Flight leaves tomorrow, Saturday May 29th, to go to Peru. I am flying first class, an it will be awesome. I will hopefully be updating my blog every night if I remember. Stay tunes for the next installment.
-Andrew
Friday, May 28, 2010
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Snow
Hey everyone. Sorry I have not been writing. I pulled 3, 10 hour shifts in a row. We were totally booked by one group. They were a bunch of wealthy, older business women from Pheonix. They had a great time and we all had a tiring time. I finally got some time to relax, ride a horse, and go hiking in the snow. On Wednesday, Erin(head of horse ops), Ryan(part of developing from the head office in Scottsdale), Travis(my roommate, DUH), Hannah(a rangler, like Travis), and I went for a 3 hour horse ride. They day became rainy after our ride. During the night the temperature dropped and the rain became worse. During the late morning, the rain turned into snow. It came down the size of quarters, and piled fast onto the ground. Ryan and I decided to go hiking in the snow. We went up Breakfast Knoll durng the blizzard of May 08. Right now there is about 6 inches of the white stuff in front of my place. It will either melt by morning or increase, we may never know, until I wake up.
Ok well I don't work until Saturday. Love yall
OH! I would like to also say that I recieved an A+ on my co-op and I ended my associates program with GPA of 3.52. Buy this time in two years I will be saying the same thing but recieved my Culinary Nutritions degree instead.
PEACE!!!!
Ok well I don't work until Saturday. Love yall
OH! I would like to also say that I recieved an A+ on my co-op and I ended my associates program with GPA of 3.52. Buy this time in two years I will be saying the same thing but recieved my Culinary Nutritions degree instead.
PEACE!!!!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
hey
hey yall if you get this before you o to bed tonight I will be online on aim all night until about midnight my time. Come chat it up with me
Week 8
This is a slow and lazy week. Chef left for California on Sunday, and I don’t work until Thursday. I have no ride into town, until Wednesday, and there isn’t much to do on the ranch since everyone else is cleaning or doing maintenance.
I am working about 32 hours this week doing employee meals from Thursday to Sunday. I was going to go horseback riding with Travis on Monday or Tuesday, but both days were very windy and we were unable to. Kim made some nice meals on Monday and Tuesday. Monday she made an array of leftovers. She had hash browns, bacon, bagels, waffles, a big salad, and many other sides. On Tuesday she made hamburgers with all the fixings. There was cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and lots of condiments. She took the extra burgers home with her. Later that afternoon, her, me, TJ, Marshall, Veronica, and Anna all went to the Greer Lakes. There we had a small cookout with good music, good food and good friends.
Before we all went out to the lake, workers from a local landscaping company were digging holes for new trees. After about the third hole, Kim came over and started to complain about not being able to connect to the Internet. I checked mine and it was out as well. The phones were out as well. We all think they dug in the wrong spot and hit the cable. Luckily my project is all done and all I need is my computer to write in my journal.
For the rest of the week and I will be working from 8 – 3. With nothing else to do I will be coming up with recipes and menus to use for the employee meals.
I am working about 32 hours this week doing employee meals from Thursday to Sunday. I was going to go horseback riding with Travis on Monday or Tuesday, but both days were very windy and we were unable to. Kim made some nice meals on Monday and Tuesday. Monday she made an array of leftovers. She had hash browns, bacon, bagels, waffles, a big salad, and many other sides. On Tuesday she made hamburgers with all the fixings. There was cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and lots of condiments. She took the extra burgers home with her. Later that afternoon, her, me, TJ, Marshall, Veronica, and Anna all went to the Greer Lakes. There we had a small cookout with good music, good food and good friends.
Before we all went out to the lake, workers from a local landscaping company were digging holes for new trees. After about the third hole, Kim came over and started to complain about not being able to connect to the Internet. I checked mine and it was out as well. The phones were out as well. We all think they dug in the wrong spot and hit the cable. Luckily my project is all done and all I need is my computer to write in my journal.
For the rest of the week and I will be working from 8 – 3. With nothing else to do I will be coming up with recipes and menus to use for the employee meals.
Week 7
The winemaker dinner is done and I have off for a couple days. Until Thursday, we do not have any guests staying on the ranch. The owners are coming on Saturday, and we need to clean. I work only a couple days this week but will be pulling 32 or more hours.
On Wednesday I am working by myself to make the employee meal. I made chicken fried steak, cheesey potatoes, and some nice gravy. I also put out some duck and shrimp skewers left over from the winemaker dinner. Most of the time that I am there I am cleaning or working on my co-op project.
