Four Weddings and a Funeral... wait.

Four Weddings and a Funeral

One Wedding and a Baptism

Well, it’s been a while, I know.  I was really busy last week, though! Here’s the short story.

Once upon a time, I was asked to make a wedding cake…my FIRST wedding cake!  I, of course, accepted.  Then, a month or so ago, I was asked to cater a baptism reception at church.  I knew that the baptism was THE DAY AFTER the wedding, but I thought “No problem, I can do that!”  I guess, in retrospect, that’s true, but I don’t think that I’ll be doing two events in one weekend again!  At least until I have support staff.  The end.J

Ok, Ok… here’s the long version.  (Since you asked so nicely!)

When the bride told me that she and the groom wanted me to make their wedding cake, I was flattered!  I’ve made some cakes for church, baby blessings, Relay for Life, my sister’s graduation (pics to come!)… but nothing more than 2 or maybe 3 tiers.  A wedding cake for 275 invited guests was going to be uncharted ground for me!  She was great, though, and she pretty much gave me free reign, just said she wanted white with varying shades of purple flowers, and butter cream… no fondant.

Now you would think that someone saying, “Hey!  Do whatever you want, just make it pretty!”  would be awesome and easy, but in a way, it makes things harder for me.  I can think of millions of things, but how do I know what someone else will want?

So I go to my trusted friend, Pinterest, and looked at TONS of wedding cakes.  These two were the examples I sent her.

                                        

I was thinking a six-tiered cake, alternating square and round tiers, each layer a different flavor.  I really liked the way the ribbon looked on the pink cake, and the bride thought my ideas were awesome!

Before

Here’s the flavors and fillings of the cake:

·         Yellow Cake with Raspberry Jam

·         Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

·         Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache

·         White Cake with Lemon Curd

·         White Cake with Coffee Icing

·         Chocolate Cake with Coffee Icing

After we decided on the cake, the mother of the bride pulled me aside one Sunday and told me a few things they’d forgotten; they’d need gluten-free cake for some guests that are wheat-intolerant, and she gave me a cake topper… the one that had been on HER cake, and her mother’s.  Nick was so afraid I’d lose that thing!  I swear he asked me every other day where it was, and I’d have to get it and show him that I had it, safe and sound!

I once again went to Pinterest and found a recipe for banana gluten-free cupcakes with cream cheese icing, and decided that would be a great choice.

During

I didn’t want to make the cake too early, and I am not exactly a “professional” baker.  I don’t have a lot of extra space, especially refrigerator space, to store a cake like this.  So Thursday and Friday I spent baking this huge cake.  It wasn’t too difficult, until I got ready to crumb-coat the base layer…

So I take this giant 14 inch round cake and cut the top off to level it, and I notice… it looks like it has a gooey tunnel in the middle.  So I grab the next 14 inch circle.  Seems ok when I cut it, so I think, maybe it’s alright.  But just to check, I take a pinch from the outside to make sure… dry as a bone. L  And the third layer was gooey just like the first.  DANG IT!  I have made this butter recipe before, and once it was good but the second time it was gooey too.  I know I followed the recipe EXACTLY, so I don’t think I’ll be using that recipe again! So, at 11:15 on Friday night, I go back out to the store and get more milk and cake flour… and start making this tier again.  Ugh.  

Thankfully Nick was there for moral support and entertainment (as usual), so we watched Rocky Horror Picture Show and reminisced about watching it at the Rialto in our college years.  We also watched several episodes of Will and Grace until the last cake was done baking.  It was about 2:30 Saturday morning, a mere 14 hours before the wedding, when the cake finally came out of the oven.

The Horror of Actually Having to Throw Cake Away!

Thankfully, Nana came to the rescue on Saturday, and whisked away Nick and the girls so that I could finish my cake.  When they left, Nana apologized to me, that she wasn’t taking me with them.  I told her that it was no problem, and I appreciated her and Nick giving me some peace and quiet!  A girl could get used to that! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to savor the peace and quiet and had to finish icing my cake.

