The Rantings of a Carboholic

Central BBQ...I love you.

2010-05-25T10:24:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we had lunch at Central BBQ. Luckily for us its only a block away from where Ryan is in school so I have a feeling we'll be returning.

Its in a small building that probably only seats about 50 inside with a patio outside. When we first got there, the line was out the door which usually means we go somewhere else. Lucky for us we decided to stay. Ordering takes place right at the counter not once you're seated which accounted for the long line outside. After we ordered we barely had enough time to fix our drinks before the food was already out. Really really fast service!

I had a small BBQ pork sandwich since one of the locals in front of us told me that in Memphis BBQ means pork not beef :) The BBQ sandwiches normally come with cole slaw on them but since I hate cole slaw I ordered mine without it. Ryan had the large BBQ pork sandwich with the cole slaw and he said it was probably the best BBQ sandwich he'd ever eaten. They also have BBQ nachos which we passed on this time but saw another persons order and they were huge so that's what I'm trying next time!

For both of us to have a sandwich, me to have fries, and 2 sodas the price ended up being $16. The service was good even though to order so fast after you walk in you really need to look at the menu ahead of time. The building was really neat, and the food excellent. Central BBQ, you win my love. Oh, and they sell their sauce online. I liked the mild and wasn't a big fan of the others, but Ryan loved the hot BBQ.

Today? Neelys. Lets see how they measure up!

Memphis

2010-05-23T16:27:00.002-04:00

If you have to be stuck in a town for a work related reason, its best to be stuck in one with great food. Luckily for me, its Ryan's work related reason so I don't actually have to do anything other than eat and shop!

We're in Memphis this week, and I figured why not blog about the places I find that are good to eat. My poor blog needs a few more posts and I can't bake my TWD since I don't think the hotel will let me use their kitchen.

The first place we went when we got all settled in yesterday was a burger place called Hueys. I had the Bluff City Burger which was really really great. It had smoked cheddar, bacon, bbq sauce and onion straws on it. Normally I don't like my onion straws on the burger since they're usually crispy and most of the time it just hurts my mouth so I ordered them on the side. They were great. They weren't crunchy but they had a good texture. Ryan had a salad which he said was really awesome. And the fried pickles were good, but not worth $5.95. Either way, for $25, it was maybe a little high but well worth it seeing as how it was probably the second best burger I've ever had.

This morning we went to a place called Cockadoo's. We were originally after a sub or some sort of sandwich but since we were pressed on time and it was still breakfast hours we decided to give this place a try. Boy were we glad we did! I had the biscuits w/ sausage gravy and man...I think I'm still full and its been 5 hours! Prices were reasonable, even though they think a side order of bacon is 4 pieces of bacon that are about 2inches long each. I'll forgive them for that only because I was so full and the service was really great. Oh, and for my hometown crowd, this place was in a building that looked like Sojourners did, even the ceiling tiles. Cockadoo's was just a little more updated. Here is a menu.

TWD: Chockablock Cookies

2010-04-27T19:17:00.003-04:00

This weeks Tuesdays With Dorie recipe is Chockablock Cookies chosen by Mary at Popsicles and Sandy Feet.

These cookies have a little bit of everything in them. I chose dried apricots, raisins, chocolate chips and pecans. Pretty much everything I had in my pantry. I'm a huge hater when it comes to molasses. I couldn't find this Lyle's Golden Syrup that everyone kept talking about, so I had to keep the molasses. I compromised though, and used 1/4 cup molasses, 1/4 cup honey.

I have to say. This is one of the weirdest cookies I've ever eaten. It doesn't have too much of a molasses taste, which is a great thing. I'm not too sure about the fruit in it, and they're a little sweet and odd textured. I suppose I'll eat another just to make sure they're OK to give out. It's like one of those cookies you keep eating just to figure it out. (Its torture).

Go to Mary's blog and check out the recipe, or buy the best baking book ever!

Our Garden

2010-04-24T20:07:00.007-04:00

I love growing things. I usually have better luck with food than with flowers. I'm still amazed our rose bush has any roses on it each year seeing as how my husband thinks that's the proper place to pour hamburger grease...Anyway. These are a few pics of our garden we took today. We planted near the beginning of April and man have they grown a lot since then! We have jalapenos, squash, and bell peppers planted. I'm going to add some okra later this week since my mom keeps bugging me to grow her some.

Garden

Bell Peppers

Squash

Jalapenos

Roses

Wednesdays with Dorie? It'll have to do.

