"Let them eat cake!"

Remember before when I stated how I hated to bake? Well, I still hate it. However, sometimes....I have to just suck it up.

I sucked it up and baked a cake.

Don't get too excited and think I turned over a new leaf, or anything silly like that. No. This is really a super easy peasy cake. It's a chocolate cake made rich from cocoa powder, chocolate chips and coffee. It tastes like a dense devils food cake sort of. Love it because I usually have everything on hand, except the cocoa powder which I only use for this cake so I try to keep some in the pantry.

I get the cake all baked and then Antonio goes, when are you going to frost it? Uhhhhhhhh, shoot. I didn't bother to look and see if I had any frosting (in the tub of course...duh! I hate to bake remember?) I try to get him to just eat it without the frosting to which he replies, "uh mom, I hate to tell you this...but I can't eat cake without frosting!". Of course he can't. Cakes are supposed to have frosting, and to Antonio, it won't be happenin without frosting. To him, there is only 1 way to do most things and cake must have frosting.

If you have ever met my son, Antonio, you aren't surprised by that.

So now I have Antonio on a scavenger hunt around the garage pantry while I scower the kitchen for frosting. I have to have some around her somewhere, right? I mean...I stock up on everything. Remind me to write about the "tub of pasta" incident.

No frosting. Well, that figures. I am going to have to - gasp! Make some.

Dun, dun, dunnnnnnnnn.

I knew just who to call. Amy! My neighbor/friend who has descended down from a long line of bakers. She will know just what to do, and boy did she. She gives me her moms..moms frosting recipe and let me tell you - it is my favorite kind of frosting recipe, easy and yummy. Even though I would choose a bag of chips over candy any day, I can tell a good frosting from bad. This is one of the best ones I have tasted.

When it was all said and done, the cake had the taste of a Hostess chocolate cupcake and the frosting reminded me alot of the filling. What's not to like?

Cake

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1 cup fresh black coffee, hot
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray 8-inch-square baking dish with nonstick cooking
spray.

2. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl. In separate bowl, combine cocoa and chocolate; pour hot coffee
over cocoa mixture and whisk until smooth; let cool slightly. Whisk in mayonnaise, egg, and vanilla. Stir mayonnaise mixture into
flour mixture until combined.

3. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake until wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out with few crumbs
attached, 30 to 35 minutes.

4. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack, 1 to 2 hours. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, cut into squares, and serve straight from the pan; or
turn cake out onto serving platter

Amy's Frosting

1. Mix (electric mixer) 2 heaping cups powdered sugar and 2/3 cup shortening.

2. Add 1 egg and mix

3. In a saucepan, combine 4 Tbl sugar and 2 Tbl water. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Pour into powered sugar mixture. Mix immediately.

4. Add 1 tsp vanilla – mix. Done!

Back in the saddle again....

A few blogs ago..in a kitchen far far away...I had a double disaster weekend in cooking. Figuring that I really should try to be smarter than the recipe - I wanted to try again. I dug through my recipes of yummies yet to be tasted when I can across "Moroccan Chicken". I just love a recipe where I actually have most, if not all of the ingredients in my house already. I wasn't very OCD this weekend and didn't plan my meals before the shopping list so making something brand new seemed like an impossibility. But no! Moroccan Chicken jumped out of the recipes and into my lap (well, not really of course - but it did stand out).

Basically this recipe is a quick braise. If you are a lover of garlic, this is the recipe for you. It's not too spicy, although I used 1/2 the amount of cayenne pepper called for just for the simple fact that I knew there would be leftovers and the longer cayenne sits in a recipe - the spicier it gets.

The sauce was a bit thinner than I wanted. A direct result of not reducing it enough because I was too impatient (translation: hungry) so it ran all over the plate - but was still yummy. I wanted to serve it with couscous but didn't have enough so I had 1/2 brown rice, 1/2 couscous and Chris had couscous only. The chicken was tender and the olives had just enough bite. Be sure and rinse them off with water just in case the brine is extra salty.

A truly easy recipe that only tastes complicated.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN

1 1/4 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used 1/8)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 strips lemon zest (each about 2 inches by 3/4 inch)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice , from 1 to 2 lemons
5 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 5 teaspoons)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (8 ounces each), trimmed of excess fat
Table salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion , halved and cut into 1/4-inch slices (about 3 cups)
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon honey
2 medium carrots , peeled and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick coins, very large pieces cut into half-moons (about 2
cups)
1 cup Greek cracked green olives , pitted and halved
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves


1. Combine spices in small bowl and set aside. Mince 1 strip lemon zest; combine with 1 teaspoon minced garlic and mince together until reduced to fine paste; set aside.

2. Season both sides of chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until beginning to smoke. Brown chicken until lightly golden, about 2 minutes; using tongs, turn chicken and brown on second side, about 2 minutes more. Transfer chicken to large plate.

3. Add onion and 2 remaining lemon zest strips to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions have browned at edges but still retain shape, 5 to 7 minutes (add 1 tablespoon water if pan gets too dark). Add remaining 4 teaspoons garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add spices and cook, stirring constantly, until darkened and very fragrant, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in broth and honey, scraping bottom of pot with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits.

4. Add carrots to pot and arrange chicken on top of carrots. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 160 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through cooking.

5. Transfer chicken to plate or bowl and tent with foil. Add olives to pot; increase heat to medium-high and simmer until liquid has thickened slightly and carrots are tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Return chicken to pot and add garlic-zest mixture, cilantro, and lemon juice; stir to combine and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

A typical dinner for me

Sadly, I rarely eat the dinners I make. Just can't do it anymore. I seriously hate to admit that, but depending on what number your age starts with....you feel me. So - 5 out of 6 nights I cook a different dinner for myself, usually fish. I really like the Tilapia loins that Costco has frozen and vacuumed sealed individually. They defrost fast and they take on the flavor of whatever you put them in or put on them. I totally heart them! I try to keep at least one extra in the freezer because occasionally Costco will be out. I try not to throw hissy fits in public, and keeping an extra has saved me more than once.

