Absentee Blogger Confessional

I have been missing around here for more than two weeks. I have a couple of really good excuses about where I've been, but first, I just want to reassure you that I'll do my very best to not abandon y'all without warning again. I'm sure my disappearance was traumatic for everyone.

One of the reasons that I was MIA was because my in-laws came into town a little over a week ago in order to celebrate my father-in-law's 60th birthday!! We had a blast hanging out with them in Bethesda and Washington, DC.  Here are a few of my favorite moments from our many celebrations together!

The Marine Corps Evening Parade is quite a spectacle, and it's a fun (and free) way to spend a Friday night in Washington, DC. Not to mention the fact that Eastern Market (the neighborhood in which the Barracks are located) is one of my favorite places in DC. Really amazing restaurants and fun shops line the main drag on 8th Street. We ate at Zest Bistro before the parade began, and I would definitely return. 

Another meal we shared together, however, was better than Zest. Founding Farmers was such a fun dining experience.  Their menu was so fresh (as their name implies) and inventive, but still reasonably priced... for this area, at least. The lively atmosphere and delicious Tinto Negro malbec we were drinking made us want to linger for quite awhile... so we did :)

Every birthday boy needs a cake, so for my Celiac-diagnosed father-in-law we had a dozen gluten-free cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake. Woah... those might have been better than their gluten-full counterparts. Unlawfully good... 

I will write a separate post about the National's baseball game (because they are SO much fun!) we attended, but we gave my FIL a t-shirt to wear so he could properly display his "natitude"!

There was also a very sad reason I've been missing for awhile... you can read about that here. 

Big Day Nostalgia

I promised a throw-back post about our fabulous wedding day, so here it is!

Because this monumental day was a year and a week ago, it is fun to look back at the thousands (literally) of pictures, thanks to LHM Photography, that document that day.  Even the wildly imperfect parts of the day were wonderful because of all of our family and friends that were there to support us and celebrate with us.

Thinking back... the only moment of that day that was upsetting happened when I was alone for 30 minutes to take a shower.  When I got out of that shower and began to blow out my hair, I got a call from my dad saying that there we would likely have the ceremony at Fort McNair (the reception venue) because there was no electricity at the church.  My only response: "Why am I alone right now?!"... with tears, of course.  Because I knew that everything would be better once my sister (aka the most clutch MOH ever!) returned to the bridesmaids suite. And it was.  We had the ceremony in a VERY hot church, followed by the reception in a VERY hot officer's club (turns out that their AC was out, too).  There were some other hiccoughs, too, but I mostly just remember how happy Michael and I were to share that day with everyone. We had the time of our lives!

Pre-Sweat Fest... oh, wedding, I mean... ;)

Y'all don't even want to know what's happening underneath the layers of silk organza, satin and tulle of my dress... it was like a bikram yoga studio in that church...

We felt a little better outside...

My girls and I standing on the edge of the Potomac River... I won't mention the part when Caroline (my dear cousin to the left of me) loses her balance, grabs me, and we nearly fall in. I guess 5 inch heels aren't the steadiest footwear...

A few different views of me and my dress.  The dress was everything... I wish I could wear it every day!

Our WONDERFUL families. Enough said!

The guys... I've really missed each and every one of them this year!

Pretty flowers and candles...

The Cake... this is what it looked like when it tasted like the best cake I'd ever had (thanks Alexandria Pastry Shop!). That is what I'm telling my husband in that photo. It's my omg-this-is-so-good face. Have I mentioned that I can be kind of a foodie?

This was the part where my wonderful Jewish uncle, Jed Mescon, decided that Michael and I should have a Jewish wedding reception.  It was SO much fun... and hilarious.  My face in this one: omg-layers-of-organza-on-a-satin-chaircover-is-incredibly-slippery!!!

Part of our exit... Notice the industrial fan directly behind me ;)

Washington Things: Part 4

Last week I decided that I wanted to get something (food-wise) for my husband to take to the hospital for his 'team.'  People periodically bring things in for the group, and I think medical students should participate, too! Although, I was sort of using this as an excuse to check out cool local bakeries.  There was no way I was going to Taco Bell or Domino's Pizza to pick up my husband's contribution (although I'm sure they would've appreciated that, too).

After going online and researching cupcake bakeries and french pastry shops all around the Seattle/Tacoma area, I finally came across Top Pot.  Once I saw their tagline- "Hand-Forged Doughnuts", I knew this place was exactly what I was looking for.  What resident/intern/medical student/attending physician wouldn't want one of these bad boys at insert-ridiculous-time-of-day-here??

This was the top of the box... cute yet masculine. It felt like the packaging for a cool gift... and it was!

This was the precious cargo.  A dozen assorted 'hand-forged' doughnuts!  They have over 40 varieties that rotate through (I'm guessing they had about 20 different flavors available when I was there), so I spent quite a bit of time deciding on these. Aren't they pretty!?  Oh, and I heard they tasted amazing as well... the old fashioned salted caramel and the maple bar being two stand-outs. I think I'll pick some more up 'for the team' before we leave in two weeks!

This was the box of 'some more' that I picked up for my husband's last overnight call... I think they made the 27 hour shift a little more bearable!!

Rum Cake

This is the other cake that I made today (my mother and I are trying to get a head start on cooking for our family reunion that is coming up this weekend). It's much simpler to make than the Peach Cake, but has even more nostalgia associated with it.

This is one of many original recipe cards written by my great-grandmother, ReRe. She became known for making this cake, and therefore transcribed the recipe (complete with the note about instant vanilla pudding mix: "the kind you don't cook") for many friends and family members.  I love this recipe so much that I baked about 100 miniature cakes to give away in the gift bags at our wedding last summer.  So, thanks ReRe for your awesome Rum Cake recipe.  I miss you!

Ingredients:

1 Box Yellow Cake Mix*

1 Box Vanilla Pudding Mix

1/2 Cup Rum

1/2 Cup Water

1/2 Cup Oil

3 Eggs

*the quantity in boxes of cake mix has decreased since ReRe first wrote this recipe, so I added an additional 1/3 Cup or so from another box of yellow cake mix I had on hand.  However, I think the cake would turn out just fine as is... I was just being cautious.

Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees.

Mix the cake mix and pudding mix together in a bowl with a whisk.  Stir in the rum, water, and oil.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition.

Pour the batter into a oiled (or buttered) and floured tube or bundt pan.  Bake for 50 minutes to an hour or when a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, make the rum glaze.

Ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 Cup) butter

2/3 Cup Rum

1/3 Cup Water

1 Cup Sugar

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a bubble over medium heat. Remove from heat.

After allowing the cake to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, turn it out onto a sheet pan with raised edges.

Poke small holes all over the top of the cake using a toothpick.  Slowly spoon the glaze over the top of the cake.  Allow to cool completely before serving.

*Note: This cake only gets better with time.  I always make it at least one or two days ahead of when I want to serve it.

Peach Cake

Two things:
1) This was my most successful attempt thus far at remembering to take process photos throughout a recipe... enjoy!
2) This cake is so incredible... enjoy!

Peel about 10 peaches, savoring the scent as you go... this reminds me of summers at my maternal grandparents' home in Greer, SC.  There are many peach orchards nearby, so nearly every morning when I would walk into the kitchen the sweet scent of freshly cut peaches would welcome me.  Basically, if you have yet to experience the fragrance of fresh peaches, y'all are missing out big time! 

Anyways, cut the fruit off of the pits.  Reserve 1/2 Cup of the peaches.

Dice up the rest of the peaches (should yield about 2 cups, give or take a little).

Now you have all of your ingredients for this lovely cake!

3 Cups Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

2 Sticks (1 Cup) Butter

1 3/4 Cup Sugar

4 Eggs

2 Vanilla Beans (the caviar scraped out)

1 Cup Sour Cream

2 Cups Peaches

Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees.

Sift the flour, baking soda, and baking powder together in a bowl.

Set the bowl aside for the time being.

Action shot alert!  Cream the softened butter in a stand mixer.

Add the sugar to the butter and mix until its light and fluffy.

*not pictured* add the eggs one at a time, mixing well with each addition

Slice the vanilla beans in half, lengthwise, and scrape out the caviar with the back of your knife.  Add all of the vanilla caviar to the egg, butter and sugar mixture.

See all the little vanilla specks?! That means it's gonna taste super yummy...

Alternate adding the flour and sour cream to the batter in small increments, starting and ending with flour.

The batter should end up smooth and thick and creamy and speckled.

Pour half of the batter into an oiled (or buttered) and floured tube pan (or bundt pan).

Sprinkle the diced peaches evenly on top of the batter.

Cover the peaches with the remaining cake batter.

Place the cake in the oven and set the timer for an hour.

While the cake is baking, you make the glaze to pour over the cake.

Take the reserved 1/2 Cup of peaches, and blend them in a food processor or blender until completely smooth.

Stir the puree through a mesh strainer to remove any excess pulp.

Place the peach juice/puree into a small saucepan with 1/2 stick (1/4 Cup) of butter and 2/3 Cup of sugar. Stir all ingredients together on medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.  Remove the pan from the heat and add 1 Tbs of pure vanilla extract. 

After allowing the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, turn it out onto a rack set over a sheet pan with raised edges.

Take your time brushing or spooning the glaze over the entire cake, allowing the syrup to soak in a little before spreading more.

Once the cake has cooled, it is ready to serve! 

Fresh whipped cream (only slightly sweetened) would make this even more decadent and beautiful.