December 2009 – Page 2 – First Look, Then Cook

Chocolate Spiders

Published on December 7, 2009December 8, 2009 by Dawn5 Comments

If there is one dessert that reminds me of my childhood, it is this one. These spiders made it to every holiday event, every family dinner, whether it was summer, winter, spring or fall. In the summer, they would melt all over the place – but they were still delicious. I had no idea how ridiculously simple they were to make until I made them myself after I graduated from college. I have seen people make these with half peanut butter chips, and half butterscotch chips as well – I’m sure they are just as good – although I prefer the pure version – just semi-sweet chocolate chips. This is my grandmother’s recipe – just one of many I hope to publish on the blog. It is only fitting that this is the first of her recipes to be posted.

Ingredients

5 oz. Chow Mein Noodles
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup mini-marshmallows
Confectioners sugar for dusting

Preparation

Melt chocolate using a double boiler over medium high heat (or microwave in increments of 30 seconds) and gently fold into noodles and marshmallows until noodles are coated. Spoon onto cookie sheet lined with waxed paper and chill until set. Freeze. Defrost 5 minutes. Sift on confectioners sugar and serve.

After they are frozen, they can be stored in a plastic bag in the freezer. Do not sift on confectioners sugar until you are ready to serve them.

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Ancho Pork and Hominy Stew

Published on December 5, 2009December 5, 2009 by Dawn4 Comments

I am a huge fan of Posole – which is a Mexican stew make with pork and hominy, often served on Christmas Eve. If you have not had hominy before, it is dried and puffed kernels of white corn. They make a great addition to stews because they are hearty like beans, and have a wonderful corn flavor. I found this recipe in Cooking Light and only made a couple of changes. If you don’t have ancho chile powder, it is fine to use regular chile powder. This is definitely one of the healthiest versions I have made, with no compromise on flavor. There is no need to cook this stew for hours, it comes together very quickly. I must say though, the best Posole has been frozen and then reheated – so make some extra and freeze it, you will very happy with the results. This stew is perfect with cornbread – and also delicious over polenta.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
2 cups chopped onion
3/4 cups chopped green bell pepper
3/4 cups chopped red bell pepper
1 small can of diced green chiles
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (28-ounce) can hominy, drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

Preparation

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; set 1 1/2 teaspoons spice mixture aside. Add pork to remaining spice mixture in bowl, tossing well to coat.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pork mixture to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove pork from pan; set aside. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to pan. Add onion, bell peppers, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Return pork to pan. Add reserved 1 1/2 teaspoons spice mixture, chile peppers, broth, hominy, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes.

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Doodle Bug Cupcakes

Published on December 3, 2009 by Dawn3 Comments

Usually my cooking and baking is all about taste – if it happens to look good too, well that is a bonus. Two times a year though everything changes. It is all about the appearance – if it happens to taste good, well that is a bonus.

My daughters are allowed to pick out whatever they want for their birthdays. We have plenty of kids cookbooks in the house – as well as cookbooks that focus on cupcakes or cakes – so pretty much they have their birthday treats picked out well in advance. As soon as their birthday is over, they start planning for the next. In fact, I believe my older daughter already has her cake picked out for her birthday that is two years away.

These cupcakes were a last-minute surprise – ok, not completely last-minute, but a month before the party – the pink Princesses turned into Doodle Bugs (from the book “Kids Cake Mix Fun and more”). I was thrilled – I was getting tired of the pink and purple icing with all the girly toppings. The big question a couple days before the party was – vanilla or chocolate? She chose vanilla – so I was off to find a recipe that would be easy, but actually taste delicious – without succumbing to the box mix, which I have to admit I have done in the past. I found a wonderful recipe for Vanilla Cupcakes on the blog SugarCooking – which I only changed slightly. The recipe actually was adapted from “Baking: From my Home to Yours” – by Dorie Greenspan. The frosting, well I used my favorite Cream Cheese Frosting, and they made a perfect pair.

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

2 ¼ cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting:

2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (8-ounce) package 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
Food coloring

Decorations:

Thin licorice ropes, cut into 3 inch strips
Round candy coated chocolates (or skittles would work)
Candy coated chocolate covered sunflower seeds

Makes 20 cupcakes

Preparation

Center a rack in the oven and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.

Beat together the butter and sugar at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one-third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and will aerated.

Fill each cupcake 3/4 full. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until the cupcakes are well risen and springy to the touch- a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool.

To prepare the frosting, combine 2 tablespoons butter, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and cream cheese in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until combined. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating until well combined.

Divide the frosting into 4 bowls. Use the food coloring to create different colored frosting of your choice, then mix well. Frost the cupcakes once completely cooled.

Use a toothpick or wooden skewer to make three small holes on opposite sides of each cupcake. Insert licorice piece into each hole for the legs. Decorate the tops of cupcakes with the assorted candies.

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Coconut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Published on December 1, 2009January 14, 2010 by Dawn22 Comments

This is by far the best recipe for coconut cake that I have ever tasted. I started making this when I first became a manager at work. I took over managing a team that had a high percentage of turnover each year. I wanted to do something that would give people incentive to stay…and since you are reading this, you know that all roads lead to food. I came up with an idea – that I would bring in a baked good of the employees choice twice a year – once for their birthday, and once for their anniversary with the company. Early on I was asked to make a coconut cake, so I searched the web and looked for the recipe that sounded the most interesting. Based on my obsession with cream cheese frosting, this one was the clear winner. Needless to say, I made this coconut cake more than any other baked good – it was requested over and over again. I stopped doing this when I had my first child – my team was getting too big, and my time was wearing thin. Let me tell you though – it worked – I had very little turnover during my time managing that team. They were a happy bunch.

I found this recipe in Bon Appetit, and the ingredient that struck me was the Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut. This product makes the cake spectacular – it is in both the batter and the frosting. The cake is not overly sweet, but has an aroma and taste that is perfectly coconut. Because you fold egg whites into the batter, the cake is light and fluffy. The cream cheese frosting with the cream of coconut is decadent – and the combination with the cake is sinful. If you like coconut cake, there is no need to look any further than this recipe below.

Ingredients

Cake

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut (such as Coco López)*
4 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
Pinch of salt

Frosting

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut (such as Coco López)*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups shredded coconut

*Canned sweetened cream of coconut is available in the liquor section of most supermarkets nationwide.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter and sweetened cream of coconut in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla extract. On low speed, beat in dry ingredients and then buttermilk, each just until blended.

Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites with pinch of salt in another large bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold beaten egg whites into batter.

Divide cake batter between prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack 10 minutes. Run small sharp knife around pan sides to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely.

Make the frosting. Beat cream cheese in medium bowl until fluffy. Add butter and beat to blend. Add sugar, sweetened cream of coconut and vanilla extract and beat until well blended.

Place 1 cake layer on cake plate. Spread 1 cup Cream Cheese Frosting over cake layer. Sprinkle 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut over. Top with second cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle remaining coconut over cake, gently pressing into sides to adhere. (Coconut Layer Cake can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 2 hours before serving.)

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here: Coconut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting