Two of my 3 kids have been involved with Band at our High School. The Band Parents are the MOST aggressive group I have ever seen.....it's pretty amazing to see them in fundraising action...and I don't necessarily mean that in a good way! Anyway, last weekend I helped produce 3000 stuffed pasta shells for our booth at our town's Italian Fest next Friday and Saturday, being the good band mom. I'm working the booth for 5 hours Friday night.
Now, I get a phone call.....5:30 p.m. Tuesday night. The Fest starts 3 days from now. "We were thinking that it would be AWESOME if we could sell some of your cheesecake at the Fest! We even got permission and arranged for refrigeration! Would you make some cakes?" Very cautiously I ask "how many were you thinking of?" "oh...only 25 or 30 but we'd help you pay for the ingredients!!!" I normally charge $40 apiece for my cakes and they want to offer me $10! Woo hoo!
Now, my cheesecakes weigh 8 pounds, are baked in springform pans and take a few hours to produce, plus overnight refrigeration before decoration! I don't normally keep 100 pounds of cream cheese and 30 springform pans laying around, do you????
I said "no...don't think I can quite manage that with 3 days notice and the fact that I have to teach school too". I got pleaded with for 15 mintues, but I stuck to my guns and said NO!!!!!!
So...I'm a bad, BAD Band mom.......tsk, tsk....NOT!

You are not a "bad band mom" You did your part...they are trying to take advantage of you...I am proud that you stuck to your guns..you go girl

I teach school too. I can't imagine making all those pasta shells. And I am not sure I could pull off even one cheesecake between now and Friday-- let alone decorate it.

well, geesh, I dont' see the problem! I mean, "it's just cake", right? You can't just "slap a few together"? Some people have no clue.

Good to stick to your guns. I agree they are taking advantage of you. Thata alot of work, too much for 3 days notice.

..."one time in band camp." Sorry, couldn't resist that one...

Isn't it nice that the other parents even got their small heads together and "decided" to provide refrigeration for you and buy the ingredients?! - Without consulting you first?

Tell them to go buy a graham cracker crust, that boxed pudding crap and some canned cherries, and GO FOR IT!!!

wellllllllll......gotta admit I make a pretty fabulous cheesecake....

It was just so funny that they'd think I could just whip up 40 cheesecakes by Friday.....AND that I'd be willing to do it at a loss! Holy cow!

You don't have a magical cheesecake wand which produces any kind of cheesecake you want in seconds?! How can this be?!

Seriously, I'm with you! That's just insane that they would ask that! Granted, I've never made a cheesecake before but I still realize they are not quick or easy to make! Those people give new meaning to the word Clueless!

shoot...edited to fix the double post.....sorry

oooohhhhh.....a CHALLENGE!!!!!

Where do you live, g/f????????

oh shoot....Maryland....*lol* I'll be there as soon as I finish the 40 cheesecakes!

ohhh I'll be the taste tester!!! I LOVE CHEESECAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

While I was still teaching, I usually offered money for the cause whenever I was asked for baked goods. A straight profit for the cause, and it always got me off the hook. But 25 or 30 cheesecakes in 3 days is nuts. But band parent organization tend to be a bit over the top. Remember the cartoon 'Funky Winkerbean' and band candy?

wellllllll....let's see...*thinking hard* To be fair, the challenge should take place in the middle of the U.S., so the furthest anyone would have to come would be halfway across the country.....*hmmmmmmmmm*

WAIT!!!! I'm in the middle of the country! How convenient!


Seriously, I have found that cheesecake is something people either LOVE or they can totally leave. There's nothing in between.

I couldn't agree more. And I am VERY PASSIONATE about it.

Do I hear challenge accepted??

Oh....absolutely! *holding out hand to shake* Challenge accepted!
What does the winner get????/

I don't know - let's put it out to CCers to decide

Maybe the winner could get a ..well let's see...a CRUISE!!!!!!!!!!!

[quote="JodieF"]wellllllllll......gotta admit I make a pretty fabulous cheesecake....

Sooo . . . tell me, how many band parents are there?? If they try to guilt you into this request (BAD, B A D BAND MOM) . . . maybe you should commit to making "one" of your fabulous cheesecakes "IF" every other parent commits to the same - be sure to let them know you will be willing to share your fabulous recipe with them . . . I wonder how many takers you would get??? (I'd be willing to bet you would probably be the only one to follow through on the challenge . . . funny how people have no problem delegating somebody else to do all the work, eh?)

Good cheesecake is a learned art-not something that just any band parent can whip up. They wouldn't accept the challenge because they wouldn't have a clue. A recipe doesn't "really" tell you how to make a great cheesecake...definitely learned. I wouldn't normally get in the middle of a throwdown, but I just gotta. My cakes are just okay, but I would put my cheesecake agains ANYONE's, including Cheesecake Factory-who in my opinion, are just pretty good.

All kidding aside, I can't believe the band parents would "elect" you to make 25 or 30 cheesecakes and okay the refrigeration without even running it by you. They just don't have a clue. You're not a bad band mom-you stuffed shells!!!

obviously you have been a bad band mom becasue you don't have a n extensive staff od cheesecake fairies to slave morning noon and night. I would ask for some for chrsitmas! People have NOOOOOOO concept of what it takes to build these beautiful silken creatures of yumminess.

People jsut stop int he bakery wanted me to bake one for them to pick up in 2 hours!! WHAT???????

You didi the right thing. I would have been a crazy band parent and did it but with the condition that they bought me 30 spring form pans!!!
maybe they can plan batter next year!!

If you were any good kind of mother at all you would have done what they wanted. Your kids will probably turn out all funny because you couldn't be bothered to whip a measly hundred pounds of cream cheese into silken heaven in your spare time. Sheesh. Come to think of it, the whole band will probably go down the wrong path in life with your kids

Thanks for giving me my first laugh of the day.

I could enter this cheesecake contest. I'm in Ontario, Canada but am willing to travel to meet cake people. I won't eat it but apparently I make them so good that one guy said he wasn't sure if he should eat it or roll around naked in it. (It was triple chocolate.)

Couldn't help but giggle when I read your post about "Bandies".....I wasn't a true Bandie, however, I was a Rockette in H.S. and of course, was considered part of the band during football season! They ARE pretty nutso when it comes to fund-raising.....but boy did we ever pull in the money!

I have that same feeling for our local Dance Moms....OMG! Talk about crazy.....I sold cookies at their annual dance review and had to tell one Mom to "Step Away from the Cookie Table" because she waited too long to purchase ballet shoe cookies and there was only one left for her two daughters! OMG....I thought she was going to hit me!

Anywho, back to the cheesecakes.....how difficult would it be to make those "minis"? I've NEVER made a scratch cheesecake in my life, so not sure what's involved.

Let's see - the cheesecake I make requires an hour in the oven to bake and an hour in the oven with it off. That's 2 hours times 40 cakes - What! - you couldn't squeeze an 80 hour week into 3 days??

Some people REALLY have no clue. You can tell they never made a cheesecake from scratch and only the instant stuff in a box.

Good for you for not caving to being pressured!!

Cool! I love a throwdown!

I say the winner of the best cheesecake gets a parade with the band leading the way. Remember to keep them on call!! Remember, it's no probelm; just keep all the kids and parents on call 24/7 for an impromptu performance (ya know, just like whippin' up cheesecakes)!!

(Okay, maybe that was a little mean).