Archive for April, 2010

Baking cake…a tragedy

Monday, April 19th, 2010

I decided a couple of years ago that I was going to begin making all of my cakes from scratch. For many years before I made this change, making cakes was so simple. I just chose the flavor and looked on the back to see if I would need vegetable oil or not. Then, I chose a frosting flavor and grabbed that tub. These cakes were fool proof and always tasted and looked great. Well, a couple of years and many birthday cakes later, I am rethinking my decision. For example, at my mom’s birthday, I made a red velvet cake that looked more like a pink furry cake. It kept falling apart into the frosting. It did taste good; but, I was going for looks and taste. It turns out, I am a terrible baker. It seems the only thing I can bake is a cinnamon roll and I am not sure why those keep coming out so good. I always follow the directions as they are written, but my cakes are never right.

My cake...not so pretty

Two weeks ago, I asked Claud what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday party. He said, “Yellow cake with chocolate butter frosting.” So, I found a recipe and got to work. I get excited about baking, always believing that this time it will turn out great. The cake part wasn’t so bad, although it was a bit on the dense side and not so much fluffy, like I had hoped. The frosting is where I really went wrong. The recipe was vague on just how much milk to add and I think I put in too much. It was a gooey mess. Once the cake cooled, I spread it on anyway, hoping the taste would outweigh the looks; unfortunately, it did not.

At the beginning of Claud’s birthday party, while my cake hid silently in the refrigerator, my sister, Jessica, walks in the door holding the most beautiful chocolate cake ever.  

Jessica's cake...gorgeous

My cake can’t sit next to that cake.  So, I poured myself a glass of wine and tended to the food for the party and forgot all about it for a while. However, after dinner, I had to readdress the situation. Should my cake even make an appearance? Should I accidentally drop it? No, “don’t be silly,” I thought. I would just bring it out with the stunning cake and hope it gets some attention. We sang and began cutting. Listening to the comments from our guests, Jessica’s cake not only looked beautiful, but also tasted heavenly. Yes, heavenly, divine, scrumptious, fantastic, were words floating around. I looked and my cake had barely been touched. People were feeling sorry for it and taking a small sliver to go with the large slice of the perfect cake.

In the end, hers was devoured (someone may have even licked the platter because nothing was left), and half of mine remained and then went out with the trash. So, last weekend, I decided that Jessica should make the cake for another birthday party I hosted at my house. Some people are bakers and some people aren’t and I fall into the latter category. I needed to just get over it and let the experts do their thing. I called Jess and asked her. Unfortunately, she couldn’t come; but, she would send me the recipe. “Oh right, that’s a great idea”, I thought. But, I have a lot of courage and confidence and by golly I was going to give this cake thing another shot. Maybe I had been picking the wrong recipes. Maybe it’s the recipe and not the cook?

Nope, turns out it’s the cook. I took the cake out of the oven and it collapsed. But, I didn’t lose hope. I thought, well, that’s the bottom when I flip it over. I may be able to save this little guy. When I flipped it over, half of it stuck to the bottom of the pan. No problem, I scraped that puppy out and plopped it into the hole from whence it came. It was bumpy. But, with the glaze, it should still look pretty, right? Not. I poured on the glaze and the cake looked like something even Charlie Brown or the cakes own mother couldn’t love. In the end, I did serve the cake. A birthday has to have a cake. I have to say, it did still taste good. I hope you have better luck. Here is Jessica’s recipe and I am certain I was the failure and not the recipe. Good luck.

Chocolate Torte:

1 C. dark 80% cocoa

1 C. shopped semi-sweet chocolate

¾ C. butter

1/3 C. cocoa powder

5 eggs

¾ C. sugar

1 Tbsp. flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan and set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate and butter over the lowest heat. Mix in the cocoa powder set aside for a few minutes to cool. While the chocolate is cooling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and flour until they are completely combined and foamy. Fold the egg mixture into the chocolate until the color is uniform and pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30- 45 minutes, until a toothpick pulls out moist crumbs when inserted near the center of the torte. Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife along the edges of the torte and loosen the sides of the pan. Cool for 5 minutes and remove the sides of the pan. Place the cake on a serving platter and cool completely before serving.

 Glaze:

4 ½ oz. dark chocolate

3/4 C. cream

3/4 C. sugar

4 Tbsp. butter

3/4 tsp. vanilla

Heat sugar and cream in a sauce pan until sugar has dissolved. Then, pour over chocolate let it sit and melt for about 5 minutes. Then, stir. Mix in butter and vanilla let cool about 10 minutes. Pour over cake.

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Poached stuffed chicken breast with a creamy sauce

Friday, April 16th, 2010

This dish is low fat and full of vegetables. While the chicken poaches, you have plenty of time to steam vegetables and make a delicious sauce. Poaching chicken is so easy because you don’t have to worry about turning it or even thinking about it while it cooks. You just stick it in the water and do other things. The entire dish takes about 30 minutes to make. It looks beautiful and tastes even better. Please watch the video at the end of this post of me making this dish.