2010-04-21T20:55:00.004-04:00

So as I posted yesterday, I'm a day behind with this weeks Tuesdays with Dorie. The weekly recipe is Sweet Cream Biscuits picked by Melissa at Love At First Bite. These came together very easily. I was actually surprised. I made a half recipe and got 8 biscuits and one mini biscuit out of it which I don't think is too shabby for a cup of flour, some random teaspoons of stuff and about a cup of cream. Taste wise, I like them. They're flaky and are great with butter. If only I would have made these earlier in the day they would be really good with eggs. Oh, and I think I have a new scar on my arm too. Go me. Cmon Keri, that cookie sheet was at 425 a few seconds ago, don't rest your arm on it!

This guy had an issue...

This coming up week, I'm going to try to be on time for next Tuesdays recipe Chockablock Cookies and I'm going to do a rewind and get April 13th's recipe the Sweedish Visiting Cake done as well. Maybe that'll help me make up my severe lack of participation lately.

TWD: Sweet Cream Biscuits

2010-04-20T22:30:00.002-04:00

Ok...I'm making these tomorrow. But I felt like I should post today just to prove that even though I haven't baked with the club in way too long, I am still paying attention. Melissa of Love at First Bite picked the recipe this week and I can't wait to make them.

Now, I must go shopping for flour. I've been fairly exclusively using King Arthur's White Whole Wheat Flour lately, and need some regular all purpose flour. I don't think brownish looking biscuits would be a good plan.

Get the best baking book ever and make these this week. I'm sure they'll be great since everything else out of this book is wonderful.

This makes me happy...

2010-04-04T20:15:00.002-04:00

I would link the video, but its too wide for my format or whatever.
Click on THIS to see one of the most inarticulate congressman in the country, who is also probably lacking most brain cells.

Guam, will capsize...Poor island. This makes me sad he's from Georgia...

Anyway, I will post food this week...I'm a lazy blogger. I apologize!

My Dogz

2010-03-08T22:33:00.005-05:00

My sister (the camera thief) emailed me these pictures today of two of my favorite fellas.

This is Max, our Husky pup who pretty much runs the place now. He's so stinking cute its almost possible to forget how much he likes to run from us instead of come to us, and just how much he can poop in their pen overnight.

And Buster, master of the universe at least until Max outgrows him. My ultimate guard dog, I'm pretty sure he'd eat intruders alive...until he smells them and realizes he'd rather play than bark anymore. At least the initial bark is scary.

TWD: My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-02-18T18:24:00.002-05:00

This week's recipe was chosen by Kait of Kait's Plate. She chose Dorie's "My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies."

My sister STILL has my camera, even though as I've said before, she has some super duper awesome camera and mine's a regular point and shoot contraption. Either way I can't post pictures, but its a good thing.

Most of the other members seemed to have the problem I did. My cookies were super flat, and even though I left space between them on the cookie sheet, I ended up having a cookie sheet sized cookie that I had to cut apart. But, even though they're really ugly, they're really good.

My only changes were that I am out of regular chocolate chips so I used about 6oz white chocolate chips, and 2oz of semi-sweet chocolate that I sort of shaved off the block into slivers. I also added about 1/2 a cup of pecans. Everything is better with nuts :)

I'm not sure if they're the best chocolate chip cookies, but they are really good. If we could find a remedy to the flatness problem, they'd move up in my book. Either way, if you want the recipe, go to Kait's blog or buy the best baking book ever.

TWD: Milk Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes

2010-02-02T22:10:00.003-05:00

I actually baked my Tuesdays with Dorie recipe this week!! I know, I can't believe it either. But I did it!

This week's recipe was chosen by Kristin of I'm Right About Everything. Which by the way, is the blog name I should have chosen. Darn you for getting it first!

The bad thing is, my sister, who has a far better camera than my own, stole my camera and has not given it back. She did try to talk me into bringing cake to her house and letting her take the picture there, but I'm lazy.

So...no picture of the mini chocolate cakes. Sorry.

On to my changes and opinion of the cake. I didn't make the swirl in the recipe, mostly because I am extremely lazy and couldn't be bothered to read it...(instead of lazy, read very very tired.) I also didn't make the glaze, but that's because I'm not a big fan of icing of any sort. I thought this cake had really good flavor. But mine was fairly crumbly. If you want the recipe, go to Kristin's blog or buy the best baking book ever.

Overall, I'm not entirely sure I'd make it again. Its hard for me to like a chocolate bundt better than this one or this one. Also, I really want to like mini bundts since I love big ones, but they just seem like a waste of time for me. Always such a big pain to get the little devils not to stick.

I'll leave you with a video. A really old one, but one that cracks me up still.

