Picture Perfect Cooking

When you live and cook below the Mason-Dixon line, you learn that there are many definitions of the word “salad”.  There is tossed salad, which is the healthy green stuff topped with more veggies.  There are veggie salads smothered in mayo and creamy dressings, such as potato salad and broccoli salad.  There are fruit salads, but there is one more kind of salad that is not really a “salad” at all…dessert salads!

This recipe is definitely a DESSERT salad.  My grandma on my dad’s side always had this for Christmas and that is where I first tried it many years ago.  It only has 5 ingredients and takes only about 5 minutes to make.  I do recommend you make it the day before you eat it so the flavors can really meld together.

1 cup mini marshmallows

1 3.4oz pkg pistachio instant pudding mix

20oz can crushed pineapple in juice, un-drained

1/2 cup chopped pecans

8oz frozen whipped topping, thawed

Combine pineapple with juice and pudding mix; stir to combine.

Add the whipped topping and stir.

Finally, mix in the marshmallows and nuts.  Chill for several hours or overnight.

Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by OXO

I did it!  Last Sunday, I posted my supper menu for this past week and I actually stuck to it pretty well.  I did change Friday night’s dinner because when I make the steak sandwiches, it makes enough for 2 meals.  We weren’t home on Saturday night so I didn’t want to waste any of the leftovers, so the steak sandwiches were saved for this week.

Planning meals in advance did help quite a bit with the grocery shopping.  I have enough to do almost 2 weeks worth of meals except for the very freshest items like milk, bread, and veggies.  I am going to keep doing this and see if it keeps working this well.

Here are the supper plans for this week:

Sunday-supper at Nanny’s-I am contributing chicken fried pork chops. Recipe to be posted later.

Monday-supper at C’s parents-I am taking strawberry cobbler for dessert.

Tuesday-cheesy steak sandwiches with oven baked fries

Wednesday-leftover steak sandwiches

Thursday-tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches

Friday-grilled pork chops, roasted potatoes and salad pizza & salad

Saturday-apple cinnamon pancakes & sausage grilled pork chops, roasted potatoes & salad

I am still interested in your thoughts on menu planning.  Let me know!

For C’s Granny’s Christmas party, I went looking online again for a new cake recipe.  There are multiple people in this group that don’t care for chocolate, so I decided to try my hand at a caramel cake.

This recipe was also on www.myrecipes.com and originated from “Cooking Light” magazine back in 1999.  The recipe below has been changed though.  The original frosting recipe did not make nearly enough to frost a 9 inch layer cake.  I doubled the recipe and add a little more liquid.  I probably did not add quite enough liquid because the frosting was turning to fudge while I made it.  The taste was delicious, but it wasn’t the prettiest cake ever made.  Next time, I will add a little more milk to make it more spreadable.

For the cake:

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 large egg white

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups milk (The original recipe calls for fat-free.  I used 2%)

2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.  Prepare two 9 inch cake pans with non-stick spray, flour and wax paper.  Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Beat granulated sugar and butter at medium speed until well blended, about 5 minutes.

Add eggs and egg white, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour.  Stir in vanilla.

Pour batter into prepared pans, and sharply tap the pans on the counter to remove air bubbles.  Bake for 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto racks and cool completely.

For the frosting:

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup evaporated fat-free milk

5 tbsp butter

4 tsp light corn syrup

dash of salt

3-4 cups powdered sugar

3 tsp vanilla extract

Combine brown sugar, milk, butter, corn syrup and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat and simmer until thick, about 5 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Remove from heat and add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until the frosting starts to take shape.  Stir in vanilla.  Let cool for a few minutes.  The frosting will get thicker.  If it is too thick to spread, beat in 2-3 tbsp. of milk.

Well, I had planned on making candy for our Christmas celebrations, but the weather would just not cooperate!  First it was warm and humid (at least for December), and then the wind and rain started.  With that much moisture in the air, most candies just will not set up correctly, so on to plan B. 

For my nanny’s Christmas dinner, I decided to try a couple of new recipes.  One is for Tender White Cake that I found on the back of the King Arthur Flour Company’s cake flour package.  My favorite cakes are white with chocolate frosting, and this cake recipe did not disappoint.  The original recipe called for 2 tsp vanilla extract and 1 tsp almond extract.  I did not have the almond extract so I just used 3 tsp vanilla.

I went searching online for a new frosting recipe to go with the cake.  I discovered this on www.myrecipes.com which is one of my favorite cooking sites.  There are several magazines that publish their recipes to this page, including “Southern Living”.  Check it out.  I think you will enjoy it. 

Tender White Cake

2 3/4 cups cake flour (I use King Arthur Flour Company’s Queen Guinevere)

1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

12 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

4 large egg whites + 1 whole large egg

1 cup whole milk

3 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two 9” cake pans, a 9×13” pan, two 8” pans, or a cupcake pan.  I used the 9 inch pans. 

Separate the 4 eggs.

Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl.  Stir on low speed for 2 minutes to combine and aerate.

Add the butter and mix into a paste.  Add the egg whites, then the whole egg, beating after each addition.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically.

In a small bowl, whisk the whole milk with the vanilla extract.  Add that mixture, 1/3 at a time, to the batter.  Beat for 1-2 minutes after each addition, until fluffy, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pans.  Bake for 25-30 minutes for a 2 layer cake.  Remove from the oven and cool in the pans for about 10 minutes.  Turn out onto racks and cool completely before frosting.  My cakes had a few loose crumbs around the edges so I brushed them off before frosting

Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting

3 cups mini marshmallows

3/4 cup butter, cut into pieces

3/4 cup evaporated milk

6 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

4-5 cups powdered sugar (The original recipe calls for 6 cups, but the frosting was almost too stiff to spread.  Start with 4 or 5.  You can always add more if needed.)

1 tbsp vanilla

Melt first 4 ingredients in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring 5 minutes or until mixture is smooth.

Transfer mixture to a large bowl set over a larger bowl with ice water in it.

Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating at low speed with an electric mixer.  Increase speed to medium-high, and beat for 5 minutes or until frosting is cool, thick and spreadable.  Stir in vanilla and frost your cake.

I don’t know about you, but when I see an infomercial on tv, I automatically assume that the product is way too good to be true.  Well, I may have to change my tune just a little. 

At C’s paternal grandmother’s Christmas dinner, we played Dirty Santa which is a gift-giving game where everyone draws a number and opens a gift.  If you don’t want to open one, you are allowed to steal someone else’s and then they have to open another one.  My gift was a bake and serve brownie pan.  You know the one that is on tv…you pour the batter in the pan, insert the divider and bake.  Then you have 18 perfectly cut delicious brownies.  Yeah, right.  Actually, they are right.  I tried it today for the first time and it worked like a charm! And, no, they are not paying me to say this!!!

These are not the old fashioned boiled dumplings. No, sirree!  These are baked with lots of butter and sugar!  Enjoy these with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream or just plain.  They are great!  This recipe can be doubled easily.  In fact, the original recipe was twice this size.

1 can crescent rolls

1 firm fleshed apple such as granny smith or braeburn, peeled, cored and cut into 8 wedges

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 stick butter

1/2 can citrus soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place 1 slice of apple on each crescent roll triangle.  Wrap and place in a greased 8” square baking dish.

In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, melt the butter, with the sugar and cinnamon until just boiling.  Pour this over the rolls, then pour the soda over the rolls as well.

Bake for 45 minutes and try to let them cool a bit before digging in to them!