Sausage Fondue

I am a HUGE breakfast fan and this is one of my favorite recipes. SOOOOO good!

10 slices of bread, cubed (crust cut off)
2 cups grated American cheese
4 eggs
1 1/2 lbs link sausages cut into fifths
2 1/4 cups milk
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk

Place cubed bread in a 9x13 baking dish. Top with grated cheese. Brown pieces of sausage; drain. Place cooked sausage on cheese. Beat eggs with 2 1/4 cups milk and dry mustard, then pour over the mixture and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, add 1/2 cup milk to mushroom soup. Pour over mixture and bake at 300* for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until done.

mistake cake

Yay! My first post on this wonderful food blog - I'm officially a cook!

I love looking at recipes online of the same thing and adding and taking away ingredients that sound delicious. That's kind of how this recipe came about. I got the idea from here and just tried to make it easier and more delicious. The first time I made this cake I doubled it to make it fit a nine inch cake pan. It looked absolutely delicious... for like a half hour. When I came downstairs it had split in half and looked terrible. I had to scoop it up and put it in a trifle dish, but it still tasted amazing. So this time I just put it in a trifle and it looked pretty good!

Ingredients:

1 box Devil's food cake mix
16 ounces of sour cream
3 cups powdered sugar
2 cups whipping cream
1 carton of strawberries chopped in pieces (save a few perfect ones for decoration)

Prepare the Devil's Food cake mix as directed on the box using two 9 inch circular pans, use lots of Pam so they'll come out easily. Let the cakes cool completely. When cooled turn them upside down on plates so they'll come out. Use a sharp serrated knife and cut horizontally so you create four layers of cake (via the pic below).

While the cake is baking you can make the cream layers. Mix the sour cream, powdered sugar and whipping cream on high for 5-7 minutes until fluffy. Add a few drops of red food coloring and the chopped strawberries.

This is where I made the mistake the first time - you have to use a trifle dish because the cream filling isn't thick enough and there are too many layers that it will just topple over otherwise. However the nine inch pans are slightly larger than the trifle so you have to cut it in pieces and make it fit. I found that cutting off the two sides of the cake and fitting them in the trifle makes it easier. Then you can use the middle part of the cake to fill the rest in to adjust for size. I hope that makes sense, ask me in person if it doesn't. Start with the chocolate cake layer on the bottom, then the cream, then the cake and so on. End with the cream layer on top.

Ta da!

Save the pretty strawberries for the top and you're done! Put in the refrigerator to help the cream filling firm up. I also found that eating this the next day is wonderful as well because the cake has soaked up some of the filling. Bon appetit!

Carrot Cake

After getting a big bag of carrots for yesterday's Carrot Calzone, it's seems only fitting I make carrot cake too. Thankfully book group is Tuesday night at my house, so there should be plenty of people to eat the carrot cake. I'm not much of a box cake person, but I do have to try a lot of scratch recipes until I find a cake recipe I like. This is my Aunt Gwen's recipe, and I think it's fabulous.

Ingredients:
dry
2 c flour
2 c sugar (I use 1-1/2 c since I use frosting. Use 2 cups if not using frosting)
2 t baking soda
2 t cinnamon
1 t salt

*sift together and set aside*

wet
1 1/2 c canola oil (in my carrot calzone blurb I mentioned the use of carrots to absorb the oils and fats in making tuco. Though I'd assume the oil would all be absorbed by the carrots, I still only use 1 c and it's still a moist cake)
4 beaten eggs
3 c shredded carrots (though I actually use 4 cups - it makes it healthier, no? Also, don't use the preshredded carrots found at the market. I made that mistake once thinking it would be OK - nope. None of the oil was absorbed, and the carrots didn't really cook into the cake. Use freshly home-shredded carrots. Trust me.)

*mix well*

Here's three cups of shredded carrots
though I use 4 cups

Instructions:
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. This won't be a runny cake batter like with a cake mix. It will be very heavy.

Bake at 325 for an hour (until fork comes out clean).

I don't like my top too dark.
The instructions are to cook at 350 for 30-40 minutes,
but I've had much more success at the lower temperature for more time

Cream Cheese Frosting:
Ingredients
1/2 c butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 t vanilla
Powdered sugar, to taste

Instructions:
It is soooo important the cream cheese and butter be room temperature. If they are not, you'll have chunky frosting. Icky! I combine the butter and cream cheese and let the mixer whip them smooth, and I mean smooooth. Then I add the vanilla. Add the powdered sugar, the recipe calls for one box or a half of a bag, but I add about half of that. But if you have a sweet tooth, add a box's worth.

You gotta taste it as you go...

And since I needed a picture of a piece of cake, I sacrificed presentation for Tuesday night and cut out the center piece to eat (and of course I couldn't it back in.)

I was so tempted to pull a Bill Cosby and fill the hole with paper towels and frost over them,
but I didn't have the guts to do it...

And what do you do with leftover frosting? Of course you can use it all on the cake if you want, but I choose to make...

