Summer cake and BBQ

I've always loved baking, and since I remodeled my kitchen a few years ago, I have been trying to cook more as well. I've decided to make more of an effort to post about the recipes I try, pass along any tips, etc. Don't worry about this isn't turning into a cooking blog--but I figured someone out there would be interested in hearing about my culinary successes and failures. And trust me, there have been a lot of failures. But that's part of the process!

Last weekend, my good friend Chris had a barbecue party to celebrate the completion of his new backyard deck. It was quite the party; there must have been over 20 people there and there was a ton of food to be had. I decided to make a small contribution by trying a new cake recipe and a new technique--slicing the undecorated cake into three layers.

I chose the "chiffon cake with strawberries and cream" recipe from Martha Stewart (of course). It seemed like a good choice for a cook-out; not too sweet or rich, and not too unhealthy, especially since it does not use any butter or heavy cream. The cake itself is something like an angel food cake (which is very low in fat), but a little more dense so it's easier to slice. It's baked in a tube fan also like an angel food cake, but only gets tricky in that you have to slice the cake into three equal layers.

The trick is not to slice through the entire layer in one go, but rather to work the knife through the cake a little at a time, turning the cake as you go. This helps make sure it turns out even. I think mine turned out mostly successful, though the top layer was a little thicker than the others. Still, practice makes perfect! I also cheated a little by using pre-made whip cream rather than making it by scratch. This makes for a healthier (since I used cool whip) and easier alternative. I mean, I appreciate Martha' recipes, but come on. I don't have time for all this whipping shit.

 Assembling the cake after the layers have been sliced.

 The finished product! The recipe is at the bottom of the post.

The cake was a big hit at the BBQ, since there wasn't a lot left at the end of the night. But I have to confess that it paled in comparison to Caroline's contribution which was a gorgeous chocolate cake with about eight wafer thin layers. I still can't believe that I had the willpower to resist having some (I am trying to stay away from the baked goods).

As for the party itself, it was super fun and the new deck is gorgeous. I was not entirely convinced that Chris would be able to pull it off since he built it himself along with his Mom and Stepdad, but it turned out beautiful and strong. There was delicious food, good company, oh, and some Rock Band for good measure.

 Enjoying the new deck!

 The master chef.

 Caroline takes an...unusual approach to slicing the cake. When in doubt, use a broadsword.

The remains of the day.

Martha Stewart's Chiffon Cake with Strawberries and Cream (my changes and comments are in italics)

Ingredients For the Cake

o 2 1/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
o 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
o 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
o 3/4 teaspoon salt
o 1/2 cup safflower oil
o 7 large egg yolks plus 9 large egg whites
o 3/4 cup whole milk (I substituted skim milk with no ill effects)
o 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
o 1 whole vanilla bean, split and scraped, or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (fuck the vanilla bean, use the vanilla extract)

For the Berries and Cream 

o 2 pounds strawberries, hulled and halved or quartered (about 5 cups), plus more for serving
o 1/2 cup granulated sugar
o 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
o Pinch of salt o 2 cups cold heavy cream
o 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for sprinkling

(Or you can do it like me and just use Cool Whip; you can also use all kinds of berries, I think a mix of strawberries and blueberries would by yummy)

Directions 

1. Make the cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together flour, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, the baking powder, and salt. Whisk together oil, egg yolks, and milk in a large bowl. Whisk flour mixture into egg-yolk mixture.

2. Beat egg whites with a mixer on high speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar and vanilla seeds or extract, and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 3/4 cup granulated sugar, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes. Whisk one-third of the egg-white mixture into batter. Gently but thoroughly fold in remaining egg-white mixture with a rubber spatula.

3. Transfer batter to tube pan. Bake until top of cake springs back when touched, 52 to 55 minutes. Let cool upside down (over a bottle or on tube-pan feet) 1 hour. (I was concerned about cooling upside down, but it really worked! Make sure you grease the pan really well, and then a run a knife along the sides before trying to remove it from the pan)

4. Make the berries and cream: While cake is baking and cooling, combine strawberries, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and salt, and let sit, stirring occasionally, 1 hour. Just before assembling, beat cream and confectioners' sugar until medium peaks form.

5. Slide a paring knife around edges of tube and side of pan; release cake. Cut cake horizontally into 3 layers with a serrated knife. Transfer bottom layer to a cake plate or platter. Spread with half the berries, and drizzle with juices. Spread half the whipped cream over berries, then top with middle cake layer. Spread with remaining berries and whipped cream. Top with remaining cake layer. Refrigerate cake 1 hour. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, and serve with berries.

