Nolan Ryan, Field of Dreams Wine and Food Event

I just finished making all the food for this event and it all came out beautifully delicious!!! I'm expecting this to be an amazingly successful event. Me and my fantabulous assistant, Marie-Louise are ready to take this food festival by storm =) I can't wait to see my chef friends, meet some new friends and most importantly try every tasty morsel of food there myself. Not to mention the wine that's sponsored by Francis Ford Coppola. I'm bringing my camera and hoping that I have time to snap a few photos, You know, avant garde, chef POV type photos. It sounds cool is theory, but we shall see the actual result. I LOVE DOING EVENTS LIKE THIS!!! THe turnout is expected to be terrific too. Is it sad that a little piece of me regrets that my Mom & Lola won't be in tow with me? Well, my flowers for my booth just arrived and so did Marie-Louise. It's about that time. I am so ready. I'll report back on how it all turned out!

Invest in yourself. BANK ON YOU

As a chef, I'm blessed to meet many people and have different opportunities come my way. Tomorrow, I'm honored to have my company, Food Innovations featured at The Field of Dreams Wine and Food Festival at Dell Diamond in Round Rock. I'm honored and feel great that I can proudly serve my food at this festival. I've come such a long way. I never knew anyone in the food industry. My parents aren't in the food/restaurant industry, no family friend gave me a job, no hook-up. Everything I have has been a direct result of my hustle, drive and persistence. I wouldn't have it any other way. Every success is all mine. Any failure isn't a failure, but a life lesson. There's no one to blame, no boss, no partner, just myself. At the end of this year, will be my 4th year being self-employed. In this downward economy, most businesses are failing. For some reason, I'm excelling. Failure just isn't in my vocabulary. It's not even a remote option. Loving what you do for a living isn't something I take for granted. I thank God every morning and night. I also thank my mom for instilling the importance of cooking at an early age. I find inspiration in every chef and all their stories. I can learn from it all. Even the "bad" chefs inspire me to never get complacent and always strive to outdo myself. I'm definitely my biggest competition. Though things are great, I still want more. I have this insatiable drive to make my restaurant a reality, my book a reality and eventually my own show. I'm just putting it out there. I'm just excited to be able to carve my own path. It's thrilling to know that no one has every gone down this path but me. Banking on yourself can be scary, but is ultimately the most rewarding and gratifying part of my life right now.

Whether you cook, bake, invest in real estate, are in the medical field or teach science to 7th graders, be the best you can be. Learn as much as you can. Compete only with yourself. Be able to be take your own self critiques. Also, be able to pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Don't let people tell you how you need to be. They can take you or leave you. Allow your inner voice to be the only one that guides you. Be thankful for every little you have as often as you can. Life is short. Life is like a candy store. Fill your bag with only the sweetest treats. You deserve it. If you don't someone else will. Why don't you deserve to be the best you can be? You do. Always bank on yourself.

Souffle Class tonight

Out of the numerous classes I teach all over this great state of Texas, I think souffles are one of my favorite all time classes to teach. Most people fear making souffles more than turning 40. True. Both aren't as bad as they seem and are pretty harmless. There is a lot of technique and fancy culinary terms that go into teaching a class like this and countless questions to answer, but I'm so happy to help. I want people to address this fear of having their souffles deflate and having their hard work go "poof" right in front of their faces. Not to mention their guests! What an utter embarrassment! Hmm. I guess that's not a big confidence booster. However, I guarantee my class will walk out confident and ready to make their first solo souffle for friends and family. That's my goal. That and having them have a delicious meal and amazing learning experience.

