Monday Night Chocolate Cake

Craving Chocolate cake today...after my Ben's Chili Cheese Fries craving was satisfied.

Here's what I did...it was yummy as hell.

1 1/2 sticks butter

1/2 c. white sugar

1 c. brown sugar

Splash of vanilla

2 eggs

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Dash of salt

1/2 c. or so of strong, hot brewed coffee

two heaping tbls. Sour Cream


First:

Cream the butter and sugars together until light a fluffy with a mixer This will take a few minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs nearish the end and beat for another 1 to 2 minutes.

Mix the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder together and add to the whipped butter/sugar/egg mixture. Continue beating with the mixer until well combined and then add the sour cream and then the hot coffee.

Pour into prepared pans (whatever kind you want). Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes or so.


Frosting?

I have that too.

Cocoa Powder, Powdered Sugar, Vanilla, Butter, and a splash of milk whipped up good in the mixer.

Foiled Fajita Chicken

Here's a cool recipe that I invented when trying to find easy food to cook and take to work with me.

Here's what you'll need:

Chicken Breast
Bell Peppers (Trader Joe's frozen assortment is great for this)
Sliced Onion
Approx. 1 tbls of Sour Cream
Fajita Seasoning (salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, oregano)
Maybe a little lime juice


Wrap all of the ingredients together in a foil packet. Bake for about 45mins.

That's kinda it.

Eat with Tortillas...of course.

Ridiculously Simple Fresh Tomato Pasta

What you need:

Spaghetti/Linguini/Etc... (and long, thin pasta)

Diced Onion

Minced Garlic

Chopped, partially seeded fresh Tomato (the riper, the better)

Dash of Red Pepper flakes

Dash of Italian Seasoning 

Fresh chopped Basil (optional)

EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

Salt

Cook the pasta according to the directions with a good amount of salt for seasoning and some olive oil. 

While the pasta cooks, saute the minced onion and red pepper flakes in EVOO until translucent and caramelized. Add the chopped tomato and garlic and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Italian seasoning and a dash of salt, to taste. 

Drain the pasta and add it, while still hot, to the tomato mixture. Toss well - adding more EVOO if necessary and serve. 

So easy!!!

Yummy Wheat Bread

Yummy!

2 cups of Whole Milk

3 tbls of Butter

3/4 cup of Light Brown Sugar

2 tsp sea salt (taste your dough for more or less)

3 tbls of vegetable oil

2 packets of yeast

1/2 cup of Potato Starch (or, you can do one medium peeled, mashed potato)

1/2 cup of White Flour

Enough Whole Wheat Flour to make a stiff, but elastic dough (3-4 cups?)

Heat the milk until it is just warm enough to melt the butter. Add milk and butter to a mixture of brown sugar, white flour, salt, yeast and mix briefly. Let is sit until foamy, about five minutes. Add your vegetable oil and potato starch and begin to mix in your wheat flour until you have a stiff dough. Your dough should pull away from the sides of your bowl and form a ball, but it shouldn't be to incredibly stiff - you will end up with a tough, over-dense loaf. Knead your dough about 5-7 minutes and let rise until doubled (45 mins to 1 hour). Punch down dough and let it rest for another 5 minutes. Form your loaves and let rise again until doubled (30 mins to an hour). Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Jerk Mix

I ran out of Jamiacan Jerk seasoning, so I made my own. Here's my recipe - its was really good, if I may say so myself.

Make this mix and then pour over Chicken peices (bone-in or boneless, whichever you prefer - but Jerk Chicken wings are amazing).

Note: I don't usually measure, but use really aromatic spices (nutmeg, allspice, etc...) conservatively.

- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Nutmeg
- Allspice
- Ground Ginger
- Ground Cloves
- Thyme
- Ground Coriander
- Crushed Red Pepper
- Crushed Garlic
- Minced Onion (fresh or dried)
- Ground Black Pepper
- Salt
- 1 cup Lime Juice
- 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 3 tbs Olive Oil

Mix (or grind) dry ingredients with a mortar and pestle - add to olive oil, lime juice, and brown sugar mixture. Let sit at room temp for a bit (20 mins - hour) and then pour over meat to marinate and/or bake.

Banana Ice Cream (For After a Jamaican BBQ)

1 pint Heavy Cream
5 Cups Whole Milk
1 1/2 cups Evaporated Cane Sugar
1 tbsp Real Vanilla Extract
6 Egg Yolks
4 Ripe Bananas (pureed in food processer)

Ice Cream Maker

In a medium-large pot melt together cream and sugar, stirring constantly. Add milk and continue stirring until very warm. Add about 1 cup of the milk, cream, and sugar mixture to egg yolks - stirring constantly until well mixed and tempered. Slowly add egg mixture to pot - again, stirring constantly so as not to scramble the egg. Cook over medium heat until slightly thickened. Remove from heat, let cool at room temperature, then chill until cold.

Mix in pureed Bananas.

Pour into Ice Cream Maker container and freeze according to the machine's instructions.

There's it

Chicken Curry...via Matroosfontein, Cape Town

So I haven't added anything new in awhile, so I thought I would.

Well, I just got back from visiting family in California and every time I'm around my sister wants me to make this South African (more specifically, Capetonian) chicken curry recipe. Its pretty much awesome and you can use chicken or beef. The measurements are a bit crude here, but experiment a little with the curry seasonings.

Here's the recipe for approx. 6 servings:

4-5 Chicken Breasts, cut into chunks (or Stew Beef)
1 pound of cubed potatoes (it doesn't really matter which kind, I like Yukon)
2 medium sized onions, diced
5 medium cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons ginger paste (or grated fresh ginger)
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 cups of water or chicken stock
3 medium tomatoes, diced
3 -4 tablespoons Hot Madras Curry Powder
2 teaspoons Cumin
1 teaspoon ground Cloves
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Salt to taste



Heat the cooking oil in a large sauce pot or dutch oven. Saute onions, garlic, and ginger until the onions are soft and translucent (but do not burn the garlic). Add the curry seasonings and saute for another 1-2 minutes. Add chicken and continue sauteing until almost cooked through, then add water or stock. Let simmer on low heat for approx. 25 minutes. Add potatoes and some salt and continue the simmer. When the potatoes are cooked through and soft, add tomatoes and the remained of the needed salt. Let simmer for an additional 5-10 minutes, adding more water or stock if necessary (Curry should have the consistency of a thick stew).

Serve over rice or wrapped inside Roti