ICE, thumbs down…so far

Sorry we haven't touched base in a while. Those damn day jobs again…

But I'm thrilled to report I actually have tomorrow AND MONDAY off! And couldn't be more excited. It will give me lots of time to catch up on stuff that has had to fall to the wayside. Stuff such as The Road to Sweetness.

So while we might not have been too vocal, we have remained active in our quest. Between my sister, me, and my mother, we've gotten through two of the Institute of Culinary Education's recreational classes over the past couple weeks, and must say we haven't walked away too enriched.

Two Saturdays ago, I took Basically Baking with Nick Malgieri, and my mother and sister took Low-Fat Baking with an unnamed instructor who claimed "these aren't my recipes, I just teach the class," last Sunday.

On the contrary, Mr. Malgieri took particular ownership of his recipes, as he's "only been a baker for 40 years, what do I know?" he asked nobody in particular.

His antics made the class, as many of us were too scared to make a move lest we get yelled at for not doing it correctly.

"I didn't see it!" exclaimed one class member as a dirty look was shot his way when it was realized that he'd neglected one egg that was needed for a recipe he was assisting with.

While definitely a fun experience, we have to say we've gotten no new information or tips to use for the Skinny Minnie Bakeshop. We had high hopes for Low-Fat Baking but Nicole said instead of focusing on ingredient alternatives, it was all about portion control.

One perk was that while I'm not sure what my mother and sister walked away with, I came home with a feast of muffins, focaccia, cookies, cakes, and more! Here's a couple shots of our final products:

(Mr. Malgieri agreed to swap some of that focaccia you see there for some drinks from the bartending class going on across the hall. Smart move.)

Up next for me will be Everyone Loves Cupcakes next month.

This is how the description reads on my receipt:

Everyone loves cupcakes---they’re fun to make, great fun to decorate, and the MOST fun to eat. Chef-Instructor Loren Banco will teach you to make your choice of old-fashioned yellow, double chocolate, and peanut butter with chocolate truffle center cupcake batters, and then assorted buttercream frostings including raspberry, amaretto and chocolate espresso. A variety of decorative techniques will be demonstrated, from which participants will be able to choose to personalize their own creations.

Hopefully, the specific cuppie classes prove more useful!

We'll let you know.

~AnnMarie

PS, only a few days left to vote for our Cuppie Tour 2010 stops! Don't forget to cast yours...