Sunday, September 30, 2012

Day Two Hundred Seven: It's a (Really Ugly) Wrap!

After all the sweets the last few days, I decided to make something healthy on Saturday.  I had some quinoa in the pantry and so I searched MarthaStewart.com for a new quinoa recipe.  I found Martha's recipe for a Tuna and Quinoa Wrap, which mixes tuna, quinoa and greek yogurt. What's not to like?  It sounded good, so I gave it a try.  

The recipe is nothing more than making the quinoa, mixing the tuna, greek yogurt and spices, and throwing it all on a wrap.   Super-simple.  I realized, however, this was not going to be a winner when I went to take a photo of the wrap.  

It's, uh....ugly.

My husband walked by as I was taking this and laughed.  He mocked my efforts to make this ugly ducking look mouth-watering.  I'd like to say that it tasted better than it looked....but it didn't.  It was pretty much inedible.  I tossed it all and ate a brownie for dinner instead.

It's hard for me to look at this photo. :ashamed:

Day Two Hundred Six: Heavenly Fudgy Chocolate Brownies

I've been looking through Martha's Baking Handbook lately.  It has so much good info.  If you like to bake, you should get it.  :official plug:  Or, you can do what I did:  hint around to your mother that you'd like her copy, since she doesn't use it anyway. (Thanks, mom.)   Friday I decided to try a recipe from that book: Martha's Fudgy Chocolate Brownies.  These are super-dense brownies....and boy, are they good.

The recipe is super-easy, so no drama or almost-ruined pots to report.  Besides the baking pan, you can make this recipe in one bowl...which was good for me since I was still scrubbing out the pot from Thursday.

Check out the brownie in this photo.  Look at the middle.  It's so dense, it's almost like eating a piece of fudge.

Heavenly.

Day Two Hundred Five: Banana-Rama Banana-Carmel Cake


Thursday I made Martha's Banana-Caramel Cake (Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, p. 157) for my book club.  (Please forgive me: I couldn't find her recipe online. The closest thing I found was her Caramel Cake.)   

If you like banana bread, you'll like this recipe.  If you ever daydream of Bananas Foster, you'll love this recipe....because this cake is basically two layers of banana-bread cake with a layer of Bananas Foster in the middle (minus the rum) and a layer of icing on top....drizzled with caramel.   Oh yes.  

This is the first layer of cake with the caramelized bananas on top:

Everything went smoothly until I made the caramel to drizzle on top of the cake. I'm not sure exactly when wrong, but my caramel sauce basically turned into rock candy.  The caramel was so hard I almost threw away the pot it was cooked in.  The wooden spoon was actually cemented to the pot.

I'm not exaggerating.   I had to soak both for a day before either came apart.

Since I had used the last of my heavy cream for the caramel, I dug through my refrigerator and found this:

Hallelujah!  Thank you Hershey.

My cake (with cheating caramel sauce): 

It was tremendously good, although I forgot to mention the cheating to my book club.  I  got side-tracked by the important Book Club discussion on which television shows we DVR.

Forgive me, ladies?

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Day Two Hundred Four: Sugar Pie Honey Buns


My mother-in-law makes the best cinnamon rolls in the world.  She does.  Trust me.  Forget those things you buy in the mall.  If an international award for cinnamon rolls existed, she would win it.  She has perfected her recipe over the course of many years, starting before she gave birth to my husband.  She probably practiced kneading dough as a toddler.

My husband and I have tried to make cinnamon rolls many times.  They usually turn out pretty good but hardly comparable to "The Cinnamon Rolls" as they are known in my house.  I've given up.  

Since I can't possibly compare with The Cinnamon Rolls, I decided to try Martha's Honey Buns.  They look sort of like cinnamon rolls, but with honey.  And, since I've nothing to compare them with, I'm thinking I'll be pretty satisfied with the results. (Low expectations are important here.)

First you make the dough, which is key to a tasty bun.  This dough was kneaded mostly by my mixer's dough hook, which you can borrow if you want to go as Captain Hook for Halloween:

This is my dough fully kneaded, ready for rising:

I have to say I was pretty happy with this dough.  It looked fabulous.  It had great potential.  It was a thing of beauty.  

Give the dough an hour to rise and it should double in size.  Mine performed beautifully.  I was so proud of my dough I almost took a photo and sent it to Martha herself.

