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For Valentine’s Day – a basic chocolate cake with lots of variations (see below)….in case you’d rather have cupcakes, or a different size or shape of cake.
Chocolate Cake
(Makes 10 to 12 servings)
2 cups (500 mL) sugar
1-3/4 cups (425 mL) all-purpose flour
¾ cup (175 mL) cocoa powder
1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) baking powder
1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) baking soda
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
2 eggs
1 cup (250 mL) milk
½ cup (125 mL) vegetable oil
2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla
1 cup (250 mL) boiling water
Chocolate Icing (recipe below)
Grease and flour two 9-inch (23 cm) round baking pans.
Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water. (The batter will be thin.) Pour batter into prepared pans.
Big games = big appetites!
Excelling at spectator sports is hard work! Armchair athletes can work up a hearty appetite cheering on their team. Chili, sub sandwiches, pizza, wings and nachos are fan favourites for noshing while coaching from the sidelines, analyzing plays and critiquing the refs’ calls.
Bring your A game and score a touchdown this Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 7th) by serving Pulled Pork on a Bun. Pork roast bathed in a rich barbecue-style sauce cooks lazily in the slow cooker freeing you up to catch all the antics on the big screen, from the singing of the National Anthem through to the final whistle.
Once the pork has cooked, the tender meat is easily shredded by pulling it apart with two forks (hence the name!). Serve it and the flavourful sauce piled high in warmed buns.
You’ll want to put the recipe for Pulled Pork in your play book. It’s a crowd pleaser no matter which Bowl or Cup your armchair quarterbacks are watching!
Sports Speak! Want to sound like a sports commentator, coach, player or just a die-hard fan? Learn all the lingo by checking out this great list of sports cliches!
I’m a food magazine junkie, always on the lookout for the latest issues of my favourites, or the arrival of brand new publications.
A quick perusal of the magazine shelves at a Kitchener grocery store tonight rewarded me with a newbie – The County Grapevine. This newcomer focuses on the food, wine, art and culture of Prince Edward County (PEC) in southern Ontario.
It seems I’m a little late getting to the party on this one; the issue I picked up is for Fall/Winter 2009/2010 (it’s a biannual publication). The magazine has been around for a while. How did I miss it??
So where exactly is Prince Edward County? PEC is an island at the eastern end of Lake Ontario. It is surrounded on the north and east by the Bay of Quinte, and is west of the St. Lawrence River. Its mild climate (by Canadian standards, that is!) has made it home to numerous vineyards and wineries.
What initially attracted me to The County Grapevine as I leafed through it in the store was the article Steeped in Tradition by tea expert Melody Wren. As a tea lover always looking for new places to enjoy a good cuppa’, I was interested to read her review of tea rooms in PEC.
Since bringing the magazine home, I’ve read and enjoyed a couple light-hearted pieces – “I was a teenage waitress” by comedian Deborah Kimmett and “Table Manners: The Lost Art of Dinner Parties” by sommelier Natalie MacLean.
I also noticed that food stylist and blogger Ruth Gangbar was credited for food styling in the magazine.
Tomorrow I’ll have to take some time to savour the food and wine articles!
The County Grapevine is available free in Prince Edward County and surrounding areas and can be purchased at Chapters, Indigo, Metro, and stores within the Loblaws chain.
Cranberry Cereal Crisps
If you didn’t OD on baking or eating sweets over the holidays, or you just like to keep your cookie jar full, here’s a great cookie recipe that can be made easily and is really tasty. And, it’s a good way to use up the last couple servings of crisp rice cereal (i.e. Rice Krispies) languishing in the bottom of the box.
The texture of these cookies is also really pleasing: melt-in-your-mouth tender, yet crisp – all at the same time!
This recipe makes a big batch (about 5 dozen), so to be fair to your waist, hips, thighs, and all those other body parts where excess weight tends to migrate, enjoy a few, then freeze the rest to eat over the next while!
Cranberry Cereal Crisps
(Makes about 60 cookies)
1 cup (250 mL) butter, softened
1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar
1 cup (250 mL) brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup (250 mL) vegetable oil
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
3-1/2 cups (875 mL) all-purpose flour
1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1 cup (250 mL) large flake oats
2 cups (500 mL) crisp rice cereal
1 cup (250 mL) dried cranberries (or chopped dried apricots)
Beat butter, sugars and egg on medium speed of electric mixer until light and creamy. Stir in oil and vanilla.
Stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture along with oats, mixing on low speed until well blended. Stir in cereal and cranberries or apricots.
Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls (about 20 mL), about 2 inches (5 cm) apart, onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
I like to use this handy cookie batter scoop. (It's the clear acrylic utensil with blue-bottomed scoop.) It allows you to easily measure out a specific quantity of batter.
Here are a couple easy cheesy savoury truffle appetizer recipes I demonstrated at the Thyme to Cook kitchen store in Guelph a few weeks ago. Serve these at a party and it’s rather like each guest has their own mini cheese balls!
Ham and Cream Cheese Truffles
(Makes about 2 dozen 1-inch/2.5 cm truffles)
1 (250 g) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup (250 mL) shredded Cheddar cheese
½ of a 156 g can of Flakes of Ham or 1/3 cup (75 mL) finely chopped ham
1/4 tsp (1 mL) garlic powder
2 green onions, sliced
Finely chopped walnuts or pecans (about 1 cup/250 mL) for coating truffles, if desired
In a medium bowl, stir together cream cheese, Cheddar cheese, ham, garlic powder, and green onions until well blended. Cover and refrigerate mixture for several hours until chilled.
Using mini ice cream scoop, melon baller or teaspoon, shape mixture into 24 (1-inch/2.5 cm) balls. Roll balls in nuts until coated. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Tips:
* Cheese truffles can be made any size you wish. You can shape them with your hands if desired but they don’t have to be perfectly round.
* Roll truffles in chopped fresh parsley, shredded cheese, or toasted sesame seeds or fine bread crumbs.
* Poke pretzel sticks into cheese truffles for easy serving.
* Serve with crackers.
* Mixture can be shaped into one large cheese ball, if desired.
Sun-dried Tomato Cream Cheese Truffles
(Makes about 2 dozen 1-inch/2.5 cm truffles)
1 (250 g) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (125 mL) grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup (50 mL) minced sun-dried tomatoes in oil (well drained)
1 to 2 tbsp (15 to 30 mL) chopped fresh basil
Chopped fresh herbs or grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup/250 mL) for coating truffles, if desired
In a medium bowl, stir together cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and basil until well blended. Cover and refrigerate mixture for several hours until chilled.
Using mini ice cream scoop, melon baller or teaspoon, shape mixture into 24 (1-inch/2.5 cm) balls. Roll the balls in herbs or cheese until coated. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Tips:
* Cheese truffles can be made any size you wish. You can shape them with your hands if desired but they don’t have to be perfectly round.
* Use an herb paste instead of fresh basil, if desired.
* Poke pretzel sticks into cheese truffles for easy serving.
* Serve with crackers.
* Mixture can be shaped into one large cheese ball, if desired.
I think Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream may be the best ice cream I’ve made so far.
If you like Nutella and ice cream, I’m quite sure you’ll like this ice cream too! Seriously. Who wouldn’t??
It’s so easy to make, and it just sings with chocolate hazelnut flavour. It’s texture is more creamy than other ice creams I’ve made. I often find that “ripening” homemade ice cream in the freezer tends to make it harden to an extreme and form large crystals that make for a really granular texture in your mouth. I’ve had this Chocolate Hazelnut ice cream in the freezer for almost 3 days now, and although there’s not much left, what there is is firm, but scoop-able.
So here’s the recipe:
Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream
(Makes 8 cups/2 L)
2 cups (500 mL) whipping cream (35%)
2 cups (500 mL) homogenized milk (3.5%)
1 cup (500 mL) chocolate hazelnut spread
1/2 cup (125 mL) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped dark chocolate* (optional)
1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped hazelnuts (optional)
In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, bring cream and milk to a simmer.
In a large bowl, combine hazelnut spread and sugar; stir until smooth. Whisk 1/4 cup (50 mL) of the cream mixture into the sugar mixture; whisk until blended. Whisk in remaining cream mixture until well blended. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled or overnight.
