Our trip to Molokini was a little more than rocky. In fact, I spent more than half the trip to the island watching everyone’s equipment slide back and forth on the boat deck. I could feel my stomach churn and my skin turn cold (indications that my morning would not be a good one).

Because of the rough waters that morning, we had to take the longer route to get to the desired snorkeling spot. The captain only had one CD and it is this CD that was played over and over again. Nonstop. Now I have nothing against the American rock band, the Eagles. In fact, their Greatest Hits Volume I is (was) one of my favorite albums. But after listening for hours to this CD while feeling queasy, I had more than something to say to Mr. Glenn Frey, et al. about telling me to “Take it Easy.” I just…couldn’t…hold it in…any…longer…

While the boat was cruising along the choppy waters, the inevitable finally happened on my side of the boat. I tried to be discreet about it to the point that I tried to maintain a glamorous composure in the midst of all of it. I’m sure I looked like a complete fool. BUT afterwards, let me tell you…I felt like a new woman. I felt like I could conquer the world and eat steel. Mother Nature also decided to bless me at this point with sunshine and a warm breeze. By now, our boat had arrived at Molokini island. I took in a deep breath and stood up to go snorkeling.

At that point, however, some very ambitious (and over-excited) group of women from the boat decided they, too, were ready to go explore the deep blue. They ran over to where I was sitting and threw their (at the time) clean towels onto the side of the boat…where…I had… just…

Tom watched the events take place in horror. I shifted my eyes left and right and quickly, but silently, left the scene of the crime.

The rest of the trip was a glorious one. Tom and I swam with the tropical fish and explored the beautiful coral below the water. At lunch time, I had an absolutely ferocious appetite. Tom watched in complete amazement as I went through the lunch line and loaded my plate with all the day’s bounty. I ate like a queen. What can I say? I happily munched away on my sandwich and snuggled inside my clean beach towel as I looked out to the blue water. I guess I didn’t hear all the commotion from that one group of women on the other side of the boat…

“You can’t hide your lyin’ eyes
And your smile is a thin disguise
I thought by now you’d realize
There ain’t no way to hide your lyin eyes”

When Tom and I first got married over nine years ago, we started a tradition that has stuck with us to this day. We decided that we weren’t going to buy each other gifts for our wedding anniversaries. Instead, we would plan each other “experiences.”

Early on, I thought it would be fun if we took turns planning out the experiences. For example, I would make plans for the odd year anniversaries: first, third, fifth and so on. Tom, on the other hand, would plan for the even years. Our 10^th year anniversary is coming up in February and it’s Tom turn to make the plans. We’ve been talking for years about wanting to revisit our honeymoon spot and go back to Maui, Hawaii.

Many different visions come to mind when one thinks of Maui. From strolling the seaside streets of Lahaina to watching humpback whales from our guide boat. From the championship golf courses to the scenic road to Hana. Yep, Hawaii brings many lush and beautiful memories. But not for Tom. Or at least not the lush memories you would think he would have.

Whenever someone asks about our honeymoon to Maui, Tom turns his head and you can see a smirk form around his lips and his shoulders visibly shake as he tries to hide his laughter. No, for Tom Maui brings back memories of our unforgettable snorkeling trip to Molokini.

Molokini is a small, crescent moon-shaped island that is a State Marine Life and Bird Conservation District. It’s located three miles off of Maui’s southwestern coast. It spans over 18 acres and rises 160 feet above reef-filled waters. It is THE place for snorkeling enthusiasts. Why not I thought? I couldn’t wait to see the kaleidoscope of coral and say hi to the more than 250 species of tropical fish waiting for me.

The day of our snorkeling tour started out gray and rainy – definitely not a good sign. As the winds picked up and the water started getting rocky, I questioned whether our tour was going to get cancelled. Seeing the waves crash against the rocks and knowing my experience with motion sickness, I was second guessing my decision to go and wondered if I should have stayed back.

And I was right.

What should have been a memorable experience for all became a very memorable experience for some. Especially the some who had their towels hanging over the side of the boat where I was sitting…

There is something very innocent about children. They have a certain knack of keeping life simple, yet fresh. One wonders why we don’t pay more attention to the little ones in our lives.

My five-year old daughter has this joy that literally radiates from every inch of her being. By the way she kisses my cheek or the way she wraps her little arms around my neck just makes me want to melt. It doesn’t matter how frustrated I might be about something that may have happened. As soon as those big eyes sparkle in my direction or the way her cute smile stretches from ear to ear, I realize that everything will be just fine. My daughter’s joy is powerful. It is pure, unadulterated, saturated joy.

I wonder why we, as adults, spend so much time looking for happiness when we should be looking for joy. I learned years ago there’s a difference between being happy and being joyful. Happiness comes from happenings around us, relating to circumstances and situations whereas joy comes from within, a gift from our Creator that assures us that all is well, regardless of circumstances. 

What happens to us as we get older that seem to rob us of that same joy that children seem to exude so much of? For me, I guess it was the natural stage of parenthood. After having children, I felt like I needed to always be that responsible adult, that parent that had to have everything in control. It took me many years (and my dear friend Kathy) to take the blinders off my eyes and make me realize that although you are a parent, you don’t always have to be a parent. In a nutshell, what this meant was that it’s okay to remove my parental mask in order to get down to the child-like level of my children. It means that not only is it okay to leave the dirty dishes on the counter so I can chase my kids around the house, but sometimes it’s necessary to do so.

Recently I took my daughter to the Children’s Museum. We’ve had a membership there for years and have visited many times. However, no matter how many times we’ve been to this museum, every time my daughter gets to an exhibit, she acts like it’s her first time seeing this exhibit. I watch in amazement as she crawls into the tortoise shell and pretends that she’s a turtle. Or how about the way she carefully paints a flower or rainbow on her cheek with face paint? She’s done it more than a dozen times. But each time, however, it’s like it was her first.

As we left the museum that day, I watched with a full heart the way my daughter skipped down the corridor to the parking ramp where our car was waiting. I silently pleaded with her to never grow up, to always be like this, to always have this joy. Then I remembered that I didn’t have to watch from the sidelines. I can take off my parental mask and share in my daughter’s exuberance. I am proud to say I did just that. We held hands and skipped all the way to the parking lot, giggling out loud to anyone and everyone who cared to hear. After all, those dirty dishes can wait.

I don’t get it. I really don’t. Please try to explain it to me. I get many restaurant recommendations from many people – whether it’s a local restaurant or somewhere on the East or West Coast. When I make what I feel is a worthwhile recommendation, half of the time I will get one of two results. Either the person doesn’t take my recommendation or worse yet, the person will actually scoff at the recommendation based on some kind of ill rationalization.

Awhile back, I received a restaurant request. I gave this person the name of a new, but reputable restaurant. The person looked at the website and scoffed at the fact that the restaurant had macaroni and cheese on the menu. They couldn’t possibly bring their guests to a restaurant that served a dish like that. Out of curiosity, I looked at the website to see what the fuss was about. The mac and cheese in question was a dish that consisted of not only macaroni and cheese (as the name correctly implies), but king crab, tallegio cheese and black truffles. This is what the fuss is about? I can’t imagine a better flavor combination than these three ingredients. We’re simply talking about Heaven on Earth. I think people get so consumed with the name of a dish that they forget to look beyond the name and see what that dish is REALLY about.

One of the most famous paintings in the world is the Mona Lisa. This is a 16^th-century oil portrait painted by Leonardo da Vinci during the Renaissance in Florence, Italy. The portrait is currently on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. The portrait depicts a seated woman (arguably known as Lisa del Giocondo) whose famous facial expression is described as enigmatic or puzzling, if you will.

