"Make today a day for the fancy toothpicks". -from the little book of inspirational thoughts
Yet another lovely day in paradise...... It was sunny but warm today. There are days (usually 82 or warmer) when it is actually too warm to comfortably sit in the sun, as well as being very humid. After a breakfast of French toast and sausage, I sat out on the beach for a couple of hours, careful not to spend all the time in the sun. There was a nice breeze, so it never seems as hot when there's a breeze blowing. I came back in and watched "Meet Joe Black" on HBO before going down to Iggie's at 5pm to work. There was a private party this morning at Iggie's that the staff at Iggie's had to prep for. Usually that type of thing falls on the Lobster Grille staff to prep, but with Janee gone last week, Iggie's inherited the job. I ran into Mary on the way down and she told me she had not done much for me because she had had to prep for thenparty. "Me back and side are killin' me!" she said. I told her go home, and take care of herself.
Lots of tomatoes to dice and slice, shredded lettuce to chop, cucumbers to slice (no more seeding and dicing, too much of a waste of product). It was not a very busy night, I guess Mondays usually aren't. There is a dessert called a Mokie Jumbie (I do not knowmwhere they got that name, lol), which is two Rasta Brownies (regular 3x3 inch brownies with chocolate chips-marijuana free), three scoops of vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. I had been dishing it up with chocolate ice cream and one of the waitresses corrected me. When I questioned her, she glared at me and told me she had worked there for FIVE years, she ought to know what the dessert did and did not have. Not sure who peed in her Wheaties tonight, but I fixed it and apologized. Not much else to do. The shift for Pantry is only five hours, but when we aren't busy, it seems like it stretchs on forever! At 9:30, Jeff, the kitchen manager, showed up and wanted to do inventory. He gave us each two pages to do. I was the first one done, which surprised him greatly, lol. I told him I had done inventory at the Lobster Grille and also that it had been part of my previous job responsibilities. Unfortunately he gave me another page! I still got off at 10pm. I brought back some Coconut Shrimp with some type of sauce that turned out to be almost tasteless! Imagine my surprise! I think I may say something to Jeff about it. I probably would not order it again with that sauce. We used to serve the Coconut Shrimp at the LG on the old menu, but it came with a sweet and spicy Thai sauce.
A shower, a phone call to Jordan and it's time for bed. I am back at the LG tomorrow, 2-10pm working Pantry. Then two days off!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
When I got up this morning, Suzanne made Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberries. They were great! Nice texture, good taste. She also made a fruit plate of melon and strawberries, very artistic presentation. At 10:15am, it was time to go to the airport. They dropped me off, I checked in, went through security, went to the gate and before they would let us walk to the plane (same Dash-8, Series 300), we were patted down and they looked through everyone's carry-on. I thought that was suppose to happen at the first security checkpoint. The plane took off early again, which was fine by me. After landing on St Thomas, it was a trip thru Customs where they asked a lot of questions (they did not know what a Culinary intern was) and then ran our bags through another x-ray machine. After that, I was free to go. The taxi ride back to Bolongo cost me $14.00 (Delita charged me $12) plus tip. Only money, right?
I work at 5pm at Iggie's in the Pantry, so I have a little down time. It was sad leaving Suzanne and Pat after just two days. We had a very good time together and it reminded me that it has been far too long since I've seen her. Janee is back from Miami. She had a baseball sized cyst removed from her ovary but is feeling much better than before she left Bolongo. I talked with her before work because she had scheduled me to work in the warehouse on Wednesday. I told her I did not want to go back there after my experience a week or two ago. She agreed with me and said she had wondered the same thing when she looked at the schedule. As it turns out, I was scheduled to work at Iggie's Monday evening, a day I had off on the Lobster Grille schedule. Good thing I checked both schedules! I'll just get Wednesday off instead of Monday, no more warehouse.
Iggie's was kind of busy tonight. I made salads and sandwiches and wraps and plated desserts. It's funny, but the wait staff have started commenting how pretty my dessert plates look. Either I'm getting better, or they don't get out much! We have a new dishwasher. He's kind of quiet, but seems to do a good job and seems like a nice guy. Otherwise, I am getting into the swing of working at Iggie's.
At 10pm, it was back to my room with a to go container of hummus and pita bread and a glass of wine. A shower and then I talked to Jordan who has been grading homework from his USC students. I only have a month left here. I think time is going to go quickly!
I work at 5pm at Iggie's in the Pantry, so I have a little down time. It was sad leaving Suzanne and Pat after just two days. We had a very good time together and it reminded me that it has been far too long since I've seen her. Janee is back from Miami. She had a baseball sized cyst removed from her ovary but is feeling much better than before she left Bolongo. I talked with her before work because she had scheduled me to work in the warehouse on Wednesday. I told her I did not want to go back there after my experience a week or two ago. She agreed with me and said she had wondered the same thing when she looked at the schedule. As it turns out, I was scheduled to work at Iggie's Monday evening, a day I had off on the Lobster Grille schedule. Good thing I checked both schedules! I'll just get Wednesday off instead of Monday, no more warehouse.
Iggie's was kind of busy tonight. I made salads and sandwiches and wraps and plated desserts. It's funny, but the wait staff have started commenting how pretty my dessert plates look. Either I'm getting better, or they don't get out much! We have a new dishwasher. He's kind of quiet, but seems to do a good job and seems like a nice guy. Otherwise, I am getting into the swing of working at Iggie's.
At 10pm, it was back to my room with a to go container of hummus and pita bread and a glass of wine. A shower and then I talked to Jordan who has been grading homework from his USC students. I only have a month left here. I think time is going to go quickly!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
It was such a lazy, laid back day today, absolutely wonderful! I slept in til 8am, spent more time talking with Suzanne (she is one of those friends that no matter how long it has been since we've last seen each other, we just pick up where we've left off. Betty and Vicki are the same kind of friends), ate breakfast, and drank coffee. I spent time reading the February digital issue from the ACF (American Culinary Foundation) and looking online and reading about personal chefs and catering-one of the jobs I am considering when I return to Nevada.
For dinner, we drove over to Grand Case on the French side of St Martin. I noticed this time around on both the Dutch and the French side, that the countryside looks cleaner and more lush than two years ago. Last time I was here, you could still see the ravages of Hurricane Luis that happened back in 1995. Even ten years after that particular hurricaine, the island still seemed ravaged. Now the landscape seems more lush, houses have been repaired and most of the excess debris has been removed. The Dutch side, Sint Maarten, broke away from the Netherland Antilles, and declared themselves an independent country, but they are still under Dutch rule. All very interesting and somewhat confusing. Labor laws differ drastically between the French and the Dutch. On the Dutch side, if you are Antillian (an islander), you have a better chance of getting a job than a Dutch citizen. It also makes it harder to fire you. You have to be caught strapping from your employer at least three times before you can be fired. On the French side, a French citizen is cavorts for a new hire over someone born on the island, so you see more white workers than black workers in the shops and working in restaurants. Such a difference!
We parked the car, then walked along the main boulevard. There are really no sidewalks in Grand Case, so people and cars are both in the streets. The only good thing about it is that the "main drag" is a one way street. Mthe restaurants are all open to the street so you can either sit in front and watch the people who walk/drive by, or sit further into the restaurant where it is more quiet. We sat inside the restaurant called La Cottage. I've never eaten there before, I've only eaten at the Blue Martini in Grand Case. Our waitress (French), went over the specials fornus. Suzanne told me she did not understand a word the woman said, but loved to listen to her talk, it sounded so pretty, lol! I told Suzanne she just went over some of the menu items that were considered house specialies, so she really didn't miss anything. The menus are in French and in English, which helps. Having a culinary education helps with reading the menus asmthe language of the kitchen is French. We had a Kir Royale for an aperitif (made with Campagne). Suzanne and I split the Foie Gras appetizer, which was done three ways, (seared and served with toasted gingerbread, a Foie Gras lollipop and Foie Gras mousse), then she ordered a trio of Scallop dishes (a scallop mousse, seared scallops with a tomato sauce and Scallops served as tiny sandwiches). I ordered duck breast four ways (shredded duck in a pastry cone topped with whipped herbed butter, duck mousse wrapped in prosciutto, duck confit in a glass topped with some sort of whipped potato and roast duck breast). Pat had French onion soup (no melted cheese or crouton on top!) and then had lamb chops which were suppose to be served with beets but he does not like beets so they substituted potatoes. For dessert, Suzanne and I split a Grand Marnier Souffle and Pat had a cheese plate made up entirely of cheeses from France. They let me order the wine, which was difficult, as they had a wonderful list of French wines from almost every region in France, but I settled on a 2007 Chateaunouf de Pape, which was excellent! All in all, a place I would definitely go back to.
The ride home was uneventful though filled with talk of changes Suzanne and Pat have seen on St Maarten/St Martin over the last several years. A little reading and then bed for me. I will be going back to St Thomas tomorrow on the 11:55am Liat flight. Suzanne says she is making blueberry pancakes for breakfast. She has a new recipe for pancakes that uses ricotta. Sounds wonderful! Suzanne is also a good cook, always willing to try something new. I wish I had more time here but the last couple of days have been a wonderful break from routine! AND I am so happy they have WiFi now at the house! I can still blog while here even though a phone call would be international. Modern technology!
For dinner, we drove over to Grand Case on the French side of St Martin. I noticed this time around on both the Dutch and the French side, that the countryside looks cleaner and more lush than two years ago. Last time I was here, you could still see the ravages of Hurricane Luis that happened back in 1995. Even ten years after that particular hurricaine, the island still seemed ravaged. Now the landscape seems more lush, houses have been repaired and most of the excess debris has been removed. The Dutch side, Sint Maarten, broke away from the Netherland Antilles, and declared themselves an independent country, but they are still under Dutch rule. All very interesting and somewhat confusing. Labor laws differ drastically between the French and the Dutch. On the Dutch side, if you are Antillian (an islander), you have a better chance of getting a job than a Dutch citizen. It also makes it harder to fire you. You have to be caught strapping from your employer at least three times before you can be fired. On the French side, a French citizen is cavorts for a new hire over someone born on the island, so you see more white workers than black workers in the shops and working in restaurants. Such a difference!
We parked the car, then walked along the main boulevard. There are really no sidewalks in Grand Case, so people and cars are both in the streets. The only good thing about it is that the "main drag" is a one way street. Mthe restaurants are all open to the street so you can either sit in front and watch the people who walk/drive by, or sit further into the restaurant where it is more quiet. We sat inside the restaurant called La Cottage. I've never eaten there before, I've only eaten at the Blue Martini in Grand Case. Our waitress (French), went over the specials fornus. Suzanne told me she did not understand a word the woman said, but loved to listen to her talk, it sounded so pretty, lol! I told Suzanne she just went over some of the menu items that were considered house specialies, so she really didn't miss anything. The menus are in French and in English, which helps. Having a culinary education helps with reading the menus asmthe language of the kitchen is French. We had a Kir Royale for an aperitif (made with Campagne). Suzanne and I split the Foie Gras appetizer, which was done three ways, (seared and served with toasted gingerbread, a Foie Gras lollipop and Foie Gras mousse), then she ordered a trio of Scallop dishes (a scallop mousse, seared scallops with a tomato sauce and Scallops served as tiny sandwiches). I ordered duck breast four ways (shredded duck in a pastry cone topped with whipped herbed butter, duck mousse wrapped in prosciutto, duck confit in a glass topped with some sort of whipped potato and roast duck breast). Pat had French onion soup (no melted cheese or crouton on top!) and then had lamb chops which were suppose to be served with beets but he does not like beets so they substituted potatoes. For dessert, Suzanne and I split a Grand Marnier Souffle and Pat had a cheese plate made up entirely of cheeses from France. They let me order the wine, which was difficult, as they had a wonderful list of French wines from almost every region in France, but I settled on a 2007 Chateaunouf de Pape, which was excellent! All in all, a place I would definitely go back to.
The ride home was uneventful though filled with talk of changes Suzanne and Pat have seen on St Maarten/St Martin over the last several years. A little reading and then bed for me. I will be going back to St Thomas tomorrow on the 11:55am Liat flight. Suzanne says she is making blueberry pancakes for breakfast. She has a new recipe for pancakes that uses ricotta. Sounds wonderful! Suzanne is also a good cook, always willing to try something new. I wish I had more time here but the last couple of days have been a wonderful break from routine! AND I am so happy they have WiFi now at the house! I can still blog while here even though a phone call would be international. Modern technology!
Friday, January 28, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Well! As it turns out, Suzanne and Pat have WiFi set up at the house so I can still check emails AND blog. Modern technology, isn't grand? Instead of O'Neal taking me to the airport, it was Delita, because she lives at the airport and was going home anyway (but does not mean she gave me money off my fare, a girl has to make a living, you know?). Once at the airport, I was able to check in, but not go to the gate. Each gate has it's own security station. I did not have to go through Customs though. At about 7pm, a Liat worker came through and collected boarding passes from everyone. At 7:12pm, when she checked and found all passengers had checked in, we boarded a twin engine plane, four seats across, about 20 rows, and just took off! I guess they figured everyone's here, why wait?! The flight was uneventful, i got off on Sint Maarten (the plane was going on to St Kitts and then Antigua), went though customs there, walked out into the lobby where Suzanne and Pat wer just walking throu the door! Talk about fortuitous! It was very nice seeing them both again. Suzanne and I stayed up until after 11pm talking, just like old times.
Apparently we are going to a beach bar tonight where they have jazz, cocktails and tapas. Sounds cool! Tomorrow night we will drive over to the French side for dinner. Oh la la! Today, we'll see. Suzanne asked if I had an agenda for the trip. I said no, don't need to go to the beach, I just wanted to get away. So we'll see what the day holds!
