Guy Fieri's Rockin' Road Show

       Last month Guy Fieri was at the Orpheum for his Food and Road Show.  The show was amazing.  Let me just say that I will pay any amount of money to go to his show again.  It was the coolest thing I've done this year.  In Guy Fieri's own words: it was off the hook.  The show was part rock show, part food show, part inspirational speaker and part stand-up comedy.  My friend Abby is also a foodie and went with me.  We had an awesome time.
       The show started with Hayden "Woody" Wood and his Liquid Kitchen.  He bar tending skills were more impressive than Tom Cruise's in the movie Cocktail.  He was flipping bottles over his head and behind his back. And he even got some alcohol in his eye.  That last part wasn't part of the act and he said it hurt.  I bet it did but at least we knew the bottles were full.  He brought 3 ladies on stage (they actually had tickets to sit on stage... I wasn't willing to pay $200 for that privilege) to mix drinks for him.  One of the ladies was wearing a long dress that looked a little like a fancy flour sack and was hammered.  Note to self: Never wear a fancy flour sack dress, get hammered before a show and think you're sexier than you are.  Woody had the three ladies mix cocktails and then toss the glass/shaker at him.  Drunk flour sack lady was the second and chucked it at him.  He had to duck to his left a little to catch it to which he cried "Jesus!"  After the three ladies he did some dancing and mixing and had 3 guys come on stage.  The guys were supposed to mix drinks but being in Iowa, when Woody's back was turned they started drinking straight from the bottles.  He had said the crew had a good time the night before drinking until 4 AM with some locales.  You get what you ask for Woody.  Woody also pulled a married couple celebrating their anniversary on stage.  "What do you do in the kitchen?" Woody asked him.  "The dishes" was his answer.  Woody was going to fix that.  He outfitted the guy with a frilly apron, a purple cape and crown and gave him 60 seconds to make 4 drinks for his wife and beg for her forgiveness.  The way he gave a feather duster with a string attached to it so she could crack the whip at her husband.  On his way to beg for forgiveness, 2 drinks slipped off the tray and crashed to the floor.  Woody looked shocked.  This left the guy with 2 drinks.  His wife forgave him and both left the stage with smiles on their faces.
        After the opening act, a video played featuring 3 guys that Guy had met while doing Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  Guy Fieri came on stage and introduced his crew which included original camera guys from Triple D, DJ Cobra from LA and 3 guys he met while doing Triple D: Panini Pete, Stretch and Pigskin.  Guy is very charismatic and funny but he did touch on a few important issues.  He promoted his new book Guy Fieri Food: Cookin' It, Livin' It, Lovin' It and told the crowd to pay special attention to the dedication page.  The book is dedicated to his sister Morgan who passed away from cancer.  The publisher already had the book printed with a dedication to his family when Morgan passed away and Guy changed his mind about the dedication.  The publisher ripped out all of the pages with the old dedication and printed the new one.  How awesome is that?!  If any of my family are reading this and would like a Christmas present idea, that book would be an awesome gift.  The second issue he tackled was childhood obesity.  "Somewhere along the line, we've forgotten to teach our kids what real food is," he said and it's so true.  I hear a lot of people say "I don't cook" with pride in their voice.  That is nothing to be proud of.  You can't or don't want to prepare food for your family?  Good for you.  He told us to cook with our kids.  Abby and I looked at each other at the same time.  "I cook with my kids," Abby said at the same time I said "I'll cook with your kids!"  It's true.  I steal people's kids to cook with.  I cook with Jade, Aiden and Eve.  It's fun to cook with kids and I plan to do it with my own someday.  Music played throughout the show and DJ Cobra had some special effects for the hilarious stories that Guy told.  Guy is a great speaker.  He was able to mix in subtle cooking lessons with his stories, like don't get your oil to hot.  That story was about deep-frying a turkey for Thanksgiving and how he almost started his house on fire because the oil was too hot.  (It was outside and spilled and the fire was dangerously close to his porch.)  He also did a skit for Minute to Win It, a show he hosts on NBC.  The show's concept came from Australia and he was asked to host an American version.  In the preliminary part of the show, he told a contestant "You have a minute to win it."  The producers liked the phrase so much that they asked for permission to use it.  He had no idea they were going to use it for the title of the show.  I've never seen Minute to Win It but Abby has.  When he asked for audience volunteers even though we were on the third level, Abby jumped up and down trying to get his attention.  And I, being the good friend I am, pointed at her like a dork.  Unfortunately she didn't get picked.  He did pick a soldier from the crowd.  "I support our troops.  I don't support war but I do support our troops," Guy said when the soldier came onstage.  The soldier got a standing ovation from the crowd.  It was a great sight to see.

