Restaurant Nights...

So this post is not specifically about food, it does not include recipes or measurements, it does not have fancy pictures of rolled sponge bread, or strawberry compote. I do not mention intricate baking pattern of famous chefs. No, this is a post about the madness and craziness that the restaurant industry can have. The stress, the emotions, and then the calm that is much appreciated.
I hope to give those that have never worked in restaurants a little blimp of what it is.
Last night the restaurant I work at, ran out of Alfredo sauce in the middle of a Friday night busy shift. OMG. The two managers on duty were overwhelmed when they started to realize that other dished were coming out, but hey the ones that had alfredo were not. The GM who had opened and was about to take off, stood watching as the cooks scrambled and hurried to not go insane with all the tickets popping up on the blinking screen, and the ones that were backed up. The servers having to deal with customers who had to wait up to 45 minutes for a bowl of pasta. Some took it lightly like my table, that laughed it off, and patiently waited, other however were not so lucky and got blamed for what was a culinary mistake.
"How can this happen?" asked the managers, who is to blame in this situation. the cooks for not making more, the managers for not checking? And who is held accountable?
Servers kept coming to the line and telling the manager expoing, "where is my food?" "my table has been waiting" "what do I tell them?" "they are mad". She was doing the best she could, the manager running the floor, probably went to half the restaurant and apologized to the tables. the managers aid ended up "comping" (taking off) many of the dishes so the customers would not pay. My whole table's check was paid by the restaurant. Oh, the loss of profit on a night like that.
At some point the manager on the line, yelled at the one running the floor... Oh, all the things that happen when people are stressed.
But as much as can go wrong, there are many things that go right, as you see other servers helping those that were behind, people helping the expo manager, apologizing honestly to their tables.
And it is those moments when the customers realize you care, when they thank you even though they waited an hour to eat, when everyone helps, and laugh it off. When after all is over, you can throw the towel on the line and exhale. Those are the moments that brighten my day. When you are so tired than instead of asking for a dessert you ask for sauce and everyone laughs. When you ask your table is they would like you to grate salad when you really meant cheese.
And when in the end, we are one big dysfunctional family.
I LOVE IT!!!

italian cream

My mom bought me The Best of Cooking Light Cookbook, and then browsed through it.
The fist section I wanted to see was the dessert section. I flipped the pages eagerly, lice a teenage girl flips the pages of a high school yearbook. And then I paused mesmerized by all the fruit pies, the chocolate decadent brownies, the compotes and the ice creams. I had died and gone to heaven...
My mother who is much less in love with the sweet side of food, stopped on page 348. She said (very excitedly) “This seems delicious!”
Let me explain something. My mother does not easily fall completely in love with desserts, she much rather have appetizer than dessert (OMG). So if she said she likes a cake, I usually make it for her. This needless to say, did not become the exception. Sadly, on that day buttermilk did not form part of the many boxes and packages in our fridge.
“Let’s do it later,” I said. And then forgot about it.
She did not. On a solo grocery trip she got the buttermilk.
“I got the buttermilk,” were the welcoming words I hear that afternoon as I got home from work.
That same day after dinner the picture became reality.
And so you can make it too, here is the recipe.

Italian Cream Cake

Ingredients:

16 oz sugar
4 oz light butter
2 large egg yolks
16 oz all-purpose flour
1tsp baking soda
8 oz buttermilk
1tsp butter extract
1tsp coconut extract
1tsp vanilla extract
6 large egg whites

Cream cheese frosting
4 oz far-free cream cheese
4 oz butter
1tsp grated lemon
1 tsp vanilla
28 oz powdered sugar

Procedure:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350F
2. Coat 3 (9inch) round pans and line bottom with wax paper. Set aside
3. Combine sugar and butter, beat until blended. Add egg yolks (one at a time, beat after each addition.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups and level. Combine flour and baking soda Add the flour mixture to cream mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Stir in chopped pecans and extracts.
4. Beat egg whites at high speed mixer using clean, dry beaters until stiff peaks form. Fold eggs into batter and pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350F for 23 minutes. Cool in pans 5 minutes on rack. Peel off wax paper, cool.
(CREAM CHEESE FROSTING)
5. Beat first four ingredients in frosting at medium speed of a mixer until smooth. Spoon sugar into measuring cup, and level with knife. Gradually add sugar to butter mixture and beat at low speed until blended.
6. Place 1 cake layer on a plate. Spread 2/3 cup Cream Cheese Frosting and top with another cake layer. Repeat using 2/3 frosting and end with last cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over sides and top.

And to be fair to cooking light here is the serving info:
1 slice; Calories 290, protein 4.1g, carb 52.3 fiber .5g. Cholesterol 37mg, iron .8mg, sodium 172mg. calcium 38mg.