Just Like Starbucks?

On New Years' Eve, I had a full clinic scheduled.  I decided that since my nurses had to come because of that I'd make something fun.  I found a recipe for cinnamon scones that were supposed to be like Starbucks.  Admittedly, I have never had one of these scones so I can't really compare.  These were pretty good but dried out quickly.  Maybe that's just scones?

Starbucks' Cinnamon Chip Scones from On Your Plate
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick of butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup cinnamon chips
1/2-3/4 buttermilk (or skim milk)
for glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon water
sift together the dry ingredients and work the butter in until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Add in the chips and toss together. Slowly add the milk until the dough just comes together. Roll the dough out into a square that is approximately 1 inch thick. Cut into triangles and brush with egg wash. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Let scones cool completely and then drizzle with glaze.

What We Said - One Year Ago

 "Marriage is not something that just happened. It was God who created man and woman in His own image. And it was God who determined that it was not good for the man to be alone.  So, God made him a helper who was fit for him.  The man was incomplete without the woman. She joined him in being the ultimate earthly expression of the glory of God.  So, as you pledge your vows to each other, you do well to again remember the source of marriage is not just a feeling in your heart--it lies with God and His design for you.  You also do well to remember the purpose of marriage.  It is about you certainly, but it is about much more -- it is about God and Christ and the mystery of God's love for sinners.  What God joins together, let no man forsake as unimportant or insignificant.  Marriage is not a phase of your life, it is to be your life.  Protect it and cultivate it as if your life depends on it...because it does."

"I, David Gilliam, take you Claire Nettles, to be my wife as we enter into the covenant of marriage.  To have and to hold, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, in laughter and in sorrow, for as long as we both shall live.  I vow to protect you, to provide for you, and to care for you.  I promise to honor you as the Lord instructed and to cherish you as Christ showed us, even unto death.  I pledge to join you in prayer and lead you as we begin our walk with God."

"I, Claire Nettles, take you David Gilliam, to be my husband as we enter into the covenant of marriage.  To have and to hold, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, in laughter and in sorrow, for as long as we both shall live.  I promise to seek God first and to pray for you, as the leader of our home.  I will strive to respect and honor you in my words and actions, to be full of grace, and gentle in spirit.  I will encourage you and commit to stand by you for as long as we live."

"I take you...and with this ring I pledge my life to you. Where you go, I will go.  Where you live, I will live.  Your family shall be my family and your God shall be my God."

One year ago, I said "I do" to my sweet husband as we began this journey called marriage.  Has this past year been easy?  Sometimes.  Other times, not so much!  Have we had to work at times? Yep!  Has it been fun?  You bet!  Do we have lots to learn?  Of course.  But I am so glad to spend these years with David and our little family.  I am so thankful for his kindness and service toward me.  He has sought God's leadership so much over this past year and I am grateful for that and what it means for David's leadership of our family.  He has demonstrated patience to me and gentleness too many times to count.  I pray that God continues to grant us grace and grow us in Him and with each other!

Pecans are Better

I made this dessert right before we decided to try gluten free again.

 David said he thought it looked good and I did too.  I used up some Christmas chocolate chips and sent some to the lounge for the residents.  Unfortunately, I used walnuts instead of pecans.  There is something about walnuts that doesn't work for just any dish.  I felt like the walnut flavor overwhelmed the whole bar.  I might would try again with pecans as the recipes calls for.  I mean, I love a good shortbread crust!

Derby Bars from The SoHo (Southern Hostess)
Derby Pie Bars
For the shortbread crust:
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed

For the filling:
12 tablespoons (1 + 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (originally pecans)

Preheat oven to 350° F. To make the crust, combine the powdered sugar, flour and salt in a food processor. Add cubes of butter and pulse until it resembles coarse. Firmly pat the mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Bake the crust for about 20 minutes until just lightly golden. 

For the filling, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, flour, salt  and continue to mix until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and pecans. Pour batter over partially baked crust. Bake until filling is set and the top is light golden brown, 30 - 35 minutes. Allow bars to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into squares. Serve with vanilla ice cream.  Enjoy!

