Cakes of a different breed...

I am the first to admit it... Cakes are not my biggest strength... don't get me wrong, I can hang with the walmart cake decorators, but thankfully I work alongside Kathy, who does have the cake strength... The following are just a couple cakes that I've done.

This is the cake that I did for Em's completion of her thesis for grad school. It's fun... and please note, the decorating was done completely with plastic bags... for some reason, there were no tips at the house!! Now, now, cakewrecks... nobody had to pay for it!!



This was a cake I did for Jessica's birthday. It was a simple two layer yellow cake, seperated by, and frosted with a citrus buttercream...

This is one of my favorite cakes to make... Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. Three types of mousse, a brownie bottom layer, and fully covered with ganache. It happens to be quite lovely when cut...

That's all I have... there are more, but they are far less pretty to look at, so they are staying in the vault!! :)

Food pictures are fun!!

-Wendi-

Some Cakes: A Retrospective, Part I

Though the blog is new, the fun with food has been going on for awhile. So for your viewing pleasure, I'm tossing in some k2 cake creations from earlier this year. Never thought that baking would end up being my thing, but baking is pretty precise and I'm pretty anal, ah, detail-oriented, so it's been a good match.

Baby Shower Block

Wedding "Blues"



I Heart Crayons (before)



I Heart Crayons (after)



Happy 58th Birthday, David Cassidy!



Darcy's Farewell Cake



Okay, this was actually done a couple of years ago, but I like to call it Meredith Before



And we'll call this one, Meredith After



Okay, that one not so edible unless you enjoy diapers and baby sock roses, but still...cake! Wendi is working on some of her photos as well, so more tasty food for the viewing to come.

k2

Chiming in with the Menu

Okay, here it is, all fancified.

Starter -- Button Mushrooms stuffed with Italian Sausage and Fennel

Salad -- Wendi's Signature Crab Cakes on a bed of Field Greens with a Creamy Lemon Tarragon Dressing

Soup -- Gazpacho with Fresh Garden Tomatoes, Summer Vegetables, and a hint of Roasted Jalapeno

Bread -- Paesano Loaf with Buerre aux Herbs de Provence

Main -- Rolled Flank Steak stuffed with Gorgonzola, Sundried Tomato, and Wilted Spinach, drizzed with a Cabernet Reduction; Twice Baked Goat Cheese Potato with Fresh Chive; and Steamed Green Beans with Lemon, Red Bell Pepper, and Toasted Pine Nuts

Dessert -- Marbled Chocolate and Vanilla Creme Brulee with Fresh Raspberry

Yeah...we should have made leftovers.

44th Anniversary dinner (now with pictures!)

It is said, that practice makes perfect... it could be true.

Saturday night was spent serving Kathy's wonderful parents, and four of their friends, a five-course gourmet meal. This is the third time in four years that Kathy and I have done this and this year, my friends, was by far the most relaxed we have been in the kitchen.

Friday night we started out by baking potatoes, chopping and pureeing veggies, stirring together mushroom stuffing, and creating an herbed butter. Saturday afternoon was spent rolling steak, stuffing mushrooms, frying crab cakes, getting the potatoes ready for twice baking, and making the custard for the creme brulee.

After packing up, and getting into the kitchen where we would do the actual cooking of the meal, Kathy and I found ourselves staring at one another... This is actually fairly uncommon. Both of us (and yes, I'm putting words in Kathy's mouth) were in a state of shock that there was nothing to do foodwise, until about 30 minutes before the guests got there. It was like a well-oiled machine!!!

There were only a couple moments where panic set in... moment one came when we had to figure out if the flank steak was done... yes, kids, it was! The second moment came when the caramelizing of the sugar looked like it was going to be a problem... it was remedied by adding a touch more sugar... all was well.

Even professionals have moments like these... so as amateur professionals, I figure that was alright!!

The only complaint came the next day, when Kathy's dad said ... "there were no leftovers." In my opinion... that makes it a successful meal!!

Kathy should be posting a full menu (she's got the fancy words for what we made) But, in the meantime, here are some pictures from the dinner.

Stuffed Mushrooms with Italian Sausage & Fennel

Wendi's Crab Cakes

Kathy prepping salad

Wendi cutting bread

Herbed butter

Gazpacho

Cabernet Reduction

Plating the main course

Creme Brulee

The complete meal

Looks tasty doesn't it? Don't you want us to cater your next party?? (yes, that was a shameless plug!!)

You'll hear from us soon... we have another event in a week and a half... we'll definitely be posting pictures from there too! :)

-Wendi-