Archive for April, 2010
I’ve always been quite reserved when it comes to picking favorites. When people ask me what my favorite restaurant, movie, book, or ice cream flavor is, I’m always stumped for an answer. I definitely have long lists of likes (and very short lists of dislikes), but it’s hard for me to pick just “the one.” It’s probably because I take it too seriously. After all, “What is your favorite blank?” is used mostly during small talk conversations and with acquaintances. I highly doubt my opinion would make a profound impact on someone I just met, or that they would even think twice about it. I know it’s not a big deal, what I say today can change tomorrow, tastes evolve, and trends will turnover, but for some reason I still feel the need to be brutally critical and a little bit too thoughtful when it comes to this favorite business.
With that said, it can be duly noted that when I say carrot cake is my favorite cake, I truly mean it.
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April 28 2010 | cake and dessert | 25 Comments »
I had the most fun making these three appetizers because I found them interesting and new. Each dish was an interpretation of something more familiar. I thought they would provide an element of surprise and intrigue to the diners. I can’t take credit for creating these dishes, but I think I did a good job executing them, because they were a hit!
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April 14 2010 | appetizers and asian and beans and legumes and meat and side dish and vegetarian | 9 Comments »
When it comes to dinner parties, I like to make dessert first. In general, baking takes more time and careful precision than cooking. So, before the kitchen becomes loud with banging pots and chopping knives, I like to have dessert completed. The great thing about cakes is that it can be started a day in advance. Usually, cake layers taste better the next day because the flavors are given time to rest and settle. While baking is done the day before, I always frost and assemble my cakes in the morning of the day of the party. I think frosting always tastes best the day it’s made.
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April 03 2010 | cake and chocolate & sweets and dessert and recipe and thoughts | 24 Comments »
My blogging has been a bit sporadic for the past couple of months. I’d like to come up with some grand excuse that clearly shows I had absolutely no time to write, but I plead guilty to blog neglect. I haven’t forgotten about my “duties” (to those two readers I still have left). There were so many recipes, restaurants, and events that I wanted to write about but never got around to. The problem was/is that I wait too long to blog. So, by the time the pictures were uploaded, photoshopped, and ready to be talked about, the moment passed and it just wasn’t fresh anymore. But, I’m going to make some changes around here, so if you see that you’re visiting JDP a few more times than before that means I’m doing something right.
On to more interesting topics, I catered another party last night! This was the fifth event I catered for, one of which I briefly wrote about here. I think my skills are getting a lot better, because this was the least stressful out of all the events. I also finished a good hour and a half before I had to leave, which gave me enough time to take a little breather. I think the key to success (coming from my “oh-so-many” experiences) is to prep as much as possible the day before and find dishes that are good at room temperature. The latter has been the most difficult part to catering a dinner party. Because I cook offsite and deliver fully prepared dishes, most of the dishes aren’t served hot. So, in order to insure the best quality and tastes I’ve been doing a lot of test runs and mini tasting parties for friends and family. The feedback from the tasting and parties has been very helpful. With every event I find myself getting more confident and possibly (and hopefully) a little bit more successful.
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April 02 2010 | thoughts | 6 Comments »
