Decadent Phourth

Happy Independence Day!  I am sitting here on the couch, drinking an Arnold Palmer, flat exhausted from the long weekend.

It was worth it.

Saturday I made this cake:

Isn't it pretty?  I don't often make cakes anymore, and I most certainly don't have the time to decorate like I used to, but we had friends stop by on their way home from Tombstone, and since we rarely see them (they live in Lake Havasu City), I wanted to make sure that we had a nice afternoon.
Thus, after lunching at San Tan Brewing Company, I proudly served my little white cake.
Or...

I was so happy to stumble across this flag cake idea at Glorious Treats.  I did use a red velvet cake for the red striping as opposed to using white cake for all and using red food coloring (I did, of course, have to do that for the blue, as I have yet to find a blue velvet...).  With the cream cheese icing, I thought that the addition of the red velvet was definitely repeatable.  I sent part of the cake home with our friends.  The rest was demolished after dinner today.

And speaking of today...

This morning I made some delicious whole milk biscuits to offer our friends who were in town (alas, only for a short time!) from Denver.  These I served with my peach jam, lemon curd, and lemon marmalade.  I was really pleased with this biscuit recipe.  It makes six, but that's perfect for us, AND it's really easy, so I'll most certainly use it again (it would also be good for chicken and biscuits for dinner).

And then it was time for Scott to swing into gear.

In true fashion, we made dinner plans for tonight this morning.  As soon as he got off the phone, Scott ran to the store to fetch something to smoke, returning with a few more ears of corn, andouille, bratwurst, and turkey legs.  

Aren't they cute?  Tied in a little bow!

I got a peek inside the smoker
when Scott took out the turkey legs.

Here's the damage that was done:

• Quinoa-stuffed peppers
• Romaine halves with feta and a balsamic-bacon dressing (I need to get this recipe from Cisco - it was delicious)
• Corn on the cob
• Sausage (andouille or bratwurst)
• Smoked turkey legs
• Leftover cake

Man, I'm full just looking at that list again!
There was no photo of the entire spread - we all dug right in, and there was little conversation for a few minutes.
I love holidays just because I usually am able to spend them with friends and/or family, which is an activity I cherish deeply.  Tomorrow it's back to the grind, but it was a special day to share our table with such wonderful friends, appreciating the rights afforded to us on this Independence Day.  Let freedom ring!