Italian Cream Cake Recipe

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day here in the USA and most of you are busy preparing the meal. Rather than get into how to roast a turkey or make your special pie, I decided to post my favorite cake of all favorites. Yes, that is right--tada--Italian Cream Cake. I first had this cake last Christmas and fell madly in love with it. This says something as my mother's date and nut cake with whipped cream frosting was always the very best. It still is but now I must add another.

Anyway the picture above says it all. Not sure where I picked up the picture but that is what it should look like. It not only is delicious inside but the butter frosting adds to it. Someone told me I could order one from a bakery for $25. I believe it. I did a search on the internet and found the following sites to look over and pick one to do.

1. PIONEER WOMAN http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/07/billies-italian-cream-cake-recipe/

2. SOUTHERN FOOD-ABOUT.COM http://southernfood.about.com/od/coconutcakes/r/bln329.htm

3. HOME IS WHERE THE HOLMANS ARE http://homeiswheretheholmansare.blogspot.com/2010/06/italian-cream-cake.html

All the recipes are pretty much the same except Ree Drumond(PW) gives very detailed how-to directions and her frosting is delicious. Anyway this is what I am going to make for my guests for Christmas. Oh, I already am all set for Thanksgiving.

Have a happy Thanksgiving with family and friends.

THANKSGIVING OR BLACK FRIDAY

Which day holds more meaning for your household? For me is it Black Friday as I am going to my friend's house for dinner with the family. Always a joy as I am not doing the main job of cooking.
I did volunteer to bring sweet potatoes as I love them with turkey. So here is a different twist on the dish. I feel like it came from BH&G but not too sure. I usually go with the mashed potato casserole but want to try something different.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil,
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled, quartered, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup canned reduced-sodium chicken broth or water
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high.
Add sweet potatoes; cook, stirring once, until beginning to brown, 2 minutes.
Add broth, packed brown sugar, and fresh lime juice; season with salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until crisp-tender, 10 minutes.
Uncover, and cook over medium-high until sweet potatoes are tender and liquid is syrupy, 7 to 9 minutes more (there should be only a small amount of liquid remaining).
Remove skillet from heat; add butter, and swirl skillet until melted.
Season with salt and pepper.
Really quite simple and not too much fuss. Maybe you might like to try a change.

Otherwise the rest of the meal is pretty standard with turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls and veggies. Oh yes, pumpkin and apple pie.

My other adventure this year is a PUMPKIN ROLL. My friend makes/sells these each year and are yummy. I looked at a lot of sites and here are two pretty much alike.
http://www.recipesecrets.net/forums/recipe-exchange/11990-thanksgiving-recipes.html and the other is http://southernfood.about.com/od/pumpkins/r/blbb465.htm?nl=1. Anyway I am going to make one between now and Christmas, just for me.

As far as Black Friday, I am not getting up at 4a.m. but would like to check out a new TV and a laptop. I thought I would go shopping today and tomorrow to see just how big a 40" really is and would I like it in my living room.

Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving with family and friends.

Cool summer desserts

Pic by Kraft
I was looking for some desserts that would be cool and found a nice long list of no-bake desserts by Kraft but I picked out the Rocky Road no-bake cheesecake. Mainly because I like chocolate and it did look cool and really easy. Being I am serving it at home I don't have to worry about taking it out in the heat of the day. I feel sure there are many more cool, summer-looking dishes that would make for great get-togethers with your friends.

Do you like brownies or should I ask who does not like brownies? If you don't just move along cuz I found a great, new recipe for you to try. This is what Rachel OF INSIDE THE KAGANOFF KITCHEN calls "Dark Chocolate Chunk Brownies (12 insanely dense brownies)." As Rachel says "These are very elegant brownies and would make a great addition to a fancy dinner party served with vanilla ice cream, strawberries and a sprig of mint." To me that is exciting enough for me to make them TODAY.
Make something interesting and cool today. No point in getting the kitchen all heated up with the oven going. Temp here on the Gulf Coast is in the high 90's with over 100 humidity. So all a/c are pumping and will pump until early evening or later.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY--2010

Interesting survey by Ree Drumond of Pioneer Woman. She asked us to name a man we would like to dine with. Some one who inspired us, etc. The top three men people were Father, Grandfather and Jesus. If you would like to view many of the men mentioned and their count, go to Ree's site where you can see if your man was submitted. For me it was a no-brainer selecting my Father as he was a great influence in making me who I have become. Three people who responded were selected(at random) to win a Kitchendaid mixer. Great prize for answering a survey. Thanks Ree for being so generous. Maybe one day I can be a winner to a survey--any survey, any day.

