Kendall's Kitchen "Season(ings) Greetings! Y'all!
MAGIC MOMENTS (1987-2017) Spicing Things up for Thirty Years!
Merry Christmas and here’s to a Happy New Year! December has seen many great events at the venues and off-premise. Great repeat clients such as CNN and John Hancock help round out the year of amazing events!
The venues were festively decorated by our talented Design Studio team and I can always count on walking into the buildings to put me in the holiday spirit.
Moving right along, Flint Hill and The Atrium makeovers are almost complete. Flint Hill has seen the most in updates, completely flipping around rooms, adding shiplap and updating the drapery. The Atrium has new buffet looks, new foyer and balcony furnishings and a fresh coat of paint using a contemporary color. At both Flint Hill and The Atrium, clients are loving the updated Bride’s Lounges and the new Beauty Bars, an idea from Logan Fehrenbach! David Hickfang and David Carroll were fearless in taking on these projects and Sean Langan was our Assistant Decorator J. Thank you very much!
We will continue in 2018 with staying true to our motto – “Constant and Never-Ending Improvement”. Reinventing our venues every so often keeps us fresh, current and relevant to today’s brides.
“TRAVELING & TASTING”
Where in the world is Kendall?
Austin in August in search of Fleet Foxes, Austin Style Migas, Refried Black Beans and Smoked Gouda Pancake! YUMMEH!!
Greece in September with fellow caterers on the ICA Education Foundation Culinary Learning Journey, in search of all things I remember about my time in Greece 2004… Souvlaki, Feta & Gyros! And a cooking class!
Also headed to Hatch New Mexico Chili Festival in search of roasting and ristas! You don’t have to go to Hatch to get these delicious peppers, you can order them frozen from www.younggunsproduce.com.
October was the Les Dames d’Escoffier Conference in Newport Beach, California in search of “Spa Cuisine” and the delicious Tuna Tartare.
November was South Africa in search of …..Franschhoek & Stellenbosch’s great white wines; Cape Town’s Table Mountain; the Cape of Good Hope and the adorable African penguins; Jumanji on Safari at Londolozi Founder’s Camp and the “Big Five”; Safari Style Sundowner; Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and the most amazing people ever; and finally Johannesburg…in search of Mandela, and trying to understand how the hell Apartheid happened.
In closing, I miss Mrs. Day every Day and every step I take with decisions that are made are acted on with her whispering in my ear, keeping me on the right track. I believe those of you who knew her feel the same way. She was the better half of the company and the thirty years of Magic Moments would not have happened without her.
Every Christmas Eve morning when our children were young, we would get our families together for brunch. Now, I have a lot of great recipes that she and I would use, but for this year, I’ll share this one as it’s full of SPICES! We’d stuff these little darlings with Honey Baked Ham and the kids loved them:
SWEET POTATO MUFFINS:
½ Cup Butter
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 ¼ Cup Sugar
¼ Tsp Salt
2 Eggs
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
½ Tsp Vanilla
¼ Tsp Ground Nutmeg
1 ¼ Cup Mashed Yams
¼ Cup Golden Raisins
¼ Cup Milk
¼ C Chopped Pecans
½ C All Purpose Flour
TOPPING: 2 TBS Sugar with ½ Tsp Ground Cinnamon
Preheat oven to 400 and spray muffin tins with Baker’s Joy.
Cream butter and gradually add sugar beating at medium speed. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in yams and milk.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and add to creamed mixture, stirring just until moistened. Add Vanilla and stir in raisins and pecans. Spoon into muffin pans filling 2/3 full. Sprinkle topping over muffins. Bake 25 minutes.
And now, we will press on and continue to strive for excellence, because it is in that striving that we deliver Divine Events!
Thank you all for everything and onwards and upwards in 2018!