Cooking

It's no secret that I love to cook.  There are, however, different kinds of love that match different types of cooking.  Cooking at home is a passionate love.  A chiffionade of basil, a dusting of flaky sea salt, or a pinch of saffron can transform and change the flavor, color, and texture of a dish.  It's intimate and lovely.

Professional cooking on a large scale is tough love.  Rough love.  Nuance and subtly can be applied  but it is difficult to achieve.  I love cooking at work..  It is hard work, long work.  Brutal work.  I am the Special Event Chef, and my good friend, Tony, is the Special Event Coordinator at work.  This typically means events of 100 plus people and usually off-sight. The last two years we have done the Bourbon Festival's Bourbon Culinary Art Cooking School.  This is our third season serving pre-show/intermission buffets at the Opera House Broadway Series. The list for the past ten years is endless. He coordinates and I cook.  It gets done.

I must admit, with all honesty, that I get somewhat overwhelmed with these events.  Juggling everything in my head makes me crazy.  Wanting to please everybody makes me vulnerable. Weakness makes me mad & sad.  Throw all of that into the mix, and it's tough cooking love.

 I stare down the barrel of the week to come.  I am organized, calm, cool, collected......and
completely overwhelmed.

Mardi Gras Benefit for St Peter & Paul School
                400-500 guests.

Butler Service:

• Jalapeno Stuffed Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp
• Petite Pan Fried Crabcakes with Remoulade
• Skewered Cajun Fried Chicken Tenders

Buffet Service:

• Maker's Mark Bourbon Margarita Shrimp Cocktail
• Creole Twice-Baked Potato Salad
• Grape Tomatoes & Green Peppers in Tobasco Vinaigrette
• Jambalaya
• Chicken & Sausage Gumbo
• Blackened Chicken Penne Pasta w/ a Cajun Cream Sauce
• Pulled Beef Creole
• Praline Sweet Potatoes
• Maque Choux Corn Souffle

Bread Pudding w/ Maker's Mark Hard Sauce

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