Saturday, July 18, 2009

Just a quick note!

When we made the German Chocolate Brownies during our cooking class, I really disliked the recipe we used. It was too chocolatey.....and for me, that is saying a lot!!!

I have since resurrected a family recipe for brownies (that I had managed to lose) and it is so much better! I will be posting it in a few days.

Do you think I am on a chocolate roll of some kind?

Until later, enjoy cooking!
Cheryl

The Ultimate Chocolate Cake

This was my mother's favorite chocolate cake recipe. Growing up, I remember her sending the recipe to my Aunt Ruth. Ruth decided to make this cake for her oldest son's birthday party. She baked it in layer pans, because she invisioned a beautiful, tasty birthday cake. Mom had forgotten to tell Ruth, "this cake would fall." It has to be baked in a sheetcake type pan (cookie sheet with sides).

It is a wonderful chocolate cake and when baked on a sheetcake pan and you can take it anywhere! How about a picnic? or a tailgate party?

Note: I have baked this cake in a glass 9 x 13 baking dish. If you do, it will need to bake about 10 minutes longer or about 30 minutes all together, but it does fine.

Chocolate Sheet Cake

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
4 heaping T. cocoa
2 sticks butter, melted
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine in a mixing bowl measure, 2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.


In a saucepan, melt: 2 sticks butter and add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Stir together. Add 1 cup boiling water, stir mixture and set aside to cool. When cooled, mix with the flour, sugar mixture.


In measuring cup, pour 1/2 cup buttermilk. Add: 2 beaten eggs, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add buttermilk mixture to rest of the cake and beat for 1 minute at medium speed. Make sure all ingredients are well blended. Pour into sheet cake pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is cooking, you will need to prepare the icing.

Icing for choclate cake:

Melt 1 stick butter in a sauce pan. Add 4 tablespoons of cocoa and stir. Turn off heat. Pour into a mixing bowl and add 6 tablespoons of milk, 1 tsp. of vanilla and approximately 4 to 5 cups of powdered sugar. Beat well. You want the icing to be thick, but not too thick. If you want it a little thinner, add a small amount of additional milk. If it needs to be thicker, add a little more powdered sugar.

When cake is done, pour icing over hot cake and spread. You may add chopped pecans or walnuts, if desired. Allow to cool, before cutting. If you love chocolate, you are going to love this! Enjoy!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Lesson Five - Part 3

If we have time, we will also make these simple little treats!

All the kids in the family love ham & cream cheese roll-ups! I hope you will too!


Ham & Cream Cheese Roll-Ups

Ingredients:

1/2 lb square shaped ham (lunch meat Ham)

1 package cream cheese, softened

Seasoning salt and/or garlic powder

Directions:

Lay a slice of the ham on cutting board.

Spread cream cheese over whole slice.

"Rollup" slice, jelly roll style.

Cut this"Roll" into 1/2 inch pieces and secure with a toothpick.

Lesson Five - Part 2

German Chocolate Brownies

1/2 cup butter
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Place butter and chocolate in a small glass bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until the chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs; add vanilla and sugar and continue to mix until well blended. Add cooled butter and chocolate and mix for about a minute. Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until all ingredients are blended.

Cook in a 9 x 13 baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray (or greased and floured). Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

While brownies are still warm from the oven, ice with your favorite icing.

Lesson Five - Part 1

I am posting this a day early. I hope you enjoy what we will be cooking tomorrow!

Chicken Fettucine Alfredo

We will be cooking out chicken and adding the cooked meat to a prepacked Alfredo dinner. But we will also talk about how Alfredo sauces are made. Basically, they are a combination of butter, cream, and Parmesan cheese.

Simply melt you butter over very low heat (use a large, heavy sauce pan). When the butter is melted, slowly add the cream. Do not allow this mixture to come to a boil. Then you gradually add Parmesan cheese. Cut the cheese into small pieces and add two or three pieces at a time. Once the cheese is melted, continue cooking over low heat until the mixture comes to the desired thickness. You may add seasonings of your choice. Normally, black pepper and a little garlic are added.

Italian cooks add their own secert ingredients and the amounts of butter, cream & cheese may vary somewhat! So, this is a recipe you can play with until you develop a sauce you and your family love!

Next we will be making Garlic Cheese Biscuits (like Red Lobster!)