Food Bloggers Moving On Up

Well I just finished reading about Christy's New York City Adventure and it was a hoot. Christy is the food blogger/author from Southern Plate and lives in a small town in Alabama. This was her first trip to New York City where she was meeting with publishers of her soon-to-be published cookbook. Not only that but she went alone. You have got to read about her New York City adventure and have a few laughs.
It is so great that we are able to share these adventures with Christy as well as Ree(The Pioneer Woman) being on TV and touring the country promoting her cookbook. Thanks much to Christy and Ree. These are two of my favorite food bloggers that share great recipes for us as well as down-home personal family stories and now, publishers of their own cookbooks. There are many food bloggers that are sharing their sites with recipes that perk up our daily cooking. I know that my cooking skills and menus have really perked up in recent months. It would be nice to occasionally send a thank you to these lovely folks for sharing their ideas.

A DEFINITE MUST DO TODAY

You need to do this today and get in your vote for the 'top-50-mommy-food-blogs'. Very interesting list of food bloggers for you to see who is nominated and who is at the top. You can even add your own blog if you wish and get in on this. I voted but I also wanted to see some new food bloggers that are out there with some new and different ideas. I find food blogs are usually very interesting and they all have their own great ideas whether it be recipes or tips. Take a look.
Alert: GOOSEBERRY PATCH is coming out with a new cookbook this week on slow cooker/casserole cooking. Check it out this weekend. They really put out great recipe books with not very involved steps to ending up with a nice dish. They publish a list of stores where their books can be purchased. I have seen them at Cracker Barrel Restaurants. They are on Twitter and Facebook as well where you can add comments to their posting which I think is very informative for all who like their books. Occasionally they put out a recipe from a member.
CAKE BALLS--I never heard of them until this week. Serious Eats came out with an article/recipe recently that explains it all. Basically to make them is to bake a box cake, crumble it, add frosting and roll into balls. Sounds wierd but ooooh so tasty. Great for luncheon dessert or for a summer tea. This all came to my attention by an article in the Dallas News about cake balls. Naturally I had to investigate.
Next post will be about a great southern tradition---banana pudding. Come vist again, soon.

Join the 'Circle of Friends'

Here is an interesting and fun group to join up with at Gooseberry Patch. They have a great site with interesting recipes as well as published cookbooks. The recipes are tasty and very easy to make. Many come from online members. They publish a very colorful monthly desktop for you to download to your computer. All in all the site has alot to offer.

Blueberry Muffin--Really Big

Found some interesting sites about food this weekend. One is from Emeril and the other is about a very large blueberry muffin.
Emeril is offering some of his recipes available for download here. (This is a .pdf file so you will need Adobe to read it.) It seems he has allowed us to view some of his recipes from his fabulous New Orleans restaurants from appetizers to desserts. It is well worth downloading.
The realllly large blueberry muffin is being touted from a segment on the Simpsons. Check out the article here about what the chef at a famous resort put on his menu. I can't imagine ordering a four pound blueberry muffin for $25 except for the fun of it. First of all you need alot of fresh blueberries and also need to have many people to share helping to eat it. Fun, fun!
Enjoy your weekend

ANNUAL EASTER POUND CAKE

Today is a good day to make a "lemon pound cake" using the recipe I posted a year ago on my old recipe blog at Granny's Tasties @ http://grannycbb.blogspot.com/. This has become an annual recipe at Easter time. Here is the recipe
if you might be interested in making a loaf pound cake.
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I just finished baking a 'lemon pound cake' in a loaf pan from "Taste of Home". Strawberries are available again, so I planned the baking in time.
Ingredients: Loaf Lemon Pound Cake·
2/3 cup butter-flavored shortening
· 1-1/4 cups sugar
· 2 tablespoons lemon juice
· 1 teaspoon lemon extract
· 2/3 cup milk or 1/2 c yogurt
· 2-1/4 cups cake flour *
· 1-1/4 teaspoons salt
· 1 teaspoon baking powder
· 3 eggs
· Confectioners' sugar
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar
until light and fluffy.
Beat in lemon juice and extract.
Add milk; beat for 30 seconds.
Sift cake flour, salt and baking powder;
gradually add to creamed mixture.
Beat on low speed for 2 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Pour into a greased wax paper-lined 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan.
Bake at 300° for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Remove waxed paper. Dust with confectioners' sugar.
* I used 1 3/4 c regular flour + 1/4 c corn starch**
Have all your ingredients measured and at room temperature.

If you are interested in looking at recipes from my old blog, please go to this addresshttp://grannycbb.blogspot.com/ and look in the left column for "recipes on this blog" title. Here is listed all the recipes and the date to search for the item.
Happy Easter to everyone and happy baking.

