On December 15th, Washingtonian Magazine unveiled the first stand-alone issue of their annual wedding guide.  I was fortunate enough to get a sneak peak at it during a networking event at the Ronald Reagan Building a few weeks ago.   It’s a must have for the Mid Atlantic bride.  The magazine is printed on heavier than normal stock paper, with beautiful photography showcasing the latest trends and styles.   I’ve heard from a few brides that they’ve had trouble finding the magazine at their local bookstore.  During the holidays, I visited three different Barnes and Nobles and one Borders and didn’t find it at any one of these stores.  Good luck trying to find one, but if you do, definitely snatch one (or two) up.

http://www.washingtonian.com/weddings

YES!!!  It’s completely edible.  I thought I had seen it all, until I saw this!  I don’t even know how to describe what you are about to see when you follow the link below, so I’ll let you judge for yourself.  Wait until you get a glimpse of what this baker does to make his living on a daily basis.  Somewhere in Thailand, you can walk into this bakery and buy frightening pieces of edible (not sure else what to call it)…body parts.  WARNING!  This is not for anyone with a weak stomach!

http://funfever.blogspot.com/2008/01/scary-body-parts-bakery-in-thailand.html

I was looking through my new Dean and Deluca Thanksgiving 2008 catalog and came across a new addition to their standard fare.  They now offer couture cakes via mail order.  I am a huge fan of D&D, especially during the three years when my husband and I lived between Maryland and the Upper East Side. 

I get many calls from clients who want to know if I can ship their cake to another state, often times across the country.  In order to accomplish this, the cake must travel counter to counter via a major airline.  The cost, you wonder?  Approximately $500.  And you still haven’t factored in the cost of the cake.   Dean and Deluca has the perfect solution. 

Purse cakes are all the rage these days, perfectly suited for a number of theme parties and celebrations.  D&D has a very cute purse cake in pink, along with a fair assortment of other cakes you can order with a few simple clicks on your computer.  

The purse cake is priced at $180 plus shipping, and serves 6 to 9.  Other cakes, like the teal gift box with chocolate bow, which sells for $150, will serve 12 to 15.

They offer a nice selection of novelty cakes, including holiday themed cakes.  The cakes ship next day air.

You can check out all the cake offerings here: http://www.deandeluca.com/bakery-shop/cakes.aspx?PageIndex=0&PageSize=-1 

Dean and Deluca’s main page:  www.deananddeluca.com

I went to Atlantic City yesterday to attend a concert and while walking the boardwalk, I snapped this photo.  There were a series of cemented handprints of famous people on the exterior walls of a building near to the Taj Mahal.  I couldn’t help but notice the reference to ‘cake’ on Joan River’s plaque.  I am really curious to know what she was referring to when she made the inscription.  Anyone happen to know?

I had the pleasure of making a ton of cupcakes for the Frederick County Democratic Central Committee’s Election Party on Tuesday Evening.  I handed out free ‘Obama’ cupcakes to everyone in attendance.  There was great excitement in the air and people were glued to their seats with great anticipation, watching and waiting for the results.  I was very proud to play my part in bringing a little sweetness and support to my fellow friends and neighbors as we all watched history in the making.

Last month I made a cake for a group of caring and talented professionals at the Infants and Toddlers program in Frederick, MD. The cake was a small token of my appreciation for the work they had done with our speech delayed son. The program is funded by the state and their services are available for free to children up to age 3 throughout the state of MD. They offer speech and occupational therapy, among many other services. Over the course of a year, they worked with our son to develop and improve his speech They were always so patient and loving with him. He is a happy, rambunctious, and very vocal child now! I want to thank each and every person at Infants and Toddlers for their dedication and hard work. Thank you!

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Last night a couple with 350 guests was married at a local venue.  They served a donut cake in place of the traditional wedding cake.  For a total of $70, Dunkin’ Donuts provided the baked goods that made up this unforgettable concoction.