The first time I saw the Mona Lisa was when I was 19 during my first trip to Paris. In front of the famous Mona was a velvet rope that kept visitors from getting too close to the painting. There was an armed guard standing nearby and a sign with a warning written in French. Basically it said that if you took photos of the famous portrait, your camera would be not only be confiscated, but would be broken (more than likely by the armed guard standing nearby). Since then, the sign has been taken down and there is… friendlier…protection around the Mona.

Today, you can find all sorts of imitations of the Mona Lisa – good, bad and otherwise. How is this possible? An artists’ work is usually copyrighted, right? Meaning an artist (other than the original) must have permission to publish someone else’s work. However, some artwork, like the Mona, is in the public domain, which means it can be recreated according to that artist’s perspective and interpretation. This is not unlike the culinary world. 

Do you have any idea how many versions of macaroni and cheese there is out there? And to think that each version will have its own flavor, its own flair, compared to that of the original. But to automatically think that the dish can’t possibly taste good because it’s mac and cheese is nothing short of limiting oneself to one’s lack of culinary creativity.

Loyal readers, if there’s one thing that I can impress upon you is this: Don’t judge something by its cover. If you do, you might miss out on something that the artist (or the chef) is trying to share with you: something that could truly be special.

Many people know that I’m a lover of famed Chef Thomas Keller. Although I have not succeeded in securing a reservation at his famous restaurant, The French Laundry, I have nailed a number of the recipes from his cookbook, The French Laundry Cookbook.  Having said that, not all of these recipes have been easy conquests.

Genuinely when I tackle a new recipe, I allow myself about 1 ½ hours from start to finish to get the job done. MAYBE 2 hours if the recipe is a little more laborious. Well, I recently met my match with a recipe from Chef Keller.

Recently, I saw something in The French Laundry Cookbook that sounded delicious and I thought it would be an easy task for a mid-week meal. Not only should I have known better, but I should have read the recipe in advance – far in advance – to prepare me for what was about to come.

“Pot-au-Feu” was my recipe of the day. Pot-au-feu is a French beef stew that uses low-cost cuts of beef that need long cooking time. Generally, there is some kind of cartilaginous meat, such as oxtail or bone marrow involved.

Let me tell you…never have I been so frustrated with a recipe. Not only did it take me longer than my usual allotted time of 1 ½-2 hours for a new recipe (it took me a series of THREE days to cook this darn meal!!), but every step of the way was met with a challenge or two. If you’ve ever cooked a Thomas Keller recipe, you’ll know what I’m talking about. You see, the recipe, in and of itself, is not a stand-alone recipe. Each recipe has 1-2 recipes within the original recipe. That’s right. Before you can complete the dish, you usually have to make 1-2 other recipes before you can even complete the meal. And if that isn’t time-consuming enough, it’s a challenge just to find some of his ingredients. Hello! Most people wouldn’t know where to find gray salt and what the heck is caul fat??

Not only did I think that I could complete this recipe within two hours during the week, I even made the mistake of thinking that maybe my Tom could make the dish for us as a family dinner. I approached him one night and said that because I’m a little tired, would he mind making dinner? Tom is always a little hesitant about making dinner because he knows that I’m not just asking him to cook hotdogs on the grill. One time I asked him to make a recipe from my Le Bernardin cookbook. Not only did Tom choke, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a take-out menu taken out so fast.

So, by the time I actually got done tackling the “Pot-au-Feu” recipe, I realized the reason for the wait, the reason for the long delay. You see, there is something to be said about nurturing your passion. When you take short cuts, you will, inevitably, have shortfalls. However, when you take the time to nurture something, especially something you really love doing; you will end up with something truly amazing. And that’s what I found with my Pot-au-Feu.

As the New Year nears, it’s time for all of us to reflect on 2010.  For me personally, it’s been such a crazy year.  But despite it all, it turned out to be pretty darn good.  As I reflect, I thought I’d do the Best Of for 2010.  After all, how could we start the New Year without reflecting on the beauty of the old? 