Martha calls for the dough to be divided into three balls.  Seriously, my dough is so awesome.  I'm pretty confident even my Mother-in-law would agree.  Look at that:

This is probably the first time I've ever made dough that part of it didn't stick to the counter.  I did a little dance around my kitchen when I was able to roll it out with ease:

 Brush with honey and top with filling, then roll it up:

Pour the honey mixture into the pan, then put the sliced rolls, face down into the pan.  My slices look like I cut them with a butter knife, but hey: 

But after the dough rose again, they looked better:

And then it happened:  the school called.  My youngest daughter wasn't feeling well and I had to take her to the doctor.  Also, it was nearly time to pick up my two oldest children from school.  My plan was this:  throw the honey buns in the oven, pick up sick kid, run to pick up the older kids from school, and then run home to take the buns out of the oven before heading to the doctor with all three. 

It was a solid plan.

After picking up all three kids, I ran home.  (No traffic!  No train!  Hurrah!!)  When I opened the back door, however, smoke poured out of the house. The honey topping had bubbled over and had smoked up the whole house.  My buns and glorious dough:

This is a really sad photo with the topping having frozen mid-drip:


The good thing is that the honey buns were still edible.  The bad thing is that they were terrible.  

Now:  I really like sweets.  There are few things that I have ever found too sweet for my tastes.  That being admitted, these honey buns are too sweet.  Once they cooled, the caramel/honey topping hardens into a taffy-like consistency that your dentist will have a hard time removing.  It was sort of like chewing on sticky honeycomb, which later hardens into rubber cement.

It was all very sad. But at least my daughter is feeling better.  

I still have two rolls of (beautiful!) dough that I will use for something else. Maybe I'll throw down some cinnamon and sugar and give my mother-in-law a run for her money.  In fact, I'm going to call her and throw down the cinnamon-roll gauntlet....after about fifty or sixty years of practice.  

I may have a very good chance of winning by then, given that she'd be about one hundred and twenty years old. 

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Day Two Hundred Three: Shake It Up, Baby!

Sometimes you have to shake things up.  Do it a little different.  Like your classic grilled ham and cheese sandwich:  It's a favorite at our house, even if my middle daughter picks the ham out every time.  Martha shakes it up with her Grilled Ham and Cheese with Pear.


"With pear?' you say.  Yes, pears.  It's a tasty combo, and pears are pretty much at the bottom of my Fruit-I-Love List...right above coconuts, which really shouldn't be considered a fruit at all, in my opinion. *
* Technically a coconut is a fruit, a nut AND a seed.  Google said so.  

If I had served these pears alone, my children would not have touched them.  As it was, the pear sort of looks like white cheese, so they gobbled it up before they even realized it.  :So sly:  Mrs. Seinfeld has nothing on me.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Day Two Hundred Two: Quickie-Pasta Dinner

A few days ago I happened upon a whole slew of dinner recipes that Martha claims you can make in fifteen minutes.  Unconvinced they could  a) be made in fifteen minutes, and/or  b) be any good, I decided to try one:  Martha's Beef Tortellini with Arugula and Sun-Dried Tomatoes.  It starts by boiling frozen (or fresh) tortellini and sun-dried tomatoes.  When those are cooked, just drain and toss back into the pot with some butter and arugula ("rocket" to you Brits).  And your done.

:pause for effect:

No really....that's it.

So to review, you have a meal in the time it takes to boil water and melt a couple tablespoons of butter. And it's really good.  Because of this meal, my husband actually called me a "goddess".  It's true.  I can't promise the same for you, but it's a safe bet your significant other will be impressed.  I think my neighborhood Italian restaurant sells this dish for $16 a plate.  It's good-enough-for-company good.

You should make this dish and impress your friends and family.  Don't tell them it only took fifteen minutes.  I won't tell.  (This post is just between you and me.)  

Monday, September 24, 2012

Day Two Hundred One: Last-Minute Salad

Yesterday we had a last-minute guest for dinner.  I'm always happy to have guests, but sometimes the contents of my refrigerator don't reflect that sentiment.  For instance, yesterday I was running low on fresh vegetables.  I had a bunch of bell peppers, some carrots and just enough salad greens for one person.  Random.  Luckily Martha came to my rescue with her Layered Summer Salad.  (I know I bid Summer farewell several days ago, but this was an emergency.)  

