Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.
~ Harriet Van Horne
Category: MISC
DEVIL’S FOOD ORANGE CAKE with ORANGE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
CAKE
4 medium navel oranges, room temperature
3 squares unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 Jumbo eggs
1 cup whole milk
2 cups flour
- Heat oven to 325 degrees.
- Generously grease a Bundt pan (I like a decorative Nordicware or Wilton pan)
- Squeeze oranges, saving pulp
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Then add 1/2 cup of the sugar, the cinnamon and 1/2 cup of the orange juice, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Cool.
- Mix the baking soda into 2 teaspoons of orange juice.
- In a large mixing bowl cream the shortening with 1 cup sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
- Alternate the milk and flour, sifting the flour into the cream mixture and blend until smooth.
- Add the baking soda mixture and blend well.
- Add the cooled chocolate mixture and blend well.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Level pan by dropping on counter top to remove air bubbles.
- Bake until springy 55-60 minutes.
- Cool 10 minutes and then invert onto platter.
- Cool before frosting.
FROSTING
1/2 cup butter, softened
5 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, pulp and all
2 teaspoon orange zest
- Beat butter until fluffy.
- Beat in 1/2 of the powdered sugar until smooth.
- Add orange juice, vanilla and orange peel. Blend until smooth.
- Slowly add the remaining sugar and blend until silky.
- Adjust sugar and orange juice until desired consistency and flavor is reached.
If you don’t have this mess in the end,
you did it wrong!
you did it wrong!
TWISTED PEPPER STEAK IN GRAVY
1-2 tablespoons light olive oil
2 pounds round steak, trimmed of fat and cut into 3 inch slices
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red pepper, sliced into thin strips
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons minced garlic (jar)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 can beef consomme or
a scant 2 cups hot water with 2 teaspoons beef granules
Roux
- In a large skillet heat olive oil
- When hot, brown the beef slices, drain and transfer to the slow cooker
- In the same pan combine the consomme, onions, tomatoes and juice, brown sugar, salt, pepper, garlic and soy sauce.
- Bring to a slow boil.
- Pour over beef.
- Cover and cook on high for 1 hour
- Reduce the heat to low and cook 3-4 hours until beef is tender
- Add the red pepper
- Cook 1 more hour
- Return heat to high
- Using a large pasta claw remove the meat and peppers to serving bowl
- Add Roux
- Stir into the gravy and cook until desired thickness
- Pour over meat in serving bowl and toss to coat
- Serve over white rice or noodles
WHITE CAKE & CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM ICING
1/4 cup Crisco
1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1 +/- tablespoons milk
- With a hand mixer mix together the crisco and softened butter
- Add the vanilla extract and beat smooth
- Gradually add the sugar, adding the 1st tablespoon of milk midway
- After adding all sugar beat until creamy adding a dash more milk if necessary
BANANA SPICE CAKE
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cups sour milk
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour, sifted
2 small VERY RIPE bananas, well mashed
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cups sour milk
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour, sifted
2 small VERY RIPE bananas, well mashed
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup maple syrup
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- GREASE loaf pan or 8×8 baking dish.*
- With a wooden spoon blend the butter, sugar and eggs.
- Blend in bananas until well mixed.
- Sift dry ingredients together.
- Add dry ingredients and mix well with swift strokes.
- Add vanilla and raisins.
- Bake 45-55 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
- Immediately invert on to serving plate.
- Wait 15 minutes for cooling.
- Warm the maple syrup in the microwave for 30 seconds.
- Using a toothpick, pierce holes into the top of the cake.
- Drizzle maple syrup over the cake and allow it to drip down the sides.
*Works really well in today’s decorative bundt style pans.
Recipe (page 142) adapted from ‘A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband’ by Louise Bennett Weaver and Helen Cowles LeCron
I seriously adapted this one into a modern easy to use recipe.
POTATO PANCAKES
3+ cups peeled, grated & squeezed* potatoes
1 large bunch green onions, minced or 1 small Vidalia onion, minced
1/2 cup self rising flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg, beaten
4 tablespoons butter, melted
- Sift together the flour, salt and pepper.
- Whisk together the buttermilk, egg and butter until smooth.
- Whisk in the flour mixture until well blended.
- Fold in the potatoes and onions.
- Drop onto hot griddle and make your pancakes.
- Serve with applesauce and sour cream or with the Sauerbraten gravy.
*I use a flour cloth towel as my base. I grate the potatoes on top of it and then bring all the corners together like a knapsack wrapping the potatoes inside. I continue to tighten the turns until I squeezed all the moisture from the potatoes.
MEATLOAF MUFFINS
HOMEMADE APPLESAUCE
HOME MADE APPLE SAUCE
5 large Apples (I like Pink Lady or Braeburns)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 can peach nectar (Papaya or pineapple are good too)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
- In a large sauce pan pour nectar over raisins and let sit while you prepare apples.
- Wash, core, peel and chop apples.
