My first wedding cake

The son of one of my best friends, someone I've known for nearly 20 years, was married on January 15th and I had the honor of making their wedding cake and the grooms cake.  The bride and I talked about the overall design of the cake and the theme of the wedding along with colors which would be purple and silver, nice colors for early January.  Along with those colors, the bride wanted to incorporate peacock feathers into the design and feathers would also be part of the flowers worn by the men.  She gave me all the flexibility I wanted/needed in the overall design on the cake and we all settled on white cake for the flavor. Naturally I right away went to my white cake recipe that is used for most of the birthday cakes I make.

There is a nice almond flavor in this cake and the texture is just perfect. I knew it would be a hit.

Two weeks before the wedding, on a Sunday afternoon, I baked the cakes that would be put together for this wedding cake that would need to feed 200 guests.

two 13 x 2 inch layers
two 11 x 2 inch layers
three 8 x 2 inch layers
two 6 x 2 inch layers

I made the white cake recipe 10 times to make all of the layers and then carefully, once they had cooled, wrapped them tight as can be in 6 layers of Saran Wrap and then popped them into the freezer where they would wait patiently  until being called upon to be decorated.

The day before the wedding I mixed up 6 lbs. of powered sugar and 3 lbs. of butter, along with vanilla and a pinch of salt to create the yummy buttercream frosting that would be used to frost the cake.  If you think no one can tell the difference between Crisco frosting and the real deal, think again. They can.

The first two layers of cake were frosted quickly and then I did the same for the next two layers.  After they were iced I carefully placed them on top of a cake board that had been covered in white fondant and the rim was covered with purple ribbon that has been purchased from a craft store.

For the 'grooms cake" his mom and I decided on individual lime tarts because Corey really likes key lime pie.  The week of the wedding I made 115 tart shells and four batches of fresh lime curd.  In honor of the Groom's Irish heritage, I found 1 inch shamrock decorations online and they were just perfect.

The wedding went off without a hitch, the cake was a hit and didn't fall over. I consider that a success.

CONGRATULATIONS TERELL AND COREY!
January 15, 2011

This week

This is a crazy week, just like every week has been for the past several months. On Saturday, Corey McConnell, the son of one of my very best girlfriends, is getting married and I was asked to make the wedding cake and the grooms cake.

Corey loves key lime pie, so his mom, Vivi, and I decided to make little key lime tarts for the occasion.  The wedding cake was selected by his fiance, Terrell, and will have to feed 200 guests.  Oh my.

To say that I am thinking about this event non-stop is an understatement to say the least.

Last week I prepared my white cake recipe 8 times to create 2-13x2 inch layers, two 11x2 in, three 8x2 and two 5x2 inch layers, which are all wrapped up like Ft. Knox and stored in the freezer till Friday when I will take it all out, layer it with buttercream frosting and insert dowels so it won't shift or fall over. The color purple is going to be incorporated on the cake in the form of a long strip of fondant that will start at the top of the cake and then trail down the side of the cake.  The bride is also a fan of peacock feathers so those will also be incorporated into the design.

Yes, I am breathing into a paper bag every chance I get and will keep you all posted on the cake and post a photo of the final product.

This morning I baked 57 tart shells, and yesterday I made enough lime curd to feed the Russian Army. I'll need to make 100 more tart shells then they will be filled, stored in the walkin and topped off with whipped cream and a darling little sugar shamrock in honor of groom's Irish heritage.  That's a surprise for him.

Pushing myself to do things I've never done before is so much fun and making people happy through baking tops that.

Life's Wonderful Moments

Mr. Man and I were very fortunate this past Christmas to have both of my children visit and stay with us at the same time over the holiday.  Our home was going to be full of life and we were both looking forward with anticipation to the noise and excitement that comes with being surrounded by people we love.

Plus, our grandson, Jacob was going to be here and of course everything is much more fun with a grandchild in the house.

Everyone arrive the afternoon of December 28th and after the hugging, unpacking and settling in, it was time to start thinking about dinner and preparing a great meal to share with the family.  I thought it would be fun to make ravioli and spaghetti so Chef Jackie and I commenced to do just that.

For me, it was one of my favorite times of the week.  You see, 20 something years ago, in the midst of the craziness that was then my life, I would have never imagined things would have turned out so well for me.  But, here I was.

In my beautiful home, married to a truly wonderful, patient, caring and loving man, both of my adult children married to kind, loving and thoughtful people, with a healthy, bright and delightful grandson.  All of us together enjoying the company of one another.

In that very moment I just soaked it all in and paused to reflect on how much God has blessed my life.  Even during the times that I thought were so dark and unbearable, He had a plan for me and it was my job just to get out of the way and let it happen.I'm so fortunate that I did just that. 

Okay, well, maybe I wasn't as patient as I make myself out to be, but it did all work out.

 Our meal was delicious and Chef Jackie learned how to make pasta mother-in-law style.

 We made a great team and a lot of ravioli!

This is my favorite photo of the night.  Me with both of my girls, in the kitchen.

This was a great moment in my life and one I'll treasure always.

Where does the time go?

The holidays are fun, exciting and exhausting!  It's been over two weeks since I've posted but it's not because things haven't been happening.  Far too much to write it all down and we are about to head out the door for a day in Austin to visit my aunt and uncle who live there, their daughter, my cousin Lilly who is in from London, and my Uncle Terry who is there for the Christmas holiday.

