Carmella's Carrot Cake

This is a recipe from a good family friend's mom and I have made this in every cake form possible with great success (cupcakes, layered cakes, square cakes).  I personally am not a huge carrot cake fan, but I have been told this one is pretty dang delicious!  The shout out on this recipe goes to Judy George for sharing her mom's (Carmella LaMorte Mitchell) famous recipe with the world!


Ingredients
2 c sugar
4 eggs
1 c oil
2 c grated carrots (I fill my 2c pyrex to the top/gently tapped)
3/4 c crushed pineapple (8oz crushed in its own juice, drain most of liquid)
2 c flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c chopped nuts ( I usually use pecans...having been putting then through my simple nut grinder to chop fine)


Directions
Whisk together sugar, eggs and oil.  Add carrots and pineapple.  Add flour, baking powder,soda, salt and cinnamon to wet ingredients.  Fold in nuts.

Bake 350.....time depends on pan...I usually use a an 10x15 roasting pan or 2 8 or 9 inch round pans ..it bakes in 33-35 minutes, 9 x 13 takes longer...
It's pretty runny and will fall if you toothpick it too soon in the middle....

Frosting:
8oz philly
1 stick butter
1 box powdered sugar
1-2 tsp good vanilla
A dash of cinnamon
chopped nuts sprinkled on top....

Thai Peanut Sauce

This recipe shout out goes to Katie Smith :)  Cooking asian food has always intimidated me a bit.  I think it was because I didn't have the ingredients I needed on hand and to go to the local grocery store to purchase them was always so pricey.  But Katie invited me down to Denver to a large Asian market and we stocked up on a bunch of goodies.  I have made about 4 "Asian" inspired meals since then and am becoming a lot more confident with my wok :)  Here is a great sauce that I use on chicken skewers or as a dipping sauce for Vietnamese Spring Rolls (similar to that link, I don't use the shrimp and add carrots, cucumber and avocado).


Ingredients:
3 small dried red chiles, stemmed and seeded or cayenne or hot red pepper flakes to taste

3 garlic cloves

2 shallots peeled (I've always used onion)

1 lemon grass stalk (white part only) thinly sliced (only if you have them on hand, I haven't used them)

2 tsp ground turmeric (or curry powder)

1 Tbs peanut or neutral oil, like corn or grapeseed

1 Can coconut milk (I think this is about 2 cups)

1 Tbs brown sugar

2 Tbs fish sauce (i usually alway half the fish sauce b/c it is so pewwwy)

2 Tbs lime juice

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup roasted peanuts (approx.)
1 Tbs of peanut butter (approx.)
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro (approx.)

Directions:
Combine first five ingredients in  a food processor and grind until fairly smooth.

Heat oil in sauce pan over med heat and saute the chile, garlic mixture until fragrant, about 1 min. add the remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth. Simmer until the sauce thickens, about 15 min. This may be stored covered in fridge for up to a week, gently rewarm over low heat or in microwave.

Chocolate Guinness Goodness

Puddings is a category of desserts that I have really taken a liking to.  I love the way everything starts off as a liquid and then once you add the egg yolks it slowly transforms into a beautiful silky textured goodness.  I also love how with most homemade pudding, a little can go a long way.  Just a few ounces of rich creamy chocolate is all you need after a meal.
This dessert is a fun one because it adds the element of beer.  Beer and chocolate, really?  The guinness really helps even out the sweetness of the chocolate and give a more mellow laid-back taste.  I did make a few adjustments to the recipe below.

1.  I added an Irish Cream Whip Cream to the top of each pudding verses the Guinness cream.
2.  I didn't have enough whipping cream so I used 1 cup whipping cream and 1 1/4 cup half and half.
3.  I would divide it among 8-10 glasses.  I served this to 8 adults and we still had a bit left over.


Ingredients: 
8 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
One 14.9-ounce can Guinness Draught
3 cups heavy cream
7 ounces high-quality bittersweet (70 to 72% cacao) chocolate, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

Directions:

In large nonreactive mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar.

Open can of Guinness and slowly pour into 4-cup measuring cup, pouring down side of cup to reduce foaming. Pour half of Guinness (about 7/8 cup) into heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan. Add 2 1/4 cups cream and whisk to combine. Set over medium heat and heat, whisking occasionally, until bubbles just begin to form at edges. Remove from heat, add chocolate, and whisk until smooth.

Slowly pour about 1/2 cup of  hot chocolate mixture into eggs, whisking constantly to prevent curdling. Return egg mixture to saucepan and set over moderately low heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens and coats back of spoon, about 15 minutes. (Pudding will look separated.) Pour into blender and blend on high for 1 minute. Divide pudding among glasses, leaving at least 1 inch of space at top of each. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled and set.