Tonight on the menu, I'll be whipping up(literally and figuratively in this) 2 sweet and 3 savory souffles. They will be Grand Mariner Souffle, Double Chocolate Souffle, Serrano & Manchego Souffle, Spinach & Feta Souffle, and Jalapeno & Corn Souffle. I really want to show my students there's more than just raspberry or chocolate souffles out in the world. Those are great, but there's so much more. I made all these recipes up all in this brain of mine. It's just so gratifying to share with people. I really hope I encourage others to do the same. There's such a basic joy in creating something on your own. Creating something new and unique. Thinking something up, shopping for it, making it, baking it and then, finally tasting it. The best part of creating new dishes is that sometimes, when you're lucky, they come out better than you pictured in your head. I's a heaven sent blessing that appreciate each time it happens. All of these recipes are little jewels of mine and I'm so glad to share with my Austin peeps! Geez. Sounds like I'm in love with my food. I guess I really am. It's a love affair that I know will never end and can't be requited!

p.s. Just for kicks...my second favorite class is elegant appetizers and a close third is baking! Baking what? Cookies, Petit fours, cakes, cupcakes....whatever!!

Eat. Conquer and Fall in love with a meal today.

The healthy chef...

So I just finished my latin spice class. Funny, because I feel like the class finished me, but it's all good. Being a chef and healthy usually don't go hand and hand, but I'm doing my duty of being a healthy chef to counter all the deliciousness I'm exposed to. It's a conscious choice you make very day to roll out of bed and schedule time to sweat out toxins, tone muscle and just be plain active. That's really my goal. I want to be active every day. Whether it's swimming, running in my neighborhood or getting my booty handed to me by thonged out MILFS in a Latin Spice class, I want to be active from now own. At first your energy goes from low to lower because of exhaustion and physical exhaustion, but eventually you see results. That's pretty much the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel for me. Can I rock my favorite bikini and still feel good? I can honestly say the answer to that question is a confident, "yes." It wasn't a few months ago though. I hope Austin hopes me break this unhealthy cycle of "Healthy Myrna" in the summer and "Free Willy Myrna" in the winter. It would be nice to wear a fitted peacoat this winter. You know, all 2 months of winter in Texas.

I'm finding treats like Smoothie King's, Immune Builder with extra strawberries is a great, healthy incentive for me. I'm splurging more on fresh, in season fruits vs. my normal ice cream. In fact, I'm loving Dreyer's natural strawberry pops. Some people(health professionals and/or chefs) may say sugar is the devil. Some people say carbs are the devil. I just say it's all in moderation. PLus there's just no way that having a fruit pop is worse for you than having a twix candybar. Nope. There's just no way.

I'm finding ways to tweak my tastes and habits. It's definitely not easy, but I am trying to be healthier. It's better for me in the long run. So I hope all you are trying little things to be healthier too!

Can Nigella just adopt me already? Seriously.

Yes please! This is what I want for breakfast.

Bad Sushi. Bad Karma.

The other night I went out for sushi. Now it seems there's a sushi place in every area of town, whereas 5 or 6 years ago, it was still somewhat of a rarity. That being said, getting decent sushi isn't as hard as it used to be. In fact most local grocery stores such as Central Market, HEB, Whole Foods and dare I say, some gas stations have sushi. Grocery store sushi has come miles from where it had been. It's kind of cool to be able to get your sushi fix just around any corner.

Well, the sushi place I was taken the other night was disastrous and beyond. Besides the waitress barely speaking english, I don't even know where to begin. For example, when I asked her for sake bomb, she asked," if I'm sure I wanted a bowl sushi rice." Hugh? Come again? The sushi was the absolute worst I'd ever had. The formentioned gas station I sited above, had better sushi than this joint. Is that tragic or what? All the Sapporo and sake bombs couldn't mask this mushy mess that stuck to the top of my gums with indecipherable mystery fish. I had to spit it out. I waited over an hour for the most random and nasty sushi experience imaginable!

It blows my mind that people would eat raw seafood that is so indistinguishable. Besides that, the rolls were tiny and obscure. Everything from the plates, to fish, to the rice and garnish(or lack there of) was so muted and dull. If food choices accurately reflect the people that recommend you to them, this person is in a world of trouble. I know you all are dying to know the name of this place, but I can't tell you because I didn't even take the time to look. I left tipsy, hungry and very unsatisfied.

