Recipe Review
Today’s
Recipe and Location: Billie’s Italian Cream Cake
Found
in: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From my
Frontier
Pages 241 - 243 Copyright: 2012 Harper Collins
I figured out that there are 690 calories
per serving, if 18 servings are made. (Please note that the calorie counts vary depending on the
specific brands of ingredients that you choose to use.)
I
can’t say that I enjoyed making this cake. I followed the recipe, but found it
difficult to frost the thing. I waited until it cooled completely, but every
time I spread the frosting the top layer of the cake peeled up and mixed in
with the frosting. I was one very frustrated baker at the time. I do not know what the heck I did wrong
– but it looked a mess when I was finished. I also thought it was sickeningly sweet because there were
many layers with frosting between each one. I have thought of a possible
solution to my problem. I think I
will try to make it as a sheet cake. This would cut down some of the excess
sugary sweetness. I haven’t yet figured out the frosting spreading problem – I
may have to stop at the local bakery and ask what I did wrong. Why don’t I live
in Oklahoma so I could just ask Ree in person? It sure would be faster than finding a baker that would help
me.
Today’s
critics:
The
Serpicos commented: “Oh my gosh!
This was grossly sweet and not a pretty thing to look at. This is tooth decay in just one bite!”
Brandy:
“Yummy, was there coconut in that? I thought I tasted coconut? Very good, very
rich I thought, so I could only have very small pieces, but I thought it was good.
Gabbin’ About Gratitude
I have a second mother figure
whose name is Nancy Stopka and she was definitely put in my life for a reason.
She was always kind and caring to me. She welcomed me into her home every day
and even put up with me on Saturday mornings (cleaning day at the Stopka
household).
In
1976, when I moved to Florida to get an apartment with Kathy, her wonderful
family welcomed me with open arms. Kathy’s Mom was such a support for me. When I needed a job, we sat down at the
kitchen table and she opened the telephone book (yes – we really used this in
those days) and we began paging through it and discussing the type of job I
wanted. It didn’t take us long to
hit on the Capt. Anderson. Thanks to Nancy Stopka I got a job I loved for almost
10 years.
But
my love for her is greater for more than just finding me a job. She invited me
to every holiday at her home when I lived in Florida, and we were in her home
several days a week. She welcomed my Mom when she came to visit. She is thoughtful, insightful, and
loving. She has always made me
feel special and for those reasons I admire her greatly and enjoy talking to
her. I am so thankful that she has
been involved in my life for so many years.
Memory Musings
When
we were seven or eight Julie Rascher used to put on plays for the
neighborhood. She always had the
best part which seemed right because they were held in her garage and they were
her costumes. I enjoyed them at the time even though we were laughed at by the
other kids in the neighborhood. We were no Shakespearian troop – that’s for
sure.
After
age eight, Julie and I remained friends but I had discovered Kathy Stopka. We
were much more compatible and became the best of friends.
The
only other play I was in was Oliver in high school. I truly enjoyed being in a musical.
No comments:
Post a Comment