Sometimes LIFE gets in the WAY!

Wow.... been a long time since I wandered in here. For that I apologize, I know I have actual "fans" which is strange.. but cool. As most of you know, I have taken on the responsibility of running the food service at CSU Stanislaus, where on an average day we serve about 2200 students. It is a big job, because no only do we do that.. we also have catered events and carry the concessions for most of the sporting events at Stan State. 
I am also responsible for providing LTOs (limited time offers), corporate specials, demo cooking and nutritional advice classes. You should see my calendar... I am a busy person. But like the title of this blog says, LIFE gets in the way... In addition to all the stuff at work: I was sick with tonsillitis, am currently searching for a place to live and my camera died... so what pictures I do have I will post. Finding time to sit for an hour and write it sometimes hard to find. Today I found it... mostly because the month of March came to an end last night when we catered 3 separate events in a matter of 2 hours... I LOVE MY JOB!!! 

At the beginning of the month we catered a fund raising event for CSU Stanislaus called Vines. It is a premier wine and cheese event especially for Turlock. A lot of the local money (Gallo-Foster Farms-Duarte..) is there to raise money, taste wine and appetizers and smooze with one another for the sake of the scholarship fund. We are not the only ones who bring their 'A' game... Galletto Ristorante, Surla's, and Bacchus and at least 7 other local eateries brought theirs. I put together a huge cheese display, with offerings from local and small batch farms. I also created 4 different hors d'oeuvres: 

Edamame (soybean) Hummus with Hot Capicola and Fennel Pollen, 

Duck Confit Wontons with Sweet Chili Slaw

                                                                  Fennel-Strawberry Almond-Garlic Gazapcho Shooters

and Garlic Shrimp Skewers.

It was a successful event and should bring us some business in the next year. I had a lot of great complements and even more of "You do THAT here?"  or  "I've never seen that in Turlock". It was a lot of fun.

Here is the Edamame Hummus Recipe:

2 cups Edamame (soybeans), just the beans out of the pod

1/2 cup tahini

1/4 lemon juice

3 each garlic cloves

2 tsp Fennel Pollen

1/4-1/2 cup olive oil

In a bowl of a food processor, pulse the soybeans with the tahini, garlic, lemon juice and fennel pollen, til smooth. Slowly drizzle in olive oil with machine running to combine, add salt and pepper to taste or sprinkle with smoked paprika. Serve chilled with baked pita chips or on a crostini with Capicola and sprinkle of Fennel Pollen and drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. (like the pic above)

I have a few more posts to write. We have some special events going on at Stan State and I am getting a new battery for my camera. We are also searching for a place to live in the Turlock/Modesto area. That is stressful, but it will make us very happy to get to be alone. If anyone knows of anything in our area, let me know... Until later... 

Chef Bearden