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March 27, 2010

Happy Birthday! A love letter...

Seven years ago today, Anastasia's Table, LLC went from being a crazy idea to an official legal entity. Here's the birth certificate.

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March 27, 2003 marked the beginning of a huge adventure for me. Sure I could cook, but I knew nothing about running a business. What amazed me at the beginning of my adventure and continues to amaze me seven years down the road, is the overwhelming support of family, friends, colleagues, and even of people who barely knew me.

Sherrill St. Germain is my "career reinvention" role model. We worked together at what proved to be our last corporate jobs. When she got laid off, she decided to become a financial planner. While I was still employed by that company, I watched in awe as she reinvented herself. You hear about people doing this, but it becomes real when you see someone you know do it. When my time came, Sherrill had blazed the trail and was helping others navigate it. And she still does.

My husband, Tom Spine, is amazing. Frankly, while the idea of starting a personal chef business was brewing around in my mind, I was terrified to speak of those plans. Why, because it would mean a huge change to our lifestyle. But when I worked up the nerve, Tom was willing to give it a go. And he has been a huge supporter of my business.

Continue reading "Happy Birthday! A love letter..." »

Posted March 27, 2010 1:19 PM | Comments (9)

October 12, 2009

My Fifteen Minutes of Fame

I'm honored to have my business featured in the October-December 2009 issue of Personal Chef magazine, published quarterly by the United States Personal Chef Association (USPCA). You can read the article by clicking on the photo. I hope you enjoy it.

The cover photo and photos in the story were taken by Bonnie St. Pierre of B. St. Pierre Studio. Bonnie is an amazing photographer. When I was given the opportunity to select a photographer to work with, Bonnie was my first and only choice. Thanks Bonnie for the great photos!

Thanks to my mentor and friend Sharon Worster for all she has done for me.

And thanks to my clients Kim and Eric for letting us use their kitchen for the photo shoot. That's Kim in one of the photos.

Posted October 12, 2009 10:18 PM | Comments (7)

June 27, 2009

Pink slip lemonade mimosa

The end of Pink Slip Lemonade month is quickly approaching. How about one more pink slip lemonade cocktail to close out the month?

This Pink Slip Lemonade Mimosa will put a sparkle in your day. It's simple: pink lemonade, sparkling wine or champagne, a splash of raspberry liquor, and a few raspberries to garnish.

I used Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut. Pink lemonade is quite sweet and I wanted to be sure that I didn't create an overly sweet drink. Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut is a little less sweet than Cordon Negro Extra Dry. If you prefer a sweeter drink, use the Extra Dry.

To make a Pink Slip Lemonade Mimosa, mix equal parts of pink lemonade and sparkling wine (I mixed 3-4 ounces of each per drink), add a splash of raspberry liquer, and garnish with a few fresh raspberries. It can't get easier than that. Get together with a bunch of friends, sip Pink Slip Lemonade Mimosas and brainstorm about your next career. I vote for breaking free of traditional employment and starting your own business.

Posted June 27, 2009 9:57 PM

June 19, 2009

Local strawberries + lemons = berrylicious pink slip lemonade

I'm having lots of fun developing recipes for The Career Change Financial Planner blog's Pink Slip Lemonade month. Since local strawberries are abundant right now, this week's recipe is a berrylicious pink slip lemonade. My strawberries came from my favorite local farm: Sunnycrest Farm. It was hard to not eat them on the way home.

Besides the strawberries, you need 4-6 lemons, 1/2 cup sugar, and water. That's all. Oh, and a blender. I got to use my 50+ year old Oster blender. It's one of my prized possessions. My parents got it as a wedding gift in 1956. My mom gave it to me when I went to college.

Toss some lemon juice and strawberries in the blender. Strain that mixture. Add some sugar and water. And you have Berrylicious Pink Slip Lemonade.

Berrylicious Pink Slip Lemonade
makes 1 1/2-2 quarts

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, 4-6 lemons
1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
5 cups water
lemon slices, for garnishing

In a blender, puree the lemon juice and strawberries.

Strain berry mixture through fine mesh strainer.

Combine berry mixture and sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add water and stir to combine. Pour into a pitcher and refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish with lemon slices, if desired.

Posted June 19, 2009 2:52 PM | Comments (2)

June 16, 2009

Fork in the road

For more details about my escape from corporate America, read my pink slip lemonade story on The Career Change Financial Planner blog.

