Diannes Dishes

Clam Chowder

2012-01-24T19:10:51Z

I love clam chowder. I've always loved this lovely soup. I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't enjoy this fabulous little creation. It is to me the epitome of comfort food.

Want to know the secret a really good clam chowder? Bacon drippings! Obviously you could skip this and just use olive oil, but the flavor of the bacon really enhances the soup. What's comfort food without a little naughty? And bacon drippings are definitely naughty. Shhhhh! Don't tell anyone! ;oP

Clam chowder can be made many different ways, and I've made various types over the years, but this version is hearty, chunky, and just perfect for a cold winter day! If soup is for dinner, and you like clams, this is the soup for you!

What You'll Need:
Extra virgin olive oil
1 pound of bacon, chopped
1 large onion, chopped (Note: I used a yellow onion this go around, but I usually use red onions instead.)
8 stalks of celery, chopped
4 potatoes, cut into bite sized cubes
2 large carrots, shredded
A generous pinch of sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 a teaspoon of dried thyme
1/4 cup of unbleached all purpose flour
4 cups of water
3 bay leaves
6 - 6.5 ounce cans of clams in juice, undrained
1 - 8 ounce bottle of clam juice
1/2 a quart of half and half (Note: I usually use the fat free variety, but regular will work as well. If you want to go really crazy you can use heavy cream!)

Add a little olive oil to the bottom of a very large stock pot and place chopped bacon in the pot and saute until crisp. Remove bacon, leave the bacon drippings.

Add onion, celery and potatoes and cook until the onions and celery are just tender.

Add carrots and stir to mix. Cook for about 2 minutes.

Next add flour and stir to coat the vegetables. Cook for another 2 minutes, but do not let the flour brown.

Next add thyme, salt, pepper and bay leafs, along with the water and stir to mix. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook covered until potatoes are fork tender, usually about 30 minutes.

Add clams, clam juice and half and half and simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes until soup is heated through and slightly thickened.

Remove bay leafs and serve immediately.

You can also store this soup in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a year.

Notes: You could add in corn too if you liked, for an even chunkier chowder. Leeks would also be a good addition to this soup.

Poor Man's Microwave Popcorn

2012-01-18T19:43:41Z

Microwave popcorn is convenient, but commercial varieties have a bunch of crap in them that can cause cancer. Imagine something processed being bad for you? What are the odds?

Anyway...

Of course you can air pop corn, or do the "old fashioned" stove top method, to which I'm partial, but you can also make your own microwave popcorn when you're short on time. You might think this would be difficult, but it takes about 5 minutes and that includes popping. Not bad for a fast, healthy snack. You control what goes in to the bag, so there's no gross chemicals or anything.

Not only is this a neat snack, it also is a cheap snack! You can't go wrong with that! Once you try it you'll do it over and over again. It's that easy and that good!

What You'll Need:
Plain brown paper bag
Popcorn
Sea salt
Extra virgin olive oil

Take a paper bag and place a thin layer of popcorn on the bottom of the bag:

Yes it's not the best picture, but it gives you an idea of how much popcorn you need.

Add in some sea salt. You can add anywhere from 1/2 a teaspoon to 1 teaspoon depending on your tastes. Plus you can always add salt after it's popped too, but if you pop it with the salt it gives it an overall better flavor.

Put a drizzle of olive oil in the bag, one teaspoon tops.

Fold the top of the bag over a couple of times and lay the bag on its side in the microwave. Pop for anywhere from 2-5 minutes depend on your microwave. It takes about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes in mine. When the pops start to slow down you know it's time to stop.

Carefully remove from the microwave. It's hot and the oil spreads in the bag. Carefully open the bag, just as you would a commerical bag, and don't let the steam burn you.

Place in a bowl and eat!

Note this makes about 2-3 cups of popcorn. If you're serving more than one you'll want to make multiple bags.

Notes: You can make variations of this. To make kettle corn follow the instructions above, but also add a tablespoon of sugar when you add the salt. You could also add in a tablespoon or two of Parmesan during the salt step if you wanted a cheesy snack.

Make Your Own Ginger Ale

2012-01-13T16:03:31Z

I'm not a big fan of soda as a general rule, but I do like a good root beer or ginger ale! My beef with most commercial varieties of these drinks? You've got it...high fructose corn syrup! There are some lovely artisan sodas out there, and I usually have some of those on hand, but occasionally I like to make my own ginger ale

Ginger ale obviously starts with ginger, in this case several pounds of it. This is a very easy thing to make, and you can't really go wrong. If your syrup ends up a little less gingery, use more of it when you make your final drink. If it has a stronger ginger flavor, use less. Not sugary enough for you? Add more sugar. Too sugary? Add less sugar, or add a bit more sparkling water when you're ready to drink your ginger ale. This is a very no-fail sort of thing. There are no wrong answers! And you know how I love that sort of thing.

So what's next? I'll make my own root beer, but that as they say, is a story for another day!

Let's talk some homemade ginger ale!

