A First Father's Day

Although our little princess has yet to arrive, my husband has already been a wonderful father for the past nine months.  Even though we have not had the opportunity to hold her in our arms, in so many ways, my husband has stepped up to the plate and dominated his new role as a Dad. From that moment on October 17th, when I told him I was pregnant, he has done nothing but care and provide for the two of us; both on our good days and on our bad days.

He has watched as his wife has morphed into this entirely different person (two people to be exact!), he has listened to my irrational fears and dealt with a roller coaster of emotions. He has given up his clothes and has accepted that I have claimed some of his favorites as my own, and has told me over and over again that I look amazing, even though I actually look more like a whale than a woman. From day one, he has attended numerous doctors appointments (in three different states!), read through multiple baby books, played the baby name game for weeks on end, come to accept the color pink (even on Steelers and Penguins clothes) and to date has participated in 14+ hours of baby classes.

He has never once complained about our change in menu or the lack of wine at dinner. He has dealt with my aches and pains, provided numerous foot massages and comforted me when I realized that I could no longer run. He has made at least seven round trips to USA Baby, given up multiple Saturdays to pick out cribs and rocking chairs and has helped to assemble an endless number of baby items. I watched his face light up as he felt our little girl kick for the very first time and the million times since then.

He held my hair back as I embarrassingly puked over the side of a boat in front of some 30 strangers and his entire immediate family on a snorkeling trip in Hawaii last January. He convinced his friends to change the location of their boys weekend so that he wouldn't be too far away from me and then drove back early Sunday morning to check on me when I wasn't feeling well. He consoled me in the lobby of his office building as I fell apart after one particularly awful doctor's appointment. He was then my rock and comfort for the next four days, casting aside his own uncertainty, as we restlessly waited for an ultrasound that would confirm or dissipate our worst fears. He promised me over and over again that all would be ok and held my hand until the doctor reassured us that our baby was perfectly healthy.

He has dealt with me waking him up numerous times during the night because I cannot seem to find a comfortable sleeping position, nor stay asleep for very long. In the last week, he has assuaged my anxiety and reassured me that she will come, eventually, and that I will not be pregnant forever. I know he will be my strength and sanity during labor and delivery and he is the only person in the entire world I want by my side during that time.

Although he has not had the opportunity to change any dirty diapers yet, deal with 3 a.m. feedings, or endlessly play peek-a-boo, he has already become an amazing father. So on Sunday, I wanted to try and express my appreciation for all that he has done and dealt with over the last nine months and everything I know he will do in the years to come. So Sunday had to include a gift that every Dad needs: a Weber grill; and a meal that every Dad wants: steaks, potato salad, grilled corn and Blackberry Buttermilk Cake.

After surprising him with his new grill, he was put in charge of the steaks while I worked on the Blackberry cake.

I found the recipe for this cake in Bon Appetit's latest magazine which also happens to be their grilling edition (perfect for Adam's new Father's Day gift!). I started off by preparing a springform pan by lining it with parchment paper that I cut into a circle and greasing and flouring it. I've used this parchment paper technique in the past with other cakes, and it always works well. Afterwards, I lined the bottom of the pan with fresh blackberries and sprinkled them with a layer of sugar.

In a separate bowl, I sifted together 2 1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda.

In another bowl, I beat together 3/4 cup of room temperature butter and 1 3/4 cups of sugar. I continued to beat these items together until the mixture became a pale yellow color. I then incorporated 3 eggs, 2 teaspoons of vanilla and the zest of one orange.

After all of these ingredients had been fully mixed together, I alternately added in my flour mixture and 1 cup of buttermilk.

I then poured my batter over the blackberries and cooked the cake for an hour and twenty-five minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Once the cake had completely cooled, I removed it from the pan and dusted it with powdered sugar.

Meanwhile, Adam had been grilling up a storm with the steaks and the corn. I quickly prepared a light potato salad with a dijon and rosemary sauce. We then celebrated both our dads and all the other great dads and dads-to-be out there.