Suzanne and I ran some errands, bought Pat some essentials, went over to Marigot on the French side and had lunch at La Sucriere, a French Boulangerie and Bakery. We also walked to Serafina's, another French Bakery but thought La Sucriere had fresher goods. Since going to culinary school, I look at food and especially bakery goods much differently than I used to. I love looking at the pastries and figuring out what they are when the bakers use the French terms. Then looking to see how they were made. The French really do know how to make pastries, whether it is in France or the island of St Martin. So pretty and so tempting. No could have ordered one of everything, if only to take one bite of them to see how they tasted. I also wanted to ask if they'd be willing to take on an apprentice, lol, it looked so good. Often things look much better than they taste-a disappointment! Suzane and I both had a sandwich. Mine was made from a baguette half, had butter slathered on both sides, then tomato slices, lettuce, cheese and ham. Suzanne had a baguette filled with tomato slices, lettuce and slices of Brie. I don't know if they tasted so good because we were hungry or because, once again, the French know how to make and serve really good food! After that we drove back to the Dutch side and to The Fresh Market. Holy Cow!! The food was beautiful! Fresh fruits and vegetables, cheeses, meats, all sorts of goodies that are hard to find on St Thomas. Their wine and beverage section makes you feel like you are in France. They actually had a 2007 Chateauneuf de Pape!! 2007 was one of the best years for that region, and there it was, sitting on the shelf for $25! Unheard of in the States.
We came back to the house at 4pm, rested a bit, then at 6 pm headed to Simpson Bay to eat at Karektor, a Dutch beach bar. On Friday evenings they have jazz, cocktails and tapas. We ordered mojitos to drink, then some tapas. There were Brie, walnut and honey filled puff pastries, chicken satay, Swedish meatballs, sweet and spicy shrimp, bits of flounder with bacon, bacon wrapped apricots and dates, and Tomato Garlic Bread topped with ham, among other things. I was quickly full, so was happy we were all sharing the tapas. There was indeed a jazz band with one man on guitar and two saxophone players, one man and one woman. They were quite good. Nthe place was packed! It is SO out of the way, that I asked Suzanne how they ever found this place? She said there are a lot of people online who chat about St Maarten and restaurants and bars here, that recommended thisnplace so one day they decided to try it. Apparently between the
Dutch and the French side, there are 400 restaurants on this island! At 9 Suzanne drove us back home without mishap. I can't say that for the ride there beccause a car came out of nowhere and we almost hit him trying to turn a corner. Oh, my, that was close!
I am happy there is free WiFi at Suzanne and Pat's house so I can write as things happen. Otherwise it is easy to forget what happens. Nso far this has been a wonderful trip! And again, nice to be wanted and pampered! :-)
Apparently we are going to a beach bar tonight where they have jazz, cocktails and tapas. Sounds cool! Tomorrow night we will drive over to the French side for dinner. Oh la la! Today, we'll see. Suzanne asked if I had an agenda for the trip. I said no, don't need to go to the beach, I just wanted to get away. So we'll see what the day holds!
Suzanne and I ran some errands, bought Pat some essentials, went over to Marigot on the French side and had lunch at La Sucriere, a French Boulangerie and Bakery. We also walked to Serafina's, another French Bakery but thought La Sucriere had fresher goods. Since going to culinary school, I look at food and especially bakery goods much differently than I used to. I love looking at the pastries and figuring out what they are when the bakers use the French terms. Then looking to see how they were made. The French really do know how to make pastries, whether it is in France or the island of St Martin. So pretty and so tempting. No could have ordered one of everything, if only to take one bite of them to see how they tasted. I also wanted to ask if they'd be willing to take on an apprentice, lol, it looked so good. Often things look much better than they taste-a disappointment! Suzane and I both had a sandwich. Mine was made from a baguette half, had butter slathered on both sides, then tomato slices, lettuce, cheese and ham. Suzanne had a baguette filled with tomato slices, lettuce and slices of Brie. I don't know if they tasted so good because we were hungry or because, once again, the French know how to make and serve really good food! After that we drove back to the Dutch side and to The Fresh Market. Holy Cow!! The food was beautiful! Fresh fruits and vegetables, cheeses, meats, all sorts of goodies that are hard to find on St Thomas. Their wine and beverage section makes you feel like you are in France. They actually had a 2007 Chateauneuf de Pape!! 2007 was one of the best years for that region, and there it was, sitting on the shelf for $25! Unheard of in the States.
We came back to the house at 4pm, rested a bit, then at 6 pm headed to Simpson Bay to eat at Karektor, a Dutch beach bar. On Friday evenings they have jazz, cocktails and tapas. We ordered mojitos to drink, then some tapas. There were Brie, walnut and honey filled puff pastries, chicken satay, Swedish meatballs, sweet and spicy shrimp, bits of flounder with bacon, bacon wrapped apricots and dates, and Tomato Garlic Bread topped with ham, among other things. I was quickly full, so was happy we were all sharing the tapas. There was indeed a jazz band with one man on guitar and two saxophone players, one man and one woman. They were quite good. Nthe place was packed! It is SO out of the way, that I asked Suzanne how they ever found this place? She said there are a lot of people online who chat about St Maarten and restaurants and bars here, that recommended thisnplace so one day they decided to try it. Apparently between the
Dutch and the French side, there are 400 restaurants on this island! At 9 Suzanne drove us back home without mishap. I can't say that for the ride there beccause a car came out of nowhere and we almost hit him trying to turn a corner. Oh, my, that was close!
I am happy there is free WiFi at Suzanne and Pat's house so I can write as things happen. Otherwise it is easy to forget what happens. Nso far this has been a wonderful trip! And again, nice to be wanted and pampered! :-)
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
"I take it one day at a time, but sometimes several of them attack me at once". -little book of inspirational thoughts.
It was up at 6:30am to work days at the Lobster Grille. Cliff and Carl were working today, Cliff on hotline and Carl on Pantry (the Pantry person usually makes the employee lunch, which is a bigger deal at lunch because they feed more people at lunch than at dinner). Cliff is always very nice to me, but he was anxious that he show me how HE sets up, prepares, cooks and plates the food rather than letting me do much of anything. Best not to argue or make a fuss. Plus, you never know what you might learn. It's days like this that it's hard to stay at work when I'm not doing much. Cliff asked me when I was leaving and if I was planning on coming back. The answers: March 1 and no. I told him I'd have to have a job offer before I'd come back. Apparently he would like to open his own restaurant! He does like to cook. I did end up leaving at 1pm rather than 3pm because we weren't that busy. Cliff told me first that there were 116 guests, then another time that there were 128 guests (which usually equates with being busy). Who knows which answer is the right one? Not me.
I went back to my room and showered, then packed a bag. I am on the 7:50pm Liat (a French Caribbean airline) direct flight to Sint Maarten to visit my friends Suzanne and Pat. Same weather there as here, so I won't need much. The flight is only about 36-40 minutes long. I didn't realize how close St Thomas is the St Maarten/St Martin (if you are familiar with St Maarten, then you know that one side is Dutch-Sint Maarten-and the other side is French-St Martin). It sure seems like a hassle, though, to go between some of the islands! And O'Neal, the taxi drivermtaking me to the airport, says sometimes Liat is early, sometimes they are late. It IS the Caribbean, where much of life happens very slowly and is doesn't seem to matter to the people who live here. The only people who get upset about slowness in anything here, are visiting Americans. Otherwise, it is easier to just accept that this is the way it is. He is picking me up at 5:00pm, which seems early for a 7:50pm flight, but it's not worth arguing, as you pretty much do things on their schedule (call us a captive audience, lol). When you leave St Thomas, you have to go through Customs, not sure why, so it does take longer to get checked in for your flight. The same was true when Jordan and I took tour of the BVI. We had to go through Customs on St John, even thou our final destination was back to St Thomas.
Amazing the things you just end up accepting!
I probably won't be blogging while I am on St Maarten because it would be international access and end up being quite expensive, so when I get back on Sunday, I will catch up with everyone. Here's to a change of scenery! Hazzah!
It was up at 6:30am to work days at the Lobster Grille. Cliff and Carl were working today, Cliff on hotline and Carl on Pantry (the Pantry person usually makes the employee lunch, which is a bigger deal at lunch because they feed more people at lunch than at dinner). Cliff is always very nice to me, but he was anxious that he show me how HE sets up, prepares, cooks and plates the food rather than letting me do much of anything. Best not to argue or make a fuss. Plus, you never know what you might learn. It's days like this that it's hard to stay at work when I'm not doing much. Cliff asked me when I was leaving and if I was planning on coming back. The answers: March 1 and no. I told him I'd have to have a job offer before I'd come back. Apparently he would like to open his own restaurant! He does like to cook. I did end up leaving at 1pm rather than 3pm because we weren't that busy. Cliff told me first that there were 116 guests, then another time that there were 128 guests (which usually equates with being busy). Who knows which answer is the right one? Not me.
I went back to my room and showered, then packed a bag. I am on the 7:50pm Liat (a French Caribbean airline) direct flight to Sint Maarten to visit my friends Suzanne and Pat. Same weather there as here, so I won't need much. The flight is only about 36-40 minutes long. I didn't realize how close St Thomas is the St Maarten/St Martin (if you are familiar with St Maarten, then you know that one side is Dutch-Sint Maarten-and the other side is French-St Martin). It sure seems like a hassle, though, to go between some of the islands! And O'Neal, the taxi drivermtaking me to the airport, says sometimes Liat is early, sometimes they are late. It IS the Caribbean, where much of life happens very slowly and is doesn't seem to matter to the people who live here. The only people who get upset about slowness in anything here, are visiting Americans. Otherwise, it is easier to just accept that this is the way it is. He is picking me up at 5:00pm, which seems early for a 7:50pm flight, but it's not worth arguing, as you pretty much do things on their schedule (call us a captive audience, lol). When you leave St Thomas, you have to go through Customs, not sure why, so it does take longer to get checked in for your flight. The same was true when Jordan and I took tour of the BVI. We had to go through Customs on St John, even thou our final destination was back to St Thomas.
Amazing the things you just end up accepting!
I probably won't be blogging while I am on St Maarten because it would be international access and end up being quite expensive, so when I get back on Sunday, I will catch up with everyone. Here's to a change of scenery! Hazzah!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
"Be where you are. Otherwise, you will miss your life". -Buddha, from the little book of inspirational thoughts.
I was up at 9am, after a restless night. Had breakfast, then went to the beach for an hour-hour and a half. I love the sound of the waves hitting the beach. It is a very peaceful sound. It was windy today and if I had had more time, it would have been a good sailing day!
I went in to work 1/2 hour early so I could make Coconut Chocolate bar cookies. I got them all mixed and in the pan, they looked great, I walked over to the combi one with the pan in my hand, and some how dropped the cookie pan on the floor. I was able to save most of the dough, but was quite upset with myself!! I guess things like that happen to keep you humble. I knew they would taste good but didn't look as pretty as they did before the "fall". Millie laughed at me, Ryan and Drew kept silent (good guys). I couldn't see wasting good ingredients (sent to me by Jordan), so went ahead and baked what I had. They did taste good, even if they weren't pretty! People seemed to enjoy them.
Once I finished the cookies bars, Ryan gave me a list of things to do: roast a hotel pan of red potatoes, make lobster stuffing, cut four containers of cherry tomatoes (half of them in half, half of them in quarters), and make the employee dinner. I took chicken breasts out of the freezer first, so they could thaw while I worked on other things. I was going to do potatoes next, but we didn't have any so I skipped that until Ryan could go get a bag of Red Bliss potatoes from the warehouse. So I started on the lobster stuffing (one yellow onion, 2 red bell peppers, one green bell pepper, one carrot, 3 T garlic, 1 cup sherry, 3T lobster base, 3 cups diced tomatoes plus 2 cups tomato juice, 3 T dried basil leaves, water, 1/4 cup lemon juice, mini shrimp 1/3 bag, one large can crab and 1/3 bag Panko), which is kind of a big process. I roasted the chicken breasts with a lilttle oil, salt and pepper. I also roasted a bag of mixed vegetables with them. After 25 minutes in the oven, I took the pan out of the oven, brushed Dijon mustard over them, then sprinkled Panko over the mustard and pressed it down. I returned them to the oven to brown. I made some rice pilaf next and put that in the oven to bake. Then the potatoes came and I halved them, mixing a little olive oil over them, then flavored them with dried thyme, salt and pepper. Bake at 350 for an hour or until golden brown. And I cleaned up after everyone. Ryan really did the Rotary dinner himself. He made meatloaf (what I call meatloaf surprise because he put ham and cheese in the middle of the meatloaf so it was layered. He made pasta primavera with ground beef, using my pasta dish from last night as a base. I made a green salad, then plated Otis Spunkmeyer brownies. The brownies crumbled very easily and I told Ryan that these brownies suck. He said in a loud voice, "whose in control here April, you or the brownies". It made me laugh but he was apparently serious. I did finally get them cut and plated. I cleaned the walk-in, peeled potatoes for tomorrow, then he said I could go. He was pretty nice to me all things considered. I had a glass of wine at the bar once I showered and Ryan, an orange tabby who lives at Bolongo, walked through the restaurant, looking for Harry (who shares his dinner with the cat when he works) and to see what handouts he could get from the guests. Pretty funny, though against Health Dept regs. But he is part for the Bolongo family, lol.
I work days tomorrow at the Lobster Grille, then leave for themairport for a trip to St Maarten at 5:30pm. Can't wait! As St Maarten is Dutch, and requires international phone service, I may not be writing my blog while I am gone. But I will start up again Sunday when I get back. Time for bed, no sleeping in tomorrow!
I was up at 9am, after a restless night. Had breakfast, then went to the beach for an hour-hour and a half. I love the sound of the waves hitting the beach. It is a very peaceful sound. It was windy today and if I had had more time, it would have been a good sailing day!