When I got to the Marriott that afternoon, I didn’t really know what to do.  Like I said, I’d never done a wedding before.  So I went in to the hotel front desk and asked where I needed to go and for something to transport my cakes.  They told me it was in the Grand Ballroom, and to take a luggage cart.

All the Parts of the Cake on the Way to the Reception

Well I loaded up half of my cake on the cart and went down the hallway they pointed me towards.  Unfortunately, the Grand Ballroom was not labeled as such and since I was there early, they didn’t have a sign out saying “Wedding Here!”  So I meandered a bit and someone finally told me that the rooms on the right (labeled Salon A-G) when not separated were actually the Grand Ballroom! 

So as I start assembling it, I realize… a 12 inch square is BIGGER than a 14 inch circle! Aaaahh!!! So I set that layer aside for them to cut and serve separately and finished building.  In the end, it looked great, and I am told that the bride and groom liked it very much. (As did all of the guests!)

But then I had to run home, with a stop at my favorite grocery store to pick up my last-minute groceries for the baptism!

Final Product!

Part 2.  A friend at church asked me to cater a reception after their daughter’s baptism.  The mom is a woman after my own heart, and such a planner, so she called me straight away.  We chatted about yummy things and then she talked it over with her husband.  In retrospect, the menu did turn out to be a little cream cheese heavy (with this and the wedding cake, I bought and used two 6-count boxes of cream cheese from BJ’s!), but I think we did do a great job!

Here’s what we had:

Crudites and Onion Dip

Fruit Tray with Cake Batter Dip (yes, it is as good as it sounds!)

Spicy Chicken Pinwheels, some Vegetarian

Cheese Crackers with Pecans (Her recipe!)

Summer Salad (Tomatoes, Corn, Cukes, Avocado, and Feta Cheese… very summery!)

White Cake Squares with Cream Cheese Icing and Button and Bird Decorations on top (baby girl’s name is two bird names, and in utero, grandma called her button.  This was because they didn’t know her gender, and grandma didn’t want to call her “the baby” all the time.)

Caramel Crunch Brownies

And of course, Princess Punch

I was actually surprised that the Summer Salad did so well… I think it was the first thing that was finished! I know that I can make rich and heavy things sometimes, but that’s the fun of parties, right?  Eating things you wouldn’t normally?  So something this light and, honestly, easy, being liked by so many was awesome! I sometimes get worried, making things that I’ve never tried before, and this was no exception.  So when they turn out well, like this one, it makes me happy, and a little relieved. 

  

Side Note:  Nick and I came home one day from church and I sat down at the computer and he grabbed a note pad and we both started working.  I had no clue what he was doing, but I was putting together all of my notes from different jobs that I had and making sure I knew who they were for, when they were, where we were in the process, etc.  Little did I know, Nick was writing up a printout sheet for me to use as a template for my jobs! Great minds think alike, huh?

Things I learned from this experience:

• I REALLY need a “catering kit”… I’ve even started putting one together (finally).  Scrub brush, towels, a knife… you know essentials.  Oh yeah, and Band-Aids….   You can figure out that one.
• Craig, our pastor, doesn’t like punch!  I think I’ll bring him a small soda next time.
• Cake support systems are EXPENSIVE!!  I did decide to get more than I needed, so I didn’t have to keep going back and getting more, but seriously!  In case you were wondering, I got the Stable Mabel, and the Stress Free Support System.  Both worked out really well.  I’d highly recommend them!
•        I can’t do two events in one weekend.  Not without helpers, a designated work space, and/or a refrigerator just for work.  And No-Doz.  J
• I’m going to start putting together a portfolio of all of my work, so if someone asks “I really liked that thing you made for so-and-so, can you make that for me?” Also, like I said before, a lot of my ideas come from Pinterest, so when I have my menu set, I can print all of my recipes out, put them in my binder, and have everything in one place, ready for me to start working!
• You can’t put a 12 inch square on a 14 inch circle.  For that matter, you probably shouldn’t put an 8 inch square on a 10 inch circle either.  The math nerd in me is mad that the caterer in me didn’t think to check if the diagonal of the square cake was smaller than the diameter of the round one.  (17 inches and 11 inches, respectively.  Just in case you were wondering)
• I could never do this without Nick.  He is so helpful, whether it’s calling his mom to get him and the girls out of the house so I can work in peace, or helping set up for events, cleaning dishes and making my food look “purdy”… if it weren’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be a caterer.

