What Did You Eat?

Daring Bakers: Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake

Yes, it's another Daring Bakers Challenge.  This time we have Dorie Greenspan's recipe for Perfect Party Cake.  I wondered if it would live up to it's name, and it most certainly did.  I baked it for Easter dinner at my friend Nancy's house, and it was a huge success.  It's always heart warming when people nearly give you a standing ovation.  The cake was really a birthday cake for her mom, Katherine, and it cut beautifully and tasted...well, perfect.  The recipe this month was chosen by the wonderful Morven, of Food Art and Random Thoughts, and I thank her very much for choosing it. I'll be making this cake a lot. I think it is, indeed, the perfect party cake.

The recipe was simple to make and, and it provided me with lots of yummy batter and frosting.  Enough to "sample"  before I baked the cake and frosted it.  I love raw cake batter more than when it's cooked, and drove my mother crazy as a child, by standing at her arm, begging for it as she tried to fill her cake pans.   I'm glad I showed restraint and baked my layers, resulting in tender, yet resilient layers that easily handled being split in half before being filled and frosted.

That part went OK, but, as usual, I had some problems.

WCB: Upsie

My beloved Upsie died on Thursday afternoon.  Her condition suddenly turned downward on Wednesday. Until then she ate with her old gusto and seemed to be handling whatever pain she had with grace. In truth, it wasn't clear that she was in pain, cats can hide that so well.  But, I could feel how her kidneys were growing much larger, bulging out of her sides, and I knew that her cancer was getting much worse.  Then, Wednesday she stopped eating, which was an ominous sign.  That night, she slowly made her way to the living room, where I was reading, sat at my feet, and began to cry.  She couldn't lie in any position without it causing her pain, and she kept looking at me, as if she thought I might be able to do something to make her feel better. 

I got very little sleep that night, staying by her side, petting her, and promising that I would get her pain killers from the Vet.  By Thursday morning she was obviously in horrible pain and couldn't walk, so I made the painful decision that I wouldn't let her suffer and made an appointment for her Vet to come to our house and euthanize her in the evening. I also went to the Vet's office and got some pain killers. 

PPN: Vermicelli With Butter, Parmesan, And Asparagus Tips

Sometimes, life throws so many custard pies in your face, eating and cooking becomes a chore.  Or it's forgotten entirely.  I found myself in that situation two days ago. I couldn't remember when I had eaten my last meal, which certainly isn't typical behavior for me.  I needed some comfort food. Not Cheetos, or cookies.  I needed something that would lay down a nice buffer of carbs, and cheese, to comfort my ailing spirit. Mashed potatoes would have been perfect, but I didn't want to go to that much trouble. So, I turned to one of my favorite ways to fix pasta:  Tossed with lots of butter, garlic, parmesan, and freshly ground tellicherry pepper.  And I added some asparagus tips, which made the whole thing very healthy. Antioxidants and all that good stuff.  And I did feel comforted as I ate it all down.  For me, tossed with butter and parmesan cheese is still the best way to serve pasta. 

This simple meal is my submission to Presto Pasta Night, which was started by the wonderful Ruth at Once Upon A Feast. Each Friday Ruth has a recap of wonderful pasta recipes from bloggers from all over the world.  So, do stop by and check it out.

Accident Prone Almond Wafers

I'm addicted to Pepperidge Farm Bordeaux cookies. They're thin and crisp, with a sweet caramel taste,  perfect with a cup of coffee. I walk quickly past them, eyes averted, when I'm in the grocery store.  "Don't look, don't look," I say to myself.  When I saw these cookies in Martha Stewart Living, they reminded me of my favorite, so I had to make them.  Basically, these are a shortbread dough, using dark brown sugar instead of white, which changes the texture of the cookie and provides a caramel flavor. The dough is frozen and later sliced for baking, which I find very efficient.  It took a few batches before I figured out how long to bake them.  The recipe says 10 minutes, but they were too dark when I left them in the oven that long.  So, they need to be monitored carefully. I found that 9 minutes was perfect for me.

The resulting cookies weren't exactly like the Bordeaux, but they were close. Crisp, not too sweet, with a delicious caramel flavor, they seemed to taste better and better with each cookie that I ate. 

