Girls' Night * Happy Birthday, Beth *

* Special Guests: Beth, Kelly, Christine & Libby *

Josh's Review: ~ For the Cake ~ "It's good"


Tomates A La Provencale
(Tomatoes Stuffed with Bread Crumbs, Herbs & Garlic)

This is a great appetizer! It could also be served as a first course for a dinner party in place of a salad. When hosting a party, it always makes it easier to have dishes that can be prepped ahead of time. And these stuffed tomatoes are a perfect example. The tomatoes can be cut and stuffed well before your guests arrive and only cook for about 15 minutes. The stuffing for the tomatoes include basil, parsley, shallots, garlic, olive oil and FRESH bread crumbs (I pulsed the insides of a french baguette in my food processor).  My beautiful guests loved the tomatoes. Fresh Flavors - Guilt Free. 

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Galettes Au Fromage
(Cheese Wafers)

These cheese wafers can also be prepped ahead of time.

"They may be baked, then frozen, and reheated for 5 minutes or so in a hot oven."

Butter, cheese, and a splash of flour is all you really need. Knead the ingredients together, roll a tablespoon at a time into balls, flatten them and place them on a cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes. Great as an appetizer and would also be fabulous as a soup or salad topper. 

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Reine De Saba
(Chocolate & Almond Cake)

Yummy! ... And, of course, made ahead of time! 

"Before you begin the cake Preheat the oven, prepare the cake pan as in the following directions and measure out all your ingredients. Then your batter may be prepared and baked in one, continuous operation."

Having everything ready before combining all the ingredients is so helpful and lessens the chances for mistakes and/or confusion when baking. 

"Preparing the cake pan To prepare the pan for the cake batter, rub the entire inner surface with a thin film of softened butter. Then roll flour around in the pan to cover the sides and bottom; knock out excess flour by banging the pan, upside down, on a hard surface. A light dusting of flour should adhere all over the inner surface of the pan; this will make the cake easy to unmold (remove) after baking."

What a difference this makes! I have never prepped a baking pan like this before. After the cake was done baking it popped right out of the pan without leaving behind any residue of cake! I will always prep my pans this way for baking from now on. It takes away any worries.

When I looked over the recipe for the frosting, I was a little hesitate, because it did not call for any additional sugar. Frosting without sugar? Two ounces of semi-sweet chocolate, two tablespoons of coffee and unsalted butter were all the ingredients I needed. And I have to say, that I love this frosting! With the sweetness of the cake and the dark chocolate bitter-like flavor of the frosting, it was a perfect combination.

Add a few bottles of wine and some baileys and you have a lovely girls' night! I'm so glad we could all get together - something we should definitely do more often!