I know this has been a mess (in so many ways!), but thanks for coming and reading! Stay tuned for more cakes!

Spring is in the air!!

So, I did fellowship time again for church a week or two ago… seems like the only gig I can get these days. I had a little bit of a hard time figuring out what to make, since it wasn’t near a major holiday or have a “theme”. Sometimes when people just say “ok, make something” I have no clue what to do! I do have a very strong Pintrest addiction, so help is never far away!

Melissa, our Pastoral Assistant, surprise emailed me and offered to reimburse me for part of the expenses! We had a speaker for the youth group there, and she said that she was thinking of ordering sandwiches, but then remembered that I was taking care of fellowship time and viola! It is nice to get some approval!

I also have a church board member or two in my pocket to make a meal for them when their time is up for the board meetings. Granted, one of them is my husband, but still… maybe this will get my foot in the door some more.

Ok, on to what I created for THIS church event. Since I was making more of a meal because of our guest speaker, I thought I should make it more luncheon-like and less snack-y. (Are those words??... I’m going to say yes.) 

I made a Panera-esque chicken salad on mini croissants

homemade pimento cheese on Hawaiian sweet rolls

 baked egg rolls

some cereal snack mix

 and crudités. For the sweets, I made cream cheese mints

 “leprechaun snacks”

 cupcakes

 and shortbread tartlets

 I tried to go for a spring theme… spring chicken, spring rolls, green icing and flowers from my cake decorating class on the cupcakes. And not to forget, the “leprechaun snacks”, which were really just grapes, rolled in lime Jello. Odd, but yummy, and just a little sour!

I must say, I love the fact that I have a neighbor who loves food and cooking as much as I do. On Saturday, I made a little plate of everything that I had made so far, and … well, I guess it was a good thing. I had been making the tartlets, and they were driving me crazy. They took forever to press into the pan, they stuck to it, they came out looking extra crispy (just this side of burned) even though I cooked it perfectly and according to the directions (kind of odd for me). Ugh. I had enough food planned didn’t I? I was the only one who knew what my menu was, and it wasn’t like it would matter if I didn’t make them, right?? But when Erin tried everything… she told me, specifically, that the tartlets were “off the chain”. And I hadn’t even dipped them in chocolate yet! 

So I decided to give them another go, adjust the cooking time and not try so hard to make them look “perfect”. The important thing is that they taste good, right? And, like I said, I’m glad that I did. They were kind of the hit of the day! I mean, it was shortbread, caramel, and chocolate. Like a little Twix bar, but in a cup. How could it be bad?!

Also, Nick thought I was crazy for putting apples and Crasins in my chicken salad, but I must say, delicious! I saw somewhere or read it maybe, that using your mixer to shred meat was a big time saver. I must agree, that was tremendous! I put three whole rotisserie chickens worth of meat in my Kitchen-Aid, and just mixed the heck out of it! It… Was…Awesome!! I did have to take some out to add my other ingredients, but yeah, try that! 

I guess that’s everything… come back soon and I’ll post about the aforementioned cake decorating class! WITH pictures!

Short Tablecloths and Many Mini Apple Pies

 

Fellowship time again this week! Whose idea was it to do fellowship time a little over a week after having surgery?? Just FYI, don’t do that. Anywho, I tried to make things that weren’t too complicated, but somewhere along the line I think that idea went by the wayside.

I made:

 Mini apple pies with small apples for the top

Meatball slider sandwiches

 

Mini zucchini and onion quiches (this link is in metric, but it's not too hard)

Bacon and corn dip (picture SO does not do it justice!!)