Graham crackers and frosting
Yummy!

Enjoy!

Carrot Calzone [Cook Challenge: Rediscovering the Lost Art of Cooking]

While living in Uruguay, I learned to make a lot of different tucos, or sauces. Regardless of the pasta the tuco was to be served on top of, it always contained shredded carrots. I was told they used the carrots to absorb the oils and greases from the meats. Regardless of the reason, they are yummy sauces.

While in DC, another dish my cousin taught me was her favorite dish that her mother-in-law prepares. It isn't actually a calzone, but it is a bit like one. And, the main ingredient is carrots. So of course I had to learn. Yum!

Ingredients: (this is enough for one calzone, I made two tonight, thus the pictures with two)
4 large carrots, sliced
Garlic, about 1 head - more if you prefer, cut not mashed
Peppers, optional (I use a couple sweet peppers)
Tomatoes, optional (I've done it both ways)
Fresh Mozzarella cheese (I get those yummy Belgioioso "logs" from Costco)
Pecorino Romano cheese (a fresh block, not powdered in the green can)
2 Hard boiled eggs
Olive Oil
Dough, bread or pizza - I use homemade, the frozen Rhodes bread loaves work too
Cornmeal

Instructions:
1. Slice the carrots.

I'm a KitchenAid girl. And I like my attachments. Yes, I LOVE my food processor, but sometimes this is an easier clean up. I used my slicer attachment, much easier then slicing that many carrots.



2. Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to a pan. Saute/cook the carrots, garlic, peppers, and tomatoes. I supplement with water if the vegetables get too dry or stick. Cook until the carrots are soft, not mushy - about half an hour. Hard boil the eggs while everything else is cooking.

3. I prepare the dough prior to cooking. I start to prepare the carrot mix after I do the last punch down of the dough prior to rising for the last time. With the carrots done, I roll out the dough. I put cornmeal on a cookie sheet (I also use silpat) - lay the dough on the cookie sheet. (You want to prepare the calzone on the cookie sheet, it's hard to transfer after prepared.)

4. Spread the carrot mix in the center of the dough. Be sure to spread all the way to the end (no one like the end cinnamon rolls if they don't have the sugar and cinnamon, same with this - the end bite should have something to bite.) Pat the mix down. Top with mozzarella cheese slices (I like mine really cheesy so use about 1/2 lb or half a "log" per calzone)and grate some Parmesan atop. Slice the eggs (2 eggs per calzone) atop the cheese. I know - carrots, cheese and eggs? It really is good.


5. Fold the dough over the concoction. Seal tightly. Spread some olive oil on top and sprinkle some more cornmeal. Then cut some slits in the top of the dough. It doesn't need to rise, just place it right in the oven.


6. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. (20 minutes for 1, 25 for 2)

As you can see, I didn't seal the left one well enough, it opened in the oven.

One calzone will serve 3-4 adults - they aren't very dense.

Enjoy.

quinoa salad.

for those of you who have never heard of quinoa, here's some info: it's kind of like a grain. you cook it like rice. it's popular with vegetarians because of its high protein content. it's a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. it is gluten-free and considered easy to digest. why am i cooking with it, you ask? because my mother-in-law gave me a bag of it. i had to look it up online and find recipes to cook with it! you could make this same recipe with couscous or rice if you're not up to experimenting with quinoa... though i recommend it because it's yummy! you can find it in the bulk foods ailse of your grocery store.

this is a use-what-you-like, forget-about-the-rest kind of recipe. i'll highlight what i used.

salad:
1 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups cold water {i always need at least 2 cups of water because the lid on my pan isn't really tight}
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup snow peas, shell peas, celery, or green beans
1 - 2 small carrots, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 green or red pepper, sliced thin
1 medium ripe tomato
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, cilantro, or basil
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted sunflower seeds or toasted cashews

options:
chopped scallions, dried unsweetened cranberries, raisins or apricots, greek olives, minced jalapeno pepper, fresh mint.... and of course i'm not a vegetarian, so i threw some feta cheese on top.

dressing:
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
Fresh ground pepper
options: pinch of cayenne, garlic powder or fresh minced garlic, minced fresh or dried ginger

directions:

1. soak the quinoa 15 minutes in cold water
2. rinse thoroughly, pour off most of the water and drain through a large fine mesh strainer
3. place in 2 qt pot with the water, salt and oil
4. bring to a boil
5. turn the heat down to very low, cover and cook for 15 minutes
6. remove from heat and allow to sit five minutes with lid on
7. fluff gently with a fork and set aside to cool.
8. steam the carrots and green veg for 5 minutes, rinse in cold water
9. chop the tomatoes, herb and cucumber
10. blend dressing ingredients with a whisk or shake in a jar
11. gently combine veggies, walnuts, quinoa and dressing in a large bowl
12. cover and chill

{next time i plan to use cilantro, black beans, tomatoes, and mexican seasonings... yummmm!}