Cake And Paninis

Matt and I vetoed the whole getting each other presents thing this year for our anniversary. Instead, we decided to stay in for a pleasant, home-cooked meal. I decided it would be a good idea to make something fancy, and this red velvet strawberry shortcake cake was the end result. Do not let the pictures fool you. This beast stands a foot tall! And the weight from four layers of cake started to crumble the bottom layers at the end of it all. That was the moment I realized making a trifle would have practically given my the same end result and would not have been nearly as time consuming. I mean, this monster took me almost three hours to whip up. Wife of the year award goes to me.

Also on the menu were paninis of my own invention. A turkey caprese with an extra dash of pesto and red pepper jelly, if you will. Yes, mouth-watering. And definitely not gluten-free. I figure I can have a couple of splurge days a year, and since I completely skipped out on Thanksgiving dinner, this was my moment. So what if my head aches and my arms tingle a bit for a few days? This carb fest brought me joy in no other way possible than good food does. You know the happiness I am talking about. Like I've said before, food tastes better than skinny feels. End of story.

Since we should all indulge ourselves in food decadence every once in a great while, I give you the recipes for the most glorious dinner, perfect for a summer night.

The Abbey Panini (I just made that up)

Ingredients:

-Loaf of rosemary bread

-Turkey

-Pesto

-Red pepper jelly

-Basil

-Mozzarella cheese

-Tomato

Directions:

Put butter in a skillet on the stove top over medium heat and let melt. While butter is melting and heating, spread pesto on one slice of rosemary bread. On the other slice, spread red pepper jelly. Layer in turkey, basil, mozzarella slices, and tomato. Place on skillet and use another pan to press down. Cook for 3-4 minutes until golden brown, then flip and repeat on the other side. Yum-o!

Red Velvet Strawberry Shortcake (derived from this I Am Baker recipe)

Ingredients:

-1 box of red velvet cake mix

-1 box of white cake mix

-1 large container of Cool Whip

-1 large container of sliced strawberries

Directions:

Bake two 9" round red velvet cakes, and two 9" round white cakes using the directions per your mixes. Cut up strawberries in the meantime since the baking takes forever (especially if you are lame like me and only have one 9" pan to bake with. Actually, make sure you have two for this recipe or you will be in the kitchen alllll daayyy and that is never fun, unless you like that sort of thing). Once cakes are cooked and cooled, put together the cake. Cake first, then whipped cream, then strawberries. Repeat until you have an enormous cake that looks like it is going to topple over. Now eat your heart out!