Lemon Bars

We forgot to take a picture of these before they were gobbled up at dinner with our friends, Jesse & Amy.  These are the perfect amount of sweet and tart with a hint of saltiness in the crust.

From the ATK cookbook:

Ingredients

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• 1¼ cups flour
• ½ cup Confectioners sugar
• ½ teasp salt
• 12 tbsp butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
• 7 egg yolks, Large
• 2 eggs, Large and whole
• 1 cup and 2 tbsp Granulated sugar
• ⅔ cup lemon juice (fresh)
• ¼ cup lemon zest (grated) (I sometimes use more for more flavor)
• 3 tbsp heavy cream

How to make it

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• Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350. Line a 9" square baking pan with two pieces of aluminum foil at right angles (to form a sort of sling). Lightly coat foil with vegetable oil.
• Mix together flour, confectioners sugar and salt. Using a pastry cutter (or food processor) incorporate 8 tbsp. of the butter until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal.
• Sprinkle the mixture inot the prepared pan and press firmly into an even layer. Bake until the crust starts to brown slightly, about 20 minutes.
• While crust is baking, wisk together egg yolks and whole eggs in a medium non-reactive saucepan.
• Whisk in granulated sugar until combined, then whisk in lemon juice, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt.
• Add remaining 4 tbsp of butter and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens slightly and registers 170 degrees (F) on an instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes.
• Strain the mixture immediately into a non-reactive bowl and stir in cream. Pour the warm curd over the hot crust. Bake until the filing is shiny and opaque and the center jiggles slightly when shaken, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Let cool completely on a wire rack, about 2 hours, before removing from the pan using foil and cutting into squares.
• Dust with confectioners sugar just before serving.
• Note: it is important to pour the warm curd over the hot crust when making these intensely flavored bars. This ensures that the filling cooks through evenly. You will need about four lemons for zest and juice.

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Bobby Flay's Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

For my first attempt at making and eating pineapple upside-down cake, this was fantastic!! My friend's birthday was last week and when I asked for a request, she said she had just watched Throw Down with Bobby Flay and he made this cake, so that's what she wanted.  I happened to find the exact recipe on foodnetwork.com, but adapted it to cook in the oven instead of on the bbq.  (We also left out the YUCK of maraschino cherries and chopped nuts).

Ingredients:
2 c. cake flour
2 t. baking powder
pinch salt
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, sofened
1 1/2 c. white sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 c. milk
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 stick butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 (20-oz) can pineapple, drained (I used rings)

Directions:
Place a 10" cast-iron skillet in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Cake Batter: sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together; set aside.  With a mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and egg yolks.  With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ngredients to creamed mixture, alternating with the milk.  Add vanilla.  In a separate mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and then fold them into the batter.  Set aside.

Place the 1/2 stick butter and brown sugar in the skillet and let it melt and begin to caramelize.  When lightly caramelized, place pineapples to cover on top in a decorative patter. Then pour the cake batter over, filling to within 1/2" of the top of the skillet.  Transfer the skillet to a large foil pan and cover with foil (be careful handling the skillet as the handle will also be very hot).  Pierce the foil in the corners to allow steam to escape during the cooking process.

Bake until golden brown and the cake spring back when lightly touched with your finger, about 45 minutes.  Remove from the grill and run a knife around the edge of the skillet to free the cake.  Whle cake is still hot, place a serving plate on top of the skillet and careflly turn the cake over.  I recommend serving cake warm!

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Dehydrator

This is just a quick "rave" post...

I LOVE having a dehydrator!  Unfortunately the one I have is old and doesn't belong to me, but it's a great tool to have in the world of semi-natural living!  Currently, it is filling the house with an herby aroma as we have had 2 batches of thyme and rosemary going for the last few hours.  I also like to use it to dry fruit to snack on and have attempted the dehydrating of nuts for flour and almond milk.  Whatever the use, it's a great tool to have...

