Browned Butter Pumpkin Soup

My first recipe contribution to this blog is ridiculously simple and also fantastic.  Just as promised, this post contains pumpkin and is out of season.

I have a love for all things pumpkin, and it is well known in my family.  They mocked my look of delight late last year when pumpkin started hitting the shelves, and thought it funny when they hid a can of pumpkin in my Christmas stocking.  I live in south Florida, where access to fresh pumpkin is limited, so often the canned stuff is easier and all I have to come by.  Surprisingly enough, I found myself with a surplus by the time Thanksgiving and Christmas were through.

It was also around this time that I came down with a horrible toothache, and was only willing to eat soft foods.  (The tooth has since been pulled.) So while my family enjoyed sandwiches on crusty bread for dinner, I decided to make use of one of my pumpkin cans.

 Browned Butter Pumpkin Soup

Serves 2-4 

2 T butter

1 clove garlic, minced

½ medium yellow onion, small diced

1 16 oz can pumpkin puree

1 16 oz can chicken stock

Salt and pepper

Melt butter in the bottom of a medium saucepan.  Add onions and garlic, keep heat on high and stir frequently.  After a few minutes the butter will turn brown, and the garlic and onions will be well caramelized.

Add the pumpkin puree and stock, reduce heat to medium high until the mix is hot.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

You can strain the soup here, or run it through a blender to smooth out the chunks of onion and garlic.  I chose not to and the soup was still tasty.

Opinion: Employer Relations

I've been planning to write this for a long time now, but recent events have finally pushed me to do so.

Any employment situation should be win-win.  Both the employer and employee should be getting something out of the agreement.  The employer has someone to do work and carry the load to help out a team.  The employee gets pay and work experience that will help him in years to come.

In my experience, it seems that a lot of employers forget it isn't all about them.  Perhaps with the recession and so many people looking for a job, it's forgotten that good help isn't as replaceable as they think.  But if your employee finds that they aren't going to benefit from working for you, they'll be gone at the first opportunity.

While in college I've had my share of absentee bosses.  They would hire me, train me, and then spend days at a time being anywhere but the place of business, leaving me (and occasionally others) to run the place in their absence.  The work wasn't hard, but it was frustrating to try and keep up with the demand with no help.  Even if I did the best I could, my bosses would balk at having to come in and help when things were busy.

I couldn't learn from jobs like this, because I was stuck on the front lines helping customers.  The only thing I learned how to do was run in a cramped space.  So when I saw the writing on the wall, I didn't look back.

Recently I had the opportunity to speak with an employer in this area about a weekend job.  One of the first things he brought up, and would not negotiate on, was that I sign a non-compete agreement prior to working.  This, on its own, is understandable.  I wouldn't mind doing that as long as I knew that the job I would be taking is beneficial.  I want to get a cake decorating business of my own off the ground someday, and could use the experience.  So I told him that I would think about it, and ask him more about the workplace.  He didn't answer my questions and went back to stressing the non-compete.

What's wrong with this picture?  While it's perfectly acceptable to want to cover your ass legally, if you're not going to negotiate the terms of the agreement you should at least work to convince a prospective employee that signing their name will help them in the long run.  Owning a business willing to hire them isn't enough.  I don't care how bad the recession is, nobody will be willing to shoot themselves in the foot for minimum wage and a poor work environment.

When I graduated, I made a promise to myself not to allow an employer to take advantage of my skills.  To make sure that any job I take will benefit me as well as my employer.  It's important for employers to step back and think of what they're offering to their employees, and not always the other way around.

Advertising, and its Difficulty.

Anyone who reads this should know about my fledgling company, 17th Street Cakes.  I've sold a few cakes through here, given out some goods and promoted it a bit to the outside world.  As I'd expected, advertising is the hardest part.

I started out with a Facebook page and put a few dollars toward advertising credits.  Those few dollars became even more when I noticed how many people were looking at the ads and finding that page.  I got a $50 ad credit from Facebook, and put that toward more ads.  Before I knew it, my credit ran out and I spent about $50 more on more ads before I pulled the plug.

What I found was disappointing.  The ads drove traffic to my page, but nobody was participating.  Nobody put in an order with me.  They only liked the page and moved on.  I decided to run a few promotions, in which the nth person to "Like" would receive a free box of cookies.  Again, I got more and more likes but no participation.  One winner never managed to see my messages asking her to step up and claim her prize, and because her privacy settings prevented me from messaging her directly, she lost her chance.  I'm sure very few actually saw my page, but instead clicked the link on the ad and moved on to play Farmville.  (Or is Farmville out of style now?)

Lesson learned:  Facebook does not work.  It might for established businesses, but not for someone like me.  Nobody has the attention span for it.

