Heathers B-day Cake

Heather wanted a Cupcake cake for her birthday, new territory for me. All the ones I found online you just lined then up and frosted them together then put a picture on it, lame. So in celebration of her half marathon this year I decided I wanted to make her a running shoe cake out of cupcakes, no instructions just playing around with different ideas until it worked. I used a recipe I found for some really good cupcakes, http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Self-Filled-Cupcakes-II/Detail.aspx?src=etaf these are really good. I cut the sole of the shoe out of a 9x13 yellow cake which I had frozen, I then frosted it and froze it again. I then arranged the cupcakes around the outside of the shoe, I put steps in the middle to raise the 2 middle cupcakes. I then used the cut off cake to make the back of the shoe then froze it again so it was hard for the frosting to go on. I used a large piping nozel to pipe strips of cream cheese frosting on top and then tried to cover all the sides and make it as smooth as possible. I then cut the laces, Nike, Swoosh and the front decals out of fondant, then froze it again so it would set and hold. Here is what it looked like, not bad for a first cupcake cake with the only design being in my head.

Birthday cake

I have been trying to become more accomplished in my cake decorating skills. If you have seen our family blog you will see the fire engine cake I made for preston, the cab is a little wonky as I did not level it off very well. It was then one of my colleagues birthdays so I offered to make him a cake. Seeing as we work for Cintas I wanted to make a cake that looked like a Cintas uniform. I think that I did a pretty good job mixing up the colors and the such, it seemed to be a hit at the office.

Blondies

I was recently introduced to blondies and wanted to give them a try. I had always wondered what it would be like to bake a batch of cookie dough together and apparantly this is how blondies were started. I found a recipe on line and then put my own twist on it. Blondies are very versatile and gives you a chance to play around with different flavors, very fun.

1/2 pound butter at room temperature

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoons rum extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

3/4 cup dessicated coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place 1/2 pound of the butter and the brown sugar in the bowl and cream together beat in the eggs one at a time and then add your extract.

Sift together 3 cups flour and baking powder. Gradually add the flour and fold itno the batter.

Gradually fold in your chocolate chips and coconut.

Grease and Flour a 9 by 9-inch baking pan. Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle with your mix ins, I also added some chopped almonds for a little kick. Place in the preheated oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until set yet still moist.

I liked this combination but Heather does not like rum, you can just use Vanilla extract or any other flavor combo's that you wish. They turn out moist and went down great with a glass of milk.

Kaiserschmarren

THIS IS NOT MY RECIPIE - BUT IT IS STILL GOOD
We grew up having this dish for lunch in Austria, I love making it for breakfast now it is delicious.
Kaiser is the German word for emperor. Many dishes in the Austrian cuisine have the prefix Kaiser in their names, those are dishes that were devoted to the Austro-Hungarian emperor.
A Kaiserschmarren is a common Austrian sweet dish. It is served often as a complete meal in itself following a tasty soup. Austrians quite often eat a sweet dish after the soup for lunch. For example Palatschinken - Austrian pancakes filled with hot apricot jam, a Scheiterhaufen - baked layers of apples with raisins and white bread and topped with sugared, stiffly beaten egg whites or, as here, a Kaiserschmarren.

serves 4
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
4 eggs (divided)
a pinch of salt
2 Tablespoons raisins (optional)
1 Tablespoon butter
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

In a bowl mix milk, salt, flour and egg yolks very good until you have a smooth batter. Seperately beat the egg whites with the sugar until it is stiff. Now combine the batter with the stiffly beaten egg whites. Be careful and just fold it in, don't mix it to well, otherwise the egg whites won't hold, as we say.

In a wide pan melt butter and add raisins. As the butter heats stir it with the raisins and the raisins will absorb a bit of the butter, they will regain their initial grape size.

Now add the Kaiserschmarren batter and stir only a little bit, so that the raisins not only stick on the pan's bottom but also are inside the dough, otherwise the raisins will brown too much. You can of course also just mix the raisins into the batter before you pour it into the hot pan.

Lower the heat and cover the pan. This thick pancake should brown on one side and all will rise a bit now. After two minutes or so lift the pancake a bit with a spatula and have a look. When the pancake is golden to brown colored turn it in the pan and bake on the other side.

When browned and baked tear the pancake into mouth sized pieces with the help of a spatula. Add granulated sugar and on moderate heat let the sugar almost caramelize, stir and serve on a warm plate. Dust with powdered sugar (icing sugar.) Serve cold sweet apple sauce or plum preserves with this Kaiserschmarren.

As you can see we served it with mixed berries that were frozen, I just popped it in the microwave for 3 mins with some sugar.

I borrowed this recipe from a website of an austrian cook and it is authentic and tastes just like we used to have on our skiing hols in austria. As you can see we have another member of the English family hooked on Austrian pancakes.

