I don’t have that much to tell you tonight, really. I admit it freely. Because, you see, I’ve been busy since I got home tonight.

First, I had to bake a cake. My aunt and cousin are coming to visit tomorrow, the first time I’ll have seen them since my uncle died in April. Mom’s going to make a pot roast (a nice, easy meal that tastes good, looks impressive, and is yet not difficult) but, naturally, we had to have dessert to offer them.

I thought about a “Grandma Cake,” the family tradition, the one everyone thinks of first when you say “cake.” (That’s my Grandmother’s recipe, yellow butter cake, chocolate frosting, classic yet unique.) But we had that for my birthday, we’re having it again in two weeks for Dad’s, so . . . I made a Pecan Cake, instead. (Edited to add the recipe, below.) This is my own creation, and is inspired by those cookies-of-many-names. Russian Tea Cakes. Mexican Wedding Cakes. (My sister’s family calls them Pecan Presents, because my nephew couldn’t say “crescents” when he was little.) Basically, those rich little nut cookies–round or crescent-shaped–rolled in powdered sugar. You know the ones I mean. Now, picture that as a cake. Pecan cake with fluffy white frosting. That’s what I made.

  But of course, this was after a full day at work. So I was kind of tired to begin with. And then we had a late (for us) supper tonight because Mom went into New York to see “Peter Pan” with my sister and niece. (Oh yeah, I cooked supper, too–ours as well as a potful of food for Chappy. And I balanced my checkbook, too.) By the time I’d showered and finished frosting the cake, I wasn’t up to large amounts of knitting . . . though I did get some done. Here’s a look into my knitting bag as of right now. Top left is the completed back to my sweater. Top right is the Jaywalker sock. Across the middle is the pattern for the sweater in its shiny protective cover. At the bottom is the start of the left front of the sweater–I’m on row 16 out of about 70.

While knitting, Mom and I watched the pilot of Remington Steele. She gave me season 2 on DVD for Christmas, not realizing that I didn’t have season 1 yet. So I bought a copy of that–because, well, you have to start at the beginning! I used to love that show. I wanted to be Laura Holt–loved her hair, her hats, her clothes. Her VW Rabbit convertible (before they were Cabrios). Her loft. Her posture, her way of holding herself, of talking. And then, of course, Pierce Brosnan as Remington Steele . . . delectable combination. I think this was one of the first TV shows that Mom let me stay up past 10:00 for when I was in high school. We’re obviously on a 1980s TV roll, because last night we watched a perfectly hilarious episode of Due South . . .anyone else enjoy that show, too? With the Canadian Mountie trying to make his way in Chicago?

  But really, what I want to do is get back to my book. Volume Three of “Fitzwilliam Darcy, A Gentleman.” by Pamela Aidan. This is the last of a trilogy that tells the story of “Pride & Prejudice” from Mr. Darcy’s point of view, and really, does a great job with it. “Pride & Prejudice” is one of my all-time favorite books (I think I mentioned that last month, just before I went to see the movie), and this is one of the few “sequels” I’ve read that is even close to the original. Oh, the author may not be as good as Jane Austen, but she does a fine job looking at the events from Mr. Darcy’s point of view . . . even if the side-trip in the second book (between his leaving Bingley in London and going to Rosings) is kind of unnecessary, adding a bunch of characters I didn’t think were at all necessary. One of the “cute” touches? While doing his Christmas shopping for his sister, he picks up a copy of a new book by an anonymous author . . . called “Sense and Sensibility.” (Yeah, I know.)

Anyway. It’s good, and I’ve been looking forward to reading this one for months–ever since finishing the second, actually–so . . . um . . . I think this entry is long enough for tonight. Bye!

Oh, one more thing–if you haven’t yet, be sure to go vote for your favorite Knitting blog. (I’m not on the list, so it’s okay for me to encourage you over there.)

Pecan Cake

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
• 1 1/4 cup sugar, separated
• 4 eggs, separated
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cup finely chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9″ cake tins.

First, beat the egg whites in a clean bowl, slowly adding in 1/4 cup of sugar, and beating until they form stiff peaks. Put aside.

Sift together the salt, baking powder, and flour.

Cream the butter with the remaining 1 cup of sugar, then beat in the egg yolks one at a time. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, and beat until blended. Add in the vanilla and the pecans.

By hand, with a spatula, stir in about 1/3 of the egg whites. The batter will be very dense–this will help lighten it. Then, carefully fold in the rest of the egg whites, being careful to keep them as light as possible.

Divide the batter into the two prepared baking pans and bake at 350-degrees until golden brown, about 30 minutes. (Though, honestly, I never time things when I bake–I just keep an eye on them so this is just an estimate!)

Cool on a rack, and when completely cool, frost with vanilla buttercream icing.

Tags: Baking, Family, General, Knitting/Spinning // 5 Comments »