Pranky pranky, Chef Jeffrey Adam "Duff" Goldman

Dear Chef Jeffrey Adam "Duff" Goldman,

May I call you Duff? Chef Duff? Anycake, I adore you. I hope you know that. I loved you on Cupcake Wars, Chef Duff. I love you and your lovely whisk tattoo, Duff Goldman. I love your show, Ace of Cakes, on the Food Network, Duff. The way you and your friends at Charm City Cakes create cakes and make them into amazing things like old cars, spinning exorcist cakes, and even a giant spaeztl cake.

I'm dying to try your new Chef Duff cake decorating supplies. You even made Chef Duff cake tattoos. It's about time you gave that other cake supply company who will not be named a run for its money in the market for ready made fondant, Duff Goldman.

I don't Twitter, Chef Duff, but I hope that we can still be friends. Maybe we can meet up on Facebook, Duff Goldman? If nothing else, I promise to religious watch your show.

Until we meet (which I'm sure will be never, because Charm City Cakes is on super lock-down), all my love and adoration,

Brooke

P.S. I'd be honored to battle you in kitchen stadium should you ever make another appearance on Iron Chef, Duff Goldman. Rock on, Ace of Cakes.


Want to know what the F is going on and why I'm ranting and raving about the great Chef Jeffrey Adam "Duff" Goldman? Go here. I'm just trying to prank my favorite culinarian, Chef Duff into more fame than he's got going for him now. He deserves it.

Prank on, Merry Pranksters!


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Check this out! My little known blog... yeah, it's #3 when you Google search for Jeffrey Adam "Duff" Goldman.



"Facebook Duff Goldman" is #2, second only to his actual facebook page.

My work here is done.

Giant Reese's cups!

I'm sure everyone has that one person at their job. That one intimidating boss that you avoid. That one that when they show up at your desk, you know something is horribly terribly wrong. For me, that's the controller. He's really not that scary as a person. He's a big, kinda goofy looking, most-likely-gay, corn-fed Midwestern boy with a vampire laugh. He's hilarious and out-going at happy hours, but he is a hard ass at the office. Of course, he's the controller. It's to be expected. But man, oh man, he intimidates me. And today was his birthday, and I was hired to make his cupcakes. Cue me shaking in my ballet flats.

Now, if you've seen pictures of most of my other cakes and cupcakes, they're all pretty girly. They're pink and have sprinkles (even if it's bacon) that coordinate with their cute cupcake liners. So my first thought was how I was going to make cupcakes look manly (even if the birthday boy isn't a typical manly man). Once again, Mrs. ESPN (she really should just be my business partner!) stepped in with a brilliant idea: chocolate peanut butter cupcakes. My coworker's birthday cake was such a big hit, I figured cupcake sized confections would go over really well. So I used the same recipe and.... voila!

I wanted to whip the ganache and fill the cupcakes with it (like the filling I used for the wedding cake), but I think the peanut butter and corn syrup may have worked to prevent the ganache from getting fluffy. It got partway there, but not enough that I was confident it wouldn't make the cake soggy. So I drizzled it on top, instead. Dan said they were just like giant Reese's cups. It's a good thing I bought manly gold foil cups to put them in. Everyone said they were delish, but I haven't heard from the birthday boy yet. I suppose that would be the only thing I'd want to see him at my desk for :)

Crumby cake

Just once, I'd like to get an order for a cake and be excited to make it and know that nothing will go wrong. Does that happen? Because it seems like more often than not, I have some sort of problem that, at some point, has me (a.) in tears or (b.) saying, "I can't DO this."

I made the cakes for my coworker's surprise baby shower cake last night. I had planned to leave the office early and get a head start, and of course that didn't happen. Thankfully, nothing went wrong with the baking. Score one for me. Since it was late and I wanted to get a good frozen crumb layer (a thin layer of icing to pick up cake crumbs intentionally), I decided to freeze it over night and finish the top layer and decorating this morning. Great plan! I mixed my gum paste colors and washed and set out everything I'd need this morning.

Unfortunately, my great plan got derailed when my nice fluffy soft frosting top layer picked up and mixed in with crumbs from the crumb layer, creating a super-thick crumb layer using almost a whole batch of frosting. Oops. Poor Dan came into the kitchen to find me in tears saying I couldn't possibly take money for this cake and I'd have to go buy one. He told me not to give up and it would be okay, that I'd promised a cake and I was going to deliver (sound familiar?). I frantically IMed Mrs. ESPN at work, who told me to put it back in the freezer and try again in a bit. Thankfully, the newly frozen layer didn't pull up when I added new frosting and I got most of the crumbage out. I moved on to decorating and that went smoothly as well.

All in all, I'm happy with how it came out. There are still some visible crumbs, but the rational part of me knows I'm looking at it and scrutinizing more than anyone else is. The buyer was happy with it, and that's what matters, right?

If nothing else, that sucker is delicious with a layer each of chocolate fudge cake and white cake with Oreo crumbles. Yum!!