Saltine Toffee

Gigi Tea- I'll post about this later this week... Teaser!!

The set up went much quicker this time thanks to easy packing in our great cooler with wheels. I realized that I’m much more into what I’m making and I don’t really worry about how it looks or having other things on the table to gussy it up, you know, like flowers, etc. But Nick is really helpful in this area and went down the street to the store and got a couple of apples to sit with the pies and some rosemary to put with the sliders. He also was the one who was trying to get tablecloths for the two tables. It was sort of difficult because the church has 3 or 4 different styles, but no two matching and some were even too short to cover the tables! Finally I was looking for something else and saw that someone had put a second purple one in the wrong place… maybe I just need to go to Bed, Bath and Beyond and get two or three for each season… you think I can convince Nick of that?? I think what I’m trying to say here is I’m glad that Nick usually helps me out with these things, we seem to compliment each other well.

It may have been a mistake to do fellowship time before the church picnic.  The church kitchen can be a little difficult to work in just because of the way it’s set up, but when you add stuff that’s not yours…ugh. And as we were trying to clean up (ok, Nick was cleaning and I was toddler-wrangling) four or five members came in to set up. You know the old saying “Too many cooks in the kitchen…” We figured it out, but in the future, I think I’ll make sure to see what other events are going on the same day so we don’t have similar issues.

All in all it was a great event, the food was a huge hit and everyone kept talking about how delicious everything was.  I even got a few potential opportunities in the coming months. YAY! And if anyone out there has an event they need me to do, just  post a message, send an email, give me a call, write a letter, send a pigeon, whatever!! No event or budget is too big or too small!

Hello out there!!!

I know it's been a while since I've posted, but I've been busy... ok, I haven't, and I don't even have a good excuse... maybe because I wasn't used to doing it I just forgot?? dang, that's another excuse! anywho, I'm back, and I have a couple of posts to put up for you!! (pause for standing ovation :)

So, for my "re-intro to blogging" post, I've decided to do a little cook by numbers... this one is super easy and inexpensive and AWESOME if you have kiddos! (or are just one at heart :) 

BITE SIZED, BAKED CORN DOGS

 Ok, first, you buy some hotdogs, a store-bought muffin mix, and the stuff to make it... you know, milk, eggs, that kind of stuff. (I'd actually add some flour next time so it's not so gritty and more corn dog-esque.)

 Then you mix up the cornbread according to the recipe, heat the oven to the prescribed temp (probably 400..) and cut up those dogs!! Here I used the bun length (which are longer) so I cut them into 8 pieces each. If you use "regular" hotdogs, I'd do 6 pieces.

 Now, this is very important and definitely a "do as I say, not as I do" moment... SPRAY THE PAN!!!! for the love of all that is dear to you SPRAY THE PAN! as you can see, I did not spray the first two cups, and, well, you'll see....

 I used a mini muffin pan, it has a good dog-to-cornbread ratio. (I also had a little extra and made myself a little muffin to go with my chili. Maybe I'll do a recipe on that sometime.)

 Ok, next you put the hotdogs in. I think it's best to put them cut side up. Also, when i did it again, I rolled them in flour, just to make the cornmeal stick better.

 Cook....

 Plate....

 (See!! Foolishness! Spray The Pan!)

 And serve!!

 As you can see, my beautiful taste-testers liked it so much, they couldn't be bothered by silly things, you know, like mommy....

Hope you guys enjoy these as much as I did!!!

Confirmation Reception

This weekend, I catered my second event, a reception for the confirmands after the confirmation service at our church, Raleigh Moravian. Since it was a pre-lunch soiree, we didn’t have a large menu, but since it was for a big group, we had to have a lot of it.

