Double Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake

I found this recipe on the Kraft foods website. The picture on the website make it look so yummy, so I was sold. I thought it would be perfect to make as my contribution for Easter dinner at my Godparents house. This was my first time attempting to make a bundt cake. I bought enough ingredients to make 2 so we could take one for Easter and keep one at home. My first attempt did not go so well. Only half came out, the other half was stuck in the pan. It turned to a crumbled mess. Only half of my cake looked pretty, I was so upset. I decided I would wake up early Easter morning and give it one more try. I researched the internet for some tips on how to make sure bundt cakes come out clean from the pan. (I will post the tips that I found that worked for me.) Easter morning I made the second cake and it came out beautifully!!! I couldn't stop dancing around I was so happy! Unfortunately the yummy frosted cake went to my Godparents and we have the crumbled mess at home. I will have to make a 3rd cake for us to enjoy at home. ;)

Double Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake:

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (2-layer size) lemon cake mix
1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Lemon Flavor Gelatin
1-1/4 cups water
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs
1/4 cup poppy seed (I used about half of this in my 2nd cake. I felt the full 1/4 cup was too much in the first cake.)
1/2 cup (1/2 of 8-oz. tub) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese Spread
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 Tbsp. shredded peel (this is for the garnish. I omitted this.)
1 Tbsp. juice from 1 lemon (I juiced a whole lemon for the frosting, it made it very lemony. YUM!)
1/2 tsp. vanilla - (Not an original part of the recipe. I think it really adds to the flavor of the frosting)


Researched tips/tricks for releasing cake from a bundt pan:

1- Adequately grease the pan. Coat the pan in shortening, then spray with oil and then flour the pan
2- Upon removing pan from oven allow to cool for 5-6 mins. Loosen sides from pan (and middle cone) with a knife or spatula. Place a bath towel in bottom of sink and fill sink with approx. 2 inches of very hot water, place pan into sink and nestle the towel around the pan. (Be careful, pan will still be hot!) cover top of sink for about 5 minutes with another towel and let the steam loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. You should be able to immediately invert the cake onto a serving dish. If it does not easily release from pan give the pan another steam bath cycle. (this method worked brilliantly)

Directions:
HEAT oven to 350°F.

BEAT first 5 ingredients in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Stir in poppy seed. Pour into well-greased and lightly floured 12-cup fluted tube pan or 10-inch tube pan.

BAKE 50 min. to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan 30 min. Loosen cake from sides of pan with knife. Invert cake onto wire rack; gently remove pan. Cool cake completely.

BEAT cream cheese spread and butter with mixer on low speed until well blended. Gradually beat in sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice. Spread over top of cake. Garnish with peel.
(Tip: I transferred the frosting to a liquid measuring cup and heated it for about 15 seconds, stirred, then poured it over the cooled cake)

Pork, Apple, Cheddar Meatballs w/ Egg Noodles

(picture courtesy of http://www.rachaelraymag.com/Recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/dinner-recipes/Pork--Apple-and-Cheddar-Meatballs-with-Egg-Noodles)

I found this recipe in my favorite chef's magazine, Everyday Living with Rachael Ray. I was planning on making it myself but got caught up in looking for airlines tickets for my trip to Arizona so my dear hubby decided to start it. It turned out very yummy! Sometimes I'm a little hesitant of when hubby cooks because he doesn't follow directions and it usually ends up turning into a big bowl of goulash. However, he did great with this one and so I felt I would share his success here.

Pork, Apple, Cheddar Meatballs with Egg Noodles

* 4 Servings
*
* Prep 15 min (HA! Hubby and I agreed this was laughable more like 25-30mins, but maybe that's because we're amateurs.)
*
* Cook 10 min

Ingredients:

* 1 pound ground pork
* 1 cup coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese
* 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
* 1 small, tart apple, such as granny smith, peeled and grated
* 1/2 small onion, grated
* 1/2 cup chopped parsley
* 1 egg, beaten
* Salt and pepper
* One 12-ounce package egg noodles
* 4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat the broiler. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and grease with butter. In a large mixing bowl, combine the pork, cheese, breadcrumbs, apple, onion, 3 tablespoons parsley, the egg, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Shape into 16 meatballs and arrange on the baking sheet. Broil the meatballs until golden and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a pot of boiling, salted water, cook the noodles until al dente. Drain, then return to the pot and toss with the butter and remaining 5 tablespoons parsley; season with salt and pepper. Divide the noodles among 4 plates; top with 4 meatballs each.