Mahi Tacos

One of my favorite dishes to get at a local restaurant is the Mahi Mahi sandwich.  Actually, it's a dish that I get at TWO local restaurants.  Julep is a great local Southern restaurant.  When I was in residency, we took all of our applicants to Jule for pre-interview day dinner.  I was in charge of recruitment one year so I went to Julep QUITE frequently.  I decided that I needed to try different dishes; but every time my "different dish" would come out, I wished that I had my mahi mahi sandwich! 

So, wouldn't that lead you to believe that I'd like mahi mahi at home?!  It would!  However, when I made it several months back I just didn't like it.  Insert sad face!  Last month, I decided to try again but in a different form.  Instead of cooking the fish to just eat, I grilled the fish and used it on tacos.  Problem solved!  This dish was SO good and fresh!  We used corn tortillas so David could enjoy it.  Makes me want to have this again soon. 

Mahi Mahi Tacos
mahi mahi filets, seasoned well
tortillas
lettuce
tomato
cheese
salsa
avacado........whatever toppings you want, really!

Preheat your indoor grill pan.  Season the fish very well.  Spray the pan and place filets on the pan.  Cook until fish flakes.  Gently heat corn tortilla (or whatever tortilla you want).  Place cooked fish on the tortilla and top with your desired toppings.  Enjoy!

Beautiful Bread

This past weekend, we went to my parents' house to pick up K...and to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday!  Mama threw a surprise party and invited all his siblings and his cousin who shares the same birthday.  It was such fun.  But I knew that I'd need to do some cooking in order for David to have some similar things to eat.  Mama was planning on having cinnamon rolls Sunday morning, so I decided to take this month's Daring Baker's Challenge in a gluten free version for David.  Beauty surrounded the Daring Bakers this month as our host, Sawsan, of chef in disguise, challenged us to make beautiful, filled breads. Who knew breads could look as great as they taste?


I knew that this might really be a challenge to do with a gluten free dough since the gluten in what gives dough it's stretch.  Unfortunately, I was right!  As soon as I went to flip the dough through the center slit, it broke...every time.  I did get one triangle to look like it should.  Ha!

As far as taste, once it was heated again, it tasted pretty good.  Several of my family members tasted it and said it was pretty good.  David enjoyed it and has taken it some to work this week.  The biggest change I made to the recipe was (obviously) to change the flour to gluten free (I used an all purpose gluten free mix) and to add a little extra liquid as the gluten free flours tend to require more.

Cinnamon Sweet Bread
Dough:
1/4 cup (60 ml) warm water + about 1/2 cup water
3/4 cup (180 ml) warm milk
1 large egg
1/4 cup (60 ml) (60 gm) (2 oz) butter, softened
1/4 cup (60 ml) (50 gm) (1-3/4 oz) white sugar
1/2 teaspoon (3 gm) salt
3-1/4 cups gluten free (all-purpose) flour, approximately
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (8 gm) dry yeast

Filling:

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) (1/4 cup) (60 ml) (60 gm) (2 oz) butter
4 tablespoons (60 ml) (25 gm) (1 oz) cinnamon
1/2 cup (120 ml) (100 gm) (3-1/2 oz) sugar

For drizzling: 

glaze made with powdered sugar and water

In a bowl whisk the egg with milk, water, sugar, butter and yeast. Set aside
 
In another bowl sift the flour with the salt.  Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and knead until you get a smooth dough.

  Place the dough in a bowl you have brushed with some oil and cover it with a wet cloth and leave it in a warm place to double.  (If you are tight on time you can heat your oven to 390°F/200°C then turn it off and place your dough in a glass bowl and place it in the warm oven with the wet cloth covering the bowl)
 
After it has risen, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough into 4 parts.  Roll each part into a circle at least 20 cm (8 inch) in diameter.  I used a wooden rolling pin.  Brush the first layer with butter then sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.  Place the second layer on the first layer repeat the brushing and sprinkling and then do the same with the third layer. Top with the fourth layer, this time only brush it with butter.

 Using a knife make cuts that divide the dough circles into 8 triangles.  Make cuts that go 2/3 of the way in the middle of each triangle. The cuts should not reach the base of the triangle nor the tip as you can see in the picture  Take the tip of each triangle and insert it into the cut you made and pull it from the underside.  Arrange the triangles on your baking sheet.  Pinch the two angles at the base of the triangle together.