            Throughout the night Guy recognized various people during the show.  He recognized the students from a culinary school that were acting as his stage hands and a member of the Pork Producers responsible for getting his show to Sioux City.  I learned a lot from Guy.  Not all of it had to do with food preparation.  He always plays music while he's cooking because cooking should be fun.  I think this is an excellent idea and have been using it in my own home.  Abby and I stood in line until midnight for Guy to sign the t-shirts we bought for our husbands.  He's a trooper.  I could tell he was really tired but he was still very funny.

Here a Cupcake, There a Cupcake, Everywhere a Cupcake!

             I made all of the cupcakes for Darcy's graduation party and I survived.  156 cupcakes.  When my coworkers hear about it, they give me a strange look and say "You're nuts."  I then make it very clear to them that I would only do this for family... no one else.  I don't want people getting any ideas... right Nancy?  I took a week off work to help get ready for Darcy's party.  On Tuesday I made 2 batches of chocolate cupcakes and a batch of yellow cupcakes.  Grandma did all of the dishes for me.  It was the perfect set-up because I hate doing dishes and Grandma doesn't mind it.  We froze the cupcakes so they'd still be fresh for Sunday.  I had planned to make the white cupcakes on Tuesday instead of the yellow but hit a snag when we realized we had forgotten to buy almond flavoring while grocery shopping.  Wednesday we went grocery shopping before Grandma's dental appointment and forgot the almond flavoring again.  We had just a few things on our mind while at the store!  On Thursday I made the white cupcakes after buying the almond flavoring in Emmetsburg.  Grandma made the spice cupcakes on Friday because I was decorating for the party.  So I guess technically I didn't make ALL of the cupcakes... 
              I made 4 different kinds of frosting: cherry, Butterfinger, chocolate and cream cheese.  I had brought a half batch of the cherry and Butterfinger frosting.  The secret trick to these frosting was the base.  Each started with very basic cake decorating frosting.  I made another batch of the basic frosting and split it in half.  Half was added to the cherry frosting; the other half to the Butterfinger frosting.  Each frosting had been too strong previously.  I wanted the frosting to have a faint taste.  The chocolate frosting was very bitter after I made it.  Grandma fussed with it the next day while I was in Emmetsburg and the result was perfection.  The cream cheese frosting was made Saturday before frosting.  I didn't want to make it sit too long.  The cherry frosting was for the white cupcakes.  The chocolate frosting, the yellow cupcakes.  The chocolate cupcakes had the Butterfinger frosting.  Cream cheese frosting suited the spice cupcakes.
              Saturday Grandma and I took the cupcakes out of the freezer...which wasn't the funnest thing I've ever done.  We put the cupcakes in metal cake pans.  It was a long dash from the freezer in the garage to the counter in the kitchen with the freezing metal on our hands.  Grandma figured it would take us an hour to frost the cupcakes.  We finished frosting in an hour and a half... Grandma was pretty close!  We sprinkled sanding sugar on the white and yellow cupcakes to add a little extra elegance.  For the chocolate cupcakes, Grandma sprinkled a little extra crushed Butterfinger on them.   The spice cupcakes were elegant enough with the cream cheese frosting (and also, anything added to that would have been really gross). 

             On Sunday I took the cupcakes to the office and set them out.  I did plan for the cupcakes to be part of the decoration with the different frosting and the fancy black with white polka dot liners.  I think they turned out very nice.  (And yes, I did fuss with the presentation.)  People seemed to really enjoy the cupcakes. 

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat"

        Every year I struggle with what to give up for Lent.  But last year and this year, I decided to do something a little different.  I decided not to give anything up.  I decided to instead donate $10 each week to the food basket at church.  Last year John Morrell closed their plant in Sioux City.  It did make the city smell better but the closing left over a thousand people without jobs.  Sioux City's economy took a beating.  A lot of the laid-off workers had a difficult time paying their bills and feeding their families.  It was hard for me to think of their kids not having enough food.  It was something that, thankfully, had never happened when I was a kid.  I had to do something.  My church has a basket inside the doors for food donations.  I decided that every week I would donate $10 worth of food.  It was my small way of helping these families.  As most of you know, food is not just food to me.  It's comfort, love, an apology, a celebration, a way to release frustration and stress, and so much more.  Food is every emotion you could possibly think of.  This year I kept track of my food donations:

