Dreams Really Can Come True!

This is the story of a girl.  A girl who grew up sitting on counters watching in awe, then stirring together Egg Salad, then grating Cheese for Chili and dropping live Lobsters into large pots of boiling water.  To her, the first sound of Christmas music on the radio meant only one thing: helping Mom cook Christmas dinner and making "Jesus' Birthday Cake"! Easy Bake Ovens and Playschool Kitchens were her toys of choice, and she preferred Emeril Live over Saved by the Bell any day of the week.

 The girl grew up with parents encouraging her every dream.  "Paint like Picasso, Sing like Celine Dion, Write Novels like Mark Twain!" they told her. She thought she wanted to be a Veterinarian.  Then a Musician. Then a Teacher.  Then a stay-at-home mom.  Then an Interior Designer.  Then a Psychologist. Like most young people, she really didn't know what exactly she wanted to do, she just knew what she liked to do and didn't like to do.  She liked to sing, she liked to dance, she liked to paint, she liked animals, and she LOVED to cook.

In  high school, the girl met a boy. And they fell in love.  She started digging through Mom's well-loved cookbooks and recipe card holders, and began to realize that cooking is more than just something you do for holidays and special occasions.  For him, she made Chicken Parmesan, Shrimp and Grits, Sherried Artichoke Chicken, Taco Rings.

 The girl and the boy went to college.  While she nearly fails out of Interior Design because she doesn't love it, she makes beautiful dishes for them like Chicken Florentine, Filet Mignon with butter-poached Lobster Tail, and Pan-Seared Scallops with Bacon and Leek Grits.  The boy dreams of Law School, Financial Analyst and Loan Officer positions, while the girl questions what she wants to do in life.  She sees an ad for Culinary School, and all her dreams are realized.  She rapidly changes her major to align with her new-found dream of being a Restaurateur/Caterer/Chef- Restaurant and Hospitality Management.  She spends her Christmas and summer vacations training at a James Beard Award-nominated Cafe in bustling downtown Birmingham, where she falls head over heels in love with cooking.  She graduates and wastes no time diving right into Culinary School.  She soars through with flying colors, achiving "President's List" status every quarter and finishing at the top of her class with the highest score on the "Mystery Basket" final exam.

 The girl and the boy need a change of scenery, and move to the up-and-coming city of Huntsville.  The boy gets a dose of reality in the terrible economy and begins to question his career path.  The girl takes the first job offer she gets at a local cafe and catering business.  It's her first real experience with the title of "Chef", and it makes her hungry for more. (No pun intended!) After a long summer of 16 hour days and just when she is really feeling the itch for a change, Huntsville Hospital comes-a-calling, recruiting the girl to be the Catering Director in their Food and Nutrition Department.  She leaps on the opportunity, the "big girl job", and believes that everything she's done has led to this moment.  She has an office, a title, employees working underneath her.  The salary, the benefits, the satisfaction of carrying the Catering Department which handles all of the Board Meetings, Breakfast Meetings, Lunch 'n Learns, Doctors' Lounges, and so on.  But she's not happy.  Because she's not cooking.  She carries a clipboard and crunches numbers in a computer instead of dicing tomatoes and trimming tenderloin.  In the darkest hour of our country's latest depression, she takes a leap of faith and walks away from her cushy corporate job without a backup plan.

 Not a moment too soon, the boy lands a position with a Real Estate Investment company where he is able to work from home.  The boy and girl spend some time soul-searching and try to find something that matches the girl's education, skills, personality, and passion for success.  Alas, there is no job out there for a girl with a Management degree, a Culinary degree, a desirable personality, a killer set of cooking and entertaining skills, and the unchangeable need for a "normal" work schedule and the flexibility to work when you want.  So: they made one.

  The boy and girl spent months planning, talking, organizing, brain-storming, researching, and reading. Self-taught entrepreneurs they became, literally building a business from scratch.  Names were discussed, Business Plans were written, LLP's were formed, Logos and Websites were conceptualized, Bank Accounts were created, Business Licenses were ordered, Inventory was purchased, and Chef Jackets were monogrammed.  The girl hit the streets, proudly wearing the logo on her chest.  She shook hands, she passed out cards, she got to know her city and introduced her business to it.  They took to her like white on rice.

