All I Have To Show For It

Private Chef Chronicles: Summering in the Hamptons (Part 2!)

Well, today is Monday here in the Hamptons. All day. Just wanted to keep you guys in the loop. You know, the super exclusive, utterly fabulous loop of summertime in the Hamptons. I ran into Gwyneth Paltrow the other day at yogalates, and we chatted about the benefits of getting weekly facials and the state of our hydrangeas over nonfat soy lattes.

Nope. That didn't happen.

What did happen is that I cooked things. I went ahead and cheffed. Privately. I've officially been a private chef for 4 weeks now, and this is all I have to show for it:

banana cream tart

butter & jam thumbprint cookies

goat cheese & zucchini tartlettes with green salad

almond & apricot biscotti

hors d'oeuvres - tortilla chicken cups with tomato, corn and edamame

rustic peach cake. Ingredients? Rustic and peaches.

chocolate chip cookies, naturally.

and the ever-present oatmeal raisins. I make a lot of cookies.

toasted coconut cake

strawberry shortcakes

Asian-style (ish) beef salad

chocolate-dipped strawberries

caramel macarons

carrot cupcakes

And rice krispie treats. Because, at this point, why the hell not?

The good news is that I'm still alive, am still getting paid to cook, and have decidedly mastered the art of the grilled vegetable.

Also, I get to spend my days off sleeping late, doing -- or, um, trying my really, really hardest to do -- crossword puzzles (Thursdays are hard, yo), and drinking chocolate milkshakes with my gorgeous Grandma.

All at my favorite sunny house at the end of the island. The one with the big yellow door, the closets that smell like mothballs and the old raccoon prints in the garage.

There's no yogalates or soymilk, and I don't cook anything.

But it's really pretty wonderful.