Stove Top stuffing
Velveeta cheese
French's fried onions
Jell-o (grape)
corn x2
creamed corn
spaghetti sauce
beef chow mein with sauce
pasta sides cheesy cheddar
pasta sides alfredo broccoli
pasta roni shells and white cheddar
mac n cheese
roasted garlic instant mashed potatoes
pork and beans (Van Camp's) x2
cream of chicken soup x3
white rice
elbow macaroni
Wanchai Ferry Cashew Chicken
Sweet Peas x2
diced tomatoes x2
cream of mushroom soup x3
mandarin oranges
rotini noodles
rigatoni noodles
chunky pineapple
chunky mixed fruit
vegetable broth
tuna x2
instant potatoes x2
Bush's chili magic x2
funfetti cake mix
tomato soup x2
Hamburger Helper x3
egg noodles
Knorr Italian Sides
Knorr Fiesta Sides
Knorr Pasta Sides
Knorr Rice Sides
Knorr Asian Sides

This is what $60-$70 worth of food looks like.  I shopped sales so I could get a lot of food for my $10.  And I did occasionally go over that amount (the cake mix...I thought there should be something fun in the food basket too.).  Now you might notice that some of the food on this list is not food that I would eat at home (ahem, potatoes). I thought it was more important to provide food items that could make a complete meal rather than food items that catered to my personal tastes or views about nutrition.

I'm a dork

           It's true.  I'm a dork.  Not only am I a dork but I publicly admit it... with examples.  The best part of my day today was buying a cupcake stand.  Yes, a cupcake stand.  And I was a little picky.  Target had a cupcake/dessert stand but it wasn't what I wanted.  I just looked it up.  It was a dessert pedestal for $16.  Here's the link: http://www.nordicware.com/store/products/detail/dessert-pedestal/7E9E9A5C-5FB9-11E0-B8E4-005056A42C5A  Not what I wanted at all.  My best friend's mom (my second mommy) and my sister-in-law have similar cupcake stands and that's what I was looking for.  I remembered Hobby Lobby carried theirs.  The brand I bought is a Wilton cupcake stand.  I had three different choices: 13, 23 or 38 cupcakes.  I, of course, chose the 38 cupcake stand.  Here's the link to the one I got: http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=BA1648DA-802D-F658-04E205A00CB91EFB&killnav=1

My little sister is graduating this month and I'm making the cupcakes for her party.  (I'm sure you're well-aware of that fact.)  Her party gave me the perfect excuse to buy the cupcake stand.  Darcy and I were talking about her party a couple weeks ago.  I told her that I was going to buy the stand for her party and she said "You so want one, just admit it.  You have a blog about food.  You want the cupcake stand."  Yup, it's true.

Dr. Pepper and Peanut Butter

Tomorrow is another bake sale at work.  As per usual, I made at least 3 things.  I made puppy chow, peanut butter fudgy bars and Dr. Pepper cake.  I really need to learn to limit myself... but I don't think that's ever going to happen.  I've already written about the puppy chow and the peanut butter fudgy bars so I will not be rehashing those.  The Dr Pepper cake is a recipe my sister found on the internet and is really yummy.  The recipe calls for Dr. Pepper (duh), vegetable oil, butter, cocoa powder, sugar, flour, baking soda, eggs and buttermilk.

Side note: I hardly ever buy buttermilk.  I usually make my own by adding a splash of vinegar to milk.  (Thank you growing up on a farm and running out of ingredients for that little bit of creativity!)  That was the plan for tonight.  But, I couldn't find any regular vinegar in our apartment.  Both of us swore we had some but had no idea where it went.  We both looked in the cupboards and pantry multiple times... no regular vinegar.  I did have apple cider vinegar.  I figured it's close and it's cake; it'll work.  I've also subbed vodka for vinegar to make buttermilk for Texas Sheet Cake in the past.  That same time, I also swapped the vanilla for cinnamon (again, ran out of ingredients).  It ended up tasting like an Oreo and my then boss (who likes to drink) almost fell off her chair when I told her.  (The cake was for work.)  OK, back to my current cake!  (Sorry for the detour!)  The Dr. Pepper, vegetable oil, butter and cocoa powder are melted on the stove.  Mix together the flour, sugar and baking soda in a separate bowl.  The recipe says to whisk the eggs and buttermilk together.  I like to use the Pyrex 2-cup measuring cup for things like that.  The 1/2 half apple cider buttermilk and 2 eggs fit perfectly in it.  I've decided to start mixing more by hand.  It gives me a real feeling of accomplishment rather than watching the mixer work.  And I'm hoping to build some arm muscles.  (I'm a bit of wimp... not cool for a farm girl.)  It was really satisfying watching the bits of flour melt away when I added the chocolate mixture to it.  I almost forgot to add the apple cider buttermilk and eggs which would have been a disaster.  I enjoyed watching the dark brown chocolate color change to a lighter but still rich brown when I added the egg mixture.  (Former art major here... I enjoy colors!)  The recipe says to bake for 23-28 minutes... mine was still jiggly in the center after 25 minutes.  I checked it after another 3 minutes... still jiggly.  Steve checked it after another 2 minutes... still a little jiggly.  I checked it after another 2 minutes... finally done!  So about 32 minutes and the cake will be done.  Recipes irritate me when the baking time is that far off.  I haven't made the frosting yet.  Last time I made this cake was for Steve and Nathan's birthday.  The frosting seemed a little runny so tonight I'll focus on the thickness of it.  I can't take a cake to work if the frosting is runny and thin.

