More laughing in Heaven now . . .

My dear Papa PT went to Heaven last night to be with my daddy (his son) between 12:00-1:00 this morning.  His heart failed him. 

We are a little in shock because he was making great strides in the rehab facility -- taking steps and breathing well. He was even so happy to eat real food again.

I received a call last night after class that he was not well.

My cousin then called to confirm the worst.

We are all very sad and heartbroken, but we realize that we are the lucky ones for having such a great man in our lives and so many wonderful and mostly hilarious memories of him.

My grandmother had to bury her 'baby boy' 8 months ago and now her husband and best friend.

She is a strong lady but still needs lots of love sent her way.

We will be headed down to Nola/MC ASAP.

Thank you for your support and love.

Aunt Deby, Daddy Butch, Mama Yvonne and Papa PT

at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, LA

1952

Papa PT and baby Summer sneaking peanuts.

1978

All my love,

Summer Athena

celebrate good times, come on!

Hello Friends.

I've missed you all. 

As you can see, going to school FT at night and working FT during the days have me absent from my little home on the internet, quite a bit. 

I will say that I have been reading all of your blogs to keep up with what is new in your lives.

My weekend in review is short and sweet.

When done, tell me about yours.

Friday:

Finished my written and practical exams.

Chef I. had no complaints about my Paris-Brest and Eclairs.

SWEET!

Some classmates came over to our roof after class and we chatted it up until the early hours of the am.

Saturday:

I rested and cleaned to prepare for my Mommy's upcoming visit. 

End of story.

Sunday:

Caught some of the Gay Pride Parade celebrating NY's big news.

Headed out to Hoboken, NJ to a graduation lunch for sweet Marina.
I used to babysit her when I was at the acting conservatory.

She is one talented young lady and will go far in life.

Coming up this week:

We start learning about puff pastry.

Mom arrives on Wednesday.

Long weekend to celebrate the 4th of July.

XO,

Summer Athena

all photos are my own.

keep your sunny-side up.

West Coast Gals:

Remember when I went to Cali back in May?

Yeah, long time ago, huh?

Well, I forgot to talk about my ladies.

These women make me very excited about the fact that (MAYBE, ONE DAY), Adam and I will move out west and just knowing they will be there to chat with, brunch with, dance with, etc. makes me a happy girl. 

Say hello to the bride-to-be, Ms. Holly of Zucchero, Zucchero.

I adore Holly and have since I first started blogging. 

The two times we have been around one another, I seem to be all over the place and I cannot wait until we have a one on one dinner. I got to meet her husband to be as well and I honestly cannot imagine anyone else for Holly. J is amazing and has lots in common with Adam, which is a plus.

And my Claire of Bicoastally . . .

Before heading out that way, we made all these fab plans and because it had been years since seeing my in-laws, those plans never came to fruition.

It was hard but I know that we will have plenty of time together soon enough. 

She just had some fab ladies out there visiting her and I have to say seeing those photos makes me very jealous but you can also tell how much Claire means to so many.

:)

And last but not least, Jesica BB of Just Smile and Blog!

We are old NYC pals that met through a friend of a friend.

Jes and I have grown so much closer in the last year or so and I am so grateful for that.

She is a recent transplant to SF and still a bit homesick, but so many great things are headed their way.  I feel it. 

*****

Okay, folks.

I have a lot going on this weekend. 

Wishing you a happy and a healthy and sending all my love.

~ Summer Athena

Croquem--what?

Day 17 -- Croquembouche

This is a traditional wedding cake in France and the name translates to "crack/crunch in the mouth" because of the caramel that the choux balls are dipped in.

My partner and I got an "ooh" and an "aah" from our chefs and we celebrated with a high five, of course.  I cannot explain how this is made. It takes a lot of work and time to complete but was so much fun.  

There is a down side to working with a dough that is mostly eggs. When it bakes, all you smell are eggs cooking. Do you people know my distaste for this odor? OH MY GOD. Heaven help me.  Oh and I have decided that I hate plastic wrap more than ever before. I wish I could secretly bring in some "Press'n Seal". 

♥♥♥♥♥




I have decided to share a few friends on Etsy and others that are having fundraisers.
I will do this from time to time because growing up working at my family-owned business, I realize how much word of mouth helped us. 


First up is . . . 


Katie Bug's Custom Creations 

Who doesn't love personalized items?
And these blocks are too cute for words.
I am thinking of having her make "breathe & believe", just gotta think of what colors and patterns work for my decor first!


