We’re in Triad Weddings Magazine
The beautiful bride on the cover of this magazine, Triad Weddings, made a life-long commitment to her best friend in the gorgeous mountains of North Carolina in April of this year. They were married at Cabin Meadow at Leatherwood Mountains. There were so many beautiful aspects to read about with this wedding, but we were thrilled to find a photo of one of our cakes!
Brandon Kop, our wedding cake designer, met with Jamie and Brady several times. They knew what they wanted, but they enjoyed the whole process from the first cake tasting to the tradition of feeding a piece to each other. The happy couple decided on four tiered, almond flavored cake with raspberry buttercream filling. It’s finished in vanilla buttercream with Swiss dots. Brandon delivered the cake right to the cake table, and he finished decorating it by placing the flowers on top. Beautiful cake, and a beautiful life to Jamie and Brady!
Fourth of July Parade
What a blast! We were in the Fourth of July parade this year, and wow! was that fun (and a workout, too). We spent the morning getting Gramma’s truck ready.
And Kassie spent the night before decorating her fingernails…
After decorating at the Bakery, we drove to Horn in the West to get in our spot in line. That was an adventure in and of itself.
Mom and Gramma sat in the back of the truck with the little kids.
We got ourselves ready, and Wesley wanted his hair in a mohawk for “everyone to enjoy!”
Carson drove, and the rest of us (Mindy, Jack, Taylor, Kassie, Lisa, Brandon, Kim, all of our kids and I) passed out FRESH COOKIES! We baked 1,000 cookies, but we could have easily baked double that.
We ended up reserving cookies just for the kids, and when we ran out, we passed out coupons for $1 off. We were busy little bees on King Street. The band in front of the Jones House is always great to see, and the crowds were huge this year. I love to see Boone so alive!
Busy Boone
I’m still thinking about the fun that I had this past weekend in Boone – it was quite eventful. It all began on Friday evening for the unveiling of the Doc Watson bronze sculpture, which is located at the corner of Depot and Main.
We listened to music at the Jones House (yes, Doc Watson was there!) and enjoyed strolling through downtown. The road was closed, so people were scattered about the road. I thought that it was funny to see how many people still used the sidewalks! Our kids entertained themselves by rolling a baseball back and forth across the road. ”Okay kids, go play in the road!”
All day Saturday featured the Blood, Sweat & Gears bicycle race. My husband, Lynn, photographed the race along with partners, Kristian and Heather. View great photos of the race HERE!
And Sunday offered the first annual Cyclo.Via festival. Once again, the streets of Boone closed for the human powered fun to begin. The festival began at 10am, and around noon delayed for about 30 minutes because of the torrential downpour. After that, the sun came out, and everyone enjoyed the day. Stick Boy had a booth, and we sold sticky buns, cookies, focaccia and our fresh ginger ale! We really enjoyed being a part of this festival.
Carson did a great job at the log pull… Watch him going up the hill on YouTube. And going DOWN.
Find more photos of Cyclo.Via at www.highsouthcollective.com.
See What Brandon is Doing…
Brandon is our wedding cake designer (extraordinaire), and lately he’s been super busy creating wedding cakes. His product offers highest quality, and he gives outstanding customer service from the first phone call inquiry to the delivery on your special day. Brandon enjoys what he does, and desires to make your day the best day of your life. Here is an example of what he’s been up to the last few weeks.
Outdoor wedding reception at Westglow Spa, Blowing Rock, NC.
Wedding and reception at Leatherwood, NC.
Reception at Meadowbrook Inn, Blowing Rock, NC.
Reception at Broyhill Inn, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.
Annual Kick Ball Party
Last weekend was the Stick Boy annual Kick Ball Party. We had perfect weather.
We had ribs on the grill.
And other delicious potluck creations. (Couldn’t go without Lisa’s banana pudding and Abby’s deviled eggs).
The kids played in the river.
And we played great kickball! Team “Slice and Dice” tore up “the nonames”.
All in all, a great team building day, lots of good fellowship, and some nice healthy competition! We love Stick Boy!
Cinnamon Raisin Deliciousness!
Hello Stick Boy readers!
We hope all of you are staying cool in this hotter than normal weather. Our smoothie station has been hopping this past week! After that winter, we are welcoming summer with open arms.
This week, we are featuring our Cinnamon Raisin Brioche as our bread of the week. This bread is absolutely delicious toasted with butter, for peanut butter and jelly, or (our personal favorite) as french toast! Try out this recipe and let us know what you think!
Cinnamon Raisin French Toast
Ingredients:
10-12 slices of Cinnamon Raisin Brioche
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sugar
2-4 tbsp butter
Powdered Sugar
Syrup
Directions:
Over medium heat, coat the bottom of a skillet or griddle with 1-2 tbsp of butter.
Break eggs into a bowl and lightly beat. Add milk, cinnamon and sugar and stir until combined. Place the slices, one at a time, into the egg mixture. Allow to soak, rotating once to thoroughly coat both sides. Soak only as many slices as you will be cooking at one time.
Transfer slices to skillet/griddle and brown both sides. Remove from pan.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm with butter and syrup. Enjoy!
How do YOU like our Cinnamon Raisin Brioche?
Biscuit Madness
This week, we are featuring our made-from-scratch biscuits!
These biscuits are buttery, fluffy, and just plain delicious. They are great with jam, eggs, or even in a special dinner dish! Here is a recipe for some good old comfort food that uses our biscuits as a yummy crust. Try it out and let us know what you think!