- Add water to sauce pan and stir in sugar until dissolved.
- Add cinnamon and mix well.
- Add apples and cook over medium heat until until apples are tender and mush easily.
- Mush to desired consistency.
- Remove from heat.
- Cool and chill.
- Can be kept in refrigerator for a week though it never lasts that long around here. When my apples are at the height of the season and falling off the tree I make this in huge batches and put it up in canning jars for the following year.
QUICHE LORRAINE – THE PERFECT SUNDAY MORNING PIE
1/2 pound bacon, crisply fried and crumbled
1 cup finely grated swiss cheese
1 large bunch green onions finely sliced
4 eggs
2 cups whipping cream
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1 deep pie crust
Preheat oven to 425°.
Prebake the pie crust and cool before filling.
Sprinkle the crumbled bacon, finely sliced onion and grated swiss cheese evenly into crust.
Beat the eggs, whipping cream and seasonings until well blended. Pour over mixture in pie crust.
Bake 15 minutes and then reduce heat to 300° and bake an additional 35 minutes or until just golden and knife comes out clean.
Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.
Sesame Garlic Green Beans
Sesame Garlic Green Beans
1½ pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
1 bunch green onions, finely sliced
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons minced garlic (jar)
Cook the green beans for 5 minutes in boiling water.
While the beans are cooking, combine the soy sauce, sugar and oil, set aside. Spray a sauté pan with PURE. Over a medium heat sauté green onions and garlic until soft. Add the beans. Stir several minutes until well coated. Add soy sauce mixture, stirring constantly until most of the liquid is absorbed.
Hamburger Steaks with Parmesan Potatoes and Onion Gravy
HAMBURGER STEAKS
1 pound ground chuck
1 pound hamburger
1 sleeve Keebler club crackers, crushed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 Jumbo eggs
1 tablespoon liquid Smoke – MYSTERY ingredient
PARMESAN MASHED POTATOES
6 medium red potatoes, washed and cut into pieces
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4-1/2 cup Buttermilk
ONION GRAVY
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons self-rising flour
1 tablespoons cream sherry
2 cups hot water
1 tablespoon better than bouillon beef base
1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet
salt and pepper to taste
- Combine all the hamburger steak ingredients until well mixed. Form six steaks.
- Bake 30 minutes in convection oven at 350 degrees.
- In a large skillet melt the butter for the gravy. Saute the onions until browned.
- Add the bouillon base, cream sherry and hot water. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat, add flour and continue cooking to desired consistency.
- Bring potatoes to a boil until tender. Drain.
- Combine potato ingredients and beat until smooth.
- Enjoy
BOSTON CREAM PIE
When I was a little girl Boston Cream Pie was my FAVORITE Sunday dinner dessert and my grandma made it for me regularly until I was about 10 years old and then Sunday dinners as we knew them stopped on a regular basis. Since then I have craved Boston Cream Pie on a regular basis and finally have resurrected her recipe.
According to about.com, Boston Cream Pie is “Not a pie, but not your average cake, Boston Cream Pie is one of the city’s signature recipes. A descendant of pudding-cake pie, the Boston cream pie is considered to be the creation of French chef Sanzian of the Parker House Hotel (now the Omni Parker House). In 1996 the Boston Cream Pie was named the official dessert of Massachusetts. Use this recipe to make one yourself, and find out what makes the Boston Cream Pie such an enduring favorite.”
CAKE
- 1 cup sugar
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 JUMBO egg
- 1 1/4 cup cake flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup whole milk
CUSTARD***
- 1/3 cup sugar
- scant 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cup whole milk
- 3 JUMBO egg yolks
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
GLAZE
- 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons hot water
CAKE
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9 1/2-inch springform baking pan. I use a square one to make pieces easier to cut.
Combine the butter, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl. Cream together using an electric mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each one.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt. Combine with the creamed mixture and add the milk.
Pour batter into the prepared pan*. Bake in the middle of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack.
CUSTARD
Combine the cornstarch, sugar, milk, eggs, cream, vanilla extract, and salt in a saucepan. Whisk until smooth.
Bring the custard to a boil over moderate heat, whisking constantly. Continuing to whisk, let the custard boil for two minutes.
Remove from heat, and whisk in the butter. Set custard aside to cool, continuing to whisk occasionally.
GLAZE
In a double boiler, melt together the chocolate and butter until smooth. remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir in hot water 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency.
BUILDING THE PERFECT PIE
Remove the cake from the pan and cut it in half horizontally with a long serrated knife.
Place one half of the cake on a plate with the cut side facing up. Top with custard.
Place the other half of the cake on top, with the cut side down.
Coat the top of the cake with glaze allowing it to drip down the sides.
*I like to use my square spring form pan for a couple of reasons; it make cutting pieces a lot easier since the slices when it is cut as a pie tend to try and fall over and my serving plate is rectangular in shape.
***The traditional custard substitutes in this recipe for a pineapple custard which is what we like to do.