Do you have any kitchen tools that are supposed to make your meal preparation quick, but ultimately end up making it longer?  My mandolin is like that. I tried to use it to chop up all the vegetables, but evidentially it was on strike.  It shredded my peppers and mangled my carrots. It refused to cut any ingredients; and, the only thing it sliced was my finger.  

Stupid mandolin.

So instead of taking five minutes to cut all the ingredients, it took me about thirty....and that includes the time it took me to hunt down a bandage for my finger. 

But the salad is really very pretty.  Martha suggests that it's a great salad to bring to a party.  It's very refreshing.  I put my five salad leaves in the middle, just to add a little green. 


Now I'm off to negotiate terms with my mandolin.  Maybe it will come back to work for me.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Day Two Hundred: Play Date Ice Cream

Yesterday my son had a "play date" with a friend. A "play date" is very much like a a real "date", except instead of dinner and a movie, it was snack and swimming.  And, neither boy had to shave his legs beforehand.  To add to the boys' fun, I made Martha's Strawberry Ice Cream

This is a great ice cream. It's creamy and there are big chunks of strawberries inside. According to my son, the  presence of these strawberries makes this dish exceptionally healthy.  He was very adamant and I'm pretty sure his friend bought it.  I'll have to explain to his mother later.

This is a sad, sad, picture of my delicious ice cream: 

p.s.  Can you believe we've made it to Day Two Hundred?

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Day One Hundred Ninety Nine: Lazy Hostess Dip

I saw Martha's Chunky Avocado and Feta Dip and I had to try it.  Not because the only ingredients are avocado, feta, red pepper, scallion and dill.  But because the only direction reads:  stir together all the ingredients.

And you're done. 

That is an appetizer for a lazy hostess, a.k.a. Me, today.

p.s.  This dip is really good.  It's sort of an Mediterranean version of guacamole.

Day One Hundred Ninety Eight: Crunchy Caramelized-Shallot Soup

In the October issue of Martha Stewart Living, there is a recipe for Caramelized-Shallot Soup.  Shallots are the cuter, milder version of onions.  Caramelizing anything is delicious. Caramelizing shallots raises them to almost heavenly levels.  In fact, I'm pretty sure if God ate soup, it would be something with caramelized shallots.


This recipe has an interesting twist: on top of the traditional gruyere cheese, it's garnished with toasted chestnuts.

Now, I like all sorts of nuts.  I like chestnuts.  But eating crunchy soup is not something I can recommend.  It tastes great. But soup, by it's very nature, should not be something that requires a lot of chewing.

Period.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Day One Hundred Ninety Seven: Sayonara, Summer

Dear Summer,

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.  The weather is starting to cool and I'm more than ready to see you go.  I'm ready to welcome my old friend Autumn.  You're great, Summer, really...but I've had enough of your hot days and humid weather.  I have boots in my closet that are missing me.

It's not you, it's me.

Yes, I bought a bunch of gourds and pumpkins yesterday.  And some bittersweet branches.  I made Martha's Fall Centerpiece and (I don't mean to rub it in) I love it.  I even threw in some antlers my friend Ed found in the woods.





I do hope you'll come back to visit....next year when my thighs are pasty-white, and my sandals and linen dresses are calling my name...I'll be happy to see you.

Until then, so long, Summer.

xo

MRS

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Day One Hundred Ninety Six: Someone's Favorite Apple Tart

Yesterday Martha featured her Individual Cinnamon-Apple Tart on the homepage of MarthaStewart.com.  Apple pie has been my husband's favorite dessert since childhood, so I thought I would try the recipe.  The crust is made with pizza dough--either homemade or the stuff you buy from the grocery.  I bought mine from the grocery, so I started with this:

I cut the apples and my son used his amazing stirring abilities to mix everything together.  He even helped lay the apples on the dough.  Pop it in the oven for thirty minutes and you have this delicious apple tart:

Unfortunately, when I told my husband I had made his favorite dessert he responded, "Oh! You made bread pudding?"

Apparently bread pudding is now his favorite dessert.

Who are you and what did you do with my husband?

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Day One Hundred Ninety Five: Movin' On Up

For the last few years, I have been living my cosmetic life out of this adorable bag my sister-in-law bought for me:

Every morning, I would pull my makeup out of this bag, then put it back in when I was finished.  It occurred to me that I was living like a homeless person. (Albeit a stylish-preppy homeless person.)  I'm not sure why I kept doing this, when I have a perfectly good, and nearly empty, drawer available to me.

