The Boy's Birthday Dinner

Not bad for not being bakers:)
Today my boy turns 11!  I can't believe it!  Despite the fact I am trying to do an entire year of new dishes, logistically it can't happen every day. (vacations, special occasions, etc...) So, for tonight's dinner I asked my darling boy what he wanted for dinner and he said fish tacos.  Now our fish tacos are not really that traditional, but they are among those dishes of ours that everyone raves about.  They are also a dish we made up ourselves.  Just in the off chance we ever get a restaurant, we don't share the taco recipe;).  However I get around the whole having a new recipe by making a dessert we have never made before.  My son's favorite cake is red velvet.  So who do I turn to for a recipe?  Well the queen of southern cooking of course.  Red velvet is a southern thing right?  We did cheat a little; we bought the cream cheese frosting.  There is a very good reason though.  It is a super busy time of year, my 2 year old daughter was throwing up all day an only wanted to be laying on me, so my husband (who is a great cook) was doing a lot of the work to help, and we were running low on time.  The cake came out fantastic.  We all want to try it with the homemade icing next time.  I included the icing in the recipe even though we took a shortcut.

Grandmother Paula's Red Velvet Cake

Cake
2 c  sugar
1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter,at room temperature
2    eggs
2 T  cocoa powder
2    ounces red food coloring
2 1/2 c  cake flour
1 t  salt
1 c  buttermilk
1 t  vanilla extract
1/2 t  baking soda
1 T  vinegar
Icing
1    (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1    butter,softened
1 c  melted marshmallows
1    (1-pound) box confectioners' sugar
1 c  shredded coconut
1 c  chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter, beat until light and
fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition.
Mix cocoa and food coloring together and then add to sugar mixture; mix
well. Sift together flour and salt. Add flour mixture to the creamed
mixture alternately with buttermilk. Blend in vanilla. In a small bowl,
combine baking soda and vinegar and add to mixture. Pour batter into 3
(8-inch) round greased and floured pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or
until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from
heat and cool completely before frosting
Icing:

Blend cream cheese and butter together in a mixing bowl. Add
marshmallows and sugar and blend. Fold in coconut and nuts. Spread
between layers and on top and sides of cooled cake.

Fish Tacos:)

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