Garlic Cheese Biscuits


Ingredients:

2 ½ cups Bisquick baking mix
¾ cup cold whole milk
4 tablespoons cold butter (1/2 stick)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1 heaping cup grated cheddar cheese


Bush on Top:

2 tablespoons butter, melted
¼ teaspoon dried parsley flakes
½ teaspoon garlic powder
pinch salt


Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or a large fork. You don't want to mix too thoroughly. There should be small chunks of butter in there that are about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and ¼ teaspoon garlic. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.

3. Drop approximately ¼-cup portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet using an ice cream scoop.

4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.

5. When you take the biscuits out of the oven, melt 2 tablespoons butter is a small bowl in your microwave. Stir in ½ teaspoon garlic powder and the dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread this garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Use up all of the butter. Makes one dozen biscuits.

Lesson Four - Part 3

Before we move on to Lesson Five, I wanted to share one of the ideas for pizza we did during lesson 4.

One of the students has been wanting to learn to make Chicken Fettucine Alfredo. Chicken Alfredo Pizza is one of Jenny's favorites, so during class we made one!

We used an already prepared sauce, which we spread on our dough. We topped the Alfredo sauce with chicken pieces that were pre-cooked. Next we added a little fresh spinach and then topped with mozzarella cheese. Bake like any other pizza.

This was the first time I had tried the Chicken Alfredo Pizza. It was really very good!

Lesson Four - Part 2

Jenny's Pizza Dough Recipe


First part:

2 cups flour (unbleached white or whole wheat)
2 cups warm water
2 tsp yeast
1 tbsp brown sugar

Mix together in a large bowl.

(Yeast will react better when using non-metal utensils.) Cover with a dish towel and place in oven with the light on. Let dough rise for at least 4 hours up to 48 hours.


This is called a sponge. (Dough will become more sour the longer you let it set.)


Second part:


2 ½ to 3 cups unbleached white flour (as much as you can stir in by hand)
½ cup olive oil
2 tsp sea salt


Mix together. Place on floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Place in oiled bowl and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Then, divide dough in amount desired. For example, a baseball sized amount makes a personal pan to small size pizza, depending on thickness. This recipe will make approximately 10 personal pan size pizzas.


After the dough has rested, divide into the size portions you wish to use. Roll out on a floured surface, then place in a baking dish/pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.


Pizza Sauce


2 small cans of tomato sauce
1 small can of tomato paste
2 tbsp of Spaghetti spice mix

Combine ingredients together.


Note: You may also use Pizza Quick Sauce or leftover spaghetti sauce.


Top with you favorite toppings and cheese. Bake at 500 degrees until edges of crust are a nice golden brown.

Lesson Four - Part 1


Our fourth lesson my oldest daughter, Jenny, came and showed all of us how to make homemade pizza. While she was doing that, some of the "rowdy group from the house helped us make root beer! (We needed a little more dry ice, then we used, but it was okay!)

The above picture is of some of my own "rowdies" making root beer earlier this summer while we were down at Robbers Cave. Making root beer is always fun. We have made it for a number of organizations and we nearly always make it for family gatherings throughout the summer.

However, you must use caution when adding the dry ice and while stirring it! This requires adult supervision.

Homemade Root Beer

1 bottle McCormick's Root Beer Flavoring (you can find this at Wal-Mart in the spices)
5 pounds of sugar
5 gallons of spring water

a large portion of dry ice, probably about 5 lbs.

Mix the first three ingredients in a clean, large ice chest or water cooler. Do not use metal. You will need to stir with either a large wooden or plastic spoon.
Carefully add dry ice. It should slide from the bag. DO NOT TOUCH dry ice!

Stir until dry ice is completely melted. This will take about 20 to 30 minutes. When dry ice is completely melted, root beer is ready to serve.
Note: There are online sources for other flavors such as strawberry, orange, and creme soda

Lesson Three

During lesson three we made Four Layer Chocolate Delight and carved a watermelon basket. I am going to post the recipe for the Four Layer Chocolate Delight. Later, next time I make a watermelon fruit basket, I'll take pictures to illustrate how to prepare the watermelon in order to carve the basket and post the pictures. It isn't difficult, but would be a little hard to explain without the pictures.

(Keep checking back!)

Four Layer Chocolate Delight

Ingredients:

1 cup. all purpose flour
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
3/4 cp. chopped pecans - (optional)

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened.
2 (8oz) containers of cool whip
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

2 small boxes of Jello instant chocolate pudding
3 cups homogenized milk

1 pkg. nut topping (garnish for top) - optional
1 chocolate bar (I use Hersheys) grated (garnish for top) – optional

Layer One (Crust)

Mix flour, butter, and pecans. Pat into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes; remove from oven and allow to cool.