And so I moved in, Martha-style, with wooden Drawer Dividers.

 :Insert The Jeffersons theme song:

Monday, September 17, 2012

Day One Hundred Ninety Four: Fairly Smelly Fairy Tales

A Fairy Tale for you:

Once upon a time there was a New House.  In that New House lived a Leaky Sink.  The Leaky Sink made the Cabinet wet.  The Owner of the New House was so happy in the New House that she didn't notice the Leaky Sink or the Wet Cabinet.  That made the Leaky Sink and the Wet Cabinet sad.  One day the Owner discovered the Leaky Sink and fixed it.  She dried the Wet Cabinet and everyone was happy...except the Wet Cabinet...Because, after the Wet Cabinet dried, it started to smell musty.  The Owner noticed the musty smell and tried to fix it, but the Wet Cabinet still smelled musty. This made the Owner sad.

One day the Owner's Fairy Godmother, Martha Stewart, came to help.  She told the Owner how to clean the Wet Cabinet so the musty smell would go away.  Fairy Godmother Martha told the Owner to fill a container with vinegar, seal, then punch holes in the top.  She told her to put the container inside the Wet Cabinet overnight and the musty smell would go away.  The Owner did exactly what her Fairy Godmother told her to do, and when she woke up the next morning, the musty smell was gone.


THE END.

That was a true story.  No really, it was.

Day One Hundred Ninety Three: Here, Fishy Fishy

I bought my three-year old daughter a fish on Friday.  This is her second pet fish attempt since we found her first fish floating a few weeks ago. She was not at all bothered at the passing of Fish #1.  Her new fish is named Prince Charming.

That info is part of a greater story.  Bear with me.....

After I made that salmon the other day, we had plenty of leftovers.  I decided to use them in Martha's Salmon Cakes.  You could use any fish or shellfish for this recipe, and you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry.  (No really, you probably do.)  My three-year old daughter helped me make these...and by "help" I mean stood next to me and asked repeatedly what I was making.

Her:  Mom, what are you making?
Me:  I'm making Salmon Cakes, sweetie.
Her:  Salmon Cakes?  What are you putting in that bowl?
Me:  It's breadcrumbs.
Her:  Breadcrumbs? What are you making?
Me:  Salmon Cakes.  They are like little hamburgers made from fish.
Her:  :studies bowl:  Hey! Why are you putting an egg in there?
Me:  The egg helps everything stick together.
Her: What you making?
Me: Salmon cakes, sweetie.  Salmon cakes.


I didn't think anything I said had registered with her.  When I dropped her off at school, however, her teacher asked what she did this weekend.  My daughter responded that she:
1) Got a new pet fish,
2) Her pet fish died, and
3) She made "fish burgers".

I'm pretty sure Prince Charming just became dinner.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Day One Hundred Ninety Two: Black Bean Soup and Wine

There is a chain of restaurants in my town that sells Black Bean Soup.  I can't resist ordering it every time I lunch there with my girlfriends.  I'm sure they are wondering why I love it.  :looking at you Kristi and Laura:  Frankly, it looks like dog food... but Holy Cow! It is good.

I decided to try my own version yesterday, so I chose Martha's Spicy Black Bean Soup.  Beware:  this recipe starts with the actual dried beans that require overnight soaking.  If you are looking for a simpler version, this one starts with beans from a can.

After soaking these beans all day, the recipe is surprisingly simple to make.  If you are hanging around the house, say, waiting for the cable guy to show up, this is a great recipe.  It doesn't take much "active" time, but it does cook for about two hours.  Despite the time, you'll be happy to find that this soup is low-cal, high in fiber and low-fat. It is also delicious with a glass of Fume Blanc.

I checked.  Just for you.  

That's how much I love you.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Day One Hundred Ninety One: I-think-this-is-Healthy Salmon

Yesterday I was craving salmon.  I love it.  In my daughter's opinion, there isn't enough pink food.  I can't disagree with her.

