Superbowl- Super Guacamole!

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I love the Super Bowl- not because I love football, because I really don’t care about NFL football- college football is a slightly different story (I care a little bit), but I love the Super Bowl for the food.  It is such a great excuse to eat a lot of cheesy, meaty, greasy, bready foods and drink a lot of beer on a Sunday night.  Pretty good way to end a week if you ask me.  What I love even more about the Super Bowl is that it is almost required that the only green things in sight are the celery with the wings and guacamole.  Veggies do not play a big part in evening activities.   No one ever won friends by bringing a salad to a Super Bowl party.  Here is my favorite guacamole recipe from Food & Wine.  It is fantastic.  Since my sister-in-law is from Baltimore- GO RAVENS!

Guacamole

Ingredients:

3 medium scallions, white and tender green parts only
2 medium garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 jalapeño, seeded and quartered lengthwise
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 Hass avocados, halved and pitted
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat a grill pan. In a small bowl, toss the scallions, garlic and jalapeño with the vegetable oil. Grill over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until charred all over, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a work surface and let cool.
Finely chop the scallions and jalapeño and transfer to a medium bowl. Peel the garlic cloves, mash them to a paste and add them to the bowl. Scoop the avocado flesh into the bowl and coarsely mash with a fork. Fold the cilantro and lime juice into the guacamole, season with salt and pepper and serve.
Notes Variation: For a brighter, crunchier guacamole, finely chop the scallions, garlic and jalapeño and stir them in raw.

Mocha Chiffon Cake

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I was flipping through the channels on Saturday morning and stopped at a cooking show where two women were making a chiffon cake.  Of course I was inspired immediately, so instead of watching the rest of the show or even figuring out what show it was, I started googling chiffon cake recipes.  There are quite a few ways to make a chiffon cake, but the mocha chiffon cake caught my eye.  My mother makes the best chocolate mocha torte (which I will have to put up at some point because it is so good), and the mocha taste is just heavenly.  I love this lighter version where the cake is not as heavy, and the frosting is optional but who opts for no frosting?

Mocha Chiffon Cake

Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup brewed coffee
1/2 cup cooking oil
8 egg yolks
8 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup white sugar

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Sift the flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour the coffee, oil, and egg yolks into the well; beat well by hand until the batter is smooth with no lumps.
Beat egg whites with the cream of tartar in a large bowl until foamy. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Lift your beater or whisk straight up: the egg whites should form a sharp peak that holds its shape. Fold the batter into the egg whites; pour into a non-stick Bundt® fluted tube pan.
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. Loosen the sides with a knife and release the cake onto a serving platter.
Mocha Buttercream Icing:

For the Mocha Buttercream

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons instant coffee, dissolved in a splash of hot water

Directions:

In your mixer, beat the softened butter with the powdered sugar until it is creamy.
Add in the cocoa powder, vanilla extract & coffee.

Beat with the mixer until it’s nice and fluffy (about a minute or 2)
This makes a perfectly spreadable frosting. The nice thing about it is that you can put it in the fridge to make it a little more firm if you would like.

 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Sometimes there is nothing better than a chocolate chip cookie.  I used to make them all the time when I was little- starting from scratch with the recipe on the back of the Nestle Toll House yellow bag.  So great.  Of course, eating the dough was my favorite part, but warm chocolate chip cookies are so delicious- there is not much better.  They stand alone well, they go well with a glass of milk, some vanilla ice cream, whip cream- it’s all good.  Some people add walnuts to theirs, and while that is still a great cookie, I prefer no nuts.  Here is a fantastic recipe for truly the perfect chocolate chip cookie!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons hot water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour and chocolate chips. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

The Manor Born Banana Cake with Coffee Buttercream

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I love bananas in dessert.  They add such a wonderful flavor and creamy texture, and somehow any dessert with bananas evokes some great far-off memory I can never quite put my finger on.  Banana splits, banana pudding, banana bread- they are all delicious.  I came across this recipe in Saveur Magazine, and wow- it is something else.  The coffee flavor in the frosting is so amazing with the banana flavor in the cake.   This one is definitely a crowd pleaser and one to keep on hand!  And it works perfectly as a cake or as mini cupcakes.  The recipe is originally from Serendipity 3 in Manhattan- and according to Saveur, while it has not been on the menu since the 1960’s, it is still one of the owner’s favorite desserts.  Who can argue with that!

The Manor Born Banana Cake with Coffee Buttercream

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4  cups cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/3 cups sugarhttps://thesouthwillrise.com/wp-admin/post-new.php
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (from about 2 medium bananas)
2 eggs
Scant 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup coarsely chopped shelled unsalted pecans

For the Frosting:

1 cup sugar
2 tbsp. instant espresso powder
6 egg yolks
1 lb. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and softened

Directions:

For the cake: Preheat oven to 375°. Use 1 tbsp. of the butter to grease three 8″ round cake pans, line each pan with parchment paper, and set aside. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a medium bowl and set aside. Beat remaining 7 tbsp. butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy, 3–4 minutes. Add bananas and beat on medium speed until well combined. Add eggs and buttermilk and beat until fully incorporated. Add flour mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon until just incorporated, then fold in pecans. Divide batter equally between prepared pans, smoothing tops with the spatula. Bake until cakes are golden brown and spring back when touched, 10–15 minutes. Cool cakes in their pans for 5 minutes on a wire rack, then remove them from pans, peel off parchment, and allow cakes to cool completely on the rack.