Guess who is giving away a set of 4 photo blocks with any phrase or word?
Mrs. KLaw: Inspired.
 And get this: 10% of all sales from Katie's business go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.


Head there now. Well, after you finish reading and commenting on my post, of course.  :)

♥♥♥♥♥





Please meet my friend, Summer of Summer's Story.
She is one of the sweetest, most loving people in the world all while fighting a terrible disease.
She can describe it better than I can and I encourage you to head over there to find out more. 
She wrote a post about a day in her shoes and it broke my heart and made me smile. 
She is an inspiration to so many.


She is currently raising money by selling TEAM SUMMER tees and key-chains through Zazzle to help raise awareness and to hopefully one day soon, find a cure.  


Head over there to help her out. Please.

LOVE,
SUMMER ATHENA

my first holiday without you.

Father's Day came and went.

It was a time to remember Daddy on his special day.

This year I went out to buy cards for my Papa PT and my father-in-law and saw the below sign.  It hurt my little heart.

And then this card popped out at me for some reason...

And once I opened it, I knew why.

(explanation below)

And my heart did not hurt anymore. 

I could feel it smiling.

I decided to buy this card with the intention of keeping it in a box.

However, I thought sending to my sister was a better idea.

Inside the card I wrote:

Dear Shelley:

We can no longer send Daddy a card for Father's Day and honestly just writing that makes my heart hurt, so I decided it would be a good idea to send one to each other. What cha think?

I picked this card because one day when I was little I asked Daddy why men always had their hands down their pants.  

His response: "sometimes things move around down there and we need to situate".

And from that day on, I believed that Daddy had a special pocket where he kept his marbles, jacks and coins.

I love you and Daddy forever,

Summer

♥

Day 16!

Day 16, I think.

Gateau St. Honore

From Wiki: This classic French dessert is a circle of puff pastry at its base with a ring of pâte à choux piped on the outer edge. After the base is baked small cream puffs are dipped in caramelized sugar and attached side by side on top of the circle of the pâte à choux. This base is traditionally filled with pastry cream and Italian meringue using a special St. Honore piping tip.

People, this was a bit difficult. 

The pastry cream did not come out right. 

There were a lot of working parts and I need to practice at home before our practical exam.

But I will say it tasted delish!

Time to hit the gym.

Speaking of exams...

I deserve a high-five.

What ya think?

PS - Enter my giveaway.

You have the chance to win a $100 gift card, people.

Go here, but give me a high-five first. 

HA!

Love,
Summer Athena

weekend in review.

Friday night:

We made swans in class.

All I could think about was Billy Madison.

"Stop looking at me, swan"!

Saturday:

Adam had his Summer Party for work on Randall's Island.

(new hair color)

Sunday:

We headed out to Breezy Point, NY.

We, unfortunately, had not researched the area much and quickly found out it is mostly a private beach community.

Oops.

PS:
I shopped til I dropped and have a lot to say about it.
Read here.
Giveaway? Interested? $100 Gift Card?
Head over here!

Love,

Summer

FCI Friday is back.

♥

On Wednesday night, we made eclairs.

They flipped over in transit.
They were not easy to make.
Not at all.
I will admit that I am not an eclair fan. 
And I realize the reason why.
I was not eating my own.
All fresh ingredients. Handmade with love.
DELISH!




Side-note:

I need to get better at photographing my things while in class.

It gets hectic in there, though.


More class tonight.
See you Monday!


XO,
Summer Athena

no words...

{via}

I am usually an open book but there are things that I cannot speak about.

Not here, not anywhere.

It's too personal and it concerns someone I love. Dearly.

♥

♥

My mind is cluttered with crap. 

I am trying to make sense of everything that has happened over the last few years.

Man oh man.

Something has to give.

And please remember to never judge and to...

{via}

Love, 

Me

the hat.

Remember the post where I said all I wanted to hear my Daddy say was -- "I am proud of you"?

And then I talked about how when I started at the acting conservatory, he wore the school's hat (instead of his Saints cap) every.single.day for years? 

(See the hat?

American Academy of Dramatic Arts?)

♥

Well, it happened.

We were in class on Friday night and we were told if we filled out a questionnaire, we would receive a little something and peeps, I love free stuff, so I got my pen out and started scribbling down my thoughts.

Then I see our special gift. It's a French Culinary Institute ball cap.

