Monday, April 03, 2006

I hosted a very small little bridal shower for my friend Jessica this weekend, and it was so nice to get to do because there was no way I could make it to Michigan for her big family shower, and also because she is marrying the most perfect guy for her in the world.

And there is no other way I know how to say "I am so happy for you." I only know the way in which I feed you a lot.

The menu was pretty light:

-blueberry muffins
-pimento cheese sandwiches
-goat cheese and tomato tart with a rosemary crust
-salad with pecans, feta, and dried cherries (AKA the whatever nut, cheese, and dried fruit look best at Trader Joe's today salad. You can never go wrong with that + baby greens and a basic vinaigrette.)
-reine de saba cake from The Way To Cook, aka the fanciest looking cake you can make when you have zero cake decorating talent

I completely mistimed the prep time for such a simple meal- I was also going to make maple pecan muffins but had to scratch them.

Also, the cake was underdone because I forgot to set the timer, and it totally broke in half when I turned it out. Fortunately it is kind of a mushy cake, and it is frosted (and then the frosting is covered in shards of chocolate and cocoa powder, making it impossible to make look anything less than gorgeous and requiring the artistic talent of a toddler, hence it being a perfect cake for me to make when I want people to think I have a little Martha in me) so I just pushed it together and slathered the frosting on top and no one could tell.

I also filled out a recipe card for J, which I was supposed to mail for her previous shower, and did not. Jeff recommended I give her a waffle recipe because "Odds are, they're going to get a waffle maker soon.."

This is a recipe from The Fun of Cooking, a family favorite growing up. We usually wind up doubling or tripling this:

Liz's Chocolate Waffles

Ingredients
2/3 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1/3 c sugar
1/4 c sour cream
3 tbsp butter, melted
2 eggs, separated
pinch cream of tartar

1) Sift flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa and sugar into a bowl
2) Combine sour cream, melted butter, and egg yolks in another bowl
3) In another bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff and shiny
4) Stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture.
5) Fold in egg whites.
6) Use about 2 tbsp batter per waffle and cook according to wafflemaker directions.

This does not work quite as well in Belgian-style wafflemakers.

These are best served with 1 stick softened butter creamed with 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tbsp honey.

0 comments: