Today is Granddaughter #2's birthday. As of 5 p.m. yesterday, there had been no word of a birthday party.
Part of the reason for this may be that her father was diagnosed with COVID early this week. He has been fever-free for several days, but there are others in the house who may/may not be contagious. Or it may be that #2, a young teen, is, like, totally OVER birthday parties at which aging grandparents and younger cousins are typically the only guests.
If there had been a birthday party, we would have to have shown up without her present. I ordered her some earrings over a week ago. They have not arrived, and although I received an email two days ago that said the earrings have been shipped, there is ZERO information about their whereabouts at the "track my package" link.
So, no party, and no present from us ON THE DAY.
Sad. Probably sadder for me than for the birthday girl.
Nevertheless, yesterday afternoon, I texted my daughter-in-law to ask if #2 wants a birthday cake. Already in my pantry was a box of devil's food cake mix, and I had the eggs and sugar and vanilla necessary for 7-minute frosting. I wouldn't even have to go to the store.
"She said she'd love one," my D-I-L replied.
When I asked if a devil's food cake with 7-minute frosting would suffice, the reply was, "She said she doesn't like chocolate cake."
Knowing #2, she was probably holding out for an Orange Crush Cake, which she has requested for her past few birthdays.
I am sick of making Orange Crush Cakes. Although it would require a trip to the grocery store, I said I'd see if I could find my recipe for Key Lime Cake.
I could not find the recipe (which I was almost certain was hand-written on the back page of an old cookbook), but I found one online and went to the grocery store for the ingredients. They had no key limes or key lime juice. Regular old lime juice would have to do. I bought enough limes to squeeze out the necessary 1/4 cup of juice.
I came straight home and made the cake layers. They came out of the pans without sticking, thanks to parchment paper linings in the bottoms of the pans, and are wrapped up on the kitchen table, awaiting frosting.
Bonus: there was enough extra lime juice to produce home-made margaritas once the baking was done. ;)
This morning, butter and cream cheese are softening on salad plates on the back porch. Frosting coming up!
I'm not sure that we will even go in the house when we deliver the cake and the promise of a present. Covid is sneaky, and everybody in the house may be contagious without knowing it. The Husband has an appointment next week that he cannot miss, and he doesn't need to catch a bug right now. So we may ring the doorbell, hand off the cake, blow kisses, and run, and may repeat the process when the birthday present finally arrives.
* * * * * * * *
Before I stirred up the birthday cake, I made a dip recipe that I'd somehow run across while searching for the cake recipe. It is a baked Vidalia onion dip. Here's the recipe, with my tweaks:
1 Vidalia onion, chopped and sauteed in a bit of butter or olive oil
2 cloves of garlic (I used 3), added to onions just before they come off the stove
8 oz of cream cheese, softened
1 cup of shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I used Pepper Jack)
1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
Chopped parsley to taste
1/2 cup of chopped cooked bacon (can use it as a topping, but I stirred mine right into the dip)
(The official recipe left out the bacon but added chopped pecans or crumbled crackers as a topping.)
Stir everything together well and spoon into a casserole dish. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until bubbly. Serve with crackers (or whatever).
YUM! I had it on toast for breakfast this morning. ;)
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