It has been a long time, much longer than I intended to go before writing another post. It started out trying to just write while I am at home and not at work. As you can tell that was not successful. Staring at a computer for 9 hours a day and then sitting down at another one once the kids are in bed is not my idea of relaxation. And it is all about me don't ya know. Due to my complete lack of ambition to keep my butt off the couch after 9 and ending a decade long battle with insomnia; it looks like I will be toning up my toggling skills and perfecting my hearing to be almost bat like (wait are they deaf or blind?) to covertly post during the work day.

But I have been busy. I made two of the most wonderful cakes EVER. A three layer pistachio chocolate ganache cake for my mother's birthday and a three layer lemon-raspberry chocolate ganache for my husband's 4oth birthday. They turned out fabulous!!

Each layer had a layer of marzipan and in the case of the pistachio, apricot preserves and the lemon, raspberry preserves. I even made the decorations out of marzipan. I'm crafty. They were not hard to make just a little time consuming. I will be posting the recipe and the how to for the Lemon Raspberry cake because I totally had to figure out the recipe on my very own. And it turned out phenomenal! I got the idea here at Smitten Kitchen.

I also made a great chipolte potato salad that was the hit of our cookout last weekend. No eggs and hardly any mayonnaise made it perfect for vegetarians, kids, and my husband who gags at anything white. We HE also smoked a brisket in the new smoker the kids gave him for Father's Day. Super good. I used a marinade I saw on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and it was so moist but with a little kick. On Father's day we had beef tenderloin that I marinated in Jack Daniels and Soy Sauce. TD put a rub on the beef and cooked it on the grill. So good.

Looks like with just the above recipe sharing I have a plethora of posts. Plus with all the monotony excitement in my life I will be returning with a vengeance. Did you know that when you reach your 100th post you are suppose to do a "100 Things About Me" post? I am almost there. If I was to psycho-analyze me I would bet that is why I haven't been posting, the pressure to reveal myself is looming.