Chocolate Raspberry Birthday Cake

Happy 21st Birthday Big Sis!

This calls for the yummiest cake imaginable:
Chocolate Raspberry 

Excuse the half-demolished pictures. But this was perhaps the best combination of flavors I've ever tried. Seriously, a winner.

Chocolate Cake

Whipped Raspberry Cream Filling

Raspberry Buttercream Icing

Raspberry garnishes

Make a traditional buttercream with butter and confectioner's sugar and divide it into 1/3 and 2/3. Use real raspberries, boiled them down to a jam, folded them into whipped cream, then beat that into the smaller bowl of buttercream. Smoosh it between two layers of your favorite chocolate cake. Mix raspberry extract into the remaining buttercream, and frost the outside of the cake with it (best done when frozen). Decorate with raspberries. Cut a big slice, hand it to the birthday girl, then eat the rest of the cake yourself. Perfect.

A Special Shout-Out

This week is big, it marks the debut of an amazing up and coming chef - my dad!

While I've been away at school he's taken over the kitchen at home. He has an intuition for flavor combinations...he could always make something tasty on the days when it seemed like we had nothing in the fridge.

His most recent masterpiece: fish tacos

 

"Trout, hot red peppers in garlic and olive oil, diced cherry tomatoes, lime, and a touch of ranch dressing."

Isn't it pretty? I miss him.

Shrimp Etouffee

Dear Salley,
That girl lugging the huge bag of pots and pans up the stairs? That's me. I've got big plans for us.

I cooked my first meal in my dorm's kitchen tonight. It was a little bit of a challenge but fun! It felt really good to get back into it - there are only so many dining hall meals I can stand. My boyfriend came over and we had a cozy dinner in Salley Hall. It felt like we were back home for a little while :) Sometimes those little familiarities make college life easier. (Sorry to the 5th floor for making it smell like seafood. I'll make brownies next time).

Ingredients
1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp.
1 whole onion - diced
1 each red and green bell pepper - okay to dice one whole bell pepper, any color.
1 can of diced tomatoes, or dice 2 romas.
2 cloves of garlic - about a teaspoon, minced, or pre-chopped from jar.
3 green onions - sliced. Discard roots and old green ends - use white and light green parts.
1/2 bunch of parsley - chopped
1/8 to 1/4 cup clam juice, preference (this is for extra seafood flavor - you could leave it out.)
2 cups of water - for Etouffee broth
2 teaspoons of cornstarch - into reserved 1/2 cup oyster/water broth.
good shake of Cajun seasoning
2 whole bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce - optional
Salt and pepper to taste.

1. Roughly chop one whole onion and red and green bell pepper.  Mix in tomato, bell pepper and tomato and cook in a pot over medium heat for 10-12 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add minced garlic and cook about 30 seconds.

2. For the seafood stock, pour the clam juice into 2 cups of water. Set aside 1/2 cup of stock for later.

Add seafood stock to cooking veggies and bring to a boil.

3. Reduce heat to a low simmer. Add 2 whole bay leaves. Add your heat - hot sauce, Cajun seasonings, cayenne pepper, whatever. Cook uncovered for 20-30 minutes at low heat.

4. Add chopped green onions and parsley.

5. Spoon 2 teaspoons of cornstarch into 1/2 cup of reserved seafood broth -- blend well. Stir cornstarch liquid into pot. Sauce should start to thicken into a gravy after a couple of minutes. Let it cook for about five more minutes over low heat.

6. Add the cooked shrimp at the end and let them heat to temperature, about 4 minutes.

Throw out the bay leaves.

Serve over rice with extra hot sauce

You can omit all the spiciness of this dish if you’re that kind of person. But I feel if you’re going Cajun, you should go all the way.

Father's Day

I'm a daddy's girl. He's one of my favorite people in the world and I wanted to make him the best dinner ever.

The menu:

 

Goat Cheese Stuffed Figs Wrapped in Prosciutto:

 

Salmon Burgers:

 

and dessert! Maple Blueberry Tart:

 

DELICIOUS.

And so healthy. Figs, salmon, blueberries, greek yogurt... I am an antioxidant powerhouse.

Salmon Burgers:

* 1 lb skinless salmon, cut in 1/4 in cubes

* 1 T fresh peeled garlic, minced

* 2 t ground coriander, or 2 T fresh cilantro

* salt and pepper to taste

Toppings:

Sliced avocado, scallions, lemon wedges, watercress aoli

Directions:

Combine ingredients and form into 4 patties. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Heat 1 T olive oil in a nonstick skillet and cook 4-6 minutes on each side.