For the frosting: Combine sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and boil over medium heat until sugar dissolves and syrup reaches 238° on a candy thermometer, 15–20 minutes. Meanwhile, dissolve espresso powder with 1 tsp. boiling water in a small bowl and set aside. Beat egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until pale yellow, 4–5 minutes. Gradually add hot sugar syrup to yolks in a slow steady steam down the side of the bowl, beating constantly on medium speed, and continue beating until mixture cools to room temperature, about 5 minutes. Add butter, one piece at a time, beating thoroughly on medium speed after each addition, and continue beating frosting until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in espresso and set aside.

To assemble the cake, stack cake layers on top of each other on a cake plate, spreading about 1 cup of the frosting between each layer, then ice side and top of assembled cake with remaining frosting. Decorate cake by piping some of the frosting on top and garnishing with coffee beans, if you like. Refrigerate cake until frosting is set. Bring cake to room temperature before serving.

Apple Crisp- Always a Winner

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I went to boarding school in Connecticut, and let me tell you, for those of you who don’t know- Connecticut winters are long.  Really long. Especially when you are used to South Carolina weather- that cold will take your breath away.  While I do love the snow, and skiing, and lots of things about winter, I have to say that I am enjoying the mild weather down south so much more.  But back to the cold dark winters of Connecticut.  We had vespers and formal dinner four nights a week- this meant boys in coats and ties and girls in skirts or dresses.  We would run in our nice dress shoes and stockings from our dorms across the very short driveway and yard to the main building where Vespers and dinner were held.  I never thought my legs or hands or face would get as cold as they did on the 20 yard sprint to main building, so of course I never wore a coat or gloves or anything smart.  Anything for fashion right! Well despite all of that torture (but not really because I did love it all), the dining hall would occasional serve apple crisp for dessert.  It was by far and away everyone’s favorite dessert.  My mouth waters just thinking about it.  Apple crisp and a few other things they did well- the rest of the food was typical dining hall food.  But seriously, their apple crisp was worth all the cold and darkness.  Here is my favorite apple crisp recipe- so delicious!!

Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

4 medium tart cooking apples, sliced (4 cups)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Whipped cream or Ice cream, if desired

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.

Arrange apples in the bottom of the pan. In a bowl, rub together brown sugar, flour, oats, butter, cinnamon and nutmeg until well combined. Sprinkle mixture over apples.

Bake crisp for 30 minutes or until apples are tender. Remove from oven and top with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream to serve.

L’USINE and Jet Lag Dreams

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Happy New Year to everyone!!  I am finally coming out of the fog of jet lag from our trip to Vietnam which was awesome!  It was such an amazing trip, and I am the luckiest girl to have gotten to spend such a special vacation with my family.  I feel so lucky and blessed that I forwent (is that a real word?) eating the traditional black eyed peas and collard greens on New Years Day mainly because I really do feel so lucky, and I really do detest them, so it worked out.  First I want to give a quick up date on the trip.  The food was phenomenal.  Walker, of course was much more adventurous than I, but everything I had was fantastic.  I need to tell you about them most wonderful restaurant we went to.  Corby, Walker and I had a day of wandering around District 1, doing some shopping and attempting to go to the Vietnam War Remnants Museum (it was closed- hence the attempt).  Walker was quite the trooper dealing with me and Corby and all we wanted to see, especially since Walker’s cousins who live in Vietnam and had already seen all this stuff, were back at the house swimming and watching TV.  After several hours of walking in the heat, we decided lunch was in order.  My sister had mentioned a place called L’Usine that all the locals know about and love, and she had pointed out the alley you walk down to find the staircase that leads you to the restaurant.  Fortunately, we were right around the same area, and I managed to find the alley.  Walker was very skeptical.  As we climbed the stairs and finally found L’Usine (http://www.lusinespace.com/), we actually realized we had found heaven.  It was like walking out of Vietnam and into the coolest Manhattan downtown loft space ever.  It also helped that one of the first things we saw was a huge display of cupcakes.   We sat down to a delicious menu.  Walker ordered the baby squid and clam linguini while I ordered a delectable cheese plate. It was a fantastic lunch, and Corby I think just about fell in love with that place and would make the 30 hour trip to Vietnam just to go back.  We then ordered cupcakes that came from a bakery called Sweet and Sour run by a girl from Wilmington, NC- no wonder they were so good!  Anyway, L’Usine was definitely a highlight of the trip!!

Now, here is a quick little recipe that I came up with at 4 am dealing with jet lag.  I know that I am not the first person to think of this, but I thought it sounded great and so easy!  I love Pilsbury Crescent Rolls- but what about before you roll them up, sprinkle some grated cheddar cheese and bits of bacon in them.  Or for a breakfast treat- sprinkle cinnamon sugar in them- roll them up and then sprinkle more on top.  Just a little twist that I am going to try out this weekend!!