Goodbye, my friend.

About a year ago, I met a girl. It was a karaoke night at a local bar and I had committed to go out to meet new people through this site called meetups.com. It was my first venture with their nightlife group, and I was a pretty far cry from being in mood to go. However, for whatever reason, I pulled myself off the couch and wandered down to go sing with a bunch of people I didn't know.

Wow, am I glad I did. Over the course of that night, I met two people who would become my two closest friends in Richmond, Juli and Sze. While it took a little longer for Sze and I to bond, Juli and I were instant friends. Between our shared tendency to spaz under stress, to say the most inappropriate things out of context (or sometimes even in context), and our incredibly high energy, we were, at first glance, twins separated at birth. I would to describe her to friends in other cities as, "Well, she's like me but a Yankee." We started hanging out several times a week, usually going out for a drink or dinner and just talking about our days and lives. As we got to know each other better, more differences revealed themselves, as always happens with developing friendships.

It was around this time that two things occured: first, we shared our mutual adoration for cooking, and second, we founded Tuesday Night Dinner. As I know I mentioned prior, it started out as our way to spend less money eating out, and since it was just the two of us, we would take turns cooking for each other. Juli is considerably more analytical than I am, and therefore more precise and a much better baker. We would toss around our lofty life goals - hers to own a cupcake bakery one day, mine to open up my own restaurant. As TND grew to include more people, we took up our designated roles. Juli is our dessert girl, making fabulous cakes, cupcakes, and other delectable confections.

Much to the sadness of all of us who know her, Juli is moving to Cincinnatti at the end of this week to pursue an amazing career opportunity. While I know she'll be back before we know it, the time without will be a little bit more gray. With her and through her, I have been able to build several lasting friendships with people who I never would have known, had so many stories, so many jokes, and created so many memories that my life, and those of all of us who have the privilege of knowing her, is much richer for it.

To my dear friend, take care, be good, and know that you're in our hearts. For the rest of us, today's recipe is Juli's famous, fattening, and fabulous Texas Sheet Cake.

Texas Sheet Cake

Boil in pan:
2 sticks butter or oleo (I use butter)
1 cup water
3 Tbsp Cocoa

Combine in bowl:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt1 tsp soda

Add the 2 mixtures together. Blend. Add 1 cup sour cream and 2 eggs.

Bake in greased cookie sheet at 375 for 20 minutes. Ice immediately.

Icing: Melt 1 stick butter or oleo and add 3 tbsp cocoa and 6 tbsp milk.

Bring to boil - remove from heat and add 1 lb powdered sugar, 1/2 cup nuts (optional) and 1 tsp vanilla

Juli tip 1: This recipe works best if you just stir the batter and frosting with either a spoon or whisk. You can use a mixer, but it's one of those recipes where if the batter isn't 100% smooth, it's alright.

Juli tip 2: Start the frosting about 7 minutes before the cake is done baking. That gives you enough time to bring it to a boil and it hasn't started to congeal by the time the cake is out of the oven. It works best if both the cake and the frosting are warm.

Enjoy!!