King of Pop
Regardless of his alleged indiscretions in his later years no one can deny the fact that he truly was the best that music has ever seen.
Michael Jackson
August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009
Somewhere, Over the Rainbow...
Got a heads up from my friend Jennifer in CA about the sweet awesomeness that is ringing its sugar bell in Palm Springs. The blog for Over the Rainbow Cupcakes describes its owner as quite the culinary master:
Roman Blas is the Chef and Owner of Over the Rainbow Cupcakes and Cheesecake Pops PS. Chef Blas is a graduate of one of the country’s finest culinary schools, Le Cordon Bleu College in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to his excellent training, he has worked at the Ritz Carlton Hotel near Atlanta and Re’past Restaurant in Atlanta (ranked as one of the country’s Top 20 New Restaurants USA). Roman is also a Certified Culinarian with the American Culinary Federation. Locally, Chef Blas has been the Pastry Chef at Indian Ridge Country Club in Palm Desert. As a trained and experienced pastry chef, I know the meaning of using top quality ingredients. Top quality ingredients result in top quality products. And, top quality products lead to high levels of customer satisfaction. We make all of our cupcakes & cheesecake pops from scratch, using ONLY real butter, high quality King Arthur flour, Callebaut Chocolates and whole vanilla beans – no artificial ingredients. You WILL taste the difference. That is our commitment to you.Sounds amazing! If you are travelling through that part of California, be sure to check them out and let me know how it goes!
All in the Family
A while back my mom told me that she wanted to be sure that me and all my cousins all over the country stayed in touch as we all grew older. I rarely ever spoke to my cousins and then we all became "friends" on Facebook. My mom will be so pleased to know that 2nd cousin Bethann emailed this week looking for a great cupcake recipe. I was touched and of course did what I could to help out this non-cupcaking member of the family. And look what she did! Awesome! Way to go Bethann!
Seeing Stripes!
Check out these groovy new stripey liners available at KitchenKrafts.com. For only $2.95 you can get a pack of 50 - and be sure to check out the other goodies they sell as well! Just don't wear your striped liners with your checks, wouldn't want anyone to get snagged by the cupcake fashion police!
Blame It on the Ah-Ah-Ah-Alcohol
My Dear, Dear Ruthie. What an amazing hostess she was for IronCupcake:Milwaukee's BOOZE challenge. To say it was a big night would be a massive understatement. Just over a year ago, Chef Jeff and I decided it would be fun to have a little bake-off. Me, him, a couple friends and some pretty nasty wasabi cupcakes.
Fast-forward to last night. Even last month we handed out about 100+ tickets. Knowing that we have gotten some incredible press in the last month I printed THREE HUNDRED TICKETS, assuming that it would be MORE than enough. WRONG! We probably had 350 to even, possibly 400 people in attendance last night.
With all of those voters and tasters and more than 30 different cupcakes to try, it was Alicia's 1st Date Cupcake that took home the popular vote. And she didn't just kind of win, she knocked it out of the park with about 1/3 of the vote.
There were so many new friends and so many different cupcakes, it would be impossible to properly identify who everyone was or to even show all of the cupcakes. So I am going to share a few here and invite you to visit my FLICKR pool or scroll to the end of this post for a slide show.
Irma Dinka, our IronCupcake:Chicago hostess brought her adorable hubs and her gorgeous girls. Look how cute he is. Thanks for making the trip Dinka Family!
The Blue-Chello cupcake was by new Iron Cupcaker Vance. He definitely got the concept of presentation and competition. Nice Job, Vance!
Blame it on the vodka, blame it on the henny
Blame it on the blue tap got you feeling dizzy
Blame it on the ah-ah-ah-alcohol, blame it on the ah-ah ah-ah Ash-ley!
OMG! How do you not LOVE this diarama that Liz set up with Ken and the Scuba cuppie!?
