suzy's sweets at corvette show!

Howdy! Well, the big weather missed us last night, but devastated some towns south and especially east of us...I do not like tornado season, that is for sure. Big doin's around here-Ashland is hosting a local corvette show and SC's Bistro is doing concessions so I will get to supply rolls and cookies and brownies! Hurray! I've got to see if I can make a "car" cookie...too cute, really. Tried yet another version of sweet roll this morning...apple walnut with a cinnamon struesel topping. They look fantastic! I'll have to break one open here in a few minutes and see if they taste as good as they look. I also attempted my version of the Cherry Bounce coffee cake that Grandpa used to buy in Chicago. Complete failure--well, not complete, the cake TASTES good--but that is all! It looks terrible and doesn't taste anything like what I remembered. But now I already thinking of a different way to prepare it...and now that I think about it, I think it was a yeast dough for the "cake" part. I'll email Dad and Jennifer to see if they remember. It has been a nice week of baked good sales, that's for sure. Oh, and I have a new scone idea to try to...cherry pecan. Sounded good! I toasted my pecans, now I just have to whip up my scones and see what people think. And start prepping stuff for this car show--expecting a couple of hundred people, apparently! hurray!

two new items

so, silly me, forgot to take a picture of the cake, but I'll try and get to that next time. So, totally inspired by all the beautiful and delicious food in Chicago I came home ready to bake! Tried out a new style breakfast roll....my regular dough, but instead of a cinnamon sugar filling, cream cheese and strawberry preserves--then rolled up, baked and topped with cream cheese frosting--wow! Smell fabulous, taste great, too...and then vanilla cake, layered with a pineapple, spiced rum, brown sugar compote, buttercream, toasted coconut and macadami nuts. It looks great and is so yummy! I am very, very happy with the way both items turned out. Let's just see how they actually sell. Well, the rolls sold, I've got more started this morning...I just took the cake over yesterday. I had a customer requesting the mini-cherry pies which I took over yesterday a.m. and I found out why...his daughter bought one for his wife's birthday and HE ate it--and loved it--so has been trying to get another one to replace the one he gobbled down! too funny...also went to Omaha Bakery Supply yesterday. Met with Nancy and she was a fantastic hostess--gave me a great tour, we talked for about an hour, I think. They have some great looking equipment--cannot wait to get back there and get some. And next week I am definitely shopping there for some shortening, flavors, etc. What a great find! And they are not too far away, either. In this day of soaring gas prices, that is a bonus to be sure. I want to get to Whole Foods, but that's 50 miles for stuff I do not really NEED, just want, and people I would like to visit, obviously. Miss them! Okay, time to get some cookies into the oven. It's going to be a great day!

well, the national restaurant association show was fabulous. always nice to be back in the big city--I love Chicago anyway, and having an entire McCormick Place full of foodies was just the icing on the cake! Very inspiring, to say the least. I even had a chance to visit a local family owned bakery and get an idea or two there. In fact, I came up with a new roll recipe last night due to all my creative stimulation over the weekend. I made a strawberry cream cheese roll that turned out quite fabulous, if I do say so myself! Always nice when a vision comes to life as well as you planned it, eh?! Another busy week, and this time the big weekend cake order is for my very own soon to be 6-year old! She wants a ginormous cupcake ONTOP of a cake--what?! Greedy girl! But I say what the heck, we will go for it! I said, that will be kind of hard and she said "I will help you, MOmmy!" Cannot ask for more than that, can you? Brilliant! I'll try and remember to take a picture of that one...if it can happen.

lovely week

what a lovely busy week I have going right now! My folks visited over the weekend and we had a great time--always nice to have people around who appreciate my cooking. The case has been selling well--sure wish I had more time for new recipes. I have lots of lovely special orders, especially for cakes this week--plus shipped a couple of items today as well, Hooray! Now I've got to figure out how to get far enough ahead that the Bistro doesn't run into trouble while I'm in Chicago. Baby crying, gotta runnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11