Super Star Birthday!

My honey turned 31 last week! So of course, we had to celebrate.

In October, Eric asked me to make him a Super Mario Bros. cake for his birthday. No prob, I said. Then I saw a picture of the cake (left).

Ummmm....yeah right! So with a little compromising, I made a Red Mushroom cake. It's a classic icon of the video game and with it being on an invincible star board, everyone should know what it is. It's just not the same if you have to explain what it is.

Since I used to watch a lot of Food Network: Challenge, I have been very interested at trying my hand at rolled fondant. Fondant is a type of icing that is commonly used on wedding cakes. It can be molded and handled like clay, but of course, its edible (well, if you can get past the taste anyway).

Some things I would change next time around:

1) in the case of the Red Mushroom, I would use a broader bowl to make a more squat mushroom. The bowl I used made the cake have a bit of an X-rated appearance.

2) use a traditional buttercream for the filling. I made a Swiss meringue buttercream, which tasted great on day one, but when we cut the cake, I think the heat messed with the texture a bit. It was still tasty.

The results of my fondant experiment are below. It wasn't too much hassle to work with and it does give everything a very polished look. If I attempt another fondant cake, I'll definitely cover a sheet cake that way it won't bunch in the back of a spherical form. 

Welcome to My Corner of the Institution

I've come to realize that Easter is my favorite holiday. It's a time when winter is finally starting to shake us loose, spring is around in the corner and everything is coming back to life.

My sanity, however, tends toward the route of a 'day late and a dollar short.' Eric's mother was hosting Easter this year and was expecting eighteen people. Since I enjoy baking (and showing off), I volunteered to make dessert. I had originally planned for the ribbon jello and the angel lush cake, but with so many people, I had to step up my game.

So, I spent two nights burning up in my kitchen creating the following six desserts: sugar cookies with strawberry icing, cherry icebox cookies, apple buttermilk pie, angel lush cake, run raisin pie, and ribbon jello (in pretty Easter colors).

Everything was delicious and I have the extra poundage to prove it.

As if all this cooking wasn't enough, I decided that I wanted a new blouse for the occasion. Since leisure shopping time is limited, I made my own blouse. I see the guys in white coats walking up the driveway now. I was surprised how well it turned out. My sewing skills are intermediate at best. I did do some power shopping and found a nice skirt to go with it.

It is two weeks post Easter and I still don't feel rested. Perhaps, it's time for a vacation.

Sisters

Costumes of Halloween Past

Halloween is quickly approaching and Eric and I find that we turn into little kids when it comes to picking out a costume (at least we haven't resorted back to trick-or-treating). For the past few years, I have been using my newly discovered sewing talents to make Halloween costumes for Eric, Pazu and myself. Here is a quick review of what we've been over the years.

2006- Robin Hood and Maid Marion

I made both these costumes from scratch using fabric, a pattern and sewing machine.

After looking at these pictures, I got the notion in my head that the Maid Marion dress made me look quite overweight. So, I went to the thrift store and bought a velvet dress for like $7. I added a satin cowl and drapes and instantly became a Greek goddess. (I know, I cheated. I got two costumes this year).

2007- A Journey through History

Pazu-Purple Wizard (medieval period)

Eric as Young George Washington-1757 (he was often mistaken for Mozart)

Nicole as a Geisha-Japan 1922

So we were invited to a Star Trek party this year and went as holograms from the Holideck. I made this Star Trek cupcakes which were a big hit!

What we will be for 2008?

Temporary Insanity and the Frankenstein Cake

So, this little ditty deserves its own entry. For Eric's birthday, I made him a strawberry cream cake, courtesy of America's Test Kitchen. We actually watched the episode on TV and wanted to make it. However, I felt that the TV version looked a bit small, so I doubled the recipe when I made. What a mistake. After I started stacking layers, my beautiful cake was mutating to a Frankenstein wanna be. Six total layers of frosting, strawberries and filling. What have I done?!

Believe me, it tasted unbelievable, but its next role should be in a horror flick. It could do battle with Mothra.

Birthday hoo-hah!

We celebrated David's birthday today (Eric's brother). At the ripe old age of 24, he just landed a new job and moving into a new apartment. We dined at a Thai restaurant in Arvada ( forget the name of it). The food was absolutely fabulous and I should have stopped eating long before my stomach started to pooch.

For his bday gift, I made a black forest cake and man, was it mmm-mmm good! To cap off the evening, we had a few drinks at Bar Louie in the Westminster Promenade.

It was nice to celebrate this great day with a great guy.

A Super Fat Tuesday

So where are your loyalties? Do you exercise your right to vote and sit in a primary/caucus gathering for a couple hours, hoping that your presence makes a difference? Or do you revel in the spirit of Mardi Gras and overindulge because Lent begins on Wednesday?

Well, we had Mardi Gras cake and watched all the political news on TV. As much as they over publicized the results of the caucus, we should have partaken in something of the hard liquor variety.