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...

A year and a half!!!???

Just read this under the "About Us" tab on the Sugar Sweet Sunshine Web site:


"Debbie had a dusty old Betty Crocker cookbook that her parents had given her and decided it was a good a place to start. So, every Sunday for the next 1-1/2 years in Deb’s kitchen the two experimented. Some of the things they baked were great triumphs and others…well, it was back to the baking board." 

Is it really going to take that long??? :(

~AnnMarie

We have a winner!

Aaaalright ladies and germs, Nicole and I have chosen a logo for our first Web site.

The esteemed honor goes to: Sarah Mapes!

Amie, Sarah, we loved both of your work and I am here to say how talented BOTH of these ladies are. See previous posts for their contact information.

We'll be working on the Web site in the coming days and hope to have something available by next weekend.

In other news, Nicole and I have signed up for 3 classes each at the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC and can't wait for them!

Me:
Everybody Loves Cupcakes
Cupcake Workshop 1
Basically Baking

Nicole:
Cupcake Workshop 2
Cupcakes Unlimited
Low-Fat Baking

I thought it best if we divide and conquered. Barbara (Mom) will of course be coming for one class each.

Trials tomorrow. Better get some rest. I think I'm going to stop at the Briarcliff Manor, NY Winter Farmer's Market to pick up a few supplies from Feather Ridge Farm. Thanks for the tip Phyllis!

~AnnMarie

Hey Big Spender

So what comes after the first big business meeting? The first big supply shopping trip, of course!

After dealing with a bad cold and a grueling week of work, I'm still working my way through How to Open a Financially Successful Bakery. Nicole on the other hand spent the week researching low-fat baking and healthier ingredient alternatives. When we met up yesterday night for the big spree, she was sounding more like a chemist than a future baker.
"Now what does that do?" I asked as she plucked a tiny box of arrowroot from a huge rack of spices in Chef Central. "Wow, you really didn't do your research," she scolded me. "Arrowroot is a leavener."

"Well, what's that?" I asked. She ignored me.

Some half-assed Google research of my own says that arrowroot is a thickener, which I don't think is the same as a leavener. But I'll debate this with her tomorrow...

This first stop was mainly to pick up some essentials, including a re-usable pastry bag:

And a whisk:
You can't really see it too well, but that little guy had a cute chicky as the handle.

I tried to act as the voice of reason as best I could, but it was hard for even me to ignore the adorable accessories that they had for sale in the cupcake section:

We did manage to get outta there pretty much unscathed. Nicole might beg to differ:
Then came the fun part of the evening...WHOLE FOODS!!!!!!!
Let me just say, we didn't want to leave. The store has a great energy, with an extremely knowledgeable staff, and, get ready for this...a sugar and salt bar!
From raspberry to cinnamon to green chili sugar, the aromas were intoxicating. Then we turned the corner to find a nuts station where you can grind your own butters. I tried the almond and to quote Alka Seltzer, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing."

We bought a variety of flours and some LEAVENING and sweetener replacements, as well as some alternative thickening agents. All of which are going to help us make our cuppies not a random indulgence, but rather a diet staple. Core competence baby, core competence!

Skinnie Minnie will cater to those who want a healthy, lower-calorie baked good, but don't need it to be wheat-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, or most importantly, taste-free.

Trials begin tomorrow. Stay tuned...

Eat our crumbs!

~AnnMarie

Onward!

So I've got a few of my creative geniuses working on logos for our soon to be launched "minnie" site...hehehe:)....

And I'm excited by what I see so far!

I'm thinking it should be up and running by the first week of April or shortly thereafter. Then we can most-likely go ahead with our trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. I could file an "intent-to-use" app before then, but we'd have to file ANOTHER application after that once the name finally is officially being used in commerce. And at 325 bucks a pop, I think it's wise to hold off. I'm consulting with one of my trademark experts on that one.

So our business meeting ended with Nicole and I sitting on the floor of Barnes & Noble scouring a variety of low-fat cook and baking books. We purchased a few, as well as this book:

How to Open a Financially Successful Bakery, by Sharon L. Fullen and Douglas R. Brown. So Nicole got to take the fun books (the cookbooks) and has been having a ball researching and brainstorming on combinations of a variety of ingredients from alternative oils to flours to flavors and I got to take THAT one. And have been watching my blood pressure creep higher and higher as I read about loans and business plans and "demographic research."

But we haven't been discouraged so far! We're ready to dive head first into the baking experimenting (which should result in a few fights and a few extra pounds) as we need to get our healthier recipes and menus down pat, first and foremost, with the appropriate healthier alternatives. That's a big fat DUH.

We'll be making a visit to Chef Central on Friday night to get the first round of bakeware and ingredients for lab on Saturday. The lab being my mother's kitchen.

We'll also be signing up for a few baking courses at the Institute of Culinary Education come next month, when they post new courses finally.

~AnnMarie