SNOW

Wow it just keeps coming

Wow this winter reminds me of my childhood

How many times have you said to yourself, and others "when I was  a kid there was always snow on the ground and it would just pile up 6 ft high"  So far we have been hit here in Boston with 2 amazing snow storms in December alone, Yesturday it was predicted 2-4" but a chance of it turning to rain in the city and it turned out to snow all day with i swear 8" fell at the restyaurant.

Well the holidays are truly upon us with Christmas peaking around the corner, the restaurant is busy with little office parties and families reuniting for comfort food, my favorite part of this time of year is Gift Certificates, To me they are like a pat on the back, when droves of patrons come by to buy them as gifts it makes the staff feel really good that so many people feel that Our gift certificates would make a great gift, we have been selling over $500.00 a day since last weekend.  The Gift of Food Frolic & Fun as our gift certificates say also gives us an indication that January and Febuary will be busy.

I am looking forward to 4 days Off in a row, as we always close down for the Holidays, Geoffrey and I used to spend the Holidays with his Family out on Cape Cod and we didnt feel right spending time with family and friends while we have 2 restaurants with employees still at work so the break has varied from 4 to 7 days off every year.

I am looking forward to spending time with my dogs and catching up on paperwork and a new winter menu during the break.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Scones, Perfect for Christmas Morning

6c Flour

1c Sugar

2T Baking Powder

1 ½ t Salt

12 oz cream cheese cut into small chunks and toss in the flour mixture

mix abouve  ingredients in a large metal bowl, then in a seperate Bowl Mix

4 Eggs

3/4 lb Butter (melted)

2 C Heavy Cream

2 C frozen Blueberries

mix well then pour the wet bowl over the dry ingredients

DO NOT OVERMIX

Drop scones from spoon (make them as large or as small as you wish) onto a baking sheet pan

bake 400 degrees for approximately 12 minutes

Dust with powder sugar and serve warm

Merry Christmas and Happy Eating

posted by: Geoffreys at 12:58 | link | comments |

I'd like to beat the inventor of a FLAT roof

Riddle me this

Its new england, lots of rain in the spring and fall, heavy snow and ice in the winter, so why in the heck would you put a flat roof on a building then have a border 3 feet high that surrounds it, sort of a pseudo swimming pool with a tar bottom.

Needless to say my roof leaks and my fellow neighboor Tony's Market has random leaks

Now the argument of responsibility proves to be an interesting battle, due to the fact that apparently leases dont matter, the landlord is always right.

posted by: Geoffreys at 12:13 | link | comments |

It Doesnt make sense

Imagine that you wake up this morning to a phone call from the Department of Employment and Training, wanting to discuss the reason that you had to let an employee go 2 months ago.

I'll give you a little background history, this particular kitchen employee would not only bring alcohol to work, he was caught a few time trying to sneak behind the bar before we opened to fill his glass with anything he could, I decided to take the high road since i have in my almost 30 years of the biz have worked with my share of alcoholics, I had the sit down talk with him, 3 times, the chef talked to him and his cousin (who also worked there) twice, he was sent home when he arrived at work drunk. the enitre situation came to a head when he cut himself at work one day, then while describing what happened I realized he was slurring (at 4:30 pm)  I sent him to the hospital with a manager and while he was being checked into the emergency room the manager requested that a Blood Alcohol Test be taken, a requirement for our insurance, the employee refused, also refused medical attention and left the hospital on his own and never returned to work, he had his cousin pick up his last paycheck for him.

Now fast forward 2 months, he has filed a unemployment claim, now stating he was let go due to lack of work, denies having a drink at work and said that we refused to help him when he cut himself,  so of course I have now made a testimony to the facts, gave witness names and all the blah , then was asked why didnt the company offer to assist him with his drinking problem, faulting us for not offering him any information on programs avaiable to help.  HMMMMM I am not the one that poured the alcohol down his throat everyday, so I ask

When are we as individuals responsible for our own actions?  Why has it become the responsibilty of the employer to fix all the woes of their employees, I pay above avaerage wages, offer uniforms, free meals and a flexible schedule what more must i do?

HMMMMM I wonder who I can blame

 

any thoughts?

Now for an Inappropriate recipe of the day

Infused Pommegranate Vodka

12 Indian Apples cut into 1/4's

2 bottles Cheap Vodka

1 cup Sugar

Put all ingredients into a large glass jar ( Those 1 gallion Ice Tea jars with a little spout at the bottom work great)

leave in on the kitchen counter shaking contents daily for 7-10 days, you can try tasting it for doneness after 7 days, vodka will turn a nice shade of red

This infused vodka is perfect for a POMM Martini

posted by: Geoffreys at 15:07 | link | comments |

Never wear tennis shoes on icy streets

Ok , so I will have to admit that alot has happened since my last post, it Snowed in Boston, and like the good neighbor that I am I immediately shoveled in front of my storefront as well as my neighbor Tony's Market, and equally at home, I live on a corner so I shovel the complete corner, and it ends there, it seems that No one else believes in shoveling after a 3'" snowfall before it will freeze overnight, needless to say I chnaged from my work clogs into tennis shoes and 20 ft past my house i hit a patch of ice and bit the dust in a big way while walking the dogs. having a leash in each hand i wasnt able to catch myself and I went down for the count slamming the back of my head on the pavement and scaring the living daylight out of my dogs. now recovered from whiplash and a knot on the head here is the long promised Pie recipe

1 1/2 cups Pecan halves ( toast in a 300 degree oven on a baking sheet pan for 7 minutes to bring out the flavor)

In a kitchen aid mixer  blend:

1/2 cup butter

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

Using a paddle attachment cream the above ingredients until fluffy on medium - high speed with your kitchen aid mixer (approx 3-5 minutes) the add

2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

3 Large Eggs beating on medium speed for 1 minute

then add

3 Tablesppons A P flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk

mix on low-medium until incorporated

(of course you have already rolled out a pie crust and put it in a 9" pie pan, fluting the crust (recipe is prior blog)

pour the mixture into pie shell, then arrange the toasted pecan halves neatly face up in a circle starting from the outside cicrling to the center

Bake in a 300 degree oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes then remove from oven , allow to cool for at least 45 minutes until serving, serve with a generous dollup of fresh whipped cream

 

 

happy eating

posted by: Geoffreys at 16:10 | link | comments |

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