July 4th Party at the Bells
Last Fall the City of Sammamish announced that they would be performing a fireworks show on Independence Day 2007. I can't give them too much credit for doing so, since they banned home fireworks within city limits starting last year... so we had to journey over to Bellevue to watch a fireworks show. Despite having a great time watching the fireworks, we had to fight the Bellevue traffic and the crowds. It was mildly annoying. So anyway... as soon as I heard that the City was going to run a fireworks show, I contacted Jana and Daurell and invited myself over for July 4th (which back then was about 10 months into the future). The Bells live very close to Sammamish City Hall and would (I figured) have an excellent view of the show, without having to deal with the crowds. The Bells typically leave town for the 4th anyway, so it was not going to be an imposition (or so I rationalized).

The Bells did not end up leaving town, so the Sorenson clan crashed at their place while they were there. They were happy to oblige. Some other friends (the Allen family, some members of the Vikari family, and the Quintons) joined us as well. Kristy and I arranged the menu and coordinated with the Bells to provide food for the affair. I prepared 6 racks of ribs (Bertha style). Kristy and I baked two large cakes. And between the four Sorenson families we also brought along chips, salads, and drinks for all in our clan and enough for the rest of the party guests as well. The Bells also pulled out all the stops, so there was no shortage of goodies to eat.

Kristy and I had kind of a "bake off" with our cakes. I prepared a layered lemon cake while Kristy prepared a layered chocolate hazelnut cake. I didn't try Kristy's cake (since I recently discovered I'm allergic to hazelnuts), but my cake was excellent. Both cakes were cut into quite heavily. I'd probably have to admit that a little more of my cake came back home than Kristy's. So I guess she won the bake off.

The Bell home is an ideal place for a party. They have a large back yard that includes a tree house, a rope swing, a fire pit, a hot tub, a trampoline, and a small hill ideally suited for a slip-n-slide. The kids had a blast running from one play activity to the next. We had a very good dinner and dessert. See here for pictures taken throughout the day (I should have taken pictures of the cakes!).

After dinner, the kids watched movies and played in the hot tub while we waited for 10:15pm to roll around and the fireworks show to start. It was a very good show and lasted for half an hour. The kids loved it.

Independence Day 2007 Photos
We snapped these picture while we spent the afternoon and evening at the Bell home for our indepence day party (more about the party here). The kids had a blast and spent much of the time on the slip-n-slide. The slide was situated partially on a small hill. David (the Bell's 12-yr-old son) extended the slide with a blue tarp... which you can see in some of the pictures below (click to enlarge).

When the kids weren't sliding, they were busy doing other activities (or eating). We adults pretty much just sat around on the grass... see below.

Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Icing
I made this today for our July 4th party. It's good... really good.

For the curd filling:

4 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
½ cup sugar
½ cup fresh lemon juice
4 tbs unsalted butter
zest of 2 lemons

Whisk together egg yolks and eggs in small saucepan. Add sugar and lemon juice and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture coats the back of a spoon (or until curd registers 165° on a thermometer). Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Add butter in tablespoon size pieces (one at a time) and stir until smooth. Stir in zest. Cover surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cooled completely.

For the cake:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tbs baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1¼ cups buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
zest of 2 lemons

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour two round 8-inch cake pans. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cream butter in an electric mixer, add sugar, and beat until fluffy. Beat eggs and add to butter/sugar mixture (scrape down the sides as required). Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk. Beat in vanilla, and lemon zest. Divide batter evenly between the two pans and bake for 45 minutes.

For the icing:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp lemon extract
3½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
¼ cup cream

Beat butter, vanilla, and lemon extract until fluffy. Alternately add sugar and cream and mix thoroughly. Add more sugar or cream until desired spreading consistency is achieved.

To assemble the cake, reserve prettiest dome top of the two cake layers. Place the other cake layer, dome-side down, on a cake or serving platter. Spread lemon curd to withing about ½ inch from the edge. Place the reserved cake on top of bottom layer. Crumb coat the side of the cake and refrigerate until firm. Just before serving, spead remaining icing over cake.

Garnish with candied lemon slices or fresh raspberries (if desired).