FBTOT Turns 3!

LAST Thursday, December 20th, FROM BEHIND THE OPEN TABLE celebrated its three year anniversary!

UPS arrived just in time with these newly-designed tote bags!

I can hardly believe it's been three years since I sat down to pen my first post. What was meant to be a journal of what I was learning through my wine courses at ICE ended up being a bit more... And recently, service industry job-seekers' site, EatDrinkJobs interviewed me for their "A Day in the Life" column which--for me--was a stamp of approval for all the (sometimes daunting) work I'd put into the blog.

Livin' large ain't always easy!

So when the anniversary of FBTOT rolled around, I was anxious to "pop a cork"; conveniently, it coincided with the day that I was to make David a Christmas dinner (it was our last mutually free evening together before he was to leave town for the holiday). 

fresh lobsters

Being that the dinner would double as his Christmas gift (we're on a strict budget with our upcoming wedding), I wanted to do something really special... I thought fresh, live lobsters would suffice!

After firmly holding the lid in place for the first (heart-pounding) minute,
I was able to relax for the remaining nine minutes of steaming

It was my first time cooking lobster and I must say that it was quite frightening at times! Yet, with my hand covered in a once-folded bath towel I was able to place each lobster (one at a time) into a pot for its ten minute steaming (à la Judith Jones in The Pleasures of Cooking for One).

A one...

... and a two!

For the accompaniments, I decided to try to replicate the lobster dish we serve at my (current) restaurant: garlic-rosemary potatoes... and garnished with chervil. I know from experience that finding chervil can be a task in itself, but a friend recently shared with me his tip of using tarragon as a substitute. After ten minutes or so of steaming, the lobsters seemed nearly done. I decided to finish them in the oven (on low heat, for ten minutes) atop the roasted potatoes, with a branch of tarragon laid on top to "scent" the lobster.

tarragon-scented lobster over garlic-rosemary potatoes

It was my most extravagant dish to date and David was completely floored! (I banned him from entering the kitchen for several hours) I paired the lobster with a rich Domaines Schlumberger pinot gris, Les Princes Abbés, 2010 from Alsace that worked beautifully well!

How do you like them lobster tails, Mr. Goldstone??

But dinner didn't end there...

homemade panna cotta cups

That morning, I was forced to oust David from entering the kitchen when he started to inquire, Why does it smell like cookies in here? I was heating on the stovetop: 1 cup of milk, 2 cups of heavy cream and ¼ cup of sugar*... for homemade panna cotta from my The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook. It really was "... the easiest, fastest dessert that has chutzpah, and it's impossible to blow it." The cookbook also gives instructions for unmolding the panna cotta from its ramekins, but I decided to simply serve them as is. David and I both enjoyed the elegant, subtle flavor and it really was the easiest dessert to make!

*Also included in another step is unflavored gelatin and vanilla extract.

Could It Be? A Day Off?

YES, it's true! After working three doubles--six shifts in a row--I finally have a day off! With the onslaught of hurricane Sandy, it was hard times for many in the restaurant industry...

As of Dec. 4, Eater listed 72 restaurants still shuttered because of
hurricane Sandy

But I am extremely lucky that the restaurant group for which I work has six other functioning restaurants within the city that were able to house my co-workers and me as 'temporary employees' until our restaurant reopens.

The stairwell leading into our kitchen--
which was submerged under 5 feet of water

The funny thing is: I'm working back at the restaurant where I first started nearly five years ago! From my position there as maître d', I'd left to move on to a server position at a well-established hotel in midtown.

The, then, general manager--a mentor of mine to this day--advised me that if I was serious about advancing in the industry, I ought to pick up some server experience. I served in midtown for less than two months before I was lured back to being a maître d' (this time in Chelsea) with an offer I couldn't refuse... 

IT wasn't until June of this year, that I continued on my path of acquiring server experience. And I decided that if I was going to be a server, I wanted to be a server for the company whose service I'd always viewed as unparalleled in the industry. (And I was thrilled to finally be working at a three star restaurant!)

Back where I'd started--where it's always
busy-busy-busy!

I must say: the bird's eye view from a server's perspective is quite different from that of a maître d''s... as is the pace. And serving in a three or 400+ covers shift is very different from plotting and executing the reservations book! But all that must be obvious. I just want to say that I don't envy or miss being a maître d'!

On the contrary, I'm thrilled to be learning all that I have been this past half year. With proper training I've learned the (twenty-one) steps of service and why we do them, along with the proper (and improper) ways of executing each step. 

Within a year or two, I hope to have gained enough perspective to be able to continue on my path towards restaurant management. Until then, Would you like to start with a glass of champagne or a special cocktail from the bar?