that I was getting used to "mass production" although still on a smaller scale (not like Sarah Lee, lol). After dinner (baked chicken and rice with a mushroom sauce and brocolini), I wrapped the loaves I had made. I first put them in a cellphone bag, then wrapped a 4 inch wide piece of (gorgeous) decorative paper around the center, then added a matching ribbon to that. I got the idea after looking at the Martha Stewart website at packaging and gift wrapping. Say what you will about her (Jordan asked me if she learned that trick in prison!) she does have some creative ideas. I am pleased with the way the packaging turned out.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

It's been a quiet weekend, just me and the cat. Saturday I had breakfast at Arlington Gardens with some of the usual suspects, as Kasia would say. They changed their menu a bit, but nothing too exotic. After breakfast I was off to find paper and ribbon for the Spiced Pumpkin Breads I am making for SCOR marketing. 40 loaves by Thursday! Better get busy, although my loaf pans have yet to arrive from King Arthur Flour. They should be here Monday.

I did make some Apricot Chews Saturday afternoon. They have diced dried apricots and coconut for flavoring. And they are moist and chewy. Otherwise I worked on recipes, etc. and did some reading.

Sunday (today), I finished what I could of the LAHI project. I'll have Jordan look at it then send it off to Ms Nyugen to see what she can add. I am done, at least in part, for now with that project. I baked some Pistachio and Dark Chocolate Toiles (a cross between a cookie and toffee) this afternoon. I am thinking of giving this as a Christmas gift, but needed to see how the recipe worked. The Toiles turned put to be quite tasty and I was amazed at how much flavor the pistachios added to the cookie. I think I chopped the dark chocolate a little too fine, so next time I will leave it in bigger chunks. All in all, a success, and an easy recipe.

I wrote an article for the examiner.com about Mark Estee's new restaurant, Campo. The grand opening is Wednesday, the 17th from 6pm to 9pm. There is an earlier press party from 4-6pm that I have been invited to attend and I will be going. It's free to the press, so I guess it's nice to get some perks, however small! Should be interesting. You otherwise have to have tickets to attend, which cost $20 and includes wine and beer and small bites. The proceeds are going to two charities, which is nice of Estee. Hope they get a good turnout.

Jordan didn't get home until almost 8pm! He was bumped off his United flight because it was overbooked. So he ended up buying a new ticket on Southwest. He says that's what he gets for letting other people buy his ticket.

Well, tomorrow is another day, with new adventures of it's own. But now, bedtime....

Friday, November 11, 2011

Happy Veteran's Day with a salute to all those men and women who have given their time and effort to make sure we have continued freedom!

Did you ever notice that when you want to sleep in a little later that that will be the time you wake up early? That's what happened this morning. At least the cat seemed happy I was up as he had his first breakfast, then second breakfast in about an hour (sounds like a hobbit!).
Janell and I ran errands in the morning, had lunch at BJ's Brewery, ran a couple more errands and then came home. I have not been spending much time in store the last 6-9 months, unless you count grocery stores! Everyone has Christmas decorations up and I even heard a few Christmas songs! Janell told me about a cartoon she saw of a Thanksgiving turkey and Santa Claus. The turkey says to Santa-"back off fat boy , this is MY holiday!". Seems like a good attitude to have, lol. So many things are commercialized, my oh my.

I spent the afternoon finishing up my first go round with the LAHI list. Now I just need to add the hospitals from the EMS list that were not on the OSHPD list. It all gets very complicated.

I talked with Jordan. The faculty meeting went on all day! And tomorrow he was invited to attend the USC Homecoming game so that's what he'll be doing tomorrow. Me, I feel the need to bake and try a new recipe. But that's tomorrow and now it's bedtime...

Thursday, November 10, 2011

I had a dental appointment this morning. Now that I've had a partial knee replacement, I have to be premeditated with antibiotics before all dental procedures or anything they consider "invasive". Just four pills one hour before the procedure.

Once that was done, I did some grocery shopping at Trader Joe's although Jordan left for LA tonight for the biannual USC staff meeting so we didn't need much. He'll be back Sunday.

I also stopped by Hillbilly Hot Dogs. She owed me some money and wanted me to pick it up. She's had a harder time selling the Oatmeal Raisin cookies so if she needs some next week, I'll go back to making chocolate chip cookies. The public is fickle!

Most of the rest of the day was working on the LAHI project, no cooking, although I picked up a mini boule and used it for a bowl for Chicken Corn Chowder. Yum! I did make a loaf of no knead bread though. Love that stuff, it's just like artisan bread and so easy!

More work on the LAHI project tomorrow. It needs to be done by the first week in December. I think I will make cookies though.....

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

I was up at 4am this morning so I could be in Dayton by 6am. Wellness clinic at the Smith's on Hwy 50. I was a little late because it was further out than I remembered. Oh, well. The clinic ran over an hour-people kept coming and Robin (the lead) kept saying yes. More money for the both of us! I was home by about 2pm.

Spent the afternoon on various business calls, etc, then on to the LAHI list. I made it through Kaiser (not much info on the web about the individual Kaisers, just the Foundation in general.