Stir cream mixture. Transfer to an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s instructions, adding chopped chocolate and hazelnuts a few minutes before the ice cream has finished churning.
Recipe Source: 125 Best Ice Cream Recipes by Marilyn Linton and Tanya Linton, Robert Rose Inc., 2003
Tips:
* If you’re adding chopped chocolate, use a good-quality brand. I used Lindt Madagascar (65%) dark chocolate.
* I have a Cuisinart Flavor Duo (two 1 L/1 quart buckets) ice cream maker. This recipe filled both buckets. The mixture had chilled overnight so only took 15 to 18 minutes to process to a soft creamy consistency.
* The recipe can be halved if you can only make 1 L (1 quart) of ice cream at a time.
* If desired, splash a serving of the finished ice cream with hazelnut liqueur and a sprinkling of chopped hazelnuts (instead of adding the hazelnuts to the ice cream).
I suspect Julia Child has a few new fans since Meryl Streep brought her to life in the big screen production Julie & Julia.
From what I’ve been hearing and reading since the movie’s debut on Aug. 7, copies of Child’s My Life in France are being snapped up along with Mastering the Art of French Cooking, the cookbook she wrote with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle.
Julie Powell’s book, Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously, and her blog (The Julie/Julia Project), on which the movie was based, are also proving to be popular reads.
Whether this translates into more meals being served in kitchens around the country that don’t come straight from a package, a can or the drive thru remains to be seen, but if the movie serves to generate interest in all things culinary, I say thanks, Julie and Julia!
Some Julia Child and Julie Powell links -
More insight (??) about food from NBC’s The Office. This time, a cooking lesson from Kevin Malone.
Learn how to make pseudo quesadillas and creme brulee using food from the vending machine.
If you dare.
See also Funny Food Moments on The Office.
Watch out! These bite-sized scones are more than a little addictive. And since they’re small, it’s easy to pop one, then another, and another in your mouth without keeping count!
Scones with jam and whipped cream
That said, they pair perfectly with tea and are great for a party when you want to serve something a little different as a sweet. Just set out a bowl of jam or fruit spread and a bowl of clotted cream, stiffly whipped sweetened heavy cream (35% M.F.) or Cool Whip, along with a couple of knives and watch the mini mountain of sweet little biscuits disappear.
Cream Tea Scones
(Makes about 20 1-3/4 inch (4 cm) scones)
2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour or 1 cup (250 mL) each all-purpose and cake & pastry flours
2 tablespoons (30 mL) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon (15 mL) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) butter, softened
1 egg
2/3 cup (175 mL) milk or light cream
Sugar
In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
In a small bowl, whisk egg; reserve 1 tablespoon (15 mL) to brush on tops of scones before baking. Stir together remaining egg and milk.
Using fork, stir egg mixture into flour mixture to make a light, soft dough. If dough seems too sticky, stir in a bit more flour. (I find I usually need a tablespoon or two (15 to 30 mL) less milk than called for so I hold back a little and only add it if necessary.)
Gather dough into a ball; on a lightly floured surface, lightly knead dough a few times until smooth. Gently flatten with hands or a rolling pin to 3/4″ (2 cm) thickness. Cut into 1-3/4 inch (4 cm) rounds with a cookie cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Brush tops with reserved egg. Sprinkle sugar over tops, if desired.
Bake in a preheated 425F (220C) oven until golden brown, about 9 or 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature if scones begin to brown too quickly.
Recipe Source: Prizewinning Preserves by Yvonne Tremblay, Prentice Hall Canada, 2001. Recipe originates with food writer and author Carol Ferguson.)
Tips:
* Pronounce it “skawn” (like yawn) or “skown” (like groan), as you wish!
* Don’t twist the cookie cutter when cutting out the scones or the edges will be pressed together and the scones won’t rise as high.
* Instead of mini scones, you can use a 2-1/2 inch (7 cm) round cutter or a glass to make approximately 10 larger scones.
Here’s a novel dessert idea from The Nibble (an online magazine) -
Grilled Idaho Potato Ice Cream with Milk Chocolate Cake and Bacon Toffee, garnished with Potato Rings.
If anyone is brave enough to try it, let me know how it turns out!
