Drink A Bite to Eat at 10, 2, or 4

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Diet Dr. Pepper. I have reached a point in life, however, when I cannot drink it every day. But, at Christmas, I receive a bucket of my favorite beverage...cans and bottles in all sizes, and in the bottom was a four pack of old style glass bottles of regular Dr. Pepper.



I pondered this for a while. I used one bottle to braise a pot roast. And then, I found a recipe for Dr. Pepper Cake.

Dr Pepper Cake
Ingredients
for the cake:
1½ cup Dr. Pepper soda
½ cup vegetable or canola oil
1 stick unsalted butter (8 tablespoons)
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1¼ cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
½ cup buttermilk
For the Chocolate Topping
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
4 tablespoons milk
2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Cake:
preheat oven to 350F and grease a 13x9 baking pan.
combine the dr pepper, oil, butter, and cocoa powder in a saucepan over medium heat. bring to a simmer, mix well, and remove from heat.
add sugar, flour, and baking soda to the pan and mix well.
in a separate bowl, beat the eggs and buttermilk together. add a small amount of the hot batter to the egg mixture (a couple tablespoons) and mix well. then add the egg mixture to the batter and mix well.
pour into greased pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
while the cake is cooling, make the glaze.
Topping:
combine the butter, cocoa powder, and milk together in a saucepan over medium heat.
when the butter is melted and the mixture is combined, whisk in the sugar, ½ cup at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth.
pour over the warm cake.

A couple of observations: 1)the process is much the same as other chocolate cakes I've made before, but the batter is thicker than I expected and 2)you can taste the Dr. Pepper!

Also, the frosting took more milk...but that could have been my fault.



When all is said and done, it's a very moist, delicious chocolate cake.

Crackers

It's a cold morning in January and you're bored, what do you do? I made crackers.

There was a chain restaurant in the 80s that I loved to go to, I think it was Darryl's, that served a basket of homemade crackers on the table instead of a bread basket. I loved those crackers.

And who knew that they were so easy to make? Not me. But, I discovered that a friend makes the crackers used in the communion at church, and she assured me they were easy.

I went online and found this recipe on Cooks.com.

Saltine Crackers

2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp salt*
2/3 c milk
2 Tbs cold butter
1/2 tsp baking soda

Combine the dry ingredients, cut in the butter, then stir in the milk. Form into a ball and knead briefly. Divide dough into several pieces and place on a floured board. Roll very thin and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pierce with a fork. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

My first attempt was very tough, but then I discovered, as usual when a recipe fails, the fault lay with me. I used baking powder instead of baking soda. The second batch was excellent.

Creamy and Delicious

As a child, I loved bad weather days because my mother would make creamy tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Campbell's tomato soup, a gelatinous can shaped blob, diluted with whole milk and served with a american cheese on white bread toasted in cheap margarine...and I loved it.

I had never made tomato soup from scratch until I tried the Pioneer Woman recipe and enjoyed it. I made a few adjustments to suit my taste, and now I make it regularly.

Creamy Tomato Soup

6 tbs unsalted butter
1 medium sweet onion
2 cans petite diced tomatoes
64 oz tomato juice
3-6 tbs sugar, depending on tartness of tomatoes
3/4 cup (or more if needed) heavy cream

Melt butter in soup pot. Add onions and cook on low heat until translucent. Add tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil. Stir in sugar, tasting between each addition until bitterness is gone. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add cream and serve.



Served with a grilled cheese of sour dough bread, sharp cheddar and bacon, toasted in butter.

Oh, Mom, wouldn't you have loved it?

Christmas Dinner Came With a Crown

One item definitely on my culinary bucket list is crown roast of pork, but it seemed daunting. But I made one today for Christmas dinner. I reviewed several recipes and decided to try one on Epicurious.com.

I visited the butcher at Publix and asked for a small roast. The smallest that could be made into a crown is seven pounds, quite a bit of meat, but absolutely beautiful.

Crown Roast of Pork with Apple Stuffing

For Stuffing:
6 slices firm white sandwich bread cut into 1 inch squares (I used sour dough)
6 Tbs unsalted butter
1/2 c finely chopped onions
1/2 c finely chopped celery
1 1/2 lbs tart apples (I used Granny Smith)
1/3 c sugar
1 tsp salt
Pinch of cinnamon
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp fresh or 1/4 tsp dried sage
1 tsp fresh or 1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 Tbs chopped fresh chives
1/4 c chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread bread squares in single layer on baking pan and bake until dry and lightly toasted (approximate 15 minutes). Cook onion and celery in butter in a 12 inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until softened (4-5 minutes). Stir in apples, sugar, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, nutmeg and cinnamon. Reduce heat to low and cook until tender, about 15 minutes, stir in bread, parsley, and chives.

For Roast
1 crown roast of pork with ends frenched
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 lb sliced bacon*

Lower rack of oven to lower 1/3. Sprinkle roast inside and out with salt and pepper and place roast in roasting pan. Place stuffing in cavity and wrap bacon slices around outside of roast, securing with toothpicks.* Wrap tips with foil and place in oven for 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hours. Transfer to carving board and allow to stand , loosely covered with foil.

