Some Photos

It's 2:50 am. I got home from work about 1:00 am and hoped I could just fall asleep right away. I have to get up in three hours I have some homework, then get ready to be in work at 10:00 am. I work this coming Tuesday and Wednesday, captaining two events. I am tired...

A dessert we made last semester. We made the wafer cup, the dried orange, the sorbet (raspberry) the marshmallow (see the block in background?) and the chocolate brownie!

School is so amazingly fun this semester - the culinary class, that is. I have History I as well...it's online and a ton of work. Anyway...I want to share some photos because I don't have much more to update you all on, so enjoy the photos!!



These are mini sweet dough tarts, filled with pastry cream, topped with fresh fruit, and glazed with an apricot glaze. I made these at home as practice for one of the dishes for the Baking and Pastry Final. I got 95/100 on that final - I was so happy!

New England Clam Chowder! OMG it was sooo good! I cleaned and prepared the clams!!

From this semester's American Regional culinary class. Fried catfish, greens, ham and onions, and succotash (The greens were really nice because we made the entire recipe in a pressure cooker - WOW, took so much less time than....all day like it's supposed to be done!

I made this Potato Salad - 10 different items that needed to be cut or chopped - look how consistent my cuts are! Look at the pulled pork OMG the taste was amazing after it smoked all night. Chef handed me two pieces throughout the class and said try this...the first was tongue and later on cheek. I told him I would have never tired those if I knew what they were! They were really, really good!

New England Boiled Dinner (this photo is from the book, but ours was just like this and so good!

Grilled Quail, Orange Sweet Potatoes, Squash, and Hush Puppies - I made the Hush Puppies!!

Oh, Well...

My job...I was hired by Matt Prentice himself to work as his Catering Manager for his soon to open restaurant, Morels, in Farmington Hills. I was so excited. I've been training since February 14th. The restaurant was supposed to open the last week of March, then the middle of April, then right before Mother's Day, then...Matt and the owner of his company (Matt had to declare bankruptcy at some point - I don't know the whole story) had a falling out over Morels - Matt wanted to open as soon as possible, Stan wanted to wait because there were some construction issues, etc. Anyway, Matt quit his own company. So now it's all in court right now. So, as it looks right now, Matt just has Morels. He gave up on a company he's been building up since 1980. His new company will be called Michigan Bistro and his old company is now known as The Epicurean Group. What a mess. The employees are worried for their jobs, no one really knows exactly what's going on. For me, I decided to not take the job with Matt. There were too many red flags with him even before all of this happened. He was not really happy about me going to school. He wanted the position with him to come first. I told him I would put 110% into the job, but school was a priority for me, too and I would make both of them work. So, for six of the ten weeks of school, I was taking four classes and working 3-4 days a week. THAT'S ALL I DID. I know there are people that do this all the time, but for me, it wasn't worth it. I hadn't even started the job yet! The expectation, I believe, was going to be 40-60 hours a week. You know, life is just way too short. I was giving up everything trying to go to school and work. I wasn't going to the gym, I wasn't going to church, I wasn't seeing Ramzi...So, maybe it's a blessing for me that this happened. Anyway, I talked to the President of the new company and, at his suggestion, rather than take a full-time management role, I could work part-time, maybe as a server, a banquet captain, learn how to bar tend, and maybe be able to work in one of the restaurants in the kitchen - what I really wanted to do in Matt's business in the first place. So, even it that doesn't work out, I realized that my passion is not just learning the management side of the business, but to learn to be a competent chef. Unfortunately I'm only taking two classes this semester because I told Matt I'd cut back to really focus on Morels when it opened. Anyway, I could have just made a huge mistake. Matt's name is huge around here. But, he has a lot of competition, and hopefully, I can find a job with one of those companies. So, now I find myself with a lot of time on my hands! LOL! I don't work this weekend, but I'm on the schedule for next Saturday and Sunday. My boss, Florina, is fitting me in where she can and I'm so grateful.

This semester in school I'm taking American Regional, where we cook dishes from different regions of the United States. Last week is was from the New England region. This week it was the Mid-Atlantic region. Next week it's from the South. Two words - Pulled Pork!!! YUM!!! I'm loving this class. I get to work with seven guys from last semester. We have our tables right next to each other and we all get along great - it's a blast!! Our chef, Chef Rob, is so nice and such an accomplished chef. When he critiques us, we are not being beat down, but encouraged to do better the next time. THIS IS WHERE I BELONG! I'm learning new stuff every day. I'm getting to feel a bit more confident, but I'm not there yet! I'm still so intimidated, but I'm getting better.

This time of year is hitting me so hard. I'm remembering last year at this time...St. Patrick's Day, Easter, our anniversary, Dan's birthday, Jason's birthday, Chris' birthday, Mother's Day, Memorial Day...I have to get through all of these landmarks, all the past memories...Every once in a while I just break down and cry, but it's not as often as it was. Dan sold the house, which I'm happy for him. He still will not talk to me. I think about him every single day. Oh, well.