Meanwhile, pour remaining Guinness into small saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to moderately low and simmer, uncovered, until reduced to 1 tablespoon, about 20 minutes. Pour syrup into small bowl and let cool. I didn't do the above.

Beat remaining cream until soft peaks form. Add Irish Cream or Guinness syrup and beat until combined. Divide cream among 6 glasses of pudding and serve.


Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Guinness-Goodness-234304#ixzz1GzcS9Yb0

P.S.  Another great dessert with that leftover Guinness is Guinness floats.  I know you are thinking beer and ice cream, no way!  But it is really, really good.  The only stipulation is that you have to get good vanilla ice cream, with the little vanilla flakes in it.  No cheap stuff.  Try it, you'll like it :)

Corn Chowder

First off I LOVE cookbooks.  My husband laughs at me because I bring them to bed at night and read them.  I get giddy when Bon Appetit arrives in my mailbox. I could spend hours reading food blogs online.
All that to say that this recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks. Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes by Jeanne Kelley.  You can check out her website here.  Great pics, good recipes and teaching techniques. This cookbook inspires me to cook and this chowder is awesome!

Ingredients:
1 poblano chile
4 slices of thick sliced bacon, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh oregano (or 1.5 teaspoons of dried)
3.5 cups white or yellow corn kernels (about 4 ears) or 16 oz frozen corn
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
1/2 pound of new potatoes, diced
Salt and pepper

Directions:
Char the chile over a gas flame, on a grill or under a broiler until it is blackened and charred on all sides. Transfer the chile to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow it to steam while cooling. Peel, seed, stem and dice the chile. (Can be prepared up to 2 datys ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Cook the bacon until almost crisp, pour off most of the fat, reserving about 1 tablespoon.  Add the onion to the remaining bacon fat.  Cover and cook until the onion is tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.  Stir in garlic and oregano, and then the corn.
In your soup pot add the broth, milk and potatoes and bring to a simmer.  Add the corn mixture, cover and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.  Add the poblano chile and simmer for 5 minutes to blend the flavors. Season with salt and pepper.  Spoon about 1/2 of the soup into a blender, puree then mix back into soup until desired texture is reached.  Add bacon. Enjoy!

*This soup freezes great!  And don't forget to add some delicious crunchy french bread for dipping.

Recipe obtained from "Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes" by Jeanne Kelley pg.62

Opps.. it's been a month!

So much for consistency!  Must be why I only have 2 followers :)  I hate how time speeds up as you get older.  I just realized that today I have a 10 month old!  When did I get old enough to be a mom?
But baby is sleeping, house is clean, sun is pouring thought the window and I just made myself a mug of coffee with a splash of Bailey's left over from last night....

Upcoming recipes:
Corn Chowder
Thai Peanut Sauce
Chocolate Guinness Pudding

Chili Rubbed Pork Tenderloin With Apricot Ginger Glaze

I kind of went pork crazy at the grocery store a few months ago.  They were having great sales and I couldn't resist stocking up for this recipe as well as packing in a few good tenderloins (of which I currently have an 8 pounder in the freezer, funny story for another time).  I was searching for something fun that wouldn't require us to use the grill due to the below 0 temps outside at the time.  This is what I found and it was delish!  I ended up having enough glaze that I used it on some roasted chicken the next week, another good meal.  I served roast potatoes with the pork and brown rice with the chicken.

Ingredients

• 2 (1 pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed or chicken
•  
• Spice Rub:
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
•  
• Glaze:
• 1 1/2 cups apricot preserves
• 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 lime, juiced
• 
  
• Directions

1. Place chili powder, garlic powder, sugar, salt and pepper in a jar; shake to blend. Rub spice mixture onto pork tenderloins. Cover tenderloins and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours.
2. Prior to grilling, melt apricot preserves in saucepan over medium heat. Remove pan from the heat and stir in remaining glaze ingredients. Place half of the glaze in a serving bowl and hold for service.
3. Prepare grill at medium-high heat. Grill pork tenderloins for 15-20 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 160 degrees F. on an instant-read thermometer. 
4. When approximately 4 minutes of cook time remains, brush the pork tenderloins with the apricot glaze remaining in the pan. Cook for 2 minutes, turn the pork tenderloins and brush glaze on other side. Cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove pork from the grill and let set for about 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with reserved glaze.

I ended up cooking it in the oven  and found this great advice on one of the reviews. "I followed the advice of another reviewer here and baked the tenderloin in the oven at 300 degrees for 1 hour 10 minutes, brushed on some glaze, put back in oven for 10 additional minutes, turned tenderloin over and brushed rest of glaze on other side and baked 10 more minutes (total baking time of 1-1/2 hours)."

