15 posts tagged “recipe”

INGREDIENTS
1 cup margarine
1 3/4 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

I used butter instead of margarine; 3/4 cup milk & 3/4 cup Kahlua instead of 1 1/2 cup milk; and added about a tablespoon of ground allspice and some dried fruit (mango, papaya and pineapple).  mmmmm!

(jacked from AllRecipes)

GARLIC CRUST:
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 small garlic clove, pressed through garlic press to measure 1/8 tsp.
1 1/2 tablespoons milk

QUICHE:
2 or more large garlic cloves
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh spinach
1/2 cup grated fresh carrots
2 large eggs
2/3 cup milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon tarragon, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon dill weed
3/4 cup grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese

     
GARLIC CRUST: Combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening and butter or margarine until particles are size of peas. Mix garlic with milk and sprinkle over flour mixture, mixing to a stiff dough; adding a few drops more milk, if needed. Shape into a ball.

QUICHE:
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Prepare Garlic Crust and roll out to a 10-inch circle. Fit into 8-inch quiche pan 3/4 inch deep. Set aside while measuring remaining ingredients. Set a sheet of foil in the quiche pan and add a half-inch layer of uncooked beans (or aluminum pie weights). Bake in hot oven 425ºF. 10 minutes until crust is partially baked. Remove foil and weights. Meanwhile, finely chop garlic to measure 1 tablespoon. Melt butter and add garlic and mushrooms. Sauté over moderate heat about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add spinach, cover pan and turn heat low. Cook about 2 minutes longer, just until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat and add carrot (if carrot is very moist, squeeze out excess liquid). Beat eggs; stir in milk, salt, herbs and cheese. Add vegetable mixture and mix well. Pour into partially baked shell. Return to lowest rack of oven and reset thermostat to moderate (350ºF.) Bake about 35 minutes, until set in center. Remove from oven and cool at least 15 minutes, before cutting. One 8-inch quiche.

I used Gruyere, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, onion, and garlic.

(jacked from Basic-Recipes)

1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 pound butter, soft
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups cake flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk
3 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Cream sugars and butter. Add melted chocolate. Beat yolks; add water and vanilla extract and blend. Gradually add yolk mixture to chocolate mixture; beat until light and fluffy. Sift together flour, salt and baking soda. Alternately add flour mixture and milk, blending well after each addition. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry, fold into batter.
Turn into two greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans or one greased and floured 13x9x2-inch cake pan. Bake layers or loaf in moderate oven 350 F about 30-35 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly.

Turn out on cooling rack. Yield: two 9-inch layers or one 13x9x2-inch loaf.

I substituted Kahlua for the water (although something like dark rum -- which I don't have -- may have been even better), and added allspice and whole fresh blackberries.  But it's too late to eat chocolate cake right now.  I need to go to bed some time tonight.  I'll just have to wait until breakfast to taste it!

(jacked from cooks.com)

I made some pineapple pecan muffins that turned out bland because I left out the strussel topping, so I had to make some other sweet topping to keep the whole enterprise from being a boring failure.  We have mini marshmallows, so I searched and found the below recipe.

1 cup sugar
1 tsp cream of tartar
2 egg whites, unbeaten
1 dozen large marshmallows
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp water

1. Cut marshmallows into pieces. Set aside. Place other ingredients in top of double boiler.

2. Cook and stir quickly until sugar is dissolved and mixture turns white.

3. Remove from heat and add marshmallows.

4. When marshmallows become soft, place back over boiling water and heat until mixture stands in peaks.

5. Spread immediately on cake while still hot and let cool.

First, it reminded me of an Orange Julius drink.  Then I realized what it's most like: the orange icing in Pillsbury cinnamon rolls.

(jacked from cooks.com)

Filling
4 cups fresh berries [I used raspberries and blackberries]
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
juice from one lemon [2 tbsp]

Mix ingredients well in large bowl. Set aside.

Topping
3/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup cold butter, in chunks

Directions
With fingers or a pastry blender, blend flour, brown sugar and butter. When ingredients are incorporated, add pecans and mix well.  To assemble pie, gently arrange berry mixture in pie pan. Spread topping over all. Place pie plate on cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes (until fruit mixture is bubbly and topping is browned).

