The Sweet Life

I have been having trouble with my appetite lately, so when I thought about what I wanted to eat, I got a craving for Potato & Leek Soup, so I made a big pot of it to last me a couple of days. It's one of my favorite comfort soups and I really needed some comfort. My Smoky Mushroom Ravioli with Caramelized Onion & Goat Cheese Sauce recipe has been submitted to TeaChef and I am proud of it. January's tea was Lapsang Souchong. In my previous blog, I commented on how smoky it smelled. I almost didn't like it, but when I brewed it, I got a nice surprise. The tea wasn't as smoky and the flavor is something I can't quite describe. I am glad that I have enough tea to enjoy many more cups and try other new recipes. I can hardly wait to get the next tea. The photos, which I took with the new camera, turned out rather nicely as well. I still have to get used to using the different settings, but with all new relationships, there's a "getting to know

That's about how long I slept. I was in bed sometime after 10:00, I know that much, and woke at almost 10 in the morning. But it was far from a restful slumber. I had a series of work dreams. I was working, of course-my body was still in the restaurant-and every time I needed something, plates, glasses, more desserts, running for something for one of the other guys, I would awaken with a start, sit up in bed, confused, then realize I was dreaming, and fall back asleep. This was my pattern last night, though I couldn't tell you how frequently I tossed and woke. Last night, needless to say, was busy. GM was quite so, and desserts were selling as well. The hotel is busy; at one point (was it last night or the night before?) they were at full capacity. Room service was working our tails as well. Now, I got my phone day before yesterday which was fine. I hadn't told a lot of people I'd had it, so I wasn't expecting anyone to call. Chef called me at 9 yesterday

That's the sound I'm making. I'm pleasantly toasted, thanks to Mr. Jack Daniel's. I also got a kiss on the cheek from my favorite bartender. Excuse any errors, I'm BUI (blogging under the influence) and proud of it! The purpose of my working nights was so that there wasn't only one person working GM. Guess who was working alone? Chef came and helped me out, I was in the weeds like hell. I made it through though. I wonder why they didn't have anyone scheduled in GM, especially since last Wednesday night it was busy? I did maybe 10 desserts, but so many frigging Lobster and Papaya salads and Dine Wedges, and what's up with the frigging Chicken Caesar salads, man? I feel so much better now. (flatline)

I finally, finally came out of my culinary coma. I went grocery shopping today and spent over $40 on Lord knows what. I'm baking a quiche now and have stuff for a Caesar salad. I also bought dried pineapple. I feel like I'm trying to stir the appetite of a picky toddler. I've been scatterbrained at work and at home. It's all a bit hazy here and there. I'll forget stuff and won't remember that I've forgotten it until much later. Sometimes I wake up remembering things. Sucks. But at least I didn't break two toes. Yeah, one of the hostesses broke two toes at work. Apparently she collided with one of the cooks and took a fall. I saw her fall, but I didn't see what caused it. Her foot came out of her shoe and she landed hard. It's terrible. She's such a nice person. Chef asked me if I wanted to come in early tomorrow instead of close. I'll be in at 11:00 and out early enough to go ice skating. I'm off Monday and Tuesday, s

Today wasn't too bad at work. I got some stuff done. It took me forever to do the meringue for the lemon meringue pies. So, chef ended up doing it for me. Why? Because she told me to use 1.5 times the amount of sugar than whites and I whipped the hell out of them and she finally said that they're fine, but when I scooped them onto the miniature pies, they kept sliding around so I rewhipped them (oh, this was the third time, by the way) per her instructions, adding some whites from the carton. Well, in the end, she tossed them out and started over. I never have that much trouble doing them when she's not around. It was quite frustrating, I'm telling you! Tired as I was, I went ice skating. Didn't skate after the resurfacing, I was too tired. Ended up eating at Heaven on Seven. Had the Cajun Crab Cakes, which came with a Potato and Parmesan Soup, and had Coconut Cream Cake for dessert. The soup was the best part of the meal. It was velvety and creamy and

I did a little shopping today. For culinary purposes, I purchased a small leather bound notebook to carry with me to work to store any recipes and creative ideas I have. My mother gave me a beautiful red leather bound notebook for my birthday, but that's for me to use at home. This one is small enough for me to slip into my bag and go. I also bought a cookbook book weight to keep my books open. Barnes & Noble was having a sale, and I got it for $5.99 plus my 10% off! What a bargain. When I got home with my purchases, to my surprise, I'd received my sample tea from Adagio Teas in today's mail. I'd signed up for their TeaChef program, where they will send you a sample of their tea of the month for you to experiment with and submit your recipes. This month's tea is Lapsang Souchong. I've never used this tea before or even heard of it. But their description is: Black tea from the Fujian province of China. Lapsang Souchong tea (also called Russian Cara

Chef told me to make an ice cream and sorbet of the day for next week. I ended up making White Chocolate Ice Cream and Lemon Sorbet with Tarragon and Vanilla. I wanted to make the sorbet with mint, but we didn't have any, nor any basil. I'd almost given up, was going to make a strawberry lemonade sorbet, but I talked to one of the Sous Chefs and he suggested tarragon, so I experimented with it and he helped me tweak it. Turned out damn good. Now I have to make it again and standardize the recipe (I didn't measure the tarragon, nor the extra simple syrup I used) and I want to make candied zest for the garnish. No pics since I didn't plate it tonight, but I'll try to take some next week. Today inspired me again as far as frozen desserts go. I want to get the KitchenAid ice cream maker attachment, but I have to wait to see how my finances fall. Paid off two credit cards, I'm on a roll and hope to be able to shop on good behavior. Well, I'm having a bit

Still, it's been a while, I know. I haven't been eating out too much. I did get a new digital camera for Christmas, so that I now have no excuses for not taking photos when I go out to eat. As a matter of fact, I tested it at Two Amigos, a Mexican restaurant dad and I have been visiting for years. Every time we are in Houston together, we eat there. We have another favorite is El Colonial. I adore it, but we go when my mother wants to eat Mexican food. Another place we have been eating at for many years-since I was in high school as a matter of fact. The family that runs it welcomes us warmly. I have only been to a couple of places since I've been back to Chicago, nothing really special to blog about. Hopefully, after paying Christmas credit cards, I'll be out eating again soon. Have fun and eat well this year!