Something for a snowy day........

It’s a white President’s Day here in New Jersey and there’s not much else to do so I thought I would send along something to ease the pain of yet another snowy morning.  

Friday night I co-hosted a party with my friend Michelle and we had a Martini & Crostini theme.  Here is a little sampling of what we tried. 

For a little taste of summer…………………

Mai-Tai-Tini

What you need:

1 oz Dark Rum

1 oz Light Rum

2 1/2 oz Orange Pineapple Juice

Squeeze of lime juice (about 1 Tbsp)

Splash of Grenadine

Maraschino Cherry or Pineapple Wedge for garnish

What you do:

Fill a cocktail shaker ½ way with ice.  Pour in dark rum, orange-pineapple juice and squeeze of lime juice.  Add just a splash of grenadine.  Shake well until chilled and frothy.  Strain into chilled martini glass.  Add a maraschino cherry for fun or garnish with a pineapple slice.

This is a great substitute for an after dinner cocktail if you are not in the mood for coffee and a dessert is just too much.

Espresso-tini

What you need:

1 oz Vanilla or Regular Vodka

½ oz Crème de Cacao

½ oz Kahlua

4 Tablespoons brewed, chilled espresso

Lemon wedge

Lemon peel garnish

2 Tbsp Turbinado or raw sugar

2 Tbsp shredded Bittersweet chocolate

What you do:

On a small plate, mix turbinado sugar and bittersweet chocolate.  Prep a chilled martini glass by running a piece of lemon wedge along rim to moisten it.  Dip rim of glass in sugar chocolate mixture.

Fill a cocktail shaker ½ way with ice.  Pour in vodka, Crème de Cacao, Kahlua and the chilled espresso.  Shake well and pour into glass.  Garnish with a lemon peel if so desired.

Can I just say - how absolutely cute are those little glasses?!!  They are Libbey Just Desserts mini flare glasses.  They are awesome for a tasting party, desserts, cocktails, whatever.  They make you feel like you are a giant when you are drinking them! 

Also gives you the excuse to have more than one.  Not that you need an excuse.  After all, it's snowing, it's President's Day - what better way to celebrate our forefathers than raising a glass of your favorite libation?  Can't you just picture George Washington kicking back by the fire with an Espresso-tini to warm him up?  I'd say we did him proud.

Valentine's Heart Cake

Valentine’s Day usually invokes the thoughts of luscious creamy chocolate desserts.

Like a rich chocolate espresso soufflé.

Or a decadent chocolate hazelnut torte.

Or a warm ooey gooey molten chocolate cake.

But, not in my house.  Nothin says lovin like a big chocolate heart cake.

My Mom has been making this for me and my sisters since we were kids and I have now passed on the tradition to my two little cherubs.

So, if you are looking for those aforementioned desserts, you will have to look elsewhere this weekend.  Or maybe I’ll make them in the future but for now, it’s a big fat heart cake.  Especially since Valentine’s Day is on a Monday night and it will be impossible to have a lengthy dinner, let alone dessert between school, homework, showers and rock climbing.

Yes, rock climbing - not me - my son Anthony.

So, I decided to give you a mini tutorial on how to make a heart shaped cake for Valentine’s Day without having to spend money on a heart shaped baking pan.

I’m all about saving the money and all about less clutter in the kitchen.  Why spend the money on a pan that you will use 1 day out of the year and then have to store somewhere in your already over crammed kitchen cabinets.

Or is that just me?

Anyway, the nice thing about this recipe is you can make your own cake from scratch or throw together a boxed cake mix.  I won’t tell.

So, basically, you get your cake mix together but instead of using 2 - 9 inch cake pans, you want to use one square 9 inch pan and one round 9 inch cake pan.  Divide the mix between the 2 pans.

Be sure to grease your pans well – something I have learned painfully to do.

Bake according to recipe or package directions and let cool.

When cakes are cool, flip them out onto a cooling rack or platter and this is what you have:

Okay, yes, you may have noticed that this picture was taken with the cakes on the floor.  It was the only way I could get the shot without climbing on top of the table.  Do whatcha gotta do.  

Take the round cake and cut it in half like so:

Then carefully, place the two round halves by the top of the square pan which is placed on a platter in a diamond formation.  Diamonds - Valentine's Day - another good combination! 

If the cakes don’t line up perfectly, don’t worry, it’s nothing a little frosting can’t cure.  Another option would be to flip the cake pieces over and cut them down a little so they lay a little more evenly.  Do this on the bottom though, or it will be impossible to frost since the cake crumbs will get pulled up with the frosting. 

Besides, I’m all about the frosting.

Speaking of which, here is the cake all frosted:
  

Think I could have used a bigger platter?

Enjoy!  And again, Happy Valentine's Day!