Writing and posting photos will have to wait.

I hope everyone is enjoying this special time with family friends and remembering fondly our loved ones who are no longer here.

Enjoy the season.

End of the first semester

I made it!  In a rush to get out the door and off to class, I left my cell phone on the kitchen counter and was alone with my thoughts for the 40+ mile drive to school. Typically I distract myself with phone calls, but today my strategy for the knife skills portion of our exam kept running through my head.

Running late had me talking to myself to keep from freaking out because I was certain that everyone would already be taking the written exam; thank goodness I arrived at school in plenty of time.  Chef had us all spread out and we completed the written test (I scored 93), and then we were off to the kitchen for our knife skills test and the cooking test.  We had to julianne a potato, brunoise a carrot and small chop an onion, in 5 minutes and I did okay with the exception of cutting that darn potato into french fries instead of a julianne cut.  OMG! I practiced this at home!

Next up was the fabrication of a chicken which I was not worried about because I fabed out 2 chickens this morning in record time.  I'll admit it...I'm bossy and refuse to let someone on my 'table' negatively impact my score by doing something incorrectly. Yes, there was the incident were the fellow used the wrong potato for the potato leek soup and I just let it go, but basically I'll be all over someone if they don't do it right. But in a good way.

I took the chicken, made the cuts to the back, took out the spine and then split the breast so we had 2 halves. Everyone on our table had to have their hands on the bird so it was expected of me to back off and let someone else cut parts of the chicken. Really?   Ugh.  Thank God for the guy across from me because he took half of the bird, I passed the other half to the student on my right and with an eagle eye was watching her.  For crying out loud.  I was cringing and had to stop her before she mauled the poor bird.  Okay, look at the the fat lines and follow them...no, don't saw or use too much force. Let the bird do the work....
We got everything taken care of, quickly I might add, and then Chef told us that if we could fab out another chicken in less than 4 minutes we would get extra credit.

Done.   3:55.  And I must say it looked darn good.

Next was the lab portion. Glazed carrots, sauteed mushrooms (present at the same time), white rice and rice pilaf (present together), macaroni and cheese ( with a bechemel sauce), and then the chicken: 1 roasted bone in with skin breast; braise 2 thighs; pan sear 1 boneless/skinless breast; fry 2 wings; grill 2 marinated chicken legs.  All finished and presented to Chef at the same time.

We finished. That's all I'm going to say; some people do more, some do less.  Unfortunately for some, their grade is impacted by the lack of participation by others.  Fortunately for some, their grade is impacted by the hard work of others.

Pastry classes begin on January11th and that means Tuesday evenings from 5:30 till 10:30pm.  I'm going to learn so much! 

Memories

It's that time of year when people all across the world are getting ready to celebrate Christmas, the birth of Christ, and with this wonderful celebration comes time with family and the remembrance of those who have touched our lives.

One of the most influential people in my life, and in the life of my sisters, was my grandmother,

Grandma Rosie.

Rose Josephine Faulstich Clervi was my mom's mother and the most wonderful grandmother in the world. She watched over us when my parents took a much needed break from raising 6 daughters; she lived close enough that we could ride our bikes to her house, and she was loved by everyone who knew her.  Grandma also played a pretty mean hand of "Kings on the Corner", a card game all of the grandchildren eventually learned from her.

Every year at Christmas Grandma Rosie gave us each a Christmas ornament which mom would proudly display in the house for that season and the next year it would show up on the tree as we waited in anticipation of what the new ornament would look like.

I can only imagine how my parents felt the first year they received 1 ornament from Grandma, and each subsequent year, for 4 years in a row, another ornament was purchased, till at last, in 1970, there were 6 ornaments to purchase for the granddaughters.  I think about and wonder how she selected the ornaments and if she thought about how we would all cherish these treasures and think about how much she meant to each of us.  My mom was the only child who remained in St. Louis and although I know all of my first cousins and stay in touch with them, I don't know if Grandma gave all of them ornaments or if that was something she did only for us.  I would like to think that we are all connected through our ornaments and that all of our Christmas trees share a past and are somehow intertwined.

 I love you, Grandma Rosie, and hope and pray that Jake and my little unborn granddaughter, along with Maddox and Eli think of me in the way I think of you.

 

I remember unwrapping these treasures and being so excited to share them with my sisters; each year recalling which one was "mine" and loving mine the best.

Some of these ornaments, like the little guy below, were only given to a few of us because the younger sisters had not yet arrived.  These precious few are the most special to me. 

Grandma Rosie, I love you, miss you and think of you so very much.

New York New York!

This year Mr. Man and I decided that we would take advantage of Steve and Jackie living in NYC and visit them for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The city did not disappoint.

We arrived on Saturday, the 20th, and from the moment we arrived it was a non-stop week of sightseeing and visiting bakeries and coffee shops to locate the best pastries and espressos the Big Apple has to offer.

 Steve and Jackie outside their Upper East Side apartment building.

On Saturday night we headed out to Little Italy for dinner and I was star struck by the pastries in this little bakery.

Aren't they gorgeous?  Not sure if I'll learn how to do this in school, but I'm keeping these photos to use as a guide when I have time to play around in the kitchen.

 Each one is a work of art.

The macarons are next on my list of things to learn to bake.  Not only are they beautiful, they are absolutely delicious.  Time consuming, yes, which translates to pricey. But, believe me, worth every penny.