Life's a Banquet
'...and most poor fools are starvin to death!' ~Mame

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

Here's a little tidbit you may not know about me: I LOVE LED ZEPPELIN! They are the #1 band in the history of music for me, and there is not one song that they have ever done that I do not like. That's unusual; I love most music and off the top of my head I can't immediately think of anyone else that is true for. I was born too late to be able to ever see them at a live concert, and so when I found out that Jason Bonham was bringing his 'Led Zeppelin Experience' to Seattle, I had to go. I found out late, only 2 weeks before the concert, so I was surprised to get great seats at a very reasonable price! I don't love huge concerts and I hate spending a ton of money on them, so I am always happy when I can hear great music for under 50 bucks. And this is the greatest!

I have owned their music on vinyl, cassette, cd and dvd. I have seen the old concerts, movies and pictures, and now I have heard the music live! It was at the WaMu theater at Quest Field and it was a good venue. The name is misleading, as there is not theater seating at the front, it is all on the floor, and that was bothersome to me, though in the end it was ok. I have this very real problem with Seattle concert go-ers of a certain age,(and let me tell you there was as much grey hair at this rock concert as there was at the last matinée I saw at Benaroya Hall!) they won't stand! We go to a soccer game and stand for 90 minutes straight, no problem. But go to a great rock show, like Trans-Siberian Orchestra or Jason Bonham, and they all want to sit! How can you sit with all that amazing music?? I have to move! I want to get up and dance it out! I have a difficult time not standing at a classical concert, never mind a rock show! So the crowd stood a couple of times at the beginning and I was hopeful, but there were people behind me so I sat when the crowd sat, albeit begrudgingly. Suddenly there were 3-4 guys yelling in the back "STAND UP SEATTLE! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!" and I cracked up! They ran through the aisles encouraging folks to stand and it worked! For a while anyway. I took that as my chance and switched seats with Mark so I could stand in the aisle and hopefully not get told to sit down. I didn't sit the rest of the concert, except during the 15 minute intermission. I worked up a great sweat and I loved it! So thanks to those drunk guys who wanted everyone to stand, I appreciate your enthusiasm!

I admit that I was a little apprehensive. I knew that Jason Bonham was a great drummer, but very few are as good as his dad was, and if John had lived longer I think he would be the greatest drummer of all time. And then there are John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page, musical geniuses as well! A very small circle of musicians are in their realm. Would the singer sound like Robert Plant? How much different would it be? Could it be that good?

Oh. My. Gawd. They were amazing! The show was fantastic! It did take 4 of them plus the singer, to get all that sound out, they did a great job. They are not a 'tribute band', nor did they try to imitate. They celebrated the music by playing it right. The singer (James Dylan) did not try to imitate Plant, though certainly there are similarities in his voice range, he just sang the songs fantastically well. The main guitar player, Tony Catania is incredibly talented and he played the heck out of those guitars! He kept up with Page's licks and threw in a few of his own, and it worked. Michael Devin is the bassist and he, along with keyboard and guitarist Stephen LeBlanc, brought John Paul Jones to the room. And then there is Jason Bonham. He was only 13 when he lost his talented father, and it sounds like he had some work to do around that. He was emotional and generous in sharing his father with the crowd, through pictures and stories and home movies. He was playing a long drum solo and behind him they put up footage of John on the big screen. They played simultaneously and it was beyond cool. Those boys can ROCK!

They could have played all night and not played every song, and I don't know how they decided what to play, though they played beautifully. I am so glad we went and next time I am going to drag my brother in law Chris along no matter what because the only other thought that went through my head was 'I can't believe Chris is missing this'! We had dinner at their house before we went (Fondue! Who does fondue these days? Julie does, and she does a great job! It was super fun and tasty!) and I really regret not insisting he go with us... I don't know if I could have convinced him or not but I wish I would have tried harder.

