neighborhood dinner at our house

Saturday morning (5/26) Michael left early for golf (and eventually came home with an 83!!!) and I managed to get a chocolate cake baked before my knitting students came.  We had a really great 2 hour session, and when they left I got back to cleaning.  Once I was done, it was time to layer and frost the cake.  This was a new recipe for a chocolate cake and the minute it came out of the oven, I already liked it better than any others I have.  I am tired of making layer cakes that when you stack them, look no higher than a sheet cake!!!  This completely filled 2 of my 9” pans, and rose beautifully.  When Inez was visiting, I made a vanilla frosting that was supposedly ‘the best frosting ever’….it was terrible.  I’m sure part of the problem was that I didn’t constantly stir the milk…but that’s neither here nor there….Inez was totally not impressed with it.  She said she needed to send me her ‘mock whipped cream frosting’ recipe that she used the entire time she was making and selling cakes.  She sent it; I saved it and promptly forgot I had it.  So….I’ve got another one of those ‘the best frosting I ever ate recipes, and I’m formatting it in WORD and getting ready to make it….when I remember Inez’s recipe.  I decide that I am an idiot if I try another recipe from the internet before trying hers….so I run downstairs to print it off.  I decided to make a double batch to make sure I have enough frosting….OMG!!!!  I couldn’t believe I had to wait until the guests arrived to TASTE the cake…the frosting was SO GOOD!!!!!  Anyway, I got the cake stacked and frosted:

and continued on to make rolls and deviled eggs.  A bunch of our neighbors came over at 5:30 for a Memorial weekend kick-off dinner!  The eleven of us managed to fit around the table with our plates frull of sweet potato casserole, spinach/strawberry salad, potato salad, rolls, deviled eggs (notice the hand made pottery deviled egg holder):

ham and a fruit platter.  Everything was so incredibly good!  After dinner most of the guests ended up out on the deck, checking out our garden:

Walt, Ken and Bryce

a very pretty trio of Ginny, Ann Mary and Anne



And finally we have Judith checking out the ever clowning around Jim!

For dessert we had a fabulous fruit trifle:

and the afore mentioned cake (wich was also a prototype for my birthday cake....it passed!!!!):

It was a great party and we’re really glad we decided to invite people over for the beginning of the holiday weekend.