TWD: Rewind Recipe Perfection Pound Cake

2010-01-11T22:08:00.006-05:00

This weeks Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was supposed to be Mrs. Vogel's Scherben chosen by Teanna of Spork or Foon where you can find the recipe. I didn't end up making it for a number of reasons. 1. I can't pronounce it. 2. I refuse to fry, unless its shrimp or onion rings, but who can blame me there? and 3. I'm lazy and didn't want to go grocery shopping.

I did want to make something by the TWD club this week though, so I chose to make Dorie's Perfection Pound Cake, originally chosen on January 22, 2008 way way way before I became a member. I chose to make this one a chocolate pound cake because I've had such good results with adding cocoa to my go to pound cake recipe.

Now, my thoughts on this cake? It was way dry. I thought so when I was looking at the batter, so I even added an extra egg. No luck. Another dry chocolate cake for me. I'm so sad. Apparently this time, its not just me though because after google'ing the TWD posts from that week in 2008, more often than not people said their cakes were dry too. In almost all recipes for pound cake that I see, people add sour cream or cream cheese. This one did not, and maybe that's the issue.

Either way, Dorie is still queen of the baking world. And her book is the best baking book I've ever owned. And I have a LOT of baking books. Go buy it!

And on a sad but getting a little better note, we had to put Ryan's dog Maly to sleep yesterday due to illness. :( Ryan wanted to get another puppy soon, and we found the last of a litter that was the only huskies within 100 miles so soon ended up being today.
Meet Max. Ryan calls him Mad Max, but I've never seen that movie.

TWD: Cocoa-Buttermilk Birthday Cake

2010-01-05T20:43:00.003-05:00

Well, you would think, being the Cocoa-BUTTERMILK Birthday Cake, I would remember the buttermilk when I went shopping this afternoon. I...did not.

But I tried anyway! I tried to make a buttermilk substitute using lemon juice and regular milk. I'm not really sure if that was the problem, or the minute or two over that I baked it since I was busy stuffing my face with dinner while watching Jericho. Either way, my cake is supa dry. And I'm extremely sad. The flavor is great though, so one day when I don't forget my head at the store, I'll make it again. Did I mention I had a list in my hand when I was at the store?

Oh, and for the icing, I made a chocolate cream cheese icing to go on it. I was feeling lazy so I didn't make the one called for in the recipe.

Anyway, Happy Anniversary to the TWD club members!

If you want the recipe to my failure, its on pgs 256-257 of the BEST BAKING BOOK EVER!

What I've been up to...

2009-12-29T17:22:00.008-05:00

I've been totally slacking lately. I haven't done a Tuesdays with Dorie recipe in a month or so, which totally sucks of me. I promise I'm back at it soon.

But, I did take pictures of some things I've been doing...

Watching Ryan play horseshoes at Thanksgiving.

Watching my Grandma play piano at Thanksgiving.

Hanging out with my sister while cooking the treats below.

Baking mini pound cakes for my family for Christmas.

Making these. Nutter Butter Balls. Oh man they're good...Really good.

I've also been off work for over a week and its been great. I finally had the chance to catch up on laundry, clean my house, hang out with my best friend, hold the cutest baby in the entire world, and cook for my family for Christmas. Now, its back to work tomorrow, and then New Years!!

I'll be back with Tuesday's with Dorie next week with Dorie's Cocoa-Buttermilk Birthday Cake in honor of the club's second anniversary.

Sorry...

2009-12-03T08:26:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted in a while...I've been a bit lazy, and a bit fat. I'm trying to fight both of them. I'll try to get TWD done this next week since cookies are a little easier to give away than poached pear tarts.

Pumpkin Bread

2009-11-18T19:21:00.006-05:00

First off, sorry for no TWD yesterday. I really really wanted to make the apple crisp, but I had no apples, and after going to wal-mart twice in one day, a third time really wasn't happening. I'll make it later in the week and post it for next Tuesday.

Tonight, I was in the mood to bake (its starting to become a problem). I figured I'd make something pumpkin-y since I had half of a gigantic can stored in the fridge from the pumpkin roll I made this past weekend. I chose to make my fall back pumpkin bread recipe from Paula Deen, but *a little* healthier.

This time I made the recipe with applesauce instead of oil, and half white whole wheat flour half regular all purpose flour instead of straight out all purpose. I also cut the sugar from 3 cups to 2.5, you could probably get away with a little less, but I wouldn't go under 2. That's just me though :) It ended up really moist, but didn't dip a little in the middle and get a bit gooey like the normal bread does. I think this change is a keeper!