 Within 6 months of starting the business, the boy and the girl were busier beyond their wildest expectations.  Cooking classes several nights a week, various catering gigs on the weekends, delivering dinner to busy families, performing Cooking Demonstrations at local venues and corporations. The girl acted as the "face" of the company- talking with the clients, planning the menus, executing the food, and teaching the classes.  In his spare time, the boy managed all the "behind the scenes" work: keeping the books, paying taxes, managing the finances, quality and spending control, marketing ideas.  They settled into a routine, like a well-oiled machine, running the business like true professionals.  And they were happy.  Incredibly, super-duper, unbelievably happy.

The girl attended the Junior League Spring Market to hopefully meet some people and snag some nifty catering pieces.  There, she met another girl.  A girl who happens to be amazingly skilled in areas that the first girl is not so skilled.  This girl was a Baker and Cake Artist.  Having like-minds, similar interests, and complimenting personalities, the girls became instant friends.  They lunched, got to know each other, and began day-dreaming about one day joining forces to become Huntsville's "go-to" Culinary team.  They stayed in almost constant contact, bouncing ideas off one another about cake designs and catering menus.  They shared links to available bakery/restaurant spaces with each other, always sighing and replying "My, that would be nice!"

 After an insanely busy Holiday Season, one cold winter day, the girls were out to lunch and decided to go do some Christmas shopping at the Interior Marketplace.  They walk in to find a vacant cafe, a vacant commercial kitchen, and a vacant demonstration kitchen in a large gourmet food retail room.  "It has to be too good to be true." they think.  The location is too good.  The people are too nice.  The space is too perfect.  The timing is too "just right".  The whole scenario is just too wonderful to actually be real.

 This time, they don't have to think too long.  The first girl and her boy decide to, again, take a leap of faith- bringing the second girl along with them.  With the help and support of their families, they shake hands with the landlord, negotiate with the previous owner of the equipment, and get to work cleaning and making the place their own.  After weeks of cleaning, painting, customizing, organizing, meeting with various vendors and service providers, the dream has come to life.

 Without further adue, The Chef Next Door is officially located within the beautiful Interior Marketplace in Hampton Cove.  We will be doing all of our catering out of the health-inspected and regulated Catering Kitchen, we will be offering all of our various cooking classes in the gorgeous "demonstration-kitchen", we will host scheduled BYOB Cooking Classes (check our calendar!), and we are thrilled to be able to offer you the use of the beautiful cafe room and storefront room as a venue for any of your catering functions.  We have a brand new website which reflects all these wonderful changes and additions.  Click here!  (Was that enough links for one paragraph??)

We bring with us Heather Petersen of Slice at a Time Cakes.  Not only does she do some of the most breathtaking and delicious Wedding/Special Occasion Cakes I've ever seen, she makes everything else from Gourmet Cakes, Cake "Pops", Cupcakes, Cakelings (mini 2-4 serving cakes), Cookies, Baked goods, and more.  She will be teaching "Cake Decorating" classes as well!  We are taking this new venture one step at a time, but we plan to have more exciting things to come within the next few months.  We are blessed beyond relief and are so excited to be able to reach out more to the amazing community of Huntsville.  To our families, our friends, and our clients:  Thank you.  YOU have made this possible, and have made this girl's dreams come true.

Cheers,

The Chef Next Door

Valentine's Dinner-for-Two Kits

I can't believe it's been a year since I entered the world of blogging!  Crazy how fast the time flies when you're having fun. :)  Well, Valentine's Day is 7 days away.  It seems as our options are reduced to A) Ignore it completely, B) Buy a box of Candy Hearts, C) Make reservations and brave the crazy restaurant scene, or D) Cook something fantastic yourself and spend the evening cleaning up after your mess.  Ok, I'm being facetious, of course, because I am a HUGE proponent of staying in and preparing a beautiful meal for your loved one on this special day.  But many people just don't really enjoy the chopping and the sauteeing and cleaning dishes.  So, I have something for you.

