I'm Baaaaccckkk!

Yes, Butter is back on the block! So much time has passed- so many things have happened! I'm on the west coast now in Sacramento!

So stay tuned!

My "life" (haha) as Sister Mary Clarence....

Sisters of Notre Dame Convent
1300 Auburn Rd.
Chardon, Ohio

You have NO idea how many times I was compared to Whoppi Goldberg's legendary character of  "Sis. Mary Clarence" in Sister Act! Yes, I must admit there are some similarities- a middle-aged black woman, (snarky and cute) who ends up in a convent of spunky nuns by happenstance. What starts out as somewhat of a farce (for her, not me lol), ends up to be one of the most rewarding experience of her/my life! That said, it is with mixed emotions that I announce (for yinz that didn't already know), that I have resigned from my position there and have moved back to Columbus to be with my family. What I intend to share with you today is just a tiny look into the place where I spent the last year of my life, working with some of the most amazing people I've met (since leaving Pittsburgh), making great food, and basking in the glorious love of  The Sisters of Notre Dame.(tear)

MOVE OUTTA THE WAY PEOPLE!!!! NOTHING TO SEE HERE!!! GOTTA GET TO WORK!!!
(Often times on the service road to work, I would be "delayed" by some very pompous geese/ducks/whatever...lol

Where the magic happens......

"MY" area of the kitchen!! 

Big friggin skillet!!!

Main Dining 

Service....

I'm telling you! Everything I made was in the 100's!! HA! From....

Burgers....

Meatballs....

Wangs....

PANCAKES!!!!

You get the idea! One day, while I was eating lunch in the quiet of the main dining room....ALL OF A SUDDEN-I see my BOSS and hoards of people walking in and by my table!!! I was in a panic! LOL I had NO idea what was happening!! I thought there was some type of emergency!! HAHAHA Then I saw this beautiful, rich, decadent chocolate cake put before me! My Exec. tossed down some paper plates and napkins on the table and I IMMEDIATELY began to cry! They were giving me a "Farewell" party!!! OH. MY. GOD!

Boss man-Tony Pona!! 

Exec. Chef  Robert
He was totally awesome to work with!! He would "quiz" me on  classic rock song titles throughout the day! Taught me a a lot!!

Chef Frank
The most dapper chef I think I've ever seen! :)

Chef Howard and Jarrett
I miss these guys!!!

The BANE of my existence!!! KEBBIN! (Kevin lol)
Patisserie extraordinaire!

Scott and Sis. Ellen Ann

Sis. Ellen Ann , Sis. Jackie-the SWEETEST women you'll ever meet! And Marissa, feisty Italian! haha 

Right Hand man, PHILLLLLLIP!! He's a PIMP!!! haha (truly nice,awesome guy!!!)

JOAN!! This woman here can do it all!!! I love her!!!

My GURL!!! Monica!!! She had me kickin it in the kitchen with  "OUR" kind of music!! LOL See  ya in  JUNE girl!! (or is it "July?" lol REMIND ME!)
So there ya have it! Just a little look inside and of the wonderful people I worked for and with at The Sisters of Notre Dame! I miss them so much and hope to see them again soon! My love to all!

Sharon
aka
"Sis. Mary Clarence"

Oh my goodness!! THREE MONTHS since my last post!!! This one is going to be quick-as I am on my lunch break at work! HA! So much has happened and STILL happening...I DID graduate over this past weekend!! WOOOOOHOOOOO!!! So emotional!!! Will be posting some pics about that later...but...what I really want to know is what would YOU...as readers, like to see in this blog?? I feel that I've been a bit "self-absorbed" and perhaps may have gotten away from what I initially wanted to do here....so...I know its been a while, and except for what I have cooked at work, I haven't really had the chance to be "creative" at all...BUT...I am hoping to get back to that...and SOON!!! So PLEEEEEEEZZZZZ bear with me and know that I am still out here, In Chardon, OH...cooking for NUNS!!! HAHA!!! <Love them!!!> Ok...let me know please...is anybody out there??? Ciao for now! Butter

A New Beginning!!!