Here's the recipe with my changes:
Adapted from Paula Deen's The Lady and Son's Savannah Country Cookbook.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 + 1/3 cups white whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two loaf pans. Mix sugar and applesauce with mixer. Add eggs and blend. Add pumpkin and blend. Add water and blend. Combine remaining ingredients and add slowly. Fill pans equally and bake for 50 minutes to one hour until golden brown.

Paula Deen's Chocolate Cream Cheese Pound Cake

2009-11-10T08:18:00.006-05:00

When you read that title, you should say "Ohhhh yeahhhhhhh" and drool. The good thing about this cake?! Its that good. Its amazing. Its possibly one of the best straight out chocolate cakes ever. And its easy. Just like a pound cake, only you don't add the eggs and flour alternately, and there's chocolate in it.

I ninja'd the recipe off a random internet site after I saw the cake title on a fellow bundt lover's website.

My only problem with this cake, is sometime between when that picture above was taken, and when I wanted to flip it, that little indention going on in the center, went down about another inch. I was sad at first, then I flipped it anyway.

Looks pretty normal right? Well...This is what happened when I sliced it.

But ya know what? Even though it fell all apart when I sliced it, and had a hole in the middle, I think the falling actually helped! It made it slightly more moist (usually falling makes things gooey, I guess I got lucky), and with the crusty top, its the perfect texture. Now if I could figure out how to do that every time!

Here's a recipe for it. I'm sure its posted in one of her books, but I don't have them all yet so I don't know which one. Enjoy!

(my only changes were that I used all purpose flour, and just went a little shy of the 2-1/4 cup. I don't do fractions, so I can't tell you the right amount. Just fill up the normal amount, but when you're on the 1/4 cup, go about 3 tbsp short. I also used half a teaspoon of baking soda since I didn't really know if cake flour was supposed to have that mixed in or not)

Ingredients

* 2 sticks of butter, softened
* 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
* 3 cups sugar
* 6 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 1/4 cups cake flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 3/4 cup cocoa

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease/spray a 10-inch Bundt pan.

Cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and cocoa. Add about half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat well. Add remaining flour mixture and beat well for about 2 minutes.

Pour batter into Bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until done.

TWD: Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies

2009-11-10T08:04:00.003-05:00

November is great. Its really one of my favorite months. Its not hot, not too cold (here anyway), and it has THANKSGIVING!!! WOOHOOO!!! I mean, whats better, a day where you do nothing but eat. It was made for me I think.

Anyway, enough about that. This month we're allowed to bake the TWD picks out of order. This week I chose to make the Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies chosen by Pamela from Cookies with Boys.

These cookies first proved to be a big pain in the butt over a week ago when I went out in search of Molasses. Apparently the only store in my town that carried it is the one I didn't go to, so I ended up searching in the small town I work in that had it. Oh well. I'm also sad to say that I really didn't like these cookies. Something about the odd flavor of it. But I think I'm the only person in the TWD group that didn't like them, so its obviously just me. Make them anyway :) I can say that they were better after they had fully cooled, but I have very little control over waiting until things are fully cooled.

Also, if you do make them, the dough is really weird. Just to warn you. And, I found it difficult to smash them out, I'd suggest spraying something with a ton of Pam and trying it.

Pamela will probably post the recipe next week, since that's when her pick was due to be posted, but check out her blog. Its neato. And if you want the recipe before then, or just want to be the owner of the best baking book ever, buy it here.

TWD: All In One Holiday Bundt Cake

2009-11-03T19:49:00.005-05:00

November is a neat month for us Tuesday with Dorie kids. Since its a holiday month that involves a bunch of baking, we're allowed to bake the recipes out of order for the month. The one I chose, the All in One Holiday Bundt was chosen for the week of November 24th. Mostly, I made this one because I had all the ingredients on hand. Can't help it. I'm lazy.

Anyway, this cake was chosen by Britin of The Nitty Britty. Its featured on pgs 186-187 of Dorie's book Baking: From My Home to Yours. This cake is super. I should have waited till Thanksgiving. Oh well, suppose I'll have to make another one in a few weeks!

I took a few shortcuts with this, I refuse to eat/buy/smell cranberries. I hate them. So, I skipped the cranberries in this. I also added a pinch of pretty much every pumpkin-y spice I had in the cabinet to it. This cake was very easy to put together and it only took about 50 minutes to bake.

(This one shows the fight I got into with the batter getting it in the pan. Look how sloppy, I'm ashamed.)

Oh, and a BIG shout-out to Mary the Food Librarian! She's doing 30 bundt cakes in 30 days for National Bundt Cake Day! Give her some love!