I went in to work 1/2 hour early so I could make Coconut Chocolate bar cookies. I got them all mixed and in the pan, they looked great, I walked over to the combi one with the pan in my hand, and some how dropped the cookie pan on the floor. I was able to save most of the dough, but was quite upset with myself!! I guess things like that happen to keep you humble. I knew they would taste good but didn't look as pretty as they did before the "fall". Millie laughed at me, Ryan and Drew kept silent (good guys). I couldn't see wasting good ingredients (sent to me by Jordan), so went ahead and baked what I had. They did taste good, even if they weren't pretty! People seemed to enjoy them.
Once I finished the cookies bars, Ryan gave me a list of things to do: roast a hotel pan of red potatoes, make lobster stuffing, cut four containers of cherry tomatoes (half of them in half, half of them in quarters), and make the employee dinner. I took chicken breasts out of the freezer first, so they could thaw while I worked on other things. I was going to do potatoes next, but we didn't have any so I skipped that until Ryan could go get a bag of Red Bliss potatoes from the warehouse. So I started on the lobster stuffing (one yellow onion, 2 red bell peppers, one green bell pepper, one carrot, 3 T garlic, 1 cup sherry, 3T lobster base, 3 cups diced tomatoes plus 2 cups tomato juice, 3 T dried basil leaves, water, 1/4 cup lemon juice, mini shrimp 1/3 bag, one large can crab and 1/3 bag Panko), which is kind of a big process. I roasted the chicken breasts with a lilttle oil, salt and pepper. I also roasted a bag of mixed vegetables with them. After 25 minutes in the oven, I took the pan out of the oven, brushed Dijon mustard over them, then sprinkled Panko over the mustard and pressed it down. I returned them to the oven to brown. I made some rice pilaf next and put that in the oven to bake. Then the potatoes came and I halved them, mixing a little olive oil over them, then flavored them with dried thyme, salt and pepper. Bake at 350 for an hour or until golden brown. And I cleaned up after everyone. Ryan really did the Rotary dinner himself. He made meatloaf (what I call meatloaf surprise because he put ham and cheese in the middle of the meatloaf so it was layered. He made pasta primavera with ground beef, using my pasta dish from last night as a base. I made a green salad, then plated Otis Spunkmeyer brownies. The brownies crumbled very easily and I told Ryan that these brownies suck. He said in a loud voice, "whose in control here April, you or the brownies". It made me laugh but he was apparently serious. I did finally get them cut and plated. I cleaned the walk-in, peeled potatoes for tomorrow, then he said I could go. He was pretty nice to me all things considered. I had a glass of wine at the bar once I showered and Ryan, an orange tabby who lives at Bolongo, walked through the restaurant, looking for Harry (who shares his dinner with the cat when he works) and to see what handouts he could get from the guests. Pretty funny, though against Health Dept regs. But he is part for the Bolongo family, lol.
I work days tomorrow at the Lobster Grille, then leave for themairport for a trip to St Maarten at 5:30pm. Can't wait! As St Maarten is Dutch, and requires international phone service, I may not be writing my blog while I am gone. But I will start up again Sunday when I get back. Time for bed, no sleeping in tomorrow!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
I decided to share a quote, from my little book of inspirational quotes, with you every day. Some are funny, others profound, but I figure if I enjoy them, so will you. So today's saying is: "There's no problem that friends cannot confront, combat, plot against, ignore, make fun of, drown in chocolate sauce or run over with a car".
I am getting pretty dark skinned (as dark as a girl with an English/Scots heritage can get!), so I figure I'll spend this morning out of the sun. My freckles have multiplied tremendously, which makes me wonder if there are so many freckles that they are growing together and overlapping so that's why I look so tan, lol! Just reading and trying to decide which online class I'll do next. Lots to learn still.
I go to work at 2pm at the Lobster Grille. I've got that down pretty well. Good thing I'm organized! It was Ryan, Jesse and myself tonight. I helped them get started as I could not set up my station until the day shift was done. Lunch is served until 2:30pm, evening shift comes in at 2pm, so there is an overlap. I made mashed potatoes, roasted herbed red potatoes, made the employee dinner (a tomato sauce with ground beef from scratch, pasta and garlic bread). I was pleased to near Ryan say he wanted to keep the excess to use again, so it must have been pretty good! I also had to poach shrimp for our shrimp and lobster cocktail. Then I set up my station. I put out four types of salad dressing (blue cheese, ranch, sour sop and ceasar), tomato chunks, cherry tomatoes, hearts of palm, thinly slices red onions, and pickled onions. The Pantry station is a cold unit that has slots that a sixth pan fits into for a total of ten slots. There is a hitched lid that goes up and down so you can access the food when you need it, but close it again when you are done so food stays cold. Down below is a two door refrigerator that holds three more dressings, smoked salmon, cut romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce (for the wedge salad), mixed baby greens for the Lobster Grapefruit Salad, tomato wedges, lemon wedges, diced tomatoes, diced onions, capers, whipped cream, lobster tails, cooked
shrimp and a few odds and ends. Business was pretty steady all evening. I kept busy in between by cleaning up after the boys, and keeping myself stocked with romaine, tomatoes and sliced onions. Ryan and Jesse were all wound up, listening to rap music (I told Ryan some of it sounds like Chinese water torture. He assured me it was the radio, lol, otherwise he knows I would appreciate it. I was out by 10pm, showered, then spent a little time at the bar with Ryan and Jesse. I went back to my room to listen to the State of the Union address. Always interesting hearing what the President has to say. I am back at the Lobster Grille tomorrow, 2-10pm. Ryan says I get to be his bitch for 8 hours. I think he's looking forward to it more than I am, lol.
I am getting pretty dark skinned (as dark as a girl with an English/Scots heritage can get!), so I figure I'll spend this morning out of the sun. My freckles have multiplied tremendously, which makes me wonder if there are so many freckles that they are growing together and overlapping so that's why I look so tan, lol! Just reading and trying to decide which online class I'll do next. Lots to learn still.
I go to work at 2pm at the Lobster Grille. I've got that down pretty well. Good thing I'm organized! It was Ryan, Jesse and myself tonight. I helped them get started as I could not set up my station until the day shift was done. Lunch is served until 2:30pm, evening shift comes in at 2pm, so there is an overlap. I made mashed potatoes, roasted herbed red potatoes, made the employee dinner (a tomato sauce with ground beef from scratch, pasta and garlic bread). I was pleased to near Ryan say he wanted to keep the excess to use again, so it must have been pretty good! I also had to poach shrimp for our shrimp and lobster cocktail. Then I set up my station. I put out four types of salad dressing (blue cheese, ranch, sour sop and ceasar), tomato chunks, cherry tomatoes, hearts of palm, thinly slices red onions, and pickled onions. The Pantry station is a cold unit that has slots that a sixth pan fits into for a total of ten slots. There is a hitched lid that goes up and down so you can access the food when you need it, but close it again when you are done so food stays cold. Down below is a two door refrigerator that holds three more dressings, smoked salmon, cut romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce (for the wedge salad), mixed baby greens for the Lobster Grapefruit Salad, tomato wedges, lemon wedges, diced tomatoes, diced onions, capers, whipped cream, lobster tails, cooked
shrimp and a few odds and ends. Business was pretty steady all evening. I kept busy in between by cleaning up after the boys, and keeping myself stocked with romaine, tomatoes and sliced onions. Ryan and Jesse were all wound up, listening to rap music (I told Ryan some of it sounds like Chinese water torture. He assured me it was the radio, lol, otherwise he knows I would appreciate it. I was out by 10pm, showered, then spent a little time at the bar with Ryan and Jesse. I went back to my room to listen to the State of the Union address. Always interesting hearing what the President has to say. I am back at the Lobster Grille tomorrow, 2-10pm. Ryan says I get to be his bitch for 8 hours. I think he's looking forward to it more than I am, lol.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Another beautiful day in paradise (sigh). I don't work until 5pm today at Iggie's in the Pantry. I went down to the beach to see if I could get a sailing lesson from the guys who are called "Activities Directors". There is no wind yet, so they asked me to come back in the afternoon. They promised to teach me to sail and told me I could go out as much as I wanted. Cool! I should have remembered from my friends, Leslie and Raymond, that most sailing takes place in the afternoon. Motor boats in the morning, sailing in the afternoon.
One of the nurses I used to work with gave me a little book of inspirational sayings about love, life and laughter. There are a couple of sayings I especially like: "It's not the things we do in life that wear us down. It's what we don't do". "Do what you love- it's what you were meant to do". "Life is too important to be taken seriously-Oscar Wilde". "Hang in there. Even the worst weeks have Fridays in them". And my favorite-"We all need someone who gives us the courage to be who we're meant to be". It's been fun reading a new saying every day.
Last night at Iggie's I met a girl-Sharette-(that's the only way I can think of her, I must be getting old!) who is a nurse. She's been a nurse for three years and works in Labor and Delivery. She is working extra at Iggie's, trying to save up money so she can move to the States. She says she can make more money there and that the cost of living is cheaper (!). Good luck to her! She was surprised I gave up nursing because she loves it. I told her I had been a nurse for 30 years and it was time for a change. I guess you have to be a little older to understand that.
I walked down to the beach shack Bolongo has set up on the beach but found both Antonio and Lee at lunch. So I sat down to wait for them. Antonio got back first, but told me he thought Lee should be the one to take me out as he has the most experience. So I sat and talked a bit to Antonio, who hails from NYC. His girlfriend/fiancee is from here. She was living in Massecuset while he lived in NyC. Her
mom wanted them to move back here, so they decided to give it a try. He loves living on the island and walks or takes a taxi everywhere. Lee finally came back and off we went. Everyone has to wear a life jacket, and once you have that, you have to jump or hoist yourself onto the Hobie Cat. The first time, I wasnalmost there but fell back into the water (thigh-waist high). I ended up scraping my left shin, ouch!
For the second try, he pointed to a strap that I could you to pull myself up with. That went much better, albeit, not very graceful. Lee did tell me there was no graceful way to get onto a Hobie Cat. Now that I have been lifting all those heavy pots and pans, my arms have gotten stronger-good thing! Wind in the bay is unpredictable, but once we got out beyond the two points of the bay, the wind was steady. Lee talked to me about coming about, tacking, jibing, pulling in and letting out the sail. I was a little nervous, one, because now we were in the open sea, and two, I have heard Hobie Cats flip over easily. He walked me thru getting the Cat righted. Not sure I want to experience that. He let me take over control of the sail when we turned back around (which like the Jet Ski, was easier than going out). You steer the two rudders in the back with a bar that connects the two of them, while you sit on oe side or the other at the back of the sailboat. Scary but cool! We made it back in one piece and upright. I'll go out again with one of them until I feel more comfortable with the boat.
It was back to my room for a shower. When you spend time in sea water and get wet, your skin gets kind of crusty, so I wash it all off. Apparently the sea water here is so saline, everything floats!
A little reading, then off to work at Iggie's 5-10pm. We were not as busy tonight as we were last night, at least not Pantry! When I am not busy, time goes SO slow. There was only prep for myself to do-chopping lettuce, slicing lemons into wedges, etc. I am getting faster in both prep and preparation of the different salads, wraps and sandwiches and of course plating desserts is easy. The wraps were a little harder because if you don't wrap them tightly, they just fall apart. Not good! I met a waitress named Janell (!) whose other job is director of physical education at one of the schools. She got her bachelors in Business in the States. She went to school on an athletic scholarship-tall and thin, so not a surprise. She wants to go back to school so is saving money (I sense a theme here). It still takes some getting used to working with the islanders. I think they are arguing with each other because they are yelling, then one of them will laugh and it's all over. Who knows?! I am back at the Lobster Grille tomorrow evening. I'll be doing Pantry, my favorite, lol!
One of the nurses I used to work with gave me a little book of inspirational sayings about love, life and laughter. There are a couple of sayings I especially like: "It's not the things we do in life that wear us down. It's what we don't do". "Do what you love- it's what you were meant to do". "Life is too important to be taken seriously-Oscar Wilde". "Hang in there. Even the worst weeks have Fridays in them". And my favorite-"We all need someone who gives us the courage to be who we're meant to be". It's been fun reading a new saying every day.
Last night at Iggie's I met a girl-Sharette-(that's the only way I can think of her, I must be getting old!) who is a nurse. She's been a nurse for three years and works in Labor and Delivery. She is working extra at Iggie's, trying to save up money so she can move to the States. She says she can make more money there and that the cost of living is cheaper (!). Good luck to her! She was surprised I gave up nursing because she loves it. I told her I had been a nurse for 30 years and it was time for a change. I guess you have to be a little older to understand that.
I walked down to the beach shack Bolongo has set up on the beach but found both Antonio and Lee at lunch. So I sat down to wait for them. Antonio got back first, but told me he thought Lee should be the one to take me out as he has the most experience. So I sat and talked a bit to Antonio, who hails from NYC. His girlfriend/fiancee is from here. She was living in Massecuset while he lived in NyC. Her
mom wanted them to move back here, so they decided to give it a try. He loves living on the island and walks or takes a taxi everywhere. Lee finally came back and off we went. Everyone has to wear a life jacket, and once you have that, you have to jump or hoist yourself onto the Hobie Cat. The first time, I wasnalmost there but fell back into the water (thigh-waist high). I ended up scraping my left shin, ouch!
For the second try, he pointed to a strap that I could you to pull myself up with. That went much better, albeit, not very graceful. Lee did tell me there was no graceful way to get onto a Hobie Cat. Now that I have been lifting all those heavy pots and pans, my arms have gotten stronger-good thing! Wind in the bay is unpredictable, but once we got out beyond the two points of the bay, the wind was steady. Lee talked to me about coming about, tacking, jibing, pulling in and letting out the sail. I was a little nervous, one, because now we were in the open sea, and two, I have heard Hobie Cats flip over easily. He walked me thru getting the Cat righted. Not sure I want to experience that. He let me take over control of the sail when we turned back around (which like the Jet Ski, was easier than going out). You steer the two rudders in the back with a bar that connects the two of them, while you sit on oe side or the other at the back of the sailboat. Scary but cool! We made it back in one piece and upright. I'll go out again with one of them until I feel more comfortable with the boat.