Lemon Crunch Pie

This is a favorite in the English family because it is a really refreshing dessert. You make a graham cracker base (we traditonally used digestive biscuits in the home land). In a bowl add a tin of condensed milk and the juice of 8 lemons, whip these together. Then add 1/2 a pint of whipping cream and beat it until it becomes fairly stiff. then place in the fridge to set completely and serve all by itself. If you want to know how much we like this dessert, Heather and i have been known to eat a whole half between us in one sitting, it always leaves you wanting another slice.

Italian Chicken Pasta

This is a dish I invented a couple of years back and we decided to put it back on our menu again. I dice 2 chicken breasts and brown them in about a teaspoon of olive oil. Once browned I remove them from the pan and add about another teaspoon of oil and add a finely sliced onion and clove of garlic. Once they are soft I add in 2 cans of diced tomatoes, parsley, basil, oregano and rosemary. I then bring it to a boil and put the chicken back in the sauce, I then season with a little salt and pepper and a a teaspoon of sugar to cut the acid. I then reduce the sauce for about 15-20 mins and taste to ensure it is seasoned. I then add the sauce to some freshly cooked whole wheat thin spaghetti and toss together. We have our parmesan cheese on hand for a couple of sprinkles for taste. This is incredibly tasty and healthy, our kids also loved it as you can see, and it always leaves leftovers for lunch the next day.

Easy, basic, good food.

I always love to cook simple food that just tastes good. The best meals I have had are the ones that are good home cooked simple food. So I cut 2 chicken breasts in half and scored the tops. I rubbed on fresh ground pepper and garlic salt and cooked them under the broiler. I added the same seasoning to a fresh tomato that I halved and put that under the broiler also. I made some very smooth mashed potatoes, I hate lumpy mash so I always cut my spuds into little pieces and boil them to death so that when they are mashed all you need is butter and milk with a little pepper and they are smooth and tasty. I then made some of my Mum's famous onion gravy and brocolli, our households favorite veg. This was a hit with all the family, very easy to make, simple clean flavors and fairly healthy.

Treat for Mel and Carl

Mel and Carl were nice enough to watch our kids so I made them a little treat.

Chocolate Mallow Pie Base: 1 stick of butter, 1 1/2 oz sugar, Graham Crackers.

To make base: Crush about 1 1/2 packs of the crakers into fine crumbs. Melt the butter and sugar in a pan and then add the crackers until it feels like it will hold together and is not too runny. Put into pan and let cool.

Filling: 4 oz dark chocolate, 15 marshmallows, 2 tbs of water, 1 egg seperated, 1/2 pint double cream.

To make Filling: Put Choc and Marshmallows into a bowl. Microwave until melted, then mix thoroughly and let cool slightly. Stir the egg yolk into the chocolate mixture and leave to go cold. Whisk the cream until it is stiff. Whisk the egg whites until it creates stiff peaks, then add the cream and then the egg whites to the chocolate mixture. Turn into the base and then let cool inthe fridge. I had left over crackers so I crumbled them over the top for fun.

Anniversary Food - Dessert 2

Baked Chocolate Tart: 5 ounces unsalted butter 5 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate 8 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted Small pinch salt 4 eggs 7 ounces granulated sugar 3 tablespoons maple syrup 3 medium heaping tablespoons sour cream or creme fraiche 10-inch flan or tart shell, baked blind

To Make: Place the butter, chocolate, cocoa powder and salt in a bowl over a pan of simmering water and allow to melt slowly, stirring occasionally until well mixed.

In a separate bowl beat the eggs and sugar together until light and well creamed, and then add the golden syrup and sour cream or creme fraiche. Stir the chocolate mixture into this mixture, scraping all the chocolate out with a spatula. Once you?ve mixed it well, pour it into the pastry shell. Place into a preheated 150C/300 degree F/Gas 2 oven for 40 to 45 minutes. During cooking a beautiful crust will form on top.

Carefully remove the tart from the oven and allow to cool on a rack for at least 45 minutes, during which time the skin will crack and the filling will shrink slightly.

I used VERY dark chocolate that made it rich, you could use about 60% Cocoa to dull it down a little. I served it with rasberries and fresh whipped cream.

Anniversary Food - Desert 1

Chocolate pots: 1/2 pint heavy cream 7 ounces semisweet chocolate, best quality 2 large egg yolks 2 tablespoons almond essence, 1 tablesponn Vanilla essence,3/4 ounces butter.



To make: In a thick-bottomed pot, heat the cream until near boiling. Remove and set aside for 1 minute before adding chocolate. Stir in until melted and smooth. Once melted, stir in egg yolks and brandy. Cool slightly, add butter and stir until smooth and shiny. Pour into individual serving pots.


PS. Sometimes if you add the butter when the chocolate isn't cool enough it will make the chocolate look as if it has split. To rectify this allow the mixture to cool a little longer before stirring in some cold milk, a little at a time, until you have a smooth consistency again.



You could add any flavoring you want and just add to taste. I served it with mini Milano cookies to dip in. Delicious!

Anniversary Food - Main Dish

This is good traditional English grub. The Cornish Pastie was invented for Cornish coal miners to take as their meal. The original pasties had large crimping so the the miners could hold it here and discard it as it would be coverd in coal. I made 1 traditonal and 2 of my own variations.