  Allow to rest for 15 minutes during which you would heat your oven to very hot 500°F/240°C/gas mark 9 (rack in the middle).  Bake for 5 minutes on very hot 460°F/240°C/gas mark 9, then lower the temperature to moderately hot 390°F/200°C/gas mark 6 and bake for 15-20 more minutes. When golden, remove and allow to cool.  Meanwhile, make your glaze.  After it has cooled (or better just before serving) drizzle the glaze on top.  Enjoy!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I try to bake something each week with K.  With David doing gluten-free, it means that sometimes we bake more than that.  I have actually found LOTS of good options for gluten free baking. 

Really, the biggest downside I've found for the basic baking (not sandwich bread) is the cost.  Gluten free flours are expensive and you have to have multiple types to get a better texture.  Oh, well!  Whatever I need to do for my man! :-)  These were some basic chocolate chip cookies but they turned out pretty good.  They were a little chewy and more like the soft-baked style cookie.  David really liked them and K had fun making them.

Chocolate Chip Cookies...Gluten Free from Nerd Family

Dry Ingredients
1 1/4 cups White Rice Flour
1/2 cup Sweet Rice Flour
1/4 cup Cornstarch
Wet Ingredients
3/4 cup (or 1 1/2 sticks) Softened Butter
1/4 cup White Sugar
3/4 cup Brown Sugar (packed)
2 Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 bag (about 2 cups) Chocolate Chips
Process
Cream butter then add both sugars and cream together in a consistent mixture. Then add the eggs 1 at a time, followed by the vanilla. In a separate bowl mix all the dry ingredients together with a fork. I don’t feel sifting is needed (because all the dry ingredients are already very light) but mixing them together is a must! Then slowly blend the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients by adding the dry ingredients in small batches. Due to the powder like dry ingredients, there will be a little blowing of flours no matter how careful you are. So be prepared to wipe it up when you are done;). Then blend in the chocolate chips.
You can bake these immediately at 350 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes but they tend to spread. To give these gluten free cookies a great shape and texture I recommend scooping them out and freezing them before baking them. Then you bake them frozen at 375 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes.
I make these 3 batches at a time and scoop them all out onto a cookie sheet and pop them into the freezer. Remember you don’t need to leave much space because you are freezing them and there isn’t any spread in that;). I then put them  into single baking servings  portions in quart freezer bags. I find 14 cookies are a good batch for us. Then I store them in the freezer and bake as needed.
- See more at: http://www.nerdfamily.com/delectable-gluten-free-chocolate-chip-cookies/#_a5y_p=1202264

 

1 1/4 cups White Rice Flour
1/2 cup Sweet Rice Flour
1/4 cup Cornstarch
3/4 cup (or 1 1/2 sticks) Softened Butter
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup pack brown sugar (packed)
2 Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 cups chocolate chips 

Preheat the oven to 350.  Cream butter then add both sugars and cream together in a consistent mixture. Then add the eggs 1 at a time, followed by the vanilla. In a separate bowl mix all the dry ingredients together with a fork. Blend the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients by adding the dry ingredients in small batches. Then blend in the chocolate chips.  Place on baking stone in Tablespoon sized balls.  Place stone in oven and bake for 12 to 14 minutes.  Enjoy!

Holiday Snack

Snack mixes are fun to make, especially when you are going to have people around.  My family always has "trash" at Thanksgiving.  We frequently make "Christmas Crunch" at Christmas.  Last year I made a sweet and salt Frito mix.  This year I found a new one that I thought K would like due to the marshmallows.

 It would be SO easy to change the candy you use and make it "any holiday" friendly (AND it's gluten free if you omit the pretzels!). You could add candy corn, especially since they now make it in Easter colors...maybe even Valentine, I'm not sure!  Just have fun with it and enjoy with loved ones!

Fall (Holiday) Snack Mix from Stick a Fork In It
Ingredients:
6 cups Chex or Crispix cereal
1 cup pretzels (Omit or substitute if making gluten free!)
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup Reese’s pieces or M+M’s
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup candy corn (holiday appropriate colored!)

Pre-heat the oven to 275 degrees F. Melt the butter in a large bowl, then toss together with the cereal and pretzels (if using) until evenly coated. Stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon, then toss with the cereal mixture to evenly coat. Spread the cereal mixture onto the baking pan and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Then, stir together with the Reese’s (or M&M's), candy corn and marshmallows. Enjoy!

Cookie Butter?

I'm a big fan of your basic sugar cookie, or maybe I'm just a fan of butter and sugar.  Who knows!  When I saw these yummy looking, chewy cookies on Pinterest, I immediately pinned the recipe...not knowing what "cookie butter" meant.  Oh...it's an actual ingredient!  If you have flown Delta, then you probably know what Biscoff cookies are. 

They are pretty good shortbread type cookies with an spicy (but not gingerbread spicy) taste to them.  This "cookie butter" is like peanut butter made with cookies instead of peanuts. It's actually pretty good!  Anyway, I made these cookies one day after David said they looked good.  They ended up being fairly flat but they were SO chewy and yummy.  Mmmmm, I want some now!  I would definitely recommend picking up a jar of Biscoff cookie butter and making these.  So good!

Soft Batch Cookie Butter Cookies adapted from Averie Cooks
1 large egg
1 cup creamy Cookie Butter or Biscoff Spread (the recipe will work with peanut butter as a substitute but the flavor will be totally different)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed (dark brown may be substituted)
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract (yes tablespoons, not teaspoons)
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or up to 1 cup flour as necessary, see directions below)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In the bowl of a mixer, cream together Biscoff Spread, egg, sugar, and vanilla.  Cream for about 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy. After scraping the bowl, add flour, cornstarch, cinnamon and baking soda.  Mix until incorporated.  Chill the dough for at least 1.5 hours.  Scoop onto a baking stone with a small cookie scoop (tablespoon size).  Flatten with your fingers.  Bake for about 8 minutes or until the edges have just set.  Remove stone from oven and allow to cool slightly before removing cookies from the stone.  Enjoy!

Christmas in Alabama

After our Christmas party, we went home to finish packing.  We left a little later than I wanted to but it was fine.  K slept about an hour and then played the rest of the way (including watching Mary Poppins!) without asking for a drink OR to stop to go to the bathroom.  That's FIVE hours in the car for a four-year-old.  Impressive! 

When we arrived, we had taco soup that I had brought.  Then next day, we had "Christmas" lunch and then opened presents...after K decided to wrap some "presents" of her own!

  K got some fun stuff including a drawing easel, some Twinkle toes, and a really cute bear scarf from nana. 

I got lots off my Amazon list including these SUPER cute red Tom's (that K said were her princess shoes).

 David got a nice watch, books, and a fun shirt. 

And Granddaddy got the BIG gift of the day with and iPad.  K was quite relaxed when he was opening it and said "You're going to like it...You're welcome" even though she didn't know what it was.  :-)

After a short nap we visited more.  The next day we went to church with David's family.  Before going back home, we ate at Panera bread (YUM!) with Grandmother.  K slept all the way to MS (almost 3.5 hours).  I'd say that she was a tired little puppy!  But we had a great weekend!

Jumpin' Right Back

Mid-November, my sweet baby girl had her first bout of strep throat.  The night before, she said that her tummy hurt but we figured it was just full from supper.  She woke up the next day and I rushed to get her ready for school.  After we got dressed she continued to complain about her tummy and was just more whiny than usual.  Poor baby trying to smile for the camera.

Poor thing had a fever of 101.5.  I looked at her throat and it just looked like strep.  I know it sounds awful but I was praying it was strep...that is treatable!  David said she took the shot like a champ and the nurse said she was such a big girl.  About 6 hours later she was asking to go to children's choir.  All the while, my throat was starting to hurt and I was just done with the day.  Thankfully, we are a couple of doctors and David picked up some medicine for me to start that night.  By the next day, K and I were back to our normal selves! 

YAY!  Just in time to do the next installment of Cooking by Letter!  At this point, we were still doing gluten free cooking, so I subbed out rice flour for the all purpose flour. 

The "J" recipe was "Johnny Cakes."  K thought this was great fun.  Basically, it is little cornbread pancakes.  They were really good, especially hot.  David and I had jelly on ours. 

Later that week, David a pork sandwich with the johnny cakes as the bread.  He said it was pretty good.  I'd definitely recommend trying them.  Kids would think they were so much fun.  They'd go great with soup!

Jumpin' for Johnny Cakes
1/2 cup rice (or AP) flour
1 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup hot milk

- Pour all dry ingredients into a medium bowl.
- Stir in the egg and milk.  The batter will be lumpy.
-* Heat the griddle until it is hot.

