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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.
Driving home from work tonight with the radio tuned to CBC’s As It Happens show, I heard an interview with Joel Hicks, British athlete and 2009 gravy wrestling champ. Yes, you read that correctly. The man holds the world championship title in gravy wrestling!
I know there are lots of whacky food competitions out there: hot dog, chicken wing and pie eating contests, cheese rolling, pudding throwing, even jello wrestling. But wrestling in gravy (leftover gravy at that!) was a new concept for me. With the image of bodies flopping about in a pool of thickened meat drippings now in the back of my mind, it may be hard to look at the little lake of gravy I like to create on the top of a mountain of mashed potatoes the same way ever again.
You can read more about Joel Hicks, gravy wrestler, or if you’re really curious to see how its done – in case a food fight breaks out after a family Thanksgiving dinner some day – you can watch Joel Hicks gravy wrestling on YouTube.
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.
Chocolateville! I want to live there!
How positively amazing is this!! A winter village scene – made out of 5,000 pounds of semisweet, milk and white chocolate – complete with mountains, a running chocolate waterfall, chocolate gondolas and two moving chocolate trains!
Hats, no, touques off to Executive Pastry Chef Ned Archibald and his staff at Keystone Resort in Keystone, Colorado for this incredible work!
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.
The cupcake craze has been in full swing for a few years but I still did a double take when I saw a mobile cupcake shop on a New York City street recently.
I didn’t stop to check out the confections at the Cupcake Stop as I’d just come from a day of classes at the French Culinary Institute and couldn’t possibly have eaten another bite. And besides, it was cool, windy and raining, although that didn’t seem to deter others from choosing from an assortment of cupcake flavours. (View the full menu of cupcake flavours online).
The Cupcake Stop has been roaming the streets of the Big Apple since June of this year. You can find out where the truck will be by checking the CupcakeStop web site and Twitter.
If you’re a cupcake lover and plan to visit NYC, check out this list of where to get cupcakes in New York City from the Carroll County Times.
Or you can hop across the river into New Jersey and visit Carlo’s Bakery (of TLC’s Cake Boss fame) for cupcakes, as we did on a trip to NYC this summer.
Cupcakes from Carlo's Bakery in New Jersey
Fresh ginger is far superior in flavour to dried ginger, and I think to jarred ginger too. But that knobby gnarled root you bring home from the grocery store or market is usually more ginger than you need at any one time.
So, what do you do with the unused portion? What is the best way to store fresh ginger?
I’ve usually either peeled and grated the remaining piece of ginger, wrapped it in a little aluminum foil and frozen it for future use, or, alas, left the knob to languish in the fridge until it’s dried out and moldy.
That’s changed since reading this tip for freezing ginger in a log from Jaden Hair at Steamy Kitchen. What a great suggestion for keeping ginger at the ready for whenever you need it. Just grate the ginger over a piece of plastic wrap, form it into a log, roll it up in the plastic wrap, twist the ends of the plastic to form it into a log, then freeze. Break off a piece as needed to use in whatever you’re cooking.
Apparently the original idea came from Lunch in a Box. There are some other useful tips for storing and cooking with ginger on both blogs.
Did you know carrots weren’t always orange? I didn’t.
Carrots used to be a variety of colours – yellow, red, purple, white and even black.
In the 1500’s, Dutch growers bred carrots to make them less bitter. The result was an orange-coloured carrot that was claimed as the Royal vegetable in honour of the Dutch Royal Family, who were of the House of Orange.
You can read more about the history of the carrot by visiting the online Carrot Museum.
Who knew there was a Carrot Museum?? I didn’t!
The things you learn every day…..
