It's been forever since I have updated my blog and I am sorry. I graduated on May 20, 2011 from Johnson & Wales and received an associates degree in culinary arts with honors. I wore a black cap and gown and had a gold rope for completing the honor's program and I had a gold sash for having a high GPA. It was a great graduation I got to see all my friends and classmates again and then my family went to a cook out with Drew's family at Lake Norman. They had a cake made for us and it was made by a former JWU grad! I then went home to spend a week with my family that was great and it was what I needed.
I then had to go back to reality and go to work, and we changed a few things on the menu and are planning to change some more later in the season! I did get to do something fun and volunteer for Special Olympics Championship, that was so fun and so hot outside. All the athletes were so excited to compete and they were good! I worked the long jump event.
I recently have been thinking and praying about making this internship into a full time job. So I talked with my chef about the possibility and we made a deal and I think I'm going to take it :) He has let me finish my internship and come home for the rest of the summer and then he will have a job for me to come back to sometime in the fall season. I finished my internship and am back home!Now I'm home with my family and all our animals. The day after I got home officially Mayday our goat had twin baby goats :) They are tiny and both girls. They have little legs and are still wobble and they fall down with their legs spwalded out, it's so cute. We named them Sugar and Spice! That was exciting.
Since I have been home I have gotten to cook supper alot and help mom plan supper around what we get out of the garden or at the farmers market. We have had so many good meals!
Yesterday mom and dad took me out to eat and I have to tell you about this wonderful restaurant. It's called Nana's located in Durham, NC. The dining room had a great calm atmosphere and was decorated very fancy and elegant with white table cloths and local artists displayed their masterpieces on the wall. The servers worked in a semi-brigade with the head server who tended to the table and took orders and changed the flatware. Then one server only did bread and refills and another brought out the food. This was very similar to what we did and was tested on in Dining Room Class at school. So it was neat to watch and remember what I had to do in that class. The restaurant is a farm to table style french restaurant and has a new menu every month depending on the season. So after mom and dad had asked me a million questions about what was on the menu and what it was lol then it was time to order! We shared an appetizer which was a Risotto with Chanterelle mushrooms and roasted red peppers and sweet corn topped with apple wood smoked bacon. It was delicious, very creamy and very flavorful. For the entrees Dad ordered a Black Angus beef tenderloin over eggplant ratatouille with bearnaise sauce. Mom ordered pan roasted scallops over summer sweet corn with haricot verts and topped with a rock shrimp and tomatillo sauce. I ordered cast iron roasted duck breast with mango relish over Moroccan couscous and cherry tomatoes with a chilli relleno stuffed with spinach & goatcheese. Oh my goodness they all were amazing! And we were celebrating my birthday early and the chef surprised me and made a special white peach souffle with lavender honey anglaise sauce and a candle on it! It was very very good and cooked perfectly. We also ordered a blackberry tartlette topped with a wildflower honey ice cream. Lets just say it was a delicious night and a great birthday dinner.
My Duck Breast Blackberry Tart
Mom's Dish
Today I had foot surgery to fix my bunion because it has been bothering me especially when I work 9 hour shifts in the kitchen. So since chef gave me some time off I decided to go ahead and get it done so I will have enough time to recover and be back on fresh feet when I get back to take my job. It went good I'm still nice and numb so not in pain yet. I had a pleasant surprise visit from Mike and Angela and they brought me my first care package full of goodies and candy! It was so so nice of them to do that, thank you two.
So the plan is to recover well and quickly from surgery and come out with a strong foot in the end. I hope to get a part time job that I can sit down sometimes while I'm here at home. I am considering starting with Pampered Chef because it would be something I love doing. I want to save up some money while at home so when I go down to Florida I have some to lean on. Then I hope to start my full time job, hopefully, and start some classes that will go toward my Nutrition Degree. That's the plan and that's my goal so far. I have plenty of time to think and pray about my goals while I recover.This is my officially update sorry it took so long.
P.S. Tomorrow is my birthday!!
