We had an amazing, AH-MAZE-ING, meal. Burrata salad, braised beef ribs, creamy parmesan polenta, saffron risotto. All the while, we sat in the bar and watched Top Chef All-Stars and Fabio score part of his team win with his whole wheat light gnocchi at the U.S. Open. (Po-tae-toe-y Peelows). 
But not just any girl, the "Mila-wau-kee Cupp-a-cake Queen". A very lucky girl who can go into a restaurant owned by a celebrity chef and in return, he hugs and kisses and knows by name. Class Act. He joined us for a while. I gave him a goodie bag full of IronCupcake awesome. It was all sooo worth it. 
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. Muah!
The Chicago Tribune did a write-up on the Cupcake Maker that was posted on December 7th. Cupcakes have jumped the shark, or so some food mavens claim. But, really, when is a cupcake ever passe? Especially a fresh-baked cupcake cooked up in an adorable appliance like this one, the Sunbeam Cupcake Maker.Everything about this appliance screams cupcake in a holiday way: the pink lid adorned with white "icing" and colorful sprinkles, the chubby cupcake shape. The price is an easy-to-swallow $50, but you can find it for less; target.com and amazon.com had it for $40. — Bill Daley, Tribune Newspapers
Did you see the great story about David Kaye, ICM's resident character, in this month's "M" Magazine? Congrats to him and all that he has created...In everyday life, David Kaye works at Froedtert Hospital in the infectious disease clinic. He checks in patients, keeps orderly schedules and does whatever else the doctors and nurses need from him. But in his off-hours, he’s a classically trained guitarist, an audio editor, a versatile actor, a budding producer and active participant in Iron Cupcake baking competitions. His new Bad Example Theatre company debuted this past summer with an adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s classic 1953 novel, "Fahrenheit 451," staged at the funky Alchemist Theatre in Bay View. A longtime fan of the noted author, appreciating his poetic language, Kaye dipped into his own pockets to put on the show and convinced 10 friends to act in the production. continue...
You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch.
You really are a heel.
You're as cuddly as a cactus,
You're as charming as an eel.
Mr. Grinch.
You're a bad banana
With a greasy black peel.
You're a monster, Mr. Grinch.
Your heart's an empty hole.
Your brain is full of spiders,
You've got garlic in your soul.
Mr. Grinch.
I wouldn't touch you, with a
thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole.
You're a vile one, Mr. Grinch.
You have termites in your smile.
You have all the tender sweetness
Of a seasick crocodile.
Mr. Grinch.
Given the choice between the two of you
I'd take the seasick crockodile.
You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch.
You're a nasty, wasty skunk.
Your heart is full of unwashed socks
Your soul is full of gunk.
Mr. Grinch.
The three words that best describe you, are as follows, and I quote:
You're a rotter, Mr. Grinch.
You're the king of sinful sots.
Your heart's a dead tomato splotched
With moldy purple spots,
Mr. Grinch.
Your soul is an apalling dump heap overflowing
with the most disgraceful assortment of deplorable
rubbish imaginable,
Mangled up in tangled up knots.
You nauseate me, Mr. Grinch.
With a nauseaus super-naus.
You're a crooked jerky jockey
And you drive a crooked hoss.
Mr. Grinch.
You're a three decker saurkraut and toadstool sandwich
With arsenic sauce!
On a stretch of road betweet Plover and Stevens Point there are several bars, including Jeeper's Gin Bin*, and one hidden little cupcake shop called Sweet Temptations Cupcakerie. The show stopper for this site is the great wall of cupcakes painted by a local high school student.
* On a side note, when saying "Jeeper's Gin Bin" into Google Talks on the iPhone, what it delivers is the phrase "Cheap Birth Canal" -- a result of the Gin Bin, perhaps.
My favorite of favorite culinary guilty pleasures is back with a vengance, literally! Season 8 of Top Chef started last week and rather than showcasing 18 unknowns, has brought back to most dynamic, most embattled and most bitter of previous chefs for a second chance at the prize. Well, you know my heart belongs to Fabio, but to be honest this batch of chefs is so hard to watch because you don't want to see ANY of them go home! Elia, the darling of season 2 went home on the first night...that is how good this group is. For the next 18 weeks, don't even try to call me on Wednesday night...I'm busy watching Top Chef All-Stars!!
Look at me!
Look at me!
Look at me NOW!
It is fun to have fun
But you have to know how.
Tonight is the premiere of TLC's Cake Boss:Next Great Baker! Everybody's buddy, Buddy "Cake Boss" Valastro, along with various family/bakery staff members, put 10 talented pastry chefs through the ringer to earn the title of “Next Great Baker.” At stake - $50,000 cash and a chance to work side-by-side with Buddy at Carlo's Bakery. Each week, Buddy pushes the contestants' baking and decorating skills to the limit through a series of increasingly difficult challenges that test their business sense and cake artistry. Someone will be sent packing each week until the NEXT GREAT BAKER is the last one standing.