Poached stuffed chicken breast with a creamy Dijon sauce

Poached stuffed chicken breasts on a bed of zucchini with a creamy Dijon sauce

Serves:  4

Time: 30 minutes

 

Poached stuffed chicken breasts:

4 chicken breasts

2 C. spinach

2 cloves garlic, sliced

2 C. mozzarella cheese

4 Tbsp. Philadelphia cream cheese

4 Tbsp bread crumbs

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Butterfly cut each breast. Cut through the breast, but not all the way through, so they lay flat. Place plastic wrap on top and bottom of each breast and pound flat with a wooden spoon. Set aside.

In a food processor, combine spinach, garlic, mozzarella cheese, cream cheese and bread crumbs and blend well.

Place chicken on a new piece of plastic wrap about 2 feet each. Divide the stuffing into each breast and roll up in the plastic wrap. They should look like fat sausages. Tie the ends of the plastic together. Place in the boiling water to poach for 20 minutes. Take out of water, remove plastic wrap and place on top of the bed of zucchini.

Steamed zucchini:

2 zucchini

Slice the zucchini and place on a wire steamer, in a pot with one inch of water. Cover and steam for 15 minutes. Take out of steamer and place on each plate as a bed for the chicken to sit on.

Creamy Dijon Sauce:

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Onion, sliced

1 clove of garlic, chopped

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

1 Tbsp. rosemary

3 C. chicken broth

3 Tsp Dijon mustard

6 Tbsp. cream cheese

While zucchini and chicken are cooking, heat olive oil in a skillet. Sauté the onion and garlic until the onion becomes translucent. Add the salt, pepper and rosemary. Let this brown with the onion and garlic (about 3 minutes). Deglaze with the chicken broth. Add the Dijon and cream cheese. Simmer for about ten minutes. It will be ready when the chicken is finished. Pour the sauce over the chicken and zucchini.

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Posted in Food, Health, Nutrition, recipes | 27 Comments »

Artichoke and spinach dip

Friday, April 9th, 2010

Another weekend and another birthday party at the Monro’s. This frugal phase I have been forced into has brought many blessings. We have instituted a family game night at our house and have been watching tons of movies because we don’t have sattelite right now. We decided that the satellite bill was an expense we could afford to toss for the moment. I have found that movies and games are so much more interesting and fun. The kids might fight me on this, but I think we don’t need satellite television anymore. With the new warm weather and the need to get out of the house, but not much money to go anywhere, we have been taking long walks to the park with our kids and friends. I love these walks and have taken some amazing pictures of the scenery. I am still impressed with the landscape around southern Minnesota. It is beautiful in every season. Also, instead of taking people out to dinner to celebrate their birthdays, we have been celebrating right here at home. I can’t think of anything more fun than throwing a dinner party.

This weekend we celebrated Kathy Grothem’s and Lanna Raatz’ birthdays. I decided to make an appetizer to get things started. Inspired by spring, I decided to go with artichokes as my main ingredient. Artichokes are a perennial thistle originating in the Mediterranean. My family loves to eat them steamed and then dip the leaves in butter and garlic. The “meat” at the bottom of the leaves and the hearts are so good in melted garlic butter. However, for this recipe I, once again, integrated Philadelphia cream cheese so I can add it to my videos for that contest. Claud said I am getting obsessed with the competition. I don’t think so, but I am going through a lot of cream cheese. I bet Philadelphia is having a huge month for sales. I have been buying the reduced fat so I don’t balloon up. I haven’t forgotten about my quest to be in the best shape ever before the fourth of July or my obsession (I’ll admit to this one) with cheese. Please visit my blog to watch me making this dish at www.simplyfoodify.com.

The appetizer I made for Lanna and Kathy’s special evening is artichoke and spinach dip served in an artichoke bowl and surrounded by cut vegetables to dip into the creamy mixture. Most artichoke and spinach dip recipes I have seen use chips or bread as the dipping “tools”, but I tried to make this version low fat. I used carrots, celery and broccoli to serve with it. Also, I created this version to be served chilled which allows the ease of preparing it in advance.

Using the artichoke as a bowl is a really easy way to make the platter look beautiful. If you make the artichoke bowl, the whole thing takes an hour to make (you can put it in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve it). If you choose not to make the artichoke bowl, it takes about ten minutes to prepare and will taste just as great. You could also substitute the fresh spinach with frozen; although, fresh is best and only adds about ten minutes to the process. I used the reduced fat garden vegetable Philadelphia cream cheese. I had already tested the recipe out on my cooking class and they seemed to like it. Hopefully, you will too. It really is tasty and an affordable way to make a delicious and beautiful appetizer for your family and friends. You can have your guests nibble on this while you grill your meal. After all, it is grilling season again.

artichoke and spinach dip

artichoke and spinach dip

Artichoke and Spinach dip

Serves: 6

Time: one hour

1 large artichoke

4 Tbsp butter

1 bunch of fresh spinach

1 clove garlic, sliced

1 8oz. container of Philadelphia reduced fat garden vegetable cream cheese

1 14oz. can artichoke hearts

1 14 oz. jar roasted red peppers

½ C. reduced fat sour cream

½ C. parmesan cheese

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp pepper

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

3 large carrots, peeled and chopped into 3 inch sticks

5 celery stalks, chopped into 3 inch sticks

6 broccoli florets, cut into bit sized pieces

Cut off the step of the artichoke so it sits flat. Then, cut off the top of the artichoke to make the top flat too. This will look better as a bowl. Fill a pot with 1 inch of water and place a metal steamer in the pot. Place the artichoke in the steamer and turn the heat on medium high. Cover with a lid and allow to steam for 40 minutes. The artichoke is ready when a leaf pulls out easily.