It was back to my room for a shower. When you spend time in sea water and get wet, your skin gets kind of crusty, so I wash it all off. Apparently the sea water here is so saline, everything floats!
A little reading, then off to work at Iggie's 5-10pm. We were not as busy tonight as we were last night, at least not Pantry! When I am not busy, time goes SO slow. There was only prep for myself to do-chopping lettuce, slicing lemons into wedges, etc. I am getting faster in both prep and preparation of the different salads, wraps and sandwiches and of course plating desserts is easy. The wraps were a little harder because if you don't wrap them tightly, they just fall apart. Not good! I met a waitress named Janell (!) whose other job is director of physical education at one of the schools. She got her bachelors in Business in the States. She went to school on an athletic scholarship-tall and thin, so not a surprise. She wants to go back to school so is saving money (I sense a theme here). It still takes some getting used to working with the islanders. I think they are arguing with each other because they are yelling, then one of them will laugh and it's all over. Who knows?! I am back at the Lobster Grille tomorrow evening. I'll be doing Pantry, my favorite, lol!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Since I really didn't do much Saturday, I decided to combine Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday was sunny and warm. I had the day off, but as my foot is still bothering me, I decided it was a good idea to do some R&R. I read in the morning but also spent a lot of time arranging a ticket to St Maarten for next weekend. Can you believe it is harder to go island to island and is costing me more than my ticket back to LA from St Thomas? Amazing! In the afternoon, I sat out by the pool for a while. There were quite a few people both in and around the pool area. As I sat there reading, an older woman came over to put the sandals on she had left there. She lost her balance and stumbled into the small table by my lounge chair and knocked over my diet coke onto me and into my beach bag. What a mess! Oh, well....it was an accident. I had an early dinner of stuffed pork tenderloin (one of my favorite dishes they make here), mashed potatoes and green beans. I talked with Jordan, then went to bed.
Sunday, I slept til 10am! Couldn't believe it. I guess I was tired! I thought I'd go sailing today but ran out of time-they were training a new guy, so the Hobie Cat was unavailable. I went to work at Iggie's at 4pm. I didn't realize it was the NFL game between Green Bay and Chicago. The place was packed! I worked Pantry, David, Erin and Gabriel worked the line and we had Pat as a dishwasher. All but Gabriel are islanders. Gabriel moved here from Brazil with his parents when he was ten. He did spend some time in Southern California, then moved here. He seems to come and go from St Thomas, but usually works for his dad, who owns a painting business here. Pat, the dishwasher asked me at some point, where I was from. Apparently he has noticed that I am neat and try to keep my area clean and wash my hands a lot. I told him most of that comes from being a nurse. He looked quite serious as he walked away, lol. We were busy til about 8:30pm. I had a few problems with my desserts. Iggie's staff keep the mango cheesecake and key lime pie in the freezer. You have to put them in the microwave (or as they say, consult Chef Mick) to thaw them. Two people sent them back because they were still frozen! I had to redo them. I talked with Jeff about it and he told me to keep them in my reach in instead of the freezer. Kind of crazy that people here have their own way of doing things at they think are correct. Jeff is the fourth kitchen manager in one year, so we'll see if ne can last longer than the previous managers. A case of the in-mates running the assylum, lol. I got off at 10pm, showered, then shared a drink at the bar with Ryan, Drew and Jesse. They were all wound up! I came back to my room, called Jordan, then turned on the TV for a while. The movie Mama Mia is on-the one with Meryl Streep. It makes me want to sing and dance with them! They look like they had such fun making this movie. :-)
Saturday was sunny and warm. I had the day off, but as my foot is still bothering me, I decided it was a good idea to do some R&R. I read in the morning but also spent a lot of time arranging a ticket to St Maarten for next weekend. Can you believe it is harder to go island to island and is costing me more than my ticket back to LA from St Thomas? Amazing! In the afternoon, I sat out by the pool for a while. There were quite a few people both in and around the pool area. As I sat there reading, an older woman came over to put the sandals on she had left there. She lost her balance and stumbled into the small table by my lounge chair and knocked over my diet coke onto me and into my beach bag. What a mess! Oh, well....it was an accident. I had an early dinner of stuffed pork tenderloin (one of my favorite dishes they make here), mashed potatoes and green beans. I talked with Jordan, then went to bed.
Sunday, I slept til 10am! Couldn't believe it. I guess I was tired! I thought I'd go sailing today but ran out of time-they were training a new guy, so the Hobie Cat was unavailable. I went to work at Iggie's at 4pm. I didn't realize it was the NFL game between Green Bay and Chicago. The place was packed! I worked Pantry, David, Erin and Gabriel worked the line and we had Pat as a dishwasher. All but Gabriel are islanders. Gabriel moved here from Brazil with his parents when he was ten. He did spend some time in Southern California, then moved here. He seems to come and go from St Thomas, but usually works for his dad, who owns a painting business here. Pat, the dishwasher asked me at some point, where I was from. Apparently he has noticed that I am neat and try to keep my area clean and wash my hands a lot. I told him most of that comes from being a nurse. He looked quite serious as he walked away, lol. We were busy til about 8:30pm. I had a few problems with my desserts. Iggie's staff keep the mango cheesecake and key lime pie in the freezer. You have to put them in the microwave (or as they say, consult Chef Mick) to thaw them. Two people sent them back because they were still frozen! I had to redo them. I talked with Jeff about it and he told me to keep them in my reach in instead of the freezer. Kind of crazy that people here have their own way of doing things at they think are correct. Jeff is the fourth kitchen manager in one year, so we'll see if ne can last longer than the previous managers. A case of the in-mates running the assylum, lol. I got off at 10pm, showered, then shared a drink at the bar with Ryan, Drew and Jesse. They were all wound up! I came back to my room, called Jordan, then turned on the TV for a while. The movie Mama Mia is on-the one with Meryl Streep. It makes me want to sing and dance with them! They look like they had such fun making this movie. :-)
Friday, January 21, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
I was all set to go down to Havensight (ok, so it is a tourist trap and all the cruise ships come in there and it can be crazy busy, but I thought I would take a look around anyway.), but I woke up with a sore foot and so decided to take it easy. The only thing I remember doing to it, was catching it on the edge of the door on Wednesday, when I was helping Pogan move stuff from the kitchen to the conference room. It hurt last night after standing for 8 hours. It's red and a little swollen still. Any of the sandals I wear, rub on the side of my foot where it hurts.
Since I have only til the end of February here, I started a "bucket list" of things I'd like to do while I am still here. One of the things on my list is trying out the Jet Skis. I went and talked with Matt, the guy that owns 340 Water Sports. They rent space on the Bolongo Beach and will let you either go out by yourself (you have to stay in the Bay where they can see you) or they will take you on a tour, of which they offer several. I chose the "Adventure Tour" that's an hour and a half long. You go out of the bay, head east, then jet over to a private island (I guess the man paid $25,000,000 for it, built a huge house and imported lots of palm trees from Hawaii). You turn around and head west for a "drive thru" of the Charlotte Amalie harbor, then jet back. We started out slowly, Richard, my tour guild and Jet Ski expert, told me we could go as fast or slow as Imwanted to go. The Jet Ski is a Yamaha Wave Runner, two seater. Right before Matt helped me get on the Jet Ski, I saw a little baby shark swimming around. Matt says there are three of them and that they used to stay clear of people but now they'll come right up to you! Makes me wonder, where's mama? Once we got out in the open sea, I was glad the Jet Ski was heavy and large. Richard told me to follow him, and if he made a wide birth around an area, that meant there were rocks there. So I followed him the whole time, trying to determine at various times if it was better to follow in his wake or ride to one side of him. It was a little cloudy and windy, making the water a little rough-2 foot swells, with the rogue wave occasionally in between. They had told me it was better to go a little faster, to keep the nose of the Jet Ski out of the water. I found this to be true, after getting soaked numerous times! It took me a little time to find some sort of rhythm for giving the Jet Ski gas and knowing when to back off. There were several times I was airborne after a big wave, then WHAP, the Jet ski lands back in the water at the bottom of the wave! It was rougher going east, when we were going toward the private island, then going west, where you are going with the waves (who'd have thought you'd have some kind of "nap" in the ocean?). The ride is smoother. A couple of times I scared myself by going too fast, but eventually I got the hang of it. Richard told me when we got back, that now I was an expert Jet Skier. Not likely! There were times it reminded me of bull riding, not that I've ever done that, but you definitely have to hang on tight! I did have fun and that was the point.
After I got back, showered off the salt water of the Caribbean Sea, and had some lunch, I borrowed Janee's car and took my laundry to the laundromat. There is a small convenience store next to the laundromat (it's no Seven Elevan) so I stopped in to see what they had. I bought a big container of Quaker Oatmeal that cost me $6.90!! I don't remember it being that expensive last time I bought it stateside. Then it was back to my room to put my foot up. Not sure what I'll do for dinner tonight.
I never did take the nap I was going to take (being out on the water wears you out!). I got hungry at 5pm so walked, or limped down to Iggie's and ordered some chicken tenders and fries (not very nutricious but didn't really want anything else). I stayed for a bit and listened to the band that is going to be down there tonight. Apparently they are from Nashville (rock and roll, not country!). They are quite good, but alas, not enough for me to stay and brave the crowd that will show up tonight. I came back, ate, talked to my sister, Janell, then watched a little TV. A not so exciting end to an adventurous day, lol!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Didn't do much else today but work. Talked to Michael this morning on the phone, then finally decided on two recipes to offer up to Janee for her special Valentine's Day dinner. The first, a dark chocolate flour less torte served with whipped cream and a baked cranberry sauce. The second, three mini chocolate cupcakes with either cream cheese or butter cream frosting and a small caramel drizzle, with a chocolate drizzle on a long skinny plate, toasted hazelnuts and either raspberries or strawberries as garnish. She liked both of them. I told her to think about it and of she wanted, I would make them up ahead of time for a trial.
I was at work at 1pm, I did banquet prep today. I started out by poaching shrimp for shrimp cocktail. I made a small bowl of cocktail sauce (ketchup, horseradish, salt and pepper-who'd have thought it would be that easy?). Then I made pineapple salsa (3 pineapples, 2 red peppers, 2 green peppers, 2 red onions, all diced, 6 Tbsp cilantro, salt and pepper, lime juice and honey to taste). I made lobster quesadillas (chopped lobster, shredded jack and cheddar cheeses and flour tortillas), three large ones, then cut 2 inch circles out of the large finished tortillas to use as appetizers. I also made black bean salsa to put on top the quesadillas (Pace salsa with canned black beans, drained and rinsed-see how easy it can be, lol!). I cut red potatoes, then put dried thyme, oil, salt and pepper, then roasted them. Janee took beef tenderloin, butterflied them, filled them with blue cheese crumble, tied them off to keep their shape, coated them with blackening seasoning, seared them, then baked them medium rare. She cut them into one inch slices and served them as an appetizer. There was also roasted pork and roasted asparagus. I took a picture of Tyan holding up the poor little pig that will be roasted tomorrow. :-(
I baked 100 Otis Spunkmeyer chocolate chip cookies, seasoned 4 cases of mahi with blackening seasoning and oil, made arancini for the boys on the dinner line cause they were busy, seasoned four pork butt roasts and put them in the oven to roast, then helped Janee load boxes on the golf cart so she could take them down to Iggie's. Janee let me go home after that-an hour early!
Dinner was a Cesar salad and some of the left over lobster quesadilla. Not bad at all! I'm off the next two days. Yeah!!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Guess I forgot to write last night! I spent a couple hours at the beach, working on my tan (while I still can). I finished reading my mystery book, then it was off to work the front of the house, which in restaurant-speak is the sit down part of the restaurant with the maitre'd, bar and bartender and waiters and waitresses. I was expecting to work with Lisa, the General Manager of the Lobster Grille, but found Denise working (she usually works days). She agreed to show me the ropes but did tell me up front she was going to have me hostess (!) by myself. She showed me some of the reports that the managers fill out, went and got petty cash for making change, then had me help Pogan set up the banquet room for the Rotary Club. We set up five tables (two different colored table cloths set at angles to themselves) with the tablecloths, silverware, glasses and cloth napkins. Pogan says that usually 18-19 people show up but the Rotary pays for 25 people. Last night they almost ran out of food, so Ryan had to supplement the food Janee had put together with more veggies and a pasta dish when they ran out of chicken. That seems to be the standard fare-chicken or beef, fish of some sort (usually mahi-mahi), a vegetable, then either rice or mashed potatoes, a mixed green salad with two dressings, and bread. Coffee and iced tea are also served, cookies or brownies for dessert. The food is served buffet style, in chafing dishes, which are set up on tables outside the conference room. They eat, have a meeting, and then leave. Pagan didn't want any help tearing down the room. I think, he wanted as many hours as he could get for doing it. Pogan is a boat captain, who supplements his income on off times by bar tending and taking care of the Rotary Club (his dad is a member). The Rotarians finished an hour earlier than normal and with me helping, it wouldn't have taken long to "tear" down the tables and set-up. So I left him to it, although I took the food back to the kitchen.
As for hostessing. Denise showed me the reservation book, how it worked (it's usually in the gift shop where they make reservations), how to take reservations over the phone, and making sure when seating people, that I take both the menu and the wine list. She also walked me through walking through the restaurant to make certain the daytime waitresses had cleared and cleaned the tables, as the set up for days and evenings is different. She also straightened up the pool area, as it is in direct sight of the bar and restaurant. She said they don't allow children in the pool during dinner because of the noise level (makes sense). As we were walking around the pool area, there was a woman sitting on a lounge chair with two iguana sitting up, looking just like little dogs begging for food! I asked her if she was all right. She said yes, but that she had fed them some lettuce and now they wanted more. We left her, and I saw she left the pool area shortly thereafter. Last night, an iguana walked into the kitchen by the dishwashing sinks. I chased him out. Ryan told me Mrs. Donovan (the daytime dish washer) feeds them and calls them her children. No wonder they feel right at home!!
