Rough Beginnings, Happy Endings

I worked the "Seafood Favorites" class at Central Market last evening. The guest chef was Chef Terry Conlan from Lake Austin Spa Resort.

We served: House Cured Salmon with Cucumber Jelly; Mixed Seafood Kebob with Legume Salad and Curried Walnuts and Lime Syrup; Chilled Cucumber Soup with Smoked Salmon garnished with minced chives and blueberries; Scallops Americaine; Grilled Halibut with Little Neck Clams, White Asparagus (we ended up substituting celery root) and White Wine Sauce; Strawberry Mousse Pie with Shaved Chocolate.

The class started out a little on the wrong foot with the Central Market Lead going home before class with the flu and a few issues with the menu. But after we got going, things started falling into place.

Also, I got to work with Kris (currently works in another area of Central Market, but filling in for the cooking school). She was a lot of fun and great to work with. She also runs a company called "Girl Meats Grill" so check her out. We had some great volunteers who busted their butts to get everything out and dishes cleaned up quickly!

I'm going back on Sunday for a free Knife Skills class. Hopefully I'll get a little market shopping in too!

Happy Birthday cranberry Relish!

Well I haven't been blogging for that long, but just over a year ago I decided to name my "non-existent" (well, hopefully soon to exist) catering company "cranberry Relish". Over the past year, I have acquired quite a few items to move towards this goal (my linen closet is now my catering closet and a new laptop). Unfortunately I'm not there yet, but hope to update my company website in the next month or two, with a little, well a lot, of help from the hubby and perhaps swing a few Holiday parties this year.

Also, I'm still trying to come up with a logo, so if you have any ideas, send them my way. I want to put together some holiday goodies with a card attached to hand out to friends and prospective clients.

I'll let you know when the website is up and running and when I'm booking events. I also have been slack in updating the blog. I vow to get better at that. I've got some upcoming classes that should be blog-worthy!

Recipes for Africa

My Aunt Michelle (one of my mother's youngest siblings, who is not much older than me) is living in Dubai with her hubby Jonathan and two daughters Chloe and Megan. I miss hanging out with her as we always had a good time. Of course, she has a good time wherever she is. We talk more these days in MSN messenger than anywhere else. One recent conversation we were discussing her cooking club group and some amazing Ethiopian recipes one of the members had brought. She mentioned that a friend was selling cookbooks as part of a fundraiser and she said she would send me one. I got it in the mail yesterday. I am really looking forward to trying some the Ethiopian dishes, but I couldn't resist making her "turtle squares" today. The proceeds of the cookbook go to Axum Africa and was put together by my Aunt's friends, Karen (a fellow Canadian) and Harego (originally from Ethiopia).

La Bella Vita

My dear friend Amy, who now lives in Atlanta, send me a surprise gift in the mail last week. It was a wonderful cookbook from a store in Atlanta, the Bella Cucina Artful Food, that I can't wait to visit with her. I can't describe how beautiful the cookbook, "La Bella Vita: Inspiration & Recipes from the Creator of Bella Cucina Artful Food" is. It's not just the photographs, the fonts, the layout, and the scrumptious sounding recipes themselves, but even the paper is amazing to touch. I'll have to make some photocopies of the recipes so I don't splatter them in sauce to preserve it's elegance! What a wonderful surprise. A cherished gift from a cherished friend.

Lost in Life...

Well things have been pretty hectic and uneventful all at the same time lately. I haven't had much "blog-worthy" to note. Work has been busy and I didn't get to work at the Cooking School the last two times I was supposed to. Unfortunately, the gnocchi class I was looking forward to on Aug. 25th was cancelled last minute and I had to cancel on Josh Watkins from the Driskill this past Friday due to a case of the flu.

Be sure to watch for a new post this week though. I will be working Wednesday night with Raif from 34th Street Cafe (you probably remember him from a previous post). Mom, Ashli, and I attended a class that he was doing back in April. So should be fun to work in the kitchen with him this time. I'll let you know how it goes!

Maybe life will be more blog-worthy this month! Have a great Labor Day...