So anyway, I know this is a very different blog than I usually write but I had to get all this out of my head. I am still fighting this horrid cough after more than 5 weeks and I am not sleeping well, so I lay there and think about stuff like this which makes it harder to fall asleep! It's time to rock it out. Tomorrow I am going to see the Picasso display at SAM, and then to Tom Douglas' Cook Book Social at the Palace Ballroom. I have wanted to go to this event every year since he started it and this is the first year I can go. I am going with mom and several gals from over here, and it will be FUN! Which is good, since we start holiday catering this Friday and it will be nonstop (THANK YOU!!!) until New Year's Eve if I can help it. (Please, no more weather! No one comes out in the weather and it hurts!)

Did you try the savory bread pudding for Thanksgiving? We had it and I loved it. What would you like this week? What do you do with leftovers? My favorite thing to do is to put a little bit of everything in a bowl: mashed potatoes, veggies, stuffing, turkey and whatever else there is and heat it all up, stir it up, put some cranberries on the top and eat it up! I made stock and will make turkey risotto tonight with some of it. The rest I froze for turkey stew later. You are probably sick of turkey! How about a cauliflower gratin. Tis the season!

2 1/2 cups milk
1/4 small onion
1 clove
1 small bay leaf
1 small sprig fresh thyme
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
3 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch florets (about 7 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
1 generous cup finely grated Gruyere cheese (about 3 ounces)
1 teaspoon Cognac or brandy
Pinch of cayenne
4 gratings of fresh nutmeg
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 tablespoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
Preheat oven to 400 F. Butter a 1 1/2 quart gratin dish and set it aside.

In medium sauce pan, heat the milk with the onion, clove, bay leaf, and thyme to just below the boiling point. Set aside. In another medium pan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat, and then sift in the flour. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon in a figure-8 motion, until it lightens in color, about 2 minutes.

Gradually whisk the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, whisking to prevent lumps. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, whisking occasionally, until the sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes.

While the sauce simmers, bring a medium pot of water to a boil, season with salt, and add the cauliflower. Cook until tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Arrange the cauliflower, florets-side up, in the buttered gratin dish.

Strain the sauce and season it with a teaspoon salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne to taste. Whisk in the cheese, 1 tablespoon of the butter, and the Cognac until smooth, taking care not to over mix. Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower.

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan. In a medium bowl, mix the bread crumbs with the butter to coat evenly. Sprinkle the top of the cauliflower with the buttered breadcrumbs. Bake until the top of the cauliflower gratin is golden brown and bubbly, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve hot.

YUM!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

Gratitude and love are daily themes for us, both at the cafe and at home, and Thanksgiving is a time for us to concentrate our gratitude even more. We have so much to be thankful for all the time, though I am feeling it more abundantly this week. Our business is up from this same period last year, and even as costs and taxes have increased as well, I am constantly thrilled with the generous support of our family of customers. Our team is strong and we love every one of them, so thankful for all the hard work they do for us. We were voted 'Best Bakery in Central Kitsap' again, which is a clear message from our customers to us. Many businesses pander to the public asking for votes and setting out ballots for people to take, and we fill them out for our favorite places when that happens, though we do not follow that practice at the cafe. We never mention to anyone that the ballots are available, so when we win it is truly a choice of the people to vote for us. Silverdale Chamber of Commerce awarded us their 'Business of the Year', which is a huge honor. According to their own web site 'The nominees for this award are businesses which have through financial and in-kind resources made a significant impact on the Silverdale Community's economic and social well being.' When they told me we were nominated I was awestruck! We live our values even at work, and with our team we just 'do things', we had no idea anyone was paying that much attention. Seriously, every time I think about it I am astounded all over again and we are humbled by the attention. We love what we do and are so passionate to share it with everyone, and we are so very thankful that our community loves what we do as well. And there is so much more... so many little interactions every day that I am grateful for.

I love my little home in Olalla and our wooded lot, and I am exceedingly thankful for my warm bed every time I get into it, or have to get out of it. I am looking out the window at a Winter wonderland right now, the wind is picking up and making the snow fall from the fir trees, and it looks like a blizzard in the front yard...a very pretty blizzard. The snow makes a wintry glow in the house and there is a hush outside from the layer of insulation the snow gives us. I am so thankful for the beauty that surrounds us and this place that we live. Even though today's snow means that we have to close up early-it's actually costing us money to be open since no customers are coming in- I still love the beauty of it; I can be anxious about it later.

