queen to 1

I was going through some pictures tonight and came across a few snapshots from Christamas 2006. Ah, how could I have forgotten. That was the year I had my family over to our new house for the big holiday and I became Martha in a whole new way.

Flash back to several years before this....

I have always, always loved Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Not necessarily loved Martha, because lets face it, those aren't all her ideas. I would get so excited to get my new copy every month. I would sit down and eagerly turn each page to see what Martha had in store for me. One particular issue showcased these awesome party cakes, however, they weren't your typical chocolate, marble, etc..... They were savory cakes. The pictures made your mouth water. They looked so pretty. I kept the issue (as I did with all my others) for that "maybe someday" dream.

I bet you're wondering what kind of cakes these were exactly....

Smoked Salmon Cake

Brie and Walnut Cake

Focaccia Cake

Sushi Cake

Well...back to Christmas 2006.

By this time, I had a lot more experience in the kitchen, and I thought...why not.

So out comes the old issue. Oh boy...new ingredients!

I found myself writing out a grocery list like no other I had before:

capers

creme fraiche

roasted red peppers

black olive tapenade

mascarpone cheese...

and on and on and on......

Then came the fun new item in my kitchen.

My FOOD PROCESSOR! I love this machine so very much!

Ok, time to get to work.

First, the Smoked Salmon Cake. I remember cutting that danged pumpernickle bread and cursing my Martha tendencies. My reward...firing up my food processor. It made easy work of creating the "frosting" for the cake. I was having so much fun!

Then, it was on to my second cake (I only made the two...I mean come on...I'm not really Martha...I don't have an entire staff standing by to aid my madness) So, I also made the Focaccia Cake. This was a lot easier. Mostly layering with very little bread mangling...I mean cutting.

Then, as if by some sort of Martha magic...Viola....party cakes that looked just like the pictures in my magazine, if not better. (yes, my arm is sore from reaching that far over my shoulder to pat myself on the back.) I must say...I even impressed myself. I had fun putting everything together and my family was very impressed, bu I'm sure the kick ass bloody mary bar might have had something to do with it too!

Here are a few pics of my "day in the life of Martha".