Without further ado, I give you my Top 5 Best of Memories for 2010…

5.   Green Mangos Catering had its best year yet!  We thank each of our clients for their patronage and entrusting us with their special events.  From the corporate parties to the intimate weddings, we have been honored to be a part of your day.

4.  Tom’s surprise 40^th Birthday celebration.  After almost 9 months of planning, we celebrated Tom’s big birthday bash with a hot-air balloon ride.  The weather was perfect and the view over the St. Croix Valley was sensational.  Words cannot describe the feeling I felt as I stood next to my best friend while floating with the wind. 

 3.   Auditioning for the Food Network.  After hearing about our catering business, I was approached by a television producer to audition for the host role for a new cooking series.  After auditioning with 85 other chefs, multiple cooking demonstrations and many interviews, I made it to the Final Four.  Alas, although my time has not yet come for cooking on national T.V., the opportunity is something I will not soon forget. And maybe someday, just maybe, you’ll see me cracking crazy jokes while cracking fresh farm eggs on the Food Channel.

2.   Putting our home on the market.  After years of talking and wishing, Tom and I decided to seek new residence.  I will now admit that it was a bit of a scary process.  We definitely saw our ups and downs throughout it all.  However, now that we’re settled and I look around at our new home, I know that it was the right choice.  I look forward to seeing what new memories will be created.

 And the number one memory for me in 2010?  What else?

 1.   The many special experiences I shared with Tom and the kids.  From feeding donuts to the seagulls in Duluth (I don’t think we were supposed to do that…) to being bit by nasty bugs at the apartment pool to experiencing our first Christmas together in our new home, I will always cherish each and every memory that I experience with my family.  Thank you for yet another wonderful year.  

 And to the rest of you, my loyal readers, HAPPY NEW YEAR!  May 2011 bring you much peace and joy!

Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot and days of Auld Lang Syne.
For Auld Lang Syne, my friend, for Auld Lang Syne.
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet for days of Auld Lang Syne.

 

With Thanksgiving here, I always like to reflect on what I have to be thankful for.  I think of my faith, my family, our friends, our health, Tom’s job, our business, and the list goes on.  Probably the biggest thing on my mind this time of year is how blessed we truly are.

Everyone handles this time of year differently.  Some look forward to having a meal with family.  Some look forward to the infamous “Black Friday” to jump start their Christmas shopping.  Others just see it as time off from work or school.  But how often do we reflect on the blessings in our lives?

Tom and I had a pretty stressful year with the move, the apartment, Tom’s job, etc.  But he brought up a good point that I absolutely cannot argue with.  Our problems are virtually non-existent compared to those around us.

We recently went to dinner with some friends.  During the course of the evening, we found out that they’re going through some financial hardship.  In addition, they’re also taking care of her mom.  As I’m talking to the wife about what they’re going through, I never once heard a hint of resentment in her voice.  There was no anger, no pity, no wishing for this or that.  Despite what they’re going through, they’re still able to find joy in their lives.  The wife puts it in a way that summed up what I feel this season is all about “Yes, we’re broke and we’ve maxed our credit to get by, but we’re thankful because we have everything we need.”

We have everything we need.

Those words resonated with me.  How can I hear about what they’re going through (as well as others around us) and feel like I’m lacking anything?  I was immediately humbled.

Tom and I had an early Thanksgiving last weekend with my side of the family and tomorrow, we’re going to spend Thanksgiving with his family.  Just the thought that we have family to spend time with is a blessing because I know this is not a luxury that everyone may have. 

As ironic as it may sound, Thanksgiving is one of the few times where food doesn’t become the center of my focus.  Turkey?  Dressing?  Potatoes?  Big deal.  I can make that anytime.  No, during this time of year, I try to reflect on what I have, versus what I don’t have.  And when I look around me, I realize that Tom and I have a lot.

In fact, we have everything we need

We have recently moved into our new house. As I sit here and write, my mind constantly gets distracted by my bookcase of recipe books sitting five feet next to me. I’m not sure what was the cause (or better yet, what was the breaking point), but my desire to take my cooking to new elevations has skyrocketed. I like to blame it on the stove in our old apartment.