Traditional
Pie?
For 2 to share.

Pastry: 8 oz self raising flour, 4 oz butter or shortning, enough water to mix.

To make the pastry: Rub together the flour and fat, do not overwork as this will create hard pastry. Add water until it becomes like playdough, again too much will make your pastry hard.

for the filling: Chuck steak cubed, 1 onion, 1 Carrot, 1 Potatoe, seasoned flour, crumbled beef boulion cube. SLice and dice all the ingrediants into a bowl cover with seasoned flour and the boulion cube.

To make pasties: Roll out pastry and cut into circles to meet your portion needs. Place the filling in the center. Brush the edges with water to help them stick. Gather up and crimp over the top. Brush the Pastie with beaten egg and put on a baking sheet into a 450 Degree oven until pastry is cooked, about 10 mins. Then lower temp to 350 and bake for about 35-45 mins. Kepp an eye on these as they could burn quickly.

Anniversary Food - Courses 1 & 2

Easy Mozzarella and Tomatoe salad to start. I drizzled Balsamic vineagar over the top to add a little kick.Poached Salmon with Baby Spinach and Spring Green salad with Lemon Garlic Dressing

Dressing: 1 garlic clove 1 teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest Freshly ground black pepper 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

To make the Dressing: Mince garlic and mash to a paste with salt. In a bowl whisk together garlic paste, lemon juice, vinegar, zest, and pepper and whisk in oil until emulsified. (Dressing may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring dressing to room temperature before serving.)

Salmon: 1 Lemon, Dried Basil and Parsley, Butter.

To Make Salmon: Place the salmon on foil and squeeze half the lemon over it. Slice the other half and put slices on top of salmon. On top of the slices put basil, parsley, freshly ground pepper and a knob of butter. Bring the foil together and make sure it is sealed so that the steam stays in. Put into a oven preheated to 350 for about 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the fish. This makes very moist salmon and the butter that melts with the seasoning makes a great sauce.

Delicious Tin Foil Dinners

Last week we went into the canyon and we wanted tin foil dinners. However, I always seem to hate tin foil dinners as half of the stuff is undercooked and the other half is burnt and it all tastes like carbon. So I decided to try something a little different. I defrosted 2 chicken breasts and cubed them fairly small. I quartered 2 spuds and then thinly sliced them. I then cut a zucchini into 4 strips and cut it into chunks, this I knew would cook quicker than the root veg. I then diced half a yellow onion and crushed a clove of Garlic. I put all this in a large Tupperware and added some olive oil, parsley, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. I shook it all together to make sure it all had an equal covering. I laid out 2 strips of foil in the shape of a cross and laid the mixture onto the foil. we had a grill cover so I had the foil open and started the mixture cooking on the grill. once the meat had started to color I divided up a can of tomatoes between the 2 dinners, wrapped the meals up and put them on the coals. After about 20 minutes I drained the juice and we had very moist chicken and veggies steamed in the tomato and chicken juice. Everything was cooked and the juices stopped it from burning. If you do not have the grill top you can just wrap it and start it cooking for about 5 minutes then open them and add the tomatoes.

Lemonade

I had some requests for the recipie for lemonade that I made on my birthday.
You need
1 3/4 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups lemon juice
8 cups water

In a saucepan combine the sugar with 1 cup of water. Bring it to the boil and stir to disolve all the sugar. Allow it to cool at room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until chilled.

When juicing the lemons remove all the seeds but leave the pulp. In a pitcher stir together chilled syrup lemon juice and remaining 7 cups of water.

I have found that if you are in a time crunch you can make with warm syrup, I would just add ice and remove 1 cup of water. This will chill it quickly if you are in a hurry.

Also it is fun to have some fresh berries on hand, we used rasberries. I crushed on or two into the bottom of a glass and then poured the lemonade into it. You could even freeze rasberries into ice cubes that you add to the glass for a fun presentation.

Sweet Onions

we had a red oninon left over the other night and I wanted to put it with some Salmon that I was poaching, so I started raiding the fridge and pantry. I started by slicing the onion into thin rings and heating some olive oil in a pan. I cooked the onions for about 4 minutes until they started softening. I squeezed over the juice of 1 lemon and added about 2-3 tablespoons of honey. As the onions softened the honey glazed thm and they absorbed the tangy lemon juice. This made a really simple side to the salmon, you could also put thes on a burger off the BBQ. The onion still taste like onion but had a sweet and tangy kick to it.

Fun Breakfast

I have been slammed at work so have not had much time to put posts on here. Tonight Carter wanted waffles for dinner and I thought that bringing out the old waffle mix was a little boring. I like to make cooking fun for him so we got out the food coloring and made fun colored waffles. If you have kids or want to just make breakfast fun this really livens up a boring looking dish. we also added some cocoa powder and sugar with a little extra water to create our own chocolate waffles. Easy and simple with very fun results

Here to Help

I am starting this as a place where I will share recipes and answer Q's to help people in the kitchen. I would love to hear about peoples successes and new things that they are tyring.