Where do I begin? I looked at my last blog entry only to find I have not written since the end of November!! Oh, my!
I have been working two jobs since the beginning of November (more really if I think about it), one nursing, one in a restaurant. That's a lot of hours!
I have also been running an online bakeshop (
shop.aprilcookstonight.com), which was mildly successful over this past holiday season. Jordan thinks that if people could only taste the things I bake, I would be wildly successful. So, the task at hand is to give people the opportunity to to taste things from the bakeshop. Do I offer to send out samples at little or no cost? Hand out samples locally in some venue? There is a cheese shop here in Reno called Wedge, A Cheese Shop (no surprise there!), that carried some of my cookies and candies. Laura, one of the co-owners, has offered to continue to carry my products in their shop. Laura came to the Farm-To-Table dinner last September and was amazed at my cooking and flavor-pairings. She is now a firm believer in my and in my baking and cooking abilities AND willing to carry my products no matter how long it may take for them to take off. I will also try taking those same products and selling them through Gas Lamp, the restaurant I am now working at. So maybe Jordan is right-if people can only taste my products, they would sell (or if you build it they will come as the Keven Costner movie stated).
January 23 was my last day as a part time-full time employee at GIC. I did go per diem (which means working when they need me or I am available, with no set schedule)-don't want to burn any bridges in nursing, which is not my style anyway. Currently I am on Maui working my private chef gig for the next two weeks. If it makes all of you feel better (and less sorry for yourselves, especially if you live in the frozen areas of the USA), it has basically rained since I got here! I woke up this morning to thunder and a downpour of rain. I don't mind so much as this is not technically a vacation. It does, however, take away the decision of "do I go to the pool today or the beach?". Bummer. I would at least like to come home with a little tan and have people ask me where I've been. :-)
When I get back to Reno in February, I'll be full time at Gas Lamp. Quite a change! Gas Lamp will also be opening for lunch starting the end of February. It will be my job to get lunches up and going. Danny (the owner) and I will be hammering out a lunch menu. "Keep it simple at the beginning" is Danny's mantra. As the third or fourth most popular restaurant in Reno (according to Yelp), I guess he knows what he's talking about.
It has also been my job to do desserts at Gas Lamp, although Debra still makes all the ice creams. She does a great job! Currently on the dessert menu is Berry Crisp (soon to be replaced), Almond Roca Torte (Deb's creation), Brownie Sundae, White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake, Apple Galettes, Bourbon Pecan Tart and Coconut Creme Brûlée. I will be working on a new dessert menu while I am here on Maui to start when I return. We will probably switch to a rotating/changing Creme Brûlée (changing weekly, not daily). Danny would also like to replace the brownie, so I'll see what I can come up with. I am excited to finally be cooking full time!
Gas Lamp Tuna Tartar
What I did not think about when I started working in the Gas Lamp kitchen (I help Deb with the Garde Manger station, or in other words, the salad, cold appetizer and dessert station), was all the drama that takes place behind the scenes. Tempers flare when we are crazy busy, people step on other people's toes, there has been some theft involving employees, any number of things you never see when you go into a restaurant to eat. It has given me a new appreciation for eating out, I have to say. Customers change the type of dressing on a salad, they want the salad dressing on the side (making for a not very pretty presentation, surprisingly enough) and ask for all types of substitutions. I will be more careful about what I ask for eating out from now on!
Back to Maui and the present….. I arrived on Sunday about mid-day and just relaxed during the afternoon. I was taken out to dinner at Merrimans up the road from where we are staying (at Ka'anapoli Shores). What great food they have! Another of my favorite places to eat out, the Banyon tree, at the Ritz Carlton has closed and been re-incarnated as more or less a coffee shop-type restaurant inside the hotel versus outside near the beach. I guess the Ritz was looking to reach a younger generation looking for a more casual setting and cheaper prices (as if anything in Hawaii is cheap!!). Hope they are successful. I don't think we'll be going there anytime soon. More's the pity!
Monday we went shopping for the week at Farmland Foods, a store much like Whole Foods only smaller. Lots of gourmet and organic foods, a deli and meat and fish counters. Lunch on Monday was a
Bean, Corn and Tortilla Salad. SO simple!
It contains sweet corn, black or pinto beans, diced tomatoes, avocado, salsa, romaine lettuce and baked tortilla chips that make up a wonderfully refreshing salad. Not too heavy--perfect for Hawaii! The recipe is from Martha Stewart's Everyday Foods.
45 minutes at the pool in the afternoon, between rainstorms, and it was time to fix dinner. Dinner was a little more elaborate. Laura Caulder's Beef Bourguinon. Yum!!
Here it is paired with a Cabernet Sauvignon. Hmmmm….just as good as eating out! And, the main reason I am here-to cook!
Tuesday morning I made scones. My friend found a recipe in the Wall Street Journal while on the plane coming over to Hawaii and saved the recipe for me. It really is quite good and very easy.
Currant Cream Scones by Gail Monaghan.
This recipe makes 20 scones.
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar, plus 2-3 Tbsp for sprinkling
1 1/3 cups dried currants
1 cup heavy cream, cold
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Over a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and 1/3 cup sugar. Stir in Currants. Add heavy cream to bowl and use an electric mixer to blend on low until ingredients are just combined.
3. Dump dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead very briefly. Roll dough out to a 1-inch thickness. use a 1-1 1/2 inch cookie or biscuit cutter to cut out scones. Place the scones 1 inch apart on a created or parchment lined baking sheet. Reroll dough scraps and repeat process until all the dough has been used.
4. Use a pastry brush to paint tops of scones with melted butter, then sprinkle with sugar. Place baking sheet in center of oven and bake until scones are golden, 12-15 minutes.
5. Let scones cool on a baking rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with butter and jam.
All that being said, I have a few confessions to make… I could not find any currants at the Maui grocery stores so substituted diced candied ginger and chopped pistachios, 2/3 cup of each to equal the amount of 1 1/3 cups the currants. They came out great!! Also, I used white whole wheat flour. We bought this by accident and I was concerned the scones would be too heavy but they tasted just fine. I also did not sift--something I sometimes feel is a waste of time unless you are making a delicate cake. Next time I make these scones-which will be soon--I am going to try dried cherries and dark chocolate. Doesn't that sound yummy?
Lunch yesterday (Tuesday) was Beef Taco Salad with Chunky Tomato Dressing- a healthy recipe from Ellie Krieger.
And dinner?
Pasta Puttanesca! This one was another healthy recipe from Ellie Krieger.
I hope to be more regular with this blog. Lots of food things happening and food is what makes my world go round. Wish me luck down this path I am finally committing to as I hope to be here a long time!
