Food Safety Website

One of our guests alerted me to a great food website that I thought i should pass along. The site, http://www.stilltasty.com , describes itself as the ultimate shelf life guide. It offers some great insights into how to keep your food freshest the longest. In the restaurant, we utilize a system called day-dotting which tracks the date & time of production and person who prepared the item. For home, this site could be a very useful tool. Hope it helps!

Valentine's Brunch Sticky Buns

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Not that I need an excuse, but I took the opportunity this weekend to experiment with an easy sticky bun recipe (adapted from one of Ina Garten's old cook books). The prospect of a traditional yeast based dough always intimidated me so much that I stayed away from even attempting these sweets. The new recipe is a pastry based dough made even easier by using frozen puff pastry sheets! After many attempts and countless ingredient combinations, the staff and I settled on walnuts, cinnamon, orange zest and nutella (hazelnut chocolate spread)! I am a big fan of the nutella, but if you arent a chocolate lover, you can substitute any of your favorite ingredients for the filling.

We will be serving these for V-Day brunch in all locations. I am anxious to hear everyone's input!

February Specials are up!

Well, even though I have decided to update the store menus twice a year (once every 6 months for the season), I have added a few new items for February. I will be watching the local produce very closely this Spring in all locations. Even our catering & event menus have been constructed around what is freshest and most readily available this Spring. Special requests? Great ideas? Please send them to me directly. All help is appreciated!

Chickpeas & Swiss Chard in Sun Dried Tomato Broth

Well, after the success of January's Soup of the Month (and with lots of cold days still to come), I wanted to share the recipe with everyone. This is one of the easiest soups we make at the cafe and ironically also one of the most requested. Any good quality sun dried tomato pesto will do, and the parmesan rind gives a remarkable depth of flavor. Don't be afraid to mix in some additional protein (chicken, etc) or experiment with the many different winter greens currently available (kale, rainbow chard, etc). Let me know how it works for you!

SPECIAL EVENT 2010

Our Mosaic Unique Events team joined our nation's top special event gurus for The Special Event 2010 in New Orleans!
One of the concepts we are so thrilled about is this year is the Happy Hour Chandelier (http://www.happyhourchandelier.com/)
This entertaining concept was created by award-winning choreographer Nanine Linning (www.naninelinning.nl) and star designer Marcel Wanders (www.marcelwanders.com).
Each dancer is suspended for 20 minutes while pouring flutes of champagne to the crowd below!
This a just the tip of the iceberg - and we're thrilled to showcase some of the most innovative ideas this year! Stay tuned!!

Valentine's Weekend 2010

Well it's never too early to start planning for Vday, especially when it falls on a Saturday! This year, we will offer value options for both Friday/Saturday Dinner and Saturday/Sunday Brunch.

The Grand Marnier Ricotta Fritters are a new recipe for me. I/we have been working on this recipe for a while and the result is pretty incredible (thanks Ms. Elaine!)! Those of you that know me know that I am not a big fan of frying, but these are so amazing I had to make an exception. Surprisingly, they cook-up so fast that you use almost no oil. The result is crispy on the outside, light and souffle-like on the inside. Dust with a little powdered sugar and watch out - these little bites are addictive. I have included these in the Valentine's Brunch Menu to give everyone a chance to experience them before they hit the regular brunch menu. Let me know what you think!

Roasted Pears with Blue Cheese and Walnuts

Well it is cold in Charleston...REALLY COLD....so lots of time to work on some recipes that I have been wanting to try. I maintain a list of "recipes I must make" from books, magazines, guests, family, etc that despite my best efforts, only seems to get longer and longer each month. Until a recent special request, I had failed to notice the amazing pears available in most of the grocery stores (and the ones present in many holiday gift boxes). Today I decided it was time to find something warm and wonderful to do with them. The recipe I settled on was so easy and turned out SO well that I had to share it right away. A perfect example of how little needs to be done to fresh, fantastic ingredients! Enjoy and Happy New Year!