What You'll Need:
2-3 pounds of ginger, mostly peeled
6 quarts of water
4 cups of organic cane sugar
Sparkling water
Ice (optional)

First you want to scrub your ginger. Usually ginger is presented to you in the store pretty clean, but you still want to scrub. Since ginger is a knobbly beasty of a plant you'd be amazed where dirt can hide in its little nooks and crannies! Look at those monsters in the picture above! Plus who knows who touched it at the store, or in the process of transporting it there, before you and what might have been lurking on their hands.

Next you're going to need a large stockpot. One that can handle at least 8 quarts of liquid, so you have a little room.

Peel your ginger. This doesn't have to be perfect. If you leave a little ginger skin here or there, no biggie! Did I mention how many nooks and crannies ginger has? Just get most of the skin.

Once the ginger is peeled, chop it into rounds or chunks. Again nothing has to be perfect here. Just make sure you've got a sharp knife and chop/slice to your hearts content!

Place chopped/sliced ginger into your big stockpot.

Add six quarts of water and bring to a quick boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook covered for 1 hour.

Strain liquid through a sieve into a large bowl. Wipe or rinse out your stockpot to remove any debris and then return syrup to the pot and stir in sugar. Place back on your stove top and stir until sugar is melted. Given this has been cooking for an hour, the sugar melts almost instantaneously.

Once sugar is melted, pour ginger sugar syrup into glass canning jars. I like to use the ones with wide mouths, because if you leave an inch of space at the top you can freeze the syrup for use later.

Keep in mind that your liquid is hot, so either heat your jars a bit in a 200 F oven for about 10 minutes and then handle with mitts, or let the syrup cool down first or the jars might crack. Let the syrup cool completely if you chose the heated jar route, if not you're already cooled and ready to go.

No matter which way you chose to handle your syrup above, now you've got your ginger syrup and you can make ginger ale!

Now you get to decide whether you want to use ice or not. I like to do this over ice, but if your syrup and/or sparkling water have been stored in the fridge you can skip the ice if you want.

Place a little of your ginger syrup in the bottom of a glass.

Cover with sparkling water and stir.

The amount of syrup versus sparkling water depends on your own personal tastes. Play around with it until you get it where you like it!

What you end up with is a really fabulous, sweet, yet spicy, ginger ale that you can mix up whenever you like.

How fabulous is that?

Makes about 5 quarts.

To store you can place in a cool dark place, in the fridge or even freeze your syrup until ready to use. You could put one jar in the fridge and the rest in the freezer and then use it as you need it. The syrup lasts for weeks in the fridge or a cool dark place, and up to a year in your freezer

If you do decide to freeze your syrup be sure that you've left at least an inch of head space at the top of the jar and that your jars are completely cooled before you put them in your freezer. This prevents the glass from cracking as the liquid freezes and expands/cools.

Notes: Keep in mind that ginger has a little zing to it. Some people might not care for this version of ginger ale because it does have a bit of "heat" to it, for lack of a better word. Most of the people I've given this to, who were fans of ginger ale to begin with, loved the finished product!

Rustic Vegetable Soup

2012-01-06T18:37:12Z

I love soup. I'm a big fan year round, but especially in the winter. This soup came about from my wanting to incorporate the vegetables I got from our local CSA like vegetable/fruit delivery service this week. I had an eggplant, some bok choy, some chard, along with some left over black eyed peas from New Year's Day. Before long this soup was "born".

This soup is BIG. It makes a lot of soup. It has big chunks of vegetables and is very hearty, all while being healthy too. Pair it with some sour dough or corn bread and a side salad you've got a meal. In reality though the soup itself is hearty enough to be a meal, so you can enjoy it as is too!

What You'll Need:
Extra virgin olive oil
2 large carrots, cut into round pieces
1 large red onion, chopped
2 cups of sliced mushrooms
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large potato, cut into bite sized cubes
1 large bunch of Swiss or rainbow chard, chopped
1 bunch of bok choy, chopped
1 large eggplant, cut into bite sized cubes
2 teaspoons of dried oregano
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 quart of chicken broth
2 quarts of tomato sauce
1 - 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes
2 cups of frozen corn
1 - 10 package of frozen lima beans
2 cups of cooked black eyed peas, undrained

First up let me be clear...You're going to need a very BIG pot for this soup!

In a very large stockpot saute carrots, onion, garlic, mushrooms and potato in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil until tender, stirring often. Add chard and bok choy and stir until just wilted.

Add oregano, thyme, a pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground pepper and stir to mix.

Next add chicken broth, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Also add corn, lima beans and black eyed peas and stir to incorporate.

Bring to a quick boil and then lower heat to a simmer. Cover and cook, stirring often for at least an hour.

Serve immediately. Left overs are great too and freeze fabulously!

Notes: If you wanted to make this vegetarian/vegan use water or vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth. You could also use other vegetables like leeks, celery, white beans, etc. Shake it up!

Make Your Own Honey Butter

2012-01-03T15:03:35Z

I was talking about making honey butter with some friends a while back and I was surprised to find out that they thought this was an epic culinary undertaking. They were shocked when I told them just how easy it was to make!

I'm a big fan of honey butter, or well honey itself for that matter. My father has his own bees so I've always got a ready supply of honey in the cabinet. Honey butter is perfect on warm biscuits, yeast rolls, or even simple toast. Making your own is also a lot cheaper and has less unneeded additives than what you might find in your store.