So last night I made Martha's Salmon with Tarragon-Yogurt Sauce.  The fish is quick to cook and the sauce is a snap.  The whole thing was made in fifteen minutes, I swear.  If you are a fan of Greek food, this sauce is similar to tzatziki, but won't take you all day to make.  I used fat-free Greek yogurt, so I'm pretty sure this qualifies as a low-cal dish. :I play a nutritionist on t.v.:  My hips are happy this morning.

Salmon brushed with yogurt sauce:
De-lish.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Day One Hundred Ninety: Slow and Steady Rot Roast

Today was a total nightmare.  It was one of those days where I hardly sat down, much less sat down to eat.  I knew it was going to be a crazy day, so I planned ahead and made Martha's Slow-Cooker Pot Roast.

I know. I know:  pot roast isn't very exciting...especially when made in a slow-cooker.  A slow-cooker is the appliance version of your grandmother's girdle.  But it's hard to go wrong when you cook a piece of meat for ten hours in its own juice.  My ten-month old daughter was even able to eat some...and she only has a four teeth.


Did I mention it also rained cats and dogs?  There is nothing better than arriving home, feeling (and looking) like a drowned rat, greeted by your warm, already cooked dinner.    



Ah........If you looked up "comfort food", next to the definition would be that picture.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Day One Hundred Eighty Nine: Not Just for Breakfast Cookies

A few weeks ago, I made some Oatmeal Toffee Cookies and joked that because there was oatmeal in them, I could serve them to my kids for breakfast.  (Joke!) After that, one of my friends pointed out that Martha actually has a recipe for Breakfast Cookies.  Of course, I had to try them.

These cookies are packed with nuts, fruit, seeds and oats.  They are topped with a banana chip. (That's a dried banana slice, if you were curious.)  Since my son has a nut allergy, I omitted the nuts, but BOY are these good.  They are chewy and sweet and they just feel wholesome.  Forget breakfast.  These babies are stars at any time of day.

(I wrote the above before I uploaded the photos below.  Please ignore the fact that each of these cookies looks like a little boob with a banana nipple.)



I'll never look at breakfast the same way again.

Day One Hundred Eighty Eight: Muffins for Swingers

I have friends who are Cereal Monogamists.  (Not Serial Monogamists.  What kind of blog do you think this is?)  Cereal Monogamists.  They eat cereal for breakfast every morning.  Every.  Morning.  Maybe you are a Toast Monogamist.  Me, I am a swinger of sorts:  I usually eat a piece of fruit for breakfast, but sometimes, just to spice things up, I'll have yogurt and granola.  I'm such a wild woman, I know.  

 Yesterday, just as an experiment, I made Martha's Chunky Apple Muffins.  They look good and kid-friendly.  Like peanut butter and jelly, they combine a classic combo: cinnamon and tart Granny Smith apples.  Yum.


These were easy and turned out great.  The kids got a kick out of the slice of apple baked on top.  My husband ate three five.   He's pretty wild too. 

Monday, September 10, 2012

Day One Hundred Eighty Seven: Fraternizing with the Vegetables

Other than sweets, desserts or candy, there are a few things my children will eat without comment or complaint:  chicken, pasta, corn, fruit, broccoli, rice, yogurt, cheese and bread.  If served on a plate, however,  each food must be treated like a prison visitation:  no touching.  No mingling.

But when I saw Martha's recipe for Orzo with Chicken, Corn and Green Beans, I thought I would give it a try.  The kids love these things separately.  Would I be able promote some food fraternization?  That was the question.

This recipe was super easy to make.  I used a grocery-cooked rotisserie chicken, so I didn't even have to cook the chicken beforehand.  It only took about 20 minutes to make and here's what it looked like:

When presented with this bowl, my kids initially started to complain:  Yuck!  It's all mixed up!  My daughter actually started to separate the food into little groups. I oh-so-sweetly reminded them that they liked everything in the bowl.  That didn't help.  Then I oh-so-impatiently informed them that the food gets all mixed up in your tummy anyway.  My son was amused by the thought and quickly got over his issues.  Seeing that her brother had broken rank and abandoned her, my daughter grudgingly proceeded to eat...but only one group at a time: first she ate all the chicken, then the corn, then the orzo.

