Summer sweets

I have been doing some baking. I prepared these chocolate chip cookies despite the name of the recipe being the WORST chocolate chip cookies.  After reading the recipe and blog post, I realize these cookies are so DELICIOUS that you cannot only eat one, therefore this cookie could ruin your life.  Or at least your waist line. The recipe also includes a secret ingredient:  maple syrup.  I love maple syrup, buying it by the jug from Sprout's.  

Next I made this banana pudding cake for a coworker's birthday.  The cake was super moist with a nice banana flavor and a lemony glaze.  The only change I would make is to double the glaze and the banana garnish is a must.

November 24, 2013

We meet at my house and missing were Teresa and Carol.  The theme was brunch, which sounded simple for this busy time of year.

Cocktails:  Janet, Sparkling Cranberry Blush and The Best Bloody Mary
Main Dish:  Mexican Eggs in Purgatory
Sweet:  Janet, Breakfast Carrot Cake
Sweet:  Mary, Sweet Potato Bread Pudding
Fruit:  Tonya, Yogurt Parfait
Starch:  Tonya, Best Breakfast Potatoes

Janet started us off with Sparkling Cranberry Blush.  This cocktail was sweet and bubbly.  It is also a beautiful color.  Very festive for the holidays!

I served cream cheese covered in pineapple and habanero sauce and a spicy cranberry salsa.  I also wanted to share my Christmas gift of Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar and Lemon Olive Oil.  Put both on the same plate and dip with bread.  YUM.  So delicious.

For sipping during our meal, Janet prepared The Best Bloody Mary which she garnished with bacon and gherkins.  OH MY!  Anything that has bacon as a garnish is a winner in my book. This recipe has a homemade tomato base that was quite healthy with tomatoes, carrots, beets, fennel and garlic.  Wow!  No need to have a V8 when  you drink this for brunch.

Janet's third contribution to our meal was Breakfast Carrot Cake.  It was divine!  I loved the almonds which gave each bite a mild crunch.  Janet reduced the sugar to 1 tablespoon and 1/4 cup, added seeds from one vanilla bean and used 2 teaspoons of baking powder.  Great, mildly sweet cake with lots of texture.

For the parfaits, Tonya layered vanilla yogurt with granola, diced apples, pears, dried cherries, dried cranberries and dried pomegranate seeds.

Tonya also brought Pioneer Woman's Best Breakfast Potatoes Ever.  These are baked in the oven which makes the potatoes crispy and cooks down the vegetables creating a delicious medley.

Mary is our bread pudding guru and today she dished up Sweet Potato Bread Pudding with Pecan Crumble.  YUM.  The addition of sweet potatoes make me think this is healthy but it is really very decadent.  And I like a sweet brunch so this was perfect!

The main dish that we prepared together is called Mexican Eggs in Purgatory.  Essentially it is  sunny side eggs on top of a a tomatillo sauce.  I purchased the tomatillos at Fiesta.  What a wonderful store.  It sells EVERYTHING!  Not just products you think of being popular in Mexico but from all over the world.  I liked the flavor of this dish and it is a dramatic presentation with the eggs nestled in the green sauce. 

Holy Cow Cake!

I planned to make this Holy Cow Cake for my coworkers.  I had all the ingredients, or so I thought, and I started preparation.  Where is my boxed, chocolate cake?!  Oh no.  I forgot to buy it.  I also didn't have any cocoa so I decided to prepare, FROM SCRATCH, a yellow cake.  I am so glad I forgot the chocolate cake because it was fun to make a cake without using a mix.  The yellow cake recipe I found was quick, easy and delicious.  Next time I want a cake I will follow this recipe, including the cream cheese frosting. 

For the caramel component I used a bag of caramel balls.  I can never find the caramel topping (I think it is by the ice cream and I try and avoid that aisle!) so these balls are perfect.  I think this is a new addition to the baking aisle because in the past I would have to remove the plastic wrappers from the caramel squares.  The bag of caramel balls is perfect for baking!

