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.