On Thursday, we had guests that came in, but I was off so I worked on my project and got it mostly done. I printed all the final pictures and critiqued everything. On Friday I went back into work for my normal hours of 9 – 5. I was working with Kim so she worked on the employee meal while I worked on the lunch and dinner prep. On Sunday, chef and I went over my project and he graded it. He also critiqued my special recipe plate. It was a pretty slow week until Saturday. The owners, the Bolingers, came to the ranch on Saturday afternoon. They have a house on the ranch and came to check out the ranch before we close it down for 10 days. They had dinner in the ranch house 2 nights, and were very pleased with the food and service both nights.
The next week, starting Monday, we are closed for maintence. Everyone not able to work their normal hours will be working on projects. I will be cooking employee meals for the second half of the week, and Kim is doing them on the first half.
On Wednesday I am working by myself to make the employee meal. I made chicken fried steak, cheesey potatoes, and some nice gravy. I also put out some duck and shrimp skewers left over from the winemaker dinner. Most of the time that I am there I am cleaning or working on my co-op project.
On Thursday, we had guests that came in, but I was off so I worked on my project and got it mostly done. I printed all the final pictures and critiqued everything. On Friday I went back into work for my normal hours of 9 – 5. I was working with Kim so she worked on the employee meal while I worked on the lunch and dinner prep. On Sunday, chef and I went over my project and he graded it. He also critiqued my special recipe plate. It was a pretty slow week until Saturday. The owners, the Bolingers, came to the ranch on Saturday afternoon. They have a house on the ranch and came to check out the ranch before we close it down for 10 days. They had dinner in the ranch house 2 nights, and were very pleased with the food and service both nights.
The next week, starting Monday, we are closed for maintence. Everyone not able to work their normal hours will be working on projects. I will be cooking employee meals for the second half of the week, and Kim is doing them on the first half.
week 6
This week was a normal, slow, yet fun week. We did not have much to do for the beginning of the week, but on Saturday we had a special dinner. For the whole week, Joe and Afif worked together to make up a 5-course menu to be used for the dinner. During the week everyone pitched in to prep this meal, and it came out to be a success.
We had a 5-course meal to prepare for and we only had 3 days to do it. The first course was a shrimp mousse on a sugar cane skewer with a tangy garlic dipping sauce. It was served on julienne Napa cabbage and fresh vegetables. Afif and Joe prepped for this dish. It turned out very good. At first the mousse had too much onion and it was over powering the shrimp, but chef fixed this by adding less onions and by brushing honey onto the shrimp when grilling them. The second course was a roasted pork salad. Joe came up with this dish. It is a very simple dish but very tasty. The blood orange goes perfect with the roasted pork. The third course was taken from the regular dinner menu and tweaked a little bit. It was seared duck breast. It is served on a bed of couscous with a crab wonton and a plum cherry demi. The original dish is served with an apricot glaze instead of the plum cherry demi, but both work very nicely with the duck. The fourth course was a grilled filet of beef tenderloin served with mushrooms, sweet polenta, and a moral mushroom demi. This dish was also very delicious. Because it is tenderloin filet the beef is very tender and full of flavor. The fifth course is a dessert course. Chef Afif prepared a flourless chocolate tort, which was served with a very rich raspberry sauce. The winemaker put on this dinner, from Alexander Valley Vineyards located in Healdsburg, California. Each course was paired with a glass of their wine. The pairing’s were chosen by the winemaker.
It was a slow week at first. I was working normal hours, 9 – 5, and only doing about 2 tables a day for breakfast and lunch. Next week we do not have any guests for the first half, and then the next week after that we are closed for 10 days.
We had a 5-course meal to prepare for and we only had 3 days to do it. The first course was a shrimp mousse on a sugar cane skewer with a tangy garlic dipping sauce. It was served on julienne Napa cabbage and fresh vegetables. Afif and Joe prepped for this dish. It turned out very good. At first the mousse had too much onion and it was over powering the shrimp, but chef fixed this by adding less onions and by brushing honey onto the shrimp when grilling them. The second course was a roasted pork salad. Joe came up with this dish. It is a very simple dish but very tasty. The blood orange goes perfect with the roasted pork. The third course was taken from the regular dinner menu and tweaked a little bit. It was seared duck breast. It is served on a bed of couscous with a crab wonton and a plum cherry demi. The original dish is served with an apricot glaze instead of the plum cherry demi, but both work very nicely with the duck. The fourth course was a grilled filet of beef tenderloin served with mushrooms, sweet polenta, and a moral mushroom demi. This dish was also very delicious. Because it is tenderloin filet the beef is very tender and full of flavor. The fifth course is a dessert course. Chef Afif prepared a flourless chocolate tort, which was served with a very rich raspberry sauce. The winemaker put on this dinner, from Alexander Valley Vineyards located in Healdsburg, California. Each course was paired with a glass of their wine. The pairing’s were chosen by the winemaker.
