In less than two hours I’ll be dining at one of DC’s best restaurants – 1789 – thanks to the generosity of Chef Dan. Based on @OneVanillaBean‘s blog post re-capping her experience the other day I know I’m in for a treat.

Here’s to Chef Dan for being so kind and a great night of dining with @Carolinefjones. Details on our meal tomorrow!

Although F&W’s cake is called Mom’s Chocolate Cake, it’s not MY mom’s chocolate cake. My mom’s cake is delicious and baked every December for my dad’s birthday. It’s similar to the F & W cake, but the cake is denser. The difference is the use of brown sugar. My cake requires a simple syrup that in turn created a thin batter.

Anyway, the real story here is the icing. In recent years my mom can no longer get the frosting for her cake to set. One year, the frosting just stopped setting. Reason unknown.

This fact made me a bit nervous about preparing my frosting. Would it set? Let’s see:

So why does my frosting work? The process is identical to my mom’s frosting. She also uses an ice bath to cool and thicken the mixture. My friend believes the secret is the salt, but both our recipes call for salt. She explained to me last night that salt sets the mixture. Who knows? I think it might have to do with the cream in my frosting.

We may never figure out why my mom’s frosting doesn’t work, but either way, I’ve decided on my own solution. My mom’s chocolate cake and F & W’s chocolate frosting. The best of both worlds.

My Mom’s Deluxe Chocolate Cake

• 3 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
• 1/3 cup water
• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup water

Stir chocolate with 1/3 cup water over low heat until melted. Cool. Cream butter andsugar until light and fluffy; add eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Blend in chocolate withmixer.
Combine flour, soda, salt. Add alternately with 1 cup water on low speed. Beat just until well blended. Pour batter into well greased and floured pans.

(2)8” pan: 35 – 40 minutes

(2)9” pans: 30 – 35 minutes

What could prompt people to audibly say something nice about metro during the morning commute? Well, sometime in the past week or so holiday decorations appeared at the station -ribbon wrapped around rails, bows, candy cane poles, and a wreath or two. But, this morning the #WMATA employees had taken it up a notch with the addition of icicle lights to the booth and MUSIC!

That’s right – I exited that station to the merry sounds of Christmas music and lights! While it’s nothing grandiose, I really appreciate the effort to spread some cheer. If I had to guess, I think it’s the fantastic WMATA employee who usually stands in front of the gates and says good morning to all the customers. She is awesome and if she is responsible for the decorations she is doubly awesome.

Does anyone else have decorations at their metro stations?

I have a carefully crafted list of creations I only prepare at this time year, including caramels, toffee, and fudge. Each of these treats requires a bit more time and attention than your average cookie or brownie that’s worth the effort when gift recipients find homemade candy inside a package.

While candy takes precision, none of these treats amount to the commitment that is the palmier. These french cookies are a rare treat among Christmas cookie spreads. Slightly crisp on the outside, flakey on the inside, palmiers melt in your mouth.

My Gingersnap Palmiers are courteous of Martha Stewart Living, December 2006. The cookies require at least three hours of prep time in the freezer once assembled, plus another 30 minutes in the freezer once on the baking sheets. Between assembling and freezing the cookies it takes two days to make them. But, I promise the extra effort comes through in every bite.

Last night we trekked it out to Merriweather Post Pavilion for Vampire Weekend. The company, tailgate, music, and atmosphere made the show one of my top concerts to date. Coming from me this a rather bold statement since I’ve seen a number of unbelievable bands live. But Vampire Weekend delivered with a non-stop, high-energy, two-hour set.

Merriweather is no Wolftrap, but at least you can tailgate in the parking lot. We brought one our traditional picnic spreads:

From Chef Val:

• White Bean Dip
• Quionia Salad

From Chef Dan:

• Mozarella, Basil, Tomato, and Prosciutto Sandwiches
• Watermelon slices with a lime mint syrup
• Choclate Chip Cookies with a hint of Cinnamon

From Bartender Jason:

• Wine x a lot

Really the only sad part of the whole affair was @Carolinefjones’ absence. Thankfully, technology rocks and I was able to UStream part of the concert. I’ll just put it out there now – the recording is um, rough. More of less the only real draw here is the fact I was able to stream from my phone. Regardless, I thought I would share anyway!

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Update: Our photo made DCist!

The September 11 Digital Archive collects, preserves, and shares the history of the 9/11 attacks and public responses to them. These types of collections are critical to remembering our history and keeping in mind those we have lost to protect our great nation.

Take a moment today to explore the collections online and reflect on the last nine years. Where were you?

Impressive and delicious, this cake is a great finish to any girls night!

After all the fuss, Earl turned out to bring perfect weather to DC for the holiday weekend. Sunny and breezy you couldn’t help but spend time outside, unless of course you decided to hold a Gilmore Girls marathon like me.

I know, I know – Why would I host a TV marathon on such a perfect weekend? Thinking Earl might ruin my pool dreams I had already set my heart on a Gilmore Girls day…

Since @Akmcquade and @Fleuredeflorida were up for the gathering, we spent Sunday drinking, dining, and watching TV.

Thankfully @Akmcquade is in love with Gilmore Girls as much as me and understands the need to watch the show for hours on end. I finally have someone who gets all my show references and doesn’t look at me like I’m crazy!

No Gilmore Girls event would be complete without a feast, so I put together the below menu (sadly no pop-tarts, pizza, or Chinese food):

• Herbed Salad with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Feta, and Pecans
• Chilled Pasta Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes, Basil, and Mozeralla
• Strawberry Layer Cake
• Pink Gin Fizzes

Everything was easy to assemble, colorful, light, and delicious. Can’t wait for our next Gilmore Girls event!

Our decision to check out North Beach hinged on two key points: 1) It’s only 45 minutes away and 2) Washingtonian recently deemed it akin to Key West. So Saturday morning we packed up the cooler, turned on a little Vampire Weekend, and headed out!

Upon arrival, it quickly became apparent that The Washingtonian had perhaps overstated the likeness of North Beach to Key West. I’m used to wide open beaches with miles of sand and waves for as far as the eye can see. North Beach consisted on two small strips of sand, rocks, trash in the water, and a teenager monitoring access to the beach.

After paying for beach passes (a first for me), we found a spot and settled in. Lucky for us we arrived early enough to spread out. For those arriving after noon the choices for parking your towel were limited. So if you ever go, go early!

Despite my beach neighbors’ incessant chattering about their desire to never work and affinity for singing along to bad R&B – the afternoon was relaxing. We had escaped the city, we could smell Bay air, and sand was under our toes.

The town was also fun to explore – we treated ourselves to Sweet Sue’s and checked out the finds at Nice and Fleazy Antiques. I fell in love with a box of wooden letter stamps and found two “V’s” to add to my initial collection. Purchasing the letters pretty much made the day a success in my book.

All in all, North Beach is nice, quick escape for the day, but certainly no beach vacation.

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And now, after watching the below video, I’m going to suggest that in Step Up 4, we have a battle of the generations.