St. Patrick's Day is Wednesday

HOW-TO CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE DINNER

Every year I look forward to this day to celebrate St. Paddy's which means making my corned beef and cabbage meal. You can find recipes all over the web that for this meal but a recipe is really not necessary for many people. By this I mean all you have to do is buy a slab of corned beef which includes the spices and a nice head of cabbage(big or small.) Get your slow cooker out and place the corned beef in it covered with water. Add the spices to the water. Turn it on low and go about your business for the day as it will take 8 to 10 hours to get tender enough to eat. Remove the corned beef and let it rest for a half hour before cutting. Cut cabbage into quarters and place in enough water to cover or even use the juices from the corned beef which has the spices in it. Cook cabbage until tender. If you wish potatoes as well, add them to the cabbage water. Once cabbage and potatoes are tender, slice the corned beef and set up your plate for eating.

If you wish to find out more how to make this meal, check out Epicurious.com and About.com for the how-to. There are many recipes for this meal where you can start from scrach and even add your own spices. These two sites are my favorites cuz they have variations for you to try. My suggestion as stated above is the simple way to go.

There are other ideas for celebrating the day such as Irish Soda Bread, green cheesecakes, and a grasshopper drink. Have fun and enjoy your day.

IF YOU LIKE CASSEROLES

These recipes really applie to folks who like to make casseroles. I do and did alot of this when I was feeding four very hungry children and I had to stretch the meals. Maybe they were not too fond of them but it certainly filled their stomachs and noone went away hungry. One of the boys used to make sure he had a good helping left on his plate so he could take it back to college. I assume he had a microwave cuz it just would taste better heated.
Anyway I just found two great casseroles by the same Chef John. One is with chicken and asparagus and soups. The other is with tuna and noodles and soups. Either one could easily be doubled if you would like to take it to a covered dish gathering. I doubled the chicken recipe because the kids liked it so much and sometimes changed out the asparagus for some other vegetable. Asparagus was not really their favorite.
Even now I make these and other casseroles but not in such quantity. The whole idea for me is to have something easy to reheat from left-overs that still tastes as good or better. Another idea is to make potato casseroles(no meat) that will go with most meat entrees. Like chicken, pork or beef. Sometime when you go out to Cracker Barrel try their potato side which is great. I will look for the recipe and post it another day.
Have a good weekend and enjoy your cooking time. Make enough for next day reheats.

'Sweet-Chili-Thai-Sauce'

If you have been watching the Olympics you may have caught the ads for the dipping sauce at McD for their nuggets. I decided to do some searching for the ingredients and how-to make my own. I have a great recipe for chili sauce from my grandmother that I think is great. We make it when the time is right for fresh tomatoes, etc. Seems this is a similar sauce to what I found at many different sources but it is known as 'Sweet-Chili-Thai-Sauce' and somewhat different ingredients. Lots of chilis, naturally, rice vinegar(never used it).
Anyway I made a list of sites to get a different view of how to make it. So far I have not picked any particular recipe to start with. Maybe I need to get over to McD to taste it to see if I like it.
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Sweet chilli sauce is a popular condiment in Western and Malaysian cuisine. It is commonly made with chillis and some sweetening ingredient such as fruit or a refined sugar.

chinesefood.about.com/od/fusionrecipes/r/chillisauce.htm
allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-Chili-Thai-Sauce/Detail.aspx
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-Chili-Thai-Sauce/Detail.aspx
www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,sweet_chilli_sauce,FF.html
www.recipezaar.com/Thai-Sweet-Chili-Sauce-120670
www.recipezaar.com/Thai-Sweet-Chilli-Sauce-81949
www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sweet-Chili-Sauce-10443
This recipe is really different from a blogger in Denmark. Decided to go back and read the blog for whatever else might be there.
foodandthoughts.blogspot.com/2005/03/best-sweet-chili-sauce-evah.html
sweetsunshine.com
www.thenibble.com/zine/archives/sweet-sunshine-chili-sauce.asp
www.shesimmers.com/2009/02/how-to-make-thai-sweet-chili-dipping.html
www.grouprecipes.com/s/sweet-chili-sauce/recipe/1/relevancy
Links to the best recipe sites on the net for hot sauces, chilli sauce and spicy food recipes. Looking for Mexican or Thai recipes then you will find them here.
www.chillisauce.com/sweetchillisauce.html

Lent has arrived!

Just skimming along at all the foodie blogs for something to make with Lent upon us. Being part of the Catholic Church all my life, the regulations continue to change. When I was younger it mainly consisted of fasting everyday and definitely fish foods on Friday. Now that I am older the fasting part is done with but I still need to have no meat on Fridays. Sooo, I went with the tuna casserole on Ash Wednesday. I made enough to freeze portions for another meal or two. Last night I made the bestest Salmon Filet. Soooo simple yet filling.

