Biggest Project Yet: “Strawberry Spree”
Guys, I did it. It’s finally over. Mother’s Day 2012 at Shokudo Japanese Restaurant & Bar was a huge (and not to mention, all-consuming, body-exhausting, & mind-blowing) success! A widespread brunch/lunch buffet of Japanese fare was followed by “Strawberry Spree” Sweets buffet (by yours truly), where 460-something voracious, yet surprisingly pleasant, guests devoured 1800-something servings of 12 different types of strawberry-themed desserts within a span of 5 hours and 3 full-seating turnovers. Let’s not forget that this was, believe it or not, after these bottomless bellies were stuffed with mountains upon mountains of sushi, tempura, udon, salad, chicken, king crab, and God knows what else. All I really want to know is, who are these thoroughly inhuman people with such exigent appetites and where on earth did they come from? Because I have this ever-growing hunch that I must be related to them. After all, there is a most uncanny resemblance between my belly and theirs.
Stomach resemblance aside, there may have been little else alike between these wonderful guests and I. Though the picture doesn’t show it (thank God), I slept for a very true-to-saying, painstakingly short-and-sweet 45 minutes. The grueling fun-filled hours leading up to that nap and the even more agonizing joyous hours that followed were wholeheartedly dedicated to baking and assembling a mass amount of the greatest (and most practical) homemade desserts I could muster up and create from scratch. Exhausted as I may have been, and trust me when I say exhausted is a euphemism for the physical state I was in at the time, this project was my absolute pride and joy from unshaped, prenatal beginning to expectant, postnatal forthcoming. It was Mother’s Day, for crying out loud, and this project was my beautifully overweight newborn.
This baby was made up of a silky-smooth Mascarpone Cheesecake with Balsamic Strawberries, Strawberry Cupcakes with a Fresh Strawberry Buttercream Frosting, the cutest Strawberry-Coconut Brown Butter Bettys, a fresh take on Bruschetta with Strawberries, Peaches, & Bananas over a rich homemade Ricotta cheese, drizzled with honey and topped with some mint, Thumbprint Cookies with homemade Strawberry Jam, Strawberries & Cream topped Cocoa Brownies, dense White Chocolate Cream Cheese Pound Cake Morsels with Orange Zest and a tangy Strawberry Coulis, good ol’ Strawberry Jello, luscious Chocolate & Vanilla Puddings with Strawberries, and a most refreshing Strawberry Horchata (Mexican Cinnamon Rice Milk). Hey, like I said, it was one fat baby.
But, as is the case with all babies, each needs copious amounts of nurturing and attention for healthy growth. It isn’t any different with my baby, this new baking and catering thing I have going on. Mother’s Day may be over, but it’s only the hopeful beginning for me and my so-called “newborn.”
Nevertheless, some Strawberry recipes to come soon! Please feel free to contact me with any questions or catering inquiries! I can be reached via comments on this blog or via email at haeinp@ymail.com.
Like
[...] to help or learn or just eat in my kitchen (as opposed to my dining room, I guess). My most recent catering event was one such instance of true [...]