We dropped the girls off in nursery, and got to work. Casey was there, and offered to help out. I think part of the reason was because BK was having some separation anxiety, but he said also that there was no room in the sanctuary! A few minutes later, Barry came in and asked the guys to help him add some folding chairs because they actually had to turn people away! I may have gotten in over my head…

As I was getting everything prepared this past week, Nick was looking at the food and saying stuff like “four trays of sandwiches?? Don’t you think that’s a bit much?” or “eight dozen cupcakes??! Really?” (It ended up being 6 ½ dozen anyways…) but when everyone came in the food was gone in a flash it seemed! I literally came home with two boxes of crackers and a box of cheddar bunnies (kind of like goldfish). I did throw away maybe four of the cheese straws that I made… sorry, I was just kind of tired of looking at them J

Here’s the menu and some pics:

Herbed Cheese Straws

Artichoke and Garlic Dip

Italian Artichoke Dip

Turkey & Cheese Sandwiches

Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

Lemon-filled sugar cookies

Key lime pie Meringues

Sparkling Lemonade- (Casey helped...he's an engineer :)

Things I learned this time around:

• Last time, I didn’t have a “schedule” of when I was making my food, so this time I did that, making sure to make things that utilized different equipment every day, so I wasn’t trying to use the oven ALL DAY.
• I realized there are some things that HAVE to be done on the day of, like icing with cream cheese frosting (don’t know that I’ll use that again!!).
• Maybe Linzer cookies are small for a reason
• I need to have a supply box of things that some places may not have; paper towels, trash bags, Clorox wipes, and chip clips are definitely on that list!
• Even though I now am making a schedule, I should probably run it by my husband, because he thinks more logically. For instance “maybe you should have made the lemonade a little later in the week, so that our whole fridge isn’t full for the next five days!” I’m just trying to get stuff made, and in a short time, but he’s right, I had very little to do yesterday, and could have made it then!
• EVERYONE comes to confirmation!! We had at least 300 people in the church, and we actually ran out of food! That’s one thing that’s difficult about planning an event when you don’t know how many people will be there… since it’s getting to be summer time, sometimes we only have about 100 people at church, I knew there would be family and friends coming in, but that’s just crazy!! I think Nick sees now that I know some of what I’m doing at least!

That’s all the events I have for now, but many a business card has been handed out or picked up, so I’ll let you all know when something else comes up! Thanks for reading!!

My First Paying Gig!

So, I completed my first “real” catering job this past week. It was a lunch for the maintenance staff and parents who help out at sporting events at an area private school. It started out being for about thirty people, then 37 to 40, and ended up having all of those, a few coaches, the athletic director, and the school president! I am so forgetful that I forgot my business cards, but thankfully, I know myself, and had a few in my purse as well! 

My sister came down to help out with the girls while we got ready for this event and during our yard sale the weekend before. It was great because I realized that having a couple of extra hands would really help me out at the school as well. If she hadn’t been here, I may have gone crazy!

Here are some pics of the food that we prepared for the event, and here’s the menu:

 Fruit salad

Sweet and spicy bacon wrapped chicken

Italian meatball sliders

Garden salad with four dressings

Baked potato bar

 Baked Beans

Spicy Chicken Avocado Roll-ups

Broccoli salad

Sports themed cupcakes

Ginger Watermelon spritzer

Strawberry Lemonade

The cupcakes I may have gone a little overboard on, I had chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing, chocolate with chocolate filling, made to look like footballs, chocolate with strawberry filling, made to look like basketballs, vanilla cupcakes with chocolate filling, iced to look like soccer balls, vanilla cupcakes with strawberry filling, iced to look like baseballs, and vanilla cupcakes with lemon curd, iced to look like tennis balls. There were supposed to be vanilla/vanilla cupcakes too, but I ran out of plain vanilla butter cream icing at the zero hour! I guess it was OK though, because they were the hit of the show and very few made it home with me!!

I was a little upset that there was no Sweet and spicy bacon wrapped chicken to take home with me, but I guess that’s really a good thing! Also, the Spicy Chicken Avocado Roll-ups were very popular and many people asked me for the recipe. I’m going to try to see if I can link them up, and if not, the recipes are on my Pintrest board!! 

I’m catering the Confirmation Reception at church this weekend, so hopefully I’ll get better pics and another blog post very soon!!