When I go to cater a dinner party, I do a good bit of the prep-work at my kitchen before I go to the client's house, and then finish the meal when it's time for dinner.  I pre-sear the steaks on the grill, I prepare the mashed potatoes, I flash-grill the asparagus just to get the grill char marks, I prep the sauces and vinaigrettes and have them in squirt bottles with appropriate labels, I have Ziploc bags of freshly chopped herbs....you get the point.  I package everything in disposable aluminum containers, so I can just pop the steaks/asparagus/potatoes in the oven to finish cooking, then throw the containers away- saving a lot of clean-up time.  I arrived at a client's house back in December, and as she is watching me unpack, she goes "My goodness, it's like a little catering 'kit'!"  And thus the idea for my Valentine's Dinner-for-Two Catering Kits was born.

I am offering a 90% completed meal for those of you who don't want to sit in a crowded restaurant with hundreds of people, and also for those of you who want an elegant and delicious meal in your home without all the fuss.  Your meal will be prepped to the point where it just needs a little reheating and plating.  Your vinaigrette will be in a squirt bottle ready to douse your salad, which will be ready for transfer to your beautiful china salad plate. Your Filet Mignon will arrive seared from the grill and ready for you to finish cooking it in the oven to your desired doneness.  Your soup just needs a quick trip in a saucepot or the microwave, and its garnish will be in a tiny Ziploc container ready to excite your taste buds.  Everything has detailed instructions so you can finish the meal and arrange your beautiful masterpiece on your dishes and then simply throw all the packaging away at the end.  Easy as pie.

The menu only contains my SUPERSTAR menu items, including the most popular Salad (the Berries and Blue), the most popular Soup (Tomato Basil with Basil Aioli), and the most popular Entree (Filet Mignon with Blue Cheese Butter and Balsamic Demi Glace).  There is a nice mix of items for just about anyone- so the hardest part of your Valentine's Dinner will be deciding what to order!

You can order one course, or all Four Courses and receive 10% off your total order.  (Click on the photos to enlarge them, and if they're still to hard to see, just shoot me an email and I'll send you the PDF version.)  Below is the Order Form, which you can email back to me, or bring it by!  Or just pick up the phone and give me a shout with your order- I'm pretty easy to get in touch with.  (256)-683-8315.  Whatever you choose and however you choose to place your order, I GUARANTEE you will have a wonderful, romantic, care-free meal with the one you love most.  Hope to hear from you soon!

Click here to browse through our Facebook album with pictures of the menu items in the Valentine's Dinner-for-Two Kits!

Cheers,

The Chef Next Door

Kathryn and Steve Powers Birthday Dinner Party

Well, the minute I go belly-aching that I don't get to do as many dinner parties as I'd like, I get THREE in a month! So here is the third one.....

Kathryn Powers and her husband Steve normally do all their own cooking for their dinner parties (they even specially ordered Foie Gras for a dinner one time!), but this time, for Steve's birthday, they both just wanted to chill and enjoy the dinner without bustling around in the kitchen the whole time.  So, you guessed it...they called ME! We decided on a menu, they set the table, ordered some beautiful flower arrangements, chilled several bottles of champagne, and there you have it.  A beautiful evening was born.

Now I pride myself on being able to do fabulous events without much help.  Taylor definitely chips in on the planning and prep work and makes sure I cover all my bases, but unless I absolutely cannot MANAGE without him, I go to my catering events alone. (Makes me look like a total rockstar!! haha)  But for dinner parties, unless they are for two or four people, I really need an extra set of hands.  There's just no way around it. It doesn't look good to be trotting back and forth carrying plates to and from the table, while trying to cook the food, plate the food, take photos of the food, refill their drinks, yadda yadda yadda.  So, this time, I asked my dear, dear friend, Heather Peterson (Owner and Cake Artist of Slice at a Time Cakes) to come with me and act as my server!  She is a natural, and helped me with everything from plating to cleaning dishes to taking beautiful photographs with her PROFESSIONAL camera! So without further adue, here are the beautiful photographs of the dinner party.