Beware the deceptive Poison Apple cupcake, an apple cupcake spiked with Jack Daniels! So, Cathy N., do we eat this or run?? :-)
Do you think someone should tell Jeff that Ruthie is a dude?
Stay tuned in the coming weeks as Chef Jeff, the Tally Ho and a few others IC'ers have a meeting of the cupcake minds to see what we can do to make this event even more fun and run more smoothly now that it isn't just a dozen folks gathered in a restaurant lounge. Thanks Milwaukee for making Iron Cupcake such an overwhelming success!
Next Challenge: VEGAN a/o GLUTEN-FREE with Beans & Barley
Monday, July 20
IronCupcake:Milwaukee - VEGAN/GLUTEN-FREE with Beans & Barley!
No one ever said that cupcakes were just for meat eaters? Back by popular demand, its the VEGAN and/or GLUTEN FREE challenge, with our very special guest Beans & Barley!
The sun should be out and the patio rockin' so bring your best interpretation. If this topic sounds stumping, find a copy of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World for inspiration. It is an AWESOME cupcake book, for everyone!
We will have raffle drawings, prizes and all the usual: cupcakes, drink specials and The Irish Pub's amazing $1 burgers.
The July challenge will take place on MONDAY, JULY 20nd at 6 p.m.
As always, all bakers should pre-register at IronCupcakeMilwaukee@wi.rr.com.
Only the first 20 bakers will be able to register. First come, first served.
$3 donation will be requested to taste/vote. In return, a portion of every donation will be shared with a local non-profit organization. This month, in honor of my long-time friends, Jason and his son Noah and Joe and his son Corey; this months donation will go to the Autism Society of Wisconsin. It is through my friends that I learned of the benefits of a gluten-free/casin-free diet for autistic children.
As always, we look forward to tons of fun, and how great that now we have enough people attending our events that we can do good in our community as well!?
As always, everyone is welcome!
IronCupcake:Milwaukee
VEGAN and/or GLUTEN-FREE Challenge
Monday, July 20, 6 p.m.
The Irish Pub
124 N. Water Street
Milwaukee's Third WardIronCupcake:Milwaukee is sponsored in part by our friends at CakeNCrumbs.com!
Fire + Cupcake = BAD & GOOD
happy 'effin birthday., originally uploaded by niki </3.
1) From frasercoastchronicle.com: A FLAMING cupcake and smoking microwave prompted a Hervey Bay woman to call triple-0 on Sunday. A spokesperson from the Hervey Bay fire station said the small fire was out when they arrived at the Urangan house at about 11.40am. He said the resident was heating up a cupcake when the paper around it caught fire and smoke started coming out the back of the microwave.
2) From survivalistboards.com: A buddy told me this cupcake recipe for the perfect campfire starters. Take a muffin tin and place your cupcake liners like you normally would if you were making muffins or cupcakes. now place a small amount of dryer lint at the base of each cupcake. Then place sawdust over the lint.
Now that you have your core, drizzle melted wax from your favorite "Unscented" candles all over your cupcakes until they are pretty solid. Solid enough for travel at least. You can play with your "batter" until you get your perfect mixture. I like to throw a couple in a zip-loc with some matches as a stable firestarter, no goopy petroleum/ leaky gasoline to deal with. The cupcake liner catches right away, then picks up the lint, which engulfs the sawdust/wax mixture and burns for a long time depending on your "batter."
Hey Dad, This One is for You!
Brownie Burger Cupcakes & Cookie Fries, originally uploaded by Bakerella.
The most awesome Bakerella posted an incredible how-to for these burgers and fries. Since my pop is in CA and doesn't really want a cupcake to EAT, this seemed like a good way to wish him well on Father's Day. So, here's to you, Dad!
Do You Know the Cupcake Van?
Jerry Hirssch over at the LATimes reports about the latest food to strap on some wheels and come to you...who could say no to this? Do you think she will hop on the road and head to Milwaukee???