We only had reservations for 12 people last night. One 2-top at 6pm, three 2-tops at 7pm and one 4-top at 8pm. Just two walk-ins, single people wanting to eat. One gentleman came up to me stating he heard reservations were mandatory to eat at the Lobster Grille but that his phone didn't work, there was no water in his room, and all the doors had screens in them with louvers. He asked "is that how it always is here?". I told him I would gladly seat him any time at the Lobster Grille. They recommend reservations but it is not mandatory. I also told him I would talk to the front desk about the water (a main broke so for an hour or so we did not have water in most of the resort, including the kitchen). The Grille dishwasher, Patrick, called to say he was going to be late but then didn't show up! Ryan worked the line by himself, Willie worked the Pantry (he pulled me aside and told me too many ice creams were opened and that I had to be more careful about which container I opened as apparently all the containers had some ice cream missing. I did tell him I only worked last night, Judy worked Sunday and Monday. What I didn't say was that NONE of the containers had in them what was on the outside-they reuse containers here- so how do you know what things are unless you open a container?). I did tell him I would remember. I did most of the seating myself. Bolongo employees sometimes have a way of disappearing at times. I just did my job, stayed close to the front podium. How can you greet and seat people if you aren't there to see them come in? Ah, well..
I told Lori in HR today that I would be leaving March 1. I will work at Bolongo until February 27 (Sunday is the last day of their schedule), then fly into LAX on Tuesday, March 1, see my mom and sister and her family, fly back to Reno so I can get rid of all my "stuff" and pack more appropriate clothes, then go to D.C. to spend time with my friend Betty. Not sure what the future holds, but I've just about learned all that Bolongo can teach me. The rest is getting experience and deciding what it is I want to do when I grow up (although someone recently informed me that they had no intention of growing up, lol).
As for hostessing. Denise showed me the reservation book, how it worked (it's usually in the gift shop where they make reservations), how to take reservations over the phone, and making sure when seating people, that I take both the menu and the wine list. She also walked me through walking through the restaurant to make certain the daytime waitresses had cleared and cleaned the tables, as the set up for days and evenings is different. She also straightened up the pool area, as it is in direct sight of the bar and restaurant. She said they don't allow children in the pool during dinner because of the noise level (makes sense). As we were walking around the pool area, there was a woman sitting on a lounge chair with two iguana sitting up, looking just like little dogs begging for food! I asked her if she was all right. She said yes, but that she had fed them some lettuce and now they wanted more. We left her, and I saw she left the pool area shortly thereafter. Last night, an iguana walked into the kitchen by the dishwashing sinks. I chased him out. Ryan told me Mrs. Donovan (the daytime dish washer) feeds them and calls them her children. No wonder they feel right at home!!
We only had reservations for 12 people last night. One 2-top at 6pm, three 2-tops at 7pm and one 4-top at 8pm. Just two walk-ins, single people wanting to eat. One gentleman came up to me stating he heard reservations were mandatory to eat at the Lobster Grille but that his phone didn't work, there was no water in his room, and all the doors had screens in them with louvers. He asked "is that how it always is here?". I told him I would gladly seat him any time at the Lobster Grille. They recommend reservations but it is not mandatory. I also told him I would talk to the front desk about the water (a main broke so for an hour or so we did not have water in most of the resort, including the kitchen). The Grille dishwasher, Patrick, called to say he was going to be late but then didn't show up! Ryan worked the line by himself, Willie worked the Pantry (he pulled me aside and told me too many ice creams were opened and that I had to be more careful about which container I opened as apparently all the containers had some ice cream missing. I did tell him I only worked last night, Judy worked Sunday and Monday. What I didn't say was that NONE of the containers had in them what was on the outside-they reuse containers here- so how do you know what things are unless you open a container?). I did tell him I would remember. I did most of the seating myself. Bolongo employees sometimes have a way of disappearing at times. I just did my job, stayed close to the front podium. How can you greet and seat people if you aren't there to see them come in? Ah, well..
I told Lori in HR today that I would be leaving March 1. I will work at Bolongo until February 27 (Sunday is the last day of their schedule), then fly into LAX on Tuesday, March 1, see my mom and sister and her family, fly back to Reno so I can get rid of all my "stuff" and pack more appropriate clothes, then go to D.C. to spend time with my friend Betty. Not sure what the future holds, but I've just about learned all that Bolongo can teach me. The rest is getting experience and deciding what it is I want to do when I grow up (although someone recently informed me that they had no intention of growing up, lol).
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
I slept in (I think I should enjoy this while I can!) this morning, then went to the LG kitchen and got my own fruit and yogurt and coffee and ate I. My room. Nice and quiet there! I spent a couple of hours at the beach, catching some rays and reading a mystery novel. Then it was soon time for work.
I worked the Pantry at the Lobster Grille tonight. I made French onion soup today (15 yellow onions, 3 T minced garlic, 3 cups red wine, 3 bay leaves, 8 quarts water, 1/2 container of beef base, 3 T Worcestershire sauce, 1 1/2 T black pepper) then set up my station. There is usually romaine lettuce to cut, cucumbers, tomatoes and sometimes I need to make dressing or cut something for a specialty salad. I also have to finish baking the French bread. It comes in a box, par-baked, and we finish it off the day we use it. I also have to make sure there are little containers of butter ready. We soften, then whip, three pounds of unsalted butter, then put the butter in a pastry bag, then pipe it into little black plastic containers for individual servings. We keep them in the reach in until the wait staff needs them. The bread goes into a warmer that, today, I forgot to turn on! This is something I need to check regularly, to make sure the wait staff has the bread they need. I was helping Drew prep, cause I thought I was all set up, lol. He had a lot to do cause they were busy the night before and used up all our reserves. I felt bad for him because he wasn't ready at 6pm when we opened because he had so much to do. I chopped calamari for him and made (successfully) the Bernaisse sauce or the filet mignon. we weren't crazy busy, but we had late guests come in, so Indidn't get off work until after 10:30pm! In Pantry, you do not only salads but desserts also, so sometimes you are the last person to leave.
I did bring home a salad but was not hungry by the time I got back to my room. It will keep til tomorrow, though. I talked with Jordan, then did my blog, and now it is time for bed. No drama today I am happy to report! :-)
I worked the Pantry at the Lobster Grille tonight. I made French onion soup today (15 yellow onions, 3 T minced garlic, 3 cups red wine, 3 bay leaves, 8 quarts water, 1/2 container of beef base, 3 T Worcestershire sauce, 1 1/2 T black pepper) then set up my station. There is usually romaine lettuce to cut, cucumbers, tomatoes and sometimes I need to make dressing or cut something for a specialty salad. I also have to finish baking the French bread. It comes in a box, par-baked, and we finish it off the day we use it. I also have to make sure there are little containers of butter ready. We soften, then whip, three pounds of unsalted butter, then put the butter in a pastry bag, then pipe it into little black plastic containers for individual servings. We keep them in the reach in until the wait staff needs them. The bread goes into a warmer that, today, I forgot to turn on! This is something I need to check regularly, to make sure the wait staff has the bread they need. I was helping Drew prep, cause I thought I was all set up, lol. He had a lot to do cause they were busy the night before and used up all our reserves. I felt bad for him because he wasn't ready at 6pm when we opened because he had so much to do. I chopped calamari for him and made (successfully) the Bernaisse sauce or the filet mignon. we weren't crazy busy, but we had late guests come in, so Indidn't get off work until after 10:30pm! In Pantry, you do not only salads but desserts also, so sometimes you are the last person to leave.
I did bring home a salad but was not hungry by the time I got back to my room. It will keep til tomorrow, though. I talked with Jordan, then did my blog, and now it is time for bed. No drama today I am happy to report! :-)
Monday, January 17, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
I was up at 7am, got dressed for working at the warehouse, got my own cup of coffee from the Lobster Grille, ate a granola bar, then went back the the Grille to clock in. No such luck. The computers apparently are not working in either restaurant.
When I arrived at the warehouse, I found Gene, the manager, by himself. When he learned I was suppose to spend the day at the warehouse, it further fueled the anger he already had going. Today is a holiday, so Luz, his assistant, has the day off. He told me Bolo had been suspended so he was working with William, the sub driver, who wasn't there yet. Which meant that Gene was going to have to pull all the orders. He didn't seem very excited about that, nor about having me there. I suggested that I help pull orders either with him or for him, then leave. He did agree to that. We had two deliveries while I was there, which I helped to unload (I'm building muscles, lol, who needs a gym?!). Then I helped pull orders, copied the original orders as a copy goes back with the order when it's delivered, and when we finished ahead of schedule, I left. I tried to clock out at 10:30 but the computers still are not working. So I have the rest of the day to myself.
I worked most of the day on my online event planning class, finished the course and passed. Yeah! I made a sandwich at lunch at the Lobster Grille so I could take a break. Dinner was a wedge salad (iceberg lettuce wedge, blue cheese dressing, bacon bits and red onions-how retro!) and Shrimp Scampish served over linguini. Very tasty. Now I'm just relaxing. Interesting day in paradise.....
When I arrived at the warehouse, I found Gene, the manager, by himself. When he learned I was suppose to spend the day at the warehouse, it further fueled the anger he already had going. Today is a holiday, so Luz, his assistant, has the day off. He told me Bolo had been suspended so he was working with William, the sub driver, who wasn't there yet. Which meant that Gene was going to have to pull all the orders. He didn't seem very excited about that, nor about having me there. I suggested that I help pull orders either with him or for him, then leave. He did agree to that. We had two deliveries while I was there, which I helped to unload (I'm building muscles, lol, who needs a gym?!). Then I helped pull orders, copied the original orders as a copy goes back with the order when it's delivered, and when we finished ahead of schedule, I left. I tried to clock out at 10:30 but the computers still are not working. So I have the rest of the day to myself.
I worked most of the day on my online event planning class, finished the course and passed. Yeah! I made a sandwich at lunch at the Lobster Grille so I could take a break. Dinner was a wedge salad (iceberg lettuce wedge, blue cheese dressing, bacon bits and red onions-how retro!) and Shrimp Scampish served over linguini. Very tasty. Now I'm just relaxing. Interesting day in paradise.....
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
I slept in late today. I think if I hadn't gotten a phone call at 10am I would probably have slept in even later. I have not slept well since changing rooms. There is a lot of light in the room even at night because of the light weight curtains and the security lights outside. Oh, well.
I had lunch at Iggie's then sat out in the pool area and read a book. It was a beautiful day. I went back to my room about 2pm to do a little checking on my computer. When I went back out to go to work about 4:45, it was cloudy and looked like it was going to rain. When I got to Iggie's Jeff was already working. Apparently Mary called in sick. Jesse showed up a little after I did. I was happy to see someone I knew and had worked with before. I didn't know the dishwasher, but he seemed to have a good time flirting with all the waitresses! Jeff worked the entire evening. I think he was driving Jesse crazy, but I'm not sure why. Working the Pantry, I still made sandwiches, wraps and salads but served more desserts than I usually do during the day. We have a new brownie product-it's Otis Spunkmeyer. No chocolate chips in them but they are frosted. Didn't get a chance to taste one. I also did a little prep. Thawed some chicken hind quarters, trimmed them, separated the leg from the thigh, seasoned them, then we didn't use them so in the walk-in they went. I also thawed mahi, thawed calamari, then had to rebag them when we were done at the end of the shift. I reheated rice and BBQ pulled pork. I agree with Jesse. I only worked five hours, but they seemed like a long five hours! We were fairly busy, but not too crazy. They had a band there called Two Blue Shoes, which Jesse claimed were "two old guys who played like dead men". I didn't think they were that bad, but I'm not 20 or 30!
Back to my room after work for a shower and dinner. I made a BLT for myself before I left for the night. I work 8am-4pm tomorrow at the warehouse. So I should go to bed soon.
I had lunch at Iggie's then sat out in the pool area and read a book. It was a beautiful day. I went back to my room about 2pm to do a little checking on my computer. When I went back out to go to work about 4:45, it was cloudy and looked like it was going to rain. When I got to Iggie's Jeff was already working. Apparently Mary called in sick. Jesse showed up a little after I did. I was happy to see someone I knew and had worked with before. I didn't know the dishwasher, but he seemed to have a good time flirting with all the waitresses! Jeff worked the entire evening. I think he was driving Jesse crazy, but I'm not sure why. Working the Pantry, I still made sandwiches, wraps and salads but served more desserts than I usually do during the day. We have a new brownie product-it's Otis Spunkmeyer. No chocolate chips in them but they are frosted. Didn't get a chance to taste one. I also did a little prep. Thawed some chicken hind quarters, trimmed them, separated the leg from the thigh, seasoned them, then we didn't use them so in the walk-in they went. I also thawed mahi, thawed calamari, then had to rebag them when we were done at the end of the shift. I reheated rice and BBQ pulled pork. I agree with Jesse. I only worked five hours, but they seemed like a long five hours! We were fairly busy, but not too crazy. They had a band there called Two Blue Shoes, which Jesse claimed were "two old guys who played like dead men". I didn't think they were that bad, but I'm not 20 or 30!
Back to my room after work for a shower and dinner. I made a BLT for myself before I left for the night. I work 8am-4pm tomorrow at the warehouse. So I should go to bed soon.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
I was up at 7:30a for work at Iggie's today. While I was eating my toast, Richard, one of the owners, came through and asked me to stop by before I went to work. When I did, he reminded me that workers were not to wear work clothes and especially not a name tag when eating at the restaurants or drinking at the bar. (I was guilty of that) He also said he felt he needed to tell me that the waitresses were grumbling about having to wait on me because I didn't tip well (can you say very little income, if any?) and they felt I was taking a seat away from guests (not many guests). Since Janee had told me when I first arrived that I could eat in the restaurant if I wanted and that I could chose to tip or not tip). So..he told me although he did not know what "deal" his brother, Paul had given me, Richard didn't think I should eat in the restaurant or sit at the bar unless I was paying money for whatever I was eating or drinking. I was quite surprised to hear all this. He also added that he hadn't thought I was going to make it at Bolongo (!). Some things you just don't need to hear!