And once again, I'd like to thank Dan for not letting me give up. It's nice to know he's got faith in me when I don't.

Meal Plan Monday: 9/13

I'm really not feeling super inspired today to think of great things to eat all week. I also have to bake and decorate an office baby shower cake tonight, so I'm really more concerned about that than dinner. Feel free to feel bad for my poor husband.

Monday: We really may end up eating Chinese take-out if I don't think of something better than Mac'n'Cheese with hot dogs. I'm trying to avoid a dinner that has to be baked, since I'm doing cakes. Feel free to offer up suggestions

Tuesday: Stuffed peppers

Wednesday: Chili

Thursday: Chicken - probably my stand-by crock-pot chicken, or maybe baked. Either way, served with rice and veggies

Friday: Dos Gringos, yay!

Junk Drawer Tape

A couple weeks ago, I baked some cute dog cookies for the nieces of my coworker and shipped them to Michigan. All of my cookie packing stuff was in the car, so I pretty much packaged them at my desk when I got to work. Of course, when I got there, I couldn't find my nice roll of clear packaging tape. So I asked our wonderful admin assistant if she had some tape to borrow. What she brought me reminded me instantly of something from my childhood: junk drawer tape.

When I was younger and asked my mom or dad for tape, I was directed to the junk drawer in the kitchen. In the drawer lived a roll of 3" wide packaging tape that should have been thrown out looooong ago. It was yellowed, brittle, and the cardboard core was warped, rippling the tape. The handy-dandy dispenser and razor cutter had long since disappeared. Every time you used it, you had to find the end (because none of us were smart enough to fold it under making a tab) and hope that you could peel off the length you needed without it somehow shredding. Then, since it was packaging tape and therefore tough, you had to make sure you had scissors handy to cut it. If you were wrapping a gift and wanted neat little strips, you had to make your own by cutting the strip lengthwise. God forbid we just buy some scotch tape on a nice neat little roll with a dispenser. If my parents had any of that glorious stuff, they kept it hidden.

Now that I'm on my own and can buy my own tape, I'm kind of nutso about it. I keep multiple rolls in various places - the junk drawer, my craft drawer, hidden in my desk at work. I spend good money on 3M brand Scotch tape (no generics!!), and if one should lose it's dispenser and razor, it finds a new home in the trash. My packaging tape is the same. My days of fighting with packaging tape and struggling to get a 3" strip without tears are over. I even buy those cute little pop-up, pre-cut dispensers for Christmas wrapping. Tape is now one of my "things," along with good ol' name brand 27-ply toilet paper, which is also a result of being deprived of the quality stuff at my parents' house. My mom is so cringing right now.

So when Shannon sweetly handed me her tape at the office and I burst into laughter and called it junk drawer tape, she just looked at me completely baffled. I'm pretty sure if I ever ask to use it again, she'll ask if her tape meets my standards. As long as she tries to give me junk drawer tape, that answer is 'no.'

Do you have something silly that you're now obsessive about because you were deprived when you were younger?

Thankful Thursday

On my drive in to work this morning, I was thinking about some things that I am really thankful for. Some of these things, I don't express enough, and I feel I should. So here goes...

• I'm thankful for my mother-in-law. And for my mom. My sister's wedding planning experience so far has been so stressful for her and Daniel, and a huge part of that relates to the troubles her future MIL has given her over the guest list. Things seem to finally be resolved, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is some resentment that lasts for a while. And I doubt this will be the last of the stress between now and April. In comparison, my mom and MIL were nothing but supportive during the planning of our wedding. They wanted nothing other than what we wanted. Both saw it as our day and wanted nothing more than for us to be happy. Seeing how my sister's wedding planning is going has really put it into perspective for me.
• I'm thankful for having two healthy pups. Clover may drive me nuts with her habits peeing on my carpet and chewing all the buttons off my clothes, and Paisley hasn't grown out of eating flip flops. But since Paisley's illness in November (knock on wood), we've been blessed with two healthy and happy dogs.
• I'm thankful, as always, for my husband. It dawned on me yesterday for the 349835th time what a great man he is. He recently drove our friend Daniel's new car back from Daniel's hometown while Daniel was serving in Iraq and then attending his debriefing. In the last couple of weeks, Dan has put Daniel's new wheels on and picked up parts to modify the car (boys!). Last night, before Daniel flew in, it was important to Dan to wash the car so that Daniel's first glimpse of his new ride would be immaculate. So, at 11:30 last night, Dan washed the car and then picked Daniel up in his sparkling shiny new Camaro. It just struck me once again that my husband would do anything for his friends. He's a great friend to the people we care about. I'm just so proud to be his wife.
• Speaking of Daniel, I'm immensely thankful for our military men and women who leave their families and friends to risk their lives in foreign and dangerous places for the sake of our freedom. Whether I support the war or not (and even possibly whether they do or not), I feel that support and gratitude of our troops is necessary. I'm thankful that Daniel is safely back home once again.

What are you thankful for today?

