2nd Annual Bake-Off on the Rooftop

Ki G. organized an amazing bake-​off! there was so much food to choose from, both sweet and savory, and a great, eclectic group of people to meet and hang out with. Though everything was delicious, my favorites were the delicious Thai treats!
The weather also couldn’t have been better and the views from the roof deck were amazing. Great location!
I know if I decide to compete next year I’ll really need to bring my A game :)

Ki… how awesome is this woman for organizing this event? Unlike last yr where we only had 5 total (all sweet), this yr we branched out and had at least 5 savory and 15 sweet submissions. My fellow judges were awesome, although MS ran a bit late because she’s famous now :) Friend/​Chef/​Owner of a Michelin Star Restaurant AY and myself got there at around 2pm and hung out til roughly 3pm when the judging went underway. I am so happy we were able to raise $ 325 for ShareOurStrength, as I am always up for a good cause! The judging was relatively easy and fun, with unanimous decisions for both categories. MS liked the potato bread. must be a southern belle thang :)
–Cold Beer? check
–Tables? check
–Ice? check
–Spiked Lemonade? check
–Good cause? check
–Good turnout? check
–Good submissions? check
–Spectacular view? check
–Doggy bags? check
My Top 3 Savory:
–Puff pastry bites w/​sundried tomato pesto, cheddar (WINNER)
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–Artisanal bread 3 ways: cran walnut, kalamata olive, baguette
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–Turnip sticky rice balls w/​garlic
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My Top 3 Sweet:
–Carrot cupcakes w/​coconut frosting (WINNER)
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–Grapefruit lavendar cupcakes
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–Fig gibsons
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P. S. I ate 2 sammiches before I attended the event.

Outstanding event, great people, great weather, and way too much sugar… Thanks Ki G. for planning all of this! Until the next one…

I don’t know how you guys & girls do it.
If I could bake like that I’d easily be 400lbs.
I’m pretty sure I gained 20lbs Saturday.
Thanks guys.
Thanks a lot :)
I was really taken back at how well you all baked. I didn’t come across anything I didn’t truly like. There was no polite «Oh this is good», and then dump it in the trash happening here.
Of course my own cooking insecurities are worse but it gives me something new to talk about in therapy.
a few standouts–
Honey lemon & lemon glaze cookies from Chris R, Sundried tomato puff pastry from Madhuri, leek bread pudding from Ki, the cranberry bread, the olive loaf (actually all the breads), Cara’s carrot cake, the tiramisu and the grapefruit cupcakes.
And once i got past the doorman it was a wonderful venue. Thanks to the host for having us.
Thanks to Ki for organizing it. I can only imagine how hectic it was to plan.
Fantastic work bakers.
Fantastic work Ki.
Now it’s off to the treadmill i go.
(actually I’m gonna take a nap, but I’ll dream of running.)

Unfortunately I had to arrive late as I was chosen to partake in an eating competition at the Taste of Tribeca.
Fortunately when I arrived there was plenty still to check out at this most fabulous of charity events.
What an amazing view from this roof-​top (which coincidentally was in a building just across the street from my first-​ever post High School summer job) — you could see for 50 miles.
An incredible spread of baked goodies, both sweet and savory, could be seen, and eaten, on tables galore combined with delectable beers.
Kudos to all the bakers, judges and hostesses (great job Ki!).
Can this be a seasonal event and not simply annual? :-)

5 stars for the Bake-​off!
5 stars for all of the entrees! They were all amazingly delicious!
5 stars for the beautiful rooftop where this party was hosted!
5 stars for this charity fundraiser!
5 stars for Ki for putting this whole shebang together!
5 stars for the three judges!
5 stars for the winners!
5 stars for the crowd!
Normally, my weak spot are savory items, but I was really into the sweets that everyone made too. Special shoutouts to the Guinness cupcakes, the extremely flavorful artisan breads (my favs were the olive bread and the apple cider bread), the carrot cake cupcake, Sandy’s tiramisu cupcakes (not too sweet!), Ki’s popular vote winning cupcakes, and the puff pastry with sun dried tomato dabs.
Just wait until I get an oven… next time, I’ll bring cookie-​shaped rocks! Wait… umm… maybe I should stick to bringing beer.

Such a fun time!
Ki, you’re just simply amazing for organizing the bake-​off. We should have this more often! I wonder what happened to the goodies that remained (although we all tried our best it was impossible to eat everything!). One idea might be to donate or have a bake sale for the goods.
I met all my favourite Unilocal peeps, ate my weight in baked yummies and drank some amazing sangria!
Ah, Life.

The event was insane in the membrane.
Everything that could have gone wrong, didn’t: weather was beautiful, organization was super, acoustics acousty, and the spacious rooftop venue — what a choice! Oh, and the delicious treats? I’m a fan of savory over sweet, but feed me enough of those Guinness cupcakes and I might change my tune.
Props to Ki and her brother, the judges, the bakers, and guests for giving their time and opening their wallets for a good cause. Pleasure seeing a mix of old faces and new!

Good food, good people, good weather. All for a good cause, apparently!
Ki. G. picked a great location to have the 2^nd Annual Bake-​off. Dozens of people showed up. Most of the baked goods were on par with or better than the quality of stuff you’d buy at Whole Foods or any of a number of bakeries throughout NYC.
And how could we be luckier? The weather was outstanding.
Thanks to everyone for coming! Hope to meet you again, soon.
Cookies & Booze V? Eh? Ehhhhh?

The perfect day and a great place with a view for the Bake-​off.
All of course for a great cause (that’s what I tell myself about every bake sale I participate in).
This was my first time at Ki’s very organized Bake-​Off and I’m so glad I made it this year. Congrats to the winners!*
Great seeing and meeting everyone at the event.
After I got home and the sugar high wore off, I had to take a nap.
Next year, a suggestion. We charge for the goodies or we charge the non-​bakers an entrance fee for a bountiful buffet of goodies (sweet & savory)!
My attempt to try one of everything — FAIL :(
Now to prepare myself for next year! Thanks to Ki and her friend for hosting and organizing this fun event!
*I was rooting for the bread maker. It was some great Artisan bread!

Done and Done.
60 fantastic attendees.
25 scrumptious entries.
3 fabulous judges (Jeff C., Andy Yang from Rhong-​Tiam and Marlo Scott from Sweet Revenge)
Booze. Lots of Booze.
2 deserving (Nai S. for Sweet and Madhuri I. for Savory) and 1 surprised (Ki G. for most popular) winner.
My donation goal of $ 250 for Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale was not only met at the bake-​off, but surpassed with a total of $ 315 made!
Thanks to all who came and participated and made this event such a friggin’ good time!
This organizer is both officially pooped and officially pleased!