The dinner turned out just fine with no major mishaps. The stand-out dish without a doubt was the Triple-Layer Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting which you can find here. I did, as the recipe says, grate the carrots on the smallest side of a box grater. I did not have a comparable attachment for my food processor and I believe that it made all the difference. The consistency of the carrots post-grating was similar to canned pumpkin, so the cake was incredibly smooth and rich. The recipe says that 1lb. of carrots will equal about three cups. This is a complete and total bold faced lie, or was in my case; I needed 2lbs. Carrot cake in my book is only a vehicle for cream cheese frosting anyway, so the extra layer made it a total home run. I had it for breakfast the next day.
We copied the Brussels sprout salad from a dish that we had at the Mixx here in Kansas City. You can vary it to your taste, sprouts, arugula, cranberries, almonds, bacon*, shaved parmesan with honey mustard dressing. The Brussels sprouts are raw. Yep, raw and delicious. Trim the bottom and separate so they are basically leaves. Bill did julienne (right?) them a little. I’d be careful with the sprout/arugula ratio as ours seemed a little arugula heavy. Better yet, eat in or carry out from the Mixx.
*Mr. Sulzberger, you are welcome to order yours without bacon.
Mmmmm Your carrot cake looks delish! I agree with your statement regarding cream cheese frosting Patricia.
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
Your carrot cake, my favorite, look divine!! Glad I don't have leftovers of that in my house!
Anything with arugula, I adore including Brussel sprouts. The Mixx recipe sounds perfect. I usually sautée bacon until crisp and then add sprout leaves [separated the same way] and mix-in until bright green, and then add a tiny bit of white wine vinegar. I love the idea of eating raw leaves in this recipe. ; )
That would have made me happy.
Hi Patricia, The carrot cake (my favorite) looks divine–what is your recipe for the frosting? Why would anyone doubt that cream cheese frosting is the best part of the cake?/ Thanks. Mary
That cake simply jumps off the page and onto my waistline, but hey it's virtual, right? Sounds like a great dinner. Share the rest of the menu if you will.
I have also found that one needs more grated carrots than the cake receipe generally calls for. Now tell us how bruised your hand is from all that grating.
Looks delish!
-linda,ny
gorgeousness. love your blog. just stumbled upon it. i'll be back. xo, annette http://www.820am.blogspot.com