Catering

Along with Sucre and other restaurants, my boss owns a catering company that he started over twenty years ago. Occasionally they need extra hands for large events so a lot of the Sucre girls have helped out. Friday night was my first time working for them. It was a large seated dinner then 1000 people after party. I was put on the hors d'oeuvres station where I helped set up hundreds of mini tasty treats. 

We did savory and sweet dessert options. A nice perk was getting to take home a sampling of things once they had been picked over by the guests!

This was a party for the NBA All Stars game that is being played here Sunday. Rumor has it Kareem Abdul Jabbar was in attendance. I'm sure there were other basketball big names, but I am not a fan of the hoops game so I wouldn't have known who they were. 

It was interesting to see the behind the scenes of a catered event. There are a lot of people and a lot of planning that goes into making sure everything runs smoothly so that the client is satisfied. 

Fanning Out!

So there are a few famous people that cause my heart to pitter patter a bit faster than other humans in my life, one of those being Norman Reedus. Most known for his current role as Daryl Dixon on The Walking Dead, Norman has quite the fan following. 

Knowing my fondness for Mr. Reedus and because she is the best best friend any one could ask for, Brie bought us tickets to Wizard World so that I could meet my Hollywood crush! Neither of us had ever been to a Comic Con type event, so we were slightly overwhelmed with all of the costumed super fans that descended upon the Convention Center!

I would like to consider myself an admirer with a healthy dose of sensibility about myself. I mean, he is just another guy who lives and breathes like the rest of us...right? While I did squeal with excitement when I found out he was going to be in New Orleans and fretted over my outfit/makeup, I am not so obsessed that I found myself overcome with emotion to the point of tears when I met him (the girl behind me in line was one of those people). 

Brie & Me outside the Convention Center | Walking into the weirdness

I am glad I decided to bring his photography book, The Sun Is Coming Up Like A Big Bald Head, to have him autograph instead of taking one of the stock photos they had available. Lots of people give him art work that they have created. He had a lot of it hanging behind him. I saw him give some kids little trinkets too. Nice guy.

When it was my turn in line he had just popped a breath mint in his mouth and after giving Brie and I each a hug (melt!) he started coughing/choking. Eek! After getting a bottle of water it appeared that he was going to survive. He apologized--no need-- and signed the photo I selected which he said was one of his favorites. He told us that the men in the picture are in a band called The Locust out of Brooklyn and that they edited his shoe out of the bottom of the picture. We probably had about a minute and a half of conversation before it was the next person's turn. He is very soft spoken.

 Blurry close up of Norman signing autographs | The sign you stood in line behind for pictures (General v. VIP)

Yup, that happened!

The line for photos formed quickly and was crazy long. To process all of those people they literally rush you through. It's "next, step up, 'click', next....". No real time to chat or make sure you're smiling pretty. I was able to tell him I liked his pin (someone gave him a pin that looked like a King Cake that he pinned on his sweater...which was missing a button) and say that I would be looking for him at Endymion (he is co-marshaling this year!) and he commented back that he was looking forward to seeing what it (Mardi Gras) was all about!

There were plenty of other people and things to see at the convention. Between getting the autograph and the photo-op time, we wandered around checking out the art work, other booths and crazy sites.

Freddy Krueger | Sci-Fi Speed Dating? No thank you! | Weird statue people that I think have something to do with Dr. Who (???)

Besides Norman, there were three other Walking Dead actors there: Glenn-Steven Yuen, Merle-Michael Rooker, and Shane-Jon Bernthal. I did not get any pictures of them.

After we had taken it all in and we had both received not one, but two hugs from Norman, we headed out. Since Sunday was such a beautiful day we stopped by Lucy's for a bite and the traditional King Cake shots! 

The Walking Dead mid-season premiere was that night. Unfortunately the episode focused on only three characters, none of which were Daryl Dixon :( 

28 Spins Around the Sun

I have successfully made my twenty eighth journey around the sun! I am not one for a big hoopla around my birthday, so thankfully it fell on a Sunday this year and everyone knows Sundays are a day of rest :)

Birthday cake: vanilla cake layered with Bavarian cream and fresh fruit. Yum!

Saturday, after treating myself to a manicure, I met up with Andrew and Brie at Bouligny for a later afternoon cocktail/snack (lightly salted fried chick peas = out of this world!). Evan was working so he kept us company and kept our glasses full. AV called while we were there (I had unknowingly been ignoring his calls for nearly a week) to wish me a happy birthday since it was technically already February 2nd in Cape Town. It was nice to talk to him and hear what he has been up to since he ventured off nearly two months ago. 

The evening led to the whiskey bar above Avenue Pub that I surprisingly never knew existed despite having frequented there for years! Brie departed before Andrew and I made our way to Harrah's where I watched him play Black Jack (I am too chicken and risk averse to play myself) and took in all of the many sights! 

Sunday = late lunch at Camellia Grill with Andrew before going to his place to watch the Super Bowl. T'was a sad game to watch. I enjoyed the half time show though!

King Cake Season

Well, we have been buried in King Cakes for nearly a month now at work. Shaping, baking and packaging occur around the clock as we chug along through Carnival season. In a month the whole thing will be wrapped up and it will be time to give up all of the partying and craziness for Lent!

To mix things up a bit, since we have access to Sucre King Cakes all day every day, people have been bringing in cakes from other local bakeries. The other week, while trying Cake Cafe's apple and goat cheese interpretation, I got the piece with the baby, so to keep the tradition alive I purchased the next cake:

Cream cheese filled from O'Delice French Bakery & Pastisserie

This twisted, sugary treat was mighty tasty! As luck would have it, I made the first cut and low and behold there was the baby sticking out of my piece! The gods of Mardi Gras may chide me, but I had Tariq re-hide the baby so someone else would get it!! 

Honestly, in my now fourth Mardi Gras season, I have tried more King Cakes this year than the rest combined! It is fun to see the unique flavor combinations bakers create as well as the clever ways they decorate them in the traditional green, purple, and gold. I suppose I will never be a true New Orleanian because I have no desire to try the "big" name cakes like Randazzos or Haydels...they just don't look appealing to me.