Now we are just waiting for our little princess to arrive. Happy Father's day to all the dads out there. And Adam, I cannot wait to see you with our baby girl. One day to go; I hope!

Is it Spring Yet?

When my husband was applying for jobs, I told him that I would go anywhere he wanted as long as it was south of our current location which at that time was South Bend, IN. Somehow he managed to accept a job in one of the only major cities north of South Bend - Milwaukee. He promised me though and stated over and over again, that the weather would be no worse, no colder and if I am not mistaken I believe he said we would experience less snow in Milwaukee than we had in past years in South Bend. I did not believe him.

Today is May 4th. We are a full month and a half into "spring," yet I wore my winter coat to work this morning and it snowed two whole days last week. When I check the forecast each morning, I find myself getting overly excited for temperatures in the 50's and not surprised at all when the high is only 42. I often point out to my husband that South Bend is consistently 10 degrees warmer than Milwaukee. Now don't get me wrong, Milwaukee is a far better city than South Bend. There is much more to do, wonderful restaurants to try out, apparently some great beers (50 more days and I can confirm that for myself!) and not a week goes by that someone doesn't tells me how amazing the summers are here. Yet somehow I find myself constantly asking "is it spring yet?"

Last week as the rain continued to fall and I was still wearing my winter sweaters I decided the only way to encourage spring to come was to start acting like it had already arrived - make a meal worthy of a beautiful spring day: beef tenderloin with mushrooms, fingerling potatoes, and a delicious carrot cake.

Beef Tenderloin:
Beef tenderloin is such a great cut of meat that you really should not have to do too much to it. I simply coated it with a bit of olive oil, and sprinkled it with rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper.

I cooked the meat at 450 degrees until it reached an internal temperature of 140 degrees. I allowed it to rest for 10 minutes before cutting into it.

Before serving the beef, I made a simple mushroom gravy by heating olive oil in a large skillet. Once warmed, I added a bit of thyme and a whole package of mushrooms and allowed the mushrooms to become tender. I then added about 1/2 cup of chicken broth as well as 1/2 cup of white wine. After bringing the gravy to a boil, I simmered the sauce until it began to reduce. From there I added a bit of corn starch mixed with water to work as a thickening agent.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes:
This is perhaps the easiest way to make potatoes and the results are amazing. It only took 3 simples steps to prepare: drizzle the potatoes with olive oil, season with rosemary, salt and pepper, bake until fully roasted.

Serve along side of the beef with mushroom gravy.

Carrot Cake:
Now as wonderful and as simple to make as that meal was, the true spring item of the night was the carrot cake. Of course, requested by my husband, this cake was moist and light and with each bite brought spring a little bit closer to Milwaukee. Here is out how you make it:

Start by greasing and flouring two round cake pans.

In a large bowl combine 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1 cup of sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon of allspice and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Whisk all ingredients together in a large bowl.

Whisk together 3 large eggs at room temperature and 2/3 cup of vegetable oil.

Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture until just combined.

Next, grate 1 and a 1/2 cups of carrots. For me this took approximately 5 carrots, but depending on the size you could need a few more or less.

Lastly, mix in the shredded carrots and 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple. The crushed pineapple adds a little extra moisture and keeps the cake fresh for longer.

Stir the batter until combined and then scrape even amounts into each cake pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Allow the cakes to cool for awhile before removing from the pans. Otherwise you risk breaking or cracking. While the cakes cool, make a simple cream cheese frosting. Start by beating together 8 ounces of cold cream cheese, 5 tablespoons of softened butter and 2 teaspoons of vanilla in a bowl.

Slowly, and only a little bit at a time, add confectioners' sugar until you have reached your desired consistency. Sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon and stir until combined.

Once your cakes are cooled, you can begin the assembly process. Take your time assembling the cake. Rushing through this process can cause broken pieces of cake in your icing. Simple place your first cake on a cake stand. Slowly spread a portion of the icing outwards. Try not to go back and forth over the same area.

