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Archive for the ‘Cooking’ Category
Southern Plate’s Butterfinger Cake
Posted in Cooking, tagged Cake, Dessert, Southern Plate on February 26, 2011| 8 Comments »
If you recall, a few weeks ago on a Thoughtful Thursday post, I said I was starting a Southern Plate-Picture Perfect Cooking Project a la the Julia/Julie Project. Well, here is my first official entry!
This is Southern semi-homemade at its finest, combining a yummy chocolate cake with a rich milky caramel sauce topped with crushed candy bars and whipped topping. What’s not to like about all of that? If all of Southern Plate’s recipes turn out this good, this project is going to be fun!
The only little, teeny-tiny change I made was to the cake mix. The original recipe called for a devil’s food cake mix and all I had was a milk chocolate so I just used that instead. You can use either one you like.
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 jar caramel ice cream topping
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 container frozen whipped topping, thawed
6 fun-size Butterfinger candy bars
Prepare the cake according to package directions in a 13×9” baking dish. A few minutes before the cake is done, combine the caramel ice cream topping and sweetened condensed milk.
As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, poke holes in it with a big fork. Go crazy and put as many holes are you want. Pour the sauce over the cake and allow it to set at room temperature for about 45 minutes. Notice how all of that good sauce soaks right in.
Chill in the fridge for several hours or overnight like I did. Crush the candy bars with a rolling pin. Sprinkle about 2/3 of the crumbs over the cake and top with the whipped topping. Sprinkle the remaining crumbs over the topping and enjoy!
Peanut Butter Cups
Posted in Cooking on February 19, 2011|
Peanut Butter Cups are one of mine & C’s favorites treats. C is not a big sweet eater, preferring salty or spicy snacks, but if he wants a sweet treat these are what he usually goes for. Of course, we have always eaten the “store-bought” cups in the orange wrappers, but I found this homemade version at Joy of Baking and decided to give it a try. We were not disappointed! These don’t taste exactly like the originals and the chocolate coating is crisper than the originals as well. At least, that is how mine turned out, but they were still good, good, good!
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup powdered sugar
9 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
9 oz milk chocolate chips
1 tbsp shortening
Line a miniature muffin pan with paper liners. This is supposed to make 36 cups and my pan only held 24 liners, so I just left the rest on the counter.
Place the peanut butter, unsalted butter, and salt in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for 20 second intervals until the peanut butter and butter are soft enough to mix together but not melted. This took about 40 seconds. Stir in the powdered sugar. This completes the filling.
In a separate bowl, melt the 2 chocolates with the shortening in the microwave oven at 50% power for about 2 minutes, checking the progress after 1 minute. Stir the chips until they are completely melted, then cook for 20 seconds at a time. Drop a teaspoon of the chocolate in each liner. Top this with a scant teaspoon of the peanut butter mixture. At this point, the cups will look like this:
By the way, I overfilled mine just a little. Pour another teaspoon of the melted chocolate over the top of the peanut butter and spread it around until it completely covers the top and seals around the edges of the paper liner.
Refrigerate until set and enjoy!! Store these in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Look at the cute little ridges that result from the paper liners!
Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Scharffen Berger.
I have always been more of a baker than a candy-maker, but this candy is my favorite. It is light and sweet, but it is not over-powering. Making divinity is a delicate procedure that requires my full attention or candy disaster will strike!
I love to make this around the holidays if the weather allows. It did this past Christmas and I got to make it twice. The first attempt was a little sticky because the humidity was just a little too high, but the second attempt was just perfect!
I hope you try this. The time it take to make it is more than worth it, just remember to watch the weather. The drier the air the better the divinity!
4 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup water
3 egg whites, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Lay out sheets of wax paper for the candy to dry.
Combine sugar, syrup and water in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Over low heat, stir until the sugar is dissolved. Clip on a candy thermometer and cook without stirring until it reaches 255 degrees (hard ball stage). This will take about 20 minutes.
When the syrup is about 250 degrees, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Remove the syrup from the heat. Pour very slowly into the egg whites, beating constantly on high speed. This previous step is very, very important. You must pour slowly and do NOT turn off the mixer while you are doing this.
Continue beating on high sped until the mixture holds its shape and loses its shine. I know this sounds vague, but I promise it will happen. When you first pour the syrup in the egg whites, the candy is extremely glossy. After you beat it for about 10-15 minutes, it becomes matte. Depending on the humidity, you may have to beat the mixture for a longer period of time. The first batch I made, I beat for 20 minutes and it was still a little glossy. Too much humidity! The candy still tasted good but it was too sticky.
Add vanilla and pecans. Working quickly, drop by tablespoonfuls onto the waxed paper and allow the candy to harden and cool. Here is the first batch that I made.
See how shiny it is. Here is a photo of candy from the second batch. You can definitely see the difference!
Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Beanilla.
Faux Red Lobster Biscuits
Posted in Cooking on February 5, 2011| 5 Comments »
Red Lobster is one of my all-time favorite restaurants. My mom & I used to eat there on shopping trips and on her doctor appointment check-up days. We called it our “good news” restaurant. I really miss getting to go with her, but I have continued the tradition of “girl’s day” with my grandmother and aunt and we eat there when we go shopping.
One of the best things there are the cheesy garlic biscuits and I have tried and tried to duplicate them with no luck. However, I recently purchased a bottle of garlic bread seasoning and decided to try these biscuits again. Eureka! The taste of these is very, very close to the real deal.
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 self-rising flour
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tbsp garlic bread seasoning
2 tbsp unsalted butter
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the whipping cream and 1 1/2 cups flour to form the basic biscuit dough. Stir in the cheese and seasoning just until combined; don’t over mix this or the biscuits will be tough. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto a lined baking sheet or a pizza stone.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are just starting to brown. At about the 15 minute mark, melt the butter and set aside. When the biscuits are done, pull them out of the oven and immediately brush the melted butter over them. Let the butter soak completely into the biscuit and enjoy!
Hamburger Stew
Posted in Cooking on January 29, 2011| 5 Comments »
I have been a subscriber to Taste of Home magazine for many, many years. The issues are always packed with delicious and simple recipes that include ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen right now. I am also a subscriber to their on-line newsletter and that is where this recipe originated. I tweaked it just a little and it turned out great!
I know this dish will stay in my cold weather rotation for a very long time!
2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 medium onion, chopped
8 medium carrots, thinly sliced
4 celery ribs, thinly sliced
4 14.5oz cans stewed tomatoes (I used the sliced variety.)
3 medium potatoes, peeled & cubed
2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 to 2 tbsp. salt
1 to 2 tsp. pepper
The addition of onion, carrot and celery as a base of a dish is called a Mirepoix, which is a traditional French combination of aromatic ingredients.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook beef, onions, carrots, & celery until the beef is no longer pink. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables and rice are tender. Uncover and simmer for 30 more minutes or until thickened.
This was delicious with cornbread muffins or crackers. You can also freeze this for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Transfer to a saucepan and add 1 cup of water. Cook until hot and bubbly.
Come join Soup-a-Palooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by Bush’s Beans, Hip Hostess, Pillsbury and Westminster Crackers”
Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Exchange sponsored by Le Creuset.
Check out this week’s spotlight at Eat At Home Cooks on orange veggies!
Picture Perfect Cooking 