Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I did a little research on the history of Corned Beef & Cabbage and as it turns out, this was a dish that was simply "fit for a king". Corned Beef is first mentioned in print in the 12th century poem called The Vision of MacConglinne, which tells us a lot about Irish food as it was eaten at the time. In this poem, corned beef is described as a delicacy given to a king, in an attempt to conjure "the demon of gluttony" out of his belly. This delicacy status makes little sense until one understands that beef was not a major part of most Irish people's diets until the 1900's.

In America, go anywhere on St. Patrick's Day and you'll find it on every menu.

I chose a different path, as I often do...may I present to you, Beef & Guinness Stew. TAKE THAT...Corned Beef & Cabbage...

GO NINERS....

The Niners didn't perform like we thought they would, but these scrumptious Red Velvet Cupcakes w/ Cream Cheese frosting and gold sprinkles did just that. Moist cupcakes w/ not-too-sweet frosting and festive gold sprinkles were all our lil' Super Bowl party needed to keep hope alive. There's always next year for the 49ers....

Croquembouche!

She almost melted and fell apart on the way to her big event...but alas, she held it together. She was the star of the show. I'm talking of course about the beauty you see below, a Croquembouche I made for my work holiday party dessert contest!

A Croquembouche is a French dessert made by stacking profiteroles, or cream puffs in a conical shape and held together with caramel. It looks difficult to make, but once you've mastered the art of making Pate Choux, it's actually quite simple. 

Who Says Real Men Don't Eat Quiche?

Bruce Feirstein does, that's who! His book, Real Men Don't Eat Quiche (1982), was a tongue-in-cheek book satirizing stereotypes of masculinity.
I'm pretty sure most of the men I know would be up for eating quiche...as far as I can tell, men are always hungry and will eat just about anything you put in front of them. Especially Quiche Lorraine, which features bacon...so...while we're stereotyping, don't all men, (except of course you Vegetarians) love meat? Something to ponder.

Quiche Lorraine

Vegetable Quiche

Picking a theme for a dinner party can sometimes be difficult, unless you're super comfortable with the cuisine. I catered a dinner party for twenty folks a few weeks ago, and after a bit of back and forth with the client, we'd settled on Lebanese/Turkish. I wouldn't have said I'm an expert with this fare, but I certainly have a tighter grasp on what that means.

Pomegranate and Walnut Chicken w/ Lemon Zest and Dill

Grilled Vegetables w/ an Orange Balsamic Glaze & Herbed Feta

I'm probably one of the most adventurous eaters you'd ever meet. I'll try anything twice. Food deserves a second chance, too, no? And, no matter how odd it may seem...I usually like it; foie gras, beef tendons, tongue, well....you get the idea. My point, is that whether I go out or stay in I make it my mission to always branch out.

However, over the past year I've had to reign that in quite a bit because one cannot lose nearly 50 lbs. when eating such delicacies as foie gras. So, when I discover something that is delicious, but doesn't pack on the pounds, I stick with it. Below is my adaptation of a Lime Vinaigrette from one of my go-to cafes, Chow. In fact, it's so delicious...it doubles as a marinade, too. Try it with a fresh filet of salmon!

Juice of 2 limes

1 T. Thai Fish Sauce

1 T. Mirin

1 T. grated fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 t. Sriracha

A Little Bit of Everything

Last Saturday was my 2nd "official" Always on Thyme catering event and it turned out to be the perfect spread. Minty-Lime Fruit Salad, Mexican Quinoa Salad, Roasted Beet Spinach Salad w/ Toasted Almonds and Salem Blue, and Lemon-Herb Chicken Skewers w/ Za'atar Spiced Yogurt proved to be just what the Frontrunners, (http://www.sffr.org/) needed to get back on their feet and continue their relay race to Santa Cruz, (starting point was Calistoga). Okay, so the hot tub, the pool and Marcus, (the masseuse) may have had something to do with it...but either way, it's usually the whole package that makes the difference, in more ways than one. Marcus definitely had something to do with it. I had a knot in my back that he so graciously worked out.
A big thanks to Katherine Holland, (http://www.katharineholland.com/) for trusting me to deliver the goods....and also to Marcus Valera and Jon Cain for all their help!