Hubby's Birthday Dinner Dilemma: Can I Get Everything Done in 2 Hours?

[magentablue]

I think I bit off way more than I can chew!

Hubby's birthday is Thursday (yay, hubby!) The plan was that I would get home at 5, make a quick dinner, eat with hubby, and make some appetizers and set out some cakes for the guests that are coming at 7.

For some reason, I chose to make him two cakes: the snowman cake (lol, he'll like it! He can't have chocolate and was not excited about vanilla, so I thought I'd do something to make it more interesting) and the turtle fudge skillet cake (with white chocolate on top instead of nuts, since MIL can't have nuts).

The turtle cake I was going to cook the night before and cover. Then I was going to make the "frosting" right before the party.

The snowman I had planned to make entirely the night before.

I planned to have all the ingredients ready for touchdown taco dip and have the pie shells pre-cooked to add the ready mixed ingredients for the cheesy bacon bites, so they could just get thrown in the oven to come out as people were arriving.

It seemed manageable, but I was missing the small batter bowl to make the cake. So I ordered one. It will arrive the night of his birthday. So, I'm being silly, right? Give up on the snowman... I'll never be able to get it ALL done in 2 hours, plus take care of myself, right?

I've been out sick from work all week, and so I don't think I can ask to leave early that day. Hrmm!!!!

 

[chefa]

You can still make a snowman cake!

Do you have the round cake pans? Bake 2 rounds and use one for the snowman's bottom, then use a salad plate or saucer as a template for the top snowball. Frost and decorate as desired. My Aunt used to make snowman cakes this way back in the 60s. If you want a bigger cake, just double the layers. Ta-da!

 

[kam]

You could probably put the touchdown taco dip together the night before and cover it and put it in the fridge. I always put mine together the morning of a party - so overnight shouldn't be a problem. Since it is starting out cold, bake it a little longer. Watch for it to bubble.

If it were me, I would bag the snowman. We did it together at a cluster meeting last month and it did take some time. You will spend valuable time trying to get it "to look right". Perhaps a trifle (one using pound cake, perhaps) or what about a cheesecake? Either of those could be done the night before.

Also, if you wait to make the snowman cake the night of the party...what if the shipment doesn't arrive (FedEx in my area sometimes don't always make a delivery they are supposed to). Or broken? Is there anyone close by that you could borrow a small batter bowl from?

 

[yankfan24]

You could probably put the touchdown taco dip together the night before and cover it and put it in the fridge. I always put mine together the morning of a party - so overnight shouldn't be a problem. Since it is starting out cold, bake it a little longer. Watch for it to bubble.

If it were me, I would bag the snowman. We did it together at a cluster meeting last month and it did take some time. You will spend valuable time trying to get it "to look right". Perhaps a trifle (one using pound cake, perhaps) or what about a cheesecake? Either of those could be done the night before.

Also, if you wait to make the snowman cake the night of the party...what if the shipment doesn't arrive (FedEx in my area sometimes don't always make a delivery they are supposed to). Or broken? Is there anyone close by that you could borrow a small batter bowl from?

I agree...especially with the weather across the nation being so unpredictable, the delivery might be delayed. Could you make him the stocking cake that's part of the Homemade for the Holidays recipes? That doesn't take any pans. Good Luck!

 

[magentablue]

I was going to make the touchdown taco dip in DCB... I didn't think I could put the DCB in the fridge and then put it in the oven, am I mistaken?It would be about a 30 minute drive for me to borrow the bowl. I'm thinking I might use a pyrex bowl and see what happens. It will be a little flatter than the PC bowls.So if I bake my snowman, and decorate it... how would you keep it fresh? What a pain!

 

[ShelbyMichalek]

You can put the DCB into the oven from the refridgerator The only thing you should NEVER do is put the DCB into the refridgerator directly from the oven.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I was going to make the touchdown taco dip in DCB... I didn't think I could put the DCB in the fridge and then put it in the oven, am I mistaken?

It would be about a 30 minute drive for me to borrow the bowl. I'm thinking I might use a pyrex bowl and see what happens. It will be a little flatter than the PC bowls.

So if I bake my snowman, and decorate it... how would you keep it fresh? What a pain!

Do the touchdown taco dip in the microwave - about 10 minutes. And then you don't have to worry about whether it's okay going from the refrigerator to the oven.