I was so curious about this new trend, that I researched it online and found a few other photos - here’s another:

http://www.misszoot.com/2004/02/09/krispy-kreme-donut-wedding-cake/

I have never seen this before and I can’t imagine wanting to eat it!  What is up with this trend?

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I was delivering a cake this weekend, when I spotted a bride getting ready to leave after her reception.  She was chatting with some of her guests in the parking lot.  I couldn’t help but notice the pink crocs she was wearing underneath her wedding dress.  Those of you who know me, know I absolutely LOVE my crocs.  Since pink is my favorite color, and it’s also my business color, pink crocs are definitely an important part of my daily working attire!  I used to hate the way these shoes looked on women.  I found them to be extremely unflattering, bulky and just plain ugly - until I slipped my foot into one.  I now own all kinds of styles and colors.  I’ve even tiled a floor wearing them!

I figured if brides can get married in sneakers, flip flops, boots and platform shoes, why not crocs?   My sincere thanks to this bride who so graciously allowed me to photograph her for this blog post.

When I was half my age, I was quite a collector of shoes.  At one point, I counted 72 pairs of 4″ heels.  Despite all those shoes, I have never owned anything quite like these:

 If you have ever worn anything even remotely similar to these shoes, please email me.  I want to hear from you!

http://www.mizztissa.com/shoes/strange-shoes.php

Need a spectacular wedding gown but have a limited budget?  Not sure what to do with your used wedding gown?  Don’t want to keep it but hate to toss it?  Getting a divorce and need room in your closet for your new wardrobe?  Are you a retailer wanting to donate excess inventory?  Need a tax write off??

Donate your gown to Brides Against Breast Cancer (BABC).  This wonderful organization recycles used wedding gowns by selling them to the public via large organized sale events held throughout the country.  Half of the gowns offered for sale at these events are brand spanking new wedding gowns that are donated by their designers, manufacturers and retail stores. 

Feeling generous?  Help make a cancer patient’s wish come true by making a donation to grant their particular request, be it to visit family or a computer to enable them to do research on their particular disease.  There is so much more to this great website.  Please take a moment to visit:  http://bridesagainstbreastcancer.org/

One of my oldest and closest friends, Lety Katz, is a breast cancer survivor.  We have known each other since we were in our teens.  We have seen each other through many firsts -marriage, babies, divorce, and everything in between.  I am always amazed at her unfaltering spirit and her never-ending sense of humor, no matter what the situation.  I know no one else like her, and only hope to have her in my life for many years to come.  She has undergone so many surgeries, that I have lost count.  I could only wish for an ounce of her courage and determination.  She is a great mother, sister, daughter and best friend.  I love you, Lety. 

Last weekend I attended the Retail Bakers of America Baking Expo in Atlantic City, NJ.  I was joined by two of my fellow baker friends.  The convention hall was packed with baking related businesses from shortening to cake boxes.  For me, however, the highlight of the event was attending hands-on classes with two of my favorite cake decorators, Ron Ben-Isreal and Bronwen Webber.  The 20 student classes were small and intimate, providing a relaxed and interactive environment.   Bronwen taught cake sculpting where we carved,  sculpted and decorated a very cute Frankenstein head cake. Bronwen’s ‘perkiness’ is quite infectious and her outgoing personality made for lots of laughs and a great time.   As much as I enjoyed her class, I must admit that sitting in front of Ron Ben-Israel for four hours was the highlight of the event for me.  

Making Peonies

Cutting the Rose Cake

Not only did he instruct us in the art of sugar flowers, but he brought along a freshly baked cake from his bakery in New York.  He actually cut, plated and personally served it to each of us.  The cake was outstanding - passion fruit, lemon and coconut.  He sold us some of the silicone molds he hand made himself along with a fabulous set of cutters, not available for sale to the public.  He could have offered tongue depressors for sale and we would have purchased them! He graciously let us ask everything we could think of, which he answered sometimes in detail and other times somewhat vaguely, and then posed for photos for what seemed like forever.  I’ll spare you my cheesy mug.  He was leaving from the convention center straight to the airport to catch a flight to Tel Aviv.  You’d never have guessed the man was in a rush.  I loved his calm and relaxed nature.  As if being with Ron Ben-Isreal wasn’t enough, we had the pleasure of having Zac Young assisting in Ron Ben-Isreal’s class.  Zac Young is the pastry chef at Butter Restaurant in New York City.  He was oh, so entertaining.  Check out Zac’s ‘Bakeware’ dress at the recent New York Chocolate show (see link below).