The unfrosted cake

I've also realized that this cake doesn't have brown sugar in it.  I'm thinking this has something to do with the flavor of the Dr. Pepper.  I thought about how the pop probably caramelizes on the stove as it mixes with the cocoa, butter and oil.  Interesting.

Just Roll With It

             This past Saturday I visited my sister-in-law Heather in Sioux Falls.  (The one that likes to bake as much as me... remember?)  I hadn't seen her, her husband Jon and their daughter Eve since Eve's birthday party in November.  It had been way too long.  Heather and I agreed to get together Saturday and bake.  She wanted to make lefsa and Wheaties rolls for Easter.  I was psyched.  I've never made lefsa.  I'm not Norwegian or Scandinavian so I don't have a clue how it's made.  I have eaten it and it's good.  (Although, I did have to ask how to eat it the first time!)  Heather has a lefsa pan which looks like this:

I had never seen one so I took a picture.  The dough has to rest 8 hours for lefsa so Heather had made the dough the night before while we talked on the phone.  The dough looked like this: 

However, the dough was stickier than Heather remembered it being.  I was no help.  I'm an Irish girl learning how to make lefsa... how could I be of any assistance?  Jon called his grandma and she solved the mystery with her first question: "Did she add the flour to the dough the night before?"  Heather had done exactly that and apparently that's wrong.  Sort of.  Grandma Y (Jon and Steve's grandma) said that their grandpa like lefsa to be crispier, to the point where it wouldn't bend.  We could achieve this by adding more flour.  Heather wasn't too thrilled at the suggestion.  We scrapped the plans to make lefsa.  I will have to learn another time.

              We did make Wheaties rolls.  This is another of Grandma Y's recipes.  Steve loves them.  Wheaties rolls are similar to cinnamon rolls in the consistency of the dough but you don't let them rise.  And the recipe really does call for Wheaties.  After letting the dough rest in the fridge for a few hours (and getting Eve's bike), we rolled out the dough and sprinkled some cinnamon on it.  Eve was a big girl and enjoyed helping.  We had to give her a little piece of dough to work with.  The dough was rolled up and cut.  The smell in the house as the rolls baked was divine.  The final touch: maple flavored frosting.  It's delicioso.  Powdered sugar, butter, milk and maple flavoring and you have a very yummy frosting.

      All in all, it was a great day.  (And I did bring home some rolls for Steve.)

Spice Cake and a Fryer

No, we didn't have fried spice cake. And yes, I did briefly consider it. The spice cake was practice for Darcy's graduation. I'd never made it before and I didn't think Darcy's party would be the right time to try a brand new (old) recipe. The recipe is another of my great grandma's recipe. Like most of her recipes, it is very simple and has delicate flavors. The first part of the recipe says to boil the sugar, lard (or other shortening), water, cinnamon, cloves and salt. I was a little concerned because I chose to Crisco in place of the lard. The Crisco wasn't melting as fast as I thought it should. But it did eventually melt and the mixture boiled quite nicely. After it boils, you're supposed to let it cool. I left it alone for a good 5 minutes and then transfered it to a different container hoping to speed up the process. I left it alone for other 20 minutes. I was too anxious to wait for it to completely cool so I figured that was good enough. The second half of the recipe is flour, soda, baking soda and eggs. Mix the two components together and bake for 30 minutes and you'll have the most glorious, delicate-tasting spice cake ever. Yes, ever.

I frosted the spice cake with a cream cheese frosting. The frosting contains sour cream, NOT lemon juice like I previously wrote. The frosting is great. It doesn't have an overly sweet taste to it. The cream cheese flavr is definitely present but in a very savory, non-sugary way.

The second part of the title: Steve bought a mini fryer last night.

Now we can make fries and not have grease splattered all over the stove. We also have temperature control and a little fryer basket. We will NOT be picking up applications to McDonald's any time soon, though. Last night we had oven-baked chicken strips and crispy homemade fries. It was delicious.