Busch Gardens Interview

Fair warning, this is a long post. I didn't want to break it up into two, though.

This weekend, Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA had open interviews for stage technicians. They also had auditions for dancers, singers, and instrumentalists. As tempting as it was to bust a move, I decided to just go for the interview and forgo the auditions. :-P

Since I love Williamsburg, and went there pretty much every summer as a kid, I made a weekend of it. I left at 7AM on Friday so I could get there in time for lunch. I made it in almost exactly six hours, and went straight to the Williamsburg Winery.



I've been here once before, but I was only 19 or 20, so I couldn't do any tasting. I got there just as a tour was ending, so I joined in at the end for the tasting. I toured last time, so I didn't really need to again. After the tasting (and after buying a couple of bottles) I went across the way to the Gabriel Archer Tavern. It's a little pricey, but this was my mini-vacation, so I splurged. I had a glass of wine from the winery; a turkey sandwich with gouda, apple slices, lingonberry chutney, and honey mustard; and a bowl of French Onion soup.



It was all amazing. A. mazing. Well worth a few extra dollars.

After my winery adventure, I went to check into my motel. The ride there was awesome... my GPS took me right through the William and Mary campus, and along a back road right behind Colonial Williamsburg. It was relaxing and gorgeous. When I found my motel, it looked ok, and the location was amazing, but I was the only person there. It was back away from the road a little, and as it got later and darker, I was pretty sure I was going to be murdered/robbed/raped. The room was nice enough, though, and it was clean.



I got settled in, and played on my computer a little before heading out again. I drove around awhile, just poking around. I wanted Zaxby's for supper, so when it got to be about 6:30PM, I went into 'points of interest' in my GPS and typed in Zaxby's. Well, apparently the one in Williamsburg is newer than my GPS, because it told me that the nearest Zaxby's was 109 miles away. So I looked up the address and found it that way.



That bright blue sign was like music to my eyes... you know what I mean. Zaxby's is a southern thing, and I loved it during my time in SC. I got some fantabulous chicken, and stopped at Brusters next door for a milkshake before heading back to the motel. When I got back, there were actually two other cars there! It was less sketchy with other people around. I got comfy, watched some tv on my computer, and went to bed.

The next morning was my interview. Tech interviews started at 10AM, so I got around and checked out a little after 9AM. Busch Gardens was only about 5 minutes away, so I found a Starbucks and had breakfast while I killed some time. I had the strongest Americano ever. I think it was just a grande cup full of espresso. It was wonderful.

I got to the entertainment department at about 9:50AM, and there were already 7 other people there. I waited about an hour for my turn. The woman who interviewed me was the same woman that I met with two years ago when I interviewed there. Once I told her that I used to have hair, she remembered me.

My interview went very well, much better than last time when I didn't actually know anything about anything technical. This time, the only question I couldn't answer was about some kind of... system... or coding... or... something. I can't even remember. She didn't seem to expect me to know it, anyway, it just would have been a plus if I did. So she asked all of her questions, and I asked all of mine. She said the park opens at the end of March for spring breaks and whatnot, so if she wants me to start in time for that, I'll get a call within the next week. If she wants me for later in the summer, I'll hear from them in the next month. If they don't want me at all, I won't hear from them ever. So now I wait.

After my interview, I drove up Rt. 60. That's the road that has a million restaurants along it, some local stores, civil war stores, outlet malls, etc. I swear, any restaurant that you can think of has a franchise in Williamsburg. Go ahead, name a restaurant. There's probably one in Williamsburg, and it's probably along Rt. 60. There are also Pancake/Waffle Houses on every other corner. (Waffle Houses are to Williamsburg what Starbuck's are to New York.)

The Williamsburg Pottery Factory is also on 60. I love the Pottery. They've been there forever, and they've recently started renovating. This is what it used to look like:


(Photo courtesy of... somewhere on the internet. I did a Google image search, I don't remember. :-P)

This is what it looks like now:

(Click for a larger view.)

They're just finishing up the changes, so they aren't open yet. This was the first time in my 25 years of life that I've been to Williamsburg and couldn't shop at the Pottery. They're re-opening at the beginning of April. I'm super tempted to go back then (if I'm not already living and working there). As much as I'll miss the old version of the Pottery, and re-living my childhood whenever I was there, I hope the revamping will boost business and allow them to be open for another 74 years (they first opened in 1938).

After I took some pictures of the Pottery and trudged around the construction site a little, I went to Golden Corral for lunch before heading home. I love Golden Corral more than I should. The new Chocolate Wonderfall is wonderful. If I get this job, and end up back in the south, I'm going to have to join a gym or risk getting morbidly obese.

So that was my mini-vacation/interview weekend. I would love to work at Busch Gardens. This is the third year that I've applied. Maybe the third time will be the charm! I love Williamsburg almost as much as NYC. Hopefully I get a call this week!!