WHB: Asparagus, Potato, And Dill Soup

It's officially spring, and coinciding with that are massive piles of asparagus in the grocery store and farmers market.  The delicious green spears that recently cost as much as $4 a pound are now priced at $1.40 a pound.  Great news for me, I can indulge my asparagus lust in all sorts of ways.  I've always enjoyed asparagus soup, but usually prepare it with a roux base.  My favorite recipe is an elegant and silky smooth version from Julia Child, which I often served for company.  This recipe uses potatoes, rather than flour, to give a thick consistency.  It's heartier than Julia's and very filling.  I made this soup today and realized it would be a nice soup for Easter, so I used eggs for the garnish.  The herb I chose was dill, but basil, thyme and tarragon would work beautifully too.

WCB: Thanks Everyone

I want to thank everyone who left me a message.  It's really cool, and I wish I could give everyone one of my patented head bumps.  Mom has been trying to thank everyone, but it's taking her time (she's so slow).  But, I wanted everyone to know I get all mushy just thinking about it.  And you know how hard it is to make a cat feel sentimental, but you guys did it to me!

I'm doing OK.  I can still eat, and boy, I'm making up for lost time. Now that I can eat as much as I want, I scarf down kitty treats, tuna, and raw shrimp! 

PPN: Tortellini Soup

One day I'll make Mario Batali's marvelous tortellini in brodo. But, that requires making the tortellini from scratch, plus cooking an intense all-day broth.  That will be an experience, I'm sure.  But, I'm not up to that right now.  Instead, I used ready made tortellinis and stock.  This is a good tasting meal, that most people enjoy eating.  And the fact that it's incredibly quick and easy certainly recommends it for those moments when preparing a meal seems downright demoralizing.  It's also a recipe that lets you improvise and add the ingredients that you like. I added some leftover chicken, but Italian sausage would be good too. Or leave meat out and enjoy a perfect vegetarian meal.

This is my submission to Presto Pasta Night, which was started by the wonderful Ruth at Once Upon A Feast. Each Friday Ruth has a recap of wonderful pasta recipes from bloggers from all over the world.  So, do stop by and check it out.

Bread Baking Babes: Coccodrillo (Crocodile) Bread

The last Bread Baking Babes Project dealt with wet dough.  I thought that dough possibly the wettest I would ever encounter. Wrong.  This month's recipe, called Coccodrillo Bread, easily takes the title of Weirdest, Most Liquid Dough, hands down.  The name of the bread is supposedly due to the bread looking like a crocodile.  If I squint really hard and use my imagination, it looks a little like a crocodile, or a slug, or an amoeba.  But, that's not important. What counts is that the wacky recipe produces a marvelous tasting bread.  I thought it was great fun making this recipe.  And, for all you bread bakers who worry about the amount of flour to use, it's a non-issue here.  You add exactly the amount the recipe specifies and not a bit more, even if you think your bread will run off the counter like Silly Putty.

WCB: Seasons Of Life

Last year, it was a surprise to learn Upsie had diabetes.  That seemed like a very big deal at the time.   Then, the last few months, she seemed to take a downturn. Her coat became thin and patchy. Her glamorous tail was just a memory. It was puzzling.  Then I learned on Tuesday that Upsie has cancer in both kidneys, and possibly, her eye.  The prognosis is grim. She may live a few months, if we're lucky.  She doesn't seem to be in pain, but animals hide it well.  The vet prescribed pain killers, so I give them to her. 

PPN: Pappardelle With Wild Mushrooms, Asparagus, And Pistachios

Zing went the strings of my heart today, when I saw that the price of asparagus had dropped dramatically at my grocery store.  Can it be that asparagus season is finally here?   I certainly hope so.  I scooped some up, along with a package of beautiful wild mushrooms. In truth, the mushrooms are a wild variety grown in a snug greenhouse in the Bay Area.  No matter.  They look so adorable, as if they jumped from the pages of Alice In Wonderland. I used them and the asparagus in an adaption of a recipe I found in this month's Food & Wine magazine.  The recipe also called for pistachios, which was very cool.  The whole dish was satisfying, and looked smashing. 

This is my submission to Presto Pasta Night, which was started by the wonderful Ruth at Once Upon A Feast. Each Friday Ruth has a recap of wonderful pasta recipes from bloggers from all over the world.  So, do stop by and check it out.

Also, if my writing seems rather cursory, it's due to my bum knee, which has turned me into quite a crank.  Does anyone remember Gunsmoke, with Dennis Weaver hobbling around on his gimpy leg, yelling, "Mr. Dillon, Mr. Dillon"? Well, that me lately. It hurts ferociously when I walk, sit, or lie down. Now, that's hardly fair, is it?