Hitting the Floor Running

Sometimes the faster you go, the behinder you get. That seems to be the case right now. I hit Monday morning with all sorts of good intentions. I'm looking at getting extra desserts done, an extra soup to offer another choice, etc. We still are working on the paperwork for the Tavern License. It is done in 2 steps with the first one being the step that gets the city's permission before you can even apply for the state one. That should happen this week. With that in hand, I can then apply for the state permit. The only thing I've ever done that had such a long runway was applying for Quilt National. Since I have yet to ever have a quilt accepted by Quilt National (yeah yeah, I know—an oversight on their part) I have a bit of a wary side in this regards. Unlike Quilt National, which typically has 3400 entries for a coveted few 63 slots, the Tavern Permit doesn't have as tight a quota system. But there are still pages of rules, and all sorts of preliminary steps—like measuring the distance between our front door and the nearest school or church. For us this would be the Student Union Building on campus. Must be 300+ feet. While I am glad that there is oversight, I am amazed at the sheer number of hoops and hurdles presented. At least I finally know the accurate name for the permit—tevern permit. I've been calling it a beer and wine license. Nope. That only allows one to sell those items for consumption off premises. We want to sell beer and wine for consumption on premises. We also have to sell much, much more food in ration to the beer and wine. Otherwise we could only sell beer. See? Hoops.

The catering is picking up. That is great. We've developed some more appetizer types of offerings that can be presented by the platterful. Among those are bacon-wrapped, cheese stuffed jalapenos, garlic shrimp on individual canapés, sushi rolls. By the end of the week we'll have another batch of smoked catfish dip. The weather is currently intervening on that. I have the catfish brined and Jon will smoke it within the next 24 hours. We hope you might be thinking of including one of our platters at your company holiday party or personal open house. Please remember to give us 24 hours advance notice so we have everything we need. Unlike larger operations that have corporate support, we shop on a smaller scale and buy what we know we need. We also shop more often so our ingredients are fresh.

A few of you have taken advantage of my offer to add arugula to your salads. I do this by request only and there is no additional charge for it. To me, arugula adds a nice bright note to my salads. Building a salad is much like building a fragrance or painting an image. There is a background or bottom note—the darker greens. Then you add a wide balance of flavors or in the case of fragrances, the mid-range scents. These are the most prominent or dominant flavors. Then you have the top note. This is the one that adds the extra sparkle, extra interest or complexity. In a salad, that could be a tangy cheese or pomegranate, or something that is still light yet flavorful. Nuts might also be a part of that—especially if they have been toasted and seasoned. 

I am delighted that we have a wider access to fresh greens during the winter months. As counter-intuitive as that sounds, it is because the local greens are raised in a greenhouse. During the warmer months valuable crop space is given to more space demanding crops like squashes or tomatoes. I am making a concerted effort to make our side salads more complex and tasty. your feedback is wanted—so speak up!!

Time to get on with this week's menu—
Soups~ we'll start the week with a big batch of French onion soup. I'll add white chicken chili Tuesday or Wednesday.
Monday~Shrimp and grits plus side salad. That'll warm you to your toes. $6.50
Tuesday~Pulled pork tamales with Colorado sauce plus buttered cumin rice. This the the most traditional of Bruce's tamales. I've had the pork braising all day Sunday in prep. It has smelled SOOO good. $6.50
Wednesday~Kapusta with salad. This is Bruce's stew that features spare ribs and cabbage. It has a very loyal following. $6.50
Thursday~ Roasted mushroom and chicken crepes with a tarragon cream sauce—as requested.With side salad. $6.50
Friday~ Tuscan chicken salad sandwiches. Fifty cents off.

Remember~ no Friday night dinners until January.
Have a great week.
~~Susan