Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Pastry Chef Starts A Blog

If you have read my blog for a while you may recognize the man with me in the picture above. This is Chris Herrin. He is the head pastry chef for the Bouchon Bistro and Bakery in the Venetian Hotel. 
My husband and I met Chris a little more than a year ago and we became fast friends. Chris is a genuinely great guy and he also makes incredible food. He has a dream to open his own place someday and he LOVES breakfast. It is his favorite meal of the day. He recently started a blog to share his experience building this dream of his.

Go check it out HERE. His blog address is www.henandthebaker.com/blog. There he writes about his dream of starting the greatest breakfast and bakery company ever, his love of food, recipes he is creating, and events he is planning.

One of the fun things about being a chef (so he tells me and I can imagine) is the creativity with foods. Of course Chris makes all the really classic favorites like one of our favorite Bouchon desserts - the lemon tart. (Shown below but I wish I could give you a taste rather than a look because really, I mean really, it is phenomenal.) 


But there are also always new ideas and twists on old favorites. We went to Bouchon last week with my parents, my sister and brother-in-law, and a few people who worked on the singles conference with my parents. Chris sent out the most unique, delicious, and just plain cool desserts I have ever eaten. 

They recently acquired a cotton candy machine. So they have been experimenting with it. Now I have to say I don't really like cotton candy. I mean it is sticky and too sweet and messy. So I was a bit skeptical when this fluff of cotton candy came out from the kitchen.

I know the photo is terrible quality. Sorry. But that is a fluff about as big as my palm of cotton candy. Then the waitress explained that this was their take on a root beer float. Now I do like a good root beer float. 

I picked this up and found it was not sticky and melting in my hand like the cotton candy I have had before. This felt like real cotton. I bit into it and found a good sized ball of wonderful, high quality, homemade, vanilla bean ice cream inside. As soon bit into it the cotton candy seemed to turn into root beer in my mouth. It was not some super sugary root beer flavored syrup. No, it tasted like a small powerfully flavored shot of root beer suddenly materialized in my mouth surrounding this lovely ice cream. 

It was great. I ate the whole thing in a few moments. I think I would take that over the traditional root beer float any day. It was a very cool dessert. 

So go over and check out Chris's new blog and leave him a comment so he knows people stopped by. He is new to blogging and is still figuring the whole thing out. So let's give him a nice big welcome. Thanks everyone. I will be putting his site up on my sidebar so you can see when he posts.

Prayer Request for Gracie

Here is part of a comment from yesterday:

I was wondering if you might be able to post a prayer request on your blog. We have some family that right now their precious baby girl is the hospital and they are unsure if their sweet daughter will live. Sweet Graice was born with a heart defect and has over come all odds, she is SUCH a miracle. Yesterday Gracie was given the gift of a heart transplant, things we looking very positive at the start of the day, but sadly once the transplant was complete things took a turn for the worst. The new heart she has been given is not working properly, the Doctors are doing everything that they can, but what Gracie REALLY needs is another miracle. I know that you have a lot of followers on your blog, so if you don't mind asking for prayers in Gracie's behalf it would be so appreciated.

You can read all about amazing little Gracie @


I have such a strong testimony of PRAYER and I know that all of our prayers combined together can help uplift this family during their darkest hour!!

Sincerely-
Brittany 

I hope this family does not have to join our "club" of grieving parents. I understand that it is not always the Lord's will that children live long and full lives. I know this is a hard concept for many to accept. Children are so innocent and pure it seems unfair from our limited perspective that they should ever have to suffer. But somehow life just isn't about fair. It is about learning, growing, and going Home. Sometimes, pain and suffering are the best teachers, fertilizers, and directors to quickest routes Home. Though I think for little children who suffer, it is a sacrifice they make to teach those of us around them. They must have been such valiant and noble spirits in the life before birth. 

I know for so many trials we must simply trust in God that His way will produce the best way for us to accomplish our work on this Earth, be we one or one hundred in our time of suffering. Still, it still hurts my heart each time I hear of another family having to walk this difficult road. I prayed for Gracie and her family last night. I pray that their answer will not have to be the same as mine was to the prayers they are undoubtedly praying. I pray that no matter what the peace of the Lord will be with them to help them through this difficult and trying time.