Yellow cake recipe

I need to write this down before I forget. I made a pumpkin cake for halloween. Actually, I made it twice. The first one was cute. The second one was tasty and cute. Here's how I made the second one:

Yellow cake mix
6T butter (substitute for oil)
Buttermilk (substituted for water called for with cake mix)
Egg yolks - equal to number of eggs called for. (so, eggs + egg yolks).

Creamed the butter, added the buttermilk and eggs then the cake mix.

This cake was so moist that it was decadent. If it's going to be a BIG cake (more than one layer), you might want to cut back on the eggs a bit.

"The" Cake

First, let me admit that I am totally addicted to cake shows -- Ace of Cakes, Amazing Wedding Cakes, etc. And since this obsession began, I've been dying to make a cake with fondant. (Actually, I think the interest predates the cake show watching, but the shows worked me up into a frenzy!) So, two weeks ago, I did it. And the results were astounding! It was beautiful and yummy. Ok, the fondant wasn't that yummy, but it was the beautiful part!

It was so good, I made it again yesterday!

So here are the recipes. If I can figure out how to attach a photo, I will.

First, the cake:
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
8 egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9x13 inch pans.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy

4. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.

5. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pans.

6. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Second, the buttercream frosting (used as crumb coating for the fondant version.)

6 tbs. butter, softened
3 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. milk
1 tsp. any flavored extract desired(vanilla is most common. I used almond and it is YUMMY)

1. Beat butter until smooth.

2. Gradually add sugar, alternately with milk.

3. Beat to spreading consistency.

4. Blend in vanilla.

Finally, the rolled fondant:

1 package .25 oz of unflavored gelatin
1/4 c cold water
1/2 c clear corn syrup
1 T glycerin
2 T shortening
1 t any flavoring
8 c (2lbs) sifted powdered sugar



Mix water and gelatin and let stand for 5 minutes. Heat in microwave about 30 seconds. Add shortening and stir until melted. Pour into glycerin and glucose mixture.

Add flavoring. Pour into the powdered sugar and fold until blended. Knead the fondant until smooth and workable. When kneading and rolling fondant, be sure to use a powdered sugar work surface to keep fondant from sticking.

This required a lot of work. The fondant was really sticky to begin with. I probably used another pound of powdered sugar just working the stuff. But it was worth it.

Dutch Baby pancakes

Doug and I first had Dutch babies on our honeymoon at the Invited Inn in Midway UT. They are a german pancake that is baked in the oven. We also have recently had them at the Original Pancake House.

6 eggs, room temperature
1 c milk, room temperature
1 c sifted bread flour
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 Tablespoons butter
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. (Note: it is very important to preheat the oven. Place oven rack on middle rack of your oven. Place pan in the oven until hot and sizzling.

I tried three different pans -- my 12 inch iron skillet, a 9 inch pie pan, and my itty bitty (5 inches?) iron skillet. The small iron skillet worked best, the pie pan second (it looked perfect!) and the big iron skillet came in last. For some reason, the pancake in the big skillet was all lumpy and overdone. Next time, I may just use the little skillet. It will take a while to cook them all, but they'll be good!)

While the pan(s) are heating, prepare your batter.

2) In large bowl, beat the eggs until light and frothy; add milk, flour, vanilla and cinnamon. Beat for another five minutes.

3) Remove pans from oven; add butter, tilting pan to melt the butter and coat the skillet.

4) Pour the prepared batter into the hot pan and return to oven.

5) Bake approximately 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

6) Remove from oven and serve immediately. Sprinkle with lemon juice and powdered sugar.

These are really yummy.

I think I might add just a bit of sugar and some nutmeg to the batter...maybe a little more cinnamon.

Chicken wings

My family loves chicken wings. Actually, let me amend that a little. The boys love chicken wings. Doug loves spicy, tangy boneless chicken wings. And my goal was to clean out the freezer. So wings it was tonight. However, I really want to make Doug like them. I decided to spice his up.

First, I always bake the wings on a cookie sheet. I season them really well with salt, pepper and garlic powder. I cook them until they are brown, turn them over and cook them some more. When they are done, I turn the broiler on for about five minutes. I think the whole process is about 45 minutes to an hour.

While they were cooking, I fixed the sauces. First, I melted two sticks of butter and added a couple of tablespoons (or more) of minced garlic. My family LOVES garlic and the wings for Jesse and I were garlic parmesan.

