Almost Done with Our Cakes

Well, I am still working on flowers for my wedding cake in class. Yesterday and today we made the cakes, filled them, crumb coated them (we call it "spackle") and then covered them with rolled fondant. I did remember to take some photos of my gumpaste flowers, so I'll post them at the end of this entry. Yesterday afternoon, I took part in a recreational (optional) class at the school called "Summer Steak Workshop" with a master butcher, Rudy Weid. It was a fantastic class! Not only did we get to see him effortlessly carve up a half of a cow (well, actually a "steer," which is a castrated bull), but we learned about a bunch of lesser known cuts/steaks that cost a lot less than sirloins and tenderloins, but taste just as good OR BETTER. Lastly, after all of this entertainment, we got to taste all of these cuts of beef after the chefs cooked them up: filet mignon, sirloin, tri-tip (my new favorite), skirt, flank, short sirloin (or coulette), flatiron and hanger steak (a good runner up).




After class, I met Todd in Bryant Park (remember in the winter I said this was one of my favorite places in NYC), which is on 42nd street, a few blocks east of Times Square. On Monday nights in the summertime, HBO sponsors a movie night in Bryant Park. Last night was Annie Hall, which is the old classic with Diane Keaton and Woody Allen. It was a real New Yorker favorite, so the lawn was packed. They don't start showing the movie until "dark," and we had to be there by 5:00 pm to get a seat, so we ended up camping out in the park for a good 4 1/2 hours before movie time. A little picnic, some vino, a good book and a blanket and we were just fine...



Tomorrow we'll put the finishing touches on our cakes and present them to the other people at the school. Then, I'll get the challenge of bringing it home on the subway and figuring out how to get rid of it all! (The cake serves about 60 people, and it's just Todd and I here... I'll probably cut it up and put it in the mail room or lobby of the apartment building.) I wish I could send it in the mail, but I'm afraid that wouldn't work!

Here are the flowers (cherry blossoms, calla lilly, rose and an azalea):