To read more about dehydrators, check out Passionate Homemaking's latest post about the Excalibur Dehydrator!

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Chai Cookies

We have been on 2 kicks lately... chai and lemons.  Ooh! Maybe I should make something chai-lemon... okay, can you tell it's late?  That will be for another post... look forward to LEMON posts in the near future and maybe the addition of a chai-lemon something.  I bet you can't wait.

Back to THIS recipe.

I made a batch of my homemade chai mix recently (adapted from this allrecipes contribution).  Needless to say, we've been drinking blended chai's every night of the 100 degree summer weather!  As I was sipping on my favorite drink after a hard day, I got the ambitious idea to put my drink into cookie dough.  THESE are the result!  I did use inspiration and guidance from allrecipes on this one as well... enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. chai tea mix
2/3 c. white sugar
1 egg
1 T. vanilla
1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

Directions:

Blend together butter, chai mix and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add in egg and vanilla and beat well.  Throw in the dry ingredients (if using a kitchenaid, if not sift together first), and mix well.  If you do not have a cookie dough scooper, I recommend popping it in the freezer for about 20 minutes so it will be easier to work with.  Otherwise, drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

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Cooking in the midst of Craziness

There's still 2 more days until summer officially begins (according to the calendar), but I already feel the busyness taking over.  It seems as though the last month or so has come and gone without so much as a blink of the eye.  There are friends to see, holidays to celebrate, trips to take, and tasks to do.  Yet still, even when life is crazy, it's mandatory that we still eat.

What we eat remains in question.  I always strive to make homemade meals, to leave eating-out for special occasions.  To be perfectly honest, since my last recipe post I can probably count on one hand the times I've actually cooked dinner (which is why there is a lack of recent posts!).  However, I have found that there are tricks and shortcuts to keep us eating healthy, homemade food as often as possible.  I hope that I continue to practice these things when our family grows and life gets even crazier than it is now.

Some tips for cooking during crazy seasons:

• Slow cooker meals - I LOVE my slow cooker.  I got a 6.5 qt all--clad, ceramic insert slow cooker for Christmas from my parents.  My only complaint is that I don't use it enough!  However, for a family of 2, I've found that I can prep a meal before bed, put it all in the crockpot in the morning, and have it ready for dinner when we get home from work with leftovers for at least 2 more meals.  http://crockpot365.blogspot.com is a great resource for recipes, as is allrecipes.com
• Freezer meals - back in the winter when life wasn't quite so busy and we were actually home on weekends, I spent some time making freezer meals such as lasagna, enchiladas, soup, and pizza dough.  Next year, I will make more, but they have been a lifesaver (as long as I thaw it the night before).
• Mix & Match - I try to make a big batch of something on my non-busy day so that we can eat it for the majority of the remaining nights.  However, this can get boring.  So, I make a large batch of say, rice, and then make chicken for 2 nights, beans for 2 more until the rice is gone.
• Eat with Others - Majority of our crazy life comes from trying to spend time with friends and family.  If we see people during a meal, it allows fun preparation and a combination of cooking AND craziness. Also, generally speaking, if we have people over, the favor normally gets returned and we can have dinner at their place another night of the month.  It's a good system.
• Take a break - I have to let myself slack every once in a while.  That means eating cereal or popcorn for dinner occasionally, having people over for pizza with a coupon, or making it "fend-for-yourself" night.  This is vital to crazy-life cooking survival.

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Grass-Fed, Pastured Meat

I've been looking into local sources of organic, grass-fed, pastured meat... for those of you who are interested and in the Corvallis area, this is what I've found so far, but have not yet investigated prices or purchasing:

At Abundant Life Farm, our goal is to provide a better tasting and healthier product for consumers who care about the food they eat and how it is raised—food from the abundance of life God provides—true food for life.