I'm pursuing another avenue.  My job at an insurance agency puts me in touch with a lot of people who have parties.  Especially a few of my coworkers.  I plan on using these connections to get my name out there.  It's going well so far.  I made a birthday cake for my boss, based on Butterfinger candy.  The restaurant where he went for dinner was so impressed with the end result that they wanted my contact information.  I've got a few more orders under my belt from coworkers.  And finally, the agency is sponsoring their first-ever kid's fishing tournament, and I will be one of the sponsors.  It'll be a small contribution based on what I can afford to donate, but there will be cake pops at the event.

My calendar's filling up slowly but surely with orders.  Some pro-bono, some paid.  Let's see how this goes.

ACF National Convention + Cake + Nightlife

I've been terribly neglectful, I realize.  But it wasn't as if I had nothing to write about.  There have been a few developments.  I think I've just been subconsciously avoiding the topic.

To be honest, I felt for a while like I was losing my identity as a chef.  I graduated, I moved back home, and I missed any chances of finding employment in my field.  I got a job in an office, and remembered how draining office work can be.  After realizing how dry the job pool is here and now, I gave up looking for the time being.  Despite my education I started to see myself more as a receptionist than a pastry chef.  That wasn't where I wanted to be.

This was the main reason why, when I saw that the ACF National Convention was being held in Orlando this year, I jumped at the opportunity to go.  It's been expensive staying here for the weekend, but I think it's worth it.  I got the validation I'd somehow lost and needed back.  I've been surrounded by people who have been in my situation and encouraged me to keep swimming.  I saw my former instructors, who remembered me fondly.  This is exactly what I needed.

So excuse me for a moment while I make my way to the top floor of this hotel.  I need to get to the rooftop and shout:  "I am a chef!"

Well, that was cheesy.  But you get the idea.

So when I get back home tonight, I'm going to start looking for restaurant jobs again.  I can't start too soon.  I'm going to practice my skills more.  I'm going to take on more cake orders, promote myself and be proud of what I've accomplished.

Speaking of orders, I have a small side business that I've been running for some time, since I moved back home.  I specialize in birthday cakes and, apparently, cookie giveaways.  Check out the website and follow the Facebook page:  http://17thstreetcakes.com/  I've got a couple of orders for the near future, and always looking for more.

And as I've said, I have plenty more to write about.  Both for here and for Pussy Whipped Magazine.  The magazine's been dead for some time.  I'm determined to put some life back into it with what I have coming up.  So stay tuned.

Freelance & Reformatting

I've made it a sort of quiet announcement until now, but I am one of the writers of the newly launched Pussy Whipped Magazine. Created as an homage to the webcomic Girls With Slingshots, it aims to be an entertainment guide for places all around the world. So far, we have reviews on places in south Florida, Akron, Amsterdam, and Bratislava. Guess which of those posts are mine?

This brings me to my decision to reformat this blog. Pussy Whipped Magazine, along with the fact that I no longer live in Fort Lauderdale, would put me in an awkward position if I decided to continue writing restaurant reviews here. What would I write for this blog, and what would I write for PWM? So I have arrived at this decision: I have a few more Fort Lauderdale reviews planned to write, and they will go to PWM. Once they're done, I'll move on to the Treasure Coast area.

As for this blog, I'll continue to post opinion pieces such as I've written here. I have a few of those planned and one will pop up within the next few days. I'm also going to post new recipes and tutorials in the future, Once I'm unpacked and settled in. A lot of my kitchen tools and cookbooks are still packed up in boxes. More posts to come!

Tap & Cork

It was complete accident that I stumbled across this place. Whether it's a happy accident or not remains to be seen. On my night off I decided to take a trip down to the Riverfront when I found Tap & Cork. A beer, wine, and sake bar sounded intriguing, certainly nothing I've seen in this down before. I finished off my coffee and went inside.

Three staff members were on the bar for (if my poor memory serves me well) about six or seven people. One of them, a young man with a short ponytail and sagging pants, greeted me in a monotone voice and asked me what I would like to drink.

"Umm, can I get a menu?" I asked him.

He then explained that they didn't have menus to give out, because they just opened. This is no excuse! The owner should have seen to it that a bar menu was printed out and available so that customers can know what they want to order or try. Instead, they've apparently decided to display all 50 varieties of beer and wine in stock on the wall and in glass-doored coolers. I was hoping this meant the staff members were knowledgeable about what they had in stock, so I asked about their sake selections.

I was wrong.

The bartender chewed on that question for half a second before running to fetch his colleague on the other side of the bar. Thankfully, this man had much more personality and his pants were secured at a decent height. He rattled off a rather limited selection of sake and poured a shot of Ty-ku Black for $6.

To be fair, this is a bar for sake bombs. They probably don't expect to get a lot of orders for straight sake. This still does not excuse them from being able to do so. Would it have been hard for Mr. Saggy Pants to pour me a shot of the sake in one of their refrigerators? I think not.