After all that, it was off to work. I worked Pantry again, which also meant lots of prep. Today, however, I only prepped two bags of chicken wings, two bags of chicken tenders, one box of chicken breasts and two bags of chicken hind quarters. Jeff is very serious about not over prepping and he makes a good point: more frequent prep throughout the week means fresher food for the guests as well as being better for the food (instead of it being frozen, then thawed, marinated, then frozen again). I also made coleslaw but turns out that the staff as well as myself, used too much dressing! Jeff took all the coleslaw, but it in a strainer, then strained all the excess dressing out of it so it could be saved and reused. Saving money. I made salads, sandwiches and wraps. No desserts today.
After work, I came back to my room, showered, then read some. I went to the bar and asked Lawson (otherwise known as 007) and asked for a drink and asked him to put a to go order in for me (lobster arancini). I made sure to tip him appropriately, although he looked at me kind of funny. I went to the kitchen and picked up my own order and talked to Janee as well. She seemed quite surprised at what Richard had said and was a little irritated at the waitresses for complaining. Nothing she can do about it though. I ate in my room and stayed there. I have some thinking to do
After all that, it was off to work. I worked Pantry again, which also meant lots of prep. Today, however, I only prepped two bags of chicken wings, two bags of chicken tenders, one box of chicken breasts and two bags of chicken hind quarters. Jeff is very serious about not over prepping and he makes a good point: more frequent prep throughout the week means fresher food for the guests as well as being better for the food (instead of it being frozen, then thawed, marinated, then frozen again). I also made coleslaw but turns out that the staff as well as myself, used too much dressing! Jeff took all the coleslaw, but it in a strainer, then strained all the excess dressing out of it so it could be saved and reused. Saving money. I made salads, sandwiches and wraps. No desserts today.
After work, I came back to my room, showered, then read some. I went to the bar and asked Lawson (otherwise known as 007) and asked for a drink and asked him to put a to go order in for me (lobster arancini). I made sure to tip him appropriately, although he looked at me kind of funny. I went to the kitchen and picked up my own order and talked to Janee as well. She seemed quite surprised at what Richard had said and was a little irritated at the waitresses for complaining. Nothing she can do about it though. I ate in my room and stayed there. I have some thinking to do
Friday, January 14, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
I had today off. Slept in til 9am, then had breakfast at the Lobster Grille. I was sitting, eating, when Lori, our Romance Director, came hurrying thru the restaurant asking if anyone knew how to tie a necktie. Only staff was there at the time. I told her I knew how (thanks to my friend, Michael) so she said, "Hurry! Come with me!" She took me into the conference center where a groom was standing with a tie around his neck. He had no idea how to tie a tie, so I did it for him, then explained how to loosen it and get it off when the time came. He was very grateful and nervous, but everyone told him how good he looked. I went back to breakfast and sat reading for a while, drinking coffee.
I decided to spend a good part of the day at the beach. so changed into a swim suit and headed for the beach. It was sunny and warm today. I took a picture over my knees at what I was looking at while sitting on the beach in my beach chair, under my little palm leaf umbrealla! Listening to the surf against the sand is very relaxing.... I did some reading, but mostly sat and looked out. I took a short break to get a late lunch at Iggie's (I tried another combination in order to get chili fries-not sure why I have been craving them, lol, but there was too much chili, so I guess if I really want chili fries, it's back to plan A) I took a picture of the pirate that stands outside Iggie's, a leftover from a buy out a few years back. The company that "bought" Iggie's had a shipwreck built as well as these statues. Bolongo Resort bought some of the props after the party and this was one of them. Isn't he cute? I spent some time talking to Elizabeth, one of the waitresses at Iggie's. Nice, nice girl. She is originally from Sonoma County, CA. She moved down to Orange County, CA where she met her husband. When the economy tanked, they decided to move to St Thomas and work. She's not sure they will stay here, but they seem open to either being here or moving where ever there is work. Her husband tends bar at Mimi's Cafe up the beach from Bolongo. It's interesting to talk to people and see what brought them to St Thomas.
I headed back to my room about 3:30pm and decided I wanted to make cookies. I asked Ryan first and he was ok with it. I made chocolate chip with walnuts. I took some to the front desk, some down to Iggie's and left the rest at the Lobster Grille. They were hot out of the oven when I passed them out. It's nice to see the smiles on people's faces when I ask if they want a fresh baked cookie!
I headed back to my room again, showered, then went back to the Lobster Grille for a glass of wine, a Wedge salad and tried their new "Mini Chocolate Bundt Cake Filled with Caramel Sauce"-the special for tonight. It wasn't bad, but still breaks my heart that they don't make their own desserts. Oh, well, not my decision to make. I spent some time talking to Lisa, the new General Manager of the Lobster Grille. I enjoy talking to her. We think a lot alike. She told me that managers at Bolongo have to work six days a week! Yikes! Not much downtime.
I am off to bed early, I have to work at Iggie's tomorrow 9am to 4pm. Will make sure I get a good breakfast as I probably won't get much of a break during the day. I am wondering what I will do since I'm not suppose to prep food for more than a day or so and nothing that goes in the freezer! Always an adventure to see what the staff thinks of the new rules, etc...
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
It was up at 6:30am to work days at the Lobster Grille. It was Clif, Carl and myself, and of course Mrs. Donovan washing dishes (although that lady does a lot more, too much for someone with bad hips!). The stations were almost set up, I finished setting up hot line, which is where I worked with Clif most of the day. He kept showing and telling me how he did things but it took me a while to realize he wanted some kind of praise/recognition for the way he does things. No one seems to do anything the same on days. He is very organized and does a good job. It didn't take me long to realize though, that Clif and Carl dislike each other! Oh, my.....one would tell me to do one thing, the other would say, no do 't do that, then the other would come back and tell me to do it again. Not always pleasant to be in the middle. I was talking to Jordan about it and he feels I should tell the owners about the personality problems. I told him I would think about it. 2:30pm finally came (we only served about six guests lunch today!) and both me disappeared before I did!
I left, showered, talked to Jordan, made up a list of healthy snacks for kids for Yolanda, one of the ladies that works at the front desk (she and her kids are vegetarians and she seems to be at a loss as to what type of lunch to send her kids to school with as they won't eat the school lunch), then went to see Harry at the bar. While I was sitting there (there are almost always people sitting at the bar so sometimes it's nicer than sitting in my room or by myself), one of the big iguana jumped onto the bar and started eating Harry's oranges! I had to take a picture. There were two guys sitting at the end of the bar that were pretty freaked about being that close to a large iguana, so I grabbed the iguana under the belly and set him on the floor, telling him needed to leave now. He was so nervous and while trying to get away from me, he scratched my the palm of my hand by my thumb and the underside of my wrist. He drew a little blood, but did leave. Not ten minutes later though, he as back looking for food! Cheeky little devil! There was an older gentleman who is a regular at the bar and lives on the island year round who got upset with the iguana and took a chair and swept the iguana onto the ground. The iguana then decided to leave for good, lol. The man said he was afraid of them and does not like them-they seem to want to take over everything. I'm not afraid of them but they are wild animals, after all! Harry gave me some vodka (strictly for medicinal purposes, lol) to clean the scratches with, said it would help. It did stop the bleeding!
I went back to my room, checked emails, then talked to my sister, Janell. She was upset at having missed work for a medical problem and just wanted to talk. I didn't get over to the Lobster Grille til almost 9pm, but before the guys had put the food away. I had the lamb shanks with sauce, mashed potatoes and green beans. Excellent!!
I'm off tomorrow. Not sure what I'll do. Something to think about.....
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
I had today off. I didn't sleep too well last night, not sure if it's the new room, or what....
I had breakfast at 9am-the "Manhattan Transfer", essentially lox and bagels, lol. Then came back to my room and did one of my online classes. My friend, Michael called about 1:30pm and we caught up on things. He's in Honolulu for a month, lucky guy! I had a late lunch at Iggie's as the Lobster Grille stops lunch service at 2:30pm. Hummus with pita bread. And I got a lecture from Iggie's kitchen manager about prepping too much food when I work (remember all those chicken parts I've been prepping?!). I told him I understood the new rules, although he feels I need to stand up to Mary and do "the right thing". I will do what I can....
It rained while I was at Iggie's. I was hoping it would stop quickly as I signed up for the sunset cruise again. I do love to sail! I came back to my room and got back on the computer. I looked at the time and oh, no! It was time to walk down to the dock so I could board Heavenly Daze. It had stopped raining by then and cleared up for the most part, so we had a nice cruise. The water was a little rough, though and one poor lady got seasick! I felt bad for her and her husband! After we got back to Bolongo, I had dinner at the Lobster Grille. I tried the Lobster Grapefruit Salad. The lobster was better than I thought it would be, but I couldn't taste the dressing, Willie used the wrong lettuce and served it in a bowl instead of a plate (I'm not picky, lol). It was somewhat disappointing. Oh, well....I didn't pay for it, so can't complain too loudly.
It will probably be an early evening, I have to work 7-3pm tomorrow at the Lobster Grille. We'll see what the day holds!
I stopped by the front desk and Yolanda asked me to give her some recipes/ideas for her kids for school lunch. She apparently took some oatmeal cookies for her kids last night and they had them for lunch today. Both Yolanda and her children are vegetarians, although they will eat fish. I told her I would see what I could do for her. She's a very nice lady!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
I slept in a bit this morning and while I was eating breakfast (Eggs Benedict)' Ice came and talked to me about moving. She said the people were coming in tomorrow, so they needed access to the room as soon as possible. There was a little mix up at first because the workmen putting in the new air conditioner didn't want me to move my stuff in there while they were working. Ice told me to move in anyway but I gave her my computer and my carry on bag that I keep financial things in. I did some reading in between moving and work, but I had some nervous energy so had a hard time concentrating for long.
I finally just went to work at 1:45pm. I worked the pantry today. I was the first swing shift person there, so put the pot of peeled potatoes on to boil. Since days was still working (lunch is served until 2:30pm), I started cleaning up the walk-in, organizing it again after Judy did it on Sunday. I threw out things that were past their prime and put away supplies that had just been left in their boxes (we really shouldn't have boxes in the walk-in, they should be put either on the shelves or in containers). I was in some kind of cleaning mode trying to use up all my pent up energy!! After cleaning I started setting up my station. At some point Ryan asked me to make lobster stuffing, which I've done several times now. I must say, this is the first time that I actually felt part of the team on evenings and felt like I actually knew what to do and what needed to be done. It felt really good not to feel either stupid or slow! I made salads and shrimp/lobster cocktails and plated desserts. I tried to creative about plating the desserts and was told several times that my work was pretty. Imagine that!! I also found time to make Oatmeal Raisin cookies tonight. Jesse was the other line cook besides Ryan and was sneaking cookies while they were cooling. He seems to be a big fan of my baking, lol. I dropped some cookies off at the front desk too. Yolanda was very excited to get cookies!
We didn't finish until after 10pm. I went back to my new room, put things away, then took a shower. When I went back to the LG bar,
everyone was gone but 007. I asked him ifnit was too late to get something to drink (after he told me I was late!) and he gave me a glass of wine. I sat at the empty bar (cause even 007 left) and talked with Jordan for a while. Then I collected my computer and my bag and went back to my room. I'm off tomorrow and I'm looking forward to that!
I finally just went to work at 1:45pm. I worked the pantry today. I was the first swing shift person there, so put the pot of peeled potatoes on to boil. Since days was still working (lunch is served until 2:30pm), I started cleaning up the walk-in, organizing it again after Judy did it on Sunday. I threw out things that were past their prime and put away supplies that had just been left in their boxes (we really shouldn't have boxes in the walk-in, they should be put either on the shelves or in containers). I was in some kind of cleaning mode trying to use up all my pent up energy!! After cleaning I started setting up my station. At some point Ryan asked me to make lobster stuffing, which I've done several times now. I must say, this is the first time that I actually felt part of the team on evenings and felt like I actually knew what to do and what needed to be done. It felt really good not to feel either stupid or slow! I made salads and shrimp/lobster cocktails and plated desserts. I tried to creative about plating the desserts and was told several times that my work was pretty. Imagine that!! I also found time to make Oatmeal Raisin cookies tonight. Jesse was the other line cook besides Ryan and was sneaking cookies while they were cooling. He seems to be a big fan of my baking, lol. I dropped some cookies off at the front desk too. Yolanda was very excited to get cookies!
We didn't finish until after 10pm. I went back to my new room, put things away, then took a shower. When I went back to the LG bar,
everyone was gone but 007. I asked him ifnit was too late to get something to drink (after he told me I was late!) and he gave me a glass of wine. I sat at the empty bar (cause even 007 left) and talked with Jordan for a while. Then I collected my computer and my bag and went back to my room. I'm off tomorrow and I'm looking forward to that!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
I was up at 7:30am, so I could have breakfast before I went to Iggie's at 9am. Coffee, egg sandwich and potatoes. I don't think I'm gonna get a break today if Mary is working, lol! And sure enough, it was Mary and I. The dishwasher, Patrick, didn't show up until after 10am. I set up the pantry station, where I worked today. Chopping lettuce, making sure there was enough tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, carrots, bread, dressings, and mayonnaise. I got to make island roulade (1 gal mayo, 3 cups catsup, 2 cups horseradish, 1 cup Dijon mustard, 1 cup capers, chopped and one bunch of parsley, minced). It turned out well. Then it was back to marinating chicken legs and chicken breasts! I can't believe they go thru that much chicken!! But it's all about being prepared in the restaurant business. The chicken I did today ended up in the freezer. Then I thinly sliced a ten pound piece of roast beef, weighed out six oz of it and placed them in Baggies that went in the freezer. In between all this, I made garden salads, Cesar salads, turkey club sandwiches and taco salads. No desserts today! Throughout the day, our dishwasher, Patrick, kept disappearing, then a woman showed up at the back door of the kitchen asking to see him, saying she was pregnant. This boy has issues! He seems like a nice kid, but it's hard to work around all this drama. Mary and to ask her to leave and wait until Patrick was off work. I was very happy to leave at 4!