I am thankful for all of our family and the fact that we have close access to close family, even if we don't take advantage of it as often as we would like to. Our nephew, Travis, is the smartest, most talented, best looking kid ever, and am ultra grateful to his parents for raising him so well, and staying close so that we can be a part of his life. We lost our sister-in-law this year, and I am thankful that she is not suffering any longer, even as I wish she could have found peace in this life. The rest of our family members are generally healthy and I know how lucky we are to have that; my dad had a very bad case of cancer this year and he had to have surgery to remove it. He was never really sick until recovering from the surgery, and the dr thinks they got it all, so dad won't have to have radiation for now. I am beyond thankful for all of that and how well he seems to be recovering... this will be an emotional Thanksgiving dinner because I know we are all feeling really grateful for dad's presence, and it will be the first Thanksgiving in a few years that we have all been together.

I am the most thankful for the abundance of love in my life. It is everywhere and even in my most anxious moments the thought of it soothes me and brings me back to my center. You are all a part of that love and so I am very thankful to have you in my life. No matter how casually we may know one another you have affected me, and I thank you. I wish you a Happy, warm, safe Thanksgiving and I hope that it includes a wonderful meal with people you love.

I am going to share with you my 'Savory Bread Pudding' recipe and I recommend this if you, like me, are not a huge fan of stuffing, or dressing, but you do like the general flavor profiles in those dishes. This dish is vegetarian and comforting and super delicious, and it is worth the extra steps that I put in to make it extra flavorful. Put this together the day before, stick it in the fridge and then you can just cook it the day you want to eat it...in that way it is very low maintenance!

SAVORY BREAD PUDDING WITH MUSHROOMS & PARMESAN CHEESE
some butter for the pan
1 (1-pound) loaf crusty country-style white bread, crusts cut off, cut 1 inch cubes (about 5 cups loosely packed)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 TBS chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 TBS chopped fresh sage
1 large garlic clove, minced

6 tablespoons butter
1 pound assorted fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced celery
1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/3-1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (to taste)

3 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
8 large eggs
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3-1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (to taste)

Butter a 10 inch baking dish. Place bread cubes in large bowl. Add oil, thyme, and garlic; toss to coat. Spread cubes out on large rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until golden and slightly crunchy, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Return toasted bread cubes to same very large bowl.

Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onion, celery, and bell pepper. sauté until soft and juices have evaporated, about 15 minutes. Add sautéed vegetables and parsley to bread cubes.

Whisk heavy cream, eggs, salt, and ground pepper in large bowl. Pour over bread and vegetables, pressing it all in to make sure it is completely covered and soaking it in. Transfer stuffing to the buttered dish. Sprinkle cheese over. Cover and refrigerate.

Bake at 350, uncovered, until set and top is golden, about 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting. MMMM it's so delish! If it does start to get too brown on top and it has a way to go before it is set, lay some foil over the top of it, make sure it covers the top of the pudding, but don't seal it up on the sides... it will stop the browning and allow it to keep cooking without steaming.

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

Aaahhh... it is so nice to sleep in my own bed and snuggle up with my kitties. It is pouring down rain and so it feels great to just stay inside and drink hot tea while I work. Our last day and half was really lovely in Ostia, a beach resort community about 10 minutes south of the Rome airport. Mark chose it so that we could be really close to the airport, since we had to be there by 4:45 am, and also because there was nothing there that we had to do. We could just relax and enjoy the sea from our hotel balcony, and we also had the option to get into Rome easily if there was anything left that we just had to see before we left. Thank Goodness there was not! After 3 trains and a taxi we got to our hotel, which faced the street and also the Mediterranean Sea. It is a very old hotel, though it did the trick, and luckily there was a huge shared balcony that we had access to so we could sit out and read, drink wine, enjoy the view, visit or not, as we wished. It was an extremely touristy spot (mostly Italian tourists) and there was nothing that I cared to see while we were there. We enjoyed a nice dinner the first night and a not so great dinner on our last night (mostly it was the lack of ambiance and horrible service, though the food was not great either) and mostly just relaxed. It was sunny and there were 2 great sunsets to see, lots of fishing boats to watch, and I even went down and walked barefoot in the sand. It was nice to sleep in (and we all did) and when that 3:45 am alarm rang on the last morning it was not the worst thing in the world.