TWD: Sweet Potato Biscuits

2009-10-20T20:09:00.003-04:00

This weeks Tuesdays with Dorie recipe is Sweet Potato Biscuits on pg. 26. Chosen by Erin of Prudence Pennywise.

These defeated my most basic rule of baking. They required rolling. *grumbles* I suppose it wasn't so bad. Mine didn't rise very much, and I still suck at mixing in the butter with the dry ingredients. All that being said, I'd totally make them again. Even though they were ugly, they tasted really...neat. They were good, bit weird at the same time. I guess that doesn't make much sense, but there it is.

Make em. They're worth it. Even if you have to scrub the counter for an hour to get all the residue off. Oh, and I used a cup of canned pumpkin instead of sweet potatoes. Worked great. Look here for the recipe, or buy the best baking book EVER!

TWD: Allspice Crumb Muffins

2009-10-13T19:30:00.003-04:00

This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe was chosen by Kayte of Grandma’s Kitchen Table. She chose for us to make Allspice Crumb Muffins, citing that she wanted a recipe that was easy, didn't require a lot of dishes, and readily available ingredients. I think she did a great job!

These were great (even though I may have forgotten them in the oven about 5 min too long). I wasn't really sure how they'd rise, so I didn't fill them to the top of the muffin cup. Mine didn't rise much at all but that's OK, I think my baking powder is kinda old. Good thing I ran out while making these! They tasted great and that's pretty much all that matters. I also found out that I stink at making streusel which is always good to know. As Kayte wanted, the process didn't take many dishes, and the ingredients were all things I had in the pantry.

These muffins would be perfect for breakfast. In fact, tomorrow before my dreaded root canal, I'm going to eat all 10 that I have left. You know, just in case I can't eat later...yeah...that's why!

For the recipe, you can either buy the best baking book ever, or go to Kayte's blog.

TWD: Split Level Pudding

2009-10-06T20:17:00.003-04:00

This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe was Split Level Pudding on pages 384-385 chosen by Garrett of The Flavor of Vanilla.

I love pudding. I love this pudding. It was really easy to make, even though I chose to use a whisk to mix it and not a food processor like the recipe said. Maybe I should get a food processor sometime...

I also chose not to make the chocolate layer. I made a really really chocolatey cake yesterday, and I can't handle more chocolate. Forgive me.

Anyway, to get the recipe, go to Garrett's blog or buy Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan. Its an awesome baking book.

(By the way, how does one make pudding look decent in a picture?)

Reason 500,000 Why I Love Joy the Baker

2009-10-05T20:18:00.003-04:00

Root beer float cake...weird name eh?

My root beer loving sister told me it sounded gross.
My root beer loving mom thought it sounded gross as well.
My root beer hating husband ate 2 pieces.
I hate root beer and I think it rocks.
My sister and mom aren't getting a single piece!

Its chocolate. Its great. My only complaint is that the icing is a little much for me, so I only dotted it around the top and let it run down the sides a bit. But I'm not one for icing, so I'm a crazy person anyway. The soda makes it lighter feeling and it gives it a little "hmm?" taste. Did I mention it's super easy? It is.

Here's the recipe. Its from Joy the Baker's website. She's awesome. Go there.

Root Beer Float Cake
(Baked: New Frontiers in Baking)

Ingredients:
2 cups root beer (don’t use diet)
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs

Preheat even to 325 degrees F. Spray the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray, or butter generously and dust with flour, knocking out the excess.

In a small saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder and butter over medium heat until butter is melted. Add sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

In a small bowl whisk the eggs until just beaten. Then whisk into the cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy. You can give it a quick whisk if you like, but don’t over beat the batter or it could cause the cake to be tough. Don’t worry, the batter is very loose.

Pour the batter into prepared pan and cook for 35-45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking until a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely then loosen edges with a butter knife and turn out onto a cake plate.

Chocolate Root Beer Frosting

Ingredients:
2 ounces 60% cocoa, melted
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt (I used none, Joy says use 1/2-1)
1/4 cup root beer
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using an electric hand mixer, beat softened butter and cocoa powder. Once combined add the melted chocolate, salt, powdered sugar and root beer. Beat together until smooth. Spread on top of cooled cake. Slice and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Forgive me, no picture for this one!

2009-09-29T19:13:00.004-04:00

Well, first off, I didn't get a chance to make the awesome looking Tuesdays with Dorie recipe this week. It was the Chocolate Crunched Caramel Tart chosen by Carla of Chocolate Moosey. I think its such a neat blog name btw. Anyway, if that sounds like something you'd like, head to her site and check it out.