When I got back to my room, there was a message for me. Ice (not sure what that is short for) at the front desk said she had some bad news for me. The way she sounded I thought she was going to tell me someone had died! But the message said the owners of my room were arriving Thursday, so I had to move to 103. That's not so bad, it's just next door. Apparently Richard, Sr, back before there were ever time shares, had the idea to "sell" rooms at Bolongo. There are a few original owners left, all up there in age and the couple that own room 102 only want to stay in room 102! Even when they could stay in a nicer room. So tomorrow before I go to work, I need to move my stuff over (I offered to do it tonight but there's no air conditioner in 103 and I guess they are going to remedy that before I move in!).
Janee let me borrow her car so I could take my laundry to the cleaners. When I got back I went to the Manager's cocktail party. They serve appetizers and rum punch and get to talk with the managers. And now it's time for dinner. Not sure what I want to eat...
Tomorrow I'm back at the Lobster Grille working 2-10pm at the Pantry station.
I was headed to the Lobster Grille when John, the General Manager at Iggie's called me over. He told me that he and Janee had talked and that they were taking me off of my warehouse stint Wednesday and instead giving me the day off because they want me to work Pantry at Iggie's Sunday (I was scheduled to be off) from 5-10pm. Not much choice as an intern so I just said ok. Dinner was Paradise chicken served with island rice and green beans. The chicken is roasted with a mango glaze brushed on and served with mango salsa. Very good!
Not much else to report.....
When I got back to my room, there was a message for me. Ice (not sure what that is short for) at the front desk said she had some bad news for me. The way she sounded I thought she was going to tell me someone had died! But the message said the owners of my room were arriving Thursday, so I had to move to 103. That's not so bad, it's just next door. Apparently Richard, Sr, back before there were ever time shares, had the idea to "sell" rooms at Bolongo. There are a few original owners left, all up there in age and the couple that own room 102 only want to stay in room 102! Even when they could stay in a nicer room. So tomorrow before I go to work, I need to move my stuff over (I offered to do it tonight but there's no air conditioner in 103 and I guess they are going to remedy that before I move in!).
Janee let me borrow her car so I could take my laundry to the cleaners. When I got back I went to the Manager's cocktail party. They serve appetizers and rum punch and get to talk with the managers. And now it's time for dinner. Not sure what I want to eat...
Tomorrow I'm back at the Lobster Grille working 2-10pm at the Pantry station.
I was headed to the Lobster Grille when John, the General Manager at Iggie's called me over. He told me that he and Janee had talked and that they were taking me off of my warehouse stint Wednesday and instead giving me the day off because they want me to work Pantry at Iggie's Sunday (I was scheduled to be off) from 5-10pm. Not much choice as an intern so I just said ok. Dinner was Paradise chicken served with island rice and green beans. The chicken is roasted with a mango glaze brushed on and served with mango salsa. Very good!
Not much else to report.....
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2010
Well, I guess I have two days to catch up on...
Saturday I worked 9am-4pm at Iggie's. I was up early, had a good breakfast (I usually work with Mary and she really doesn't take any breaks. She once told me her "body gets sick when I don't work". Interesting for an islander.) I got to Iggie's and there was Mary, upset because Jeff, the new kitchen manager, was suppose to put in a requisition for supplies the night before, but hadn't, so she had to do it when she got there. She settled down, then put me in charge of setting up the pantry. Pretty much a repeat of last Saturday. Chopping lettuce for salads and sandwiches, cutting up cucumbers and tomatoes, making sure there was enough bacon for BLTs, and sanitizing the station. At least there wasn't a sink full of chicken parts! (That was yet to come, lol) There were ribs in the sink, however, so I was asked to season those (rub in salt, pepper and minced garlic). After I did that, Mary grilled them, then roasted them. Then I sliced about ten pounds of roast beef on the slicer (too tick, April, tinner!-too thick), so I changed the setting on the machine. Once the beef was sliced, I put them into baggies in 6 oz portions to use in French dips. Mary found even more roast beef and had me slice that (after I just cleaned the machine, kind of a pain) that I left loose in a pan. She's going to use it for Phillie Cheesesteak on Sunday. Then suddenly, it was time for lunch. In between my salad making, sandwich making and serving desserts, I got to work with my chicken parts. Wings, tenders and chicken breasts. I put the wrong marinade on the wings so had to drain them and wash them all and start again. Oh, well....a learning experience. During lunch, Jeff came up to me after I had made a Cesar salad and told me to use less dressing and to not put the croutons in with the greens while I mixed the salad so the croutons wouldn't get soggy. OK...(but have you seen the croutons? They're rock hard!) Oh, well again, I'm here to learn and mostly do what I am told. He and Mary apparently had words also, she does not like him. Such drama! On the surface everyone seems to get along, but when you spend more time with the people here, no one seems to like anyone. It's difficult not to be affected by all that. I also wrapped fish for the fish and chips, and almost had to bread oysters, but I ran out of time so the evening shift will do it. I ran out of Cambros used for food storage so for a while I was prepping all this food with no way to store it either in the walk-in or the freezer. Mary had me do some transfer of food to get the bigger Cambros (plastic containers with lids). I was ready to leave at 4, a kind of discouraging day being around all this negativity.
I went back to my room, took a shower, then went to see 007 for a nice stiff drink. When I first sat down, it was crowded but soon thinned. A guy next to me starting talking to me. Wasn't sure what he was interested in at first, but turns out he just wanted someone to talk to. His name was Aaron. He had made reservations at Bolongo and was planning on bringing his girlfriend with him. He was going to propose marriage to her. At the last minute, she told him she couldn't come with him, that she was seeing someone else (he had dated her for three years and thought they were serious about each other). He came out anyway, bringing his brother with him as well as two cousins. His brother was sleeping and Aaron was waiting for him to wake up. It just goes to show you that you can always find someone worse off than yourself. I don't have much to complain about!
For some reason, I had trouble falling asleep so read for a while. I don't have to get up early Sunday morning!
Sunday when I woke, the sky was clear and the sun shown brightly. After breakfast (I treated myself to Mango pancakes). There was a small lizard sitting on a rock by my table so I snapped a picture. Hopefully you can see the little guy sitting on the light colored rock! After I finished breakfast, I sat by the pool and read one of the books Jordan sent out to me called "Culinary Artistry". It's a good book so far. It talks about whether cooking is a vocation, a craft or a form of art. It was recommended by one of the chefs at school and it is one Ryan and Janee use to build their menus. I talked to Jordan at 1pm, then it was time to go to work.
Once I got to the Lobster Grille, Janee told me I would start off at the Lobster Grille, but would have to go work Pantry at Iggie's as they were short handed. Apparently, Arthur, one of the nicest and most polite guys I've ever met, just walked out of work the other night and never came back. Don't know what's up with that and probably never will. So I started off my evening by wrapping pieces of bacon around large scallops, then putting three scallops on a bamboo skewer. I also made Mango Salsa (small dice a 1/2 small red onion, 1/2 green pepper, 1/2 red pepper, 2 cups mango and then add 2 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro, salt, pepper and honey to taste). While gathering my supplies, I noticed the peeled potatoes in the walk-in had not been put on to boil. I realized that only Janee, Ryan, Judy and myself were scheduled to work tonight. That never happens! Usually Drew or Jesse boil the potatoes and make mashed potatoes. So I pulled them out and put the potatoes on the stove to boil. That's not something Ryan or Janee do any more, it's left to us peons, lol. While I was waiting for potatoes, I sliced chicken breasts into three pieces to make the Coconut Crusted Chicken Tenders, then breaded them first in flour, then dipped them in beaten eggs, then covered them in a 2:1 mixture of sweetened coconut and Panko. Once that was done, I started making arancini. Ryan makes a lobster risotto (which by the way, has no lobster, just lobster base) which we then wrap around a very small piece of smoked Gouda cheese which then is rolled into a round ball, breaded in the usual manner, then stored until they are ready to be deep fried for an appetizer order. They serve it with Basil Aioli. One of my favorites! While all this was going on, Janee was checking the schedule and saw that Jeff (the new kitchen manager) had today off. I think she was a little perturbed that he was not helping out his own staff, so Janee was keeping me busy for longer than she had originally said she would (I was suppose to go down to Iggie's at 5pm). Fine with me! I asked her in the afternoon if I could spend time making sauces with either her or Ryan. She thought that was a great idea. I also told her I had been making the Hollandaise Sauce on days, so she let me make the Bernaisse Sauce tonight. They use it to top the fillet mignon. It turned out well, that made both of us happy! Dinner orders started coming in at 6pm and Judy was cleaning out the walk-in (and I have to tell you I was VERY impressed when she was done!! I've never seen the walk-in look that good!), so Janee had me start working at Judy's station (Pantry). I made the Bolongo salad, the Lobster Grapefruit salad, the Wedge salad, the Lobster-Shrimp Cocktail and served a few desserts. Very cool! It got later and later, so Janee told me to forget about going to Iggie's. John, the General Manager at Iggie's, stopped by and said it was "dead" down at Iggie's so it all worked out. I cleaned up after everyone (Ryan especially is a very messy cook!), then Janee let me go early. Can't complain about that. I also asked Janee if they did anything special for Valentine's Day and she said yes they did. I asked if she would let me come up with a dessert special for Valentine's Day and she said yes! So now I need to come up with something new. Yeah!! Now I just have to come up with an idea, lol. Something chocolaty I think.....
Back to my room for a shower and some dinner (I had the arancini), a drink at the bar, then back to my room. Tomorrow I am back at Iggie's 9am to 4pm. Time for bed.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
I worked days again in the Lobster Grille. It was just myself, Clif and Roy. I worked on the hot line with Roy, but he seems to like to do most of it himself, so I didn't argue, just helped where I could. Unfortunately, he kept disappearing so had to pick up the slack at odd times. The kitchen was very warm today and he kept complaining about how hot it was (I agree!) and I think was going outside to cool off. The more I work there, there more it seems that the people there don't really like each other. I don't know.....I just do my work.
The evening kitchen staff is all freaked out because Iggie's is closed tonight for a buy out so everyone will be eating at the Lobster Grille. We'll see what actually happens. I put two pigs, which someone had sawed in half, into the ovens at noon today for tonight's buy out party. Should be interesting! I was talking to Laura in the gift shop and she told me business usually picks up the middle to end of January and that they are busy thru April. This is the first time someone has actually put a time frame on the busy and slow times. I heard different things from different people. I will soon need to discuss leaving in March so I have time to get my "stuff" back to Reno and go to my Personal Chef class in Denver the first weekend in April. I am doing a lot of reading and taking some online classes in an effort to figure out exactly what I want to do when I finish here. I like cooking but I love baking, so will try to fit that in.
I'm at Iggie's tomorrow, 9am to 4pm. Should be interesting (my new favorite word, lol). I think I'll eat at the bar tonight and forgo table service. Currently I am in the conference room on my computer. I've added a few more pictures if you get a chance to take a look back thru my entries. It rained cats and dogs for about 1/2 an hour-had people scurrying all around to get out of the rain. It was very humid today so hopefully the rain will improve the air! I think I'll go check my schedule for next week. It comes out at 5pm every Friday, no sooner and no more than one week posted at a time. Also a very interesting way to run a business....
The evening kitchen staff is all freaked out because Iggie's is closed tonight for a buy out so everyone will be eating at the Lobster Grille. We'll see what actually happens. I put two pigs, which someone had sawed in half, into the ovens at noon today for tonight's buy out party. Should be interesting! I was talking to Laura in the gift shop and she told me business usually picks up the middle to end of January and that they are busy thru April. This is the first time someone has actually put a time frame on the busy and slow times. I heard different things from different people. I will soon need to discuss leaving in March so I have time to get my "stuff" back to Reno and go to my Personal Chef class in Denver the first weekend in April. I am doing a lot of reading and taking some online classes in an effort to figure out exactly what I want to do when I finish here. I like cooking but I love baking, so will try to fit that in.
I'm at Iggie's tomorrow, 9am to 4pm. Should be interesting (my new favorite word, lol). I think I'll eat at the bar tonight and forgo table service. Currently I am in the conference room on my computer. I've added a few more pictures if you get a chance to take a look back thru my entries. It rained cats and dogs for about 1/2 an hour-had people scurrying all around to get out of the rain. It was very humid today so hopefully the rain will improve the air! I think I'll go check my schedule for next week. It comes out at 5pm every Friday, no sooner and no more than one week posted at a time. Also a very interesting way to run a business....
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2010
I had the day off today. It was sunny and warm, too. No rain! After breakfast, I spent some time by the pool, worked on my online classes, then had lunch at the bar of the Lobster Grille. While I was eating my BLT, along came one of the big iguanas and sat by my car. I gave him some of my lettuce and he took it right out of my hand! Amazing. He also likes French fries, lol.he moved to sit under my chair but when I moved my foot, it startled him and he ran under the chairs next to me. Unfortunately, the lady next to me is from the city and thought it was a rat and it startled her, she jumped, and just about had a heart attack! She was not happy. She moved soon after that, to sit by the pool. But not before asking if iguanas swam, lol. The bartender told her they did but not well! I told her I've never seem iguanas in the pool. I "captured" a picture of him after he jumped onto a palm tree.
Poor lady!
