Back when I was a toddler I had this joke that I thought was absolutely hilarious.  I would tell it to anyone who would play along over and over and over and…

Clarissa: Knock, knock

Poor person unaware of what was coming or a very patient family member: Who’s there?

Clarissa: Banana

Same kind soul: Banana who?

Clarissa: Knock, knock (trying to contain giggles)

Slightly annoyed other person: Who’s there?

Clarissa: Banana (hahaha)

Person rolling his/her eyes: Banana who?

Clarissa: Knock, knock!!

…and this continued until I could tell the person was just about to walk away and then it would go…

Clarissa: Knock, knock

Very annoyed person ready to leave: Who’s there?

Clarissa: Orange

Other person who is intrigued by the change in answer: Orange who?

Clarissa: Orange you glad I didn’t say banana?!? (And then histerical laughter ensued, of course, only by me.

So, where am I going with this?  I love orange!  The fruit’s ok, but I love the color.  Adam has either come to also like orange or just deals with my craziness, so this weekend we painted a wall of the bedroom orange. Here’s a during picture (nevermind the ugly paint clothes, that’s why they’re paint clothes)…

Again, I always forget to take before pictures, but here’s one from very early in the process when Adam’s taking down the curtain.

And the big reveal — after picture…

Doesn’t it match our quilt nicely?  I’m happy with that.

Because it’s a very dark (some may say burnt) orange, we only did one wall and plan to do something else on the other walls.  That something else is yet to be determined but may involve an orange stripe, stenciling, or a lighter complimentary color.  Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

- Clarissa

Ok,  I’ll confess, it’s actually chocolate cake that just looks like a pint of Guinness.  I did find a recipe that uses Guinness beer in the cake, but I decided that’s something better kept for private tastings than birthday party debuts.  I was also informed that the birthday boy’s favorite cake is chocolate with chocolate frosting, so I stuck with what works.  The birthday boy also happens to be a huge fan of all things Guinness – hence the shape of the cake.  I’m not THAT crazy.

I was going for something like this glass but with lines like the ones we brought home from Ireland…

See, even the little harp?  I was proud of the little harp.

The frosting is the super fudge-y stuff I used earlier on those stinkin’ Hawkeye cupcakes.  Point of order, they were amazingly good, but I say stinkin’ because they’re Hawkeyes and have been the most popular photos and recipe on this site.  Just wait until Michigan gets good enough again at some sport to warrant some cupcakes

Anyway, back to the Guinness.  Here’s some proof of how good it was.  They look just moments from slipping into a chocolate coma, don’t they?

- Clarissa

Remember that delicious-looking photo I posted of the red velvet cake?  You’d better, because that was, like, three days ago.

Some very smart readers requested the recipe, so I thought I’d share it with all of you.  Now the origin of this exact version of the recipe would quite possibly require a genealogy library.  I got it from my mom who got it from her mom who got it from some family member, but exactly who is a mystery to us.  Either way, it’s old, amazing, and uses butter with reckless abandon.

A couple tips on the cake.  First, be confident when you buy all of that food coloring because you will get strange looks — I even got a “what are you going to DO with all of that?” Then, once you get home be very careful with the food coloring.  Hopefully you aren’t as clumsy as I, but just in case, Bon Ami used right away works beautifully to remove red food coloring stains from counter tops.  Not that I have any experience or anything.

Second, the frosting is a bit of a delicate process.  If you’re good at making gravy you’ll be good at making this.  I am not good at either, but learned something this time around:  Start with the flour and just a little milk.  Use a whisk, spoon, or fork to get rid of ALL the lumps before proceeding with the rest of the milk.  Don’t be lazy now because even the small lumps at this point look huge when spread on the cake.  Not that I have any experience with that one either — hey, at least I learned and did better this time.  One final tip on the frosting, wait until the last minute (or at least day of) to frost the cake.  Remember all of that red food coloring?  It eventually, and not so slowly, bleeds into the beautiful white frosting.  On the other hand it’s an easy way to get a pink Valentine’s Day cake going.

Here’s the recipe…

Waldorf Astoria Cake

Ingredients – Cake

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 oz. red food coloring
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup butermilk
• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp soda
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp vinegar

Ingredients – Frosting

• 3 tbl flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

For cake, cream shortening and sugar.  Add eggs, beating after each addition.  Separately make paste of red coloring and cocoa (really more of a liquid than paste, in my opinion).  Add to mixture and mix.  In a separate bowl, combine flour and soda.  In another bowl, combine buttermilk and salt.  Add to mixture alternating between flour mix and buttermilk mix, mixing after each addition.  Add vanilla.  Add vinegar.

Pour into greased cake pans (this recipes works well for 8 or 9 inch round pans).  Bake at 350 degrees for __ minutes.  The recipe seriously has the __ typed in it.  So basically start with 25-30 minutes and just watch it until a toothpick comes out clean.

For frosting, combine flour and milk in a saucepan (remember the trick).  Cook on the low to medium heat until thick, stirring consistently.  Cool (if you’re impatient like me put it in an ice bath).  When completely cool, add remaining ingredients and beat until fluffy.

- Clarissa

Over the holidays my family held an anniversary party for my parents.  All eight of my siblings came to town toting their spouses and children for the big event.  It was great to have everyone together for a weekend of camaraderie, sharing memories, and just plain fun.

So, all that’s well and good, but what about the cake?  This was my first attempt at a tiered cake (outside the one in cake class that didn’t go so well) so I was pretty proud.

I gave myself a hard setup deciding to make red velvet cake.  On top of that, I was instructed that it HAD to be the special butter frosting included in the red velvet recipe.  That frosting is amazing (how can it be bad with six sticks of butter?) but doesn’t make for a perfectly smooth covering.  Despite all of that, it got rave reviews and was a hit!

Don’t get any red cake on the wedding dress!

- Clarissa

Long time no see, my friends!  I hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season.  I had a fun time skating around on the roads of Iowa.  Although, I can’t complain too much because while we were freezing in Iowa, our neighbors were freezing in Oklahoma under 11 inches of snow.  That’s an all-time record and we missed it!  I’m not sure if that makes me happy or sad, but it’s a good stat either way.

This year the Next Generation Housewife has all kinds of new stuff planned (not including speaking in the 3rd person, promise).  While the basis will always be giving you good ideas, suggestions, and stories about home activities, I plan to branch out a little this year into learning and improving as a “whole person.”  I plan to give you more stories of my ventures outside the house as well as suggestions of good books, volunteer opportunities, and travel adventures.

To help me out, what topics from 2009 did you like best?  Cooking, sewing, decorating, travel?  And what topics would you like to see more of (whether continued from ’09 or new) in 2010?

- Clarissa