20th Anniversary at the Grand Aleutian....and the Blueberry Bash

The Grand Aleutian Hotel, where Rich is Executive Chef, celebrated its 20th year with a big party for the whole community.  Of course, Rich had to work since he and his crew were turning out food for several hours.  My friends and I went for a little while and had a good time eating lots of gourmet hors d' oeuvres and chatting with everyone.

 Tammy and Melanie

 Jane and Sonia

Marisa with some goodies

 Meanwhile, back in the kitchen....

Next up, the Blueberry Bash.  Though it was not the best year for local wild blueberries, the annual event still had a good number of entries and I was lucky enough to be asked to be a judge.  My cohorts Erin and Lauren and I got to taste lots of pies and tarts in one category and candies and confections in another.  Did we draw the long straw or what?!  We were definitely on sugar overload by the time we were finished.

  Just a very small sampling of some of the items we "had" to taste

 Do we have blueberries in our teeth?

Here's the part where the judging is done, the winners are announced, and all the attendees get to eat!

Snow on the Mountains, Happy Birthday, Anne, and it's Blueberry Bash Time

Friday night we went to a birthday party for Anne. As we were looking out the window, we caught sight of this eagle perched at the tip of one of our few trees, with the new snow evident on the top of the mountain. Rich slipped out to get a few photos. I am not ready for winter!

Happy birthday, Anne! Pipa made a delicious chocolate cake and we all laughed so hard playing "Apples to Apples."

Today was the annual Blueberry Bash. Rich made some beautiful blueberry peach tarts with vanilla-bean and lemon pastry cream. Dee-lish!

We were watching "America's Test Kitchen" a month or so ago and they were making a raspberry chiffon pie. I thought, "hmmmm, maybe that could be adapted for blueberries," so I tried one out last weekend. Not bad! The first layer is a blueberry compote, the second layer is blueberry chiffon, and it's topped off with homemade whipped cream. I decided to cut out a piece or two so that the judges could actually see the layers. Well, that was a mistake because the pieces did not come out cleanly and it was a big ole mess. Oh well! I felt a little weird entering a pie with a piece missing but the layers were visible that way and I hoped for the best.

Sarah and Kristine worked hard at the event!

A close-up of Rich's tarts.

Congratulations to Rich, who took 3rd place in tarts and pies, winning some nice little plates. He's trying out some of the entries here, in the post-contest eat-a-thon.

Debbie won prizes in three different categories and took the "Best Overall" award as well. Wow! I barely had the energy to make one thing! Good job, Debbie!

Enjoying the goodies.

Rich and Anne
Sonia and Melanie, whose daughter Mandy won 3rd in the youth category for her muffins. Congrats, Mandy!
Guess what won first place in pies and tarts?! Yep, that messy little chiffon pie. I was pretty shocked but excited! Everyone was teasing Rich that I beat him but he was really happy for me. What a nice guy. :) One person did ask me, "So, did you make that or did he?" It's my own fault since I tell everyone that I never cook or bake. Okay, I've made an exception for the Blueberry Bash two years in a row now. Last year I won third place in muffins so I am moving up in the world. I already feel the pressure for next year. haha

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Eat your blueberries. They are so good for you!

What's up, world?

I'm not sure what's happened to my enthusiasm for blogging. Lately I just browse through everyone else's blogs, check emails, argue with people on facebook and get off the computer. I think I am in a funk with the current state of the world. And it's getting cooler and rainy-er. Rainier? Is that a word? It's dark when I wake up in the morning. I don't like it.

Life has been busy. Last week, I was running around like a crazy person trying to get ready for the Alaska Ocean Film Festival--a little fundraiser for my job. There was also a big Museums and Historical Societies Conference going on all week--lots of people here from all over the state and elsewhere. There were so many activities going on that it was mind-spinning. I was nervous about the film fest, thinking no one would show up because of all the other stuff, even though we purposely coordinated with the conference. Thankfully, I didn't have to worry--we had two very well attended showings, one with standing room only, much to my surprise and delight.

The Blueberry Bash is coming up on Sunday. I decided to have a practice run so spent several hours last weekend making my entry. It might need a little tweaking, but that hasn't kept us from munching on it every day. I think Rich and I might be in the same category this year, which will make things a little bit interesting for us! I can't say what we are making since at least one of my friends is a judge and might end up with our category. No undue influence and all that.

Bruce Springsteen turned 60 today. Yo, Bruuuuuuuuce, happy birthday from one of your Jersey girls! I only wish you'd consulted me about your tour schedule so we could have crossed paths when we go out on vacation in November. :) Daniel played "Thunder Road" on the radio for me, remarking that the song came out in 1975. I was living in San Marcos, Texas, going to college. Probably had it on an 8 Track. :) It seems very long ago but that's still one of my all time favorite songs. What were you doing in '75?! (Okay, I know some of you were not even born...don't rub it in!)

Blueberry Bash

It's blueberry season in Unalaska! The annual Blueberry Bash is a long-standing tradition, featuring a competition for the best cake, pie, tart, muffin, jam, jelly, syrup, the LARGEST blueberry, inedible items such as photos of blueberries or hand crafted blueberry themed entries and more. We love our blueberries! Individuals guard their secret blueberry-picking locations and their secret recipes. Some participants seem to win one category or another (or sometimes more than one!) every year. Rich and I have been judges in the past (what a job!) but this is the first time we've entered the contest. We spent a lot of hours yesterday working on our entries--Rich made two items: a blueberry lemon tart with almond flour crust and honey mascarpone cream, and blueberry s'mores consisting of white chocolate mousse, honey graham cookies, blueberries, and toasted marshmallows. I decided to make blueberry pumpkin muffins with a pecan struesel topping and blueberry flavored icing. Upon tasting my muffins, I realized that they had an overriding pumpkin and spice flavor and blueberry was certainly not in the forefront. Ooops. Guess I should have tried that recipe a week ago! Overnight I either had a dream or a thought while half asleep that I should just embrace the pumpkin flavor and go with it, naming my entry "Thanksgiving Breakfast Muffins." LOL

This morning, we finished everything up and rushed over to the high school to submit our entries around 1:30 PM. Rich took some flak from people saying he should not be allowed to enter (we THINK they were mostly joking!) since he is a professional chef. He had to keep saying, "I am not a pastry chef; it's an even playing field!"

The competition is divided into several categories so items may be measured against like items. Rich was entered in the Pies and Tarts category and in Desserts. I was in Breads and Muffins, preferring not to compete with my husband (hmmm, maybe I believe that thing about him having an edge, too!) At 3 PM, the room was full of people chatting, kids running around, judges patting their full bellies and everyone waiting to hear the results.

Third place in Pies and Tarts goes to Richard Bye! And third place in Breads and Muffins goes to Jane Bye! Woohooo! We were just having fun, but a prize is nice, too. I was completely shocked that Rich's blueberry s'mores did not win anything (in fact, we thought they had a better chance than his tart did) but that's okay. Now no one can say that he has anything over those serious home bakers, can they?!