This evening was the employee Christmas party. From 6:30-10:30pm. Open bar, food buffet (Janee and Ryan did the cooking, we did most of the prep yesterday). There was a green salad, roasted potatoes, glazed ham, lasagna, curried mahi, mixed vegetables and assorted cookies (packaged but not bad). They gave away prizes-dinners, cruises, a local airline ticket and gift certificates to K-Mart. I didn't win anything, but that's ok, the people who have been here a long time won and that's the important thing! Shortly thereafter I left. I have to work tomorrow at 6:30am and that comes nightly early! It was a nice party and a nice gesture from the owners.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
We were awoken last night at 2am by what sounded like a gunshot! Then the power went out. Eventually the generator kicked in and the fan came back on. I later learned that a transformer blew and knocked out the power to the Lobster Grille and The eat wing, where I live, the generator ran most of the day before it was fixed. Jordan took a taxi at 5:30am (the only time available if you can believe that!). Sad to see him go! I did go back to bed though and got up at 8:30am and had breakfast. Janee texted me and asked me to start at 12 noon instead of 11am. I'm suppose to be prepping for banquets (the Rotary Club dinner, the employee dinner tomorrow night and the buy out at Iggie's Friday. A buy out is when a person or company is willing to pay enough money to Bolongo that they will not lose money if they shut the restaurant to the public.). Once I caught up with Janee, she started me out making three mixed green salads, a total of 11 heads of romaine worth of salad! Once those were done and plated on the appropriate platters, I was told to make 200 cookies. Now don't get too excited for me, that means taking pre-formed frozen Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough, pitting it on a cookie sheet and baking it. It's all they use!! While waiting to do that and in between batches, I cut up red potatoes so they could be roasted tomorrow. I also got nine pork butt roasts ready for roasting tomorrow and Friday. Unfortunately, they were still frozen (although Gene had assured Janee they were thawed and ready to go)! So they will sit out overnight to finish thawing but they are ready to roast. I chopped onions for sauce for lasagna. Looks like Janee and Ryan will be cooking dinner for the staff. I didn't think they would give at up! They are too attached to the Lobster Grille! The Grille will be closed tomorrow for the employee party. The managers wait on the employees, which Paul says the staff loves, lol.
After work and a shower, I had a drink and an appetizer at the bar. Harry always takes good care of me! I ended up sitting with Richard, Paul and Paul's wife Colleen. They asked about Jordan and if he left this morning. Apparently they liked him! Nice to know! We had a very pleasant time talking, then they left to go home. I went back to my room. I have tomorrow off, amazing!
After work and a shower, I had a drink and an appetizer at the bar. Harry always takes good care of me! I ended up sitting with Richard, Paul and Paul's wife Colleen. They asked about Jordan and if he left this morning. Apparently they liked him! Nice to know! We had a very pleasant time talking, then they left to go home. I went back to my room. I have tomorrow off, amazing!
Tuesday, January 4, 2010
I have today off, so Jordan and I went on the BVI tour. We left Bolongo at 8am and headed to Red Hook. Instead of a private ferry like we took last time, we had to take the regular ferry. Once we got to St John's, we were met by Charlie, the same driver I had the last trip I took. Same joke about being a Charlie's Angel, lol. We got the botanical lecture, stopped at a bakery for a snack and they also recommended beer, but It was too early for Jordan and I don't drink beer. I had ordered Greek salad for lunch but what came out was taco salad, same as three others. But it was all good, so it didn't matter. We sat with a family who had spent two weeks sailing around the BVI on their own. The husband was retired from the State Dept while his wife stilled worked for the State Dept in Germany. They had three kids with them. They had a daughter who lives in Reno! Small world! Again, nice people, though the husband always seemed to be on the phone, so we thought maybe he wasn't all that retired, lol! Next stop was Trunk Bay, same place I lost my glasses on my last trip. I stopped by the ranger station, but they didn't have anything there so no glasses yet. Jordan snorkeled, I sat on the beach. Next stop was shopping but we didn't stop at the same place as last trip. Charlie took us back downtown so we would be sure to catch the ferry back to St Thomas. This ferry was a rickety old boat, and didn't seem like it could carry as many people as it did and we made it back to Red Hook in one piece.
We walked down to Iggie's for a drink when we got back, then took a shower and walked to Mim's for dinner. It started out to be a nice dinner, but dinner never came! So we left. Won't go back there I don't think. We walked back to the Lobster Grille and sat at the bar for awhile before bed. The weather was beautiful and the night peaceful. Jordan leaves in the morning :-(.
We walked down to Iggie's for a drink when we got back, then took a shower and walked to Mim's for dinner. It started out to be a nice dinner, but dinner never came! So we left. Won't go back there I don't think. We walked back to the Lobster Grille and sat at the bar for awhile before bed. The weather was beautiful and the night peaceful. Jordan leaves in the morning :-(.
Monday, January 3, 2010
6am comes early!! I went into work at 6:30am (it's nice to just walk out the door and be at work) and found just Clif there. I asked him if it was just us and he said Millie would be in at 7. So I put bacon in the oven as well as sausage, pulled out all the breakfast things and put them in the breakfast station. Then orders started coming in and it was time to go to work. All in all, it was a discouraging day. I have to get used to the islander's way of talking, that they aren't necessarily "yelling", they just talk loud and fast. They also cook things to death! When I cook, I try to cook food they way we were taught. Sometimes the other cooks let me cook how I want, other times, they just take over what I'm doing and finish it how they want. I have been hearing a lot more complaints from guests that the service at the Lobster Grille is slow and that during the day the food is not good, that Iggie's does a better job of lunch than the Lobster Grille. Not good. I did talk with Janee at the end of the evening and they realize there's a problem. And it won't be fixed over night.
Dew went to XO Bistro for dinner. Some of the menu looked suspiciously like Lobster Grille, and I understand this is Janee's favorite restaurant. I had a goat cheese salad and Jordan and I split lasagna, of all things. It was quite good! Then back to Bolongo. We road there and back with a couple from Indianapolis who were there with their son. And the wife is a nurse! Small world! I've met some very nice people here.
Dew went to XO Bistro for dinner. Some of the menu looked suspiciously like Lobster Grille, and I understand this is Janee's favorite restaurant. I had a goat cheese salad and Jordan and I split lasagna, of all things. It was quite good! Then back to Bolongo. We road there and back with a couple from Indianapolis who were there with their son. And the wife is a nurse! Small world! I've met some very nice people here.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
I was in bed by 9 pm last night and didn't get up until 9 the next morning!! We woke up to rain, so I really am happy our trip to the BVI was changed from Sunday to Friday! We had a leisurely breakfast of eggs and pancakes, then Jordan did some computing while I caught up my blog. I have to work at 2pm today at Lobster Grille. I've added a picture of a cactus we found decorated at our lunch stop on St Johns.
Off to work, lots of prep. Apparently there are only 60-70 people in the resort so they did not expect it to be busy. We ended up making about sixty dinners, most of which were ordered between 7:30-8:30pm! There was quite a crunch for an hour! I made lobster stuffing before the dinner start, as well as roasted corn avocado salsa. Then spent time setting up the appetizer station with Drew. Since we started the new menu, I have all different things to remember! I also mixed molasses cookie dough and put it in the walk-in. It has to chill overnight. I actually worked the line to night helping Drew with appetizers. I was ready for the evening to be done!
Jordan and I had a drink then it was time for bed, I have to work early tomorrow.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
A new year! Looking back, as we often do on this day, I can't believe every thing that has happened in 2010! My dad died in April, I quit my rather well paying job to go back to school to learn Culinary Arts, moved to a new city to actually go to school, spent three weeks in Italy and France and finished the year by moving to St Thomas for an internship. If you had told me a year or two ago that I would have done all these things, I would not have believed you! And in between school and Europe and St Thomas, were trips back and forth between Reno, Denver and Washington, DC (to spend time with Jordan and Betty, respectively). Jordan has been reminding me how lucky I am to be in such a beautiful place, with a warm tropical climate and little responsibility. I have to agree with him. I was thinking of cutting my stay here short because there didn't seem to be much happening, but Paul (one of the owners) took over (not sure if this is good or bad) scheduling and has me working what looks to be part time on days at the Lobster Grille, what looks like Saturday days at Iggie's, with some evenings at the Lobster Grille thrown in there. I am learning and that's what I came here to do, so I guess I'll stick it out til March, as scheduled. I am signed up and confirmed for a Personal Chef class in Denver the first weekend in April so will need to be gone from here before then. Now I just need to decide what to do when I grow up! There are many options, and this seems to be the best place to think some of this out. I have finally realized that no one expects anything out of me other than to show up for work when I am suppose to. This was a hard concept to grasp for the oldest child of six, a nurse, and for the last four years, OR manager! I think I'm finally "getting" it, lol.
It was hard getting up this morning for work! When I got to Iggie's, I found out I was working regular staff! It was just me and Mary and a young dishwasher. Wow! I set up and worked Pantry. Here at Iggie's that means you make all the salads and cold sandwiches and plate whatever desserts people want. It also means you do most of the prep for evenings and whatever special there is the next day. Mary gets there about 7:30-8am so she already had ribs, pork roasts, fish and three cuts of chicken thawing in the sink. I took the chicken wings and made a marinade of Paul Prudhomme's blackened seasonings, Old Bay Spices and EVOO. Those were stored in the freezer for another day. I put a marinade of half EVOO and half bottled teriyaki sauce along with a lot of black pepper on chicken tenders, then skewered them on bamboo so they could be served as Chicken Satay. Half the tenders were put in the walk-in for use over the next day or so, the other
half were placed in the freezer. Next came the chicken breasts, done in the same marinade after I butterflied them (so they would cook on the grill faster) then these were also placed in the freezer. Lots of prep! The ribs were placed in a hotel pan, then seasoned with salt and
pepper and garlic, wrapped, and will be cooked tomorrow for a rib and chicken special. The pork shoulder roasts (4 huge roasts) were placed in a hotel pan and roasted at 350 in the oven. I made BLTs, turkey club sandwiches-all using "Texas toast" (thick sliced white bread). I made garden salads, ceasar salads, grilled chicken salads, taco salads, mahi-mahi salads, and chicken wraps filled with lettuce, diced tomatoes, chicken of your choice (grilled or fried) covered with ranch drawing. Mary got swamped at one point so asked me to come help her on hot line, which I did. Deep fried oysters, chicken tenders, French fries, wing platters, crab cakes, plating and trying to remember which sauce goes with what dish. Nthe other thing I did today, speaking of deep fried oysters, was to take 1& 1/2 buckets of raw oysters, rinse them off, then bread them. Dredge them in flour first, dip them in an egg/milk mixture (a LOT of milk compared to egg) then roll them in a special seasoned coating of Panko or bread crumbs. Not sure who makes that or if they buy it ready made. Mary wanted me to keep the seasoned breading after I finished with it. I refused, saying it was contaminated and could not be reused. She didn't argue with me, which surprised me!
When I got off at 4pm, I found Jordan reading. We both read a while, then had an early dinner at Iggie's-spinach artichoke dip with tortilla chips and pita, then shared a steak ceasar salad. They have live music at Iggie's every night. They had a guy there that reminded me of Marc Cohen in style. Nice voice, I'll have to ask if he's there every week, I enjoyed his singing. Jordan thought all his songs sounded the same, lol. I was asleep in bed by 9, I was so tired!
It was hard getting up this morning for work! When I got to Iggie's, I found out I was working regular staff! It was just me and Mary and a young dishwasher. Wow! I set up and worked Pantry. Here at Iggie's that means you make all the salads and cold sandwiches and plate whatever desserts people want. It also means you do most of the prep for evenings and whatever special there is the next day. Mary gets there about 7:30-8am so she already had ribs, pork roasts, fish and three cuts of chicken thawing in the sink. I took the chicken wings and made a marinade of Paul Prudhomme's blackened seasonings, Old Bay Spices and EVOO. Those were stored in the freezer for another day. I put a marinade of half EVOO and half bottled teriyaki sauce along with a lot of black pepper on chicken tenders, then skewered them on bamboo so they could be served as Chicken Satay. Half the tenders were put in the walk-in for use over the next day or so, the other
half were placed in the freezer. Next came the chicken breasts, done in the same marinade after I butterflied them (so they would cook on the grill faster) then these were also placed in the freezer. Lots of prep! The ribs were placed in a hotel pan, then seasoned with salt and
pepper and garlic, wrapped, and will be cooked tomorrow for a rib and chicken special. The pork shoulder roasts (4 huge roasts) were placed in a hotel pan and roasted at 350 in the oven. I made BLTs, turkey club sandwiches-all using "Texas toast" (thick sliced white bread). I made garden salads, ceasar salads, grilled chicken salads, taco salads, mahi-mahi salads, and chicken wraps filled with lettuce, diced tomatoes, chicken of your choice (grilled or fried) covered with ranch drawing. Mary got swamped at one point so asked me to come help her on hot line, which I did. Deep fried oysters, chicken tenders, French fries, wing platters, crab cakes, plating and trying to remember which sauce goes with what dish. Nthe other thing I did today, speaking of deep fried oysters, was to take 1& 1/2 buckets of raw oysters, rinse them off, then bread them. Dredge them in flour first, dip them in an egg/milk mixture (a LOT of milk compared to egg) then roll them in a special seasoned coating of Panko or bread crumbs. Not sure who makes that or if they buy it ready made. Mary wanted me to keep the seasoned breading after I finished with it. I refused, saying it was contaminated and could not be reused. She didn't argue with me, which surprised me!
When I got off at 4pm, I found Jordan reading. We both read a while, then had an early dinner at Iggie's-spinach artichoke dip with tortilla chips and pita, then shared a steak ceasar salad. They have live music at Iggie's every night. They had a guy there that reminded me of Marc Cohen in style. Nice voice, I'll have to ask if he's there every week, I enjoyed his singing. Jordan thought all his songs sounded the same, lol. I was asleep in bed by 9, I was so tired!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)