Girlfriend Time In The Kitchen

Preparing for the Culina 1 year Anniversary event was as much fun as the event itself. My girlfriends turned out to lend a hand at making food the night before. I met Debbie, Linda, Angie, Sharon, Shelly and my sister Natalie at Isabella's just before for appetizers and drinks. Props to Isabella's for bringing fried artichoke hearts to Lynchburg. I have not had any good ones since I lived in Seattle. Henry's Off Broadway (long gone) had the best artichoke hearts ever.

Debbie and Linda were in charge of the brie blueberry scones and lemon curd muffin tops. The blueberry scones turned out the be the breakfast favorites! No one could believe that they were made with Stonewall blueberry scone mix and filled with Stonewall's wild blueberry jam. The lemon curd muffin tops were made with the Barefoot Contessa vanilla cupcake mix with a dollop of lemon curd in the middle. We just cut off the bottoms the expose the lemon curd and served them upside down like little cups. After the first drawing, there were very few to package up.

Sharon and Shelly were responsible for the mozzarella pesto puffs *recipe at the end of this blog*. Those little pesto puffs held their own against the mini tenderloin biscuits. The biscuits were made from Lollipop Tree Organic biscuit mix and the pork tenderloin seasoned with Victoria's Gourmet Kansas City Steak Rub.

My sister Natalie and Angie were in charge of cookies and the cranberry, white chocolate scones (made from Lollipop Tree Cream Scone Mix). I think Natalie fired Angie because Angie left her station and decided to supervise everyone else's stations. I think she got fired off of the blueberry station as well. For some reason she could not make the scones without smashing the blueberries. We were all roaring with laughter. My poor Chef Lance Yeatman was surrounded by women that night. I felt sorry for the poor guy. I have video but it is not suited for public viewing.

I digress.

Back to Natalie's cookies. My sister makes the best, most perfect cookies of any I have ever eaten. I watched people pick up a chocolate chip...eat it and them pick up a snicker doodle...eat it then pick up a monster cookie...eat it and then pick up three monster cookies and wrap them in napkins. She could be a millionaire with those cookies. If I could convince her to bake for me, they would become a Culina staple, like our coconut cake. Which we also served that day.

Nick Hammons is back at Culina (we love Nick). Nick and I worked late into the night Wednesday making cakes. We were so tired that we just gave up on the Red Velvet. It was a Charlie Brown Christmas Cake by the time we finished playing with it - it remained out of site but the coconut cake was devoured. I LOVE THAT CAKE.

It was so much fun giving away "to go" boxes to my customers filled with goodies. They felt like they were leaving the home of a relative they had just visited. Someone actually said that to me when I handed them their boxes of food. Awe Shucks!

After the event was over it was down to business pulling the store back together. I kicked off my shoes (if I would have had my "Life is Good" flannel PJs I would have put them on) and sat down for the first time in 12 hours. The phone rang and it was one of my customers. She called to thank me for the wonderful day. She had been there for all three drawings that day. She didn't win anything but had a blast (her words). She told me that she recognized the work we must have gone through to make all the great food and to make the event special for everyone. Wow! she was thanking me just as I was going through the invitations taken at the door, nearly in tears at the turn out of dedicated, loyal customers who came out to show their support.

It was a blessed day!

Mozzarella Pesto Puffs (so easy to make and impressively aesthetic and delicious)

Three Dufor Butter Based Puff Pastry (Culina can special order for you)
Mozzarella Pearls
Ruffled Round Biscuit Cutters
Scarpetta Pesto Sauce
Precooked Bacon, Ham or Prosciutto
Finely Chopped Tomato (we used organic tomatoes from Jessica's garden)

• Cut 1lb. bacon into small strips and fry until crispy
• Gently roll out a sheet of Dufor Puff Pastry
• Cut ruffled round discs using the 2 inch biscuit cutter
• Place a 1/8 tsp dollop of pesto in the center
• Position a mozzarella pearl in the center
• Place a small square of bacon on top of the cheese
• Place a few pieces of finely chopped tomato on top
• Place another disc on top of the filling and press edges together until sealed
• Refrigerate overnight bake and serve