Bacardi Rum Cake

August  16: National Rum Day

At an international wedding conference in Chicago, Illinois, Islander met Janet A. from Freeport, Bahamas, who coordinated destination weddings to her country. Islander was fascinated with another island girl from the Atlantic side and they quickly bonded over similar island experiences–and tropical foods! Janet shared information about the traditional fruit cake served at weddings but said mini rum cakes were also popular with out-of-town guests who got them as wedding favors or souvenirs to take back home with them. Her idea inspired us to make these cute cakes for National Rum Day!

Recipe

(Adapted from The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn)

For the cake

• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 box (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix (we used Duncan Hines brand Moist Deluxe classic yellow cake mix)
• 1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
• ½ cup Bacardi rum (we used Bacardi Gold Rum)
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup water
• 4 eggs

Directions

Grease a bundt cake pan or mini-bundt cake pans and sprinkle the nuts in the bottom. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, instant pudding mix, rum, oil, water and eggs. Blend well until the batter is smooth.

Pour the batter over the nuts in the cake pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F (about 50-60 minutes for the bundt cake pan or 20-25 minutes for mini-bundt cake pans).  Remove from the oven, let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes and invert onto a wire rack. Poke holes around the top of the cake with a toothpick while the cake is still warm. Make the rum glaze.

For the rum glaze

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
• 2 tablespoons water
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup Bacardi rum (we used Bacardi Gold Rum)

Directions

In a small pan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the water and sugar. Increase the heat to medium, stirring constantly as it boils. Reduce the heat, let the glaze simmer until it is thickened, then pour in the rum. Continue stirring until well blended. Spoon the glaze over the cake, allowing it to drizzle over the nuts on top and down the center and sides of the cake. Cool the rum cake completely before slicing and serving.

Notes

• Thanks to Lisa L. for the fancy pineapple bundt cake pan, which gave the rum cake an isle-style presentation.
• Search our blog for other cake recipes infused with liqueur.

Filet Mignon

August 13: National Filet Mignon Day

Happy “month-aversary” to Highlander and Islander! We were married on July 13, 1996, so every 13th of the month since then, we have commemorated our “I do” date in some way. With a high national divorce rate, unexpected death or other misfortunes in life, reaching a monthly milestone for a wedding anniversary is a blessing!

We encourage the engaged couples whom we sponsor at our church to create a tradition and take time out of their busy schedules to FOCCUS and REFOCCUS on each other by observing month-aversaries. Celebrations can range from simple to sophisticated—anything that reminds them often of their vows to each other (for ideas, we recommend a book we got when we were engaged: 1,001 Ways to Be Romantic by Greg Godek). We pray that our fellow married couples continue to express their love for each other daily, weekly, monthly and yearly.

Since our August month-aversary coincides with National Filet Mignon Day, we splurge on a special steak for a cozy home-cooked dinner using our simple George Foreman grill. We do not eat steak very often (yet we currently live in cattle country!), so this month-aversary meat makes this a doubly special day!

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 five-ounces filet mignon
• 2 strips of bacon
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• pinch of dried rosemary
• sea salt
• fresh ground black pepper

Directions

Wrap a strip of bacon on the side of the filet mignon. Secure with a small toothpick. Repeat for the other steak. Brush both sides with olive oil infused with rosemary. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let the seasoned steaks sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Preheat the grill.  When the grill is hot, place the filet mignons on the bottom of the metal plate. Lower the cover and press on the steaks. Cook for three or four minutes for medium (more or less time for rare to well done). Remove from the grill and serve on individual plates. Garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary (optional).

Notes

• Thanks to the RRVG family for the George Foreman grill that they gave us several Christmases ago. VG were married on July 7, 1996, in India—just a week before us! For our fifth wedding anniversary, we celebrated jointly in New Jersey and in New York City. RR are their twin son and daughter.
• UPDATE: On November 13, 2010, we got a big gas grill for our backyard. It is our 172 month-aversary gift for ourselves and an early Christmas present from Islander’s parents! Now we can properly grill filet mignons for future month-aversaries! Mahalo, Mommy and Daddy!

Pasteis de Santa Clara

August 11: Feast Day of St. Clare

The Franciscans have had an enduring presence in our lives. Capuchin friars used to administer at Islander’s family parish in Hawaii for many years. In fact, a Franciscan priest officiated at our engagement blessing at a special mass. We also currently attend St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Texas.

St. Clare, a 13th century Franciscan nun, is known as the feminine counterpart of St. Francis of Assisi. She was born into nobility but vowed a monastic life of poverty. We honor St. Clare on her feast day with an adaptation of a recipe for pasteis de Santa Clara (St. Clare turnovers) from a monastery in Portugal.

Recipe

(Adapted from Cooking with the Saints by Ernst Schuegraf)

For the pastry dough

• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, chilled
• 1 ¾ cups flour
• 2 tablespoons ice water
• 1 egg, slightly beaten

Directions

In a mixing bowl, cut in the butter with the flour and water. Knead until a pliable dough is formed. Cover with a plastic film wrap and refrigerate while making the filling.

For the filling

• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• ½ cup almonds, ground
• 4 egg yolks

Directions

In a saucepan, melt the sugar with the water and stir until dissolved. Bring to a boil until thickened. Add the ground almonds and egg yolks, stirring constantly until the filling is thick and well blended.

Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thick. Use a round cutter to cut a three-inch diameter. Place a teaspoon of the filling in the middle of the circle. Fold over and seal the edges with water. Continue making the rest of the turnovers.

Brush the tops with the beaten egg. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven. While they are still hot, dredge in sugar. Cool over a wire rack. Yield: 24 turnovers.

Notes

• We used almond meal/flour for the filling ingredient in this recipe. Thanks to Lisa L., our generous friend in Germany, for sending us the package of pulverized nuts for the pasteis de Santa Clara.