This cake received rave reviews from my colleagues plus two requests for the recipe!  I think the yellow cake is better than using a chocolate one because it cuts through the sweetness of the caramel and butterfingers.

Two apple cakes

I made two apple cakes for work.  Both were well received.  One, the Mom's Apple Cake is a bit on the wholesome side, with no icing and the other, Apple Fritter Cake is naughty in all the right ways with both a brown sugar topping AND a glaze.

For the Mom's apple cake, a tube pan really is essential.  I baked mine in a bundt pan, and when I removed it, the cake split at the middle apple layer.  I was able to push it back together and it tasted fantastic.  I used about 5 Granny Smith apples and the cake over-floweth with apple goodness.

The apple fritter cake.  WOW.  It is so moist and sweet without being overly sweet.  I do not think the cooking of the apples is a necessary step, so I will skip that next time, along with the cornstarch.  Oh, and I used way more apples - 4 granny smiths.  I also only prepared half of the glaze.  I could have used a tiny bit more, so next time I will prepare the entire recipe and just use my judgement on HOW MUCH GLAZE IS TOO MUCH GLAZE?!  That really is not something that I should ever ponder, but I am trying to cut down empty calories. 

P.S.  My apple fritter cake won second prize at the office bake off.  I think I would have won first except my coworkers thought I was the Lance Armstrong (minus the steroids) of the company baking competitions and my reign needed to be stopped.  At least that is how Chad explained it to me.  Next time I will not tell people which dessert is mine.

Cake and cranberries

Carol made Mrs. Billett's white cake  with vanilla butter cream for her games group.  It was delicious and the winning cake in a Southern Living contest.  Jennifer prepared sugared cranberries to garnish the cake.  I bet that was beautiful - the white cake with the red cranberries. 

 

I first had sugared cranberries at Bengy's and made them for Christmas last year.  They were a huge hit and simple to make.

Soup and Cake

On the weekends I enjoy making new recipes for a main dish and a dessert.  The main dish I eat during the week (I LOVE left overs) and the dessert is given away minus one piece....ok, two pieces. 

Both recipes that I cooked featured new cooking techniques.  I find that to be very exciting. 

In my crock pot I prepared Tomato Basil Parmesan soup.  I loved the flavor and the fact that it is full of vegetables.  It also has fat in the way of butter, cheese and half and half.  Our brains need fat plus if I make something sans fat I am left feeling hungry.  Fat is our friend.  Some tips for the soup:  cut the vegetables in very small pieces.  Likewise with the herbs if you use fresh. 

The new technique in this recipe was you make a roux with butter and flour then add some of the soup and then you put that back into the crock pot.  I have not made a lot of roux and I found it fascinating how the butter and flour paste became a super thick concoction when some of the soup was added.  Then when added back to the crock pot it thickened it all.  I liked the flavor alot and I think next time I will use my immersion blender to make it a smooth, creamy soup.  

For the new dessert recipe I made a most excellent Banana Cake with Brown Butter Icing.  YUM YUM YUM.  This is baked in a jelly roll pan (looks like a cookie sheet with 1 inch sides) though I am sure you could bake it in a 9 x 13, just adjust the baking time. The cake could not be simpler to put together - the recipe practically says to just throw it all in together and blend.  I used my stand mixer and first I mixed the butter and sugar, then added the other wet ingredients and then the combined dry ingredients.  The only substitution I made was using pecans instead of walnuts.  

The frosting is super simple as well and the secret is browned butter, which I have never prepared before.  Melted butter cooks and browns, whisk in some powdered sugar, vanilla and milk and voila, icing.  I used only about 3 cups of powdered sugar and enough milk to make it thin enough to stir.  You cannot mess it up unless you burn the butter!

Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Loaf

I went for a second day of blueberry picking so I would have fresh berries for this Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Loaf.  I prepared it yesterday and it turned out great.  It is simple to prepare, using only a bowl and a whisk and spoon.  The lemon zest is a delightful compliment to the blueberries.  The loaf is like a pound cake and with the lemon syrup, it is very moist.  I either removed the cake from the pan too soon or the berries made it heavy (I used an extra half cup) and I had a slight baking fail when some of the cake remained in the pan.  I simply pressed it back into place and poured the syrup on, with a piece of waxed paper under the cooling rack to catch what dripped off.  After completely cooling on the rack I flipped it over and added the syrup that was on the wax paper.  You could no longer tell that the cake had fallen apart.  Next time I will let it cool completely in the pan and just pour the syrup on top.  The recipe says to brush the syrup and I guess that will give a more even distribution than pouring.  I skipped the glaze since the cake seemed decadent enough.

Caramel, Chocolate and Almond Gooey Butter Cake

This Caramel, Chocolate and Almond Gooey Butter Cake was prepared by Mary.  She obviously loved it and said "Wow-eee!! It is gooey and rich.  Two servings was about all I could eat!!"  HA!  I am thinking I would have gone for three servings!

Edwin's Apple Cake

Edwin is my coworker and he gave me this cake recipe.  He said his grandmother would bake the cake and then freeze individual slices so she would have the cake for when company stopped by.  It is SO GOOD!  The cake is very moist and the sugar and apples caramelize to create a nice crust.  It is delicious without an icing though Edwin says you can put a dollop of cool whip.  I liked it plain and the entire cake was gone within a few hours at the office!

Edwin's Apple Cake

2 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 cup vegetable or canola oil

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

4 cups diced, peeled apples (about 3 large Granny Smith apples)

1 cup nuts

In a large bowl, cream sugar, vanilla, eggs and oil.

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Mix into sugar mixture.

Stir in apples and nuts.

Bake in a 9 x 13 pan at 325 degrees for 40-50 minutes.

Lemon Pound Cake

This recipe is called Lemon Bundt Cake though I think it is a lemon pound cake.  The batter is basic and the lemon zest and juice brighten it up and make it taste very fresh.  I used two, large lemons in the cake for juice and the zest of three.  The icing, a basic cream cheese/butter/powdered sugar icing, is amazing and the vanilla and lemon juice give it a great pop of flavor.  I think zest in the icing would be nice as well.  I used one lemon for juice in the icing and ended up adding another cup or so of powdered sugar to get the consistency I wanted.  

Carrot Cake

I grew carrots from seed in my garden and it is time to harvest.  What does one do with 50 carrots all ready at the same time?  Well, I am harvesting a few at a time and assuming those left in the ground will continue to grow.

With my carrots I made Carrot Cake.  It is more than CARROT cake because it has pineapple, coconut and nuts.  For those that do not like coconut, I did not even taste it.

This recipe makes a very moist, sweet cake.  There is a cream cheese frosting and buttermilk glaze. 

Modifications I made were using just two pans rather than three.  The pans were less than half full so I did not see why I should use 3.  I also used fresh pineapple and crushed it with a potato masher and I had a very ripe banana so I threw it in as well.

When I poured the glaze, I guess because I used 2 cakes rather than 3, I had a lot left over.  I poured enough to cover the cakes and after a few minutes of soaking in I poured the remaining out because I was afraid the cakes would become a soggy mess.  Rather than being soggy the cakes were very moist yet delicate.  I recommend cooling completely in the pans before removing.  If some sticks to the pan it is easy to push it back into place.  This cake is very forgiving and the cream cheese frosting ensures it will look perfect in the end.

October 23, 2011

We met at Lauren's house and she picked a wonderful, fall theme of pumpkin.  All gourmet gals were in attendance.  Yea!

Appetizer:  Tonya, Pumpkin Seed Pesto crostini with goat cheese and manchego cheese.