Carrying the Banner

Remember when I was in Costa Rica? I traveled there in January with a friend and his parents, and his Mom and I really hit it off. It turns out we both have a love for musicals, and since she lives in New York we decided it would be fun for me to come up sometime and we would go to a show. As you guys know, I'm not really one to just make plans in the abstract (I figure if you are going to do something, just do it), so when Peggy (the mom) got an email about advance ticket sales for the new Broadway show, Newsies, we decided just to go for it!

So last Saturday, I took the bus up to NYC for a day of music, dance, good food, and great company. First I met up with my friend Sarah and we had lunch at the famous John's Pizzeria in Midtown right off of Time's Square. Not only does it have delicious thin crust brick oven-baked pizza, but the restaurant is in a really cool old church. With stained glass windows and everything. We got there right when it opened at 11:30 and there wasn't too bad a crowd, but by the time we left the place was packed with tourists and townies alike.

John's Pizzeria--notice the stained glass window!

By that time, it was only a bit before the show so I said farewell to Sarah (at least until my next visit) and met up with Peggy outside the theater. Newsies is playing at the Nerderlander Theater, which has existed since 1921 and was where Rent opened and ran for 12 years. There was quite a crowd for the performance and the line to get in stretched around the block even before the doors opened. While we waited they sent out one of the guys in the chorus in his full Newsies regalia to sell programs--which were super cute and designed like newspapers.

Outside the Nederlander

When the doors (finally) opened, we entered the theater and realized our seats were pretty kickass--fourth row! While this was awesome because it meant we were super close for all the dancing action, it also meant we were really close to the actor who plays Davey and is apparently unable to speak emphatically without spraying spit all over the place. I seriously thought the people in the first row should have some kind of plastic sheeting like at a Gallagher show. I could. not. handle it.

Other than the waterworks from Davey, the show was excellent. It was very much an old-school musical like from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Just fun, solid singing and dancing--LOTS of dancing which is something I feel is missing from modern musicals. Oh, and there wasn't any tragedy or deaths or anything heavy like that. It was entertaining as hell, and as an added bonus, the cast was full of some of my favorite dancers from So You Think You Can Dance. There were a couple changes from the movie, but for the most part I thought they were all smart. And the new songs were catchy and non-offensive to a fan of the source material.

 Those are some limber newsies.

 After the show, Peggy and I wandered around looking for a place to have dinner that wasn't loaded with tourists, and on the way we came across the HBO shop. That particular adventure is documented on the tv blog, along with pictures of the awesome costumes that were displayed in the store. After shopping and dinner it was back to the bus (which was late OF COURSE) and the ride back home.

It's a long day to NYC and back and I end up spending 8 hours on the bus and only 8 hours in the city...and yet it's still worth it. All cliches aside, there is just something about the Big Apple that is exciting, inspiring, and makes me giddy. Maybe it's all the history...or just the huge masses of creative genius that it houses. Either way, I'm going to keep seeing it all...one day at a time.

Fight the power, yo.

It doesn't seem like there are a lot of opportunities to strike out on your own and change your life as an adult. Sure, you can get married and have children, but you kind of need another person to make that happen. And when you're a kid, it seems like interests and dreams are in one day and out the next; when I was a kid, I was convinced I was going to be a dancer, actress, aerobics-instructor, princess. I swear to god, that was an actual goal.

But once you graduate college and lock down a career path, it becomes way more difficult to make changes. And not just for practical reasons, but for emotional ones as well. Change is hard. It's violent, scary, and chaotic. It's much easier just to stay where you are...even if where you are makes you unhappy.

Which is why I am so proud of my friend Carly who has recently made a big change in her life and has sought on a new business opportunity. She has become a Mary Kay consultant.

Now I know what you are thinking. How is selling make-up a big change? Well, for her it's going into an entirely new business, sacrificing a lot of free time on the venture, and as they say "putting yourself out there." Mark Kay doesn't sell itself, so it means Carly will be talking and selling to friends and strangers alike at parties, pampering sessions, and in even less formal settings. Basically, I respect the hell out of her for the willingness to make the change and take charge of her life. Snaps up and a big "you go girl!"