It's hard enough resisting a fresh cupcake sitting placidly in the bakery case. Now that cupcake is coming after you.
In what harks back to the heyday of the Helms Bakery neighborhood delivery truck decades ago, Sprinkles Cupcakes of Beverly Hills will use a "Sprinklesmobile" to sell red velvet, lemon coconut, banana dark chocolate and other cupcake varieties starting next week.
Read all about it at LATimes.com
Google Shuffle: Tom & Jerry Eat Cupcakes
Sometimes you just find the coolest, strangest, funniest things when image searching on Google.
Tall Story Indeed
Just when you thought cupcakes couldn't possibly get any cuter. Check out these custom wrappers by etsy shopster Yummy Cupcake Crafts. The giraffes were a private order, which she is totally open to, and below are the most adorable 3D flower wrappers. There are also custom picks, and a whole load of patriotic themed wrappers for the upcoming holiday
Pretty Paper Posies
Recently blogged on marthastewart.com, now you can pick these little posies for your own cupcake garden!
Millalove's original Paper Flower Cupcake Toppers. Each paper flower petal has been hand folded, making up a complete flower. Each flower is approximately 2 inches wide and 1.5 inches from the front to the back. Skip on over to Millalove's ETSY shop to pick some of your own. Only 15$/dozen - heck, cheaper than the real thing!
This Little Piggie Went for Cupcakes...
Earlier last week, I mentioned my venture to Comet Cafe and the quest for their cupcake? I found out at that time that they cupcakes they serve are actually prepared at their new baby sister in Bayview, called Honey Pie. This weekend I dragged a couple of my besties down to the south side to check out the new place and hopefully score another cupcake.
They did not disappoint. We all agreed that our lunches were good and that we would definitely return, but lets face it...it wasn't the veggie sammie that took us there in the first place...it was these little sweeties. Or should I say BIG sweeties. We shared a Lemon Cupcake with Raspberry frosting...
and I had a Vanilla Cupcake with Buttercream and Chocolate Chips packed up to go...
...unfortunately, THIS is what happens when you forget you have a cupcake in your car and stay out and about all afternoon in the summertime heat. No worries, I'll be back for more...mmmmmm.
Comet Café
1947 N Farwell Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
414/273.7677
Honeypie
2643 S. Kinnickinic Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53207
414/489.7437
Not a cupcake!
Yes, it is Top Chef time again. This time it is the MASTERS pitted against one another. The other night I developed a new crush on Chef Hubert Keller and have been dreaming about his Creamy Mac and Cheese with Prawns, Mushrooms and Fresh Herbs. Ever since the first episode aired I have been wanting that mac and cheese. So, tonight, I gave in. First of all, it was a bit pricey to put together, and it was a lot of work, but the end result was a massive pot of mac and cheese that was rich and creamy and delicious. I thank God that MINE wasn't made in a dorm room and rinsed in a shower, but...come to think of it, my kitchen isn't much bigger than that!
TYMPD - Thank You Milwaukee Police Dept.
Milwaukee Police Officers Bryan Norberg and Graham Kunisch
were both injured in the line of duty on June 9th, 2009.
TYMPD Event Day is a FREE thank you celebration that will take place on Saturday, June 20th from 9AM - 9PM on National Avenue between S. 1st Street and S. 2nd Street (Steny's area).
FREE Event Activities Include:
• LIVE Music - Day & NightTo volunteer or make donations, go to the TYMPD site.
• Blue Plate Breakfast at Steny's from 9:00am - 11:30am
• Main Stage Special Program at 4:55pm
• Fantastic Food & Beverages Available (for purchase)
• Milwaukee Police Vehicle & Mounted Unit Display
• BELL Ambulance Tours
• Milwaukee Fire Department Display
• Special VIP Appearances
• Numerous Children's Activities
Event is brought to you by Steny's Tavern, 96.5 WKLH, Milwaukee Police Department & Bell Ambulance.
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