Biscuit Topped Chicken Pot Pie
3 lbs. chicken
4 cups water
4 tsp. chicken bouillon
3 carrots; roughly chopped
2 med onions
1 bay leaf
2 stalks celery; roughly chopped
3 tbsp. butter
5 tbsp. all purpose flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. chicken seasoning
1 c. frozen peas
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 450. Combine chicken, water, bouillon, carrots, onions, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add celery; cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken and vegetables are tender. Remove chicken and vegetables, dice or shred chicken. Strain broth and reserve 2 cups.
Melt butter in a pan, add flour and stir until smooth. Cook over medium heat (stirring constantly) until thick and bubbly. Gradually stir in cream and reserved broth. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Add poultry seasoning, salt and pepper, peas, and reserved chicken and vegetables.
Put chicken mixture in a casserole dish. Cover with biscuits. Place in oven and lower temperature to 425. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.
Enjoy!
Old World Sourdough
Sourdough bread is a traditional bread made from a “sourdough starter.” The starter is a mixture of water, yeast, and flour, and is normally prepared up to five days in advance. The result is a deliciously sour aroma, chewy crust, and a hearty texture. San Franciscans claim their city is the sourdough capitol of North America. It is suggested that during the American gold rush, prospectors would carry a mixture of flour and water strapped to their waists. The heat from their bodies caused the mixture to ferment and leaven naturally. This granted them with the nickname “sourbellies.” San Fransisco is now famous for their amazing sourdough loaves.
We’ve managed to create our own signature sourdough; it is a bit more mild than a San Francisco loaf, but just as tasty. Stick Boy has actually been using the same starter for 10 years. As long as it is replenished everyday, it can last a lifetime! We use our Old World Sourdough to create yummy sandwiches and toast. Come on in and try a loaf!
Ze French Baguette
Also known as French Stick or Little Rod, the French Baguette is a world-renowned classic. These signature loaves are characterized by their shape (long and thin), crispy crust, and slits on the top that allow air to escape and keep the shape of the bread. We at Stick Boy enjoy baguettes sliced thin with cheese, topped with any of our house jams, or dipped in flavored oils from our buddies over at Art of Oil.
Come on over and grab a baguette to snack on! The French often say it is better to buy two loaves, because one will be half eaten by the time you get home.
Stick Boy Mayview Madness 2010
This blog post is contributed by Zachary Lesch-Huie of the Blue Ridge Conservancy. Thanks Zachary for all of your hard work with the Conservancy, and for a great race!
It was a cold day but a hot race! Old Man Winter gave 2010’s Stick Boy Mayview Madness 5k & 1 Mile Fun Run a cool welcome, but that didn’t stop over 140 runners from coming out and supporting Blue Ridge Conservancy’s local land preservation efforts. This was a 11th year of the race in Blowing Rock.
Registration kicked off bright and early at Blowing Rock’s American Legion Building. Soon the place was full of psyched runners, all with fresh M-Prints t-shirts in hand.
By 8 am it was time for the 1 Mile Fun Run. Three young runners took off like rockets from the starting line, making a loop around Blowing Rock’s downtown park. These young gentlemen finished strong, and later all three of them won Camelbak backpacks from Redwood Creek Wines. Nice job boys!
Countdown to 8:30 am, starting time for the 5k. Racers filled the intersection of Laurel Ln. and Wallingford. It was still plenty cold to see your breath, so runners jogged in place, huddled, and did whatever they could to stay warm. John Weaver of ASU’s Track and Field held the starting gun high. “On your marks, get set, [BANG!]”. The starting gun went off and the runners came out of the gate like a bullet!
A personal note: though I’ve organized it for three years now, I’ve never run the race. This year, I figured it wouldn’t be fair if everyone had to run in the cold and I got to sit in the warmth of Bistro Roca restaurant, waiting for folks to finish. So with the starting gun, off I went too with everyone. I had a ton of fun. Let me tell you, it’s true: the 5k course is beautiful! There are some jaw-dropping views. As for the temperature, sure it was cold, but surprisingly it wasn’t too bad. The main obstacle I found were the patched of black ice. The frozen sections made running a bit sketchy, but from all I heard nobody went down (thankfully!).
New to the race this year was a slight course change, with a finish at Bistro Roca. This worked out really well—the new portion of the course was better, and folks got to jump inside for warm hot chocolate instead of sitting out in the cold.
The first finisher this year set what is probably a course record, running the 5k in sixteen some minutes! Wow. Others not too far behind him came in hot too, making this year one of the 5k’s fastest ever.
As usual, the scene at the finish line was a lot of fun. Everyone cheered for finishers making it across the line. Among the finishing highlights for me include Stick Boy’s own Abby Willis dancing her way across the finish. Nice.
Inside Bistro Roca, folks were devouring Stick Boy sticky buns, scones and cookies. Could you ask for a better post-race food? A glitch with the finish line computer slowed things down, but eventually the award ceremony cranked up and a huge number of category winners went home with arms piled high with prizes.
The event was a major success, raising around $6,000 for local land conservation! Thanks to all the runners for coming out!
There is a lot of thanks to give out to people who made this race possible. Stick Boy deserves a huge thanks for sponsoring and bringing the entire family and gang out for the race. Bistro Roca too brought the family and employees out to run, and deserves a big thanks for providing the finish line facility. Thanks to our Circle K volunteers, other race course and registration volunteers –y’all are essential to running this thing. Of course thanks too to our other race sponsors: Katie Langley Photography, Sunalei Preserve, Boone Barr, Redwood Creek Wines, High Country Press, Watauga Democrat, Blowing Rock News website. A massive thank you to M-Prints screenprinting in Boone for the fantastic race shirts—we could not do this race without you guys!
See you at next year’s Stick Boy Mayview Madness!
*Please check out this article about the race from the Blowing Rock News. Click HERE to read.