2012 will bring more of these "Make Your Own" segments, which in reality are what I like to call "semi-recipes". Everything from herbed oils, to seasonings, to other food items, along with a few household cleaning and beauty items as well. In 2011 I started making my own laundry detergent and cleaning spray. Not only is it cheaper, it's healthier too. After all isn't that how most of use want to start out the New Year?

Happy New Year! Here's to hoping 2012 is a healthier, better year for us all!

What You'll Need:
1/2 pound of butter, softened (Note: I like to use Kerrygold Irish Butter.)
1/4 to 1/3 cup of honey

In a mixing bowl beat butter until light and fluffy. On low speed slowly add honey and mix until incorporated. Turn to high and beat for one minute.

Remove butter from mixing bowl and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Plus it's ready to use immediately.

How easy is that?

Notes: If you like your honey butter a little less sweet go with 1/4 a cup of honey. It you like it a bit more sweet then go with 1/3 a cup of honey instead. Honey butter not your thing? Add a couple of tablespoons of cinnamon sugar instead to make another great "fancy" butter to enjoy.

Triple Bread Stuffing...It's Not Just For The Holidays!

2011-12-29T18:53:05Z

One of the main reasons the holidays are my favorite time of the year is stuffing! Stuffing (or dressing, depending on what you want to call it) is often neglected during other times of the year and it really is a fabulous side dish no matter what the season.

There are many different ways to make stuffing. My mom makes a really fabulous corn bread stuffing that brings back memories of my childhood. As I've gotten older I've come to like one made with various types of bread instead. Some people add oysters, some people add fruit...In short there is no wrong or right way to make stuffing. What matters is whether YOU like it or not!

To me stuffing needs some basic ingredients and you can't forget the sage! Lots of sage is key! This stuffing is a very simple, yet fabulous side dish that is perfect for any meal. Stuffing...It's not just for the holidays anymore!

What You'll Need:
1/2 loaf of French bread, cut into cubes
1/2 loaf of Callah bread, cut into cubes
12 buttermilk biscuits, cut into cubes (Note: I make these. See below.)
Extra virgin olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
6 stalks of celery, chopped
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
2 large carrots, shredded
2 tablespoons of crushed dry sage
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
1 quart of chicken broth, at room temperature (Note: I make my own, but store bought is fine.)
2 eggs

I usually buy the Callah and French bread, but I make the biscuits. They're simple. In a large bowl mix 2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of sea salt, 1 tablespoon of baking power and 1 tablespoon of organic cane sugar until completely incorporated. Using a pastry blender or a fork cut in 1 stick of softened butter until mixture is pebbly. Add 1+ cups of buttermilk to this mixture and stir to make your biscuit dough. Sometimes you need more buttermilk, sometimes less. It all has to do with humidity and such. You want a dough that you can handle without sticking to your hands. Roll dough out on a floured surface and cut into biscuits. Bake in a preheated 425 F oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Simple and delicious! If you don't want to make the biscuits you and purchase them at the store. Most freezer sections have frozen buttermilk biscuits these days.

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Cut all three breads into bite sized cubes. Toss with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and bake for 4-6 minutes until golden brown and crouton like.

Remove bread from the oven and let the cubes cool to room temperature.

When you're ready to make the stuffing preheat oven to 375 F.

In a large stock pot saute onion and celery in a little extra virgin olive oil with the sea salt and pepper until just tender. Add the carrots and cook for an additional 1 minute and then remove from heat.

Once the vegetable mixture is off of the heat add the chicken broth, sage and thyme and stir to mix. Slowly add egg and stir until incorporated.

Place cooled bread cubes in a very large bowl and pour the liquid mixture over them and toss to coat.

Pour coated mixture into a 13 X 9 inch baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray and bake for 40-45 minutes.

Serve immediately or you can let it cool and freeze for use later.

Notes: You could add mushrooms in to this for an added treat. You could also use other kinds of bread. It's a mix and match sort of dish.

Graham Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-12-09T18:33:46Z

How is it possible it's December already? This year has just flown by! This time of year I start thinking about baking Christmas goodies. Lex and I took an unexpected trip to Tennessee on November 27th due to my father having a transient ischemic attack, which leaves the victim with stroke like symptoms for a period of time. He said we didn't have to come, but I told him as his daughter it was my prerogative to come anyway. We ended up staying until Wednesday morning of this week and then headed back to Maryland. All of that to say I haven't had much time for baking.

Jamison is teaching a class at work this week so yesterday I decided to whip up some cookies and send them in with him. Alexis loved these. I didn't tell her until AFTER she had eaten one that they had coconut in them. Guess she doesn't hate coconut as much as she thought! ;oP

These cookies are extremely easy to make, and they are also eggless. If you have a coconut lover on your Christmas list this year then these are the cookies for you!

What You'll Need:
1 sleeve of graham crackers, crushed
1 1/3 cups coconut
1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 - 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl stir together graham cracker crumbs, coconut, flour, baking powder and sea salt until complete incorporated. Add sweetened condensed milk and butter and mix until "dough" forms. Stir in chocolate chips.

