Treif

Yes, a Jewish chef can cook treif.  You may or may not be surprised by the amount of people who give me grief about that.  Touching bbq pork will not immediately result in me bursting into flames.  Sigh. 

And so it begins

Work week downtown for the girls.  We did breakfast Monday for all 50 of them.  It was loud in there.  DANG.  But nice to see everyone back.  Tuesday was lunch, which was supposed to be around 30 but I think most of them stayed.  Never seen such a mess on the salad bar before.  Craziness.  Yesterday there wasn't much going on, since I had no meals to serve, but the girls kept asking if there was food, so I ended up putting pbj stuff out.  This & the sweet/unsweet tea in addition to water is apparently making me very popular.  Hopefully they will remain so easy to please. ;)

Falafel

Just the mix

Test Batch

Finished Product

So the falafel turned out great.  My Persian boss was impressed. And it was a big hit at the dinner party.  I am pleased.

Falafel

Recipe from  Middle Eastern Cooking by Jenny Ridgwell

Serves 4-6

1lb chick-peas, soaked overnight
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
bunch of fresh parsley, chopped
1 medium onion
4 spring onions, very finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh chopped coriander
oil for deep frying

Drain the chick-peas.  to make the chick-peas easier to grind, remove the skins by rubbing with a tea-towel.  Mince the chick-peas or grind in a processor, then add the remaining ingredients and work to a smooth paste.  Leave to rest for 30  minutes.

With wet hands, shape a dessertspoon of the mixture into a patty, 1 1/2 inch round.

Heat the oil & deep-fry the falafel until golden brown.  Drain on kitchen paper.  Serve hot or place inside pita bread with some lettuce, a squeeze of lemon juice & some Tahini sauce.

Tahini Sauce

1/4 pint tahini
3-4 tbs water
juice of 2 lemons
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsely
salt, freshly ground pepper

Mix the tahini to a smooth paste w/the water, then blend in the lemon juice & other ingredients.

Hot dogs, hot dogs & more hot dogs

Minor league baseball is in full swing.  [ba dum bump. I'll be here all week...don't forget to tip your waitress on the way out]  And I am sick to death of hot dogs.  I can't stand the sight of them.  Yesterday, we did 3000 of them.  There were 2 picnics, one for over 2000 people.  It was insane.  We cooked almost 400 hamburgers, 2 cases of Italian sausages, 15 lbs of bbq [NC style], 3 combo samplers [chicken wings & tenders], a spicy shrimp & catfish combo, & made a garden vegetable platter & cheese & veggie platter.  Team meals were chicken parmesan, noodles and garlic bread for the home team & pork loin [4 of them], roasted potatoes & green beans for the visitors.  We kept the hots dogs in the Crescor and then the interns & runners wrapped 1400 to start with & then did more as needed, up until 9pm.  It was controlled chaos from 1-9.  Fortunately, Friday's picnics are only 500 & 200.

Menu Planning

I've begun planning the menu for August already.  I'm pretty excited about the start of the  new school year.  I am hopeful that it will go well & the learning curve won't be too steep, as I take over the reins!

Last week cooking for the girls

The sorority house closes on Thursday.  It's been quite the experience.  I've learned so much & expect to learn so much more.  I spent today organizing the stock room.  I'll have to take some pictures of it. I don't have any from before, but I think things will be easier to find, at least for a bit.  And I got rid of some stuff that was way past its expiration date.  Club soda is supposed to have fizz.  Shocking, I know.  I found 6 gallons of red wine vinegar.  I'm not sure I'll have to order any at all next year!