Busy hands are happy hands.
(apologies for the un-edited and un-corrected post - time has slipped away and I need to be in the kitchen shortly)
A change is in the air...
It turns out that working on something exciting, challenging and a little scary is a great tonic for what ails me. Now that we are getting close to the restaurant opening things are starting to move fast. We spend the day hammering out menu ideas and options and I think we have a working menu - for now.
I am sure we will change things over and over but we have a target to aim at. A moving target to be sure, but a target none the less.
With all the sturm und drang I have been sharing I have not been sharing details about the new job, mostly because I could hardly think about it. While I still miss the new bear terribly I have something to help occupy my mind and to challenge me.
The new place is called "Cafe 56 - a modern cafe of the Americas". The Chef/owner is from Quatemala, moved to France at 12, became an architect, then part owner in a restaurant and then went culinary school in San Francisco at age 36. She cheffed around the country a bit and ended up as executive chef on a small clipper cruise lines - which specialized in month long voyages of discover and exploration for groups from The Sierra Club, National Geographic, etc. Her focus there was offering foods that reflected the culture and cuisine of each trip's destinations. She moved on to become a chef/instructor at Connecticut Culinary Institute Lincoln Culinary Institute for bilking students. I never had her as an instructor but she is also a neighbor of mine and we would talk in the halls and share ideas. She was in charge of butchering and fabrication, and taught garde manger and the Italian program. Her specialty is charcuturie. (Jeffrey are you listening?)
Our meeting up two months ago was a fluke and her offering me the job is even more of a fluke - we are exploring so many ideas and concepts and she has included me in so much of the process that I really feel like I am making a real contribution.
So, back to our menu.
Breakfast:
I have complete control over what pastries, desserts, etc I make each day/week and I help shape the menu as well. While this is not fine dining - it is fresh, local, and distinct from what anyone else is offering in the area. I am excited about getting up and working each day now. I am making things again - I am not an office drone - I produce something that can bring joy, or happiness or satisfaction to someone on the most basic level - that is why I love cooking.
Time to test recipes - on today's list:
strawberry rhubarb tarts
tart au citron
pecan rolls
cinnamon rolls
the roll for the tacandwich
and who knows what else
Dinner tonight will be a large version of the Plowman's lunch. The chef - Sabrina, my mentor Micki Wood, my husband Joe, and our dear friends Rob and Sarah are going to eat together and test.
A change is in the air...
It turns out that working on something exciting, challenging and a little scary is a great tonic for what ails me. Now that we are getting close to the restaurant opening things are starting to move fast. We spend the day hammering out menu ideas and options and I think we have a working menu - for now.
I am sure we will change things over and over but we have a target to aim at. A moving target to be sure, but a target none the less.
With all the sturm und drang I have been sharing I have not been sharing details about the new job, mostly because I could hardly think about it. While I still miss the new bear terribly I have something to help occupy my mind and to challenge me.
The new place is called "Cafe 56 - a modern cafe of the Americas". The Chef/owner is from Quatemala, moved to France at 12, became an architect, then part owner in a restaurant and then went culinary school in San Francisco at age 36. She cheffed around the country a bit and ended up as executive chef on a small clipper cruise lines - which specialized in month long voyages of discover and exploration for groups from The Sierra Club, National Geographic, etc. Her focus there was offering foods that reflected the culture and cuisine of each trip's destinations. She moved on to become a chef/instructor at Connecticut Culinary Institute Lincoln Culinary Institute for bilking students. I never had her as an instructor but she is also a neighbor of mine and we would talk in the halls and share ideas. She was in charge of butchering and fabrication, and taught garde manger and the Italian program. Her specialty is charcuturie. (Jeffrey are you listening?)
Our meeting up two months ago was a fluke and her offering me the job is even more of a fluke - we are exploring so many ideas and concepts and she has included me in so much of the process that I really feel like I am making a real contribution.
So, back to our menu.
Breakfast:
- Freshly baked muffins, scones, croissant, sweet breads and biscuits supplimented with artisan breads bought in from a local woman.
- House made granola or muesli with fruit and yogurt.
- Continental breakfast with croissant or scones served house made fruit spreads, jams and compotes, sweet butter, coffee and fruit.
- Classic bacon and eggs
- Individual dutch pancakes served simply with butter, lemon and powdered sugar, season fruit compote, or savory with fried eggs, ham and cheese cradled in it.
- Southern Style Sausage Gravy over biscuits
- Eggs Rancheros style
- Egg sandwiches on our house made biscuits or croissants
- specials that might include baked french toast, or pain perdu, crepes, or Central American specialties
- a soup and a one pot meal such as a stew or the like each day, changing daily or every other day
- Salads that include one inspired by Banga Cauda;a Nicoise; a Yucatan inspired salad with crispy carnitas trimimings with avacado, citrus, etc.; a hearty grain, seed, nut, or pasta based veggie option.
- a quiche of the day
- a galette of the day
- a plowman's lunch with house made rillettes, pate, or terrine - house made pickles, cheeses, sliced cured or roasted meats, crusty bread and compound butters -
- empanada of the day
- a series of sandwiches inspired by the classic taco fillings of Central and South America served on a roll we are working on that will have a thin crisp crust and a soft center - she calls this a "Tac-andwich" combining the flavors of tacos with the ease of a sandwich = uptight northern office workers won't wear their lunch.
- hot sandwiches like a croque monsieur or madame
- versions of the mufaletta, club, BLT, etc. that bring in new flavors from across the Americas.
- updated versions of bound salads like tuna, chicken, or egg.
I have complete control over what pastries, desserts, etc I make each day/week and I help shape the menu as well. While this is not fine dining - it is fresh, local, and distinct from what anyone else is offering in the area. I am excited about getting up and working each day now. I am making things again - I am not an office drone - I produce something that can bring joy, or happiness or satisfaction to someone on the most basic level - that is why I love cooking.
Time to test recipes - on today's list:
strawberry rhubarb tarts
tart au citron
pecan rolls
cinnamon rolls
the roll for the tacandwich
and who knows what else
Dinner tonight will be a large version of the Plowman's lunch. The chef - Sabrina, my mentor Micki Wood, my husband Joe, and our dear friends Rob and Sarah are going to eat together and test.