Once the bottom layer is complete, gently place the second cake on top and repeat the icing process. Once the cake is fully covered, coarsely chop about a cup of walnuts and lightly press them along the edge of the cake.

Spring may be a bit delayed this year, but in the meantime we can at least enjoy a meal worthy of a beautiful spring day. Although I will probably continue to ask and wonder if it is spring yet (or if it will ever arrive), I am happy to know that with each passing day we are getting closer and closer to summer. And this summer will bring me the greatest gift of all - Baby Fischer! I hope she likes carrot cake.

Something with Pumpkin for My Valentine

It was five years ago that I made my then boyfriend, now husband, pumpkin cookies. I think at the time he was a little skeptical of what pumpkin was doing in a cookie. Apparently, up until that point in his life, pumpkin came out only once a year and in the form of a pie, never a cookie (unless of course it was a pumpkin for carving). He tried my pumpkin cookies though, and after just one bite declared his love for those pumpkin cookies, crowned them King of all cookies and now request them throughout the year regardless of the number of months that separate us from Thanksgiving. Five years ago, I had no idea that I had created a monster, a pumpkin loving monster, who over and over again request “something with pumpkin” whenever I ask him what he would like for a particular occasion.  

As Valentine's Day rolled around this year, I knew I wanted to make him a very special meal, one that would show just how much I love him and how thankful I am that he is my Valentine, not just on February 14th, but every day of the year. But when I asked him if he had any special request for his Valentine’s Day dinner the only thing I got out of him was “something with pumpkin.” No decadent chocolate soufflé, no chocolate candies in the shape of hearts, nothing that had anything to do with romance, love or anything Valentine’s Day related. He wanted pumpkin. I should have suspected as much seeing as how on his last birthday he did the same thing and requested a Pumpkin Cake rather than a traditional birthday cake (darn those pumpkin cookies). But no, I was caught off guard once again and needed to come up with “something with pumpkin” that was worthy to follow the beef tenderloin with red wine mushroom sauce, mushroom risotto, broccoli and rosemary bread dinner that I had planned for that evening. 

We didn’t need another course added to our meal, so pumpkin soup was a no go. I was already planning on mushroom risotto, so pumpkin risotto wouldn’t work. Dessert was the only course remaining that I could squeeze in something pumpkin. I couldn’t make pumpkin cookies though, they were already made too often and just not elegant or special enough for this occasion, no matter how tasty they were. Pumpkin Pie was out of the question, it just didn’t feel right. I had already made Pumpkin Cake with Maple Frosting for his birthday and really did not feel like repeating myself. So in desperation I turned to my favorite culinary reads and once again was not let down. Fine Cooking provided me with the perfect “something with pumpkin” recipe that was elegant, simple to make and added the perfect touch to our Valentine's Day's meal: Pumpkin Cake with Sage. 


I started off by combining all of the dry ingredients into one bowl: flour, baking powder, ground ginger and salt.

Next, I melted a stick and a half of butter and freshly chopped sage in a small sauce pan.

Once the butter mixture had cooled, I combined it with a cup of sugar, a cup of brown sugar, fresh pumpkin puree, 3 eggs and a splash of vanilla. 

Next, I gradually added in the flour mixture and stirred until combined.

Finally, I scrapped the batter into a greased bundt cake pan and baked at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. 

Once the cake had cooled, I removed it from the pan and decorated with with fresh leaves of sage. 

Although completely unexpected, this "something with pumpkin" was a great addition to our Valentine's Day. I had been worried that a pumpkin dessert would not be special enough on the day ruled by chocolate and I really wanted to make the perfect dinner for my very deserving husband. So as he took his first bite, I watched in great anticipation. My Valentine fell in love though and said it was even better than his pumpkin birthday cake. He is somehow already trying to determine when he can request this cake again... Memorial Day, 4th of July, some random day in March? In the meantime though, he has plenty of leftovers to keep this Valentine's Day going for the rest of the week. 