A group of three next to me were being served sake bombs by a tattooed female bartender who moved slower than a frozen turtle. Granted, it must take some concentration to balance cups of sake on those chopsticks, but her other movements should have been more efficient. She also spend a lot of time touching, flipping, and playing with her hair. Anyone with any training in the food & beverage business should know that this is a bad idea.

At least I liked the sake. It wasn't as sweet as what I've tried before, and I'll probably never buy that brand again due to the expense, but it was a good drink. I then ordered a shot of Gekkeikan sake. The friendly bartender explained to me had almost twice the alcohol content as Ty-ku (24% compared to 14%), and that it was rumored that the production of Gekkeikan involved vodka, but the company kept a tight lid on the real process. True to expectation, this shot tasted stronger than the last, but still had the sweeter finish that I had come to expect. Again, nice sake, but would be hesitant to buy again.

My check came out to $12 even. I tried to leave a $2 tip for the friendly bartender, but unfortunately Mr. Saggy Pants picked it up as I was walking out the door. His farewell was just as enthusiastic.

I tried to do my homework upon arriving back to my dorm room, but there is almost no information about this bar. This can only partly be explained by the fact that it's brand spanking new, as the owner can't be let off the hook. I was hoping for a company website or something.

No such luck, but I did manage to find two articles past promising that the place would be coming "soon." The problem? One of them from The New Times sets a grand opening in mid-November, which I can safely say did not happen. The other, from FTL Collective, makes a similar "Coming Soon!" announcement in late June of last year, but no date was set.

I loved the idea of Tap & Cork. I thought it could have been a pretty awesome place to hang out. Unfortunately, I have a strong impression that the staff just isn't trying hard enough. No menu in sight, no company website, and finding an address or phone number on Google was like pulling eye-teeth. Doesn't the owner want people to come to his bar? The first step is to let people know that it exists and is open, and providing them with important information such as what you serve. Being "new" is no reason not to work hard toward this goal. If anything, you should be working harder.

If the owner takes the time to promote his business more, set up a website and menu, and train or replace his employees, I can see this turning into something great. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening in the short time I have left in town. I won't be coming back.

Dapur

I should not be allowed to keep my Livingsocial or Groupon accounts. Not because I buy too many coupons, but because I buy too many coupons and forget to redeem them until they expire. I'm trying to break myself of that habit now, because as this post on my main blog describes, my time in this town is limited and running out fast. Dapur is located just up the street from where I am now, walking distance away. I had little excuse not to go, if I even wanted to make one up.

Dapur is located in the corner of a small strip mall, and I got the impression that it was a cramped, tiny place. Not surprising for a small plate concept. But the building turned out to be much more spacious than I thought. Far from being crowded, the staff could actually get away with putting in more tables. I still imagine the kitchen to be tiny.

The hostess was friendly and bubbly, complimenting my old blouse as I walked in the door. I don't know if this says more about my fashion sense or her skills of sugarcoating, but I found my way to the bar area and found a seat. Again, this side of the establishment looked almost barren, even with the couches and tall tables surrounding the bar. At the back of the room was a large wooden door and a skinny strip of stage, as if set up for some kind of shows, but nothing happened.

The server was friendly and attentive despite there already being a handful of guests seated there. The couple sitting next to me had already gone through two or three plates. I needed a minute to look through the menus, full of unfamiliar and interesting things.

I first decided on a coconut caipiroska, and had a hard time pronouncing that order to the bartender. It was a mix of coconut vodka, lime juice, and cane syrup. I probably still can't be trusted to say it properly, but the drink was tasty.

More time was needed to look through food orders, but my eyes kept settling on the miso cod. For some reason I expected the serving to be bigger, but hey. I was in a tapas restaurant.

I had a slip of the tongue and ordered miso salmon instead. By now I was sure I had made a fool of myself. Though the little bit of cod was delicious, I think I liked the miso-honey sauce best. Unfortunately, chopsticks are not suited for scooping bits of sauce off of a plate.

This was also my first time trying baby ginger. I'm a big fan of ginger and have been known to eat the pickled ginger straight from a serving of sushi. Pickled baby ginger has a similar flavor, but somewhat brighter.

Not done with my miso fix yet, I ordered a bowl of miso soup. There was nothing extraordinary about it, just a good bowl of soup. I then realized how long it'd been since I had some, and made a note in my mind to find out how to make some at home.

I had to pay sales tax according to the terms of my Groupon, which was fine. I did get a chuckle out of the fact that the bartender put me down as GIRL in the POS system. I'm not sure why it was funny then. Maybe the caipiroska got to me.

Bartender got a $5 tip. I'd recommend going back for lunch, but unless you have money to burn (as I usually don't) or order from the large plate menu, the food you would get is unsatisfying for dinner.