Salad:  Angie, Fall Greens Salad with Pumpkin Seeds and Asiago

Soup:  Carol, Pumpkin Soup

Bread and Wine:  Janet, Spiced Pumpkin Biscuits and Riesling

Main:  Lauren, Pumpkin Corn Cakes with Creole Shrimp and Avocado Butter

Desserts:  Mary, Pumpkin Butter Cake and Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Lauren set a beautiful fall table with pumpkins and leaves and Carol's pumpkin soup bowls fit right in.  

We started with Tonya's appetizer of crostini with pumpkin seed pesto and either goat cheese or manchego cheese.    Both were delicious and looked beautiful on Tonya's green platter.

 

 

 

 

I also brought along some sweet and salty roasted pumpkin seeds which I found on the Nutmeg Nanny blog.  They are an addictive little snack!

 

 

Carol made for us a heavenly pumpkin soup.  I unfortunately did not get a picture of the beautiful orange soup and it was creamy and just the right amount of sweetness from the carrots and apple. 

Carol doubled the recipe and the following modifications were made for a SINGLE BATCH:

• used just 1.5 tablespoons butter
• used just 1/2 cup cream

 For our bread, Janet made Spiced Pumpkin Biscuits.  These were wonderful with butter and Janet suggested that they would also be great with some honey and served for breakfast.

Alternations made:

• added 1 teaspoon dried sage to dough
• add pumpkin seeds to the middle and top of biscuits

For our main dish, Lauren combined three recipes to create this creative and fancy entree.  The corn cakes were fluffy and flavorful, the avocado butter creamy and the shrimp spicy.   All complimented each other well.

  

Pumpkin Corn Cakes with Creole Shrimp and Avocado Butter

 

Prep Time: 30 Minutes Total Time: 45 minutes Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

For Avocado Butter:

2 ripe avocados, peeled and diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 lemon, zested and juiced

2 tablespoons honey (or more, if you like it sweeter)

¼ cup olive oil

Salt to taste

For Pumpkin Corn Cakes:

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 egg

¾ tsp baking powder

½ cup pumpkin puree

2 cups fresh corn kernels

2 green onions with tops, thinly sliced

½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper

For Shrimp:

8 oz large uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tbsp olive oil, divided

2 tsp Creole Rub (recipe below)

1 tsp lemon zest

For avocado butter, combine avocados, garlic, lemon, honey, olive oil and salt in blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

For cakes, combine flour, buttermilk, egg and baking powder in bowl; whisk until smooth. Add pumpkin, corn, green onions and black pepper to bowl; mix well.

Heat olive oil on griddle over medium heat 1-3 minutes or until simmering. Using a medium sized scoop, scoop pumpkin batter onto griddle for a total of 12 cakes, lightly pressing down with back of scoop. Cook 4-5 minutes on each side or until cakes are golden brown. Remove cakes from griddle, keep warm.

For shrimp, combine shrimp, 1 tsp of the oil, rub and zest in stainless mixing bowl; toss to coat. Arrange shrimp on griddle; cook over medium-high heat 1 ½ - 2 minutes on each side or until opaque.

To serve, top pumpkin cakes with avocado butter then shrimp.

Cook’s Tip: Creole rub consists of: 1 ¼ tsp paprika, ½ teaspoon garlic powder and ¼ tsp each of salt, cayenne pepper and dried oregano. Combine ingredients in prep bowl.

Mary blessed us with TWO desserts, both featuring pumpkin.  The first was Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake which had a delicious spice cake crust and a similar texture and taste to pumpkin pie.  Mary topped the cake with freshly whipped cream.  The pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting was wonderful and sinful with that icing!

September 18, 2011

We met at Janet's home for a very special gathering and a theme of Chinese food.  All were in attendance except for Lauren and we had the addition of Teresa, who recently moved to Florida!  It was a lovely afternoon with delicious food!