Now...I did bake this week. I made this weird dessert (yes, weird, once you try it, you'll agree). Its called Neiman Marcus Brownies. I wanted to make it since one of my customers at work keeps bringing some to me from his Rotary club meeting that is catered once a week. The recipe came from a lot of different ones since I just google'd the name and figured it out from there. Here goes:

Neiman Marcus Brownies
Ingredients:

For the crust:
1 box yellow cake mix (just use the powder, no additions)
1 stick butter, melted
1 egg, beaten

For the top:
1 8oz package cream cheese
1 box powdered sugar (the small boxes that brown sugar comes in too)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

And for the in-between:
1 cup pecans, chopped
1/2-1 cup coconut
1 cup chocolate chips

OK. The process:
1. Mix the ingredients for the crust together. Press it in the bottom of a greased 9x13 inch pan. Its going to be easier to do with your hands than anything else. I tried a spatula and gave up.
2. Press the pecans, coconut and chocolate chips into the crust mixture.
3. Mix the top ingredients together. Pour over the crust.
4. Bake for 1 hour at 300 degrees.

I took mine out at 40 minutes and added some more pecans and coconut to the top and then put back in for the remaining minutes. Watch it when it gets close to done, I took mine out a couple minutes early since the crust was already golden.

I kept mine in the refrigerator, though I think it would probably be OK on the counter as well. I ate some that night after it got done, and then some again this morning. And I have to say, I think it gets better a day later. Give it a shot, let me know what you think.

TWD: Flaky Apple Turnovers

2009-09-15T08:35:00.006-04:00

This weeks Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was Dorie's Flaky Apple Turnovers. Julie of Someone's in the Kitchen picked the recipe and you can find it on her blog. Or you could always buy the best baking book ever.

Lets get started by saying that I'm the worst kind of baker ever...I almost always refuse to roll things...like dough. I hate it. It hates me. So...for this recipe, which I'm sure would have been easier to do than normal...I may have used frozen puff pastry. Shh, don't tell!

Anyway, the filling was probably the easiest thing I've ever made. I love apple pie but usually have a love/hate relationship with the filling. This was awesome. Not too fussy, but just right. I halved the recipe, but put in probably more than the normal amount of cinnamon. They looked kinda scary when they came out of the oven, but once I trimmed up the scary stuff that spilled all out, they looked alright and tasted even better. A definite hit with the family! I'm going to try these again but next time I may go for squarish ones and maybe put some jam in the middle.

(This is some of the scary stuff. I assume its buttery goodness, but I'm not trying it!)

TWD: Chocolate Souffle

2009-09-08T20:11:00.004-04:00

Oh my goodness...

Just...

Wow.

That's all I can say really. Just wow.

Anyway, on to the food. I was really intimidated by the name. I had no idea what it was supposed to be like. And what, you might ask, is it like? Heaven. That's what. It was probably my perfect idea of a chocolate dessert. It was a brownie mixed with a cake that was slightly gooey in all the right places while still done and kinda spongy in a good way.

I baked this pretty much as the recipe stated. The only difference was I used 4 ramekins and a fiesta coffee cup to bake in. I baked at 390 for about 22 minutes. My wonderful egg-master of a husband did however spill a bit of egg yolk into the batch of whites, but it worked out just fine. When folding in the egg whites, I was being extra gentle so I didn't go for completely mixed up and was a little worried but apparently it didn't make any difference at all. My only complaint was nothing to do with the recipe and more to do with lighting and my crappy camera. Oh well :)

Many thanks to Susan at She's Becoming DoughMessTic for picking this. Check out her blog for the recipe. And thanks to Dorie for writing the best baking book ever!

(This one didn't rise very high since I filled it last and didn't have half a cup of batter. I'm still glad I didn't waste it, it was so good!)

TWD Espresso Cheesecake Brownies

2009-09-02T20:16:00.006-04:00

This weeks (late) Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was for Dorie's Espresso Cheesecake Brownies. They were easy to make, kinda fun (you get to swirl!) and overall fairly good. I'm not a gigantic cheesecake fan so I started to skip this week, but even though I'm late, I came through!

I skipped the coffee since my wonderful husband hates it (I know, he's weird), and I also skipped the sour cream topping. Sour cream wigs me out 99% of the time (I know, I'm weird). I baked at 350 for 35 minutes, and though the recipe says the middle will be beige, mine wasn't but it was perfectly done. Just look at the edges, if the brownie is done and it doesn't jiggle, take it out.

Oh, and it says you should cool it for 2 hours before serving...Nah. Maybe I'll wait 2 hours for another bite.

For the recipe head over to Life In A Peanut Shell and check it out!

Distractions...