I feel sure my favorite sites will offer some ideas. Today I found a great recipe for Clam Chowder @ Gooseberry Patch on Facebook. True, I need some else to go with it, like dessert. Lo and behold, GP also had a recipe submitted for Mint-Chocolate Brownies. Looks like a did well for next Friday's meal. Meanwhile I shall be looking for other seafood meals. Being as I live on the coast of Mississippi where seafood is plentiful, I should be able to find some delectable fresh fish. Desserts-- I usually do not have a hard time with finding something in the freezer or just fruit cocktail and cookies.

Maybe someone out there might post their favorite seafood recipe for me to use.

Girl Scouts are on the march!

Girl Scout Cookies are arriving all over my town in MS. Last year I got the word at Wal-Mart, Blockbuster, the bank and many other places. One place they were not was at church. I figure my church community needed the charity more. It is a great organization for girls to belong and need our support.
With the change in weather here in the south, I started my own baking on Friday and kept the house warm as well with the oven on. I started out making Buttermilk Biscuits from SOUTHERN PLATE and moved on to Chocolate Chip Cookies from Martha Stewart. Then it was time to think about what to have for family dinner. I pulled the traditional pot roast from the freezer and got that started on the stove top. Once that was going, I needed a break to sit down at the computer and check out some of my favorite foodies being as it is Mardi Gras time. Here in Biloxi the parades started on Sunday and will go on thru Tuesday. I was looking for a recipe for King Cake and found it was easier to buy one that would take alot less time. Forget the King Cake for this year.
With Lent starting on Ash Wednesday I looked thru my recipes for meatless recipes. Found a Tuna Noodle Casserole that will do for one of the meals @ CD Kitchen but I have many more weeks ahead to prepare. One of my favorites is cheese pizza which is a given from Domino's. I bring it home, unbaked, and doctor it up with black olives and mushrooms. No point in paying for the extras when all I have to do is open a few cans. Right!
There you have it. Girl Scout Cookies are here. Mardi Gras is beginning and finishing on Ash Wednesday. Enjoy!

The YEAR OF THE SAINTS

Sunday was the day for all football fans to watch the great game of the SUPER BOWL #44. I was one of them. As I patiently sat thru all the pre-bowl channels, I decided to go ahead and get started with the food. After all it was 5 p.m.
During the week I had gone thru all the sites that had all the goodies to have while the game was on. Here are a few of the places that had good recipes: SOUTHERN PLATE, PIONEER WOMAN GOOSEBERRY PATCH, Pillsbury, Bisquick. Now these ideas can be made for any gathering in the future. SP had a great chili recipe but PW outdid herself and had the bestest variety. Find her Super Bowl page and see for yourself.
So I had laid out for me all these goodies and I indulged. By half time I had enough of the small stuff and went on to the chili and natchos. In between I was jumping up and down when the Saints scored or had a great play. Needless to say, I had cheered enough but had lots of energy for the climax when the Saints intercepted a Colts pass and won 31-17. I am sure it was crazy in the French Quarter as they showed how it looked.
When you have time check out the great sites I mentioned with all their great recipes.

What's new for 2010........

I know I am about a month late to wish you a Happy New Year. I had a great holiday but as usual I picked up a sinus infection that just doesn't want to go away. Our weather here in MS has been crazy with the high and low temps and lots of rain. Enough on that subject.
Today I found a widget to add that I thought you could use. Look in the right panel for "Search Food Blogs" pic where you can look for other food blogs for more fabulous recipes. I also found a spot where you can vote on your favorite food blogs for 2010. Here is the site URL http://2010.bloggies.com/ where you can vote as well as await the notice of the winners. It was fun looking back at who the winners were in years past.
Here is a list of some of my favorite blogs where you can find great recipes on a daily basis. I have put these folks on my Facebook and Twitter of which I have become addicted. You may want to get on their email list and then you can catch 'what's new' in your mailbox.
Southern Plate--http://www.southernplate.com/
Pioneer Woman--http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/
Chef John--http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/
Gooseberry Patch--http://www.gooseberrypatch.com
There are many, many great foodie sites to peruse but lately I have stuck with these before and now, after the holidays. Newsletters are also a big source for a variety of foods/ideas/recipes.
My latest cooking binge is 'buttermilk biscuits'. All the sites I mentioned have biscuit recipes you may wish to get, make and make again. Sure beats store bought. Never thought I would ever say that. I usually cut the recipe in half so as not to have too many of them waiting every time I open the frig.