Our layers, broilers, and turkeys are moved daily to fresh pasture and are fed a high quality, custom feed locally mixed to our own recipe. Turkeys are available for Thanksgiving. Now available is pasture raised duckling. Fresh broilers are available during the summer; frozen broilers are available year round.  Brown eggsare available year round. All of our poultry is processed by hand in our state inspected poultry processing facility, so we can verify the safety and cleanliness of our product from start to finish. 

Our salad bar beef is moved daily to fresh pasture. Pastured lamb and pork are available periodically throughout the year. Having learned first hand from pasture pioneer Joel Salatin, we are adopting his model to the Pacific Northwest. All of our beef, lamb, and pork are available by the piece or by the side. 

Abundant Life Farm, Scott and Marilyn Jondle, 16055 Gilliam Road, Dallas OR 97338. (503) 623-6378. E-mail: ALFarm@q.com.

Afton Field Farm is located in Corvallis, Oregon and owned by Tyler and Alicia Jones. Tyler is a graduate of Joel Salatin’s Polyface Farm apprenticeship program and the farm is adapted to Salatin’s philosophy and multi-species rotational grazing methods. 

We offer pastured poultry, beef and lamb, and oak savanna pork. The animals spend the majority of their lives outside and are moved to fresh pasture daily or as needed. The beef and lamb are strictly grass fed. All other animals—layer chickens, broiler chickens, turkeys and hogs— forage a portion of their diet from the pasture and woods and are supplemented with custom grain mixes milled locally. The hogs are often finished on apples or acorns. We also keep bees and have honey available.

Afton Field Farm, Tyler and Alicia Jones, 3375 SW 53rd Street, Corvallis OR 97333. (541) 738-0127.
Website: http://www.aftonfieldfarm.com/.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bald Hill Farm is a family farm, owned and operated by the Martin and Heeter Families. Our philosophy is: Good for You, Good for the Animals, and Good for the Environment. We believe in raising quality, healthy meat for our community. Our animals graze on several hundred acres, free to roam and eat all that nature intended them to. We use no hormones, feed antibiotics or by-products. 

Bald Hill Farm Office & Store, 5700 SW Reservoir Avenue, Corvallis OR  97333. (541) 753-3500. E-mail: info@4BaldHillFarm.com. Website:http://www.4baldhillfarm.com/.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lake View Farm is an all natural, family operated farm located in the beautiful Willamette Valley in Oregon since 1928. Over four generations, striving to improve with each, we currently find ourselves producing  REAL Milk, Old Fashioned Pasture Fed Chicken, Grass Fed Beef, Plump Holiday Turkeys, Farm Fresh Eggs, Tender Spring Lamb, Chevré and Fresh Lean, Milk Fed Pork.

God has shown us the advantages of wholesome food produced in a naturally seasonal, sustainable way. This has provided us with the opportunity to grow quality food on our family farm. We are committed to supplying the healthiest products possible by providing nourishing feed and quality care for our animals. To us, this means a clean, low stress environment, plenty of fresh air and sunshine and all the grass our animals can eat.

Lake View Farm, 29540 Crook Drive, Halsey OR  97348. (541) 369-2393.
E-mail: lvf.realfood@gmail.com

The website http://www.eatwild.com/ is super cool... I feel a new obssession coming on!

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Thin Mints

This is what happens when you make girl scout cookies at home and they're happily frozen:

This is what happens when you make girl scout cookies at home and forget to turn the mixer speed down:

Oh, heavenly happiness.  I adapted this recipe from 101Cookbooks... it's really quite simple, just a little time consuming so give it some patience and attention and they'll be great.  We enjoy them straight out of the freezer served with Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream!

Chocolate Wafers:
8 ounces butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)

Chocolate Peppermint Coating:
1 pound good quality semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (We used 3 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips)
peppermint extract, to taste (I think we ended up with 1/2 tsp)

Preheat your oven to 350. Racks in the middle zone.

