Charleston Wine & Food Festival: Opening Night Party

Last weekend was the sixth annual Charleston Wine & Food Festival.  I was really excited to get to help out at the opening night gala.  It took place in Marion Square, and much like last week's Chef's Feast, about twenty local restaurants had tables set up with small plates for the partygoers to dine on while they drank and mingled.

Blake, John, me, and Chef Ramon 

We had time to snap some photos before the crazy influx of people happened.  There were over 1,000 attendees there, which made for a busy night, to say the least.

John and me

Blake and me

Chef Frank Lee and his Chef de Cuisine, Russ Moore

our dish

I was happy that, unlike at the Chef's Feast, our plate was cold rather than hot. There were so many people, we were busy enough as it was without having to actually cook or heat the food to order.

gorgeous tuna, fennel and radish salad, blood orange puree, 

crispy beet chip, olive oil powder, and micro greens

The crudo tasted really great, too. All the flavors together made for a very refreshing, light couple of bites. I think it was a nice contrast to some of the other heavier (but still delicious) charcuterie-oriented dishes I saw.

 I tried to get a crowd shot to show how many people were there

After the crowd started to die down, we enjoyed tasting some of the other restaurants' dishes.  Chef Bacon from Oak was doing a gorgeous homemade (oxtail? not quite remembering...) ravioli, while Chef Brock from Husk was putting out pig's ear sliders which were pretty much amazing.  Overall, it was a lot of fun, and I've enjoyed getting to go to so many exciting events in the past few weeks.

Chef's Feast

Last night, I was able to help out at the 12th annual Chef's Feast, organized by Peninsula Grill's Chef Bob Carter.  The event raises charity money for the Lowcountry Food Bank.  Around 1,000 people attended, wearing tuxes and cocktail dresses, and over 25 chefs were there to represent their restaurants.

Each chef had a little station where his team could put out a small plate, and the guests came up to the stations as they wanted.  There were tables all over the auditorium for the guests to sit and dine.

Blake, Chef Ramon, myself, and Chef Lee

The four of us, plus Jeff, a cook from SNOB, represented High Cotton and Maverick Southern Kitchens.

What we cooked.

Needless to say, with that many guests attending, we stayed very busy, especially for the first hour.

Our plate. 

I thought our plate turned out nicely. It tasted good, and lots of guests came back for more.

Ramon and David Marconi, one of MSK's owners.

We saw lots of friends and familiar faces all night long.  Blake and I ran into tons of students and teachers from our respective culinary schools (she goes to Art Institute, I go to C.I.C.).  Of course, there were lots of industry people there who we knew just from working in food and beverage in Charleston.

Me and Chef Stefanelli from school. Love him.

While we didn't taste every dish, it was definitely fun to taste what the different restaurants were putting out. Chef Stef's braised oxtail and polenta was delicious, and I also really liked the sauteed calamari in tomato sauce from the Wild Olive, the restaurant we were stationed next to.  A couple cold beers at the end of the night (of course) helped wash it all down. Overall, it was a blast, and I was happy to step outside of my usual realm to participate in something so big and exciting.

Cooking Competition at C.I.C.

me, Josh, Rene

A couple weeks ago, my friend Josh, who I know from culinary school, asked me to help him out with a cooking competition he was going to be involved in.  The challenge was a fundraiser, purchased at last year's Vintner's dinner.  Three students were chosen by the school to prepare a three-course meal for about twenty people, and the winner was to receive a cash prize.

Each competitor was allowed to have a couple of sous chefs to help him or her out.  Of course, this sounded like a blast to me, so when Josh asked me to help I quickly agreed.  Our friend, Rene, also volunteered to help out. 

He was go compete against two other girls, Ulfet and Talicia.  Each student was to use a tilefish for the first course, a whole beef tenderloin for the second course, and had free range to create any dessert course he or she wanted.

 Josh plating his first course: tilefish with roasted tomato, bok choy, and quinoa risotto, 
buerre blanc, and basil oil

Ulfet's tilefish course

We prepped all day and had a blast. By the time we actually started serving, everyone was ready and in good spirits.

As the entrees were going out.

Josh's second course: whole roasted beef tenderloin, green bean saute, truffled parsnip puree, 

balsamic red wine reduction foam

For dessert, our team played around with the idea of deconstructing a classic s'more.  It was challenging to try to pull off, but it tasted good and we enjoyed playing around with it.

Rene and Josh finishing the plates

Chef Frank Lee was the judge.  I've worked in his company for a long time, so we had fun and chatted over a glass of wine when it was all over.

Chef and me

In the end, our team didn't win, but we accepted our defeat without too much wounded pride.  

Everyone who participated.

Back row: Jamie, Ulfet, Josh, Talicia

Front row: Rene, Bev, me, Arlene

All in all, I had a lot of fun being able to participate in this competition.  I met some new friends, hung out with some old ones, and was able to mix up the daily routine a bit.  I'll be looking forward to the next time I'm invited to be a part of something like this.

  

What I've Been Doing

So.  I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to say here.  I realize that I have pretty much neglected the blog for an entire semester.  Even worse is that my last post was a birthday celebration for the damn blog itself. Months ago. Awk-ward.

