Tonight we finally made it back to pottery class at Lillstreet Art Center.
After a week’s hiatus for the snowstorm, it felt kind of odd to be back again.
Especially with glaciers still covering the majority of Ravenswood in front.
It kind of felt like we were “re-starting” the session. We had only had two classes
before the snowstorm week. So tonight was out third class after missing a week.
It was great to see everyone tonight… all except Eric, pastry chef #3?!

And speaking of pastry chefs… my beginning students Cam & Paul both brought
snacks tonight. Okay, so maybe our not-so-subtle discussions last week about how
they “can bring snacks anytime they want” and that we don’t mind broken cookies,
poorly frosted cupcakes or other day-old snacks didn’t hurt our cause?! Apparently,
Paul works for the Chicago Greater Food Depository and teaches culinary classes
to people trying to turn their lives around and/or make a career change. So tonight
we all benefited from his students’ efforts – Maple Brown Sugar Shortcakes and
White Chocolate Chunk Brownie Cookies. Yum. And then Cam brought in some of
the best cupcakes ever!! Get this… Balsamic Cherry Fudge Cupcakes with Cream
Cheese Frosting and Caramelized Cherries in Balsamic Reduction. Oh my!!!
Not a single one left by the end of class! Hopefully we all gushed enough to encourage
them both to bring more any time soon!!! Sadly, no recipes were shared?!
And Eric, if you read this… you’ve got some catching up to do!!!

Another great bonus tonight… my friend, potter & former student Pam stopped by
and “somehow” became my second TA?! Which was fine by me! Jess, my first assistant,
was busy tonight doing a slide show as she’s one of Lillstreet’s Artists In Residence.
Pam was hanging out, saw someone struggling a bit and she stepped right up.
She was a great addition to my class – and I was glad to have her back in the mix!
I even told Karen, my boss, “slightly-jokingly” that she should stay on as my 2nd TA.
Jess can be my “technical TA” and Pam can be my “cheerleader TA.”
How fun would that be for me?!!!… oh wait… maybe it was just Pam “working off”
her Balsamic Cherry Fudge Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Caramelized
Cherries in Balsamic Reduction?!!!