Place cookie dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Using a tablespoon measuring spoon, scoop out balls of dough and place on a baking sheet that has been lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until cookies are slightly brown.

Remove bake cookies from oven and let cool on cookie sheets before placing in to air tight container for storage.

Makes roughly 36 cookies.

Notes: You can add in nuts if you like. You could also use other types of chocolate chips or a mix of several different kinds.

French Toast Casserole

2011-11-07T18:37:21Z

I love to make croissants. I use the recipe that Abby from Abby Sweets blogged about a while back and they're perfect! The only problem is that I'm the only one who can (in Jamison's case) or will (in Lex's) eat them, so I usually end up eating a few and then freezing the rest. They freeze beautifully as they would say on Steel Magnolias.

Anyway....

There was a bag of frozen croissants in the big freezer that I kept looking at whenever I got something out of there to use. For a while now I've wanted to make a French Toast casserole and my mind started thinking it would be fabulous to make the casserole out of the croissants! Why not? When Mom and Darlene were here at the beginning on October I let them thaw and got to work.

The result?

This is a warm, ooey gooey treat that is just perfect for a special breakfast on a cold morning! What could be better than that?

What You'll Need for the Casserole:
8-12 croissants cut into cubes
8 eggs
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 tablespoons of natural brown sugar
1/3 cup of maple syrup
1/3 cup of half and half or heavy cream
Cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Cut croissants into cubes and place in a very large bowl.

Whip together eggs, cinnamon, brown sugar, maple syrup and heavy cream until completely incorporated. Pour this mixture into the bowl of croissant cubes and toss until all cubes are thoroughly coated.

Pour the cubes into a large baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. (I used a 14 X 10 inch pan, but you can use a 13 X 9 inch pan as well.) Sprinkle the top generously with cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and egg is set and then remove from the oven.

Top with Maple Topping (see below) and let sit 5-10 minutes before serving.

What You'll Need for the Maple Topping:
1 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of maple syrup

10 minutes or so before the casserole comes out of the oven start making your Maple Topping. You want this to be warm when it goes on the casserole as it comes out of the oven.

In a medium size pot stir together heavy cream and maple syrup. Bring to a quick boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook 5 minutes stirring often.

Pour mixture over the hot casserole and let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Notes: I think some chocolate chips would be good in this for a chocolatey kick. I'd also like to try this with banana, apple or pumpkin bread for a bit of a twist. You can serve with extra maple syrup if desired. Also making your own cinnamon sugar is easy, mix 1 cup of sugar with 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and you're good to go!

Pumpkin Dulce de Leche Swirl Brownies with Chocolate Chips

2011-10-27T17:33:23Z

I love pumpkin! It's one of my all time favorite things and this time of year I love to make sweets and treats, not to mention savory dishes like soup or ravioli with pumpkin. It seems in the fall I always have pumpkin on the brain and these brownies popped in to my mind when I saw a recipe for a chocolate/caramel type brownie and my imagination just went crazy from there!

These brownies are brownie like, all while having a slight essence and texture of pumpkin pie. The caramel gives the brownie a subtle hint of something wonderful, without overpowering the whole and the chocolate chips give it just the right oomph to finish off the dish. It's an all around perfect combination!

What You'll Need:
1 - 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
1 - 15 ounce can of pumpkin
1/2 cup of organic cane sugar
6 tablespoons of butter, softened
1 teaspoon of vanilla
3 eggs
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 cup of unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 of a bag of semisweet chocolate chips1 teaspoon of cinnamon

First you want to make your dulce de leche. There are a few ways to do this with a can of sweetened condensed milk. You can boil a can of sweetened condensed milk in a large stock pot for an hour and a half to two hours (the longer you boil it the thicker it is), making sure the can stays covered with water the whole time, or you can empty a can of sweetened condensed milk into a double boiler and simmer for up to 2 hours until the milk becomes caramely. I chose the double boiler method this go around. Once your dulce de leche is made you mix up the brownies.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large mixing bowl beat together pumpkin, sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs until smooth. Add baking powder, salt, cinnamon and flour and mix until incorporated.

Pour mixture into an 12 X 8 inch baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Add dollops of the dulce de leche to the top of the pumpkin mixture in the dish and use a spoon or knife to swirl into the brownie batter. Finally sprinkle the top of the brownies with the chocolate chips.

Bake for 22-25 minutes. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving.

Notes: You can use a different kind of chocolate chips if you like, white chocolate chips especially would be good with this. You can also purchase dulce de leche to use in this recipe if you don't want to make it yourself.

Pumpkin Trifle

2011-10-13T15:03:37Z

Every October my mom and my best friend Darlene come to visit for a week around my birthday. This year that week happened to be last week. We spend the week goofing off, laughing and generally having a fabulous time. Some years they are here on my actual birthday, other years like this year, they are not, but it's a lot of fun and something I look forward to all year long.

The day after Mom and Darlene arrived I had a little lunch party after church so that a friend of mine here could meet Darlene and my sister could come pick up my mom to spend a few days with her in Virginia. Given it was fall I decided I wanted to make a pumpkin pound cake that I love to make around this time of year.

