White chocolate raspberry tartlet and Callebeut chocolate covered strawberry. Oh my goodness- SO delish!

Caprese kabobs

They are just so damn cute.

Yummy food

Today we had a photo shoot. Again, watching a real pro in action is such a treat. Using pro equipment helps with lighting in such amazing ways. Soon... Soon... (tripod envy...)

Who likes little teeny sliders?

These are homemade tiny slider buns with seared beef tenderloin slices, rusted tomato slices, caramelized onions, and micro-greens. All I can say is... Don't talk with your mouth full.

Home Made smores

Home made marshmallows- it's like MAGIC!!! Ginger bread shortbread cookie, and Callebeau dark chocolate ganache. Then I kick in with the torch! :)

Alcohol- food group or not a food group?

Sweet Pea Risotto

Ricotta and peas blended, spread on a toasted baguette, topped with manchego and micro greens

Stuffed Pork Chop

Yes, Virginia, there is a Great Pumpkin.

This beautiful pork chop is stuffed with a mild chorizo, and it will kick your taste buds' asses. Served with a crisp sweet corn with goat cheese and cilantro salad

You want this

Caramel Apple Tartlets oh MAN do these go fast.

Dessert

Late night snack? Vanilla ice cream in dark chocolate with toffee, white chocolate with crushed oreos, and milk chocolate with jimmies.

Cheese

I love cheese. Part of it comes from my German and Wisconsin heritage. Much for my ongoing search for new flavors and adventure to try everything. Attribute it also to the respect for the care and time it takes to make a truly amazing cheese and the artists who do it, their dedication to the craft.

Yeah, it's the same. That's nit cheating, is it? I mean... It's so GOOD!

Heirloom tomato cups with mozzarella, basil, and yummy crunchy coarse sea salt So yummy!

Last night we had a live paella station. Jealous much?

Oh Chris the Cake Lady AZ, how you destroy my will to live. You make delicious pastries, then cover them in edible glitter, which you threaten to drown me in. Pure. Sweet. Joy. It's your business motto AND your life. THANK YOU! :) http://www.thecakeladyaz.com

Lunch!

When we deliver corporate lunches, we feed the office. I had 3. Honestly. And I'm STILL losing weight. /grumble grumble... Freakin tapeworm.

This is a delicious chicken salad sandwich on a croissant, with heirloom tomatoes and romaine. The pasta salad is quite a bonus

J Alexander's bar snacks

Glazed nuts. Chili oil marinated olives. Pimento cheese dip. And tortilla chips with popcorn salt. No really- the pimento cheese spread was good. I have no idea how.

Sometimes, it's a crime to eat them. Date and brie bruschetta with basil. If you can fit a berry on it, why not?!

These are the cutest sammiches. I just wish I knew at the time I took this picture, as much as I know now about food photography. Thanks again http://www.whiteonricecouple.com for your tutilage!

The mini strawberry shortcake is my favorite creation for desserts- I've been selling them on every event :) (I think we'll start adding a mint leaf from now on...) The tartlet is a mini Tiramisu tart with a little lady finger soaked in espresso perched on top of the chocolate curls. Today- the kids and I called this particular combination- Breakfast :)

Delux fries. Cute AND nommy!

Leeks getting soft and toasty at the same time

Oh yeah, that's a 16" chef's pan on a Thermador induction range

Leek tart.

Make a pie shell in a teeny tin. DON'T bake it.

Saute leeks with a bit of butter, S&P, and garlic.

Place some of the leek mixture in the shell.

Pour a bit of Sour Cream and egg yolk mixture over the leeks.

bake for 20 minutes or so in a 375 degree oven, or until it browns on the top slightly.

Let it cool for 5 minutes and turn it out of the teeny pie tin.

Garnish lovely-ly and take a picture :)

Dessert! Raspberry whipped cream sandwiched between two baked hazelnut meraingue layers. Crispy, crunchy, and delicious! The raspberry sauce really was that bright!

Tomato season rocks :)

Bread at work today. Red salt :)

Aaaah dinner :)

Roasted fingerling potatoes. The creamiest, yummiest potatoes in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!!

This is. Delish. It's a slice of sesame crusted, seared Ahi on a won-ton, with little cucumber slices and wasabi cream sauce. Tell me you don't want that!

Ok. I'll admit. The picture is not that good. BUT- we went to Calistro last night for dinner and it was AWESOME! This was the smoothst hummus ever. See, I can't use Flash in the restaurant- it's just jerky. And I'm not going to carry all teh food to the bar where the light is better. I DID carry the cabbage soup and take a picture of it, but it's not the prettiest subject for a picture. Groupon of $20 for $50. AMAZING wine, great service , delectable food, and great service from start to finish. http://calistrobistro.com (p.s. this is an UNPAID endorsement, in hopes that you love it and they are around a while! It IS their one year anniversary this week...)

And more use of much the same food. PLUS a visit to Becca's farm MyFarmyard.com resulted in fresh sweet peppers, fresh zucchini, and cucumbers. Use Balsamic and Cider vinegar with a touch of olive oil, toss it with some of the asparagus from yesterday, and top with the Ancho Chile chicken again. Add a couple of leaves of cilantro for good measure. The leftover veggie mixture was perfect for lunch today

Dinner. This is one of the major advantages to working at my current job- Food. In spades. I make sure that we are very careful with food handling procedures because I know I'm going to be feeding MY family with it, DAYS after the event is over. Berries for dessert. Ancho chile chicken breast fr dinner. Grilled asparagus. Marinated mozzarella. My kids love this stuff

So this morning I got up early with the kids and read. Currently I'm reading "Lunch Lessons- Changing the way we Feed Our Children". Maggie is reading "Tips From Top Chefs" and today we learned about spraypainting with chocolate. The boy is reading some new Star Wars books I bought him. I go to the breakfast sections and thought "DAMN! We need a fritatta!" Luckily, I had eggs. And used a black bean/corn salsa from work this weekend. put some sliced meunster on top, and some grilled asparagus on the side (again, left overs from work this weekend), and a lonely heirloom from Rebecca's farm was in the fridge- good thing I rescued it from certain death!