Amendment: We had our broiler on low and after 10 minutes decided they needed more time and needed to be turned over to brown the other side. I cranked the broiler up to high and gave it another 8-10 minutes. Just keep your eye on them.)

Long time no post

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted! Recently, I just started some classes at National Louis University and my schedule has just spiraled out of control with work, homework, and housework. I'm also heading to Arizona with my daughter to visit a good friend in a few weeks so the pressure is really on to finish some projects for my classes before we leave.

I'm really looking forward to my trip to Arizona. It's a first time visit for me and my daughter. It's the first time my daughter will be going a plane so she's very excited. I'm taking my daughter for a couple of reasons. I thought it would be nice to have some mother daughter time, plus her birthday is the weekend before we leave so I figured what a great way to celebrate her 12th birthday. Hubby is staying home with the pup. I think it will be nice to get away from hubby for the weekend. As much as I love my hubby, I feel like we're falling into a boring rut. They always say... absence makes the heart grow fonder!

I hope to find some more time to post again in the near future but I can't promise anything. I've been so busy I don't even have time for trying new recipes, which makes me sad.

Time to get my study on!

Attention, Attention...

I was accepted at National Louis University to complete my teaching certificate! YAAAY!!! I'm so super excited! I can't wait to start!

....and now back to your originally scheduled programming.

Prime Rib Roast with Au Jus

This year I hosted Christmas dinner for my family, which was a first for me. I'm usually in charge of Thanksgiving and sometimes Easter. So deciding what to serve for Christmas dinner stumped me for quite a few weeks. I didn't want to do another turkey and ham is usually an Easter meal in my eyes, so I was looking for something different. Prime rib was my answer and yet I had no experience with rib roasts. I guess you have to learn somehow though right? I was concerned mostly because prime rib roasts are an expensive cut of beef and I didn't want to screw it up. I did a LOT of research and wasn't sure if it helped or hindered. Almost every recipe I found used a different cooking method and different rub blend for seasoning the meat. The night before I prepared this roast I went back and forth on which method was right. My darling husband calmed me down by simply saying each recipe is a personal preference and until I give it a go I would never find my own. So with that (and a few extra personal preferences of hubby's) I came up with a mix of recipes, if you will. (note: most of my measurements are approximate as I don't actually use measuring spoons when creating a rub, it's all made to taste. But I did notice that every recipe tells you to use at least a tablespoon of salt as it's a big piece of meat)

Prime Rib Roast:

Ingredients:

7lb Prime Rib Roast (I really like leftovers! You can use a smaller roast if you'd like)
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1/2 tablespoon cracked pepper
1 tablespoon EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1 tablespoon garlic powder

Au Jus:
1 cup beef broth
1 cup red wine

Directions:

About 1-2 hours prior to roasting take meat out of fridge and bring to room temperature

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine salt, pepper, garlic powder in small dish. Rinse your room temperature roast and pat dry with paper towels. Coat roast with EVOO, then liberally rub seasonings all over roast. Place in roasting pan and insert meat thermometer, be careful not to touch bones with the thermometer. (I encourage the use of a digital thermometer. http://s10.thisnext.com/media/largest_dimension/731350A7.jpg) Place in oven and roast on 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

Then reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue roasting until meat reaches an internal temperature of 125 degrees. (Mine took approx 2 hours) Remove roast from oven and transfer to cutting board or baking sheet. Allow meat to rest covered with foil for at least 10 minutes prior to slicing. Leave thermometer in roast, the temperature will continue increase (approx 10 degrees) while the meat rests. Then remove bone from the meat and slice the roast.

(My end temperature result of my roast after resting was 140 degrees, which lead me to a medium-rare roast)

Au Jus:

Carefully drain off most of grease in pan. Return roasting pan to stove top and heat over medium-high heat. Deglaze pan with 1 cup beef broth and 1 cup red wine, scraping up all the flavorful bits on bottom of pan. Bring to boil and allow to reduce by half. Transfer to gravy bowel and serve with rib roast.