TIP 1: When taking chef to a restaurant, try going to a decent place. We can be a critical bunch.

TIP 2: The back of the house(in the kitchen) is usually much more chaotic than the front of the house(where customers are.) So if the front of the house is dirty, chaotic and unorganized, you should fear eating anything that comes from that kitchen.

Tip 3: I'd rather be risk being deemed rude, by not eating crap food, then eating to be polite and then contracting a food borne illness.

Get it together!!! There are so many other great places to eat at .Be picky ! It's your right as a consumer. Especially with raw seafood or raw anything is involved.

p.s. this person will definitely have 7 years of bad luck for taking me to that God awful place! Bad sushi= Bad karma.

Elise & Aaron's WEDDinG BLiSs.

Being a chef, caterer and socially active person, I have seen a lot of weddings. A lot. All of them have something unique and special about them. Now there are common denominators like, most weddings have guests, food, cake, bridal party, etc. You know, the basics to most weddings.

This wedding was literally the most relaxed, chilled and stress free wedding I've ever catered or been to in my life. It was seamless from start to finish. The guests were relaxed. The bride was relaxed. HELLO!!! The bride was relaxed. It was something out of the movie, "Hope Floats." The bride, Elise is a Mosaic artist and her now hubby, Aaron is a carpenter/musician. I guess in a away you could say they were a typical Austin, artistic couple.

These 2 were supposed to get hitched in Mexico, but that obviously didn't happen. Foti actually did a story on these two because they had to cancel their wedding because of swine flu complications. It was only 1 month to their wedding and they were a mess trying to figure out what to do. A friend let them use their beautiful home in Wimberly, TX with a view to die for. It was tucked a way on a small road and when you arrived there were lanterns and a whole bunch of artwork indoors and outdoors. In fact, their "sign in" sheet was a painted picture of them that people used a sharpie to write their warm congratulatory wishes of love. Elise was stunning. She is such a sweet person in the true sense of the word. I knew when I met her at Scooter's coffee shop I wanted to make her day as special as I could. We did a spanish themed menu with a beautiful tres leches wedding cake. Not a single complaint. Although< i can't take so much credit. Her day was filled with so much love and peace that I could have served taco bell and I think no one would have known or cared.

Right before she and Aaron cut the cake, friends of theirs played the guitar and sang to them. My staff and I were huddled in the back trying to keep a dry eye. I told all of them, this right here is why I do what I do. To be a part of people's most special times in their life. Providing them with their first meal is a spiritual experience in itself. Seeing them look into each other's eyes and share their first piece of cake makes all the hours of planning, shopping, cooking, cleaning, etc all worth it. I feel blessed to have been a part of their day. They will have such a happy, incredible, wonderful life together.

p.s. MAJOR surprise, Elise gave me a BEAUTIFUL mosaic that is already hung in my living room/kitchen area and lazy susan that's on my kitchen table. I will surely think of them each time I see them ;)

Mazel Tov Elise & Aaron!!!

BUSY BEE

Dear Blog,

I'm a bad mom. I've neglected you, my little baby blog. I've been jet-setting to exotic locations like Houston and surrounding cities to cook and laugh with strangers. Mommy's been hustling. I've been working on catering weddings, baking cakes and even, wedding cakes. Teaching cooking classes like pies and tarts, organically grown cooking, satisfying souffles, romantic couples cook and much more. I've been partying and left you out in the cold.

I've been so neglectful. Cooking things like strawberry-rhubarb cobbler and chocolate-dipped french meringues on my "off-days" instead of writing to you my lil blog. Can you ever forgive me?

Thankfully, yo momma has an assistant now. (phew) Her name is Marie-Louise and she is the bomb biggity. (That means she's driven, responsible & a great multi-tasker. Plus, she's just an all-around cool person.) So now I'll have time to nourish you like I should be! Don't fret. Momma's back boo.

With love & Warm Blueberry Muffins with Hand-Squeezed OJ,
me

p.s. I've also been tanning too.