A Belated Holiday Update

Hello to all,
hoping you had a pleasant holiday season celebrating to your hearts delight and eating lots of delicious food.

As for myself I was very preoccupied making this bad boy.
This is a traditional Buche Noel ( yule log) the cake itself was the easiest part.  I make a jaconde sponge flavored with hazelnut extract and a cocoa and hazelnut butter cream for the filling as well as to cover the outside of the cake.  On top is chocolate bark and a little holly.  The mushrooms were made from French meringue and the pine cones are peanut butter ganache with almonds.  It definitely was a task to make, but I enjoyed every moment of it and was sooo glad to finally see it come together.

On Christmas I had some friends come over for a small together which we celebrated with a potluck, watching Christmas movies, and playing apples to apples.  All and All it was a great time.

These next few weeks at work have become increasingly busy we did 529 a night Christmas week and for New Years our reservations are 550 ahhhhhhhhhh scary stuff.  The best part of all of this is that we have been having a lot of call ins.  Yesterday out kitchen was a skeleton crew.  We usually have 12 people on staff, 10 is ok, we only had 7 last night.  It was rough to say the least, but it really shows who are the strong cooks in this kitchen.

One of my favorite quotes that I pass all the time while walking around the lodge is an Ethiopian proverb it says " smooth seas do not make strong sailors."   It constantly reminds me that everyday there is a lesson to be learned and that I am still earning my salts if I want to be the best chef I can be.

Wishing you all the best and a continued happy and safe holiday season.

Cheers,
Ally

This is what you missed

Hey guys,

so I guess you are all a little curious about what I have been up to for the past month.  Well here is what you missed.  I am now trained on all three stations in the front kitchen and will hopefully be moving to the back soon once we get our two new hires in.  I am helping create the new jiko salad which will be on our menu this Thursday!!!!

So here's what is in it:
Red oak, frisee, arugula, and tarragon with a citrus walnut vinagrette, Chinese fried walnuts, heirloom froggy hollow pears, midnight moon goat cheese, and caramelized golden raisins.

I have to say it taste pretty good and I am sooooo excited.

Ok what else.... I have decorated the apartment for Christmas and think that instead of gifts 
I will be making personalized gingerbread men and women cakes for my friends down here so I shall post photos once they are done.  I just had some friends come down to  visit me and I gave them a tour of the new fantasyland which is phenomenal.  The whole area really immerses you inside the stories of Beauty and the beast, the little mermaid, and dumbo.  Needless to say, it is a must see for when you come down to Florida.  Finally, I might be in the Disney Christmas parade.  I went to the cast tapings and saw Nick Cannon, Maria Menonous ( I have no idea if that is how you spell it ), and Philip Philips ( who is ooooooooooooohhhh sooooo cute).  I was also standing right infront of the castle when they did the navy fly over.    I saw the candlelight processional with Neil Patrick Harris who was amazing he even sang along with the choir.  I was really hoping he would eat at Jiko again this year but he didn't =( however, we did have James Denton come in which was pretty awesome.  I got to make his appetizer and part of his entree, and his server told me that he enjoyed them very much =) ( I was totally grinning like a fool the whole time and just thinking, omg your so cute, omg I can't believe your actually here, and acting like a girl, good times.)   


Alright well I hope all of you enjoy this holiday season with your family and friends.
Love and best wishes.
Peace,
Ally

p.s. I saw the new star trek trailer and it looks epic