Thai Red Curry Mac n' Cheese

I'm a HUGE fan of homemade baked mac and cheese, but then again who isn't? I happened to catch an episode recently of "Aarti Party" on the Food Network, where in which this dish was featured. I really enjoy the flavors of Indian food and wanted to give the recipe a try. So this dish made it's debut at my family's Christmas dinner this past weekend. It was fun because (except for my daughter and husband) the rest of the family didn't know there was a secret ingredient. They realized shortly into it that it did have a flavor kick to it. It was amusing to listen to them try to figure out what the ingredient was. My mother ended up taking home leftovers which surprised me, as she was the one I was worried wouldn't like it. I'm glad it was a hit though!

Ingredients:

Kosher salt
1 pound elbow macaroni
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (4-ounce) jar Thai red curry paste
2 cups whole milk
2 cups cream (alternatively, use 5 cups whole milk instead of both milk and cream)
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated
8 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated

Crumb Topping:

3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Salt generously, and then add the pasta and cook to box instructions, usually 6 to 7 minutes. Drain.

In another large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and continue whisking until it deepens in color and releases a light toasted aroma, about 1 minute.

Whisk in the Thai red curry paste, and when fully combined, pour in the milk and cream (or all milk, if using). Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, and then turn down to a simmer. Simmer until the mixture thickens, whisking occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Off heat, whisk in the cheeses and stir until melted. Add the pasta and toss to combine.

Turn your broiler on.

For the crumb topping: Toss the panko with the melted butter and season with salt and pepper.

To assemble: Pour the mac 'n' cheese into a broiler-safe casserole dish, sprinkle with the bread crumb mixture, and broil until browned, about 1 minute.


My amendments: I used maybe about 3/4 of the jar of curry. You can adjust to your liking. I didn't broil my end result. I had the oven on since I was making multiple things at once. I just popped the dish in and kept my eye on it. Maybe about 10-15 minutes.

Parker House Rolls

I made these rolls for Thanksgiving, adapted from the Food Network. It seemed like a big task to take on (and I had a few skeptics) but I pulled it off and they turned out great! I received many compliments and I am told I must make them every holiday from now on.

Ingredients:

1 1/4-ounce packet active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
7 1/2 to 8 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus softened butter for brushing
2 cups whole milk, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling

Directions:

1) Bloom the yeast-

Measure out 1/2 cup warm water and check the temperature: It should be between 110 degrees F and 120 degrees F (comfortable bathwater temperature). Sprinkle the yeast into a large bowl, add the warm water and whisk in the sugar. Let sit 1 minute (it should bubble and froth slightly), then gently stir in 1 cup flour. Set aside near the stove while you prepare the dough.

2) Make the dough -

Mix the melted butter and milk in a mixer with the hook attachment on low speed. Add the eggs and mix until blended. Scrape in the yeast mixture and mix until incorporated. Add 6 1/2 cups flour and 1 tablespoon salt; mix until the dough forms a ball, 2 to 3 minutes, adding up to 1/2 cup more flour if the dough is too wet and sticky.

3) Let it rise-

Brush a large bowl with softened butter. Transfer the dough to the bowl, cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place, 2 hours to 2 hours, 30 minutes. The dough should double in volume.

4) Shape the dough-

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dust a clean flat surface with flour and turn the dough out onto it. Flour your hands; gently press the dough into a 16-by-8-inch rectangle, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick (don't use a rolling pin).

5) Cut the dough-

With the short side in front of you, cut the dough in half lengthwise with a floured knife. Then slice crosswise into 12 strips.

6) Shape the dough-

One at a time, fold each strip of dough unevenly in half so the top part slightly overlaps the bottom half, then tuck the overhang underneath. Place the rolls seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet in 3 tightly packed rows. (If making in advance, wrap the baking sheet tightly in plastic wrap and freeze up to 3 weeks.)

7) Bake the rolls-

Bake until the rolls are bursting at the seams and golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. (If frozen, bake 25 minutes at 325 degrees F, then 10 minutes at 375 degrees F.) Remove from the oven and brush with softened butter. Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.