Jordan taught til 8pm so I finished off some left overs (stuffed turkey breast, made new mashed potatoes, a salad and used the two leftover globe artichokes as a side). I am a tired puppy, so I am going to bed early. Tomorrow is another day!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Monday morning was spent baking and putting together Whoopie pies. The traditional chocolate Whoopie pies with a vanilla-marshmallow filling and the less traditional Pumpkin Whoopie pies with vanilla-cream cheese filling. They ARE labor intensive but the results are tasty. I found the chocolate pies filled with the vanilla-marshmallow filling to be a little too rich and sweet for my tastes. I had some vanilla cream cheese filling left over and put some of that filling in extra chocolate cookies I had left over and I thought that combination was much better. Once I was done baking and assembling and packaging attractively, I schlepped them all down to Anne at SCOR so they could make the final decision as to what they wanted to give for a marketing gift: Spiced Pumpkin Bread or Whoopie Pies (chocolate and pumpkin combo). Me, I vote for the pumpkin bread, lol. It tastes good and packages well and is much less labor intensive.

The afternoon was spent working on the LA hospital list for Jordan. It is crazy how much information is out there on the web and how much of it contradicts another source! I am probably a third of the way through the first and most important list (there are four).

For dinner I tried two of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine meal suggestions. There were about six recipes that revolved around salsa. For the first recipe, Creamy Salsa Soup, I combined a jar of Pace mild salsa (minus about 1/4 cup for my second dish) and 3 cups of chicken stock. I heated the soup to just boiling, then put the soup into the food processor (or blender) with 2 Tbsp cream and puréed the soup. I then returned it to the pot to reheat some. When it was time for dinner, I put the soup in a bowl and topped it with a bit of sour cream, a few diced avocados and some crisp tortilla chips. Very pretty! The soup was a little too spicy for me, even in it's milder form, but Jordan liked it well enough (no raves, lol). I also served a warm open-faced tuna sandwich. I took one can of tuna, drained it, then mixed it with 1/4 cup of mayonnaise and one cup of the mild salsa. You can add salt and pepper but I didn't think it needed it. I spread the tuna mix over a split section of baguette, put some sliced Manchego cheese on top and placed it under the broiler. The recipe said to try Pepper Jack cheese, but I didn't have that, so you use what you have. I topped the meal off with a Globe artichoke-easy to cook and tasty too!

Today, Tuesday, the morning was filled with PT, a teleconference call with one of the women that works for USC in the real estate department (who would have thought a university needed or even wanted a real estate dept?!) about the LAHI (Los Angeles Hospital Inventory) project USC is doing, and getting the oil changed in my car.

I had lunch with Janell (who was also at Big-O getting an oil change and new tires) at the Fifth Street Bakery (one 5th and Keystone). I had read about them some months ago and been wanting to try them. I had a Hot Pastrami sandwich with crispy hot fries and Janell had a Grilled Tuna sandwich with fries (here's were hot and crispy too, lol). The prices are all under $10 but it helped that I had a coupon from Living Social, the online site where they offer different discounts at different businesses everyday. Janell got a White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookie to go and I bought a Caramel Apple Croissant. I haven't tried it yet, but I'll let you know how it tastes! All in the name of research, lol.

This afternoon will be more work on the hospital list. I haven't figured out dinner yet.....

Sunday, November 6, 2011

It was kinda cold this weekend so it was a good time to bake. I made Spiced Pumpkin Bread as a part of my marketing trials. I got this recipe from Michael's mother years ago and it is still good!

Spiced Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/3 cup water
1tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (you could use all all-purpose flour also)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan and set aside.

Beat together the sugar and vegetable oil until well blended. Add in the eggs, pumpkin and water and beat again. Mix together all the dry
ingredients, then add to the pumpkin mixture. Mix only until ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake for about one hour or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf pan comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes in the loaf pan. After running a knife along the edges, turn the pumpkin bread out of the pan and continue to cool on a wire rack. Do not cut until it has cooled completely.

I made three smaller loaves to see how many this recipe would make. It helps me figure out how much to charge for each loaf. I used paper baking pans from King Arthur Flour and I must say, they are great to use. They look nice (dark brown with a gold pattern on them) and stand up well to baking. They also help with the packaging as well. I am offering two types of wrap and SCOR can chose which one they want. One is wrapped like a present in waxed paper with a thin ribbon wrapped twice around the long way. The other is wrapped in cellophane with a four inch wide piece of pretty tissue paper around it's middle and a ribbon around that (ala Martha Stewart. Say what you will, the woman has some great ideas! Either her or the people around her.). I'll make Pumpkin Whoopie Pies Monday to add to the offerings and let Anne chose which one she would like. Apparently Whoopie Pies are the new cupcakes according to some people!

Whoopie Pies originated in New England and are historically chocolate cake-like cookies filled with a vanilla cream filling. Some also say they originated in Pennsylvania from the Pennsylvania Dutch folks. The women would sometimes make these as a treat for their husbands and pack them in their lunch bags. When the husbands saw these treats, they said "Whoopie!". The people in Pennsylvania, however, call their Whoopie Pies, "Gobs". Don't know where that name came from!

Once Jordan finished teaching this morning, we went to brunch at the El Dorado. Nice buffet and Jordan's favorite. We stopped by the grocery store on the way home, but I forgot to buy more pumpkin so couldn't work on the Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. And with the time change, it's bedtime early tonight, lol.

Friday, November 4, 2011

I spent the day at Walmart at their flu shot clinic. A long day, mainly because from 9am to 1:30pm, I had no patients! I gave my fist flu vaccine at 1:30. Bummer... I did end up giving 17 flu shots. Otherwise I spent the day reading, people watching and checking emails. Not too exciting, although I took Martha Stewart's Everyday Food with me and got some good cooking ideas. It even inspired me to buy some salsa so I could try a couple recipes. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Not much else to report other than I am going to Maui December 8-23 for a private chef gig. How exciting!!