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.