My First Dinner Party

I love cooking.  Since I've moved into my house I've been itching to have a dinner party.  When I was in Florida at the beginning of October I picked-up some adorable orange napkins with the words "Happy Fall Y'All!"  I knew I had to finally have the dinner party I'd been dying to have, just so I could use these napkins!

I was very blessed to have had so much help from my friend Dennis.  He is a true "gourmand."  He taught me how to make homemade mozzarella!  It was delicious!  We also made gnocchi together and Dennis dressed it with homemade pesto.  He also whipped up homemade Italian bread.  Yum!

I made a crab and gouda cheese dip.  The recipe was from a class at Le Chat Gourmet.  My Mom's famous bacon bites were also a hit at the party!  We also "recycled" the balsamic caramelized onion and goat cheese bruschetta that Le Chat Gourmet gave me after the March of Dimes auction!  Crunchy meatballs with a pineapple sauce were also on the menu which comes from the kitchen of my good friend Traci.  Dennis also made a salmon dip.  It was extra tasty since the salmon came from his friend in Alaska!  How lucky were we?

For dessert I made a pear tart with vanilla pastry cream and mocha espresso mousse, another recipe from Le Chat Gourmet.

We cannot forget the tasty caramel apple martini's that Brittany and Patrick made for us!  Yum!  Or the sweet frosted chocolate chip cookie from Brynn!

With my good friends Brittany, Ashley and Brynn in the kitchen.

Farkas trying to steal a bit of homemade mozzarella.  I think he knows the difference.  :-)

The Colonial Bar & Grille

The Colonial Bar belongs to my family.  It is on the corner of Martin Luther King Blvd. and Holmes Rd. in Lansing.  I was there last Wednesday night with my Mom and I happened to have my camera with me.  Wednesday night is the night for Dart League.  My Dad likes us to go watch him!  :-)  I like to go and have dinner with my parents and enjoy a margarita ($2.50 on Wednesdays!) after a long day at the bakery!  It is always an entertaining evening!

Taco Salad and Margarita.

The Colonial Bar was founded by my Grandpa in 1965.  If you stop by at lunchtime you'll certainly see my grandparents sitting in their favorite booth facing the mural of our dogs!

On the far left, Abby (she has passed away) is on the left, Riley is next to her on the right.  Oliver is next to them with the pointy ears.  Paulie is the poodle on the chair and Leo, Grandma and Grandpa's dog who passed away, is the schnauzer on the right.  Fortunately their new dog, Schnapps, is also a schnauzer, so they don't get confused!  We don't know the "bully" in the middle!  :-)

Dart League just ended this past week, so now is the perfect time to join the next one.  If you (or someone you know) have interest in joining just give them a call.  517-882-6132.  You need three people for a team.  Trust me, you'll have fun!

        

3425 South Martin Luther King Blvd.  Lansing, MI 48910

517-882-6132

john@colonialbarandgrille.com  www.colonialbarandgrille.com

Monday-Friday 9:00am-2:00am, Saturday 10:00am-2:00am & Sunday 12:00pm-2:00am

March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction

On October 20th A Piece O' Cake participated in the March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction.  We had a wonderful time!  I love food, so being in a room filled with great food to sample was simply amazing!  Unfortunately, I was behind our booth 99% of the time, so I did not get to wander and sample all of the yummy dishes.  But, I was lucky enough to have my Dad and friend bring my mom and me back plates of food!

I was so happy to be placed next to my good friend Denene Vincent, owner and executive chef of Le Chat Gourmet.

I was also lucky to meet up with the owner of Sweetie-licious Pie Pantry in DeWitt, Linda Hundt.  She is super sweet!  And she makes the best pie!

We will definitely be participating again next year.  Our auction package was a birthday party at the bakery.  Below is the description of our prize, maybe next year you will win!