Peanut Butter Cup Cake

I made my dad a birthday cake! His birthday is tomorrow, and instead of buying some random present that he doesn't need, I got him a card, some lottery tickets, and made him a delicious cake.



It's a basic Devil's Food Cake recipe, with some amazing peanut butter frosting, decorated with dark chocolate, peanut butter cups, and Reese's Pieces. I'm not the greatest at decorating with frosting, so this was a better-looking and easier alternative. It helps that Dad loves peanut butter and chocolate, so this was a perfect fit!



Peanut Butter Cup Cake

Ingredients
Cake:
6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
scant 1/2 C. milk
2 Tbsp. baking cocoa
2/3 C. butter
2/3 C. brown sugar
3 eggs, separated
4 Tbsp. sour cream
1 3/4 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda

P.B. Frosting:
1 1/2 C. powdered sugar
1 1/2 C. creamy peanut butter
7 1/2 Tbsp. butter - softened
1 1/8 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. heavy cream

Decorations:
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, cut in half
Reese's Pieces
Melted Chocolate

Method
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray two 8" round cake pans with nonstick spray. Cut out circles of parchment paper to line the bottoms of the pans. Press paper down, then spray paper with nonstick spray.

- Place chocolate chips, milk, and cocoa in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.

- In a large bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks, then the sour cream and the slightly cooled chocolate mixture. Sift in the flour and baking soda. Fold all together with a spatula until just combined. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff enough to hold a peak. Lightly fold the whipped egg whites into the mixture evenly.

- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Make sure it spreads out evenly, then bake in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.



- For the frosting, mix all ingredients but the cream with an electric mixer until smooth. Add cream and beat until light and smooth. Add more cream or powdered sugar, if needed, to obtain a spreadable consistency.



- Frost the top of the first layer, and place the second layer on top. Frost top and sides of cake.

You can decorate any way you want, but I placed halved peanut butter cups around the base and the top edge, and dotted with some Reese's Pieces. For the "Happy Birthday!", I melted some dark chocolate and wrote it out on wax paper, let it cool and harden completely, peeled off and placed it on the cake.



I'm pretty horrible at writing with icing, so I knew this would look much better.

I am totally proud if this cake, and it should be delicious! Go forth, make your own, and send me pictures if you come up with new and different decorating ideas!



Enjoy!

Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Tart

I baked! Well... I baked a crust, and then cooked a filling, and melted some ganache. We were supposed to have dinner guests tonight and we never have dinner guests. One of the biggest reasons I want my own place is to have dinner parties. Well... our guests had to cancel at the last minute. I was already almost finished with my tart, though, so now we have it to eat ourselves. That's ok - it's delicious!

I finally got to use my new tart pan that I got before Christmas!



Isn't it pretty?! Shut up, it's pretty. The recipe actually called for a pan with a removable bottom, but I wanted to use this one. I'm a rebel. The removable bottom is really only important if you want to take the tart out and put it on a cake stand or something. I wanted to serve out of the pan anyway, since it's new and pretty.



Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Tart

Ingredients
1 C. crushed chocolate graham crackers
3 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. butter - melted
1 1/2 C. half-and-half
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3 egg yolks
1/3 C. sugar
1/2 C. creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
6 Tbsp. butter, cubed
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine the crushed graham crackers and 3 Tbsp. sugar. Mix in the melted butter. Press crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9" tart pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool.

For the filling, combine the half-and-half, flour, and salt in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until simmering, stirring frequently to avoid lumps.

In a small bowl, combine egg yolks and 1/3 C. sugar. Gradually whisk some of the hot half-and-half mixture into the egg mixture, then add the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Remove pan from heat and whisk in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Pour peanut butter mixture into the crust and spread evenly. Cover and chill for 2-3 hours.

For the chocolate ganache, combine the chocolate chips and cubed butter in a small saucepan. Cook and stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the corn syrup. Cool for about 10 minutes. After slightly cooled, pour the ganache over the filling, and tilt pan around so it is spread evenly. Cover and chill for at least one more hour, or overnight.



The recipe itself is actually pretty easy. I'll definitely be making this again. My only problem was the crust, and I've had this problem before. I wanted to make a chocolate cookie crust, but I can. not. find just plain chocolate cookies. Like... Oreos without the cream filling. I've seen boxes of Oreo cookie crumbs before, but I haven't been able to find that for awhile now. Sooo, I went with a chocolate graham cracker crust. It's just as good, really... I'm just perturbed that I can't find plain chocolate cookies with no cream filling or fudge coating. They have to exist.

Also, my tart pan is 10" instead of 9", so I bulked up the crust mixture a little, and doubled the ganache. It's pretty hard to screw this one up, so play around with amounts to suit your taste and pan size. You could even add a little vanilla to the ganache... or cinnamon.... Hmm....



Enjoy!