u/Illustrious_Sign_872

You can’t throw a stone and not hit beautiful scenery! I’ve fallen so in love with Iceland, that I’m already planning another trip next year!

He is the goodest boy, and an amazing Black Mouth Cur!

So when I (the “Old Lady”) had a night off, I still cook at home. Today it was cast iron seared tenderloin steaks. Because, who doesn’t love their cast iron?I’m wondering, who else cooks at home? I definitely cook in leisure with the same passion as at work.

Occasionally, I have a night off from being a Chef, and cook at home. Cast iron seared steaks cooked to a decent medium.

Hola mis amigos! So as many of you know, I am the Chef of a Franciscan retreat center. We serve most things buffet style. Occasionally, I get called on to do a fancy dinner.

And this was what we put out tonight. We started with Maryland-style crabcakes, caper remoulade,and “mermaid tresses” on top with edible chive blossoms.

Second course was a summer berry salad with spicy praline walnuts, vintage sherry vinaigrette.

Main course was red wine braised boneless short rib, potatoes 2 ways (potatoes au gratin pavé, crispy potato, shoe strings on top), with pencil asparagus and the red wine braise reduced to a glaze.

The last course is cappuccino Panna cotta, raspberry vanilla bean Chantilly cream, vanilla bean crème anglais, cinnamon churros, (kind of a play on coffee and donuts).

I do realize that my plates are simple and straightforward, but they get the job done

Definitely NOT a pastry chef, but occasionally I get called on to make a dessert. This is today’s effort: strawberry “fingers”. Perfect? No. Cute and delicious? Most definitely!

After a full day at Doggie Day camp, he’s so pooped he’s bleeping in him sleep. 😂

So I fixed the font and the typos in my menu. I pre-plated the desserts, shoved them in the fridge, And then right before dinner was about to start, I was on my step ladder, trying to reach the top shelf in my dry storage.

The ladder wobbled,and guess who fell off? So while I spent the evening in urgent care, my poor cooks (who have very little to zero fine dining experience) cooked, and plated the whole meal for me. They did a really good job. Please don’t be too brutal. They’re very sweet guys. They just need more experience.

And I have a very nastily sprained elbow.

EDIT: those monster steaks were rested and sliced: each plate had about 8-10 ounces

Doing this menu for my boss’s retirement dinner tomorrow. I actually had to Change the second course. I could not find Stilton cheese anywhere. I’m sure that has something to do with the tangerine tyrant’s tariffs. I ended up going with Rogue Creamery’s Smokey Blue, and was worth every penny!!! Holy cow (pun intended) what a sexy cheese! I’ll rewrite the menu tomorrow morning : and yes I’ll clear up the typos (I’m a shit typist), and post pics after the event. Wish me luck!

I have read “For Whom The Belle Tolls” 3 times. I’m currently on my fourth read. I’m still enjoying it as much as I did the first time. It’s a big, complex, medium burn type of read. It dives deep into abuse issues, so it may not be for everyone. It also crosses a lot of religious beliefs and melds the afterlife’s of the world’s religions into one living, breathing, amalgamation known as “The Afterlife”. So, if you are deeply devout in your religion of choice, this book may not be for you. But is a rollicking romp of a romantic fantasy adventure with a deep dive into spiritual healing, and universe against universe epic face-off adventure.

And I’m wondering if anyone else has read this book and loved it as much?

I use a 50-50 mixture of rice flour and all-purpose flour, and I add a little salt, red Thai chili flakes and a pinch of MSG. Don’t judge me for the MSG it makes everything taste good. I was feeling like a little bit of sweet heat today so I went with tiger sauce to which I added more Thai chili flakes. I grow the Thai chilies in my garden so they’re super fresh and super spicy.