Make the cookie dough: In a mixer cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and cream some more, scraping the sides of the bowl a couple times if necessary. Stir in the vanilla extract and then the salt and cocoa powder. Mix until the cocoa powder is integrated and the batter is smooth and creamy, sort of like a thick frosting. Add the whole wheat pastry flour and mix just until the batter is no longer dusty looking, it might still be a bit crumbly, and that's o.k. You don't want to over mix and end up with tough cookies.

Turn the dough out onto a counter, gather it into a ball, and kneed it just once or twice to bring it together into once nice, smooth mass. Place the ball of dough into a large plastic bag and flatten it into a disk roughly 3/4-inch thick. Place the dough in the freezer for 20 minutes to chill.

Rollout and bake: Remove the dough from the freezer and roll it out really thin, remember how thin Thin Mints are? That's how thin you need your dough, about 1/8-inch. You can either roll it out between two sheets of plastic, or dust your counter and rolling pin with a bit of flour and do it that way. Stamp out cookies using a 1 1/2-inch cutter (this time I used one with a fluted edge, I've done hearts and other shapes in the past). Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely on a baking rack if you've got one.

Make the peppermint coating:
While the cookies are in the oven you can get the coating ready. I use a makeshift double boiler to melt chocolate (a metal pan over a saucepan of gently simmering water), but I know many people who swear by melting chocolate in the microwave. Slowly melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally until it is glossy and smooth. Stir in the peppermint extract. If you think the chocolate needs a bit more peppermint kick, add more extract a drop or two at a time - but don't go overboard.

Finishing the cookies: You are going to coat the cookies one at a time and then gently set them on a parchment-lined baking sheet to set. Drop one cookie into the chocolate and (using a fork) carefully make sure it gets fully coated. Lift the cookie out of the chocolate with the fork and bang the fork on the side of the pan to drain any extra chocolate off the cookie. You are after a thin, even coating of chocolate. Place on the aforementioned prepared baking sheet, and repeat for the rest of the cookies. Place the cookies in the refrigerator or freezer to set. They will set at room temperature, it just takes much longer, and I prefer them straight out of the freezer anyways ;)

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Quinoa Salad

Picture of this is coming soon...

I recently discovered quinoa and have been trying to figure out what exactly I'm supposed to do with it... this recipe was amazing!  It goes perfectly at a potluck or with a barbecue.

Ingredients:
2 c. uncooked quinoa - cooked according to package instructions
1 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
8 oz. grape tomatoes, halved
6 oz. feta cheese
3 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. olive oil
black pepper

Directions:
While quinoa is cooking, put asparagus in a steamer over 1 inch of boiling water.  Cook until tender but still firm, about 2-5 minutes.  Drain and immediately submerge in ice water and drain again.
Toss the asparagus, tomatoes, and feta with quinoa.  Add the olive oil and vinegar and season with pepper and toss to incorporate.

One night I stir-fried it to re-heat and threw in some diced ham as well.  It was delicious!

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Apple-Banana Muffins

Yummy! I adapted this recipe from Passionate Homemaking.  We ate them for breakfast in the morning and then threw some frosting on to turn them into cupcakes for dessert that evening!

Ingredients:
*1/3 c. butter, melted and cooled
*1/3 c. applesauce
1 c. brown sugar
*2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. yogurt
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 c. ripe bananas
2 apples, peeled, cored and grated

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix together dry ingredients in small bowl.  In a large bowl, cream together butter, applesauce, and eggs.  Beat in vanilla and yogurt.  Add dry ingredients to wet and stir just until combined.  Fold in apples and bananas.  Fill greased/floured or lined muffin tins with batter and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Notes:
* You can use all butter or all applesauce if you want... Next time I will use 2/3 cup applesauce and omit the butter.
* I didn't use eggs... I used flaxseed binder and I highly recommend it!

