Not Cake

When we were first married, Chris and I went to a semi-formal event at SUU.  We dressed up and were seated in the dimly lit ballroom on campus.  The only light in the room came from the stage at the front illuminating the various ballroom dance, singing and acting performances.  I don't remember the reason for the event but I do remember the red tablecloths and the yummy centerpieces.  On each table was an elaborate assortment of fresh veggies, cut fruit and dip, cookies and small, bite size, pink layered cakes resembling lady fingers.  We were more than willing to endure the tango demo for the free nosh.  

At one point in the evening Chris took one of the dainty, pink finger cakes and took a rather un-dainty bite.  He instantly spit it into a napkin and struggled to hush his dry-heaves and I, through muffled laughs mouthed to him "not good?"  He mouthed back "NOT CAKE!".  It was, indeed, not cake, but tiny, dainty, bite-sized tuna fish sandwiches.  On pink bread.  I think most savory sammies would be unwelcome by a palate expecting butter cream and sponge, but I can think of little worse than fish and mayo to be the substitute.  

We have laughed about 'not cake' for years and I love telling the story, as Chris rarely gets flustered.  This April Fool's Day we had another reason to retell the adage as my mother and I concocted our own "not cake".

This lovely main dish puts new meaning to 'eat dessert first'. That's not butter cream, friends, can you guess what it is?

How about now?

Meat loaf cakes with mashed potato icing. Mmmm boy! It actually was good. Maybe more fun to make and see reactions to, but still good. We took some to my sister, Tori, who was at work and the only one who didn't get hints by watching us make it. She ran up to us, actually thinking cake, and then pulled away with an involuntary 'ewwww!' when she saw the tomato flecks in the meatloaf. Ha!

Now onto dessert, uh, I mean, main dish. On the menu is chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy (I am getting deja vu here) and peas and carrots.

In real life I really don't care for chicken fried steak. I think the name has a lot to do with it. Is it chicken, steak or a combo of the both? And why is it fried? I also dislike anything with that creamy country gravy that it usually is served with. You know the kind that comes with biscuits and gravy. I apologize to my southern friends. Laura. That is why I served mine with a not so traditional brown gravy.

The true foods here are a toasted coconut covered cake, frozen yogurt with caramel sauce and jelly bellies. We had a lot of fun and made a lot of mess in prepping this meal and we have thought of several ideas for next year. We are thinking sushi, cream puffs, and more!
Happy April Fool's Day and Happy Spring.

Working titles for this blog post:

Have your cake and meat it too.
Let them meat cake.
Life is short, eat dessert first.
Dinner is sweet!

And a big thank you to my Mama for the great photos!