Some interesting information on Ron Ben-Israel:  He is a professionally trained ballet and modern dancer.  He has been referred to as the ‘Manolo Blahnik’ of cake.  His cake shop in New York’s trendy SoHo is Kosher Certified.  He will only hire interns that are enrolled in culinary school, no exceptions.  Students of the French Culinary Institute are taught sugar flower work by Ron Ben-Isreal during a two day course.  He is very positive and upbeat.  He makes his own amazing sugar paste, which he says should NEVER be referred to as ‘gumpaste’ (we had the opportunity to use this in class and take some home even though we couldn’t pry the recipe out of him!!!).

The convention featured a live cake decorating contest, a bread making contest hosted by the Food Network’s Keegan Gerhard, and many other demonstrations and presentations.  One of the presentations I enjoyed very much was Buddy Valastro’s (from Carlo’s Bakery in New Jersey) where he addressed wedding cake trends followed by an interesting and amusing Q&A session.  Buddy was extremely funny, with his thick Jersey accent and great sense of humor.  The man tells it like it is - just the way I like it.  I laughed like crazy each time we were around him.  He brings back memories of my childhood growing up in New York City.

Bakery Crafts Booth

Colette Peters gave live demonstrations at the Pfeil & Holing booth each day of the show.  Each time we passed by it, she was demonstrating something or other for a handful of people.  The Bakery Craft booth was really beautiful with many colorful cakes and product displays.

Bakery Crafts Booth

Cake Exhibit

Cake Exhibit

Julie Bashore, Master Confectioner and sugar artist galore, had a booth with some of her beautiful cakes on display.  She demonstrated a few of her decorating techniques and offered some of her products for sale.  She no longer owns the House of Clarendon bakery she made famous, but now dedicates herself to teaching.  I loved her personality and look forward to our planned master class together.

Here’s a shout out to my cake peeps…Happy Birthday to my baker friend Lucia, whose ‘-th’ (shhhhh, it’s a secret) birthday we celebrated over dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe on Sunday along with a few other folks.  Also, a big thank you to my baker friend Sherry for putting up with me in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep and for the military style 5:30am wake up calls!  All in all, the three day event was a huge success!  I thoroughly enjoyed myself.   All of us are ready for next year’s event. 

Atlantic City sure has changed.  It’s been about 10 or 11 years since I saw it last.  It’s more of a concrete jungle with less of the ‘ghetto’ and slum-like feel it used to have.  Get ready to pay, and pay well, for staying there.  The hotels fee you to death and parking prices are staggering.  There is great shopping throughout the area, and plenty to see and do if you’re not in the mood to stroll on the boardwalk or breathe in cigarette smoke in the casinos.  Don’t venture too far from the immediate area or you’ll wish you had a police escort.  Should you find yourself in Atlantic City, stop by Frank Sinatra’s old stomping grounds and favorite eatery, the White House Sub Shop, located on the corner of Artic and Mississippi Avenue.  Try the Philly with cheese or the Italian house specialty while you gaulk at the photos of famous patrons over the years plastered all over the walls.  Fast service, cash only - New Jersey style.

http://www.rbanet.com

www.weddingcakes.com

www.butterrestaurant.com/#/about

nymag.com/daily/food/2007/11/zac_youngs_chocolate_cookie_dr_1.html

www.bakerycrafts.com

www.cakedeco.com

www.colettescakes.com

www.houseofclarendon.com

www.actourism.org

http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=125