Tag Archives: restaurant

The Dream

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve revealed the dream, it seems like, a hundred times.  I have a “short and simple” version to answer the question “Why did you go to culinary school at this point in your life?” and the longer, in depth version, that I share in bits and pieces, but sits mostly in my mind.  Depending on my audience and the topic of discussion, I supply an outline,  a portion of the puzzle, a nugget of my desire.

For you,  I will conjure it fully:

My dream is to own a Bed and Breakfast – quite possibly with my sister.  This grand Victorian would sit on five acres in a yet-to-be-discovered wine region.  My loft-like owner’s quarters would be the old converted barn in the back – dark wood and high ceilings, with plenty of sunlight, sitting beside the brook that borders my property.

The grounds would be home to an ample vegetable garden surrounded by a crushed granite path.  My garden would be the daily inspiration for my menu.  At least an acre of lavender fields, visible from the porch, would undulate in the breeze.  I would use my lavender for cooking and soap making and selling at the farmer’s market, along with my surplus produce.  I would need grape vines to make my own wine, each row capped with rose bushes.  This is not wine for selling, but for private consumption and to share with my guests.  I’ve discovered that a large swath of ground isn’t needed to grow the grapes necessary for wine making – I would need less than an acre.  And last, but not least, another acre would hold my two female goats, my affectionate pets and providers of the milk for my soap and chevre (perhaps some rolled in lavender). I’ve already contemplated how I would train them to come to the back door for their morning milking.  Not much of a morning person, I picture myself milking them on the back steps with a coffee cup in one hand and the teat of a placid goat in the other (idyllic, I know, but I did say this was my DREAM).

The actual B&B would be many things – a bed a breakfast for those visiting this undiscovered slice of wine country, a small pre fixe restaurant similar to the one I saw at Rock Cottage in Ireland, a wedding and event venue, and perhaps even a home-chef cooking school.  It would also be my haven.

The response to my dream is almost always, “that will be a lot of work”.  Is it work, though, when you’re doing something you love in the place of your dreams?

Sweet

Posted on by
1

The question on everyone’s lips for 2010 has been, “what ever happened with that lemon tart?” Well, perhaps not everyone’s lips – most likely the question remains merely in my head, but I’d like to offer an update regardless.

On the Sunday before last, I finally had the opportunity to bake the tarts for the restaurant. Like a culinary Field of Dreams, I made them and the customers bought. Even Big D and his girlfriend finished their night with one – and this couple is not the type to indulge in culinary naughtiness. Last Sunday, a few of the servers asked me if I would be making them again. Poco de Chile says they’re too labor intensive, but Big D wants to put them on the menu permanently. They are slightly labor intensive, but not too bad if I’m allowed to focus on making them. I’m tired of pushing the tarts with Poco and Big D. They have the recipe and the next step is theirs. For me, they were a small triumph – my first recipe for public consumption.

Big D also wanted to add a biscotti and vin santo pairing to the dessert menu. The other night, I made a trio of biscotti – apricot/white chocolate, cherry/walnut/dark chocolate and milk chocolate/orange. We gave a few samples to the customers and the feedback was positive. Big D approved of my presentation and flavor. I finished them late on Sunday so we didn’t have a chance to sell them that night. I’m curious if they’re selling this week.

He’s asked me to create a Valentine’s Day dessert. I’m honored to be asked. I’m playing with ideas in my head, but I already have a clear image of what I want to try: A thin dark chocolate genoise on the bottom, a layer of raspberry filling, a light chocolate mousse, another layer of genoise and raspberry, chocolate ganache on top with fresh raspberries. I’m pleased with the overall concept, but I feel like it’s missing something – a little surprise inside, like a hazelnut layer or another surprising flavorful pop besides chocolate and raspberry. Whoever my testers are, I think they’ll be happy with the assignment.

Now that I’ve given the restaurant a taste of my talent (literally – I give samples), it seems the gum chomping servers are a little nicer these days.