On January 18, 2008, Julie Hession won the Ultimate Recipe Showdown contest on the Food Network. She won with her Double Chocolate Malt Shop Cupcakes with Cherry Vanilla Buttercream icing recipe. I have to say… it is GOOD!
Julie lives in Nevada with her husband of five years, Eric. Together they have two dogs: Fenway and Cameron.
Julie is currently working as a freelance writer and when she is not in the kitchen, she enjoy yoga, hiking, traveling, improving her French, and losing herself in a great book.
October 31, 2008, Julie started a blog entitled: Peanut Butter and Julie. Her blog was originated due to an overwhelming request for her recipes from family and friends. This is how I found Julie! When the Ultimate Recipe Showdown 2 (URS2) aired, they mentioned her blog. I wrote it down and later that night logged on to take a look. I commented on several of her fantastic recipes and Julie responded to my comments. That is how we began our communications. I thought by responding to me, it showed that Julie had much integrity and I appreciate that in a person.
Julie has some advice for her fellow bloggers about how to get the word out about your blog, “I use social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, foodie communities such as Foodbuzz, and of course word-of-mouth from other bloggers, friends, and my loyal readers! Just dive in and start. Writing material that anyone in the world can read sometimes proves to be a bit daunting, but it gets easier and easier over time. You’ll find that you can’t please everyone—I’ve received some really….odd, and a few unkind comments, but that is rare. Stay true to yourself and remember that the whole point is to have fun. Don’t become too pre-occupied with how many “hits” or comments that your blog receives. People will find you—it just takes time!”
For some time, Julie dreamed about appearing on the Food Network. In July of 2008, Julie found out that she was one of the four finalists chosen to appear on the URS2. In September it was filmed and in January it aired.
The day it was filmed Julie spent fifteen hours in the Food Network Studio. The first round was filmed in four hours and was fairly stress free. The second round was filmed in forty five minutes and proved to be a bit stressful. However, the camera crews did a great job giving Julie her space in which to work.
Julie was impressed with the layout of her Food Network kitchen and actually wanted to take it home with her!
Julie made two recipes. She made “Sweet Potato Layer Cake with Spiced Pecan Buttercream” and “Double Chocolate Malt Shop Cupcakes with Cherry Vanilla Buttercream”. Julie loves anything with sweet potato and spice, and her cake was essentially a cake version of a sweet potato pie. The cupcakes were based on the concept of an old-fashioned chocolate malt, with the whipped cream and cherry represented by the buttercream icing.
Julie was really excited to meet Guy. She and Guy went to the same undergraduate school, although not at the same time. He is very quick with funny responses, and he did a great job of including everyone—even the audience. Julie didn’t know until after the taping was over that he was sick that day—he had so much energy.
For winning the competition Julie won $25,000.00! Food Network made it well worth her efforts.
Working with food will always be a part of Julies life, even if it’s just a hobby. She is currently working on a cookbook proposal, which has taken quite some time to perfect. She will also continue to enter recipe contests when she has time. Julie will continue to occasionally write for food magazines, which marries two of her passions—food and writing. “Who knows though? Some of the best things that happen are unplanned, right?”
Julie has so kindly shared with us one of her favorite recipes which has previously appeared on her blog:
Mini Blueberry-Meyer Lemon Pound Cakes
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