 

[kam]

I was going to make the touchdown taco dip in DCB... I didn't think I could put the DCB in the fridge and then put it in the oven, am I mistaken?

It would be about a 30 minute drive for me to borrow the bowl. I'm thinking I might use a pyrex bowl and see what happens. It will be a little flatter than the PC bowls.

So if I bake my snowman, and decorate it... how would you keep it fresh? What a pain!

Maybe I have been lucky all these years, but I have always pre-made my dips when possible in the stones (Mini-baker, Ovals, Square) and gone from fridge to oven. I never gave it any thought. Maybe someone else knows whether this is "proper" to do.

As far as using the Pyrex bowl, I would go for it. We ended up having to "shape" the icing on the cakes so much to look like a snowman anyway.

Hmmm....not sure about how to keep it fresh. Maybe a loose layer of a lot of Saran Wrap? Or put it on a plate and use a huge pot (8 qt or something?) upside down over it. I would loosely saran wrap it then cover it with a pot. (Our cats couldn't be trusted with just saran wrap covering anything).

 

[chefheidi2003]

I thought that you could not go right from fridge to oven due to thermal shock. Can you make it the night before then when you get home from work set it out..that way your stone will get closer to room temperature..then you can put it in the oven..and you should not have to worry about thermal shock. As for the snowman cake..I am not help..I would probably just go with a plan B.

 

[babywings76]

I think it's okay to take it out of the fridge about 20 minutes or so before you want to cook it. Maybe take it out while you are at least preheating the oven. Murphey is a pal of mine when I'm in a hurry and want things to turn out right, so I wouldn't want to take the chance of my beloved DCB breaking.

 

[ShelbyMichalek]

Thermal shock is only a problem when you put the hot stone into something cold. It's because when it heats up, the particles expand. If you make it cold in an unnatural way (basically anything other than letting it sit at room temp) it makes to particles contract and breaks the stone. A cold stone is fine to put in a warm oven.

 

[chefheidi2003]

Thermal shock is only a problem when you put the hot stone into something cold. It's because when it heats up, the particles expand. If you make it cold in an unnatural way (basically anything other than letting it sit at room temp) it makes to particles contract and breaks the stone. A cold stone is fine to put in a warm oven.

Thank you..I didn't know that..I thought that it went both ways.

Another thought if you don't have room in your fridge for your stone..you could make sure that each layer is ready so all you have to do is assemble it and then put it right into the oven..so you are only dealing with a few minutes of prep time the night of. Just a thought.

 

[chefheidi2003]

Magenta Blue..not that I didn't believe Shelby..but I am a person who still likes to see things in print..LOL..Use and Care of DCB states that you can put stone right from Refridgerator to preheated oven.

 

[magentablue]

Thanks all! I am baking frosty right now. I figured I can keep him wrapped and unassembled today, while I'm home sick from work. If it doesn't work, I have tomorrow to make a regular cake. If it does work, then it's one less thing to stress about tomorrow (in case I still don't feel well). And Thursday hopefully I'm not being too unkind to myself!

 

[BlueMoon]

good luck Magenta, and Happy Birthday to your DH--lucky man to have you celebrate hhis birthday like this!Thanks, Shelby and Heidi. What Shelby said made sense, but I like to know HO will stand behind it too. and Shelby, it always helps me to know the why of stuff!

 

[magentablue]

LOL, thank you! Yes, he's turning 50. I knew he'd like a little boy's cake a lot more than an over the hill cake, lol. Thanks for all the tips too. I did use the pyrex bowl, and it did work. This morning I finally got the email from HO that my show shipped. I tracked the package again, and now it says it will come TODAY! Wahoo! I'm relieved, because we don't have any platters big enough to turn my skillet cake onto. I was going to go to the store to buy something! I don't have the pizza stone (too little storage) and I don't have the SA platter yet... it's in the order being delivered.

 

[lt1jane]

when using stones, I NEVER preheat my oven. I just add five minutes to the cooking time. Works great every time and there's no worry about shock because the stone warms up as the oven warms up

 

[magentablue]

Everything arrived tonight (yay!) so there is no worry about the items I am missing. Now if anyone could recharge my batteries... I've been sick today and today was my first day back at work... that nearly killed me. Now I have a Pampered Chef order to wash and put away, presents to wrap, and a whole mess of a house to deal with. Did I mention that my dishwasher broke Monday, and I've been too sick to deal with the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. Arugh! If only I could clone myself! For now... a nap