And having a friend who sells Mary Kay isn't without advantages. I get to attend a lot of the parties and get samples and tips. For example, I participated in Carly's first pampering session a few weekends ago, and the results were pleasantly surprising.

Before picture:

 

 After picture:

Facial features are now easily recognizable! Seriously though, if I am not wearing make-up, I am so pale that all you see are two eyes and some curly hair. The rest of my face is barely distinguishable from a white background.

So good luck, Carly! And if anyone out there is looking for some make-up or skin care items...I got your hookup.

Piddle, Twiddle, and Resolve

When I was a kid, my Mom instilled in me a love of music through the soundtracks of classic musicals. I remember riding in the car with her and listening to cassettes of various shows as we both sang along, me taking the soprano parts and her the alto. Cats, The Mikado, The Music Man, and 1776 were among my favorites. Of course, looking back now I feel sorry for my brother, who was trapped in a car with the two of us constantly singing...but that's what happens when you are the only dude in a family of ladies.

The point of this reminiscing is that I was very excited when a friend sent me an email asking if I was interested in seeing a production of 1776 at Ford's Theater. For those who are unfamiliar, 1776 is a musical about the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Continental Congress. The main character, future President John Adams, wheels and deals and by force of will alone manages to convince Congress to declare themselves independent from England. Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson are also along for the ride.

I don't think I can understate the importance the movie version of 1776 had on me as a kid. And yes, I realize confessing that makes me a GIANT NERD, but hey y'all already knew that. Basically, the movie got me interested in history and paved the way for a history major in college. And speaking of college, the whole reason I went to William and Mary was because of 1776 and the following exchange:

John Adams: Mr. Jefferson? It so happens that the word is UN-alienable, not IN-alienable. 

Thomas Jefferson: I'm sorry, Mr. Adams, but "Inalienable" is correct. 

John Adams: I happen to be a Harvard graduate, Mr. Jefferson. 

Thomas Jefferson: Well, I attended William & Mary. 

Oh, snap! Colonial style.

The point of this diatribe is that I have very strong feelings about 1776. And I am pleased to say that seeing it live was thrilling, fun, and amazing. We are very fortunate here in the DC-area to have amazing local theater companies. In fact, the only thing about the evening that wasn't perfect were the annoying 8th graders sitting in front of me and the fact that I find Ford's Theater kind of creepy.

And this is the famous Ford's theater and that box is where the greatest man in American history had his brains blown out. See? CREEPY.

If you haven't seen 1776 yet, I suggest you immediately go to Netflix and check it out. The more I learned about the actual history of the colonial era, the more I learned how weirdly accurate the movie is in terms of how all these men related to one another and were forced to compromise to lay the foundations for the country we have today.  You'll also come out of it with even more appreciation for Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and especially John Adams.

Oh, and it has Mr. Feeney (from Boy Meets World)! And Gwyneth Paltrow's Mom.

 

You can keep your Paul Giamatti and whatever other lame John Adams you want to throw at me. William Daniels is the one and only. Trust.

Speak Up for the sake of Burlesque, Pie, and Women Everywhere!

The following happened during a fun night on the town when me and my girls hit H street to see Epic Win Burlesque. It's burlesque so it's all sexy and fun, but then it's nerdy burlesque so it doesn't make us seem too cool--though there is never much danger of that.

You're probably wondering what makes something nerdy burlesque. Basically the costumes the ladies wear (and then remove) are pop culture/fantasy/sci-fi/video-game themed. So I am delighted to tell you that I have seen Seven of Nine, Lara Croft, the Joker, and a Honey Badger remove their clothing in a sexy manner. One lady also came out dressed as Pennywise the Clown from Stephen King's IT, but please believe me when I tell you it was very much on the scary spectrum rather than sexy.

After the show we wandered down to Dangerously Delicious Pies because 1) that's what you do on H street in DC and 2) watching ladies take off their clothes makes my friends want pie. Rachel and I decided to wait outside the shop since we had already had our pie and we didn't want to wait in the long line.

(enter drunk college assholes, stage left).

Drunk College Asshole 1: OMG, I am so drunk and I want pie.

Drunk College Assholes 2 and 3: YEAH PIE DUDE I LOVE PIE!

Drunk College Asshole 1: Hey, look! There's a giant bell over next to where that ginger girl is harmlessly texting and chatting to her friend!

(Drunk College Asshole 1 staggers over to the bell and begins ringing it loudly, and then manages to elbow ginger girl (me) in the head)

Me: OWWWW.

