I Passed!

Posted At : October 4, 2007 6:11 AM
Related Categories: cake class

Okay, so I really would have had to not even try to make a cake to fail cake class, but the final class was Tuesday and I decorated a cake.  I didn't taste it, I sent it to work with my husband who claimed it got rave reviews.  It was a basic yellow cake with buttercream icing, vanilla fondant and daisies.  I would like to branch out and learn how to make more types of flowers so will need to take more classes.  It is fun.  My cake is the green, yellow and white cake and my classmate's is the pink and white cake.  We only had 2 in class and that was nice.  A fun site to browse is Cake Central. 

If you are interested in cake decorating at all, our teacher is Sari and she did not cry at all during teaching unless she did it in the car after class.  Seriously she is patient and fun and teaches lots of classes.  Her website is Sari's Flair and you can see some of her cakes and flowers and find out about classes.

Yesterday I had dinner at NY Prime with some of my friends and co-workers from KitchenAid.  We had a great meal of baked shrimp, jumbo lump crab, steak, cheesy potatoes, mushrooms, asparagus, wine, and shared desserts.  We were there about 2 hours and had lots of great conversation.  It's always fun to meet new people and find out how they decided to do what they do. 

I did not rush through dinner and I did not speed on the way home but I did make it home with 6 minutes to spare before the Top Chef Finale! I knew Casey was not going to win and I wanted Dale to win.  I know Hung is a good chef, I just liked Dale's personality better.  So now the television obsession is over and I can get back to not having to be home and awake at 10 on Wednesdays.  Until the next season.  Unless I watch the reunion show next week.  We'll see. 

Today I am going to go to KitchenAid training at Insperience to talk with the new people Paula and Jonathan.  I'll just share some of my experience from working with KitchenAid.  Saturday I'll be at Cook's Warehouse Brookhaven demonstrating the pasta attachment and sampling some Cook's Warehouse sauce, so stop by and pick up an attachment.  It is so easy to use. 

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Girl's Weekend

Posted At : October 1, 2007 6:24 AM
Related Categories: cake class, cooking class, recipe

Nothing really exciting though.  My husband left Friday morning for a Souly Business weekend, so it was just me, the dog and the cats, all girls.  I spent a lot of Friday at Centennial Place and just relaxed when I got home.  I think I did some knitting and watched a movie on tv.  I made dinner - steak, spinach and bread and had a quiet night.

Saturday I had a kid's cooking class at Cook's Warehouse where the menu was Asian Appetizers.  Once I got home, Maggie was more than happy to nap with me.  Dinner was Mac and Cheese!  I made my menu, read and watched TV.  Girl's nights are NOT exciting. 

  • Baked Sausage Wonton Cups
  • Chicken and Cilantro Bites
  • Thai Crabcakes with Cilantro Peanut Sauce
  • Wonton Cannoli with Ginger Sauce

The class was small, only 8 students, but they as usual did a great job.  All the appetizers were good, my favorite was probably the Chicken and Cilantro Bites. We held them in the warming drawer until we were done with the rest of the appetizers and they held nicely.

 This is a rare shot of everyone actually reading before starting!

More Reading!

 Chicken and Cilantro Bites from Gourmet Magazine May 2005

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar, not seasoned
  • 1 pound ground chicken, not breast
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 2 whole scallions, finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  1. Stir together soy and vinegar in a bowl for dipping sauce.
  2. Stir together chicken, egg, cilantro, scallions, sesame oil, and salt with a fork until just blended.
  3. Spread cornstarch in a shallow baking pan. With wet hands form chicken mixture into 1-inch balls, transferring them to baking pan as formed. Wash and dry your hands, then gently roll balls in cornstarch until coated. (Balls will be soft.)
  4. Heat 1/4 cup vegetable oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook half of balls, turning over occasionally, until firm and golden (they will flatten slightly), 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.  
  5. Add remaining 1/4 cup oil to skillet and cook remaining balls in same manner.
  6. Serve meatballs with dipping sauce.

 Sunday was church, a quick trip to Publix and home for breakfast.  I also hit the library so I'd have books for the week.  Today I need to make flowers since my cake final is tomorrow.  I'll make the cake tomorrow and finish decorating it in class tomorrow night.  That's the plan. 

Our menu for this week:

  • Sunday: Roast Salmon, Potatoes and Sauteed Spinach
  • Monday: Chicken Noodle Soup
  • Tuesday: whatever
  • Wednesday: Pork Roast, Sweet Potatoes and Broccoli
  • Thursday: Pasta, can't remember what kind right now
  • Friday:open right now, lazy during girl's weekend

I'm going to make some daisies now while I'm rested and able to do tiny, tedious things. 

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Cake Class Update

Posted At : September 26, 2007 7:55 AM
Related Categories: cake class, life

Cake class is going well.  Last night was the third of 4 classes and we made flowers.  I just tried to get some pictures, but I really need to read the camera manual.  They are blurry and not perfect.  Last night I made some daisies, a calla lily, a carnation, carnation leaves, leaves and a box from gum paste.  The daisies look the best, but everything came out nice looking for my first attempts. 

Next week is the final class and graduation.  We will make and decorate a real cake for the final.  I have decided almost for sure what I want to do.  I think I'll use daisies since they looked the most like flowers and were easy to make.  I'll have to use fondant and gum paste.  And hopefully get a lovely picture.  And my husband will take it to work for a tasty treat.  At least that's the plan. 

Today I have been invited to speak at Centennial Place Elementary School.  It's a math, science and technology school and they want to relate those topics to cooking.  A perfect match!  I'll be with the third grade today and they'll do some cooking in addition to hearing me talk.  We'll have fun I'm sure. 

This is a slower week for me.  I had blocked off a couple days to go to Charlotte to hear Alice Waters speak, but discovered she is coming to Atlanta in November, so decided to wait.  I'll have time to knit and make daisies. 

I have to go get ready for school now.  I don't want to be late!

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