2009-09-01T19:27:00.001-04:00

Well, I had plans to make this weeks Tuesdays with Dorie recipe this afternoon. But, as you can guess, that didn't happen. I ended up spending most of today helping my Dad get situated after he broke his wrist/arm at work and then helping out my Mom. So, tomorrow is the day for these brownies, and they will be a welcome sight.

Check back tomorrow! Sorry for the slacking!

Paula Deen's Spicy Cinnamon Cake

2009-08-27T12:52:00.002-04:00

I was sitting around last Saturday watching food network, like usual, and saw Paula Deen making this cake. It looked great, so I tried it Tuesday night. I'm not a huge fan of spice cake, but this was probably one of the better ones I've eaten. The best part was the cinnamon, sugar, pecan combination for the topping and a layer in between. I didn't get a chance to take a picture of it so you'll have to use your imagination :)

Here's the recipe:

Spicy Cinnamon Cake
Ingredients:
1 (18oz) package spice cake mix
1 (4 serving) package instant vanilla pudding
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup corn oil
5 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I used more, probably a cup total)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a bundt pan. Combine cake mix, instant pudding, sour cream, eggs, and corn oil and beat together well. In a seperate bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. Pour half of the batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with sugar mixture, reserving a little to sprinkle on top. Pour the rest of the batter into pan and sprinkle with the rest of the sugar mixture. Bake 1 hour. Let cool and remove from pan.

As always, the cooking time depends on your oven. I check mine about 15 minutes before they say to, and I usually end up cooking a little shy of the temperature they say.

Lazy Bum...

2009-08-25T17:58:00.002-04:00

I'm being a bum this week and skipping Tuesdays With Dorie. I didn't have it in me to fight with Meringue. I am however, going to make some crazy spice cake from Paula Deen tonight. I'll post back later with details if it's good.

Applesauce Spice Bars

2009-08-18T07:42:00.005-04:00

This weeks Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was her Applesauce Spice bars. At first, the name kinda grossed me out. I don't know why, I love applesauce and I love spice, but I just couldn't get over the picture...mostly because it has this thick glaze all over the top and I'm not much of a glaze/frosting fan. I'm weird. I accept it.

(its amazing how hard it is to take a picture of something small and brownish in my kitchen...anyway, you get the idea)

Anyway! I decided to make them regardless of the picture, and man I'm glad. These bars were super. They weren't very hold-in-your-hand friendly, but that's OK. It felt like cake. I love cake. Lets just say they were so awesome we ate all but a fourth of the 9x13, and the rest was finished the next morning...Yum!

On to my changes! The first major one was I didn't glaze. I know I know. The second, I forgot the nuts, which makes me sad because I love nuts. And the third, I didn't have allspice so I used pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg and a little ginger. As you can tell, I have no clue whats in allspice, but it worked out very well if I do say so myself.

If you want the recipe, head over to Something Sweet by Karen or buy the book and turn to page 117.

My brother in law wanted to show you how good these were...we think this picture captures it pretty well :)

Brownie Buttons!

2009-08-11T08:23:00.005-04:00

This weeks Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was Dorie's Brownie Buttons, picked by Jayma of Two Scientists Experimenting in the Kitchen. These were great! Possibly in the top 5 brownies I've ever eaten. I like to have brownies for a couple of days when I make them, that way I can pick at them when I go into the kitchen for no specific reason at all. But these, there just wasn't enough! I mean, when you only make 20 mini-muffin sized brownies, they don't last multiple days. How sad.

I didn't go with the white chocolate topping, and I also didn't use the orange zest. I only baked mine for about 12 minutes, which ensured that they were just a hint undone but it felt like fudgy goodness at the top which was perfect.

If you want the recipe, head on over to Jayma's blog Two Scientists Experimenting in the Kitchen. Or buy the book Baking: From My Home To Yours and turn to pages 106-107.

And yes, I like to make a big K with random food, and then eat the slightly off colored ones after I snap the picture.

Chicken Subs

2009-08-06T18:23:00.005-04:00

So I found myself in Publix the other day and chicken breast was on sale. Yay! I bought some but then got home and thought what should I cook with these? The answer? Awesome chicken subs. I got the idea a while back from Rachael Ray but her recipe has a lot of stuff I don't like in it. I'm a picky eater, what can I say. This recipe isn't really exact, as I kinda made it up while I was cooking. But its totally wing-able. Here's the idea behind it, you can decide the quantity used.