For Doug's spicy wings, I took some of the melted garlic butter, added barbeque sauce and two types of pepper sauce -- a jalapeno one and louisiana hot sauce. I warmed it up on the stove in a small saucepan.

When the wings came out of the oven, I put all but Doug's in the skillet in the garlic butter. I coated them well then took some out and put them in a bowl with teriyaki sauce. I covered the bowl with plastic wrap, heated it in the microwave for one minute. When I took it out, I tossed the wings in the sauce to make sure they were coated.

Doug's wings went directly into the saucepan with his sauce.

The remainder stayed in the skillet and got sprinkled with grated parmesan cheese.

They were really good. Actually, I didn't try Doug's but he said they were great.

I love it when a plan comes together!

Armenian Rice Pilaf

Wow. I haven't posted in almost a month. I got really sick for a week and hadn't been cooking much.

But today is my husband's huge family reunion -- a perfect opportunity to cook! And I decided to be very brave and take on a couple things that I'd never cooked before. The primary challenge was to make something that would hold up in the Utah summer heat for an outdoor potluck.

My final choices were Armenian Rice Pilaf from Allrecipes.com and Garden Tomato Pasta Salad from my Mastercook software.

As I write this, we haven't eaten yet so I don't know how the pasta salad turned out. But I do know that the rice is awesome -- because we tried it. It was hard to resist because it smelled so good while it was cooking.

I'll list the original recipe first and then tell you what I did additionally.

INGREDIENTS
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1 1/2 cups uncooked fine egg noodles
* 3 cups uncooked long grain white rice
* 5 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
* 4 cubes chicken bouillon


DIRECTIONS

1. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the egg noodles and stir until they begin to brown, being careful not to burn the butter. Stir in the rice. Continue stirring until rice is coated with butter.
2. Pour in the chicken broth and add the bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and cover tightly. Cook without uncovering pot until all the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes.

I added garlic salt and italian seasoning to the rice before I cooked it.

I think that the most important part of this recipe is cooking the concoction in chicken broth and chicken bouillon.

It is yummy. And makes lots.

Simple Coconut Pie

The second part of my Fathers' Day dessert extravaganza was another item I remembered from my past. I made it as a kid. The recipe was typed on a piece of yellow paper. I have no idea what ever happened to it. But, again thanks to the magic of the internet, I found it. And it turned out pretty much like what I remembered.

Coconut Pie
Ingredients:

* 2 cups milk
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup biscuit mix (Bisquick, etc)
* 4 eggs
* 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 1/2 cups flaked coconut

Preparation:

Combine milk, sugar, biscuit mix, eggs, butter and vanilla in blender. Cover and blend on low speed for 3 minutes. Pour into greased 9-inch pie pan. Let stand 5 minutes; then sprinkle with coconut. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve this coconut pie warm or cooled. Store in refrigerator.

The Great Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake Adventure

In my opinion, one of the great things about the internet is the ability to find "long lost" recipes. As I was trying to decide what to take to my in-laws' house for Fathers' Day dinner, I remembered a chocolate cake that I had quite a few years ago. I remembered that it was called Texas Chocolate Cake -- so I began my search.

The search revealed a plethora of possibilities. And they were all very similar.

I decided to do my cooking on Saturday afternoon. (Of course, I couldn't make just one dessert. When have an audience, I will cook just as much as I think might possibly be consumed. The other creations will be discussed in subsequent blogs).

Before I provide the actual recipe, I better go into the description of what happened. I baked the cake and it turned out pretty much as expected (except the part where the cake spilled over and got all over the bottom of my stove!) The frosting, however, was a different story. I had put the ingredients in my beloved Kitchen Aid mixer. It was just not right. I thought maybe I had left out the milk -- so I added it...and it became a spreadable consistency rather than powder. Hmm. Was this right? It tasted a little bitter. But, I forged on and frosted the cake.

I tried it again. Still seemed bitter. My husband tried it. He said it was ok. Ok doesn't really cut it in my kitchen. So, as I went to bed Saturday night, I was glad I had the other dessert options to take to the dinner.

Of course, it couldn't be that simple. That night, I dreamed about chocolate cake. No, I'm not kidding. Not only did I dream about it, I figured out what I needed to do to fix it. Well, I couldn't fix the one I'd already made, but I could make a new one and do it right.

So, when I woke up Sunday morning, I went straight to the grocery store. When I got home, I was more than convinced that I knew what to do. I searched the internet again for the frosting recipe I wanted and got to work. Cake turned out fine -- I changed a couple things but not much. I used a completely different frosting.

