M.I.A. and the Lack of Posts.

Dear Readers of the Jillicious Discoveries Blog,

I have MISSED you all these past two weeks!!

I can't believe that it really has been nearly two weeks since my last post. I've missed being able to read all those wonderful blogs that I follow (and I will be spending this relaxing afternoon to read and comment on many of those) and I've missed updating my own blog. I even thought that it really wasn't that long since I had posted anything, until I received an email from a fellow blogger wondering if all was well with me and where I had been (thank you for that kind email Jenny) and comments on Facebook noting that I had been silent. Things are good, I'm fine--it was just a busy week and it seemed to have flown by way too fast. I've caught up on other areas of my life and I know can focus on blogging once again (woo-hoo!)

Let me explain how last week began and seemed to set the flow of the rest of the week.

Mondays are my day off (Jillicious Desserts is closed), but this just means I need to work to get everything else done, before the "work week" begins. I was cleaning the house on Monday and decided to use this really great vacuum attachment that dusts and cleans in small areas and I used it on my desk area and really cleaned my computer and keyboard. I cleaned them so well, that later in the day, when I had a few minutes to check some emails, I discovered that I had somehow disconnected my wireless keyboard and wasn't able to type.

Do you know how frustrating it is to see the Internet, emails and other work items, but you can't really access them? I think it's worse than not having the Internet--it was just teasing me and I felt like my computer was laughing at me saying, "Ha ha, you can't get anything done right now!" And of course, one of those to-do items on my list was the Monday Must Have.

Finally I had time late that night and with the help of tech support (which is my way of saying I called my friend that is super smart about these types of things--thanks Nick!) I figured out how to re-connect the wireless keyboard to respond to typing. By then, it was late and I had to postpone blogging for another day.

The rest of the week included driving up to Portland for a friend's wedding, picking up supplies in Newport (on the coast), setting up appointments, creating dessert orders, delivering several dessert orders in two different towns and preparing ingredients and plans for a wedding cake, baking and decorating wedding cake, attending some church meetings and catching a few hours of sleep here and there.



The best part of delivering this weeks wedding cake, was that the location is literally only 3 miles from my house, so it was a nice, quick drive (no traffic) and everything with the set up went smoothly. Plus, it's always a nice way to end a busy week; to create something that I love to do and that will make someones special day more memorable.

Romantic White Floral & Blue Dot Wedding Cake Details

• Top tier (6-inch round) - Dark Chocolate Cake w/Raspberry Filling
• Bottom tier (10-inch round) - Dark Chocolate Cake w/White Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling
  

• Sheet Cake - White-Vanilla Cake w/Raspberry Filling & Vanilla Buttercream

P.S. I will see you tomorrow with the Monday Must Have!

Monday Must Have: The Scoop

In honor of Labor Day, the Monday Must Have is a great kitchen gadget to make your "baking labors" a little easier (and yes, my lame pun was intended). This tool is one that I use often when I make cookies, cupcakes (both mini & regular size), muffins and mini cheesecakes. It is so handy with any of these types of batter or doughs.

Although, there are many sizes available, I have three different scoop sizes that I have found to be handy, but I often look at the other sizes at restaurant or kitchen supply stores and I may be adding to my kitchen gadget collection very soon.

*Side note: Don't you love perusing kitchen stores and seeing all the shiny gadgets? I swear they call me by name sometimes and I just have to purchase one or two and add them to my collection.

The scoop sizes I own and use often are these: the large is a #20 scoop, the medium is a #40 scoop and the small is a #70 scoop, which I use for several desserts. The size refers to the number of scoops obtained from 1 quart (#20 = 20 scoops/quart). Each size works for different types of desserts, but the one thing they all have in common is that I can be sure that each dessert is equal in size and weight.

For those of you that may not think these are anything special and that a spoon or measuring cup could do the same thing, these scoops also have a spring release, so each cookie or cupcake batter is released all at once and you don't have to scrape the extras out--which really saves time if you are making a lot of desserts.

If you don't have one of these, but are thinking about getting one, I'd start with the #40 scoop--it works great for cookies and regular size cupcakes. If you already have one, I'd love to hear why you like it and what food preparations you use it for.

Most Requested Wedding Date

You know when you plan to do something on a weekend and you've known about the date for months? And the closer it gets, it seems like all of these other great events that you'd love to attend also fall on that same day? Today, September 5th was one of those dates for me.

Let me share a little glimpse into my life as a pastry chef.

I've had this wedding booked for this date since about March. As the months continued to pass, I continued to have requests for this same date (9-5-09) and found that of all the many Saturdays during the summer, this was THE most requested wedding date for the wedding season this year. Maybe it was because it's Labor Day Weekend and it's the last time folks can be out of town for vacations or weddings, but this was the date that people continued to call and ask about.

I must have had to turn down at least 6 or 7 potential wedding clients, as I am only able to create one wedding cake each weekend. I'm not sad that I had to turn away other clients, because I've been looking forward to creating this wedding cake for some time now. The clients were very nice to work with and they had planned ahead and were very organized in getting ready for this wedding (something I can really relate to--the organization thing, it's like finding a kindred spirit).