Cut the stems off of the spinach and wash the leaves very well. Spinach leaves tend to be gritty. In a skillet, melt the butter and sauté the sliced garlic for five minutes. Add the spinach and allow to wilt in the butter for five minutes.

In a food processor, combine the garden vegetable cream cheese, artichoke hearts, and spinach. Pulse for four or five times. Then, add sour cream, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Pulse four or five times more.

Chop up your vegetables and arrange on a platter, leaving a space in the middle for the artichoke bowl. Now, your artichoke should be finished. Let it cool for a couple of minutes so you can work with it without burning your hands. Start pulling out the inside leaves, leaving the outer leaves to form a bowl. Once you get down to the “hair” of the artichoke gently remove with a spoon (see my video). You will be left with the outer leaves and the bottom heart of the artichoke. Spoon in the dip and place in the middle of your vegetables. You will have left over dip to refill as needed. Enjoy.

 

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Philly Dauphanoise Potatoes

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

This week my focus has been on the “Paula Deen/Real Women of Philladelphia” cream cheese cooking contest. Each week, for eight weeks, there will be a different dish to make. Last week, the dish was a side dish. This week, the dish is an appetizer. Contestants are to come up with an original recipe to submit. Then, they must make a YouTube video of themselves creating the dish. If you are interested in becoming involved in this competition, go to www.realwomenofphiladelphia.com for the contest rules and guidelines.

Come on ladies; let’s show the world that we can cook in the Midwest too. Sorry, men, you are not invited to be in the contest. Isn’t that odd? But, we ladies need to represent New Ulm (and Hanska in my case), especially since we have a Kraft plant right here. I know some amazing cooks out there who would be perfect for this (hmm… hmm…Rose or Bobbi?). It is so much fun. I just set up my little Flip video camera on top of a bunch of books and pretend I am a cooking star. You can see the video I submitted below. I hope you keep me in your thoughts as I would love to win the $25,000 contest prize and a chance to fly to Georgia and appear on Paula Deen’s show. I am going to come up with an original recipe idea and video for each week of the contest to increase my chances. I know it is a long shot; but, just dreaming about winning is fun in itself. My first entry was Philly Daughanoise Potatoes.

Philly Dauphinoise potatoes

Philly Dauphinoise potatoes

Dauphanoise, or gratin dauphinois, potatoes are one of my all time favorite side dishes. In fact, Claud made them as the side dish for our wedding reception. We had to make them in my mom’s neighbor’s oven and drive the finished dish over to the reception when they finished cooking. Unfortunately, some of the creamy garlic liquid spilled in the back of our car. Our car stunk for a year after that day. We just could not get the smell out. It was worth it because everyone loved the potatoes. It was a stinky way to remember our fun wedding night, every day, especially when it was hot outside. We were happy to get rid of that car.  

The recipe originally comes from the Dauphaine region in France where this dish is a specialty. Traditionally, Dauphanoise potatoes are a very simple dish in which you thinly slice potatoes and onions. Then, you layer these with heavy cream, cheese and butter and season each layer with salt and pepper and bouillon. This is how I usually make them. However, I wanted to come up with a twist on the traditional and to make it low fat for the contest. So, I chose the reduced fat chive and onion flavored Philadelphia cream cheese to replace heavy cream and butter, and I added roasted red peppers to make it colorful.

The result was great. I made them first for Claud’s birthday party last weekend and the casserole dish was empty by the end of the night. To me, that is a successful recipe. So, I went ahead and curled my hair (Paula says hair is very important in the contest) and threw on some high heels and cooked it in front of the camera. Although you can’t see the high heels, it made me feel more glamorous.  I haven’t a clue what I will do with my hair next week. I really have only one style. I should start Googling hair dos right away. Whatever the result, win or lose, I really believe this recipe turned out delicious and being involved in the competition is a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy it.

Philly Dauphinoise Potatoes

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Serves: 6

6 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced

16 oz. jar roasted red peppers, sliced

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

16 oz. Philidelphia reduced fat chive and onion cream cheese

In a casserole dish layer the bottom with potato slices. Heat the cream cheese in the microwave for 30 seconds to make it easy to spread. Spread a layer of cream cheese over the potatoes. Add a layer of onions, garlic, and peppers. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Then repeat this process until you have only a layer of potatoes left and top this with the potatoes. Pour the melted butter over the top layer to aid it in becoming a beautiful golden brown.   

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