Drunk College Asshole 1: Oh, sorry the bell is so loud!

Rachel: I think it was less the bell ringing and more the fact that you ELBOWED HER IN THE HEAD.

Me: Yeah!

Drunk College Asshole 1: Oh, I'm sorry!

(Drunk College Assholes 2 and 3 see the commotion and teeter on over)

Drunk College Asshole 2: You hit her in the head, you should say you're sorry!

Drunk College Asshole 3: Give her a kiss to say you are sorry!

(Drunk College Asshole 1 moves to take Me's arm...and I don't know, try to kiss me? Pat me? Whatever. At this point Me remembers reading a most excellent blog post from years ago by Sarah Bunting about how women are trained to keep quiet and not raise a fuss, which usually works against them in situations where men feel they can paw/grope/assault/rape and otherwise take advantage of them. So Me decides in that second that NO WAY IN HELL is something like that happening in this circumstance. BTW, isn't it amazing how much information your brain can process in less than a second?)

Me: Do. Not. Touch. Me.

Drunk College Asshole 1: I just wanted to say that I was sor...

Me: GET AWAY FROM ME.

Drunk College Asshole 2 and 3: We just....

Me: GET AWAY FROM ME NOW.

(Drunk College Assholes run away down the street, the pie forgotten).

And scene.

I think I did pretty well with no exaggerating that exchange there, though Rachel will have to be the objective judge.

Now let's be clear: I wasn't afraid these guys were going to actively hurt me. We were standing on a crowded street with lots of people walking by and my friends standing about 5 feet away. And they were clearly just drunken college assholes who were in command of maybe 33% of their mental facilities. But you know what? These guys did not have the right to hit me in the head, try to grab my arm, or otherwise hassle me and my friend. And sometimes you need to just speak up. People who know me would probably say that I never had trouble speaking up, but I think it's true that most of the time people (and by people I mean women and by women I mean me) don't want to make a fuss or a scene. Nothing was probably going to happen and the probably would have just wandered away on their own after a few more awkward attempts at conversation.

But that doesn't really matter. Because I don't need to put up with that and neither do you. Don't ever be afraid to speak up.

Throw Momma from the casino.

I travel a lot, but I usually travel with friends. Sometimes I will take my Mom somewhere or go with her to visit my brother in LA, but I don't think I ever gone anywhere with my friends AND my Mom.

There's a first time for everything.

It all started when Chris and I were having a gchat conversation about how we needed to go to Atlantic City. We go about once a year for a weekend of slots and relaxation. Our casino of choice is Harrah's on the Marina, home of the large indoor pool with luxe cabanas available for rental. For a reasonable fee (that includes all your food and alcohol (!!!)), you can lounge poolside with a personal television, iPod doc, and servers at your beck and call. Now that's the way to live.

I was hanging out with my Mom on a typical Wednesday evening (before having dinner at my Dad's), and I mentioned that we had planned an Atlantic City trip for the end of April. Mom crossed her arms, got that wistful look in her eyes, and I knew a story was coming. Turns out her mom used to the kids to the Maryland shore on the weekends where they could slip some coins into the slots. Apparently the casino didn't enforce the age restrictions in the good old days. Mom waxed poetic about how she used to love the slots as a kid...and before I knew it, she was coming up to Atlantic City with me, Chris, and Kent for an early birthday weekend!

I wasn't really concerned about it--I know that Chris and Kent adore my Mom and she loves them just as much...but still. We are silly and crazy and I wasn't sure if Mom would appreciate our brand of humor or find it all a little much to handle. Turns out, she thought we were hilarious (and also silly and crazy) but pretty much rolled with the punches. I think it helps that we're not exactly party animal and were in bed by 10:00 each night so it's not like we tired her out.

Pauly D (I think from MTV's Jersey Shore *gag*) was performing at the late night pool club the first evening we arrived, so the casino was packed to the gills with trashy Jersey types and their gold chains, hooka heels, and vast amounts of hair gel. An ill-timed thrown match probably could have sent the whole place up. But we certainly got a lot of comedic mileage out of mocking them. Sometimes behind their backs, but most often to their face.

I don't think Mom was particularly impressed with the new type of slots. Apparently most of the draw for her was putting in the coins and then pulling the handle--and you can't do that anymore. It's all automated and the machines only take bills. Plus, the casinos still allow smoking in most of the areas, and she's pretty sensitive to that. But we still played our $10 and had a good time. We didn't hit the big payout, but playing for almost an hour on $10 is nothing to scoff at! Well, fine you can scoff at our cheapness but whatever.

