Some of you may be thinking "wow, a little late on this one!" but you know what they say, better late than never (but never late is better, which is, of course, our business motto).

As an Executive Chef can especially understand, we've been caught up in the throws of a busy season, and while we were all there on April 13th to congratulate him and send him off on his honeymoon, we never made it BLOG official. 

So CONGRATULATIONS, CHEF TOM & AMY, on an absolutely beautiful wedding!!!! 

We are so happy for you two and could not be more ecstatic to officially bring Amy into the Made From Scratch family. As she is aware, we are just that, a family, and boy does she fit in perfectly!

Cheers to the beautiful couple.

This month Made From Scratch welcomed a new Pastry Chef, Morgan Cayton. Morgan has been working on adding some new (TASTY) menu items to our dessert menu which we all get to sample. Needless to say, she's becoming our best friend pretty quickly. What better way to welcome Morgan than to share her story of how her fiance, Brian, proposed. 

It was April 1st, 2012. Morgan came home from work to her boyfriend Brian wanting to go to dinner. "Let's do something romantic, nice. Get dressed up, Morgan. It'll be fun." Morgan thought this was a bit odd, but went with it. "Hey, he's buying, right?!" Morgan winks to me as she goes on with the rest of her story. 

They arrive at Trattoria Roma, Brian is adamant that they get a glass of wine. "Okay, okay, we'll each take a glass of Pinot Noir". As the evening goes on, Brian is reaching across the table, holding Morgan's hand. "I thought Brian was being extra lovey, but hey, we've been drinking wine." Morgan explains. Couples continue to come and go, and they start hearing tables complain about the temperature in the restaurant. 

"We're talking every table is mumbling about how cold it is." 

Morgan thinks this is hilarious and starts poking fun at each table complaining, how everyone looks like they're having a miserable time. Obviously, the moment had been ruined. Brian asks for the check, and as they're leaving, he recommends that they go to a romantic spot in the city to finish the evening. 

 "I didn't get it", proclaims Morgan. "Why? What do you want to go through a car wash and make out? Let's just go home and relax". 

 They change into some comfy clothes, head out back, turn their uber-cute strand lighting on, and lie down to watch the stars. Their Bull Mastiff joins them, running circles around the lawn wanting to play. Brian looks over at Morgan. "What would you think about getting married?" 

 "Well, of course I've thought about it. And I think it would be amazing." says Morgan. 

Brian takes a ring out of his pocket, starts to get on one knee, and the dog goes crazy jumping on Brian, almost knocking him over. "Let's do it then. Will you marry me?" 

 Morgan starts to cry. "Well, Brian, I'd say yes but It's April 1st and you're just doing this because you're a butt-head and it's April Fools Day. I thought you had been acting weird all night. So no, I can't marry you!" 

 Brian runs after Morgan, not realizing it was April Fools Day, "No! No! Morgan, I mean it! I want you to marry me! I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you!" 

 Morgan stops still. She realizes that he is serious, turns around, and her tears of sadness turn into tears of happiness. She gladly accepts.
Their beautiful outdoor wedding is scheduled for May 25, 2013! 

Welcome to the team, Morgan!  

Every year the Made From Scratch team takes part in some friendly competition, as does the rest of the nation, for March Madness.

So far, here are the standings:

1. Carol

2. Paul

3. Krysten

4. Kimberly

5. Shelley

6. Carol Condon

7. Jami

8. Chef Logan

9. Selena

10. Chef Tom

11. Larry

12. Janet

13. Lauren

It's still anyone's game, though! 

We know that heading out to a crowded bar to watch the games can be daunting, and cooking for your NCAA tournament party is a lot of work. Why not call Made From Scratch? We'll bring the food & drinks to your door. 614-873-3344.

As we've mentioned in a past blog, Made From Scratch has been honored with receiving the Consumers' Choice Award  for the 15th consecutive year. Well, our friends were so kind to feature Made From Scratch in their St. Patrick's Day blog. We'd like to feature some of their topic here, as well!

"Are you prepared for St. Patrick's Day? Why not celebrate it right, with traditional, fresh Irish food for your holiday party or get together? With Made From Scratch taking over your event, you won't have to depend on "the luck of the Irish" to be sure it's a successful one."

Here's one of Chef Tom's favorite lucky recipes!

Braised Corned Beef and Cabbage with Guinness Stout Syrup

Yield: 5 Servings

Instructions:

Braised Corned Beef

Raw Corned Beef                                             1.5 Pounds

Beer, Dark                                                        12 Oz

Onion, Cubed                                                   .5 Cup

Celery, Chopped                                             .25 Cup

Carrot, Chopped                                             .25 Cup

Thyme, Fresh                                                    1 Sprig

Kosher Salt                                                      .5 Tbs

Cracked Black Pepper                                        1 Tsp

Cabbage

Green Cabbage, cored & shredded                    2 Pounds

Butter                                                               2 Oz

Yellow Onion, Small Dice                                   .5 Pound                             

Water                                                               2 Tbs

Apple Cider Vinegar                                          2 Tbs

Kosher Salt                                                     1.5 Tsp

Cracked Black Pepper                                        1 Tsp

-Preheat oven to 275 Degrees

-Remove corned beef from packaging, pat dry with paper towels

-Heat cast iron Dutch oven over medium heat; sear the corned beef on all sides until golden brown

- Remove the beef from the Dutch oven, and rest on a plate.

-In the same Dutch oven, melt the butter and add onion. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.

-Add cabbage to skillet, pushing onion to the side so that the cabbage is in contact with the pan as much as possible. Cook 5-10 minutes, until some of the cabbage has browned.

-Add water and vinegar and bring to a simmer then remove from heat.

- Return the beef to the Dutch oven and place over the cabbage, add the vegetables, thyme, seasonings and the beer. The liquid should almost cover the beef, if not add more beer, water, or chicken stock.

-Cover with the lid or parchment paper and aluminum foil.

-Place in the Oven for 8 hours at 275 degrees, meat should pull apart with a fork.

-Using a pair of tongs, or if you’re adventurous; your bare hands, shred the beef, keeping it in medium sized pieces.

Serve over boiled or mashed potatoes and drizzle with Guinness Stout Syrup (recipe follows).

Guinness Stout Syrup

Yield: 1Cup

Guinness Stout Beer                                       1 Can

Light Brown Sugar                                          3 Tbs

-In a heavy bottomed sauce pot, combine beer and sugar

-Cook over medium heat, for 5-10 minutes or until it is forming large bubbles that build up on each other.

-Remove from heat, and allow to cool in the pan.

-Transfer to preferred serving vessel. 

May the rest of your year be filled with great food, luck, love and laughter.

It's here! VALENTINE'S DAY!

Love is in the air...

And it smells like BACON. We love bacon.

But believe me you, we would trade all the bacon in the world for your love and support! While every day of the year is a great day to let you know how much we appreciate you, it feels EXTRA special on Valentine's Day. 

So THANK YOU! We want you to know that Made From Scratch loves and supports you, too! So from our made-from-scratch hearts (ahem, see below picture) to yours, we hope you have an amazing Valentine's day filled with love and happiness.

Today, on Valentine's Day, we dedicate our love to the following things:

• Our extra super fantastic clients.
• FOOD (duh).
• Our fantastic employees.
• Our families who support our crazy hours (our crazy hours that we lovingly accept, because...)
• We LOVE this business!

So, will you be our Valentine? We sure hope so.