I came into today with a team player mentality , since I was a class A diva the day before. With that being said, I was pretty much the utility player all day. I was assigned to the vegetable dish and was in charge of cooking string beans. Now, I like to think of myself as a string bean coinsurer after having eaten Lenora B. Smith Elementary School cafeteria food for two years every now and then and string beans were on the menu three times a week out of five. Therefore, I know what down home string beans are supposed to taste like. So, I emulated the taste today! They turned out extremely delicious. I pretty much braised them in chicken stock, shallots, garlic, salt, and pepper unlike they were nice and soft.
At the buffet, I happen to be working the line, when Chef Bauer out of the blue comes up to me and compliments me ON MY GREEN BEANS! He didn’t know I made them, well not before I started coo-ing and almost crying out of happiness, but he says, “ I want to thank you guys for cooking the green beans the right way- the French way! They weren’t raw, just perfect and seasoned perfectly!” (Little does he know that the French way and the Liberty City way have an uncanny resemblance!) Either way, I was thrilled to hear his extraordinary opinion. We also made ribs, jalapeno corn bread (which Jack and I made a MESS pouring the batter- that I almost devoured completely- into the baking pans) and macaroni and cheese. It was a busy morning and Chef John was riding on our backs to get the food out on time, which I don’t blame him. Pandora and I played room service and brought the cart around the school delivering food to the different levels and classrooms. During lunch, I helped serve the line and then after lunch I was in charge of cleaning up. Lashandra’s dreams of finally having cool-aid finally came true today because she made her very own batch of juice! It was beyond sweet- I could only take a few sips.
In the afternoon, I worked on butchering chicken for the dishes tomorrow! I am on protein and we are making tandoori chicken that we have already marinated to chill overnight.
Kisses,
Eliana