*Allrecipes.com has been great lately!  Check out this recipe at http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/chili-rubbed-pork-tenderloin-with-apricot-ginger-glaze/Detail.aspx

Kale Chips

Nate Mustache Man (he said we wanted a fun name) and I never really celebrate Valentines day,  super crowded restaurants and forced lovey eyes just aren't really our thing.   So I made what I termed our Gourmet Redneck meal.... Brats, Bread, Chips and Chocolate Pudding.  But... the brats were homemade Jalapeno Cheddar Elk brats, the bread a Rosemary Olive Oil French bread, the pudding was Pots'de Creme (I'll have to post the recipe for that soon, so easy and delicious) and some yummy Kale Chips (I have been wanting to make these for quite some time and this gave me a good excuse). They were AMAZING!  The only downside was the little broccoli tasting burps after eating nearly a whole pan :)
Once again here is the link for an awesome food blog with pretty pictures of Kale.  Enjoy.


Ingredients:
- 1 bunch (about 6 ounces) Kale 
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Sea salt, to taste


Directions:
Preheat oven to 300°F. Rinse and dry the kale, then remove the stems and tough center ribs. Cut into large pieces, toss with olive oil in a bowl then sprinkle with salt (go easy on the salt, Kale is fairly salty on it's own). Arrange leaves in a single layer on a large baking sheet (I lined mine with some foil). Bake for 20 minutes, or until crisp. Place baking sheet on a rack to cool.


*Thanks Smitten Kitchen for the yummy recipe http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/03/baked-kale-chips/

Asian Market

I went to an Asian market yesterday down in Denver.  I love asian food, but cooking it at home is a bit intimidating for me. So many foreign spices, sauces and ingredients.  But I'm doing it, I'm jumping in, Fish Sauce and all!  I also love how inexpensive items are there I walked away with a TON of groceries for about $30.  I will post some of the recipes as I try them out.... working on fresh veggie Spring Rolls with a Spicy Peanut dipping sauce.  Love it!

English Muffins

Lately I have been trying to think of things I can make that we buy regularly at the store. English muffins came to mind,  a staple at our house and a pricey item to buy every other week or so.

I know I am a bit late to jump on The Pioneer Woman bandwagon, but I am obsessed! I love everything about her website. Cows, food, photos, humor, cool design.

All that to say that is where I came across this recipe. Check it out here for all the fancy food pics or below is the recipe. Oh and by the way... SUPER EASY!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Milk 
• 3 Tablespoons Butter 
• 2 Tablespoons Honey 
• 1 cup Warm Water 
• ¼ ounces, weight Yeast 
• ¼ cups Cornmeal 
• 5-½ cups Flour (I used 3.5 cups whole wheat and 2 cups all purpose) 
• 1 teaspoon Salt 

Directions:

Combine milk, butter, and honey in a saucepan over medium heat. Warm until butter starts to melt, then whisk briefly. Remove pan from heat and allow liquid to cool to lukewarm.

Pour water into a mixing bowl and sprinkle with yeast. Stir gently with a fork. Set bowl aside for 10 minutes, or until yeast has dissolved.

Line baking sheets with waxed paper and sprinkle with a generous amount of cornmeal.

Pour cooled milk mixture into yeast mixture and gently stir until well blended. Add 3 cups flour and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until smooth. Beat in remaining flour and salt until the dough is no longer sticky. Scrape the dough onto a floured surface and dust with flour. Flour hands and knead dough for 3-4 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes.

Roll out dough with rolling pin to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut the dough into circles (a tumbler or mason jar does well). Transfer muffins to prepared baking sheets and sprinkle with cornmeal. Cover with a dry, lightweight towel and let rise until doubled in height, 35-45 minutes.

When muffins have risen, heat a skillet over medium heat. Carefully lift muffins from the pan and place on the ungreased skillet. Cook about 10 minutes on each side, using a spatula to flip them. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before splitting (with a fork) and toasting them.
* Recipe obtained from http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen-blog/2011/01/homemade-english-muffins

Back At It!

Ok... so I have never really been any good at this blog thing... just check out my original blog here.  Yes that is right last post was 3/29/10. I blame that on 1. having a baby and 2. having a camera that is on it's last leg (3.2 megapixels is still cutting edge right?) and 3. running out of space on our computer to hold tons of 3.2 megapixel photos.   And really is a blog cool without photos?  I don't think so... but this is a recipe blog and most food photos look kind of creepy to me anyways.  So upcoming on the blog is Homemade English Muffins, Chili Apricot Pork, Greek Yogurt, healthy "cream of" broccoli soup and some other fun ones.  Prepare yourselves for some un-photographed delicious recipes!