Here's the first incarnation of the new years menu.
PineCrest Club

New Years Eve
December 31, 2009

First Course
Zucchini Lemon Soup with
poached pear tomatoes with frizzled leeks

Second Course
Mache Salad with Crispy Jerusalem Artichokes,
Windy Hill Farm Bacon and Poppy Seed Vinaigrette
under a warm poached quail egg

Third Course
Pan seared Atlantic Halibut, with hollandaise
With fennel pomegranate “slaw”
or
Beef Short ribs, over polenta, with Maytag blue cheese and crispy parsley
Served with Honey roasted baby veggies poached in herb broth

Fourth Course
Warm Silver Moon Creamery Brie,
Caramelized Granny Smith Apples and Hand Rolled Sesame Crackers


Fifth Course
Dark chocolate and hazelnut daquoise cake with
Chocolate sorbet with crème anglaise and pumpkin seed praline

wheat and dairy free molasses cookies

November 20th, 2009 - by Jen

Anyone who’s needed to make changes their diet knows what an adventure it is. You make changes in your pantry, cooking methods, and in some cases you even find yourself completely re-learning how too cook and bake. I recently eliminated both dairy and wheat from my diet and although I have seen success as well as failure in the kitchen, I find greatest encouragement in being able to alter familiar recipes I know and love. These cookies are a favorite in our house, and we can still enjoy them without wheat or dairy. They may be a little flatter than the original recipe, but they are even chewier and taste just as delicious. I think husband actually likes this version better. I also rolled them in some leftover sugar mixture from these, and it gave the cookies an extra boost of apple flavor that made them even more wonderful and a bit sweeter. Even if you don’t have an aversion to wheat or dairy these cookies are worth trying.

wheat and dairy free molasses cookies
1/2 cup natural shortening or dairy free margarine, soft
1/2 cup applesauce
2 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups rye flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
a pinch of allspice and nutmeg
a pinch or two xanthan gum (optional)
sugar, to roll

Cream together shortening/margarine and sugar until fluffy. Add applesauce, molasses, eggs, and vanilla. Sift together remaining dry ingredients and add to molasses mixture, mixing until just combined. Refrigerate dough at least a couple hours. Shape dough into balls, roll in sugar, and place on greased and parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 325°F or until cookies are cracked on top. Cool on baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

alrighty then.  here we go with pictures!!

tonight, a meeting took place at the Inn for guests that Matt was trying to impress...so we made some little yummies out of mother's day leftovers.  let's see how they turned out!

The first one is tequila lime salmon gravlax with caper cream cheese and pumpernickel dust.

Yesterday was Mother's Day.  I love Mother's day.  My girls spend this whole day making sure not to argue with each other because they want me to have a calm day.  Actually, the days leading up to the main event are even better.  It's almost as good as Santa coming to town.

Of course, I'm never home for more than an hour on Mother's Day...mother has to make the bacon.  Why didn't I ever consider how many holidays I'd have to give up as a chef.  What was I thinking.

It was a great day regardless.  The restaurant was packed in spite of a party of 11 and one of 4 canceling at the last minute AND one of our regular couples were a no show!!  We made beautiful food for a bunch of beautiful ladies.  

My daughter Maeve made a lot of mom's days too, even though she was at home.  The girls made bookmarks out of extra paper from the menus we made.  Maeve looked up famous mother quotes online and added them to the already pretty bookmarks.  They brought tears to my eyes for sure, but they also hit a sweet spot to all the moms that received them.  They were really beautiful.

We now have a new drink for our "winetail" list!  ok ready...pomegranite simple syrup, extra dry champagne and peach yophoria!  OHMYGOD!  So delicious!  and oh so pretty!!!

I'm so mad I can't even cook!!!

I have tomatoes reducing for many canned tomato goodies, but I'm so mad I can't even go in the kitchen!  

So I couldn't stand to watch the asshole on the tube tonight, but I did want to hear what he said, so i read the recap on yahoo news... he's got some brass balls! did he really blame the goings on of today with deals made 10 years ago??? Here's the thing. 10 years ago I could not get a mortgage because my job didn't pay enough to pay a mortgage. simple as that. when i started making more money, i could get a mortgage. here's the thing again...7 years ago, the other dumb schmoes i worked with in kitchens, making far less than me, got BIG mortgages. Dude...BIG mortgages. They didn't even come close to making what their mortgages would cost per month. They are loosing their homes now. they are in so over their heads! does anyone remember the savings and loan scandal? He was in the thick of it, along with his brothers...does he expect anyone to trust him? please read http://www.campaignwatch.org/more1.htm CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME HOW THIS NUMB NUT GOT ELECTED IN THE FIRST OR SECOND PLACE!!!

First Day

As opposed to sitting on my fanny, looking up old friends on facebook, I figured I'd try this blogging thing. My bookmarks bar is getting so huge, I can't find what I'm looking for. Maybe I can post the things I like or make on this blog and find them more readily...
Here's the first one...
I found this VERY cool person who makes their own poptarts!

her blog is chezpim.com...i hope it's ok to post this!!!

http://www.chezpim.com/blogs/2008/08/how-to-make-you.html

Ok, these are not pop-tarts exactly, how about just-like-pop-tarts-but-without-the-stuff-you-can't-spell (or say)? It's super easy, all you need is a good butter pie dough and delicious jam of your choice. And if you're one of those who think a great pie is all about a good crust--I am of course one--these pop-tarts are perfect for you. They are filled with just enough delectable jam to punctuate the flavor without obscuring the buttery, flaky goodness of the crust.

I've been having so much fun making them (and eating them) lately, I thought I'd share a few tricks I picked up along the way with you so your pop-tarts come out perfect every time. Like this one in the picture just below--a "pop-tart" filled with homemade Reine Claude plums and vanilla beans--which I polished off in three seconds flat right in front of Lulu's at the Octagon in Santa Cruz.

Start with the pie crust recipe you're most comfortable with. If you haven't got one, you can check out Pie Crust 101 over at Deb's Smitten Kitchen, or Shuna's very thorough post on pies, or even Ms.Martha herself.

Break off a piece about 75g by weight. Flour the pastry board or your counter top well.

Roll the dough into 8"x6" rectangle, working gently and slowly so you get a good rectangular shape.

Brush off excess flour. It's generally a good idea from this point on to place the dough sheet onto a piece of parchment paper so it can be moved pretty easily.

Pick your favorite jam from your cupboard and spread it generously on to one side of the dough, leaving about an inch margin on three sides. I like to use jams that are a little bit on the thicker side, as they tend to be more intense and can easily be pressed in between two sheets of dough.

Fold the dough in half, making sure they match the other edge perfectly. Press down along the edges to seal the dough pocket. If your dough had trouble sticking together, try dipping your fingertip into a bit of water and wipe it along the inside of the seam, then press the dough down again to seal.

Take a fork and use the tines to press the dough together, creating a nice pattern around all the edges but the folding seam.

Trim off the excess, uneven dough edges. I use a pastry scraper, but you can easily use a kitchen knife.

Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle raw sugar over the top. Cut a few vents along the top of the pop-tarts.

Et voila! Bake in preheated 400F (about 200C) oven for 18-20 minutes, depending on the amount of sugar in the crust and many other factors. I'd recommend checking at the 15-min mark and continue to keep your eye on them, and take them out of the oven as soon as they are nicely golden brown and not too brown on the crimped edges.