When Tom and I were looking for temporary housing, I did not consider whatsoever what kind of kitchen our apartment would need to have. In fact, I didn’t care. In my opinion, a great cook can cook out of a shoebox, if need be. Hence, my deciding factors on where to live focused more on location, apartment size, and of course, let’s not forget cost. If only I knew how much motivation my cooking would lack, I may have considered something different. I suppose in some ways, I felt flat on a culinary level.

The kitchen we ended up getting appeared, on the surface, sufficient enough. Granted, it was an electric stove with coils and all, but it worked. I suppose the thing that stood out most for me in that kitchen was the granite center island. It made the room look more, I suppose, “contemporary.” It didn’t take me long to figure out that contemporary look would not have enough “oomph” to keep my culinary hunger sustained. Over the course of the six months in our apartment, I felt (and I know Tom sure did) my culinary cuisines somewhat lacking. Sure, there were some great adventures here and there but not nearly to the level it can be. I was waiting until the day I could use my stove in our new house.

We decided on the Blue Star 36” Pro-Style gas range . This range has everything I needed: cast iron porcelain-enameled top burners with up to 22,000 BTUs, a gentle 130°F simmer burner as well as a convection oven that can hold full-size sheet pans. I lovingly named my new range Charlie.

However, day after day of packing, moving and then unpacking again left me with little energy to order take out, let alone getting to know Charlie. Every time I walked past my kitchen, I felt a sense of guilt as I saw Charlie staring at me with that chocolate brown face of his. (Did I mention that Blue Star ranges come in 190 color options?) I knew it would take a special meal to make up for this lack of attention I was giving to my culinary art.

And then it happened.

I was on my way to the grocery store to do some much needed grocery shopping. As I turned out of the driveway, I noticed some of our new neighbors lining up what appeared to be plastic duck decoys on a boat. As I looked closer, I realized those were not decoys, but freshly shot ducks from a hunting trip in North Dakota. I got out of the car and went to take a closer look. I was in awe as I watched the men quickly and efficiently clean the ducks. When one of them offered me some fresh duck breasts, I knew my eyes lit up.

The next night I decided to prep the duck breasts for dinner. While carefully plucking away the remaining feathers, deboning the breast, making an Asian dry rub and then a honey-chile glaze, I felt right in my element. As the duck breasts sizzled on Charlie’s burners, I suddenly felt alive again…

Our current generation is so much more advanced that I could ever imagine. Everything is digital, electronic, and basically…instantaneous. There are cell phones that are actually mini computers. And who needs a physical office when you can do just about everything on the portable IPAD that has (almost) replaced the laptop?

The things that are available today just boggle my mind. And with the touch of a couple of buttons, you can download just about every application under the sun. Just yesterday, I heard of a new app called Google Goggles. Have you heard of this? In my mind, I envisioned little mini binocular-like goggles that attaches to your phone. I wasn’t too far off. You see, with Google Goggles, you can use pictures to prompt a search vs. text or vocal input. When you take a photo using Goggles, the app scans the image, matches your picture against some sort of database and returns the results.

Let’s say you’re in Paris and come across the Eiffel Tower. You wonder to yourself “What is THAT?” (as if that would really happen because who wouldn’t recognize the Eiffel Tower, but for the sake of this conversation, let’s say it happens). You can take a picture of the Tower and Goggles will come back, telling you just about everything you want to know about this famous landmark. What about restaurants? Can’t read Italian? No worries. Take a photo of the Italian menu and let Goggles translate it for you.

I can see my kids getting wrapped up with all this technology stuff. It’s already started. My kids (especially my 6 year-old son) are very proficient when it comes to anything electronic or computerized. We have to constantly keep our computer locked because if we don’t, we’ll find all sorts of things downloaded. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I sometimes have a hard time keeping up and have to ask my son how he did this or that.