This week was wonderfully, crazy busy and I really had to stick to my detailed, day-to-day, hour-by-hour schedule to get everything done. I love it when the orders come pouring in and this week was one of those weeks. In addition to several birthday cakes, bridal shower cupcakes, and other dessert orders, yesterday was the last Farmer's Market of the season in our small town. In between baking the cake orders and baking the wedding cakes, I was baking desserts for the market--which went very well.

I love the variety of things I get to bake during the week. Here are a few things that were baked in the Jillicious Kitchen this week:

• Coconut-Macadamia Nut Hawaiian Cake
• Guava Chiffon Cake
• Hawaiian Coconut-Macadamia Nut Cupcakes
• Lemon Surprise Cupcakes
• Devilishly Moist Chocolate Cupcakes
• Vanilla Cupcakes w/Chocolate Buttercream
• Carrot Cake Cupcakes
• Macadamia White & Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
• Pecan Chocolate Brownies
• Orange Chocolate Passion Cake
• "It's All About the Chocolate" Cake
• French Apple Galettes
  

Today's wedding was located at the Eugene Yacht Club, where the bride and groom love to go sailing and their wedding cake reflected this ocean and tropical theme. This was a very LARGE cake and when I arrived to deliver and set it up, I actually had to get some help in bringing in the bottom tier. Usually I can carry the cake tiers myself, but this 16-inch bottom cake tier was unbelievably heavy and I wasn't going to take any chances and possibly drop it.

I've been making wedding cakes for some time now, but I think I will always be a little nervous until the cakes are stacked and ready for the final decorations. Once the cake tiers were stacked and in place, I relaxed and finished some piping details and added the fresh flowers. Adding the finishing touches is always my favorite part. I was a little sad to walk away, leaving this cake that I've been working on for the past couple of days, but I know that it will bring much joy to the happy couple today.

Tropical Ocean Wedding Cake Details:

• Orange Chocolate Passion Cake w/Orange Chocolate Filling (8-inch, top tier)
• Vanilla-White Cake w/Raspberry Filling (12-inch, middle tier)
• Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cake w/White Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling (16-inch, bottom tier)

Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Linda at RebelPigs for winning the So Easy to Preserve canning book!

Also a big THANK YOU to all of you who left thoughtful comments about your experiences with canning (or wanting to experience canning)--they were wonderful to read.

I think that I may have to do another giveaway down the road, since this first one went so well. Maybe some yummy preserves made using one of the recipes from this AWESOME canning book?

Let me know what you think.

Monday Must (Have) See: Julie & Julia

I was all set to post about another kitchen gadget that I find very useful and then this afternoon I FINALLY went and saw the movie Julie & Julia. I realize that I'm far behind in going to see this movie and that I'm definitely not the first to blog about how great this movie was--and it really was GREAT! The kitchen gadget will be saved for another Monday, but I really feel like I need to express my thoughts and add to what so many others have already said.

I've never really considered myself to be defined by the term "foodie." I just really love learning about foods, the history, where it comes from, different varieties and more specifically anything to do with desserts. There is just something so invigorating about see a beautiful dessert that not only looks like art, but tastes even better than you could possibly imagine. This is why any worthwhile purchase of a cookbook or baking book usually has stunning photos that draws me in and then my imagination takes over and I dream about what flavors and textures will work together to create a delicious or rather a "Jillicious" dessert. But I've happily come to the realization that I am in this group of other like minded people called foodies.

Back to Julie & Julia.

I must admit that I don't own the famous cookbook by Julia Child - Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It's not that I don't think it would be an outstanding addition to my culinary library, it's just that over the last 4 to 5 years, I've been focused on dessert or baking books. But after seeing this movie and getting a glimpse into Julia Child's passion for French Cooking, I will be purchasing a copy to add to my cookbook collection.

The main reason why I LOVED this movie was the feeling I had while watching it. Seeing Julia Child decide to go to cooking school and loving every minute of it, brought back my own memories and how much I too, loved culinary school. I could relate to her competitive spirit--I'm sure most people in this industry can too. There is something within me that is completely motivated to push myself to do better, to create a dessert more delicious than the last and to be the best at what I do. And this is a daunting task, to say the least. There is a lifetime of learning to be had in any field, but especially in culinary pursuits.

I also related to the pure joy of sharing a well cooked meal with friends and family. When everyone comes together to savor a meal that was created with them in mind--is just a wonderful and satisfying feeling. It reminds me of one of my favorite food quotes that I have listed near the bottom of my blog page:

"The pleasant hours of our lives are all connected by a more or less tangible link, with some memory of the table." ~ by Charles Pierre Monselet

*All three above pictures are courtesy of Columbia Pictures.

There is just something completely magical about good food, family and friends and being together to enjoy a wonderful meal and creating memories. If you haven't seen this movie, for whatever your reasons--just go. Go and enjoy!