I immediately think, Father's Day. Give it to Daddy, but I cannot, because Daddy is no longer with us on this Earth. My eyes filled with tears, I looked at my partner and explained everything about Daddy and the hat and she cried with me.

I did not know whether I should take the hat or not, but I eventually did.

I took it because it is a reminder that he is with me always. It was a little sign from him to tell me those few little words -- I am proud of you. 

And I can see it now, he is wearing his new hat and bragging to his new & old friends in Heaven that his baby-girl is a 'pastry rock-star'.

Happy Father's Day Part One, Daddy.

I know you look good in your new hat.

I love you forever and miss you like whoa.

Love your tefe/gootzer/babygirl, 

Summer Athena

goodbye tarts, hello choux

Folks, 

I am not even sure where to begin.

FCI is no joke. They don't play around.

They are serious about what they do.

I can totally see how some people drop out because it can be too tough at times.

I know you are thinking, "pastries? tough? nah".

We had our first written and practical exam last night. 

I was well prepared for the written part, minus the fact that I had trouble remembering some of the recipes. But all in all, good stuff.

On the top of our papers, we were given a number.

I was number 1.

That number told you what you would be making for your practical exam.

We all assumed we would be making one thing.

ASS U ME -- OKAY?

We had to make one 8-inch tart, 2 tartlets and one cookie.

I had to make the apple tart, clafoutis tart and the spritz cookies.

No clue what I am talking about, right?

♥

Let's start with the apple tart.

I literally stared at my recipe thinking, "what do I do first".

I started to mise en place or "everything in its place" or set-up to you mere mortals.

I then began to peel, core and cut my apples when I hit a major roadblock.

HOW DO I CUT CUBES?

Chef walked over and gave me a look of disgust. I said, "Chef, I need to compose myself, I am going blank." She fussed a little but then proceeded to remind me how to do it.

Whew. All good again. Then I realized I made enough apple compote for two tarts! UGH!
She told me that I would have to eat the rest.

Feedback on Apple Tart:

Pate Brisee (tart dough) was perfect.

Apple compote was made perfectly but I put too much in, 
which made my bottom a little soggy.

Presentation was good except I needed a few more apples in the center.


♥


Now moving onto the Clafoutis.
Rolled out my dough perfectly
Made the custard - delish.
Cutting the fruit.
Um, here we go again with knife skills.
Nectarines. 
Skin on? off?
Cubes?Julienne?
AHHHH.
Long story short, because of the amount of opening and closing of the ovens, they did not allow our products to bake as they NORMALLY should.

Feedback on clafoutis:
Not baked long enough.
Custard was tasty.
Fruit chopped well.


♥


And last but not least, the spritz cookies.
Easy, cheesy recipe EXCEPT when you are so stressed from making two other things and have like maybe 10 mins left.
My cookie dough sat out too long. When I tried to pipe it into cute little rosettes, they melted. 
Mush. Runny. Disaster. 
I ran and put the rest into the freezer to chill it and came out with 5 cookies.
JUST WHAT WE NEEDED TO PRESENT.
Whew...


Feedback on spritz cookies:
Baked perfectly.


♥


I wish you could have seen what my uniform looked like when the night was done. 
It is now soaking in the wash.
Apples, custards, butter, cake flour and blood.
Blood from my finger, okay?
How I cut it? No clue.
I had to bandage it up and wear a big, blue glove. 
Dr. Chef B. at your service.


All in all, I feel like I need to practice at home, review after every class and up my game.
This is not for fun. This will be my career.
It's time to get focused!
No more slacking.
Baking is my life.

My study partner, Oliver B.


Love, 
Summer Athena

last weekend and this one . . .

Hi gang,

I wish I had more to talk about on this Sunday night/Monday morning.

 I have been soooooo busy!

Here are some photos documenting the last, two weekends in Summer's world.

Enjoy.

Last weekend:

Brunch with friends.

Delish.

Walked by the set of Boardwalk Empire.

I love NYC and cannot wait to see the episode with all the hanging clothes in it.

Dinner with friends at Il Trulli

This weekend:

Linzer Torte

Caramel Nut Tart

(this may not look like much, but it's one of the best things I've ever tasted and I am not a fan of nuts in desserts)

Oliver knew he  and Mr. T got a present from the HomeGoods shopping event!

More to come on that  . . .

 And besides laundry and regular chores, I had study group at my place and reviewed lots of notecards for our first exam. 

How was your weekend????