The results were astounding! I made the best chocolate cake ever!

Here's the final, Rene'-modified recipe:

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 lb. butter
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup fresh buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 400°. Mix sugar, flour, and salt. Bring butter, cocoa, and water to a boil, and pour over the flour mixture. Mix well. Mix together the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and baking soda. Add this to the other mixture, and mix very well. Bake in a greased 15 1/2 by 10 1/2 by 1 inch jelly roll pan. Bake 20 minutes.

Five minutes before the cake is finished, make the frosting.

4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
In a saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved, then add milk. Add cocoa. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.
Blend confectioners sugar into butter mixture in the saucepan. Add vanilla. Place back on low heat and continue to stir until smooth. If consistency is too stiff, add more milk.

Frosting should be warm.

Spread hot frosting on cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. The frosting will set pretty quickly.

The frosting will melt into the cake. That is what should happen. It make it even yummier,.

Pork Chop Hashbrown Casserole

Last night, I was looking for a creative way to make pork chops -- without having to go to the grocery store. I looked at a number of recipes online. The one that really caught my attention was something called Pork Chop Casserole -- which was basically pork chops on top of sliced potatoes. Interesting. But no potatoes at home -- or not enough.

But the freezer did hold two bags of frozen hashbrowns. And I had all the ingredients to make Hashbrown Casserole (aka Mormon Funeral Potatoes). So my little mind shifted into overdrive. I could absolutely come up with something.

I was excited to see what would happen. I rushed home after work, changed into my grungy clothes (i'm a messy cook!) and got to work.

Step 1: Melt 1/2 stick butter in my infamous Paula Deen skillet and sauté one onion. (Note: the onions that I have right now are HUGE!) Add a little garlic.

Step 2: Get the pork chops ready. Mix a couple eggs and some milk in a bowl. On a plate, mix bread crumbs (or cracker crumbs or shake and bake) with some parmesan cheese.

Step 3: Remove onions from skillet.

Step 4: Heat olive oil and a little more garlic in PD skillet. Dip pork chops in milk/egg mixture then in breading. Brown in PD skillet. Only turn once so breading doesn't fall off. Even with my wonderful skillet, it takes two or three batches depending on the number of pork chops.

Step 5: While pork chops are browning, mix 1 package cream cheese, 1 can cream of something soup (I used chicken last night), some grated cheese, a few sliced green onions, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add sauteéd onions. Mix with a package of thawed out shredded hash browns. Put mixture in bottom of baking dish. (Last night, I made entirely too much. I used 1 1/2 packages of hashbrowns and 8 or 10 pork chops).

Step 6: Put browned pork chops on top of hashbrown mixture. Cook in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour. Ten minutes before done, sprinkle shredded cheese over the top of the pork chops.

Notes to self:

1. Make sure onions are soft because that's how the family likes them.
2. Ideal number of pork chops for my family is 6.
3. I want to try diced potatoes in this, too.
4. Next time, maybe we should try browning the hashbrowns a little. Family said they were good. Funeral potatoes aren't really browned either, but they have cornflakes on top, which makes the whole thing crunchy.

Definitely a success. Hubby REALLY liked the cheese on top of the pork chops. Kids loved it all.

Cream Cheese Chicken modification

I have this crock pot recipe that I got from Mastercook. JL really loves it. I wanted to make it this week before he goes to his dad but schedules didn't allow for crockpotting it. So, I decided to try it on the stovetop.

First, I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I sauteed them in butter and garlic. Of course. Then I took the chicken out and added a little more butter and a chopped onion. My family would eat sauteed onions in anything. After the onions were soft, I added the chicken (cut into pieces) back in and sprinkled a package of dry italian dressing mix over it.

While that was simmering (it was really based more on when we were going to be ready to eat than anything else), I cooked some plain old white rice. I also mixed together a block of cream cheese, a can of cream of mushroom soup and four chopped up green onions. While the rice was cooking, I added the cream cheese mixture to the chicken stuff. (I used my Paula Deen skillet that holds enough for my whole family. LOVE that skillet.) I simmered it on medium for about 10 minutes, stirring it every now and then to make sure it was all mixed up. Then I turned it to low and just let it keep going until we were ready to eat.

It was WAY yummy. Doug liked it better than the crock pot version, which is runnier because I add a can of chicken broth to keep the chicken from getting too dry.

The origina recipe also calls for 1/2 c sherry or wine. But I forgot. Doesn't make a huge amount of difference.