An Easter Bonnet Can Tame the Wildest Hare

Or chicken, I guess.

So, Easter came and went with much hullabaloo.  The flyskim in-laws were in-town from California to spend the holiday, and they split their stay between our house and Mr. flyskim's sister's house, 12 blocks away.  This means that the kitchen remodel was put on hold (we got all of the cabinet doors back up and the new light fixture installed!) while they visited and we recovered.  Work starts in earnest again tomorrow after we get the car DEQ'd.  Sewing was also on hold because Mr. flyskim and I slept in the sewing room (it doubles at the guest room and while it's okay for the flyskim dad, I am not putting my mother-in-law up there with the cat boxes).  So what did happen?  Baking.

So, just a little out of focus.

As I may or may not have mentioned before, Mr. flyskim's family is orthodox Christian (Serbian to be exact), and this year, Serbian Easter and regular Easter fell on the same date.  His family has a reunion each year at Serbian Easter.  The location changes each year, and the number of people who attend depends on where it's being held.  This year, the party was up here in Portland, and because most of Mr. flyskim's family is in California, our group was rather small, about 25 people.  I made Almond Cake  with fresh raspberries.

This is the easiest cake ever (one bowl, one pan, no frosting or prepping of ingredients other than measuring) and one of the most versatile.  I made the same cake last Christmas Eve and served it with almond ice cream and chocolate and butterscotch sauces.  It can even be made a day or two ahead because it's even better if it's had some time to sit.  Just don't put any fruit or other toppings on it until you're ready to serve.  Oh, and it's pretty tasty, too.  The only reason that there was any left was because (1) I made another dessert; and (2) Despite my being the person designated to bring dessert, no fewer than three other people also brought multiple desserts.  More on that later.

Raspberry bread pudding with a vanilla cream sauce.  This was good, and it got rave reviews from the family, but I'm not super-satisfied with it.  It's the first time I've made a bread pudding, and it was apparent to me that I've got a few kinks to work out of the next one.  I used the wrong kind of bread, so the egg/cream mixture didn't fully soak into the crust.  I'd also prefer to find a recipe that doesn't use nearly two quarts (that's right, quarts) of heavy cream between the pudding and the sauce.  Maybe with a bourbon sauce next time.  Also, I didn't really love the raspberries. 

Be warned, I'm going to vent a little.  As I mentioned above, three other people brought desserts that we didn't plan for.  We had a grand total of seven desserts.  For 25 people.  That's like 8-10 servings for each person.  Every dessert except for mine was store bought, not home made.  And not from a good bakery, either.  From a local market with a mass-market set-up.  I love to bake, so I get the desire to whip up something that you ordinarily wouldn't make at home, and I'll never turn my nose up at a store-bought birthday cake (frosting = yuuummm!!!).  But I don't understand why someone would bring a last-minute, tacked-on dessert to a family event that they know is not being widely attended without checking to see if it was needed.  Were they expecting the hosts not to have planned something ahead of time?  (With Mr. flyskim's cousins that's always a possibility.)  Were they thinking that there would be nothing good?  (Also a possibility.)  Did they not want to bring wine (which would not have been turned away no matter how much wine showed up.)  But again, perhaps they should have asked and then they all wouldn't have had to take mostly untouched cakes and cupcakes home.  I suppose that I should be comforted by the fact that the only desserts that dents were made into were mine, but it's the principle.

And one last item.  Last night, in honor of the Royal Wedding, I made scones.  I use a mix.  Don't judge me.  Fisher brand is my favorite.  The scones from this mix are not too sweet (there's little worse in scones than a piece of cake masquerading as one), wonderfully moist and only need water to put together.  I threw in some chopped dried cherries and slivered almonds and replaced a little of the water with vanilla and almond extracts.

You knead these a little, divide them into three equal rounds and cut them into quarters before baking.  The box makes 12, and they're quite tasty, particularly when still warm.  I like them with jam.

So, scones to warm a cold morning, and we've had plenty of those here lately.  Cold mornings, not scones.  Oh well.  I'm going to use the rest of my afternoon off to get back to my dress-in-progress.  It's supposed to hit 75 degrees next week, and I'll want a new dress to show the warm weather how happy I am to see it.  Oh, and speaking of dresses?

Just stunning.

Yes, I took the day off for this.  Don't judge me.