Smoked Gouda, Apple, and Bacon Melt

Since this is a week of my favorite things, it could not be complete with out something made with cheese - smoked gouda to be exact.  You see, I love cheese.  Some of my favorite cheeses are creamy blue cambozola, hard and earthy moliterno, and brown Norwegian gjetost.  All of these cheeses are relatively common, but I also love to go to cheese shops and try out something new.  But the cheese I really can't resist?  Smoked gouda.  I can't get enough of the soft texture and the slight smoky flavor.  I often cut it into cubes and take it to work for lunch or for a snack on the weekend, and I have also made an amazing mac and cheese with it (maybe I will post that here soon!).  


Recently, my local Henry's Farmers Market was selling smoked gouda that was sliced for sandwiches.  Whoa!  I was all over that, and I might have bought quite a bit... Which is fine, because that meant I could make all sorts of things with my favorite cheese.       

For a weekend lunch, I decided I felt like having grilled cheese.  I picked up some fresh sourdough bread, opened my fridge to get out the sliced gouda... and also saw that I had beautiful green apples in the fridge.  The wheels started turning in my head, and I thought the apples would be a tart and crunchy counterpoint to the creamy gouda.  

Old-Fashioned Birthday Cake

It's my birthday... 

let's celebrate!!!  

In case it is not painfully obvious already, I LOVE celebrating special occasions. And why not?  Shouldn't we take time to have a little fun now and then?  And when it comes to our birthdays, we should absolutely celebrate and value our lives. I can definitely say I have enjoyed my life to the fullest this last year, and I intend to do the same in the year to come.  Oh sure, the year wasn't perfect, but neither am I.  All I can ask for is to live a happy life, to do what I love, and to be surrounded by people that I cherish.  

Oh, and to eat.  

So in the interest of letting my perfectionist self have a little rest, put my feet up, and enjoy a slice of cake today, I am just going to be short and sweet here:  I made an old-fashioned birthday cake and I loved it.  

This is the type of cake that my mother might have made for me as a child, and I would have ended up with robin's egg blue icing all around my mouth as I ate it.  Even though I am an adult now, this type of cake still has an undeniable appeal to me, and I predictably still ended up getting icing everywhere.  (And I am not ashamed to admit it.)  This cake is perfect in its simplicity, with basic white cake layers with pure vanilla flavor, and vanilla buttercream and icing that you can tint any color your heart desires.  There are aren't really any major bells and whistles, with the exception of edible gold stars that I couldn't resist putting on the cake to add a little sparkle.

Maybe I made this cake because it is a throw-back to younger years, or because I just wanted something that felt like home.  Who knows, but what I can say is that this cake was just plain fun, I felt all giddy just looking at it, and the taste was exactly what I wanted.  So if that doesn't describe a perfect birthday cake, then I don't know what does.  

Thanks for celebrating with me, and I hope when your birthday comes around that your cake makes you feel giddy too.  Enjoy the photos!              

Vanilla buttercream frosting, that I tinted robin's egg blue.   Love this color.

And yes... It is the color of Tiffanys. 

Adding buttercream frosting between the layers of white cake.

Smoothing out the sides for a crumb coat.

Berry Frozen Yogurt with Lemon Sugar and Lavender Cream, and Chobani Greek Yogurt Giveaway

If you were to ask me - what food turns a bad day into a good day? - I would immediately respond with two answers: either Starbucks or frozen yogurt.  It seems my days are turned around by extremes of either hot or cold.  Now, I fully realize that neither a latte nor a frozen treat is really considered a 'food,' but that doesn't stop me from soothing myself with either after a particularly long and trying day.  Actually, there is not much that will deter me from getting a latte or a frozen yogurt any day.  In case you haven't realized it, I like to treat myself to my favorite things as often as I possibly can.  Does this make me spoiled?

Spoiled or not, I love frozen yogurt, but actually I just love yogurt... period.  Especially Greek yogurt, I literally cannot get enough; in fact, my co-workers used to make fun of me because they seemed to think all I ate was yogurt!  (No, this was not some sort of strange diet, I just love taking yogurt to work for lunch.)  Well, the joke is on them, because Greek yogurt is healthy and tastes incredible so they are really the ones missing out.  I love to eat plain yogurt topped with sliced almonds and fruit, drizzled with a little honey, or I swirl in a little jam or lemon curd to jazz it up. 