Take video games, for example. My son knows that if he wants to play Xbox, he needs to wait until dad gets home because mom doesn’t always know how to set up the system (or maybe it’s intentional so he won’t play so much video games…). I’m always trying to get my son to entertain himself with something that’s not always computerized. I bought classic board games like Connect Four and Trouble to take my kids back to a time when computers were non-existent. Unfortunately, Connect Four isn’t as exciting as Halo and you can’t shoot anyone playing Trouble.

I guess I can’t blame my kids for playing video games. There was a time when I was the Queen of Video Games and having the high score was nothing new. When I was pregnant with my son, Tom would come home from work and catch me having played Xbox’s Pac Man World for hours. I would play for so long that my eyes were dry and my thumbs had calluses. And Tom and I would argue over who got which controller because one would always stick.

Oh well. I guess if I want to keep up with the times and be relevant in today’s society, I better play the game, so to speak. In fact, I’m already secretly eyeing the Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged game. Like they say, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. This time, however, I plan on having eye drops sitting next to me and will do thumb exercises to strengthen my fingers…

Every fine dining restaurant (especially if it’s French) has a Maître d’.  What EXACTLY is a Maître d’, you may ask?  And what is his or her role?  The Maître d’ is short for Maître d’hôtel, a French translation for “master of the hotel.”  Whereas in a small restaurant where you would see a host or hostess, in a more elegant setting, you would see a Maître d’.  For simplified purposes (and the fact that I’m tired of copying/pasting the word), let’s just call this position MD.

The MD is responsible for the overall dining experience.  This includes, but is not limited to, managing the wait staff, assigning sections, and dealing with any customer issues.  He or she serves as the liaison between the kitchen and the dining room and makes sure that everything is running well.  Because I am the Queen of analogies, let me explain it to you this way:

In any successful company, you have many parts that make up the body.  I am the face and the voice of Green Mangos Catering.  I am the person you’ll see when you look at our website and the person you’ll talk to when you call to discuss an event.  Our staff (culinary and wait staff) are the limbs.  They assist in the production and execution of the event.  Tom, however, is the heart of our company.  Similar to the actual bodily organ itself, you don’t necessarily see it, but you definitely can feel it and you know it exists.  And if it doesn’t exist, neither would the living body. 

Tom is my “Front of House” manager.  He is the Maître d’, if you will.  I never realized how important this position is, until recently.  At each and every event, you will see Tom work a room.  You’ll see him do it in such a way that will make the event seem flawless.  He will make sure your food is the right temperature.  He will make sure the servers will flow out like butter melting from a pan.  And IF he perceives there may possibly be an issue forthcoming, he is all over the situation before anyone will know that one might even exist. 

My favorite thing to tease Tom about is the fact that you will, more often than not, see him schmoozing with the client and the guests at some point through the night.  Don’t get me wrong.  Tom is the first person who will wipe up a spill or pick up broken glass due to a guest who may have had one too many cocktails (things that I feel he should not be doing and should be delegating…), but he’s not above doing any of these tasks.  Besides, when he does schmooze, it usually brings us future bookings.  Bottom line, my MD does what he has to do to ensure we cater a successful event and I love him for it.

However, Tom is not Superman and he has his limitations.  Currently, he has a full-time job and has demands that may not always allow him to have excessive energy to cater an event at the end of a long day.  In an effort to maximize his resources and what he has to offer, we’ve decided to back him off of weekday events.

I’ve catered a number of events now without Tom and I’ll tell you one thing.  Although those Tom-less events are still very successful, they lack the spark that is usually accompanied when Tom is actually working an event.  You won’t notice it on the floor because we have an excellent staff that helps me keep everything running smoothly.  The service will still appear seamless to the client and the guests.  But I know it and I feel it in my heart.  So now when Tom is able to work with me at events, I feel privileged.  I no longer laugh outwardly when I see him schmooze with the clients (although I might smile from within).  I just know that he’s doing his job.