-Drop spoonfuls of batter onto the pan in half dollar sizes (I let K do this...with close supervision).
-* Flip eat cake with a spatula when edges brown.  Cook until golden.
ENJOY! 

Adding to the Menu Options

Back before Thanksgiving, we did a trial of gluten free diet.  We stopped over the holidays and about a week and a half ago have resumed this way of eating.  It really is for David, so I will continue to have some gluten containing treats on here.  However, it really hasn't been that difficult to adjust my cooking.

The biggest change at home has been lunch, though we did discover a bread recipe that makes sandwiches an option.  Changing cookies and quick breads to gluten free wasn't that difficult and most of my suppers are already gluten free.  However, it is always fun to add a new option to cooking.  So, I decided to try out this quinoa recipe.  Now, as I was cooking it, I was starting to get grumpy.  You see, I had made a tomato soup the night before, a recipe David chose (out of the options I provided)...and then he didn't like it.  As I was making this Mexican quinoa recipe, I just KNEW that neither he nor K were going to like it. It just looked funny.  Note: at this point, it SHOULD have been done cooking...but I let it cook longer. 

Thank goodness for those extra 15 minutes because the quinoa fluffed up and looked good after that.  And wouldn't you know, K asked for seconds and David took it for lunch some.  Since then, he has made the comment that quinoa isn't his "favorite" but is "doable."  I'll take that...I like quinoa.  :-)

Mexican Quinoa from Kitchen Simplicity (thought Pinterest)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed well and drained
1¼ cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 can (1½ cups) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 cup corn
cheese, for topping

Add a small bit of oil to a medium-sized pot set over medium heat. Add garlic and jalapeños; cook just until fragrant (about a minute). Add quinoa, broth, beans, tomatoes, corn, and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 25 minutes, or until quinoa is cooked and fluffy and liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat. Spoon into bowls, top with cheese, and enjoy with chips....and your family!

Honey, honey, honey!

Way back in October, K's class learned about the letter "H."  Now, at one point, K told us that she was "allergic" to jelly.  Please, fear not!  My child is NOT allergic to jelly; she just decided for some odd reason that she didn't like it. 

So, I came up with the GREAT idea to do peanut butter and honey sandwiches.  A few weeks ago, she suddenly lost her allergy to jelly and now it's okay...but she does still prefer honey.  So, I knew that she would LOVE the "H" recipe.  They were "Honey Cookies!" 

Thankfully, these didn't have any common allergens; so, I let K take them to share with her friends at school.  She was SO excited.  I think one of her favorite things is taking things to school, so this made her day!  I thought they were pretty good, too. 

Very moist and chewy in the best possible way.  Try them out!  And give some to you Honey!  ;-)  And a bonus picture of K in her hat lookin' like a "cool dude!" (her words!)

Honey Cookies
1 cup flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350. 
In a bowl, add both flours, sugar, soda, salt, cinnamon, and butter.  Mix together well with a mixer.
Add the honey and eggs.  Mix again.
Using a spoon, scoop small spoonfuls onto a baking sheet or stone.
*Place the stone in the oven and bake for 7-10 minutes or until cookies are golden.

*Adult step

Meeting Santa

The day after the neurology party, we were leaving to go to David's family's house for Christmas celebrations.  However, before we left town we had one more part to attend: the pediatric department family Christmas party. 

The special thing about this party is that Santa comes!  In the past, he has brought Mrs. Clause and the elves but they didn't come this year.  K was ready to eat when we got there (Shocker!) but we made her wait.  Then, Santa arrived! 

She was SO excited as she had been asking when she was going to meet Santa.  The first present out of the bag was for K. 

Santa knew just what she wanted...and got her a Merida bow and arrow. 

At one point, she jumped up and spontaneously ran back to Santa and gave him a hug. 

SO cute!  Then, of course, she was all about the food: chicken strips, mac and cheese, green beans and bread pudding - kid paradise.  :-)  Once we were done, we loaded up the car and made the trek to AL for the first of the family Christmas celebrations!