Ingredients:
-3 chicken breasts, pounded to be a little flatter than they normally are. Cut into strips or bite size pieces.
-1 marinated roasted red pepper. Diced.
-grill seasoning, I like McCormick Montreal. About a tablespoon.
-Italian seasoning, about a tablespoon
-1 6oz can tomato sauce, I used the kind that had basil and oregano
-1 small package of shredded cheese, I used Italian blend and cheddar
-1 banana pepper. Mainly because we grew one and didn't want it to go to waste.
-4 sub rolls

1. Put 4 sub rolls on a baking sheet and toast a few minutes in the oven at about 325 degrees. Remove from oven when they are slightly toasted.
2. After all of your chicken and peppers are diced up, heat a skillet with a small amount of olive oil. Add chicken and peppers and season with grill seasoning and Italian seasoning. Saute until chicken is done. If there is too much liquid, drain. Add tomato sauce and heat through.

(That picture is before I added the tomato sauce. I had to drain, I added a bit too much olive oil.)
3. When sauce and chicken are heated, spoon mixture onto each of the sub rolls. Cover with cheese of your choice (and maybe some garlic salt on top, I like it). Bake for 5 min or until cheese is nice and melted.
*EAT!

My First Tuesdays with Dorie

2009-08-03T20:52:00.007-04:00

I really love bundt pans.

This weeks Tuesdays with Dorie pick was Dorie's Classic Banana Bundt Cake chosen by Mary at The Food Librarian.

I made this about a week ago and took it to work and lets just say we were washing the pan before lunch. It was super moist and easy to make. If you like banana bread, you'll love this cake. This was my first baking experience from Baking: From My Home to Yours, and I can tell me and this book are going to be friends for quite a while.

The recipe can be found on pg. 190 of Baking: From My Home to Yours, or on Mary's blog. The only thing I changed was I added a few pecans to the pan before I put the batter in. Next time, I think I would add some chopped pecans throughout the batter. Banana bread/cake is always better with a few nuts.

Snickerdooooooodles

2009-08-03T19:43:00.005-04:00

I first made these cookies about a month ago thinking that I only kinda liked them and just wanted to make them because their name is so darn fun to say. Well, now I love them and want to make them because they're awesome. They're perfect because they are easy, cheap, and you get to roll dough in cinnamon sugar. What more can you ask for out of a cookie?

The recipe I use is from Martha Stewart, though I'm sure most snickerdoodle recipes are close to the same. I increase the amount of sugar to 4 tablespoons and cinnamon to 4 teaspoons because it never seems like enough.

From Martha Stewart Cookies:

Snickerdoodles
Yield: 1-1/2 dozen (or 40 cookies, whatever)
Ingredients:
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cups plus 3 tbsp sugar
2 large eggs
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1.Preheat oven to 350. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Put butter and 1-1/2 cups sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture.
2.Stir together cinnamon and remaining tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into small balls; roll in cinnamon sugar. Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
3.Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, about 12 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

Awesome Brownies

2009-08-01T12:38:00.003-04:00

So yesterday I was bored and decided what better way to spend my day than making brownies...It was a great day. These brownies weren't very thick, only about an inch or so, but they were super good. I suppose Martha really does know what she's doing. They were really easy to make, and didn't dirty up too many dishes. The only problem I had with them was that it only made a 8" pan, and that's just not enough! I think they might have been even better with nuts, but that's just my preference.
On to the recipe. This comes from Martha Stewart's book Cookies.

Double Chocolate Brownies

Yield: 9-16 brownies

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
¼ cup unsweetened dutch-process cocoa powder
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1.Preheat oven to 350. Line a buttered 8-inch square baking pan with parchment, allowing a 2 inch overhang. Butter lining (not overhang).
2.Put butter, chocolate, and cocoa powder in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until butter and chocolate have melted. Let cool slightly.
3.Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and mix on medium speed until pale, about 4 minutes. Add chocolate mixture; mix until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix, scraping down sides of bowl, until well combined.
4.Pour batter into prepared pan; spread evenly with a spatula. Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 35 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift out; let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares. Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.

I didn't use parchment paper, I just used cooking spray. And I may have used a 9" pan, it was the only square one I had handy. I let mine cool completely in the pan and it was fine and I had no trouble getting them out. The whole thing is very forgiving. Give it a shot and enjoy!

Oh yeah, and my picture stinks but I figure its a brownie, you know what it looks like anyway!

Finally...

2009-07-31T09:15:00.002-04:00

After much thought and a thousand different name changes, I have finally decided to make a food blog. This food blog, will be mostly about things containing...CARBS! Because lets face it, I really do love carbs.

Hopefully later today I'll get around to actually posting some food stuff. But for now I will leave you a picture of what started it all...the beloved kitchen-aid!