The gorgeous table

Beautiful flower arrangements

First Course: 

Berries and Blue Salad with Strawberries, 

dried Cranberries, crumbled Blue Cheese, 

Sweet 'n Spicy Pecans, 

and Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette 

(everyone chooses this salad!)

 Second Course: 

Southern Shrimp and Cheddar Cheese Grits 

with sauteed Mushrooms, slivered Scallions, 

diced Tomato, crumbled Bacon, 

and a creamy Lemon pan sauce

Main Course: 

Grilled Filet Mignon and Butter-poached Lobster Tail 

with Garlic whipped Potatoes, 

flame-grilled Asparagus, 

Balsamic Demi Glace and classic Bernaise Sauce

Fourth Course: 

Vanilla Almond Panna Cotta with marinated Berries, 

Blackberry and Raspberry Couli, Chocolate Ganache, 

and Vanilla Tuiles

Every plate was licked clean, every bottle was drained, and every guest was happy and satisfied. Thanks to Heather for coming along to help, and thank you, Kathryn and Steve, for allowing me to cater this spectacular event!

Cheers,

The Chef Next Door

Intimate (SURPRISE!) Birthday Dinner for Two

As a Chef/Caterer/Teacher, just about everything I do is rewarding.  Whether I'm making a pre-made dinner for a busy lady to feed her family, teaching a young husband how to grill vegetables for his new wife, showing a child how to make Tacos, setting up in a corporate conference room to show employees that healthy cooking doesn't have to be bland, or being a part of the most important day in many people's life (their wedding day), I am never running low on satisfaction in my job.  But every once in a while, I have the incredible honor of being a part of something extra-special.  Something that stands out from the crowd, and really makes my heart sing.  On Wednesday, January 5th, I had one of those events.

Way back in the fall, I got a cold call from Markeisha Lauderdale inquiring about my catering services.  She explained that January 5th is her long-time boyfriend, Jeff's, 26th birthday, and she wanted to go all out to make his birthday one for the history books. She had an entire day planned to pamper him, and then top it off with a surprise dinner in her apartment catered by The Chef Next Door.  The day would go like this:  First, she would convert her living room into a barber shop, and have a barber come fix him up and have him looking his best.  Next, she would spin her living room into a spa, and have a professional come give him a facial, a massage, and a pedicure.  Wow, talk about being "King" for a day!  She would make it seem as the surprises were over, and they would finish off the day by going out for a nice dinner in Huntsville.  But for the grand finale, she would have Jeff come pick her up and be totally shocked when he found out that the "restaurant" was in fact her apartment, and she had a private chef making a beautiful 4-course dinner just for them.  She named the restaurant "Lanyé's"- a creative twist on Jeff's last name, Layne. And that is precisely how it went.

Markeisha and I strung twinkle lights around her living and dining room, set the table, lit many a candle, and even placed a fire pot on a side table for extra romance.  She special ordered his favorite, hard-to-find Tequila (forgive me, I don't remember the name), printed and laminated a menu for Lanyé's, chilled a bottle of Moscato, put on some Kenny G, and turned the lights down low while Chef Margaret created a dinner fit for "King Jeffrey".  They wined, they dined, and I think Markeisha has gone down as the Queen of Romance among her friends and family.  It was truly a beautiful evening- one that I am proud to have been a part of.  I think we should all take some inspiration from Markeisha and take a moment to appreciate the ones we love and do something special for them today.  A hand-written note, a sweet text message, an unexpected hug, or.....a Dinner for Two by The Chef Next Door!  What????  This is MY blog after all; I'm allowed to do a bit of shameless advertising once in a while.  ;)

Enjoy these photos from Jeff's 4-Course Birthday Dinner at "Lanyé's"!

Bringin' the romance...

Isn't she so crafty??? She even made menus!

Ms. Markeisha, ready for the birthday boy to arrive!