For Sauce:
1 1/2 c water
1/4 cup apple jelly

Remove fat from roasting pan and add water to deglaze pan by boiling, stirring, and scraping. Pour through fine mesh sieve and return to pan. Add jelly and simmer until jelly is melted.

Remove all foil from roast and carve into chops by cutting between ribs.

* I forgot to use the bacon.

Despite my mistake, the roast was very tasty and the stuffing was divine. I served it with glazed sweet potatoes (a recipe from the Food Network siteby the Neelys) and green beans almondine.



I also served a deep dish apple pie for dessert.

This One Should Come With A Warning

Do you need a little something to take to a party this holiday season? This is great! It is easy, fast, and dangerously delicious. Do not make it and keep it at home. You will not be able to stop. You'll make yourself sick. You'll get fat. You'll never want to leave your couch. Just. Don't. Tempt. Fate.

I made a double recipe today. I have plans. I have cookie tins to fill. I must be good. But I know that I have a large container of these in kitchen and I can hear them calling.

White Chocolate Cinnamon Pretzel Squares

Ingredients:
1 bag of pretzels (16-18 oz) I used Synder's of Hanover squares
2/3 cup oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup cinnamon sugar for sprinkling
1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Whisk together oil, sugar, and cinnamon.
2. Pour pretzels into a microwave safe bowl and pour oil mixture in. Stir until coated.
3. Microwave for 1 minute, remove and stir. Microwave 45 seconds more.
4. Spread pretzels evenly onto two cookie sheets covered in parchment paper.
5. While still warm, sprinkle cinnamon sugar generously.
6. Melt white chocolate (on low heat, be careful not to burn) and drizzle over cooled pretzels.
7. Store in an airtight container.

You can taste the butter of the pretzels underneath the salt, then the cinnamon and sugar, and then, finally the white chocolate.

Here they are from a distance...


And here they are, up close and personal.


Just a note...I found that the drizzling of the white chocolate went better using a fork than with a spoon.

The Baking Season Has Begun

I started my holiday baking today. Each year I promise myself that I will try something new and each year I return to my tried and true favorites. And today was no exception.

I made a batch of Paula Deen's Thumbprint cookies because I love them. Because they are not overly sweet. Because the recipe makes a lot of cookies.

Thumbprint Cookies


3/4 lb. butter (3 sticks), softened
1 c. sugar
2 egg yolks
3 3/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
any tart preserves

Cream butter & sugar. Add egg yolks & blend. Sift flour & salt, then blend into the butter mixture. Add vanilla. Chill dough thoroughly.

Preheat oven to 350. Shape dough into 1" balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Make an indentation in each ball with thumb. Fill the depression with jam. (Jelly or pecan halves would also work). Bake 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool slightly before removing from sheet to rack.

Will keep well in a tightly closed container.

Now, I'm sure that the good folks of America's Test Kitchen would use a German engineered and machined stainless steel ruler to measure each ball of dough, but I used the tools that God gave me. I happen to know that the distance between the first and second knuckles of my left index finger is exactly one inch.

And instead of using my thumb to indent the dough, I used the cover of my candy thermometer.





I used raspberry jam, and I made a little less than 7 dozen.



After they cooled, I carefully packaged them in an air-tight container and placed them in the freezer for later.

OMG!

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and so, too, the left-overs.

My sister hosted this year, so I had less to prepare and fewer left-overs. She asked me to make the cornbread dressing and a dessert. I threw in a fruit salad, because I was craving fruit. And I knew, without a doubt, that dessert had to be chocolate. How did I know? My chocoholic brother-in-law says that any dessert that is not chocolate is a waste of sugar.

I chose to make a dessert that had his name written all over it. Peanut Butter Fudge cake. Peanut. Butter. Fudge. Cake. What about doesn't sound good? In fact, this cake is so good, I never got a chance to take a picture. It was gone in a matter of minutes.

It's easy, it's moist, it's delicious.

PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE CAKE

Oven 350. Grease and flour a 13 x 9-inch cake pan.

Stir together in a bowl and set aside:
2 cups sugar
2 cups self rising flour

In a large saucepan, combine:
2 sticks butter (or 1 stick butter, 1 stick margarine)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Using a whisk and stirring constantly, heat the mixture over medium heat until the butter melts and the surface is covered with bubbles. Add, if desired:
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional (I don't add them)

Then stir the sugar/flour mixture into the hot mixture until blended. Add:
1 teaspoon vanilla

Bake for about 25 minutes.

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, cover the top with peanut butter. I use creamy but you can use crunchy. I like a fairly thick layer of peanut butter, so I use at least 1 cup....maybe more. I just put big blobs of peanut butter over the cake and let it melt for a minute or so and then spread it evenly. Let the it cool for about 30 minutes before frosting.

FROSTING
In a large saucepan, sitr together:

4 tbs butter
1/4 cup cocoa
6 Tablespoons buttermilk
Heat on medium heat till butter melts and mixture is covered with bubbles. Then stir in:

1 pound powdered sugar (sift if it looks lumpy)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup nuts, optional (I don't use them)

Pour over cake and let sit for a few minutes to firm.

Leave the cake in the pan to serve and store.

Fix a big glass of cold milk and sit down with a piece. Close your eyes and savor the moment that the soft, fudgy, rich deliciousness hits your tongue. And then move out of the way, because a crowd of chocolate loving fiends will soon come running.