I think I got addicted to frozen yogurt (and Starbucks for that matter...) after moving out to California and trying frozen yogurt from Golden Spoon, and then I fed my habit by visiting every other fro-yo spot within a 10-mile radius of my apartment.  Most places had every flavor imaginable, from coconut to rootbeer to taro, but my go-to choices were always the fresh fruit flavors.  I tend to love more tropical fruits like mangoes or papayas, but a good strawberry, blackberry, or raspberry is simply incomparable. 

Spicy Ginger Citrus Cocktail, with Kale Chips

When I was in San Francisco last fall for Foodbuzz Festival, I went with some of my best buds to Cantina for pre-party drinks.  The evening was predictably chilly, but a little cold weather will never stop lovely ladies from wearing their best party dresses.  So naturally, when we were huddled over the drink menu perusing the options, I was craving something with a little warmth.  I didn't want an actual hot beverage, but something with a little spice... some kick that would warm me from the inside-out.  As luck would have it, my eyes landed on the Laughing Buddha: hangar one buddha’s hand vodka, lime, crushed ginger & serrano chiles, ginger brew.

Yes, that was the drink I wanted.

It was cool and spicy all at the same time, but best part was that there was a distinct spice from the ginger and ginger brew that was totally different than the heat from the serrano chile.  The chile was like an aftershock of warmth that surprised you with each sip.  It was amazing, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since.       

After the new year, I decided I needed to stop thinking about this cocktail and try to recreate it at home.  Being a cocktail beginner, I wasn't totally sure about two of the ingredients - the buddha's hand vodka, and the ginger brew - so I did a little researching on the internet.  Turns out the buddha's hand vodka is made with none other Buddha's Hand citrus (surprise, surprise), which has an appearance that is both intriguing and terrifying, but a taste that is extremely fragrant.  Next, I found that the ginger brew is an all-natural soda made with roots and spices.  Fantastic!  The ginger brew that seemed to be the most popular was REED's, and I thrilled to discover that I could pick some up at my local Henry's.    

Mediterranean Pasta with Hummus and Charred Tomatoes

I make cookies and cakes for my co-worker's birthdays.  I fry chicken and make coleslaw because it is Labor Day.  I stop at Golden Spoon on my way home from work because I accomplished a goal.  I create beautiful trifles for bridal showers, and pressed sandwiches for picnics with friends.  I make myself a white chocolate latte (with foam of course) every Sunday, just because it is the weekend and I deserve it.  I am the type of person who loves to celebrate both the little and big things in life, and I always want to celebrate them with food.  

So you can imagine, that when there is an real occasion to celebrate, that I love to go all out.  And...since it is my birthday this week, I don't see any reason why I shouldn't celebrate EVERYDAY!  Don't you agree???  (If you don't agree, just please politely leave this page and refrain from raining on my parade.  It's my birthday and I will eat if I want to.)  

I will be celebrating here on The Cilantropist ALL WEEK with a new post each day from today through next Sunday.  I will share a breakfast dish, a quick and easy lunch, main dishes, sweets and treats, and even a cocktail!  And of course, we can't forget the birthday cake... And the best part is that all these dishes feature my favorite foods, because if you can't have your favorite foods for your birthday, when can you have them?  Aside from the actual food, I will be guest posting on the Chobani site, I will have a CSN giveaway, and share my 100th post.  This will week will be jam packed, so I hope you are excited!!!

Chocolate and Salted Caramel Birthday Layer Cake

So before I tell you about this luscious chocolate layer cake, I just want to mention that today marks opening day for voting in Project Food Blog 2010!  Don't have any clue what I am talking about?  You can find some info here, and also see my profile by clicking on the cute little widget with my cute little picture that is over on the sidebar (or here).  In a nutshell, 2,000+ bloggers will compete in a series of challenges to determine who is the next food blog star.  Oh yeah, and that person will win $10,000.  A minor detail of course.  Since I am participating (and fiercely competitive), I would love your support and your votes!  I really hope you enjoyed reading my first entry and you can vote for me using this link, just click the heart!  Also, on the voting page you can share my entry on Facebook or Twitter.  Isn't technology these days wonderful?    

And now, without further ado... On to the birthday festivities!  

I am a little late in posting this cake, since I made it August for my good friends Jenn and Jill.  They both have birthdays within weeks of each other, although Jill is a Leo and Jenn is a Virgo.  (I am sure you were dying to know that.)  I thought about having a separate birthday celebration for each of them, but then it seemed like too much to take on, even for me, especially considering I was making a second layer cake that same weekend.  So, to properly celebrate both their birthdays, I decided I would make them a spectacular cake that was just to their liking. 

I already had a good idea about the kinds of flavors that were their favorites, but to be absolutely sure, I asked them in advance while we chatting online what kind of cake they would like.  This is what they said: