Strawberries and Balsamic

I think I may have came close to having a panic attack today. I got off the subway at Lexington and 53rd, and for a split second wondered what it would be like to just walk away from everything. anything just to not have to begin something new and in all probability hopelessly challenging. But I continued on, one block north, and 2 long avenue blocks west. And when I got to Oceana, I didn't hesitate. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the other extern, who had just started when I went at the end of January to trail, remembered me. Her name is Rachel. Yes, yet another Rachel in my life. Not that I'm complaining. Rachel was very nice, giving me pointers on how to get along well and not get yelled at while she trained me on the station that I will soon be taking over.

I will be in charge of the Amuse Buche station. That's pronounced: aah-mooos boo-sh. Basically, in pretty much all very fine restaurants, there is an option called a tasting menu. There may even be more than one, say an all pasta or all vegetarian. These consist of several courses, with smaller portions to make up for the greater number of dishes. The menu is pre-set, meaning that you don't choose an appetizer and then an entree and then dessert, you just choose the whole menu. At many of these restaurants, the chef sends out a little something before you even order, something to awaken and tease your tastebuds. Everyone gets the exact same thing, it costs nothing and is not found on any menu. This is the amuse buche. This is what I do.

Oh, and my previous estimate of my hours is fairly off. Today I got to work at 11:30 and we were fairly slow, so we left at about 11pm. Tomorrow, I'm getting to work at 11 and will probably not get out until midnight. Rachel said that she would often get in at 10:30 or earlier in the beginning to make sure she got all of her prep done before service. That's pretty much our only factor to consider when deciding when to come in. As long as we are completely ready for service on time, we can come in whenever.

The food I'm making is pretty cool. They just changed the amuse buche station last week, I guess, so it's still in the early stages. I'm pretty pumped about that though because while that means that no one has done this before and therefore can't help me by telling me the best way to do things, it will give me the opportunity to imput some of my own ideas and thoughts into how the whole process works. Basically, I'm making a chilled cucumber and celery soup. It may sound weird, but we really only serve a shot-glass full of it, and it's actually quite cool and refreshing. I think it'll really be great on those oppressively hot summer days. I'm also making a tomato raite (don't ask me how to pronounce it, I'm still not sure). This is basically a sort of chutney, made with yogurt, tomato, daikon (a sweet chinese radish, all white), jalapenos (although it's really not hot), cilantro, mint (maybe Grandma Woods can make this with Grandpa's bumper mint crops) and cumin. It's really quite tasty. Also very refreshing.

In addition to those everyday dishes, I also have to do any hor'd oeurves for any parties that we may have. And we seem to have a lot of them. So, I'm responsible for about 4-5 different dishes or components a day. Which is why I have to work so much.

Well, I'm sure I won't be writing quite this much everyday. But hopefully now everyone has an idea of what it is that I'm doing out here. Oh, and check out the website if you'd like to learn more about Oceana at http://www.oceanarestaurant.com.

My love to everybody! Thanks so much for the comments, I love reading them, and if someone could get a copy of these to Grandma Woods, that would really rock, as I don't know if she is able to check her email.

Sara