Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for my KitchenAid Mixer, canned pumpkin and all my loved ones. I wish you all a wonderful holiday!

A cake Carrie Bradshaw would approve of:

For my 25th birthday I decided to have a cocktail party with a small group of friends. As I planned the party, I couldn't stop thinking about the Sex and the City gals and their obsession with cosmopolitans. So I decided to make my own version of a cosmopolitan....cake!
Layers of pink vanilla buttermilk cake surround a sweet, yet tart, cranberry cream filling made with fresh cranberry puree, lime, and Sky vodka. Perhaps a slice of cake can be the new cocktail?

Zucchini and Chickpea Filo Pie

I had wanted to make this recipe since I got "How to be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking" for my birthday in 2005. Finally this weekend I decided that the time had come. I had never worked with filo dough before. It was a little difficult to get out of the package (I didn't make my own...even Nigella Lawson encourages using the store bought stuff) without tearing but everything worked out great.

First gently fry diced onion and cumin seeds in olive oil until the onion is soft. Then add turmeric and ground coriander. I used ground coriander seed.

I then diced the zucchini and added them to the onion and cooked until the zucchini was soft but still held its shape.

In goes the basmati rice and stock is slowly added. When all the liquid was absorbed I added chickpeas and took it off the heat.











Meanwhile, while the rice was cooking, I prepared a springform pan with layers of filo dough and melted butter. Then I added the slightly cooled filling and scrunched layers of filo on top as a covering.











After 15 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees, out came a golden pie which both looked and tasted delicious.