Appetizer:  Angie, Wonton soup

Salad:  Carol, Chinese Salad

Side:  Tonya, Stir Fried Vegetables

Main: Janet, Oriental Chicken with Orange Ginger Wine Sauce

Dessert:  Mary, Chinese Root Cake

Wine:  Teresa

Janet set a beautiful table with souvenirs from her recent trips to China.  In the center was a beautiful array of flowers featuring red and orange roses.

We started our meal with wonton soup.  I intended to make it from scratch but alas, unexpected weekend plans got in the way so I purchased the soup at a local Chinese place.  I am happy to report this sin has not resulted in my being expelled from the Gourmet Gals.  Yippee!

Carol made one of my favorite salads, Chinese salad.   The crunchy noodles and almonds are delicious with the fresh cabbage and light, sweet dressing.  This salad should be mixed at the last minute so the noodles stay crisp.  For this reason, it is not as tasty the next day because the noodles get soggy.  Carol sliced the cabbage into ribbons which made for a very nice presentation.

 

Tonya quickly put together these stir fried vegetables in a dutch oven.  The colors were gorgeous and the flavor very tasty.  The recipe is from my Dorothy Huang's Chinese Cooking cookbook.  

Stir Fried Vegetables

serves 2

1 onion

4 oz fresh mushrooms

4 oz fresh snow peas

red bell pepper (added by Tonya and great for presentation)

3 tbs oil

1/4 tsp salt

Thickening Sauce

1 tsp corn starch

1/2 tsp sugar

2 tbs chicken broth

1 tbs oyster sauce

1/4 tsp sesame oil

Cut onion into 8 wedges and separate into layers.   Cut mushrooms into half inch slices.  Remove tips and strings from snow peas.  Cut bell pepper into strips.  Combine ingredients for thickening sauce.

Heat 3 tbs of oil in pan over high heat.  Add vegetables and salt and stir fry 2 to 3 minutes.  Add thickening sauce and stir, until sauce is thick.

For our main entree, Janet picked Oriental Chicken with Orange Ginger Wine Sauce.  It was so good!  The chicken was marinated then coated in cornstarch and deep fried.  It is then mixed with the sweet sauce.  We discussed that while not as tasty, it would be easier to pan fry the chicken.  This would also reduce the fat content.

Oriental Chicken with Orange Ginger Wine Sauce

by Lin Gee Way Bessey, guest chef, Central Market Cooking School   1/1/2006

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Servings:

 

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Ingredients

2 pounds chicken breast cut into 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 inch cubes

1 tablespoon garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon ginger root, chopped

1/4 cup PLUS 1/3 cup soy sauce, divided

1/4 cup PLUS 1/3 cup cooking wine, divided

1 cup PLUS 1 tablespoon cornstarch, divided

6 cups peanut oil

1 can mandarin orange slices with syrup

1 cup fresh kiwi cut into big pieces

orange slices for garnish

1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 tablespoon fresh orange peel, grated

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon fresh ginger root, grated

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Cooking Instructions

Mix the chicken, garlic, 1 tablespoon chopped ginger root, 1/4 cup soy sauce and 1/4 cup cooking wine together and let the mixture sit for 30 minutes. Dry chicken and coat with cornstarch. Heat the peanut oil, and deep fry the chicken pieces until they turn light brown. Mix all sauce ingredients (orange juice, orange peel, 1/3 cup soy sauce, sugar, 1/3 cup cooking wine, 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root, 1 tablespoon cornstarch) and bring to a boil. During this time, add the cooked chicken with the mandarin oranges and kiwi pieces. Mix in the warm sauce. Garnish plate with orange slices and serve.

 

For dessert, Mary prepared a lightly sweet cassava cake with a curd-like topping.  It is awesome that she was able to stick with the theme of Chinese!  Not an easy feat!  The cake was the perfect compliment to the sweet, rich chicken dish.

Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

Carol made this cake for a church function and says it is DELICIOUS!  Sounds great for fall! 

August 14, 2011

Some of the Gourmet Gals met at Mary's home for our August dinner with a theme of "light and refreshing".

 

Menu:

 

Appetizer - Avocado Salsa and chips, Carol

Bread & Wine - Fabulous Focaccia and Pinot Grigio, Janet

Salad - Mixed Green Salad with Cilantro Dressing, Carol

Side - Ratatouille, Angie

Main Dish - Seafood Linguine, Mary

Dessert - Neapolitan Cheesecake, Carol (a trifecta of cheesecake and entrees from our saint Carol!!)

  

 

 

Janet started off the evening with two light and refreshing Pinot Grigios to compliment the seafood main dish. I preferred the Italo Cescon one, especially its label with the little ribbon and twig (not shown).

 

 The appetizer of Avocado Salsa was a delightful blend of fresh ingredients and the star was not the avocado but the fresh corn.  Carol adapted the recipe by omitting the shrimp and cucumber and adding:

• 1 can of drained and rinsed black beans
• two ears of fresh corn
• red onion rather than green onion
• 4 tablespoons of lime juice rather than 3

 

 

In Lauren's absence, Carol surprised us by doing triple duty and bringing a salad with the most delicious dressing!

Mixed Green Salad with Cilantro Dressing

Texas on the Plate

Terry Thompson Anderson

 

Salad:

 

Mixed greens, including field greens if available ( Carol added 1 head of butter lettuce to the mixed greens)

Very thinly sliced red onions

Cherry tomatoes

Cucumber rounds

 

Cilantro Dressing:

Makes about 2 cups

 

2 cups lightly packed cilantro sprigs, leaves and stems

1 Tbs minced garlic

1 Tbs minced fresh jalapeno , seeds and veins removed

2 Tbs Champagne vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1 teaspoon real maple syrup

1 Tbs freshly squeezed lime juice

3/4 teaspoons minced lime zest

1 c mayonnaise

 

Combine all the ingredients in work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade.

 

Process until smooth. Refrigerate, covered for about 4 hours before using to allow time for the flavors to meld.

 

Arrange the mixed greens on individual salad plates and pour desired amount of dressing over the top.

Garnish the salad with slivered red onions, cherry tomatoes, cucumber rounds, and avocado slices (if using).

 

 

 

Janet prepared a wonderful bread, Tyler Florence's Fabulous Focaccia, and I could have eaten the entire pan.  It was very light and a bit crispy.

 

For a side I wanted to prepare vegetables as well as try something different and I found this recipe for Roasted Ratatouille and it fit the bill perfectly!  The preparation of roasting rather than stewing made it quick and simple and the original recipe also features two other recipes that can be made with left over ratatouille.  If I made this again I would add mushrooms too.

 

For the main dish of Seafood Linguine, Mary combined two recipes together:  one from Cooks and another from I Cannot Believe It's Not Butter.  Mainly we followed the I Cannot Believe It's Not Butter Recipe and we included:

•  minced clams
• dry white wine
• freshly squeezed lemon juice
• cornstarch slurry
•  parsley for garnish
• sour cream—tossed with the boiled pasta prior to topping with seafood mixture

 

We ended the meal with a beautiful, as well as delicious, Neapolitan Cheesecake with freshly whipped cream and sliced strawberries.  Carol truly outdid herself, again!  The recipe is below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neapolitan Cheesecake

Yield: 12 servings

Best of Taste of Home - 2011

Crust:

1 cup cream filled chocolate sandwich cookie (Oreos!) crumbs

3 Tbs sugar

3 Tbs butter

Filling:

4 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

1 1/3 c sugar

2 Tbs all purpose flour

2 Tbs heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

4 eggs, beaten lightly

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled

1 to 2 drops red food coloring, optional

1/4 cup seedless strawberry jam, warmed

Sliced fresh strawberries and sweetened whipped cream

1. Place a greased 9 inch spring form pan on a double thickness of heavy duty foil ( about 18 square).

Securely wrap foil around pan.

