Oh Cake: family

The last several weeks have been ~~a crazy hot mess~~ a period of intense reflection for me as we prepare to leave our beloved North End apartment and move into a home on the South Shore. Between all of the legal and financial issues with buying a home (hello new bills!), the home improvement projects (yes, there is paint in my hair), and the exhaustion of actually packing up and moving (excuse me while I sit in the corner and cry) there is also the excitement of a new place (with a yard! and a garage! and laundry... actually INSIDE the same building!) as well as the nostalgia of the time spent in the old place.

The steeple of Old North Church seen from the harbor

For those of you who aren't local to Boston the North End is the oldest neighborhood in the city. It was once home to Cotton Mather (famous for his role in the Salem Witch Trials) and Paul Revere. We live down the street from Christ Church, commonly referred to as Old North Church and which schoolchildren know as the "one if by land, two if by sea" church. I love this neighborhood. But there are no yards here, which Thom desperately wants, and anyway we can't afford to buy property in the heart of downtown Boston.

August is always a big month for me so it makes sense that we've moving into our first home now. My birthday is in August; I moved to Italy the August after I graduated from college; Thom's birthday is also in August and so is our anniversary. In fact, our anniversary is today - August 15th.

As Shakespeare wrote, "the course of true love never did run smooth;" and although we have certainly weathered our share of stormy seas Thom and I are at our best near the water. We live three blocks from the city waterfront and have some of our best talks while walking along the harbor. Our vacations together are always to some coastal locale and we were married in a beautiful location north of Boston with a view of the ocean two years ago today.

Photo by M. Lovett; reprinted with permission

Recently I was invited to join the Boston Bloggers group on an Odyssey cruise*. You might think I jumped at the chance because hello - it's the Odyssey! - but it meant so much more to me than that.

Two years prior to the happy photo above I moved out of Massachusetts. At the time I thought I would never return to Boston except as a visitor. Just before leaving Thom took me on a Spirit of Boston Sunset Cruise for my birthday. We didn't know what would happen to our relationship with me moving away (but we both suspected this was the end) so we went all out. Champagne, dancing, enjoying the view from the ship and basking in memories of our time spent together in Boston. And now here was an opportunity to take another cruise as we left Boston once more - this time together.

The cruise exceeded my expectations in every way. I met some wonderful food bloggers including Leah (she was a winner at the Bacon Takedown!) and her husband from the Boston Family Foodie, sisters Brittany and Alicia from Tapped in Boston, and Cristin and her husband Merrick from The Four Seasonings. And really, when you get a bunch of people together who share a common love of their city and food you're bound to have a good time.

Thom and I briefly debated about whether or not to get the Odyssey highball glasses to take home but decided with the impending move to keep things simple. It sounds kind of cheesy, but four years earlier our sunset cruise came with souvenir glasses. Thom kept those glasses for all the time we were apart as a reminder of that night and now I use them as props for food blogging so we thought it would be fun to continue the tradition (next time, right?) Everything comes full circle with us. Down the hatch!

Peach Melba Daiquiri

As much as I love food, service is vastly more important to me when I go out to eat. Some of my favorite places are loved more for the service and atmosphere than for the food. I will never darken the doorstep again of a great restaurant if the service is sub-par. I have worked in the service sector and I know how challenging the average customer is (really, some people should just stay home) so I genuinely appreciate those individuals who go above and beyond to make me feel as welcome as if I were their favorite customer. Our waiter Drew was one such individual. He knew when to be present and when to leave us to enjoy ourselves. He answered our questions and found answers for us when he wasn't sure. If you're about to embark on an Odyssey cruise - ask to sit in Drew's section. Bonus - he knows which wines to pair with the meals.

One of the things Thom and I have in common is our great love of food. The first time he made me dinner he cooked risotto. Since then I know he is feeling full of love whenever he says, "honey? Want me to make you a risotto?" I used to suggest we share things at restaurants so we could try different dishes but I have since learned it is better to just order what you really want (hence the Great Hazelnut Mousse Debate of 2006 - wait - that was in August too! See? Big month). So we both had the Mushroom Braised Short Ribs. I found the food on the Odyssey to be better than what I remember from the Spirit of Boston cruise but somewhat over-seasoned. For someone like Thom, whose blood is part sea salt, it was fine. For me it was a touch on the salty side. Short ribs are ubiquitous in the restaurant world these days for good reason. When done right they are damn tasty. Let's just say I am very happy I didn't have to share my portion of short ribs with my meat and potatoes vacuum of a husband. Mmm... I could go for another plate of them right now.

When not at the table enjoying our new friends Thom and I spent most of our time outside enjoying the view of Boston and the city's historic landmarks such as the Bunker Hill Monument and the USS Constititution, known as Old Ironsides for her ability to withstand canon fire during the War of 1812. Have I mentioned I love this city?

We also spent time reminiscing about our time together living in the heart of Boston and making plans for our little house, fifteen miles to the south. We are older (and look it!) but no less goofy for each other than we were on our first cruise together four years earlier.

Fortunately we came back inside in time for dessert and a spin on the dance floor. I don't think Thom will ever dance again as much as he did on our wedding (which was a special request from me) but he generally obliges for a couple of songs. And really, there was red velvet cake waiting. How can you pass up red velvet cake? C'mon, it was gorgeous - look!

We ended the evening heading home to our little apartment as a light drizzle began to fall. I love Boston and I am sad to leave the city but I have a feeling this won't be the end for us here in downtown. After all, it wasn't the end of our Boston story when I left four years ago. No, I think Thom and I are just getting warmed up.

* I received two complimentary tickets for this event. I was not asked to write a review. All opinions are my own.

This eight layer coconut lemon cake with raspberries and toasted coconut is a birthday cake to end all birthday cakes. A behemoth of a cake that took nearly all day to make but was the birthday present in itself. My sister-in-law loves coconut cake. Last year for her birthday I made a chocolate cake with orange marmalade filling and a coconut frosting. It wasn't one of my best. This year, I decided to make the biggest, bestest, tastiest, moistest, most coconutty cake possible. Behold! The Eight Layer Coconut Lemon Cake!

Several days before Andrea's birthday I sent her about three emails with various options for coconut cake pairings. I wasn't able to procure passion fruit, which was our combined first choice; I couldn't get coconut-chai out of my head so I made this Chai Almond Cake with Toasted Coconut Buttercream for a dinner at my mother's house the day before Andrea's birthday. Seriously. Baking cakes for days and days. And I'm surprised there's too much buttercream around my middle layer? Oouf. Or should I say oeuf? Heehee... just a little French baking humor.

Right. Back to the cakes. Mmm... cake. Andrea's close second choice was a coconut lemon cake and so this is what happened...