Happy New Year and Updates

Happy New Year!  Sorry to have slipped away for so long.  I really have no excuse but that I unconsciously decided to take a little vacation from cyber-land.  However, I’m back and ready to take on the blogging world once again!  Although I’ve been absent from Jessica’s Dinner Party for (gasp!) over a month, I’ve actually been pretty busy in the kitchen.  The cookie boxes were a success.  Despite all the setbacks, I was able to give a box to everyone on my Christmas list and possibly a few more.   I do think I’ll make cookie boxes again, but I don’t think it’ll happen annually.  I knew it would be a challenge, but the time commitment and stress level were a bit overwhelming at certain times.  However, overall I enjoyed the whole experience and next time I will know exactly what I’m getting myself into.

During the holidays, I also got to cater my first party!  My oatmeal cookie loving cousin took a bold move and asked me to cater a Christmas party for him and his coworkers.  I had so much fun from start to finish.  Everything from creating a cohesive menu to running around the kitchen for two days was exciting.  I couldn’t have done it without my mom, who is a veteran at hosting parties and making food for large crowds of people.  She not only helped cook, but also reminded me to stick to what I know.  Events are no time to experiment!  We ended up making a lot of dishes I’ve featured on this site: soy baked drumsticks, italian meatballs, financiers, and cheesecake to name a few.  One of the most successful items on the table was a lettuce cup dish filled with ground pork seasoned with Asian flavors.  I didn’t get to document the dish as well as I would’ve liked, but I’ll make sure this blog sees those cups again.

Recently, I also enrolled in a Korean royal cuisine class.  It is an intensive introductory class that focuses both on technical practice and history.  It’s interesting to learn history through food, but am not surprised at how much I love it.  I studied art history in college and I find food and art to be similar in many aspects.  So much can be read and revealed about a culture through those two subjects.  Both art and food evolve to reflect what is going on at that time, whether that be famine, prosperity, or new technology.  Through this class I also have become more comfortable with Korean food and find it to be more approachable than I ever thought.  I haven’t had time to recreate what I made in class at home, but just know that a lot of Korean food is going to start coming this way.

Lastly, I have some extremely exciting news to announce.  I’m going to Le Cordon Bleu this June!  Pastry school has always felt like a fairy tale dream to me, but somehow in the past few months I got the courage to think about it seriously.  I looked in to schools in New York before I left, but decided to go to Paris because, well, Paris is the mecca of gastronomy. I’m over-the-moon excited about going to Paris to pursue my dreams.  It feels so surreal, yet exactly right at the same time. All of this would not be happening if it were not my family and friends who realized before I did that food was my passion and helped me see that for myself. And also this blog for bringing that gastronomical side out of me.  Sharing about my experiences with food and knowing that even one person took the time to click on a post was more encouragement than words can express. Thank you.  I cannot wait to share all the mundane and life changing experiences yet to come.