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Black Bean Soup

I forgot to take a picture of this before it was gobbled up, but it's definitely worth a try!  It was passed on to me from a magazine and I adapted the recipe so I could make it in the slow cooker.  If you would like the original recipe just let me know!

Ingredients:

4 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 c. minced shallots
1 c. minced onion
2 t. ground cumin
4 t. chili powder
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2-1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
3 c. beef broth
4 oz. Canadian bacon, diced (about 5 slices)
1 small butternut squash, peeled and diced
Cheddar cheese

Directions:
Set aside 2 cups of the black beans.  Puree the remaining beans and tomatoes in a food processor or blender until smooth.  Pour mixture into a 4.5-quart crock pot or larger.  Add in reserved beans, squash, onions, shallots, garlic, and broth, but don't stir.  Heat the canadian bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.  Add to the crock pot and cook on low for about 8 hours.  Add in the spices, stirring and adding more broth if it is too thick.  Serve with shredded cheese, tortilla strips, and/or sour cream.

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Some New Favorite Things

This weekend we went to Seattle to spend some time with friends.  We didn't go to any hole-in-the-wall or fancy restaurants, but that's okay... instead, I left with a few more kitchen items to add to my arsenal!

1.  Cast-iron Skillet.

10 3/4", seasoned skillet made by Lodge Cookware for $19.95. I am very, VERY happy with this purchase from Sur La Table.  This store was incredible... I wanted to buy everything in it.  But we settled for this much-needed addition to my cookware.  Be looking for recipes that involve the use of my new baby!

2.  Soup Socks

The lovely Mrs. Wade introduced me to this concept.  I walked into her house Friday night welcomed by the homey aroma of chicken stock simmering.  Let's say I was more than enamored when I saw all the flavor makings in a neat little "sock" that can simply be picked up and thrown in the compost when the stock is done.  No more straining!  Also purchased from Sur La table, a pack of 3 for $2.95.

3. Silicone-Coated Whisk

Again, I had a heightened sense of envy when I saw this utensil in Mrs. Wade's kitchen!  Silicone-coated whisk from Crate & Barrel so that I can actually stir things are intended in my non-stick cookware without scratching the coating!  Thank you, Mrs. Wade for the someday-we'll-be-mother's day present. :)

4. Breakfast Bowl and Saucers

My favorite new kitchen, also courtesy of Mrs. Wade.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, Mish! Two of these over-sized mugs and saucers in the reddish color are very happy in my cupboard and will be even more cheery with breakfast food in them!  

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Slack

This is an apology blog.  I promise to post new recipes by next Wednesday!  For now, go visit out some of my favorite links listed on the right-hand column...

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Heartwarming Chili

Mac's mama's recipe... We made this to go on the hot dogs at the Wade's housewarming party, but it's great in a bowl with cheddar cheese and cornbread with it, too!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. kidney beans (soaked overnight with pinto beans)

2 c. pinto beans

1 lg. onion, diced

1 lg. green pepper, diced

1 lb. ground beef

32 oz. ketchup (whole bottle)

(about 28 oz) lg. can whole peeled tomatoes

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. paprika

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

3 whole cloves

1 bay leaf (or 2 little ones)

1-2 T. chili powder

Drain the beans that have been soaked overnight and recover with water. Boil beans for a few minutes, drain again, then soak again while you brown the meat. Add all the ingredients to the beans pot and simmer!

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Hot Dog Central

The lovely Mrs. Wade and her hubby bought a house last month! We were able to go up and celebrate with them and help out with the housewarming party. So creatively simple, she had a hot dog dinner, creating stations for 4 major city hot dogs. I thought it was a great idea, even if hot dogs aren't very healthy. There were some great sides to go along with the hot dogs and when I get the recipes from her, I'll be sure to share!

Melted Swiss Cheese & Sauerkraut

Onions Stewed in Tomato Paste with Brown Mustard

Coleslaw

Chili, Cheese, and Onions

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Quick & Rich Vanilla Frosting

See the Devil's Food Cake for a photo of this frosting. It's amazing. I will never make another cake-frosting recipe again. Period.