The line was very long at the airport, though we got on the plane (poor Sandy was not feeling well at all, and luckily she got better over the first couple of hours, or it could have been the worst trip ever for her!) The plane rides were long, and unfortunately Don's luggage did not make it back with us. We got through passport control, customs, Mark's brother picked us up and took us to our cars and we bid our farewells. When we got home my parents were here with some wonderful soup and a wrap from the bakery and it was really nice to spend some time with them. Mom was nice enough to bring a few groceries and pull a chicken out of the freezer for me, so we did not have to go to the store right away. Mark and I managed to stay up until 7 pm (the 24 hour mark) and then we sleeeeeeppppttttt. I started work right away the next day, trying to organize a ton of paperwork that Sharon brought by, emails, prioritizing what to work on next, etc...

It was two days ago that I began that entry. The one souvenir that I brought myself home has slowed me down: bronchitis and tonsillitis (I have never had either). I was pretty sick during the tour, though I suppressed it as much as possible, and it has caught up with me. I went to the DR on Monday and she confirmed it is viral and I am no longer contagious, though it is kicking my butt quite nicely. We have lots of catering at the end of this week and I need to be able to perform so I decided to go back to bed yesterday morning (Tuesday) around 11 am. I had been up working since 4:30 and I felt like the rest could wait...again. I just got up about an hour ago at 7! I slept off and on, and I did get up to check emails and make a few calls to get orders in for the week, but mostly I rested and drank water. I feel better today, and it would make me crazy to stay in bed another day anyway, but I can feel that I need to take it easy. So I will... until tomorrow when I have to hit the prep work hard. I will go in for a couple of hours only today and run the errands to get the things I need for myriad dishes I am making, and get back here to rest early. Good times.

So a few final thoughts on Italy. So many random things go through my head so here they are in no particular order: Mark's parents, Sandy and Don, were a delight to travel with. We all got along beautifully, they were easy going when we got lost (which happened a lot, but really not that much considering how often we had no idea what we were doing), wanted to try everything and they totally submerged themselves into the trip. It was so much fun to be with them and we are very lucky to have built those memories that we can cherish the rest of our lives. Sandy now has an Italian accent now and Don has even talked about 'the next time we go', and both of those things, along with other clues, tell me they had a great time, too. I suppose that is my only fear on these trips, that anyone in our group would not have a wonderful time, and after this trip I can confidently say that if they don't, it is by their own choice.

I love Tuscany the best still, though Piedmont was amazing and I want to explore the rest of Italy even more than I did before, because of it. We will go a couple of weeks earlier next year, it is just better for daylight and weather and general purposes. We are changing quite a few things next year, from one of our residences, eliminating the olive mill tour, adding in a proper olive oil tasting some how, and Doumina is going to work hard to find us some more intimate and homey venues in Piedmont. I was nervous about stopping at Podere Ciona to see the Mamas, because I knew it was a longer drive, and when we actually went I discovered it was longer than I had anticipated. And yet it is so worth it and everyone loves it so much that we must keep it in, we just have to approach it a bit differently.

One of the things I have learned is that not everything will be the same year to year, and that is ok. There are so many great experiences to enjoy and it would be silly to get in a rut and cut ourselves off from any of them! Which is true for every day life and we live here by that credo, so of course it makes sense for our travels as well. We will remember that for our day trips around here as well, and keep looking for new great experiences to share with you. In the cafe, too, we are always looking for fun new things to try and you have enjoyed that about us, and we will continue doing those things and finding those fun surprises.

It is good to be home and I can't wait to feel better so I can really enjoy being back at the cafe as well! A couple of days and I am sure I will be back 100%! Thank you for sharing our travels with us, I hope that you enjoyed it as well. We can't take everyone so we will find some things around here to do with you and of course our Italy Party is this Saturday, the 6th. We will make some of the foods we have learned in Italy and offer samples, plus we will have you taste some of the wines from Italy and show you the pictures that Mark took. A few of our fellow travelers will be joining us and you can talk to them as well. So come on down and have some fun on a rainy Saturday, we can't wait to see you!

Ciao for now!