Divide and conquer. It works with your children too.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Day One Hundred Eighty Six: Unbelievable Wrap

Yesterday was a gorgeous day here in my neck of the woods.  Unlike Martha, I don't require my guests to wake up for a 5 a.m. hike.  (I was up at 5 a.m. with my children, but that's another story.)  Some of our guests slept in (lucky souls) and had a late breakfast, so around noon I made Martha's Spinach and Artichoke Wraps as a snack.  Wraps are highly underrated.  I don't know why we don't eat wraps more often.  These wraps are a meal of the best kind:  easy to make and delicious.  Just layer provolone cheese, spinach, artichokes and bell peppers on a sandwich wrap:

(I was a cheater and used the roasted red peppers you buy in a jar, which was a solid substitution.)

I cut these into smaller wraps and secured with toothpicks.  They were a great (and pretty) way to tide us over until dinner.  These were so good, some of my guests didn't believe I made them.  Luckily, I had eyewitness testimony and these photos as evidence.  (Where's the faith, people?)                                                            

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Day One Hundred Eighty Five: Disappearing Shrimp Dip

Last night some special guests arrived for a weekend stay.  These people happen to be some of my oldest and dearest friends who have had the occasion to know me through all sorts of bad hair and unfortunate boyfriend choices.  As an appetizer before dinner I made Martha's Herbed Shrimp Dip.   I had approximately two minutes between kid drop-off/grocery/cleaners/meeting/kid pick-up to throw this dip together.  Luckily it only takes a few minutes the whip up plus 30 minutes to chill.

I thought the dip was pretty darn good.  I think my guests liked it too.  My evidence:  the dip disappeared even before I had to refill any wine glasses.




Thursday, September 6, 2012

Day One Hundred and Eighty Four: Chicken Lickin' Good

My kids adore chicken tenders.  Chicken nuggets.  Whatever you call them.  If I let them, they would eat those breaded chicken bits five times a week.  Unfortunately most chicken nuggets are the poultry version of hot dogs:  all the leftover bits mashed together.  As a result, I go out of my way to buy the actual breaded chicken breasts.     

But why buy when you can make it at home?  (Famous last words?) Today I decided to try Martha's Chicken Tenders with Creamy Honey Mustard.  They are breaded with egg and Rice Krispie cereal.  Yes, the stuff you use to make those marshmallow treats.  Snap, Crackle and Pop made an appearance today.  


These homemade nuggets are delicious and easy to make but I'm not a convert.  They were good, but not as good as the breaded chicken breasts I buy at the store.  The honey mustard sauce, however, was a blockbuster.   My daughter kept licking it off her chicken...until I removed it from the table.  

Finger lickin' good?  No, but it was Chicken lickin' good. 

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Day One Hundred Eighty Three: Happy Half-iversary!

It's hard to believe that this blog is SIX months old today.  I'm half finished with my crazy commitment to try one Martha task a day, and you are half finished reading about it.  Well done, you.  I'm a little astonished that I've been doing this for six weeks.  Fact of Life:  Time flies when you are busy as hell having fun.  To mark the occasion, I made Martha's Birthday Cake.  This cake was conceived and baked for Martha's birthday and it's a beauty:

My kids have been bugging me to make this cake for months now.  They spotted it in one of Martha's baking books and it's become a bit of an obsession.  It's actually a dome-shaped cake with a layer of buttercream filling, a layer of apricot filling and a meringue topping.   I'll give you a moment to savor the visual.

This is my dome-shaped cake.  It's a standard cake baked with cake flour, but mixed with eight whipped egg whites, so it's super-light.  It's like cake-flavored mousse.

Martha cuts the cake into four layers, but given my past problems with cake leveling, I thought three levels would be challenge enough.   According to Martha, an easy way to cut cake layers is to insert toothpicks into the cake, and use them as a guide for your serrated knife.  Like so:

This was a nifty trick and totally worked.  I felt like a layer-cutting rock star. :air guitar:  This is two layers with a layer of meringue buttercream in between:

The second layer is topped with a layer of apricot filling:
 And finally the dome top:

Did I mention every layer is brushed with Amaretto simple syrup?  It's delicious.  :sigh:

The finished layers are topped with a thin layer of meringue buttercream icing:

All these egg whites and meringue mean that there were lots of egg yolks left.  This is my glass of leftover egg yolks:

Pretty gross, actually.

After that, I piped meringue stars all over the cake...one by one....

About a year half-hour later, my cake was complete:



My cake doesn't look quite as perky as Martha's cake.  I'm not sure why, and I don't care.  It's still amazing, and amazingly good.

Happy Half-iversary!