So MUCH has happened from the last time I was here!!! "Graduated" school in December, (that just means that school was over for me, but I intend to "walk" in June) The last day that I was officially a student, I had a showing at Portfolio Review which was held at a venue with other graduating students of all majors. I had a booth set up (with the help of my awesome boss and friend, Jackie), and the whole day was dedicated to showing off our work to potential employers. I was the only culinary person there, so I didn't think that there would be any employers there that would be interested in me...meaning that most all of the other students there were either Graphic/Fashion/Interior Design students-so invites were sent to those that would be interested in hiring them. ANYHOO-I did meet one gentleman from Aladdin Food Management Services and he looked at my portfolio and we had a 2 1/2 hour interview. Long story short he offered me a job as a Sous Chef for The Sisters of Notre Dame Convent in Chardon, OH. However, he wanted me to come and "audition" for the current chef and some of the integral Sisters. I went to Chardon about a week after that for my 2nd interview and long story short...I GOT THE JOB!!!

After spending some time in Ohio for the holidays, I went back to Pittsburgh to start getting ready for the new journey. I was still living in student housing-I had no idea how I was going to get to Chardon, where I was going to live there, how I was going to get back and forth to work-and how I was going to pay for it all! I knew that once my income tax refund came, I would be able to facillitate all of that, but it took WEEKS to get my W2! When I finally got it and filed-it took a few weeks to get my refund. I was SO distressed and depressed because I thought that maybe I had "jumped the gun" on this whole job offer without thinking about it more clearly. I had no reasonable plan of action, I just hoped and prayed that everything would work out okay.

My new employers and The Sisters were/are soo good to me. I contacted them frequently over the course of two months keeping them updated on my situation-see without any money...I couldn't do anything!! I even told them that while I appreciated their patience with me, it was not my intention to take advantage of it and continue to drag this thing out....I told them that I would totally understand if they wanted to hire someone else to fill the position sooner, and I would just return home to Columbus...but they wouldn't hear of it and well....here I am!

So I found a UBER CUTE apartment!!! On the 12th floor overlooking a forest!! Here are some of the pics on the first day of move in...no furniture to speak of then, and a month later-STILL no furniture!! I sleep on an air mattress in the living room!!! (it's really kinda fun!!)

Sunken Living Room!

I guess you could call this the dining area, but I intend to put my pc there (when I get it working!)

The kitchen!!! The ONLY room that is completely put together! lol <imagine that! lol>

The bedroom...

Bathroom...

Annnndddddd.....

MY CAR!!!! WOOT WOOT!!! (It belonged to one of the Sisters and I got it for a BARGIN!!! God is SOOO GOOD!!!)

So there ya have it...Life's been a tad bit hectic!!! lol Now I'm working in a Convent, and I actually enjoy it! Never thought I would be living anywhere NEAR Cleveland...but whattya gonna do??? Now I just need to put some furniture in my apartment, exploring the area for new restaurants and events to get involved in...another new beginning...its really weird but...I'm loving it so far!!! Hopefully will get a chance in the very near future to reveiw a new place or make something really good with local product...we"ll see...*sigh* Ok gotta run, no pc in the apartment so I gotta use the one in the "Business Center" =2 extremely old and SLOOOOOW  Dell pc's!! LOL 

Thanks for sticking with me!! I'm HERE man...I'm HERE!!!! *chuckles*

On the 12th day of Christmas.....

OMG!! So here I am again!! It's been over a month since I was last able to write something and so much has happened since then!! I GRADUATED!!!! YAY!!! I am now officially a "Chef!!!"  Well...we didn't have the actual ceremony yet, and that's not until July...but...I'm finished!! Time went by soooo friggin fast!!!  So now I'm on Holiday Break in Columbus with Special K...(hahaha) and currently at the library blogging this right quick so that I can do other stuff before my time runs out....So I do have pics of what I've been doing since I've been here in the 614 but...they are not all that exciting...will post at another time!! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Wow...three years have come and gone, and yet another New Year upon us...wonder what this one has in store for me?? ADVENTURE!!! WOOO HOO!!!!