I mixed up my pound cake, put it in the oven and baked it. I left it turned upside down in the pan on a plate after it cooled, so that it wouldn't dry out overnight. When I removed the pan it stripped the sides of the cake with it. My OCD couldn't handle serving my guests something that looked like someone, or something, had torn in to the sides of the cake, so my mind started working on an alternative and a few minutes later I had the perfect solution...A Trifle!

This is a very simple thing to put together, but it's impressive all by itself. I decided to spice up the whipped cream a bit too and this really turned out to be the quintessential autumn dessert!

First Step: Bake your pumpkin pound cake and let cool.

Next Step: Make your Cinnamon Brown Sugar Maple Whipped Cream!

What You'll Need for the Cinnamon Brown Sugar Maple Whipped Cream:
2 cups of heavy cream
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/3 cup natural brown sugar
1/4 cup of maple syrup

Dump all ingredients in to the bowl of a mixer. Beat on high until soft peaks form.

Set aside to use for your Pumpkin Trifle. (See below.)

And Then: Assemble your trifle!

What You'll Need to make the Pumpkin Trifle:
Pumpkin pound cake
Cinnamon Brown Sugar Maple Whipped Cream (see above) Caramel sauce (Note: You can make your own or use pre-made from the store. I used store bought this go around, but you could use the caramel sauce from this recipe instead.)

Once cake is cooled cut it into chunks. (Note: You might not need all of the cake, depending on the size of bowl you put your trifle in. I like to cut the chunks for each layer as I go.)

Place a layer of pound cake chunks in the bottom of a clear glass trifle dish or bowl. Once you have your layer of pound cake add a layer of your whipped cream and spread it out evenly over the pound cake chunks. Repeat these steps until you reach the top of your bowl

Top the last layer of pound cake with a generous mound of whipped cream. Drizzle the top generously with caramel sauce and let sit for at least 30 minutes before serving so the flavors meld a bit.

Last Step: Eat and enjoy!

Store unused portions of the dessert in the fridge.

Notes: You could use this method with regular pounds cake and top it with any number of topping/whipped cream varieties of your choice. I have a blueberry version floating around in my head that you may see soon.

Triple Chocolate Ganache Cake

2011-09-21T18:36:19Z

Ok let's get this out of the way...This cake is not a healthy alternative to anything. This is a calorie nightmare, not something you would eat everyday, loaded with sugar, chocolate and butter sort of dessert. In short it's the kind of dessert that probably makes your mouth water just looking at it! As I said you aren't going to eat this everyday, you wouldn't want to eat this everyday. This is a special occasion sort of cake, with plenty of cake to share with many of your closest friends!

One thing I really like about this cake is it doesn't have to be perfect. Let's face it, we aren't Martha Stewart, and quite frankly I wouldn't want to be. I have enough OCD tendencies without taking things as far as she would. You don't have to smooth out the buttercream to perfection. The ganache is going to run down the side of the cake. It'll happen. These are good things. Embrace your messy diva!

This cake has many steps, but trust me it's worth it! So break out your fork and let's talk a little chocolate cake!

What You'll Need for the Cake:
Three layers of a really good chocolate cake (Note: I used this one, tripled.)

Bake your three layers of cake and let them cool completely.

Once cool make and apply the chocolate buttercream. (See below.)

What You'll Need for the Chocolate Buttercream:
2 cups of double chocolate chips
4 egg whites
1 1/2 cups of superfine sugar
1 1/2 pounds of butter, softened
1 tablespoon of vanilla

Melt the chocolate chips in a glass bowl in the microwave at 20 second intervals until melted with no lumps. Set aside to cool slightly.

For this next step you're going to need a double boiler. If you don't have a double boiler they are easy to "make". Simply find a glass bowl that will sit on top of one of your pots and not go all the way down in so that the water does not touch the bowl. Viola...You've got a double boiler!

Place egg whites and sugar over medium heat in a double boiler until the mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar is completely dissolved. Turn off heat and add the melted chocolate stirring to mix thoroughly. Let this mixture sit until cool.

When chocolate/egg white mixture is cool add your butter and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Spread the buttercream in between the layers of your cake and then cover the entire cake in buttercream.

Place the cake in the fridge for at least 2 hours:

I usually leave this stage in the fridge overnight.

Once the buttercream is set you'll need to make your ganache. (See below.)

What You'll Need for the Ganache and Top of the Cake:
2 cups of heavy cream
2 tablespoons of butter
4 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
Shaved milk chocolate

In a large saucepan add heavy cream and butter and cook stirring often until the butter melts. Do NOT let this boil.

Once the butter is melted add the chocolate and stir constantly until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar and mix until smooth.

Pour melted chocolate mixture over the top of the cake and then sprinkle the top with the shaved chocolate.

Next place the cake back in the fridge to chill:

Let it chill at least 2 hours before serving. I also like to let it sit out for at least 30 minutes before serving.

How good does this look?

This is a "messy" cake, but it still has a bit of wow factor. It's the perfect, sometimes, lovely treat!

