Work It, Girl!

Well, I got a j-o-b. It even involves food. Go figure. I interviewed last Wednesday for a brand-new Super Suppers franchise opening up, and I was accepted. In case you want to know more, check it out: Super Suppers .

The basic premise is that you make an appointment for a session time, show up, and everything you need to prepare 6 or 12 meals is prepped and ready for you to package up and take on your merry way. The concept sounds great, especially if you are stretched thin on time...it's basically the same sort of principle as the personal chef gig except I come to you and cook. What I'm hoping to gain is some experience in how to package and freeze foods. Me thinks this will dovetail quite nicely with the larger game plan.

The best part of this? I don't have to give up the DVR! We were looking at more ways to cut corners and The Man mentioned getting rid of the DVR...I lurve me the DVR because it's about the only way I get to see 24, Lost, and my girl Veronica Mars anymore. I'm usually studying during primetime and then it's off to bed before I have to get up at the ass crack of dawn, and I need my Jack Bauer fix!

Yesterday, I did a little catering gig for a new business ribbon cutting at the local Chamber of Commerce. I should have printed up some business cards, but I didn't have time...dummy on me. It went very well, and I got many compliments on the food. I only had one panic attack that I wouldn't have enough food, because there was a really good turnout of folks--more than were expected to show.

The Man did buy me a domain name, and I have a website now. Nothing fancy; more of a placeholder until I can get the business really going; check it out: eatdrinkbymary.com.
I know, no big whoop, but we're working on it.

In Wednesday's class, we made some derivative sauces from all those mother sauces we made on Monday. Chef told us the history behind putanesca sauce ("whore's sauce"), which was highly entertaining...especially when he's making veiled references as to what the anchovy stands for and wiggling his eyebrows.

Dimmer Switch is my teammate in this class, and our clean up duties were washing pots and pans, which she can't do because of her hand. Of course, this would be the day I have the job interview, and the owner said it was okay to come in my chef whites...she probably didn't mean come in my nasty, sauce spattered, used-to-be-white chef's whites, but I guess that's how it goes. I managed to keep fairly clean while washing up and also managed not to kill Japanime as well. It doesn't look good if you have to cancel your job interview, because you went to jail for assault and battery, no matter how much it was justified.

I may or may not have mentioned Japanime before--she's the chick who had to take the ServSafe class 3 times before she finally passed. According to others who were in her previous classes, she once pulled out her laptop in class like she was going to take notes on it and was watching an anime cartoon. That sort of sent the instructor over the edge when he realized what she was doing, and understandably so. You gotta wonder about people like this--the ones who seem to have the disconnect between their brains and how to act in daily life situations. Anyway, she's as annoying as all get out, because she had the attention span of a gnat, and cannot listen to instructions to save her life. It's like that old Far Side cartoon about what dogs hear. The first panel has a man talking to a dog and saying, "Aren't you a good dog, Ginger?!" and other inanities, and the next panel is what the dog hears: "Blah, blah, blah, Ginger?! Ginger, blah, blah, blah." Maddening, I tell you, just maddening.

She also doesn't get that cleanup time at the end of class is not social hour. She made the mistake of wandering back in the dishpit where I was scrubbing pots and started blathering about something inane and wondering if there was anything else to do. Open your eyes, I wanted to say, there's a whole cart full of crap that needs to be scraped out and rinsed out. I switched to drill sargeant mode and snapped out orders at her to do some tasks, and she starts copping an attitude. I point out that she's the one that asked if there was something else to do, and that she should get cracking. Sheesh. I'm not your mother or your guidance counselor.

Maybe I'm getting meaner in my old age...I know I'm more impatient with people like her than I used to be, and I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing...especially when you are in a classroom full of people who own multiple sharp knives and have them at their immediate disposal. Wonder if she's ever read Lord of the Flies?

Happy Easter!