Party #2

The day after our Sunday School party, we were supposed to have a Christmas party with the pediatric dental folks from the hospital; we had even told K we were going.  Unfortunately, David was really tired and I was indifferent, so we ended up going home.  K was upset but got over it very quickly (I can't remember why but there was something that helped!).  The next party was my pediatric neurology party.  It was held at one of the other doc's house.  K fell asleep on the way over there but quickly bounced back and, of course, was asking for food as soon as we walked in the door!  I think hers was the first plate fixed. 

Then she proceeded to sit at this big ottoman and eat...forget that all the other kids were upstairs playing.  This girl is serious about her food, regardless of if it's pizza or raw veggies! 

Dr. Parker, Mrs. Evans and baby John Harmon watched over K.  Then I shared a cookie with my girl and she was off to play. 

We just kind of mingled the rest of the night.  Ended up with a gift card for a dinner out (YES!!!) and took some fun pictures with my love by the tree. 

K fell asleep within 5 minutes of leaving.  Hint to mamas out there - take pajamas with you, then you don't have to wake sleeping babies when you get home.  Thankfully, I had already packed for our trip to Alabama - at least for K.  We got home and I packed me and David and he loaded the car.  But, before we took off for celebration with David's family, we had one more party to attend...and K would FINALLY get to meet Santa!

Caramel Cake

What is it about the Christmas season that is so busy?!  I love it but it also just gets tiring.  The week after we got back from Thanksgiving vacation (a week away from work with a 4 year old isn't much vacation, though!) our church had its Christmas music.  I was in the praise team and had several practices.  That took up the entire week.  Somehow the next week was busy as well - I think David and I were both on call. We sang at a local event called Christmas on Ice. 

I think David worked in the ER that Saturday.  Then Sunday night, we had our first party of the month.  It was our Sunday School party.  The theme was "Team Spirit" and we were supposed to dress in our best team gear.  I don't really have any team gear...so I stole David's and K's.  Check this out: 

How awesome is my outfit...complete with hairbow and pager?! 

:-)  It was worth it...I won!  YES!  This was a pot-luck event.  I took green bean bundles, spinach salad, and white velvet caramel cake.  When I saw this cake, I KNEW that I had to make it.  OH MY!  It was SOOOO good!  The icing was wonderful, though I can't see how in the world you could ever use two batches on a single cake. 

The layers between the cake layers were somewhat thin but I don't know that a larger batch of icing could fix that.  Regardless, this was fantastic!  If you like caramel cakes you really must try this. 

The party was fun.  LOTS of food and fellowship. 

We had a dirty Santa in which we won some crawfish pies (YUM!) and a camouflage stainless steel flask (which is now no longer in our possession). Probably the best gift was the bag of two goldfish.  YES!

 We then played Pictionary and the girls totally rocked!  Can't wait for next year.

White Velvet Caramel Cake 
4 oz egg whites–room temperature
1 cup milk–divided–room temperature (I used almond milk)
2¼ tsp vanilla
3 cups sifted cake flour
1½ cup sugar
1 Tbs + 1 tsp baking powder
12 Tbs unsalted butter-room temperature
¼ tsp kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350.  In a mixer combine all the dry ingredients, and mix for about 30 seconds. Add the butter and mix until the flour gets crumbly. Stir in 1/4 cup of the milk and bring the speed to medium high and beat for about 30 seconds.  In a bowl, stir together the egg whites, remaining 3/4 cup milk and vanilla.  Add to the dry ingredients in 3 additions, scraping down the sides and beating for about 5-10 seconds after each addition. Do not over mix, but make sure it is all incorporated.  Pour into 2- round cake pans.  Smooth the batter.  

 

Place pans into the oven and bake for 35 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn over onto cooling rack and allow to cool completely.  Slice each round into two horizontally to make 4 layers total.

Caramel Icing

2 cups light brown sugar

1 stick unsalted butter

1/3 cup whole milk

2 Tbs real maple syrup

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups confectioner's sugar

Bring brown sugar, butter, milk, maple syrup and salt to a simmer.  Simmer just until the sugar is no longer grainy, don't let it boil - this takes several minutes.  Remove from heat and add vanilla, stirring constantly.  Allow to cool just slightly...so that it isn't scorching hot, but nicely warm.  Whisk in powdered sugar.  Whisk well - mind still had lumps in it. Alas!  Cool some but it should still be pourable.  Pour icing on each layer as you stack it. Once all the layers are set, pour the remaining icing over the top.  ENJOY!