Notes: You can mix up the kinds of chocolate you use. The next time I make this I think I make try to make a white chocolate buttercream and see how that turns out. This takes a little time, so make sure you take that in to account before you make it. I don't make this often, but it is so worth it when I do!

Cheesy Sour Cream Enchiladas

2011-09-14T20:16:28Z

As I mentioned in my last post we recently had a Tex Mex feast with friends to celebrate Labor Day. One of the dishes that I served was a Cheesy Sour Cream Enchilada dish, along with our other Tex Mex selections.

Now I'm a big fan of enchiladas, when they're done right of course, and this one really was fabulous! I ended up eating left overs for a week, but I didn't regret any of those repeat meals! It's a bit of work to put together, but it really is easy, and if you like these types of dishes then you'll definitely like this one!

On a side note this was my little piece of heaven yesterday:

Isn't it gorgeous? I really love the Assateague National Seashore in Maryland!

Lex had a blast playing in the waves:

And we had a really nice time despite the fact I had a small migraine and stayed mainly under the umbrella snoozing much of the afternoon while Jamison and Lex played on the beach. Toward the end I started feeling a bit better. A day on the beach, despite the headache is heaven to me! Even if all I did was enjoy the breeze and listen to the waves!

This was taken right before we started to pack up our things and head home:

What does any of this have to do with enchiladas? Nothing! But I wanted to share anyway!

Now let's make some Cheesy Sour Cream Enchiladas!

What You'll Need:
Burrito sized flour tortillas
4-6 cups of shredded cheese (Note: Colby, Cheddar, Monterrey Jack, pepper jack and Colby jack can be used. Or you can use a mix of any of them.)
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
4-6 heaping tablespoons of flour
2 cups of chicken broth (Note: I used homemade, but store bought is fine.)
1 can of chopped green chilies
1 - 6 ounce jar of fire roasted peppers, drained and chopped
1 can of Rotel
1 small red onion, chopped
1 small container of sour cream (Note: 8 to 10 ounces)
More shredded cheese for topping

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Spray a large, rectangle baking dish with non-stick spray, or brush with olive oil, to prevent sticking. Set aside.

Place a tortilla flat and add a generous amount of cheese down the middle of the tortilla. Since this is your only filling, make sure to add a lot of cheese!

Roll the tortilla around the cheese and place the stuffed cheese tortilla seam down in your dish. Repeat this process until you have filled your dish. You can fit 8-10 tortillas in the dish. The key is to cram them in there together!

Once you are finished filling the dish, set it aside.

In a large skillet heat oil until warm and then add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook for 2-3 minutes and then add chicken broth. Continue stirring constantly to make your "roux". I use this word loosely. You don't want the "roux" to brown, just to thicken.

When "roux" is thickened remove from heat and pour in sour cream, chilies, Rotel, chopped onion and fire roasted peppers until combined. Pour this mixture over the enchiladas in your dish making sure to spread the mixture out evenly.

Top with more cheese and cook in a preheated oven for 35-45 minutes until heated through and the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.

Remove from oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Notes: You can top these with more sour cream and/or guacamole when servings. Also you could put chicken, beef, shrimp, pork, etc in with the cheese if you wanted meat in your enchiladas.

Cheesy Mexican Rice

2011-09-06T17:23:52Z

Who can believe it's already September? The years seem to go faster and faster every year. Alexis started third grade today. How is it possible that she's even old enough to be in third grade?

But I digress...

On Sunday afternoon we had some friends over for a Tex Mex feast. We had spent the Sundays before Memorial Day and the 4th of July together, so I decided we needed to make it a trifecta with Labor Day and invited them over for an early dinner. The kids played, we talked, we ate, we had fun! That's what friends are for.

Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing some of the recipes from Sunday. You'll see queso, sour cream enciladas and a fabulous Triple Chocolate Ganache Cake that is so sinful you might just gain five pounds looking at the screen! I've also got a roasted vegetable enchilada recipe that I made a month ago or so, along with Cheesy Potato skins and honey butter. You'll want to stay tuned for the queso and Chocolate Ganache Cake alone, but the other recipes are lovely too!

I love Mexican themed foods. My dishes are most likely labeled more Tex Mex than Mexican, but I use the terms interchangeably depending on my mood. This dish is the very epitome of comfort food...It's warm, hearty and extremely satisfying. Plus it's a little spicy, which is always a good thing in my book! It makes the perfect side dish to a Tex Mex/Mexican feast. Try it, you'll like it!

What You'll Need:
2 cups of uncooked rice (Note: You can use whatever kind of rice you like. I usually use jasmine or brown rice. I used jasmine this go around)
Extra virgin olive oil
1 bell pepper, chopped (Note: Use what ever color you like.)
1 onion, chopped (Note: Again what ever type you like. I usually use red onion, but this go around I used Vidalia instead.)
3 cups of creamed corn (Note: I used some I had made myself, but you could substitute two cans of creamed corn if you like.)
1 can of Rotel, undrained
1 - 6 ounce can of fired roasted peppers, chopped
1 - 8 ounce package of cream cheese, cut in to cubes and softened
1 cup of Colby or cheddar
1 cup of Monterrey Jack
Sea salt
Finely ground black pepper
More cheddar, Colby and/or Monterrey Jack Cheese for topping

In a large stock pot cook rice according to package directions and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a large skillet saute bell pepper and onion in a little extra virgin olive oil until tender.