It was a slow week at first. I was working normal hours, 9 – 5, and only doing about 2 tables a day for breakfast and lunch. Next week we do not have any guests for the first half, and then the next week after that we are closed for 10 days.
Week 5
I had off from Saturday until Wednesday. During that time I went into the town of Greer 3 times and Show Low once. I started back at work on Thursday, and we started out slow. We did not have many guests at the ranch this week so I had a lot of time to work on my project and have fun.
During my days off when I was at the ranch I would take walks to get used to my surroundings even more. I had a bike on the way to me, but since I did not have it I had to walk everywhere. When I was not at the ranch I was in town. Chef and I went to town almost everyday we had off together. In town we would go shopping for ourselves and for the kitchen at the supermarket Safeway. We also went out to breakfast at a small joint called Joe’s. For dinner we ate at the local fast food places, McDonalds and Dairy Queen. On Wednesday morning, Chef Afif, Marshall and I went to breakfast at Joe’s, not the Joe I work with. After that, Chef went back to the ranch and I went over to Marshall’s place. I helped Marshall drive a trailer from his place in Springerville to Show Low. He did not want to drive since he did not have his license. His mother and his niece went as well. We went down to Show Low the back way. It was a beautiful drive. Once we arrived, we dropped off the trailer and went to Wal-mart. After that we went out to lunch and then drove back home. Instead of going back the ranch, I went back to Marshall’s place to watch a movie. Chef later stopped by and I went back home with him.
On Thursday I went back into work. We started a new method of breakfast that day and it went off pretty smooth. Instead of the guests ordering breakfast from a menu they would just have to go up to a buffet where we serve a sweet dish, pancakes, waffles, crepes, etc, and one savory dish, omelets, eggs benedict, frittata, etc. This method works pretty well except for a few major flaws. There are more dishes to be done because of it, the waitresses do more work, and there is a lot more food waste. In the near future when we have more guests this method will be very hard. We do not have all the equipment to have a full service buffet in the dinning room. On the other hand the guest gets to look at what they can choose before they choose it and be able to take as much as they want. Later that day I learned to make perfect crepes from Chef Afif. By the end of the day I was a perfect crepe maker.
I worked until Saturday. We had no guests again for the first half of the next week so I had off until Thursday again. It is a slow time right now as we are transforming from winter into summer. The weather is very unpredictable and the kitchen is moving slow. The week after next we are closed for 10 days, but after that it will pick up.
During my days off when I was at the ranch I would take walks to get used to my surroundings even more. I had a bike on the way to me, but since I did not have it I had to walk everywhere. When I was not at the ranch I was in town. Chef and I went to town almost everyday we had off together. In town we would go shopping for ourselves and for the kitchen at the supermarket Safeway. We also went out to breakfast at a small joint called Joe’s. For dinner we ate at the local fast food places, McDonalds and Dairy Queen. On Wednesday morning, Chef Afif, Marshall and I went to breakfast at Joe’s, not the Joe I work with. After that, Chef went back to the ranch and I went over to Marshall’s place. I helped Marshall drive a trailer from his place in Springerville to Show Low. He did not want to drive since he did not have his license. His mother and his niece went as well. We went down to Show Low the back way. It was a beautiful drive. Once we arrived, we dropped off the trailer and went to Wal-mart. After that we went out to lunch and then drove back home. Instead of going back the ranch, I went back to Marshall’s place to watch a movie. Chef later stopped by and I went back home with him.
On Thursday I went back into work. We started a new method of breakfast that day and it went off pretty smooth. Instead of the guests ordering breakfast from a menu they would just have to go up to a buffet where we serve a sweet dish, pancakes, waffles, crepes, etc, and one savory dish, omelets, eggs benedict, frittata, etc. This method works pretty well except for a few major flaws. There are more dishes to be done because of it, the waitresses do more work, and there is a lot more food waste. In the near future when we have more guests this method will be very hard. We do not have all the equipment to have a full service buffet in the dinning room. On the other hand the guest gets to look at what they can choose before they choose it and be able to take as much as they want. Later that day I learned to make perfect crepes from Chef Afif. By the end of the day I was a perfect crepe maker.
I worked until Saturday. We had no guests again for the first half of the next week so I had off until Thursday again. It is a slow time right now as we are transforming from winter into summer. The weather is very unpredictable and the kitchen is moving slow. The week after next we are closed for 10 days, but after that it will pick up.
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