Ingredients:
2 T. heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
A pinch of salt
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Direction:

Stir the cream, vanilla, and salt together in a small bowl until the salt dissolves. Beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, 30-60 seconds. Reduce the speed to medium-low, slowly add the powdered sugar, and beat until smooth, 2-5 minutes. Beat in the cream mixture. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture in light and fluffy, 4-8 minutes.

There's some sweet variations listed in the ATK cookbook, too. If you want the recipe for Dark Chocolate, Coffee, Peppermint, Orange, or Peanut Butter frosting, just comment and I'll add them!

Frosting a Cake...

This may seem silly, but it was really helpful for me to follow when frosting the birthday cake.

1. Dollop a small amount of the frosting in the center of a platter or cake stand to help anchor the bottom layer of the cake to the plate and prevent it from sliding.
2. Lay the first layer in the center of the platter and cover the exposed platter with strips of parchment paper to help keep it clean.
3. Gently brush away any large cake crumbs, then dollop about 1 cup of frosting in the center of the cake. Spread into an even layer right to the edge. A thin, offset metal spatula works really well but I used a butter knife since I didn't have one.
4. Lay the second layer on top, making sure the layers are aligned. Brush away any large crumbs, dollop another cup of frosting in the center, and spread out and slightly over the very edge.
5. Gather a few tablespoons of frosting onto the tip of the spatula, then gently smear it onto the side of the cake. Use gentle motions and don't press too hard or you'll get crumbs in the frosting. Clean off the spatula with paper towels as needed and repeat all the way around the cake. It's okay if this layer isn't smooth.
6. After you've frosted the sides, gently run the edge of the spatula around the sides to smooth out any bumps and the area where the frosting from the top and sides meet. Don't remove the paper strips until you are completely done decorating.

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Devil's Food Cake

Mac shares a birthday with Tana from our house church, so we made a Devil's Food Cake to share with everyone. It was light, fluffy, moist, and absolutely decadent! Couple of things.. the recipe calls for 4 cups of frosting and 3 8" cake rounds. I only had 2 9" pans and used the regular size recipe of frosting... it worked great.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. boiling water
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 c. Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tsp. instant espresso/coffee
10 T. (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 c. sour cream (I used light sour cream)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat three 8" cake pans with vegetable oil and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the boiling water, chocolate, cocoa powder, and instant espresso together until smooth.
Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-6 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla.
Reduce the speed to low and beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture. beat in 1/2 of the chocolate mixture. Repeat with 1/2 of the remaining flour mixture, then the remaining chocolate mixture, and finally the remaining flour mixture. Give the batter a final stir using a rubber spatula to make sure it is thoroughly combined. Divide the batter EVENLY among the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cakes comes our with a few crumbs attached, 15-20 minutes, rotating and switching the pans halfway through baking.
Let the cakes cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes (VERY important). Run a paring knife around the edge of the cakes to loosen, then flip out onto the racks. Peel off the parchment paper, flip the cakes upright and let cool completely before frosting, 1-2 hours. It's really, REALLY important to let the cake cool all the way. Seriously, walk away and watch a movie or something... you'll drive yourself crazy if you watch it cool.

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Grama's Pie Crust

No pie crust is as a good as Grama Kay's... you can try and compare it with others, even Martha Stewart's and Test Kitchen's, and she still wins!

Ingredients:
2 c. sifted flour
1 t. salt
3/4 c. shortening
5-7 T. ice water

Directions:
Mix together flour and salt. Cut in half the shortening at a time. Add water and mix with a fork. Knead the dough until it sticks together. Part dough in half to make two shells. Roll out dough with flour. Put in pie plate and add filling.

For the French Silk Pie, you need to bake the crust first. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line the pie crust with a double layer of foil and fill it with pie weights (I use pennies). Bake until light golden brown, about 25 minutes.