Once onions and peppers are tender stir in a generous pinch of sea salt, some finely ground black pepper, creamed corn, fired roasted peppers and Rotel and stir until mixed.

Add cream cheese, Colby or Cheddar and Monterrey Jack cheese to the vegetable mixture and stir until melted and thoroughly combined throughout the vegetables.

Pour vegetable and cheese mixture in to the stock pot with the cooked rice and stir until combined.

Spray a 13 X 9 inch dish with non-stick spray or brush with olive oil. Pour the mixed vegetable mixture into the dish and spread it out to fill the dish. Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and top with shredded Colby, cheddar and/or Monterrey Jack cheese(s) and place back in the oven for 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Remove dish from oven and let sit 5-10 minutes before serving.

Notes: If you can't find Rotel you could use a small jar of salsa instead, but the Rotel gives it a better over all flavor. This makes great leftovers too!

Pan Fried Soft Shelled Crabs

2011-08-29T19:03:56Z

I love soft shell crabs...If they're done right! It's very easy to mess up this relatively simple dish, but when they're done properly they are just fabulous! I've had my share of bad and good fried crabs. In fact in one case over on the Eastern Shore I had a fried soft shell crab that was so bad I couldn't even finish eating it because it was just that horrible. Most of the other "bad" ones were at least edible, but in that instance it wasn't the case.

For several years I've wanted to play around with soft shell crabs, but never found any that were live so I skipped the experience. I actually found some live, soft shelled crabs late last month and I was thrilled! I bought a couple, knowing I was the only one that would eat them. Jamison doesn't like seafood (or much of anything for that fact) and Alexis won't eat something that resembles the animal it came from. I have to agree with her on that point for the most part, given I can't stand to see a fish served that still has a head. I have this thing about my food staring back at me, but that is neither here nor there at the moment.

Anyway.....

I bought a couple of live soft shelled crabs and the fish monger actually cleaned them for me. If you buy them from somewhere that you can have them cleaned for you I highly recommend you take that route. It isn't hard to do, but I think it's easier to just have it done for you. If you'd rather do it yourself Cooking Light has a very nice little tutorial on how to clean a soft shell crab that should set you in the right direction.

In my opinion there are two main ways to go wrong with soft shelled crabs: 1)You don't season them properly or 2)They are either under or over fried. I remember once hearing Emeril quip that he wasn't sure where we got our beef, but where he got his it didn't come seasoned. This is true of most anything, including crabs. You have to season them properly for them to taste good!

I've been in Maryland now for 11 years and in that time I've steadily become more and more of a Maryland girl and in my mind crabs need Old Bay! This goes for soft shell crabs when you're frying them. Have you ever heard of a Maryland crab that didn't have a little Old Bay Seasoning thrown in for good measure? Crab soup, crab dip, crab cakes, more likely than not, if these dishes originated in Maryland you're going to find Old Bay in the components of the dish. Old Bay is as big a part of Maryland as the crab or oyster themselves. Some people don't care for Old Bay, but I'm a BIG fan!

As for frying it isn't hard, but it's essential that you do it right. I love sushi, but when it comes to crabs I want them cooked properly all the way done. This isn't sushi grade salmon or tuna we're talking about here. On the flip side if you cook them too long you're going to end up with a hard, rubbery bit of nothing that is extremely hard to eat and doesn't taste like much to boot. You want to look for a lightly browned outside that when touched still has a little bit of give to it over all. It takes roughly 2-3 minutes on the 1st side you fry and then 1-2 on the second. It's quick, but don't make it too quick!

Soft shelled crabs are a tradition around here. Everyone has their own spin on this little dish and this is mine. Eat them straight up, or make a sandwich with some lettuce, tomato and tartar sauce, but either way you're in for a treat!

What You'll Need:
Extra virgin olive oil
Soft shelled crabs, cleaned
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup of unbleached all purpose flour
1-2 tablespoons of Old Bay Seasoning (Note: Use less if spicy isn't your thing.)
Sea salt
Finely ground black pepper

In a large skillet over medium heat heat olive oil until hot.

While oil is heating get started on your crabs.

Beat two eggs together in a dish and set aside.

Mix together flour and Old Bary seasoning on a plate. Set aside.

If your crabs aren't cleaned (see the link above) you want to do that first:

Sprinkle cleaned crab with sea salt and black pepper and then dip in to beaten egg:

Take crab from the egg mixture and dip one side into the flour mixture:

Flip crab over and place the other side in the flour mixture:

Make sure both sides are covered well by picking it up and inspecting both sides:

Place on a plate and repeat until you've coated all of your crabs:

When oil is hot place crab bottom side down and fry for 2-3 minutes:

Once bottoms are lightly browned flip the crab over and fry the other side for 1-2 minutes:

Fry until both sides are lightly browned:

Just as when you steam crabs they'll turn red and you can see it through the cooked "batter" when they're done. Remove from the oil and let drain on a paper towel lined plate for a couple of minutes and then serve.