2. In a small bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, sugar, and butter. Press onto the bottom of pan: set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in flour, cream, and extracts. Add eggs,

beat on low speed just until combined. Divide batter into thirds.

4. In a microwave, melt chocolate chips; cool to room temperature. Stir melted chocolate into one portion of batter.  Pour over crust.

In a food processor, puree strawberries. Add pureed strawberries and food coloring if desired, to another portion of better. Gently spread over chocolate layer. Place spring form pan in a large baking pan; add 1 inch

of hot water to larger pan. (water bath)

5. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull. Gently spread remaining plain batter over top. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until top appears dull. Remove spring form pan from water bath. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool for 1 hour longer. Refrigerate over night.

6. Remove sides of pan. Drizzle jam over cheesecake ; garnish with strawberries and whipped cream.

Treebeard's Butter Cake

I may have posted this recipe before but it is worth repeating! Treebeard's is a restaurant in Houston that I discovered when I worked downtown, straight out of college. The location I went to was in a beautiful church with gardens and on Fridays there was a band. The food is amazing, southern, comfort food. I usually ordered the fried chicken and mashed potatoes.

Fast forward ten years and two jobs later, and I eat Treebeard's once a month in a 24th floor conference room overlooking the Greenway Plaza area. It is the MUST HAVE menu at this board meeting. (One month a different restaurant catered and there was a near revolt.) Served is gumbo, shrimp etouffee, red beans and rice, a gorgeous salad, grilled chicken breasts with sweet bell peppers and greens. Normally, I opt for the chicken and greens so I can eat at least two pieces of Treebeard's Butter Cake. This cake is not really a cake but more like a blondie brownie. It has a crispy top and very moist center. It is an interesting bar that you cannot figure out how it is made until you see the recipe. There is a boxed cake mix bottom and a cream cheese and powdered sugar top that come together to create perfection. Anytime I bring these treats (I made them last night for a weekend trip) I get rave reviews and requests for the recipe. And the recipe is perfect as is. Do not change anything and no need for any of the toppings suggested in the recipe.

July 10, 2011

We met on July 10, 2011 at Carol's house. The theme was New Orleans/southern cooking.

Appetizer: Janet, Cheese-Stuffed Mushrooms

Bread and Wine: Carol, Corn Muffins
Salad: Mary, Coleslaw
Side: Lauren, Collard Greens
Main Dish: Angie, Red Beans and Rice
Dessert: Tonya, Praline Chocolate Cake

Janet made these delicious cheese-stuffed mushrooms from a Paula Deen recipe. If Paula Deen is not the epitome of southern cooking, then I do not know who is! The recipe calls for Paula's house seasoning which is simple to make. Janet modified the recipe by using feta seasoned with basil and only used half a cup of Parmesan cheese as topping. I could have popped a dozen of these in my belly but I restrained.

The below corn muffins, made by Carol first for us in September 2009, featured fresh corn kernels and a very thick batter. Coarse corn meal was sprinkled on top, before baking, and this resulted in a wonderful crunch. The muffins were very moist and made even more delicious with a pat of "bunny" butter.

Rather Rich Corn Muffins - Rebecca Rather - Rather Sweet Bakery - Fredericksburg, TX

Yield: About 2 dozen

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

3 cups heavy whipping cream

3 large eggs

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 coarse cornmeal plus extra to sprinkle over

1 cup sugar ( can use 1/2 of sugar if you don't want so sweet)

2 tbs baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

optional -- add 1 cup fresh corn kernels or 1 canned corn, drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease 24 standard muffin cups or line them with muffin papers. Pour the butter, cream, and eggs into the large bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt on top. Mix at medium speed just until the ingredients are combined and not lumpy. Stir the corn into the batter. Using a medium sized scoop, fill the muffin cups abut 2/3 full with the batter. Sprinkle cornmeal over the tops of the muffins. Bake the muffins for 12 - 15 minutes, until lightly brown.