I admit that there is no excuse for this neglect. I have been formulating this very "I'm Sorry" post in my mind for ages now.  Repeatedly, I have been shocked upon being asked, "So, whatever happened with the blog?" or, "Are you okay? I haven't noticed any posts in a while." It's gotta be a feeling akin to leaving a box of puppies on the side of the road somewhere. Except that I would never do that.

I've been somehow justifying my silence in repeating to myself what an ancient piece of crap the computer I've been working on is, and how I Just Don't Have Time to wait around for photos to upload and whatnot. Which is certainly true. Ultimately, though, I'm kidding myself. I've simply allowed myself to get caught up. I finally made the switch to back-of-house at work, have kept super-busy with school, and most importantly (and least tangibly), I've been enjoying the company of my amazing circle (family) of friends that I've become so amazingly close with along the way.

~

So, as a peace offering, here are some photos that recap my life the past few months:

Of course, there are my boys <3

 Nick, Cam, Kristen and Andrew

 I thought it was badass when they broke down the turkeys for Thanksgiving:

Ben, Brendan, Abbott, and Pat

 

More badass still was when they broke down the 800 pound local steer we got in:

Um, yeah, he took up the whole walk-in.

Andrew and Kristen got married on November 13th, 2010.  They were cute enough to bring the whole wedding party to Moe's.

Before Face ditched the bottle for a pitcher. Wish I had a photo of Kristen, too. She was gorgeous.

  Cam turned 21. We ate at SNOB before, of course, heading to Moe's:

 Cam and Ben

Korey and me

Let's not forget the beautiful ladies in my life:

Amanda and Cindy (Sunday Funday?)

 

me, Blake, and Kristine (same day)

 Caroline and I the night of the eclipse

Don't let me fool you, I actually did do a little cooking the past few months:

Final Presentation for my A la Carte I class:

Crab Cakes with Sauteed Squash & Zucchini, Creole Remoulade, and Fried Preserved Meyer Lemons

 Christmas was a blast. Blake and I hosted a feast for the boys:

big, fat, 15 pound standing rib roast.

Tim, Seth, Cam, Ben, Brian, John, John

final plate: rib roast with shaved Sriracha Brussels sprouts, roasted winter veggies, and horseradish cream

I finally got to HUSK with Brady:

amazing.

 Managed to see my best friend's kids the few moments I spent in Morganton:

Gracie, me, Henry

A couple times.

 Love you, Brenna.

Lastly, I finally bought a new computer. My first Mac.

No more excuses.

Happy Birthday, Dani Dishes!

Happy first birthday, Dani Dishes.

Cheers to a great year...

Bethany, Amanda, Caroline

...and to all my good friends who've supported me along the way.

me , Cindy, Carlie

Here's to another year of inspiration, creativity, and happiness!

U Cook with Chef Bob

As soon as I finished my long summer semester in school, I took a week off work to help out with Chef Bob Waggoner's cooking show, U Cook with Chef Bob.  We filmed all 12 episodes of the second season during that week.  The days were really long and tedious, but it was enjoyable work, and I especially enjoyed learning about the filming and media side of the project.

The set.

Each episode is divided into two parts.  First, Chef Bob cooks a first course and serves it to his panel of 3 "foodies", who are sitting to his right in the above photo. The foodies could be anyone from food writers to wine importers to fellow chefs to personal friends. 

 Can I please mention these bad ass, personalized butcherblock cutting boards Chef Bob had made? Eventually, they'll be available for sale through Charleston Chops. I am drooling over the dark cherry octagon one in the top right.

Okay then, for the second part of the show, Chef would invite someone out of the audience to cook a main course (hence the "U Cook").  While Chef was on screen with his guest chef, his former sous chef and good friend, Jason Houser, would be behind the scenes preparing the dish for the audience. The audience was generally around 25 people or so.

The "kitchen".

So keep in mind, we were in a production studio, not a professional kitchen.  This is the set up the cooks worked off of for the week.  Yes, that is a four-burner electric stove Houser is working off of. It was certainly an interesting and challenging feat.

Jason seasoning Waygu ribeyes. Yum.

I feel like now is an appropriate time to share some of the dinners I got to enjoy, with special thanks to Jason for making sure I was properly fed the whole time. :)

 Beef tenderloin with salsify, morels, shallots, white wine reduction, and shaved black truffle.

A freakin' slab of foie gras with blueberry gastrique, hazelnuts, and roasted figs.

So, you wonder, what the hell did you do besides eat, Dani?  I actually did do some work, guys.  I was pretty much in charge of the front-of-house stuff.  Aka setting the tables, taking care of wine and water, etc.  Which was no small feat considering there was only one faucet in the place, halfway across the warehouse, to fill up my only water pitcher.  Also considering that some of these shows took some time, what with technical difficulties and all, so these people were drinking.  

 Tons of wine.

 My little station.

Let's not forget the production crew. Here is Jose, the sound tech, in front, with Tim, the director, behind him, and Chad in the background.

I felt like even though the filming only lasted a week, I really got to know everyone and made a lot of good friends.  It was certainly a great experience.  Seasons 1 and 2 are supposed to be airing on PBS in the late fall, make sure to look out for it!