Thursday, November 30, 2006

If I knew you were coming, I'd have baked an overpriced, prefab cake

I was in Williams-Sonoma earlier tonight trying to spend a $50 gift certificate, which is trickier to do there than you might think. Oh, there's lots of good food and food-related products, but the prices are so high I couldn't see buying them, even with a gift certificate. Take the cake mix at left. Sure, it's a special cake mix, but it's $25. For $25, I want a French baker to come to my home, make it for me, feed it to me by hand, and clean up afterward. Is that asking so much?

I spotted a box of devil's food cake mix for $15. That's $15 for about $1 worth of flour and, maybe, $1 of cocoa. And you'd still have to buy your own eggs! Thanks, I'll pass. I make a hellishly good devil's food cake from scratch, if I do say so myself. And you're all invited the next time I make one, though you'll have to pay your own airfare.

Now, excuse me while I eat my $20 Williams-Sonoma marshmallow.*




*Kidding. Oh, it exists, mind you, but I didn't buy it. I settled for a gigantic reference book that should come in handy.

5 comments:

MsYvone said...

Jim, this recipe is the BEST DAMN CHOCOLATE CAKE EVER! I had many a weight watching (man) and woman curse my name after I showed up with this one.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/107105

Beer and Chocolate. what else can one ask for? maybe, free?

punkinsmom said...

So if I road-tripped out to the City, you'd give me cake? What about a place to stay? Could you get me laid too or is that asking too much?

Jim Donahue said...

Guest room is at the ready, though my supply of available, single, straight guys is rather low.

punkinsmom said...

Damn. I suppose the chocolate might make up for the lack of female-inspired penises.

Nat said...

We used to get WS gifts at Xmas for a few family members. The secret is to buy things thinking of restaurant prices rather than grocery store prices. Get some prefab appetizers, ginger cake, maybe some cheese, and just visualize the prices at the most godawful expensive jejeune joint in town. Makes it go much easier.

P.S. Why do these stupid word verification things have EIGHT freaking letters? What, someone with time on his hands is going to write some program so that I can ...wooooo... post spam comments if it's only three letters long? Arrrgh! Sorry.