Let cool at least one hour.

This was another instance of the food not lasting long enough to get properly photographed.  Half of it is still in the fridge right now, but I'm not going to photograph it when its insides are all exposed like that.  Danielle likes it even better than the all pecan pie I made a few weeks back with Brian's help.

Yay for fruit! 

(jacked from Sacramento & Co.)

100 ml strong Rooibos tea (use 1 tea bag)
115 g soft butter or margarine (125ml)
170 g castor sugar (200ml)
280 g cake flour (500ml)
10 ml baking powder
3 eggs, beaten

1.    Preheat oven to 180 °C (350 F)
2.    Rub butter or margarine into dry ingredients until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs
3.    Add eggs and Rooibos tea. Mix well
4.    Place paper cups in a muffin pan and spoon batter into each. Bake in center of oven for 25 - 30 minutes
5.    Turn out and allow to cool
6.    Decorate with soft icing

The cakes on their own are not particularly sweet.  I didn't bother with castor (aka Very Fine) sugar or cake flour; just granulated and all-purpose.  I used lemon juice & powdered sugar for the icing.  This gives me ideas about using other similar flavorings for cakes.  I think the next time, I'll double the recipe and make a full size cake from it.

(jacked from Intaba Teas)

Blueberry-Lemon Pound Cake
PREP TIME: 2 Hours
SERVES: 8

   
COMMENT:
This cake is extremely fine-textured and is covered with a lemon glaze that is almost as thick as a frosting. Big, proud and dripping with golden glaze, it looks like the epitome of a Southern summer dessert and is a legacy here in Bayou Country.

INGREDIENTS FOR CAKE:

1 cup fresh blueberries
1 lemon rind, grated
6 tbsps butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tsps flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk
3 tsps fresh lemon juice

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8" x 4" loaf pan and set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and 1 cup of sugar. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, blending thoroughly into the mixture. In a separate bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add flour to the sugar mixture, alternately with milk, while constantly stirring. Dredge blueberries in remaining 2 teaspoons of flour. Fold into batter, along with the lemon rind. Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for approximately 1 hour or until thoroughly cooked. Combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar and lemon juice into a small sauce pan over medium-high heat until the sugar is totally dissolved. When cake is done, remove from oven and pierce the top at even intervals with a toothpick. Pour the lemon mixture over the top of the cake and allow to cool.

It didn't last long enough for photos.  SO YUM!

(jacked from John Folse)

eep!

Okay, so I usually make Christmas brownies this time of year.  That's a box mix of brownies, substitute "Kahlua" for "water", add cinnamon to taste.

Now I'm focusing on cookies, thus the attempted choc/Kahlua/cinnamon cookies.  And now that I'm into putting unusual things in cookies, I'd figured I'd finally make those choc/black bean cookies I've been imagining. 

I bought some black beans and Baker's chocolate.  Then Kevin took me to the local lil grocery and I found Ibarra Mexican chocolate.  Mexican chocolate is sugar, cacao nibs (aka bits of roasted beans, fairly unprocessed; kind of like those products with actual bits of coffee beans in them), and cinnamon.  It's gritty and super sweet and intensely chocolate and a little overwhelming. 

Pooling a few different recipes and then going off in my own direction, this is what I made:

Melt together 1/2 cup butter with ~3.5 discs of Ibarra chocolate (once melted together, I had about 350 mL of rich, melty goodness).  In medium bowl, mix with 15 oz. mushed black beans, 3 tsp baking soda, 3 1/4 cups flour.

In large bowl: 1 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 eggs, 1/4 canola oil, 3/4 cup Kahlua, 2 tsp cinnamon. 

Then mix the flour bowl of stuff into the wet bowl of stuff. 

Bake on a parchment-lined cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

The batter spreads like those corn/lemon/pecan cookies Mike likes so much.  The batter and cookies have a slightly grey cast (most likely from the beans), but look really nice when 'browned' and a bit better when cooled.  They taste good.  Danielle likes them.  Quite a bit.  Right now, I'm mostly sick of chocolate.

ETA: Mike just got home.  First, we tried walnuts.  It's okay.  What makes it sing is lime.  Oh my, lime zest and juice.  Fresh.  wow.  Yay for experimentation!  

