Happy Birthday, Sis

Today is my baby sister's 37th birthday. I'm not sure if the 37 depresses her more or me more by way of the fact she's my little sister.

But aside from realizing we're sliding into middle age, her birthday is a wonderful thing. The girls had asked me a few months back if I'd help them make a cake for their mom. We decided to make it a full out lunch party.  So Jordan has been quietly arranging behind the scenes for Suzanne's boyfriend, Andrew, to make sure Suzanne was at my house at 11:30am yesterday for lunch/party.

I picked up the girls Wednesday night after I got off work at 11pm so we'd be together first thing in the morning. Well, we meant to get up early but that didn't exactly happen. Sydney passed out fairly early considering it was almost midnight before we got home, Jordan got caught up in a movie, and my nose was deep in the new Harry Potter book (fabulous!). So it was more like 10am before we were up and cooking.  Did I mention they were coming for lunch at 11:30am?

Thankfully, the cake layers were already baked. So while the Paula Deen's French Toast casserole was in the oven, the girls and I made buttercream and the they did it all.

I think they did a fantastic job. The cake is a layer of coconut sandwiched in between two layers of lemon with lemon buttercream and deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep purple fondant flowers and green leaves.

So we weren't awake yet and didn't get pics of the casserole but I do have the recipe after the jump. It was pretty popular. I'd never made anything quite like that before but it's a nice brunch dish.  We put the casserole together the night before so it was easy to slip it into the oven the next morning while we were still in our jammies.  The girls also served fresh cantalope and sausage links that they baked in the oven.

 

From bottom left:  Ann, Aunt Miranda, me, Sydney, Jordan, Andrew, and the birthday girl: Suzanne.

We all went in together and got Suzanne a family-sized crockpot that she's been needing for a while. She has a crockpot but it's too small. We knew the bigger one was a hit when Jordan said "Yay! Now when we have beans we can have ham TOO! And when we have roast we can put vegetables in with it!"

So what did I do after they left?  I was a big wuss and collapsed into the chair with an ice pack on my knee for most of the afternoon and read Harry Potter.

Yesterday was a hard-knock life but today it's back to the grind.

Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup Recipe courtesy Paula Deen 1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces) 8 large eggs 2 cups half-and-half 1 cup milk 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg Dash salt Praline Topping, recipe follows Maple syrup Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup. Praline Topping: 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1 cup chopped pecans 2 tablespoons light corn syrup 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.		Recipe Summary Difficulty: Easy Prep Time: 20 minutes Inactive Prep Time: 8 hours Cook Time: 40 minutes Yield: 6 to 8 servings User Rating:

Episode#: PA1B23
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Comments

[Katiez]

What a gorgeous cake - and fun birthday party! How nice for you to help the girls surprise their mom!
And a day with H.P. is a just reward!

[Lin]

Your cakes are incredibobble.

[Tanna]

The mix is just perfect here - connecting generations of family with food and good memories AND a good book to slip it some good feet up time.
The girls did a lovely job on the cake.

[Glenna]

Katie--Thanks! it was fun.

Lin--You're hilarious--thanks!

Tanna--I agree--family time and good book time. Perfect.