Blue Cakes and the Fourth of July

The first week in July is very big in our family.  My mom's birthday is on the first, their anniversary is on the fourth, and my dad's birthday is the seventh.  We usually find a way to celebrate all three things (and Independence Day) at the same time.  This year, I invited my parents and my grandmother to our house for dinner.  We went all out!  I made sliders with gruyere cheese, arugula, tomatoes and red onion.    I also did a salmon and potato salad with fresh corn, green beans, cucumber and a red wine vinegar, lemon juice and cilantro vinaigrette.  My husband requested baked beans, so I found a Paula Dean recipe and made them from scratch (sort of).  I even baked a cake.

Soren helped me with a lot of the cooking, especially cake batter tasting and frosting color choice.  He likes to whisk, measure, stir and taste.  Aren't those really the best parts of cooking?  When I asked him what color the cake should be, he said, 'BLUE!'  So, I mixed half a bottle of blue food coloring into my butter cream frosting.  It was intense looking.  Then we added a big white star in the middle and some red piping around the edges.  Soren actually thought of the star and suggested I use the star cookie cutter to make the shape on the cake.  Brilliant!  I hadn't thought of that!  I gently pressed the cookie cutter into the top of the frosted cake, which gave me a nice outline.  Then I filled it in with the white icing.  Perfect!  Red, white and blue candles completed this masterpiece.  It was quite a site to behold.

This dinner party was a huge success, if I do say so myself.  Bill entertained the boys, gave them their baths and kept them fed and watered while I cooked and cleaned.  We were all dressed and ready before we put the boys down for their naps and actually had an hour or so to relax before our guests arrived.  How's that for planning?  And, because I made the salad and the cake earlier in the day, I didn't feel like a harried maniac in the kitchen when my guests arrived.  I was able to chat with everyone, get drinks distributed, and even continue cooking without forgetting what I was doing or yelling at anyone to get out of my way.  This is real improvement!  I'm usually totally stressed out by the time people get to my house and have been incapable of engaging in conversation while cooking until very recently.  The difference is that I'm very comfortable in the kitchen now.  I can chop and talk at the same time.  I have more confidence in my culinary skills, so I can relax a little and enjoy my guests.

My mom took over with the baby and Soren attached himself to his Granddad.  My grandmother stayed by my side and chatted with me about any and everything while I finished getting everything ready.  Bill floated between feeding the baby, keeping everyone's drinks refilled and chatting with my dad.  My husband and my dad have gotten along really well since they were first introduced.  I love that.  They're both big thinkers and real leaders.  They can recognize each other's strengths and they are quick to laugh (at themselves or anyone else).  I think they're kindred spirits in many ways.  They both treat their wives with love and respect.  They are fascinated and impressed with their children.  Even their political views are very similar.  So much in common, so little time.

Everybody was enjoying themselves.  By the time we all sat down, the baby had been fed and I got to eat my dinner while it was HOT!  Amazing, right?  How many moms get to enjoy a hot meal?

After dinner, we served the cake and sang 'Happy Birthday/Anniversary' to my parents.  We toasted their forty-two years of marriage.  We talked about kids, jobs and Life (with a capital 'L').  I explained that I was more than happy to comply with the request for a blue cake because of the blue cake I made for the same occasion, circa 1987.  My sister and I used to make big, fancy breakfasts on the fourth.  I was eleven years old and was only allowed to use the microwave.  This limited my baking abilities, but I would not be deterred.  I found a pound cake recipe in one of my mom's cookbooks, but I knew I couldn't use the metal loaf pan in the microwave.  The only thing I could find was a ceramic quiche pan.  The cake was only about an inch high, but it still tasted good.  I then made a pale blue (my favorite color at the time) glaze to drizzle over the top.  It looked like food they eat on Star Trek.  You know, the kind that comes out of the 'replicator' that usually has some sort of dry ice effect going on.  It tasted pretty good, if you closed your eyes while you ate it.  That blue cake has become one of our favorite stories.

This blue cake was better on many levels.  I made it from scratch with organic ingredients, so that helped.  I used the real oven and the appropriate pans for a layer cake.  However, I really think this one was the best because Soren and I made it together.  I won't remember the taste of the cake, but I will remember Soren's face covered with blue icing as he enthusiastically licked the beaters.  I will remember him eating all the frosting off of his piece and then asking everyone at the table if he could have some of theirs.  I'll remember my dad sneaking some extra frosting to Soren when they both thought I wasn't looking.  I'll remember Kieran constantly growling and yelling in the background.  It was a good day.