First Course: Berries and Blue Salad
with Strawberries, crumbled Blue Cheese,
dried Cranberries, Sweet 'n Spicy Pecans,
and Honey Dijon Balsamic Vinaigrette

Second Course: Ahi Tuna and Sockeye Salmon Tartare with Avocado Relish, Mango Salsa, Chili Oil,
Soy Reduction, and Red Hawaiian Sea Salt

Main Course: Buttermilk Fried Chicken Breast
with creamed Potatoes, flame-grilled Asparagus,
and a Spicy Honey Drizzle

Fourth Course: Chocolate Cake Napoleon
with Chantilly Cream, macerated Strawberries,
Chocolate Ganache and Strawberry Couli

The happy couple :)

Boy, do I love my job.  Thanks so much for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of such a special night, Markeisha. If any of you need to show your sweetie some extra attention, you know who to call.

Cheers,

The Chef Next Door

A Quick Christmas Catch-Up

Soooooo as you could probably guess, December has kept us over here at The Chef Next Door INSANELY busy!!  I haven't had a day off in almost a month, but I am so very thankful.  It's been incredible, and December has become the Cherry on top of the most decadent Ice Cream Sundae anybody could ever imagine.  I spent a few hours yesterday updating my client folders, and I believe I'm almost to 100......wow. Huntsville has been so good to us, and I love each and every one of my clients dearly!  There are some fun things on the horizon for 2011, so stay tuned!

Going back to December 11th, I had the opportunity to cater an incredible 4-course dinner party for Elizabeth Cooper-Golden and the agents of her realty group, @ Homes Realty.  You know, sometimes you just sort of vibe with someone naturally and get along with them instantly, and Elizabeth is that way.  From the very first phone call, I just adored her right away and couldn't wait to cater her party.  She is such a giver at heart, and had all of her agents "adopt" a family for Christmas and shower them with gifts and pizza and show these less-fortunate children a great Christmas.  THEN, she brought the agents to her home and showered THEM with gifts, in the form of a gourmet dinner with lots and lots of wine. :)  What a fantastic woman- one who I am proud to have as a client and friend.  Anyway....here are some shots of the dinner party!

The table is set, and waiting for guests. Elizabeth's daughter, Miranda, was my server for the evening!

Plated Salads

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with torn Prosciutto, crumbled Goat Cheese, and Champagne Vinaigrette

Berries and Blue Salad with dried Cranberries, 

sweet 'n spicy Pecans, crumbled Blue Cheese, 

and Honey Dijon Balsamic Vinaigrette

I plated the salads with the vinaigrettes in shot glasses.

The salads are set, the candles are lit, 

all we need now is the guests!

Second course: Shrimp and Cheesy Grits Tapas with crumbled Bacon, diced Tomato, slivered Scallions, sauteed Mushrooms, and a creamy Lemon Pan Sauce

Main Course: Pan-fried Chicken Breast with Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Orzo Pasta, 

butter-braised Artichoke hearts, shaved Parmesan, 

and a Sherry Cream Sauce

Main Course: Grilled Filet Mignon with Blue Cheese Butter, Balsamic Demi Glaze, flame-grilled Asparagus, and Garlic whipped Potatoes

Dessert Course: Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding with White Chocolate Glaze and Strawberries

Dessert Course: Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle with Chantilly Cream, Toffee Crunch, and Caramel Tuiles

Me and the happy hostess, Elizabeth Cooper-Golden!!

Fast-forward a few days later to December 16th, and another one of my most favoritest clients, Shotsie Platt, has hired me to cater the Christmas Cocktail Party for the Community Free Clinic, at which she is the hard-working director!  If you've never had the pleasure of meeting Shotsie, she is a DOLL!!  She is a very hardcore runner (she was jogging on her lunch break in 28 degree weather when I came to meet with her!!) and does a lot of great things for the community.  Besides that, she is one of the most pleasant and kind people I've ever had the pleasure of working with. I did a smaller cocktail party for Shotsie back in October, so I was so happy when she called and wanted me to do this large one for her employees.  She picked a great menu and everybody was really happy with the food!