Look for another pink slip lemonade recipe later in the week.

Posted June 16, 2009 9:16 PM | Comments (0)

June 10, 2009

How about some pink slip lemonade iced tea?

Did you make some Pink Slip Lemonade Martinis last weekend? I did and I have some pink lemonade to use up, so I created this Pink Slip Lemonade Iced Tea to share with you. Make a batch and sip it while catching up with all the new posts on the Career Change Financial Planner blog.

Pink Slip Lemonade Iced Tea
makes 6 cups

6 green tea bags, regular or decaffeinated
3 cups boiling water
3 cups pink lemonade
lemon slices for garnish (optional)

Put the tea bags in a large glass measuring cups or a heatproof pitcher. Pour 3 cups boiling water over the tea bags. Cover and let steep for 10 minutes.

Remove and discard the tea bags. Let the tea cool to room temperature. Add the pink lemonade to the tea. Stir to combine. Chill and serve over ice. Garnish with lemon slices if desired.

Posted June 10, 2009 8:24 PM | Comments (0)

June 4, 2009

When life gives you lemons have a pink slip lemonade martini

My friend Sherrill St. Germain inspired my career change from technical writer to personal chef. I worked with Sherrill at Silknet/KANA. Sherrill got laid off a year or so before I did and she did something that changed my life: she reinvented herself as a financial planner. Sherrill is the founder and principal of New Means Financial Planning. Life gave her lemons and she made pink slip lemonade. Later when KANA gave me a pink slip, with Sherrill as a role model, I made pink slip lemonade and started Anastasia's Table.

Sherrill is a career change expert; if you dream of changing your career, Sherrill can help you work out the financial details. June is Pink Slip Lemonade month on Sherrill's The Career Change Financial Planner blog. As part of Pink Slip Lemonade month, Sherrill asked me to share some Pink Slip Lemonade recipes with you.

One of the first things you might need when you get a pink slip is a stiff drink. So, my first Pink Slip Lemonade recipe is a Pink Slip Lemonade Martini. There will be more Pink Slip Lemonade recipes during the month.

Pink Slip Lemonade Martini
Serves 2

4 fluid ounces vodka
1 fluid ounce cointreau
6-8 fluid ounces pink lemonade - I used Newman's Own Pink Virgin Lemonade
1 fluid ounce chambord
6 fresh raspberries

Combine ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into well chilled martini glasses. Garnish with fresh raspberries.

Posted June 4, 2009 6:27 PM | Comments (5)

April 24, 2009

Read all about it

Two of my friends are in the news this week.

Chef Jo Gonzales Vegan Coach Sassy Knutson

Jo Gonzales is a personal chef in Houston. This article, A Day in the Life of a Personal Chef, is undoubtedly the BEST article that I've read about personal chefs.

Patty "Sassy" Knutson is a vegan coach and the author of Get Sauced with Sass!. This story describes how Sassy helps aspiring and current vegans and vegetarians learn how to follow a vegan diet and how to make food that is simple to prepare, but is full of flavor and healthful.

Posted April 24, 2009 10:43 AM | Comments (0)

February 15, 2009

Personal chefs eat well when they hang out

On Friday, I got together with two personal chef buddies: Marcy and JoEllen. Marcy and I are both members of Personal Chefs Network. We met JoEllen at the Gluten-Free Culinary Summit.

Marcy made us a lovely lunch (she wouldn't let us bring anything) and we spent the afternoon chatting about different aspects of our businesses. It's great to get together with other personal chefs. Even though our businesses are different, there is so much that we can learn from each other. We talked about the food that we cook for our clients, networking, the software that we use, using social media to promote our businesses, and a whole lot more. All of a sudden it was 4pm and time for us to go. I'm sure that we could have chatted for many more hours. That just means that we have to get together again soon.

Here's what Marcy prepared for us for lunch:

Strawberry Tartare: strawberries, aged balsamic vinegar, honey, goat cheese. This was so delicious that we each had seconds, the excuse was that we needed to have seconds so we could take a picture. Marcy's going to be in big trouble if she doesn't share this recipe.

Corn Chowder: based on Jasper White's recipe but with Marcy's tweaks. We gobbled this up before taking pictures of the nicely plated soup. Marcy sent some home with me, so I enjoyed it again for lunch yesterday.