I think the most fun was the cabana rental, nothing makes you feel more posh than lounging poolside with a cocktail in your hand. Chris and I were determined to make the most of our drink credit, and were both drunk by 11 in the morning on Sunday. To her credit, Mom didn't judge at all and seemed to enjoy how I staggered off to the restroom. And we got sucked into successive bad movies on TNT (after Law and Order ended of course) to keep us busy.

What? We were on a mini-break!

As the end of the day approached we still had some money left on our bar credit, so we enlisted the aid of our server to find deserving people around the pool to treat to drinks anonymously. We thought of ourselves as benevolent gods looking down from high and blessing the plebeians with free alcohol. We got two honeymooning couples (whom we could see by peeking through the curtains around the cabana were thrilled to get the drinks) and an older couple who also seemed excited. Our server, Lauren, also got into it and scoured the pool deck for people who seemed nice. No Jersey douchebags were getting our charity!

It was a fun two and a half days and I think a nice change of pace for Mom. Sometimes you just need to get away to a change of scenery, you know? And it certainly made me appreciative to get back to Virginia, a land where most people know how to properly apply make-up, button their shirts, and not overly tease their hair.

Maggie vs. The Jellyfish

It turns out that I got a little distracted from my Costa Rica blogging. First, my uncle (Dad and Aunt Kim's brother) got really sick and I had to drive up to New Jersey to do the whole hospital-waiting thing. Side note--I HATE the hospital-waiting thing. It looked like he might pull through, but unfortunately he passed away about two weeks after the initial scare. It was very sudden and I didn't really feel like posting about vacations at the time.

I also go distracted by another trip, this time to California to visit my brother, my sister-in-law, and my new nephew, James! That is the subject of another post and now that things are finally starting to calm down again...back to Costa Rica!

When you last left this intrepid explorer, I had been traveling around Costa Rica's northwest coast going to beautiful beaches. And guess what? This post is more of the same! You would think after a while you would get tired of beaches, but it turns out each one has it's own little pleasures and is different from all the others.

For our next sojourn, we decided to stay a little closer to home. Playa Hermosa (meaning "beautiful beach") was only about 5 minutes from our house and thankfully not crowded. I wouldn't say that it was strictly the most beautiful beaches of all the ones we visited, the sand was kind of coarse and grey colored, but it wasn't crowded, and it has the distinction of being the first place I have ever kayaked!

That's right, I, Maggie of the infamous poor balance, went kayaking! Here's the thing--it was a lot easier than I expected. I envisioned kayaking as when you have to sit in those long canoe things that cover you up to your waist and if you tipped over you could drown if you couldn't right yourself. Needless to say, I was never really interested in kayaking.

I was, however, assured by my traveling companions and by the folks at the water sports rental place that there were other kayaking options. In fact, there are very nice open dual kayaks that require little or no skill (perfect for me!) so I decided what the hell and went for it. Turns out I wasn't too shabby, and it was really fun. Especially the parts where we went fast. I like going fast!

You know the difference between you and me? I make this look good.

 Mac and his Mom are ready for kayaking adventure.

Oh, and it turns out the hardest part of kayaking is remembering which part of the beach holds the rental place. It kind of all looks the same from 200 yards out. Good thing someone in our group was paying attention.

 

 Check it out, I am kayaking!

Playa Hermosa

After our kayaking adventure, we sat on the beach for a while and then went in the water for a dip. And then it was MAGGIE vs. THE JELLYFISH. There I was, in about waist-deep water, minding my own business and BAM! Something whipped across my leg and it burned. Oh, how it burned. I ran out of the water to get a look at the damage, and I already had the beginnings of a large welt across my entire right thigh. Luckily we had some "after burn" style treatment that I put on it and while the pain never got too bad, it was a constant burning reminder of how nature can sometimes REALLY SUCK. Oh, and it turns our aloe (like you would put on a sunburn) is awesome at treating jellyfish stings. And it's a good thing too since in another two days we had a big horse-riding and zip-line adventure planned and I kind of needed my thigh.

 I think the Jellyfish won this round. And I am not all that eager for a rematch.

 Is it possible that there are more beaches that we haven't visited? Would my leg heal in time for horseback riding? And who is Rosita and why did I want to smuggle her home in my bag? Stay tuned for the answers!