Text 18173, 114 rader
Skriven 2007-07-24 11:16:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: trip 873
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The reason we were out in the land of Walton was for our
friend Ella Lou's birthday party. This was a quiet little
family thing, until her childhood buddy Patricia showed up
(I wasn't there, as we were hiding at the hotel at the time,
but I heard there were squeals and tears and stuff); then
Ella was lured to Kristen and Barry's house for a cookout -
she will never pass up a good ribeye - where she found her
daughter Wendy with her husband plus Carol and me, more
squeals and tears and stuff, then as we were sitting down
to eat, her son Kurt and other daughter Heidi arrived (delayed
because Kurt's bag had been sent to Chicago instead of XNA),
with maximal squeals and tears and stuff (either she was
really surprised or a better actress than I give her credit
for). There were ribeyes (I had about a 20 oz one, of which
I gave about 6 oz to Carol, who didn't take any with that
eventuality in mind), bratwurst, and salmon, all nicely
done and none going with the wines on offer, which were
Sauvignon Blancs. The vegetable was caprese salad, which I
excused myself from saying that the mozzarella juice had
contaminated the tomatoes too much.

The Sauvignon Blancs:

Veramonte (Chile) - aroma of citrus peel and cat pee. Acidy,
flavor congruent with the smell. Reasonably well made, I guess,
though I didn't taste enough to make a decision on anything
other than that I didn't like it.

Kenwood (California) - almost the identical aroma, so I didn't
bother trying it.

Redcliffe (Marlborough, NZ) - an almost pleasant melon citrus
aroma, just a little acid, much softer than the other two. The
flavor was citrusy and herbal with a touch of other fruits,
no renal flavor to speak of. Nonetheless, I didn't drink much
of this, pestering Barry to bring out something nice and red.

Proyecto 4 (Spain) is a mixture of Rhone and Bordeaux varietals
with a backbone of the austere Tempranillo - I found a strong
smoky aspect with a fair amount of tannin, relatively low fruit,
a lot of the taste I refer to as phenol. It went well with the
beef, though, and the supply was soon depleted. We went on to the

Rosenblum Zinfandel (California), which was very much the opposite,
with ripe plummy and raisiny fruits, detectable sugar, and a slight
candylike aspect that wasn't really unpleasant and that went well
with the Texas sheet cake (cinnamon scented chocolate).

Other desserts: Rainier cherries; raspberries; Kahlua cake (rum
cake with Kahlua and vodka).

The party went well into the evening. Around 9:30 or 10, Kurt's
luggage showed up - his metal suitcase bashed in irreparably,
thank you United Express. We beat a hasty retreat. I understand
that the luggage guys had to come back and pick the thing up so
it could be sent to L.A. for investigation and analysis.

Texas Sheet Cake
cat: dessert
yield: 1

2 c sugar
2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c cocoa
1 ts baking soda
1 ts ground cinnamon
1/2 c butter, melted
1/2 c buttermilk
1/2 c canola or other vegetable oil
1 c water
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 ts vanilla extract 
h - frosting
3 oz milk (whole, 2% or skim - doesn't matter)
1/4 c cocoa
1/2 c butter
1 lb confectioners sugar, sifted (about 4 c)
1 ts vanilla extract
1 c chopped pecans 


This cake is moist, chocolatey and altogether delicious.
It's quick to put together. You dont even have to get out
your electric mixer; you can mix up this cake by hand in
a jiffy.

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease and flour a 13x9x2" pan.

Sift the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, and cinnamon,
and set aside. Stir together the remaining ingredients.
(Since Im a chocolate freak, I use just  1/2 ts cinnamon. I
want the cinnamon flavor to come through, but only just a hint
of it. Strictly a matter of personal preference.) Mix the wet
ingredients with the dry ingredients, stirring until you have
a smooth, rather thin batter.

Pour into your prepared pan, and bake for 20-25 min, or until
a toothpick comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting.

Mix the milk and cocoa in a heavy saucepan (stir, stir, stir).
Add the butter and, over medium heat, stir until the butter
melts. Remove from heat and gradually stir in the sugar and
vanilla until smooth. Add the pecans.

When the cake is just out of the oven, spread the frosting
evenly on the hot cake.

texascooking.com

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