We set up the food in her conference room so everybody could gather around and chow down! The pictures might look kind of....cheesy...with the lights on the table and what not, but the lighting in the room (minus the camera flash!) was very charming and really looked nice.

 

 My Mom's Cheesy Artichoke and Black Eyed Pea Dip....this stuff is ridiculous.  I've already had a few phone calls from ladies either A) wanting to order this for Christmas, or B) wanting the recipe!!

Chicken and Mushroom Quesadillas with Spinach, Gruyere Cheese, and Honey Mustard

Sweet 'n Sour Meatballs!

Asiago-stuffed New Potatoes.  

Everybody loves these tasty little devils.

Chicken-Bacon-Ranch Pinwheels 

with Cheddar and diced Tomato

Last but not least, another one of my Mom's famous recipes-  Tangy Two-Week Shrimp Cocktail! It literally marinates for two weeks.  Also had someone call and order this for their family. :)  Thanks, Mom!

Skip ahead two more days, to December 18th, and we're at Debbie and Kendall Black's beautiful home catering their annual Christmas Cocktail Party!  I met these two treasures while I was doing the first cooking class at The Wine Cellar back in October, and they instantly came up to me and told me they wanted me to cater their annual party in December.  They were regulars at the next class, invited me over for a glass of wine and to plan the menu, and voila! As simple as that.  Their home is GORGEOUS, and since Dr. Black is a Chef himself, the kitchen is a dream.  Counter-space galore, prep sinks built in the island, double ovens that sing to you when you press any buttons...I was in heaven.  They had 70 to 80 guests and let me tell you, it was a BLAST.  The party started at 6:30pm on the dot, and the last guests headed out the door around midnight.  That's the sign of a great party!  We even designed a special "Santa Claus Shot" for the last 15 people there, which was a huge hit. Chef Margaret even took one......but that's beside the point.  Debbie and Kendall are so much fun and I am already looking forward to doing their "Summer Party"!

 The beautiful table. If you'll notice a huge plate of meat in the middle, those are Dr. Black's famous smoked Lamb Lollipops! Apparently he marinates them for 5+ days, then smokes them for 3 hours until they are perfectly pink inside....goodness me I've never had something so delicious.

 Smart people that they are, they chose Mom's Cheesy Artichoke and Black Eyed Pea Dip!

They couldn't pass up the Bloody Mary Tomatoes floating in Peppar Vodka and Zing Zang with Celery Lime Sea Salt for dipping.

Kendall has a soft spot for Smoked Salmon Canapes with Cucumber and Dilled Cream Cheese....at one point I caught him hovering over them with a toothpick just stabbing and popping them in his mouth over and over and over.

Probably the biggest hit of the party, aside from Kendall's Lamb Lollipops: Asparagus Spirals with Cheesy Puff Pastry and homemade Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce

They made another wise choice in selecting the 

Tangy Two-Week Shrimp Cocktail

Likely the second most popular item- 

the Asiago-stuffed New Potatoes!

In case there wasn't enough food already, they selected our delicious Pork Tenderloin Sliders with Rosemary and Maple Dijon Mustard Sauce. Yum!!

Here come the "Santa Claus Shots"....Orange and Cinnamon Tequila Shots.  Forget Lime and Salt forever!! Orange and Cinnamon is the way to go.

Well, they felt that I had earned myself a shot, so it would be rude of me to decline it, right???  ;)

When all is said and done, I am completely exhausted, and just now about to head back to Birmingham to be with my family for Christmas....but it has been the greatest month of my life, and I feel so incredibly blessed to get to do what I do and meet so many fantastic people.  Some days I still can't believe I get paid to do what I love, and I wish everybody on Earth could have the satisfaction of waking up every day and being excited to do your job. It is truly a blessing and an honor to get to serve these wonderful people of Huntsville. I am SO SO SO excited for 2011- meeting all of my Groupon recipients, some dinner parties already on the books for January, two weddings in the works for the summer, and possibly a Cooking Demo space of my own????? We'll see.  But until then, I hope all my readers have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Cheers,

The Chef Next Door