Tuesday Tidbits

• This Tuesday is really a Monday parading around in Tuesday clothing. It's awful. The only good thing about my Mondays is that they usually fly by, but I saved the most tedious part of my month-end duties for the very end and now I'm finding myself with little concentration and motivation to finish it.
• I'm feeling very thankful for my easy-going mother-in-law and the wedding planning experience I had. My poor sister is having a heck of a time reigning in her MILzilla and her guest list of thousands (okay, I'm exaggerating... a little). I think they're come to a solution, but I'm simply thankful for not having to endure the stress or battles that she has.
• Our weekend was excellent. We hung out with friends, went swimming at my in-laws' house, and spent yesterday cleaning and relaxing before enjoying dinner out together.
• I just bought some super cute earrings from my pal Salt. She's got a newish Etsy shop that you can check out here.
• On Friday, we took my friend, Fariba, out for almost the first time since she had her baby, Eli, four months ago. We had a blast! That girl had some serious steam to let off, and I'm so appreciative of my sweet husband for taking us out and getting us home safely.
• I still have to figure out my meal plan for the week, which means I also still have to go grocery shopping. Blah. I was hoping that was one thing I'd miss out on with the elimination of Monday this week, but no.
• I've been shopping around online for some new clothes. I'm thinking I want to find a few dresses to pair with tights and some cute boots to get me through "fall" and "winter" (I use those terms loosely). If anyone has suggestions for online stores, let me know!
• Lastly, I have a suit I need to get rid of. It's plain black and a size 6 (though I was an 8 when I wore it) and unaltered. I only wore it three times and I'm thinking I'll send it away for $50 to a good home. Leave an email in the comments if you're interested and I'll send you pics.

TGI 3 Day Weekend (or TGI3DW)

Hallelujah! It's a 3-day weekend. I don't think I've needed one so badly in all my living days. I am antsy antsy antsy to get out of this office for 3 days. It's just been one of those weeks. It's been long and tedious. We had a new site come on to our reporting system (try to stay awake!) and their data is just a bowl of fun, let me tell you. There's a going-away breakfast potluck at the office today, and Dan once again contributed his delicious maple bacon cupcakes. There's also a happy hour later, which should be fun.

We don't have much planned this Labor Day. Two years ago, we went to Mexico on our first (and only, so far) vacation. None of that this year. We'll be heading to Scott & Melissa's to hang out with friends on Sunday, and other than that, we'll be taking it easy. I finally cleaned out my closet, and I do have to find somewhere to take all my discarded clothes. I have a cookie order due later this month that I might get started on as well. I don't care what we do, as long as we have an extra day :)

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A few announcements:

• After a year of being a nanny for a family in Seattle, my sister accepted a new position, and she starts today! Have a fabulous first day, Megan!
• Salt Says... (the blog, not the actual Salt) is celebrating its blog birthday with a giveaway. Click here to enter to win a gorgeous sparrow necklace handmade by Salt (the person, not the blog) herself.

Have a fabulous Labor Day weekend, everyone!

Meal Plan Monday: 8/30

This week is chock full of chicken, thanks to a great deal at Fresh and Easy.

Monday: Stir Fry with chicken.

Tuesday: Entree salads with baked chicken and fresh veggies (we'll also use this all week for lunches)

Wednesday: Baked potato bar. Cheese, green onions, veggies, bacon, left-over chicken (I bought a lot, y'all), chili, etc. Whatever sounds good that day, we'll have.

Thursday: Cream of mushroom Crock-pot chicken. It's easy, Dan likes it, and by the time Thursday rolls around, I'm tired of cooking. Perfect.

Friday: Dos Gringos, as usual :)

Kadence Smaaaaash!

Yesterday, we celebrated our friends' daughter's 1st birthday. It's hard to believe it's been a whole year, and even harder to believe how much she's changed since she was just a newborn at our wedding. She's got the sunshiniest little personality, and she just adores Dan lately. She always reaches for him, and hes happy to oblige. I think she likes that he's big and feels comfy in his arms - like an oversized chair or something.

I spent all day Saturday working on her cakes. In true Brooke form, we had some cake breakage, resulting in another trip to the store for more supplies. But in the end, her cakes came out great, in my humble opinion. I was very proud of them. Here are some low-quality BlackBerry pics of Kadence's cakes... before and after the carnage. She did start out quite daintily - just sticking a finger or two in the frosting and licking it off. And then she caught on to the fact that we were all encouraging her to go all "Hulk Smash!" on her personal cake and went to town.

Spectator Cake

Smash Cake

Mmmmm, squishy fingers!

"I love cake!"

Strawberry cake facials are so glamorous

All done!

I was the only one brave enough to pull the sugary little mess out of her high chair and carry her to the bath, and for good reason. I had cake all over the front and back of my top, but it was well worth it. She was on a complete sugar high the rest of the afternoon, which was pretty amusing to watch. She definitely seems to like this whole birthday cake thing.

Happy Birthday, Kadence! Can't wait to see all the wonderful things you learn and do in the coming year.