Thrill of the Grill

Posted in: Great Gatherings
Tags: royale cheeseburger wrap, backyard grill, spring break

Counting down the days to Spring Break? I know we are. In fact, there’s lots of prep work happening around here in anticipation of the arrival of vacationing families. The resort pool is sparkling blue, the waterslides are ready, and Chef Brazie has been testing out the grill at Cool Water Café.

If you’re not traveling this Spring Break but want to entertain friends in your own backyard, then try Chef Brazie’s fun twist on the traditional cheeseburger.

The Royale Cheeseburger Wrap is easy to make and can be topped with a variety of fixin’s – just like you like it.

Engaged and Confused?

Posted in: Great Gatherings
Tags: weddings in houston, woodlands weddings, wedding receptions, wedding planning, woodlands resort

Setting a budget, compiling the guest list, and selecting a wedding date and reception venue are the top three tasks that need to be addressed once you get engaged.

First things first - outline your wedding budget. Meet and discuss with everyone who is contributing financially to the celebration. If it’s just you and your soon-to-be spouse footing the bill, talk openly about what you want and what you can afford. You can’t move forward with planning your big day until you know how much you have to spend.

The next step is to compile the guest list or at least set a maximum headcount. Not only will the headcount effect your budget, but it is necessary to have an idea of how many attendees you expect when selecting the reception venue.

Now you are ready to select a wedding date and reception venue. Have at least three dates in mind when contacting reception venues as Saturdays fill up fast.

Once you have these tasks completed, you are ready to move on to the fun stuff … finding a dress fit for a princess!

Butter-Spritz Cookies

Posted in: Great Gatherings
Tags: baking, cookie dough, cookies

Ingredients

3 1/2 sticks of Unsalted Butter
1 cup of Powdered Sugar
Splash of Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
3 3/4 cup of All-Purpose Flour

Preheat oven to 375* F.

Prepare pastry (piping) bag with a medium-sized (9mm) star tip or "French-style" star tip; set aside until needed.

Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract.

Add in eggs - one at a time, allowing mixture to combine before adding next egg.

Tip: Frequently scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula to keep mixture smooth.

Sift flour and add flour to mixture. Carefully pulse machine on/off to allow ingrediants to slowly combine. Mix just enough to make a smooth dough once all ingrediants have been incorporated.

Partially fill the pastry bag with cookie dough and pipe out rosette-shaped cookies approximately 1 1/2" in diameter on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Optional: Top with sprinkles, colored sugar, M&M's.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8-12 minutes or until edges turn golden brown.

Cookies, Cakes, and Chocolate – Oh my!

Posted in: Great Gatherings
Tags: grooms cakes, wedding cakes, weddings

From fresh baked cookies, muffins and danishes to intricately decorated wedding and grooms cakes, our pastry shop is the sweetest smelling place at the resort. But you won’t find any Keebler elves here … Our executive pastry chef Kevin Pysell leads a 10-person team that works three shifts. The first one starts at 2 a.m. and the third ends as late as 10 p.m., which makes the pastry shop almost a 24-hour operation.

Every year we host about 120 weddings and the majority of brides look to Kevin to create the cake. Kevin and his talented team of bakers spend hours decorating wedding and grooms cakes to the smallest detail.

Sometimes the bride brings a swatch of her dress or her invitation or napkin, which Kevin works to match. Sometimes the bride has a picture of another cake, which he can replicate.

On one occasion, he created a cake with an airplane taking off, which was very personalized for the couple, who had met in the U.S. Air Force.

Of course, collegiate themed grooms cakes are popular such as the University of Texas clock tower or a cake in the shape of the Texas Tech logo.

For his own wedding, Kevin started with a white cake and gave each layer a triple filling of chocolate, strawberry and Grand Marnier. The top layer had a special decoration: a pastiage castle for his princess -- which they still have.

Take a peek at some of Kevin's whimsical groom's cakes here.