Notes: You can do this for shrimp too. I like to serve these with seared scallops along the side.

Canning, Preserving and Freezing, Oh My! (And a Simple, Yet Fabulous Recipe for Refrigerator Dill Pickles!)

2011-08-15T19:27:13Z

It's that time of year again...The time to save some of your harvest for use during the winter. My three favorite methods include canning, preserving and freezing. I also dry things like fruit or tomatoes from time to time too.

Living on the side of a mountain has its perks. It's cooler up here than down in the valley, even though we've had some miserably hot days this summer all together, we tend to get a bit more rain and you can't beat the view! Well the view isn't really a perk I suppose, but it's enjoyable none the less. I'm an ocean/water girl by nature, but I have to say this view has really, really grown on me.

The bad thing about living on the side of a mountain in the middle of nowhere Central Maryland is the wildlife! Daily residents in our yard include ground hogs, who are voracious little rats, rabbits, who are pretty voracious themselves, deer, who well are pretty voracious too, along with a sundry other creatures (including a few SNAKES eek!) that all mill about. The thing these beasties have in common? They love to eat anything that I plant in my "garden"!

Meet one of our resident groundhogs:

Or Satan as I have dubbed him. Sure he looks all sweet and cute sitting there munching on rotten apples that have fallen from the tree, which I'm more than happy to share with him and his little fuzzy family, but he's really an evil little thief of massive proportions! Don't let his charming little demeanor fool you...This guy is trouble!

Despite having numerous tomato plants this year all of the ripe ones have been eaten by the deer, ground hogs and rabbits before I have gotten to enjoy them. Luckily we have a few nice Farmer's Markets around the area each week as well as a nearby orchard that has a multitude of various fruits and vegetables so I've been buying my tomatoes from them.

I have beautiful tomatoes:

But once this sucker starts turning the least bit red one of my yard critters will end up eating it before I get the chance. Excuse me while I grumble a moment about evil animals.....

Where was I?

Tomatoes!

The only type of tomatoes I've grown this year they haven't munched is my cherry tomatoes:

And let me tell you these little guys are good, but sometimes you want something a little bigger than these little gems.

For the past few years toward the end of summer I've purchased bushels upon bushels of what they call "second tomatoes". What are second tomatoes? They're the tomatoes that grow into a weird shape, or have a blemish here, or a spot there. There is nothing wrong with these tomatoes, but some people can't see past their "ugly" (And I use this term sarcastically...Who cares what it looks like as long as it tastes ok??!!?!) exterior. You may have to cut a spot out here or there, but they are still perfectly good tomatoes to eat, can or even freeze. Don't let the look of something fool you. You know like the groundhog we mentioned above! ;oP

The National Center for Home Food Preservation has a bevy of information if you're interested in preserving your own food. They have detailed information on the methods you need to use and their instructions on canning is invaluable. The recipes, the techniques and everything are right there. My mom got their "cookbook" a few years ago and I've used the soup out of that thing! I use their water bath method to can my tomatoes and tomato sauce.

I also like to take fresh fruit and make fruit fillings for desserts during the winter by freezing them for use later. So far this summer I've froze several jars of peach, cherry and blueberry fillings. It's extremely easy to do these, you just cook them with a little sugar until the berries are soft. You remove the fruit from the heat, let it cool (it will thicken as it cools) and then place the mixture in a wide mouthed quart sized glass jar with an inch of head room at the top, put the lid on and then freeze them.

How easy is that?

To use the fillings you just take them out of the freezer, let them thaw and then you can make pie, cake, pastries, sauce, ice cream, etc. The blueberries just go in whole, with the juice and zest of a lemon, the cherries just have to be pitted and the peaches peeled, pitted and mashed. As I mentioned above you add a little sugar and cook until the fruit is soft. These little fillings are pretty easy to do and taste better than anything you'd ever buy at the grocery store.

Another favorite thing this time of year for me is pickling cucumbers! These cucumbers have such a lovely, crisp, fresh taste and as their name implies they make fabulous pickles! I'm going to share with you a really simple, quick refrigerator pickle that are simply fabulous! Let's get to it shall we?

What You'll Need For The Refrigerator Dill Pickles:
1/4 cup of black peppercorns
1 tablespoon of sea salt
2 teaspoons of organic cane sugar
2-4 cloves of garlic, crushed (optional)
2 tablespoons of dried dill
~OR~
1 bunch of fresh dill
Pickling cucumbers (Note: These are the smaller, crisp cucumbers that are abundant during the summer.)
1 1/2 cups of vinegar (Note: I like apple cider vinegar for this, but you can use plain white vinegar instead.)
Water

Place peppercorns, sea salt, sugar, garlic and dill in a quart sized canning jar. Slice cucumbers and add to the jar until you reach 1/2 inch from the top of the jar. Pour in vinegar and then fill up the rest of the jar with water. Give the jar a shake to mix up the ingredients and place in the fridge for at least 24 hours before serving.

Pickles last about 2 months in the fridge.

Notes: You could also add in some red or Vidalia onion strips to the mix as well.