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French Silk Pie

We went on a married-date to Border's to look at cookbooks last week and while flipping through one of the Test Kitchen publications, Mac came across a picture of this recipe. His jaw dropped open and he said, "I want THAT for my birthday!" Well of course we didn't buy the cookbook, so I went on a hunt to find this particular recipe... lucky for Mac, lucky for me, and lucky for you, I found it!

This recipe is pretty labor-intensive. You really need to pay attention to what you're doing (which I don't normally do; I'm a multi-tasker), and you need to be ready to spend some time nurturing it. Let me tell you though, it's worth all the time, effort, and calories in the end!

You will need a fully baked pie shell for this recipe... I'll give you Grama's untouchable crust recipe following this one. Serve with sweetened whipped cream.

Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream , chilled
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate , melted and cooled
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter , cut into 1/2-inch pieces and softened
1 (9-inch) pie shell , baked and cooled

Directions:
Whip cream with electric mixer on medium-high speed, whip cream to stiff peaks, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer whipped cream to small bowl and refrigerate.
Combine eggs, sugar, and water in large heatproof bowl set over medium saucepan filled with ½ inch barely simmering water (don’t let bowl touch water). With electric mixer on medium speed, beat until egg mixture is thickened and registers 160 degrees, 7 to 10 minutes (it actually took us about 15 minutes to get to 160). (Beating the eggs and sugar together in a double boiler incorporates air and gives the filling a light texture).Remove bowl from heat and continue to beat egg mixture until fluffy and cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.
Add chocolate and vanilla to cool egg mixture and beat until incorporated. Beat in butter, a few pieces at a time, until well combined. Using spatula, fold in whipped cream until no streaks of white remain. Scrape filling into pie shell and refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours (I made it the night before his birthday).

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Baking Overload!!

It's been a while since I've posted a new recipe, but let me tell you it's not due to lack of cooking! With Mac's birthday this week, I have a whole bunch of new recipes to add here, and then I'm going to take a short sabbatical from labor/time-intensive recipes. So get ready, here they come:

* French Silk Pie
* Grama's Pie Crust
* Devil's Food Cake
* Butter Cream Frosting
* Chili
* Cinnamon Rolls
* Pancakes
* Hot Dog Central

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Southern Pecan Pie

House Church potluck this week was themed "Southern Cooking." I had no idea what to make, so I thought of the Zac Brown Band song "Chicken Fried" and decided to make Pecan Pie! It was my first attempt and my first time eating it... thought it was pretty delicious if I do say so myself! Oh, and like all my faves, this is from Test Kitchen. Next time I'm going to try the Maple Pecan Pie version to reduce the sugar and butter and eliminate the corn syrup

Ingredients:
1 pie crust (I'll try and get Grama's famous crust loaded, but no promises on when), unbaked

6 T. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
1 c. packed dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
3/4 c. light corn syrup
1 T. vanilla extract
2 c. pecans, toasted and chopped coarse

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line the crust with double layer of foil and fill with pie weights (or pennies). Bake until the pie dough looks dry and is light in color, 25-30 minutes. Transfer the pie plate to a wire rack and remove the weights and foil. Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and reduce the oven temperature to 275 degrees. Keep the crust warm.
Melt the butter in a heatproof bowl set in a skillet of water maintained at just below a simmer. Remove the bowl from the skillet and stir in the sugar and salt until the butter is absorbed. Whisk in the eggs, then the corn syrup and vanilla until smooth. Return the bowl to the hot water and stir until the mixture is shiny, hot to the touch, and measures 130 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Off the heat, stir in the pecans.
Pour the pecan mixture into the warm pie crust. Bake the pie until the filling looks set but yield like Jell-O when gently pressed with the back of a spoon, 50-60 minutes. Let the pie cool on a wire rack until the filling has firmed up, about 2 hours; serve warm or at room temp.

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