i moved to tumblr

i cant promise i will start posting more, but it seemed a better format: here

wedding bells

i have internal struggles with projects like this. it was so pretty once it was done. and it seemed to make the people who ate it happy. but, producing a wedding cake in a tiny apartment kitchen with a half size oven is just a bitch. a three three and a half day process with no storage space.

day one: bake cakes, empty fridge. day two: buttercreams. day three: fondant. day four: final buff, decorations, and delivery. much waiting with sleepy eyes and cranky thoughts for components to cool and set and chill throughout. at least, i thought, i had cool weather on my side, and then mother nature saw my buttercreams and turned up the thermostat. well, you know what? it all worked out anyhow.

for the groom: vanilla bean genoise, mocha buttercream
for the bride: lemon genoise, raspberry buttercream

spring vacation

i have been doing everything except posting. running along the river. taking inventory. peeping some art. i love the colour of this chihuly. it is the exact colour of the buds in spring that say, hey! there will be tasty foods coming from the ground soon.

there was also a pastry competition in buffalo. i should probably tell you about it. maybe later.

yeh, ive been spoiled lately

a few weeks ago, jz had an executive dinner, also known as his birthday. we walked into a chefs whim prix fixe menu. we opted for a drink pairing. (always let someone who knows more than you do about the drink menu to do this for you if you can. it is worth it.)

in the end, we did not have the wheatberry risotto, but we did have a lovely charcuterie plate with beef heart (yums!) and dry cured duck breast that looked like stained glass. we were loud and probably obnoxious and there was definitely about twenty to thirty minutes of cock jokes after the cockscomb pie hit the table (which was delicious by the by, like chicken feet but without all the annoying tarsal bones).

lesson of the evening: if you ever see cheeks on a menu, order them.

final lesson of the evening: that last fernet will always kill you a little lit.

b boy

without any conspiracy, we carry the same brand of messenger bag. we use the same brand of pen in the kitchen. he is one of the first people i met when i started cooking. we do not get to hang out much anymore, but we had some really good times. we can crack inside jokes about that restaurant and its team for hours. i have forgiven him for the fishcake burn. we have stopped making fun of each other quite so viciously. mostly.

b boy now has a restaurant with his wife on the northshore. finally. it is so good to see him happy at work and doing his thing. relaxing a little. still with the faux-hawk and too much cologne. not being as fussy with his food as when we first met, which is not to say that it is not clean and bright and tight. it is. and it exudes love.

i finally made it up to see it and be fed. he surprisingly and graciously comped it. tasting menus are my favourite way to eat. hands down. beautiful and excessive and fucking delicious.

champagne to start, wines to pair:
chicken liver mousse, sauterne gelee
garlic sausage with lentils, creme fraiche; frites, garlic herb aioli
sauteed skate, pommes purees, capers, cornichons, brown butter
pan roasted porc, escarole, romesco
wild mushrooms, fresh tagliatelle
smoked beef tongue, parmesan tartine
lemon meringue tart, citrus salad
gelato: gianduja, pistachio, coconut almond chocolate chip

i think that was everything. i am still full. my head and belly are happy.

stuff. and things. and stuff.

yeh. i have been working at this really cute bakery. the tarts are beautiful. (you know what a sucker i am for sexy tarts.) i have been re-arranging my life. again. i moved. i have been moving things, and people, and stuff. a real time puzzle that never hits the solution phase. it has been busy. it has been loudquietloudcrazycalmgo-jus.

our team is v small at the bakery and one has recently left. onto bigger and better, we hope. in the meantime, we made her a little book as a send-off, quotes and memories from her time at the shop. this is one of the pages. actually, this one is true for most of us. there are edge pieces from the brownie pan almost every morning and unfortunately they are often the first things we eat. unfortunate because there is no food value as far as i can tell and i dont like brownies that much, but they are also gluten free and so are one of the few things at the bakery i can/ should eat.

happy vd