Today we celebrated my husband's birthday and, in typical fashion, I spent most of it in the kitchen making a (hopefully) wonderful dinner for him. I started this morning with a complicated cake - "Fudge Ribbon Surprise Cake." I was in such a hurry to get it started I did it all without coffee! Anyway, if a cake requires more than 1 bowl, it's complicated. This was 2 bowls and a pot in which to melt the chocolate. The last time I made this particular cake was 19 years ago, for the same guy. I was baking in a dorm kitchen without a lot of gadgets or even mixing bowls, so it's no wonder I have a memory of it being the hardest thing I've ever made. It really isn't. It just requires stuff I didn't have at the time. Like space. And bowls.
Once everything was in the oven, I could make coffee, and we finally had breakfast around 9:30. While the cake layers cooled I worked on the stuffing for the duck - regular bread stuffing but with apple pieces mixed in. A few hours later, after getting the kids some lunch, I frosted the cake, using a fudge frosting. I'm not usually so talented when it comes to frosting things, but see for yourself; I think this one came out great.
After the cake was done, it was time to get the duck in the oven. As I've mentioned before, I have had issues with my oven not working correctly and things taking too long, so I made sure I got the duck in the oven a full hour before I had originally planned. That was the absolute right thing to do. The duck had the apple stuffing and was seasoned with salt, maple pepper, and
thyme.
Lastly, the side dishes - I went pretty simple, with maple glazed turnips (which didn't really taste very maple-y) and green beans with butter. The turnips took longer than expected, too, but that gave the duck more time to rest before carving. And, no, the almost 5-year-old wouldn't go near any of this. Peanut butter was also on the menu...
Dinner was lovely. There are very few leftovers. I plan to try to make turducken soup again - that was really yummy and I think I remember what I did. After a break for presents, we had cake. It's never official until you've had your cake.
Happy Birthday!
Normally, I don't use the word "wicked" in the traditional New England sense, even though I am a New Englander. But today it truly applies.
I can't tell what the leeks are supposed to look like, but I don't think they are doing as well as the peas. I also planted 4 pumpkin seeds and 4 kabocha squash seeds with the hope that maybe they'll do something. The rhubarb is growing, but the stalks are very small and not getting much larger. This is the same problem I had last year, and I was hoping that if I left it alone near the compost heap and didn't move it much then this year would be better. It doesn't seem to be shaping up that way.
After the cake was done, it was time to get the duck in the oven. As I've mentioned before, I have had issues with my oven not working correctly and things taking too long, so I made sure I got the duck in the oven a full hour before I had originally planned. That was the absolute right thing to do. The duck had the apple stuffing and was seasoned with salt, maple pepper, and 
thyme.
Happy Birthday!
Ah, Whole Foods. Just when winter doldrums are their worst, Whole Foods comes through with something seasonal and unusual. Yes, it's Meyer Lemon season, and it's time for more curd. I decided I didn't need to make any more of the Meyer Lemon Marmalade, as good as it is, because I still have some from last May. But the curd is very popular in this house, and goes fast, so I made a double batch.
Since I make this a lot, I've decided to rewrite the recipe here, so in case the website where I found it goes away, I will still have the recipe. To give credit where credit is due, here is where I found the recipe in the first place.