FINALLY!!! PUMPKIN RISOTTO!!!!! YAY!!!!

Ok so, HAPPY 11.1.11!!! It's kinda ironic that it would be THIS day that I would finally get to make this dish! One that I created a recipe for because during my research, I found countless recipes for Butternut squash risotto, but nothing for Pumpkin. As a result of wanting to cook more with fresh pumpkin, and paying homage to Fall and the vegetables of the season, here it is...my PUMPKIN RISOTTO!!! WOOHOO!!!

Being a broke college student, I didn't have a way to go to the store to get a pumpkin. As luck would have it, our Student Development dept hosted a "Pumpkin Carving" event at one of the resident halls I work in. I wasn't at the event, but one of my beloved colleagues procured this gem of a pumpkin for me and saved it for me until I got to work the next day! Thank you Cody!!!

                                        I cleaned the pumpkin, <yuk> and pulled out the seeds....

Drizzled a bit of olive oil and a bit of Kosher salt and a pinch of sugar...(just to somewhat intensify its natural sweetness. Roasted in a 350F oven for about 35-40 minutes until it was tender.....

and VOILA!!! So I let this cool completely before I pureed it...but we'll get to that part in a moment. While this was roasting, I started on the seeds...

I removed all that yucky, slimy membrane from them and rinsed them thoroughly....

Then I spread them on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven (along with the pumpkin, but on the higher rack) to allow them to dry out...about 25 minutes or so..

After they cooled, I put them in a bowl with some spices (you can use whatever herbs/spices you prefer, I wanted a deep, rustic spice mix) I added salt, cumin, cayenne, Cinnamon, garlic and onion powder, chili powder, and  bit of olive oil to coat the seeds-then put them BACK on the cookie sheet....

...and toast them in the oven for about 25-30 minutes more...

I put them in a container once cooled for snacking and presentation!

NOW...Back to the pumpkin!!

At this point, the pumpkin had cooled and I scooped it out of the skin and put it in the blender. I only added a bit of water to help it puree. I could have added stock, but I wanted to be able to use the puree for different things/dishes...so I just used water.

                                                                   <It's SO pretty!>

I divided the puree into zip lock bags and froze them until I got the rest of the ingredients that I needed..

Fast forward to today-I FINALLY have all the components of what I wanted to add into this dish:

1 cup Aborio rice

4oz Onion-small dice

1small Shallot-minced

1/4 cup Marscapone cheese

2 strips of bacon-minced

Chicken stock/broth

1 oz  Grand Marnier

1/2 cup fresh pumpkin puree

Butter-TT

Salt/Pepper/Cinnamon or Nutmeg-TT

Mince the onions, shallots and bacon-then "sweat" in saute pan until tender and bacon is rendered.

Add in the Aborio, toast for about a minute, then deglaze with the Grand Marnier. Now the reason why I wanted to use Grand Marnier- which is an orange liquor- rather than white wine, I felt that it would add some depth and warmth to the dish, and would compliment the pumpkin. OMG...was I RIGHT!!

Once the GM has evaporated, start adding stock in increments...once stock is absorbed, add another ladle-repeat until al dente, yet creamy...then...

add pumpkin puree.....

...and more stock, let cook down a bit...

add the butter and Marscapone to finish...correct seasoning...and...

ENJOY!!! This turned out better than I expected! The fresh pumpkin was light and fresh, and the Grand Marnier's fruitiness just married so well with the savory components of the shallots and the smokiness of the bacon.  The "drizzle" on the plate is a spice oil that came from Spicy Chicken Thighs I made to go with. It. Was. DELICIOUS!!!

Thank you sweeties for stopping by and taking a look at my latest creation! TRY IT!! If you like experimenting with pumpkin, <and it is plentiful right now> give this one a spin! Tell me what you think, I'd love to hear your comments!!! Until next time!!!

 Love, Butter