Layer Two

Combine 8 oz cool whip, 8 oz cream cheese, and 1 cup. powdered sugar. Spread over cooled crust.

Layer Three

Combine 2 boxes of pudding, 3 cups of milk. Mix until thickened, spread over cool whip layer.

Layer Four

Top with 8 oz cool whip, sprinkle with nut topping, and grated chocolate bar, if desired.

Chill at least 2 hrs. Serve and enjoy!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Lesson Two


This is our newest baby ~ no name yet, just "Baby"! He thinks he is a big puppy and likes to play chase.
Lesson two was all about Tempura and using the Fry Daddy. Tempura is a Japanese batter used for cooking meats, vegetables and some fruits.

Tempura

1 egg, beaten
1 cup ice cold water
1 cup all purpose flour, sifted

Crack egg and place in a medium size bowl. Beat with a fork until foamy. Add 1 cup of very cold water. Use fork to blend with the egg. Add 1 cup of sifted all purpose flour. Continue to stir until the mixture is well blended and is smooth, without lumps.

For our class, we dipped both chicken strips and tenderized round beef steak cut into small strips.

Very carefully add oil to fry daddy and allow to heat. When oil is hot, dip meat one strip at a time into batter, allowing excess batter to drip off into the bowl. Place strips in the fry daddy. Meat is done when batter becomes brown and the meat pieces float to the top. Carefully remove and drain on paper towels. You should be able to cook 5 to 7 strips of meat at a time.

We like broccoli dipped in the tempura batter and fried; however, the class did not want broccoli, so after cooking the meat, we dipped some dill pickle slices. (Didn't we used to get those at Sonic?)

Always use extreme caution when using a Fry Daddy or anytime you are working with hot oil.
This summer, I plan to try some tempura dipped peach slices. Maybe I'll serve them hot over homemade vanilla ice cream.


We also made Monkey Bread (or Pull-A-Part Bread). Here is the recipe for Monkey Bread:


Monkey Bread

1 package of “canned” Biscuits (You can also use pieces of yeast dough, but you will have to allow time for the dough to rise.)

5 – 6 Tablespoons of butter, melted in a small bowl
1/3 cup sugar
! – 2 teaspoons of cinnamon

Prepare a small loaf pan by spraying with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

Remove biscuits from package and separate. Cut each biscuit into 4 equal pieces (quarters). First dip biscuit quarters into melted butter, then roll in the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Place in loaf pan. When you have finished coating the biscuit pieces. Your loaf pan should be between ½ and 2/3’s full. Remember the biscuits will rise as they cook. Cook according to directions on the biscuit package, but check to make sure the loaf is done. It should be a nice golden brown.

Summer Classes at ECU

This has been an exciting summer!


In June, I started teaching Kids In the Kitchen, at East Central University, through the Continuing Education Department. We had a total enrollment of eight, two young men and six young women. I would have loved to share pictures of the students as they experienced new adventures in food; however, I did not think to gain permission to use their photographs at the beginning of the class. So for now, I am including a few pictures from around our farm.


In this first picture, we are teaching some kids from up around Chicago how to milk goats!

Our first lesson was on nachos, pigs in the blanket and chocolate dipped strawberries. Here are the recipes from that class.

Lesson # 1

Nachos

Corn chips (such as Doritos) –
Enough to cover a serving plate
½ cup grated cheese

Place chips on microwave safe plate. Spread grated cheese evenly over chips. Microwave just long enough to melt cheese.

You may also add: chopped peppers, green onions, mushrooms or browned ground beef.


Pigs in the Blanket

Wieners – cut in half
Canned Biscuits

Cut wieners cut in half. Wrap each wiener half with a biscuit. Pinch edges of biscuits to hold together. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Bake in oven according to directions on biscuit package.

Strawberries dipped in Chocolate

1 quart of Fresh Strawberries
1 package of Bakers Dipping Chocolate (either milk chocolate or white chocolate)

Wash strawberries thoroughly and allow to air dry for a few minutes. You may spread strawberries on paper towels.
Heat chocolate in microwave for 30 seconds; stir and repeat until chocolate is completely melted. Very carefully (don’t burn your fingers) hold strawberries by the green tops and dip into chocolate. Lay on wax paper and allow chocolate to become firm.