Maple Blueberry Tart with Walnut Crust:
* 1 cup graham cracker crumbs

* 1/2 cup toasted, chopped walnuts

* 1 egg white

* 1 T butter

* 8 oz cream cheese

* 1 1/2 cups greek yogurt

* 1/4 c maple syrup

* 2 cups blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Add graham cracker crumbs and walnuts and process until the mixture looks like fine crumbs.
3. Whisk egg white in a medium bowl until frothy. Add the crumb mixture, butter, oil and salt; toss to combine. Press the mixture into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan. Set the pan on a baking sheet. Bake until dry and slightly darker around the edges, about 8 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
4. For filling: Beat cream cheese, yogurt and maple syrup in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth. When the crust is cool, spread the filling evenly into it, being careful not to break up the delicate crust. Arrange blueberries on the filling, pressing lightly so they set in. Drizzle the remaining  maple syrup over the berries. Chill for at least 1 hour to firm up.

Light Crab and Corn Bisque

I'm calling this soup light because, unlike normal bisques, this one doesn't use ANY dairy. Yep! No milk, cream, or cheese. It's thickened with cornstarch and a corn puree. So go ahead, have two bowls ;)

 

 Crab and Corn Bisque:

·         3 c chicken broth

·         3 T cornstarch dissolved in water

·         1 15 oz can corn kernels

·         1 small can sweet cream corn

·         1 lb crab meat

·         1/2 c onion, chopped small

·         ½ c celery, chopped

·         ¼ c dry white wine

·         1 T Worcestershire sauce (plus more to taste)

·         Heaping ½ t tarragon

·         Heaping ¼ t nutmeg

·         Pinch of cayenne pepper (to taste)

·         1 medium garlic clove

·         Lemon

·         Salt and pepper

Directions:

Saute onion and celery, add garlic & nutmeg, salt & pep.

When aromatic, add wine, broth, Worcestershire, tarragon.

Puree half can corn with whole can cream corn. Add to soup. Add the rest of the whole corn kernels to soup. Bring to a boil, add cayenne pepper.

Reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes. Taste, adjust seasonings, add lemon.

Take off heat. Add crab. Chill or serve warm.

Beef Bourguignon

Life. Is. So. Busy!

I officially graduated from high school this weekend.

Both of my grandmothers are staying with me and I have had to cook big family meals every night this week.

I had two very intensive catering orders, made more intense by the fact that I was sharing the kitchen with four other women (mom, sis, grandma #1, grandma #2).
I have a new job cooking dinner and running errands for a family a few nights a week.

Which is good news for my blog! Because I have many recipes to share...so I better get going.

Aren't the roses beautiful? Sam got them for my graduation :) Good boyfriend.

Beef Bourguignon:

2 lb chuck roast or beef shoulder, cut into 1 1/2″ cubes
salt and pepper
1 large onion, diced
3-4 large carrots, chopped
6 large cloves garlic, pressed or minced
4 T tomato paste

2 1/2 cup red wine; pinot noir

1/3 cup soy sauce
3 bay leaves

3 T instant Minute tapioca
2 c homemade beef or chicken broth or canned chicken broth**
3 t dried thyme
2 T olive oil
1 lb pearl onions (frozen onions work)
1/2 lb small white mushrooms, sliced

1 crockpot

Oatmeal Cake with Coconut Whipped Cream

Happy Birthday Dad

He couldn't decide between an oatmeal cake, which he hasn't had since he was a kid, and a coconut cake. Oatmeal cake is really dense and satisfying whereas coconut cake is light and airy. Totally different.

Hybrid time.

I made an oatmeal cake but omitted the (fattening) condensed milk topping and whipped up some fluffy whipped cream that had been steeped with coconut flakes. Topped with more coconut and sliced bananas, this cake was a perfect combination of my dad's favorite flavors.

Oatmeal Cake with Coconut Whipped Cream:

* 1 cup rolled oats (not instant)

* 1 1/4 cups boiling water

* 8 tablespoons, 1 stick unsalted butter, slightly softened

* 1/2 cup sugar

* 1 cup brown sugar

* 2 eggs

* 1 teaspoon vanilla

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

* 1 teaspoon baking soda

* 1 teaspoon cinnamon

* 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and lightly butter a 9-inch round cake pan.

2. Place oats in a bowl. Add boiling water and let stand 20 minutes.
3. Cream butter and sugars, then add eggs and vanilla and stir well.
4. Add rolled oats. Stir in dry ingredients.
5. Pour batter into cake pan and bake 40 minutes.

Coconut Whipped Cream:

* 2 cups heavy cream
* 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
* 2 T sugar
* splash coconut extract

1. Heat heavy cream in a saucepan, but don’t let it boil.
2. Just before it boils, take the cream off the heat and add coconut.
3. Let it steep until it cools.
4. Strain coconut, add sugar and extract.
5. Whip.

Dinner was fish (more of Dad's favorites) but this one was too pretty! Mom said she would eat it tonight but never again. We can only buy ugly fish from now on.