Happy Valentine's Day to all! And to my Valentine, thank you for being mine. 

Birthday Celebration

We celebrated the husband's birthday last week and as tradition goes, he picked the meal of his choice - with no vetoes from me. Throughout the year, he often requests certain dishes that result in disappointed, and even quizzical looks from me. Sometimes his request are granted, others, not so much. Although he does select many of our meals (think various pots 'o meat, meatballs, meatloaf, roast beef, brisket, barbecue pulled pork, etc - are you seeing a trend here?) birthday dinners are usually more extravagant and include higher quality cuts of meat or fishes, nice wines and elegant cakes. In past years, his birthday dinners have consisted of filet mignon, beef tenderloin with mushroom gravy, twice baked potatoes, mushroom risotto, glazed carrots, chocolate ganache cake, coconut cake and various pies.  This year his selection, true to form, was all boy: Chicken Pot Pie and Pumpkin Cake. So in honor of his 26th, I attempted my first ever Chicken Pot Pie.


Having never made a Chicken Pot Pie, I skimmed a few recipes, but could not find one that met my exact expectations. With a few ideas in mind I got to work. I started off by sautéing half an onion in a bit of olive oil until fragrant. 

Next I chopped and added 3 stalks of celery to the pan and allowed them to soften for several minutes.

Once the celery had softened a bit, I add roughly 3/4-1 cup of flour and allowed the flour to heat up in the pan for a minute or two. Once warmed, I scrapped the pan loosening any scraps before adding in my liquids. 

Next, I added in the liquids: approximately 2 cups of chicken stock and about 1/2 cup of white wine and mixed the ingredients together until thick and creamy in consistency.

Once I had the right consistency, it was time to add in 1/2 cup of low-fat milk as well as 2 large chicken breasts which I had chopped earlier. I allowed the chicken to cook in the pan for about 5-7 minutes.

Once the chicken was cooked through, it was time to add all of my chopped vegetables: carrots, peas and corn. I used 4-5 large carrots, 1 cup of peas and 1 cup of corn. Feel free to include as many vegetables as you would like. It is a great way to bulk up the meal and keep it healthy. Finally, I seasoned the dish with freshly cracked black pepper, a bit of salt, and a touch of paprika. 

I cooked the mixture on the stove for a few more minutes allowing the vegetables to heat up. Once this was complete, I poured the entire mixture into a glass pan to finish off in the oven.

I have seen several other cooks make Chicken Pot Pie with biscuits on top rather than in the tradition flaky crust. The birthday boy was all for this idea, so rather than whip up a pie crust, I topped my mixture with biscuits and threw it into a preheated oven 35 - 40 minutes or just until the biscuits were golden brown and the mixture was bubbling. (Note: if the biscuits are beginning to brown before the pot pie is ready, cover the pan with tin foil to avoid burning the biscuits and continue cooking until done.)

When reheating any leftovers, you can do so in a sauce pan on the stove. Feel free to add more flour or chicken stock if necessary.

While the Pot Pie was cooking, I got to work on the Pumpkin Cake. I had recently found a recipe for Pumpkin Cake at The Spice House, a wonderful spice store that I could spend far too much money in if allowed. Their recipe seemed like just the one to finish off the birthday dinner.

First, mix white sugar, brown sugar and eggs together in one bowl.

Next, add in pumpkin and oil and mix until just combined.

Lastly, add in white flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice. 

Pour into a greased cake pan and cook at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes or until done. 

The cream cheese frosting for this recipe called for Brandy. I did not have Brandy on hand, so I substituted a little Cognac instead. Here is how:

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth.

Add in a few tablespoons of pure maple and 1 tablespoon of Cognac. Although the recipe did not call for it, I also added in a bit of cinnamon. Lastly, add in powdered sugar until the frosting is thick and spreadable. 

Once the cake has cooled, top with the frosting and celebrate another great year!

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband!