Volleyball Tournaments and a Birthday.

My sister-in-law, Catie, attends Hope where she is on the volleyball team. This past weekend we were lucky enough to be able to travel up to MI with my in-laws to watch her team compete and eventually win the NCAA Division III Regional Championship! So now they are off to Ohio as one of the Elite 8 in hopes of becoming the next National Champions. Unfortunately, Brad and I won't be able to make it down there however we are planning on watching online. Let's Go Hope!

During the tournament, it was also Catie's birthday and I wanted to make her a birthday cake. I'm not sure where exactly I got the idea, but somewhere down the line I decided that I wanted to make her a Volleyball birthday cake since volleyball has been such a big part of her life, especially the last couple of years. I then discovered that Wilton makes a sports ball pan set and immediately set out to buy it. On Thursday, the day before her birthday, I baked two boxes of cake; one for the ball, and one for the rectangular base. Brad and I then debated whether to leave late that night when I got out of work for Michigan and finish the cake on Fri or wait until Fri morning to leave for MI and finish the cake here in Chicago Thurs night/Fri morning. We finally decided to leave Thursday night so that we didn't have to worry about me not finishing the cake in time before our 3 hour drive or risk us being late to her games.

Let me tell you, I am sooo happy that we decided to leave Thursday night because let me tell you, it took for-ev-er. I got up Fri morning around 8:30 to begin working and did so until around 3:00 I think. Yeah, crazy long, I know. The main culprit was that I kept running out of icing so I had to stop and make more and then at one point even had to leave to go to Meijer's to buy more butter. I also took a quick lunch break because by 1pm, I hadn't eaten anything that day but frosting and pieces of cake :op

Anyway, it didn't turn out exactly the way I had wanted (the ball ended up looking a bit bumpy rather than smooth- but hey, it's my first cake) however I still had a lot of fun making it and we all had fun eating as well (funfetti cake, homemade butter cream frosting, strawberry butter cream filling...I don't mean to toot my own horn but doesn't that just sound delicious?). But the best part?

Is that Catie LOVED it.

*cake pictures courtesy of my father-in-law

"Chivalry isn't dead yet"

So, did you hear about the time that Brad and I met Alton Brown? No? Well let me tell you ;o)

A couple weeks ago I got my weekly Border's e-mail and it said "Meet Alton Brown! Details Inside!" And sure enough, Mr. Brown was going to be at the Border's bookstore on Michigan Ave. signing autographs of his new book Good Eats: The Early Years (the first in a trilogy). I looked at my calendar and saw that I wasn't working (Yay!) though Brad and I had already scheduled our weekly get together with one of our good friends. So I called Jacob and asked if we could take a rain check because let's face it, meeting Alton Brown or any Food Network star is pretty much a once in a lifetime experience. Well needless to say, Jacob understood and now we were just counting down the days until we could meet the man that creates Good Eats. Okay, so maybe it was more like just me counting down ;o)

Anyway, Alton was supposed to give a little speech at 7pm and then start signing autographs shortly after. I thought, let's leave as soon as Brad gets home and we'll get there a little over an hour before it starts. So we get there, buy a couple books for him to sign and then head up to the third floor to get our "good seats". Hah, yeah, that's funny Jessica. You think you can get there an hour in advance and get good seats? Try right when Borders opened up that morning. Yes, you heard me right. By the time we got there, we were in the third group, with each group holding 100 people...and we couldn't see anything but a sea of eager foodies.


We were okay though. It was the experience of it all, plus we were guaranteed to at least see him when he autographed our book even if we couldn't hear him talk. So we waited...and waited....hey look! There he is walking up to the front! (It was more like his back and a bunch of Borders Employees and bodyguard)...and waited...and waited...oo! lines moving! oh, more waiting....Alright, we are finally up in the front portion. We can see him! More waiting...Oh, Um, Hi!

Suddenly there he was, Mr. Alton Brown him self right in front of me, pushing his way through the crowd, past me, and right to a little girl who was behind me in our zigzaging line. You see, he had caught wind that there were little kids waiting in line to see him, and it was already 10pm.
"Are your parental units here?"
Girl stares at him...she has no idea what "parental units" are
"We're right here!"
"Do you have a book for me to sign? It's late and there is no reason for you to be up past your bedtime"
And just like that, Alton signed her book, took some photos, then proceeded through the rest of the crowd signing all of the other people who had elementary children with them so the kids could go to bed "where they belong" at such a late hour".

After a while, he made his way back up to the front and eventually we had made our way to be next in line. And then it hit me. After all of that time waiting, Brad and I hadn't even thought of what we were going to say when we got to him. Brad then asks me, "Do you think he's going to introduce himself?" I say no, that it would be kind of funny since we all know who he is. Hey, it's our turn.

"Hi! I'm Alton"
"Hi, I'm Jessica" (shoot, I lost)
"Hi! I'm Alton"
"I'm Brad"

He began signing our books and I asked him if he was tired ("I'm built for endurance") and how jealous we were that he got to go to Seattle next ("Yeah, but it's not like I really get to see the city"). I also told him that he looked great- He has trimmed down a lot since his Feasting on Asphalt Show ("Thank you...*pause*...Thank you very much") I think I said a couple more really silly things but they escape me at this moment. Anyway, then it was time for our picture and I went to pick up our books for Brad and I too leave. "No, no, let him carry them...Chivalry isn't dead yet"
So that was our experience, though short, with AB...He's a great guy who knows how to make great food. If you get the chance, I would recommend picking up his Good Eats: The Early Years book if not for the recipes at least to read the interview he performed on his self. Funny Stuff.