Another great find is frozen brown rice. LOVE it! For those among you who have cooked brown rice you know. Can it take any more time to do it? 45 minutes later, I am not sure I'm hungry anymore. Fret no more....this rice cooks in the microwave in 3 1/2 minutes and it has a yummy chewy texture. Great to reheat and very nutritious. It's with the frozen veggies and it's Birds Eye Steam Fresh (I think). I highly recommend it.

Another good thing to fill up on (that, and all my meals need some kind of crunch) is salad. The greener the lettuce leaf, the more nutritious it is. Again, Costco to the rescue. Now, I am not one of those nutjobs who would rather eat like this. No. I would rather have the meatloaf, pizza, lasagna...... I just know that if I want to fit into my clothes, I have to cut things out and watch the portions. Thank you father time! Don't get me wrong...I don't eat healthy every day, but I pick and choose where to blow it. Weeknight dinners usually isn't the time or place for that.

I have included the recipe I used for tonight's fish, but I have cooked it every which way but Sunday and this particular fish had never let me down.

Baked Fish

2 Tilapia Loins (defrosted)
1 TB chopped green onion (the green parts)
Sliced lemon
1 pat of butter – not fake butter…real unsalted butter
Chris seasoning (see meatloaf blog)

Preheat oven to 325
Put fish in a baking dish and sprinkle with onion and spice. Lay a few lemon slices on each piece. Dot each with butter. Cover with foil and bake for 40-45 minutes until fish is cooked.

That’s it.

No drama, just comfort.

Meatloaf just has comfort written all over it, don't you think? We haven't had it in a long time and even though it's still Summer...the air was a combination of damp and crisp tonight so I figured meatloaf would be what's for dinner.

It is one of those things you don't really need a recipe for, but I have one written down that I made up mainly because I am a freak about recipes. That is partly why I was so mad at myself with the steamed clams in beer sauce mess.....I knew better than to just "wing" a recipe.

I just love a dinner with no drama.

I, of course, didn't eat this dinner. I had fish. It looked good though.



Cheesy Turkey Meatloaf - Sponsored by Costco, it seems.

2 lbs Ground Turkey – Mine is from Costco, of course...2 packages.
2 eggs
½ cup of ketchup
½ cup or so of plain bread crumbs
1 tbl of Chris seasoning mix (recipe below) or your fav. Seasoning mix.
1 cup milk
1 cup grated cheese (or to taste)– I use grated cheddar jack (Costco)

Mix all the ingredients and put into a 13X9 baking dish. The key with meatloaf or meatballs for that matter is to not overwork the meat. Form it into a rectangle. The secret is to try and get it a uniform thickness all over so it cooks evenly. Bake at 425 for about an hour and 15 minutes. Let stand for 5-10 minutes, slice and enjoy.


Chris’ Spice - I use this as our family's all purpose spice on everything

1 Part Granulated Onion
1 Part Granulated Garlic
1 Part Med ground black pepper
1 ½ Parts Table Salt

Double the failure, double the frustration.

I am not usually one to start something, like a blog for instance...and not keep up on it. The lack of posts is due to the fact that my last two ventures were garbage, and into the garbage disposal they went after choking enough bites down to curb the hunger.

Complete disaster #1 - Steamed clams in beer cream sauce over pasta.
Sounds good doesn't it? Well, it was not good. Not good at all. The story started out with Chris and I at dinner at Anthony's Woodfire Grill. We had steamed clams in beer as a starter. It was soooo yummy. We both foolishly decided it would be a grand idea to recreate it at home over pasta. I asked the server for the ingredients and figured that I could just wing the cooking (mistake one). The server said that they were made with a stout beer, check. Cream, check. Butter, check. Clams, check. It sounded simple enough.

I will just cut to the chase because even retelling the tale is getting me agitated. The sauce was bitter. So bitter that it was baaaaaarely edible. Translation: It was all we had for dinner, it was late and I couldn't see myself cooking something else. Chris said he liked it, which, HAD to be a big fat lie. I honestly don't mind being told something is not good because if the audience doesn't like it - chances are I already know it's garbage. I think it all went wrong when I reduced the beer too much. Now, I am not a beer drinker and especially not stout. It was just the grossest thing. I mainly had salad and some clams, which were cooked quite well considering.... What is the lesson I learned? I learned to always have and follow a recipe with new dishes. I did something that I NEVER, and I mean NEVER do in the kitchen (perfection disorder, hello?) and that is "wing it" with something new. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Moving on to complete disaster #2 - Chicken Biryani (an Indian chicken and rice dish)
At least this one was edible. It just didn't taste good.
I love Indian food. I have this Indian market in Shoreline that I go to called "Indian Sweets and Spices" and they have all kinds of fixins for yummy authentic Indian cuisine. I really should have known better than to buy a "complete spice mix". I never do that. I always like to make the spice mix myself from a recipe. That affliction is part control freak and part addicted to cooking. The spice mix was highly recommended by my friendly store guy and the picture looked good.

I followed the directions to a T! Is there any other way to follow directions?

The resulting dish was bland but yet, spicy. Weird huh? I thought so. It just didn't taste good. I added some cumin and more yogurt to see if that would help but it just didn't . We ate some because, as previously stated there was no backup dinner plan. The rest? Garbage. Buh, bye it went. Next time, I go with my instinct and make the spice mix from scratch - as I knew I should.

Lesson learned.