Pumpkin / Oat / Cran / Walnut

Ingredients:
1 cup    Fresh Pumpkin puree, drained
1 cup    Sugar
1 3/4 cups    Rolled Oats
1    Egg (beaten)
1 1/2 cups    Flour
3/4 cup    Butter
1cup    Raisins or Chopped Nuts
1 /2 teaspoon    Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoons    Nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon    Cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon Allspice
3/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves
1 teaspoon    Salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
Add and mix butter. Stir until mixture is crumbly.
Stir in egg, pumpkin, oats and raisins (or nuts).
Drop teaspoonfuls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake fifteen minutes or until done.

It's pretty dry and bakes relatively quickly.  I may have added more spice to mine, as I love that stuff.  Danielle likes 'em, too!  This is the first time I've used fresh (not canned) pumpkin.  It was a bit messy, but well worthwhile.  Yay!

(from Pumpkin Nook)

I hope you had a good Thanksgiving.  I did!

Rika didn't want the responsibility of hosting, but she did like the idea of having Thanksgiving at her house since she hasn't had a housewarming party yet.  So we co-hosted.  She supplied the location and corn muffins; I supplied the plans and stuffing.

I slept at Rika's Wednesday night so I'd be on site bright and early.  We watched Top Model (oh, Michelle, why did you give up for your sister's sake?  I like you better!), made cornbread (for stuffing) and corn muffins (for munching).  I got to sleep in a roommate's room with West Elm decor and beautiful East-facing morning sunshine.  It rained Wednesday night and Rika's home has wood floors and gets a bit chill.  Even though I'm not a big fan of sunshine, I'm glad it looked beautiful, kept us warm(er), and put everyone in a good mood. 

• Rika made: Corn muffins, turkey, creamy mashed potatoes, glogg (warm red wine, vodka, spices; tastes like strong hot cough syrup)
• I made: stuffing (Mom's recipe for the first time on my own & it was perfect), cranberry chutney (too strong, needed vanilla ice cream or cake or something), bowl O olives, bowl O pears N apples, brought sparkling Martinelli's juice
• Gloryvee: Arrived right on time and stayed awake despite her long flight over
• Jonas: brought and made the turkey and non-alc. glogg
• Justin & Dan: brought pecan pie & shelled pistachios & wine, made yum yum yummy green beans (pan-toasted almond slivers, pan-fried [in butter!] fresh green beans, lemon juice on top. mmmm), baked Pillsbury rolls & croissants
• Danielle (whom I'd asked to "bring something green"): made green fluff (mini marshmallows, pineapple chunks, Cool Whip, pistachio pudding mix; to be eaten 1 tsp. at a time. sooo sugary and yum) and this sweet broccoli & walnut stuff (I don't know why it tasted so good, but it did)
• Cameron: made butternut squash pie (v. similar to pumpkin pie, esp. in the yumminess dept.) and this thing with sweet potatoes and green apples and probly brown sugar and I don't know what else. mmm, apples!), carved the turkey masterfully
• Jonas' girlfriend, whose name I've completely forgotten, caused me no trouble and I was too busy to spend much time with her.  sorry.

I broke a bottle before anyone arrived.  Someone else broke a mug handle.  Dinner was ready some time around 5pm or so.

We walked up to the top of a hill and saw the whole of San Francisco (and surrounding environs) in the clear, just-rained atmosphere.  So pretty!  So clear!  So many stairs up up up!  And good company: Yay!

We played Jenga & Imagine iff, and watched Buffy & Funny Face.  After two musicals, everyone was happy to pull themselves away from the tv.  While everybody else was cleaning, I put on dance music, drank sparkling juice, and Cameron and I started the post-cleaning dance party.  Then everyone was tired and decided to go home.  We gathered our stuffs and put on our coats and then sat down in the living room to rest.  And chat a bit.  I recall talking about my hair at some point, as I am wont to do.

It was a perfect success!  I think everybody enjoyed themselves.  There were no disasters.  We had two different pies!  I lost at Jenga and it was the best part of the game.  Cameron and I waltzed to Kermit singing The Rainbow Connection.  I didn't stain my party clothes!  I got lots of hugs at the end of the night!  Success!