Did I ever mention. . .

. . .that one of the food critics who so lovingly slaughtered one of my desserts back in May wore shorts when he came into the restaurant for the review? Shorts in a fine dining restaurant? Yes, they are allowed by the dress code, but I question the professionalism of that decision.

And, yes, I remain haunted by that review. It has made me a better chef. . . and probably a heavier drinker. So, um, thanks, Guy in Shorts, I guess.

Chocolate Quartet x2

September, I hardly knew ye! Time certainly does fly when you mean to post more to your blog. Here we have two photos of the same dessert in two different situations.

First up: the Chocolate Quartet as she appeared as a special at the Restaurant. This was a test run for the dessert I planned to serve at the Charleston Stage Dinner. This event benefits a local theatre group. It includes a silent auction, some sort of wine auction, and dinner for the guests. Approximately 15 restaurants show up and each team of chefs prepares 3 to 4 course meals for 3 tables of 10 people.

Above is the Stage Dinner version. (Boy, I certainly do hate plates that are not completely white. But the dessert still looked good.) With so many components, this one was a challenge. I had The Exec and The Sous helping me plate, so any not-as-purdy spots I blame on them.

Since there was a lot going on with the plate, I missed seeing most of the other desserts that went out from the other restaurants. The Stage Dinner was always a great way for me to compare my work with that of my colleagues. Missed my chance this year since I overworked myself. Oh well, I know it looked better than the few desserts I did see. I promise to do better at observing the pastry pissin' contest next year.

Chocolate Quartet

--Triple chocolate terrine [basically three layers of chocolate marquise (milk, white, dark)]

--Milk chocolate mousse Napoleon (milk chocolate mousse, tempered and textured milk chocolate squares, cocoa nib caramel deco, silver leaf in the restaurant photo)

--White chocolate cheesecake (dipped in graham cracker crumbs, topped with raspberry and mint)

--Grand Marnier-strawberry tartlet (chocolate tart shell, strawberry jam, strawberries macerated in demerara sugar, vanilla, and Grand Ma, Grand Ma-dark chocolate ganache, gold leaf)

--On the plate I included more macerated strawberries, dark chocolate liquid ganache, and a dark chocolate curl

Takes a long time to describe and assemble, but only minutes to eat and enjoy.

Wedding Cake #4

Cake number four (second one of this year) is done and I am beat. Actually being in a wedding and doing the cake--especially when the nuptials take place out of town--was more taxing than I imagined. Perhaps I was just worn out from the cake the week before. Who knows?

Rest will have to wait until the weekend, though, because I start teaching again in Columbia today. I will be a slave to the CIC on Tuesdays and Thursdays until the end of the year. Add in that I am starting off with Baking I--a class that focuses on yeast breads and one I have yet to teach--and the stress level increases. Ah well. It'll get done. It always gets done. That certainty never fails to get me through the tough times.

Off to type up recipes for lean dough. Tonight we do rolls, baguettes, and batards. Start off easy. Teach 'em the 10 steps of bread baking and the wherewithal's of yeast. I only hope we have enough INGs to get us through. Alas, that's a problem for the afternoon.

Why I do it

Love my job. Hate my job. Love my job more than I hate my job.

I am a pastry chef.

I am the mom of the kitchen.

I am the work wife of my chef.

I am needed when I am not there.

Love my job more than I hate my job.

Wedding Cake Number 3

Only for friends and family will I do wedding cakes. First, this is not my area of expertise. Second, I do not care to deal with brides and grooms whom I don't know or trust. Third, these things are heinously involved. The cake here took about a week and a half of work. Granted I was doing it while I worked the regular gig so it could have required less time. However, working on a project such as this every night from approximately 9PM to 2 AM for 7 days straight in addition to working a nine hour day doesn't make for the speediest completion. I am righteously beat.

This coming Saturday has me as maid of honor and cake baker of honor for my best friend's wedding. After that I start teaching for two months straight while the busy season at Cypress really takes off.

And I am going into all this already ripped to shreds. That's why I can only do this for family and friends.

Mad Hatter Cake for T and M--7 October 2006
top layer--chocolate buttermilk cake

middle layer--red velvet cake

bottom layer--carrot cake

cream cheese icing and fondant cover the whole thing