"A Piece O’Cake invites the birthday boy/girl and eight friends to a special birthday party where they will be cake decorators for an afternoon. Your child will have the opportunity to design his or her cake of their dreams and have it ready to enjoy at the party. Each guest will also be given their own individual cake and allowed to create their own masterpieces. Supplies and Lunch will be provided. All you need is to be ready to celebrate and make a piece o’ art."

Destination Wedding Cake-Jacksonville, Florida

Two weeks ago I visited one of my best friends in Jacksonville, Florida.  Emily and I met over three years ago while we were studying in Paris.  Emily is marrying Max on May 8, 2010 and they have asked me to make their wedding cake.  Very exciting!  I cannot wait to write about this experience.  It is going to be a wonderful challenge.  :-)

First things first: taste the cake!  Surprisingly enough, you can take cupcakes on airplanes!  Lucky for me!  I made Emily and Max a dozen cupcakes: kahlua fudge, sour cream chocolate, wedding white, lemon and raspberry swirl.  They were all decorated with either a sugar paste champagne glass, a wedding dress, heart or gift.  They were adorable!  I'd highly recommend them for a bridal shower or wedding.

The three of us had a lot of fun tasting the cake and deciding on their wedding cake flavors.  We settled on raspberry swirl with raspberry buttercream filling and sour cream chocolate with chocolate buttercream filling.

   

As for the design, the cake will be four tiers, frosted in buttercream and covered in white, sugar paste gardenias with petals placed sporadically around the tiers.  The bottom tier will be wrapped with a white sugar paste ribbon and bow.  I cannot wait!  It is such a privilege to make my best friend's wedding cake.  It is a privilege to be included in anyone's wedding, but it is even more special when it is someone you are so close with.  I've done several cakes these past two years for friends that I grew up with.  Who would have thought?  Life sure is surprising!  :-)

 

Casa Marina, the reception site.

Congratulations again, Emily and Max!  XOXO

Soup Spoon Cafe

Have you been to the Soup Spoon Cafe in Lansing, yet?  If not, you should!  I heard about it from a client, as they were catering a party for her.  She said that they highly recommended A Piece O' Cake for the cake for her party and I thought, I need to check this place out!  I am always so honored when someone gives us such praise, and being a foodie myself, I couldn't wait to try their food!

My mom and I rarely go to lunch.  But on one of the first days of what really felt like Fall we decided to give it a try.  Plus, it was our day off.  :-)  So we headed over to the restaurant and boy were we surprised.  I knew it would be good, but I didn't know it would be this good!  I had the pumpkin soup.  It was absolutely delicious.  It was topped with a bit of whipped cream, which made it even better.  We also had sandwiches, which were amazing, too.  I believe mine was the Chicken Salad Melt.  Yum!  We liked it so much that Mom made the trip from the bakery to the Soup Spoon Cafe during work to bring us all back soup for lunch!  It made our day.  I'm thinking that another trip is in order...maybe you'll see me there at lunchtime today!

Location & Information:
1419 E. Michigan Ave.  Lansing, MI 48912
Just past Sparrow Hospital, if you are headed East on Michigan Ave. on the left hand side.
517-316-2377
www.soupspooncafe.com

Lucy Grey Handbag Cake

I am blessed to have many wonderful people in my life.  One inspirational person is my friend Michelle Thelen.  She has recently launched a fun and fashionable handbag company called Lucy Grey.  A week or so ago there was a pre-launch party for Michelle and we were able to see (and touch!) these fabulous bags. Trust me, they are beautiful.

It was a pleasure making this cake for Michelle.  What I think is so great about her bags is that they have the option of an accessory, such as a bloom or a brooch, thus the ivory sugar paste peony on her cake.  Another great thing about this company is that the handbags are made in Michigan.  I think that is just wonderful.

To learn more about Lucy Grey click here.

I could not be more excited for her and this new adventure!  Bonne Chance, Michelle!

The cake process:

We began with three 9x13 Kahlua Fudge cakes filled with buttercream frosting.

Next came the carving...

Then the fondant...piece by piece...

The ivory sugar paste peony.

The handles drying overnight.