Muffins should spring back when you touch the top slightly with your fingertips. They are best served warm, and equally delicious toasted with butter.

Tips: This batter can be refrigerated in a covered container for 3 days and baked just before serving. Be sure to add 3 to 5 minutes to the baking to compensate for the temperature of the refrigerated muffin batter.

As always, Carol set a beautiful table with pinks, greens and zebra print! She arranged the flowers in the zebra coffee mugs herself.

For the salad, Mary made coleslaw featuring poppy seeds and it was the perfect compliment to the spicy main course.

When I was thinking of this menu I hoped that the side dish would be greens and Lauren read my mind and prepared collard greens! They were delicious and slightly sweet. The one pound of greens cooked down and we wish there had been more!


Collard Greens

Ingredients

· 6 slices bacon
· 1 large onion, chopped
· 2 cloves garlic, minced
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1 teaspoon pepper
· 3 cups chicken broth
· 1 pinch red pepper flakes
· 1 tablespoon brown sugar
· 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
· 1 pound fresh collard greens, cut into 2-inch pieces

Directions

1. Cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and crumble. Add onion to bacon grease, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, and cook until just fragrant. Return bacon crumbles to pan. Add collard greens, and fry until they start to wilt.
2. Pour chicken broth in slow cooker, and season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, brown sugar and vinegar. Add collard green mixture. Set heat to low, cover, and cook for 2 hours, or until greens are tender.

The main dish for authentic Louisiana red beans and rice came from allrecipes.com. I read many recipes and this one had the best reviews and seemed rather simple. The changes I made included adding THE ham bone (from April) to the beans at the start of cooking, then cutting away the ham and adding it before discarding the bone. I also used about a pound and a half of beans and similarly adjusted the seasonings to about 1.5 times. I never added salt, just like the recipe states, and I did not think it was necessary. If this seems strange to you, be sure to not add any until after the sausage has cooked as it adds plenty of salt. Also, I think next time I will use a potato masher to mash some of the beans to give it a thicker consistency.

Tonya's Chocolate Praline Cake was heavenly and made from a "doctored" cake mix recipe. Instead of the whipped topping, as called for in the recipe, Tonya demonstrated the making of Italian Meringue Buttecream. It was fantastic and there was plenty of beater licking! There was a slight emergency when the icing started to loosen up but this was rectified by placing a warm, damp town on the bottom of the mixing bowl and changing paddles. If you wanted to color the icing, do this at the very end of preparation.

Strawberry Shortcake Cake

This cake, strawberry shortcake cake, was the most complicated cake I have ever made! And I even cheated! I realized as I began baking that I was out of sour cream, so I used a yellow cake mix and baked 2-8-inch round cakes. I let the cakes cool over night and the next day started with the strawberries and letting the butter and cream cheese (8 oz) come to room temperature.

The strawberries did not break down with a fork as easily as I hoped. The icing was easy to prepare, and tasty. When sliced, the cake was very pretty with the white frosting and red berry layers. My parents and I thought it was delicious and "blog worthy". I think I would only make this again for a special occasion as it was time consuming, if only for the hour of waiting for the strawberries to break up.

Pig Cake

Pig cake? Yes. A new recipe posted on my favorite blog, The Pioneer Woman. It reminds me of the kind of cake a lady at church brings to every pot luck. It uses a yellow cake mix as the base and adds a few ingredients. I used all the juice from the can of Mandarin oranges (about 3/4 cups). I also mixed it so well that it was hard to find any bits of the oranges in the finished cake.

The "icing" is wonderful and very simple to make.

My parents and I thought this cake was delicious and besides using all of the Mandarin orange juice, I would not change a thing.