Icing Icing Baby

Yo, Foodie, Let's kick it!
Icing Icing Baby
Icing Icing Baby
All right Frost
Chocolaty and luscious
I am back with another old recipe
something grabs a hold of me tightly
Then I eat from a spoon daily and nightly
Will I ever stop? Yo --I don't know
Turn off the mixer and I'll frost
to the extreme I rock a cake like a vandal
light up a plate and eat a piece like a champion.

Now that I'm done gracing the stage blog with my rap skills I can provide the recipe for the Chocolate frosting that Granny has been making for as long as I can remember.

Chocolate Frosting

1 box confectioner's sugar

1/4 milk

1/2 stick butter

2 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extact

dash of salt

In a saucepan heat milk.  Remove milk from heat just before it reaches a boil.
Melt butter and chocolate. (Granny usually does this in the microwave)
While that's melting, Mix hot milk and sugar.  When thoroughly combined add melted chocolate & butter mixture and vanilla.  If needed add more milk by the tablespoon until desired spreading consistency is reached (the additional milk doesn't need to be hot).  

Yo Gran - Let's get out of here! Word to my mother!

Icing Icing Baby Too good, Icing Icing Baby Too good Too good
Icing Icing Baby Too good, Icing Icing Baby Too good Too good

*Drops the mic and walks off the blog.

It's my Blog-o-versary!!!

My how time flies when you're having fun.
I can hardly believe that it has already been a year since I started blogging.  To commemorate this historic event I decided to go back where it all started...with the cherry cobbler.
Surprisingly, when I called Granny to let her know my plans she was already planning to make one. So I just showed up at her house  with my ingredients so I could watch and copy her every move.
I'm so pleased to say, my crust making ability has greatly improved since the last time I tried to make it. I may know a Girl who still has nightmares about that dreadful crust.

Obviously, this time I opted to make my dish more of a pie than a cobbler, but that little detail shouldn't affect the taste. The double crust pie was a first for both me and Granny. She thinks she might start making them now (yay! point for the Girl). 

So here is my cherry pie!

I know it won't win any blue ribbons at the fair (not yet anyways), but I'm a work in progress.

Thanks for reading about my cooking adventures over the past year. Thanks to my family for eating (or at least tasting) all of my culinary yums and yucks.  And a very special thanks to Granny for her patience and letting me in her kitchen even when she didn't want me in there.

This cake was made for sharing

This cake was made for sharing, and that's just what I'll do.
One of these days this cake I'm gonna share with all of you.

Are you ready Girl? Start sharing!

Usually I'm an iced cake kind of girl, but I can think of 5 reasons why I (and seemingly everyone else) love this pound cake ...despite it's not having icing:

1. Rum Extract

2. Vanilla Extract

3. Coconut Extract

4. Butter Extract

5. Lemon Extract

And for those 5 reasons:

This cake was made for sharing, and that's just what I'll do.
On this day, this cake I'm gonna share with all of you.

Granny came across the recipe for 5 Flavor Pound Cake several years ago and she's been making it every since.  It's become a favorite among family, friends, friends of family and friends of friends.  

Granny gathers up the following ingredients before she begins so everything can get room temperature. 

2 sticks butter

½ c. Crisco

3c. sugar

5 eggs, well beaten

3 c. A.P. flour

½ tsp. baking powder

1 c. whole milk

1 tsp. coconut extract

1 tsp. butter extract

1 tsp. rum extract

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. lemon extract

Cream butter, Crisco and sugar together; add eggs.  Combine flour and baking powder; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir in flour; add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Pour the batter into a tube pan to bake for 1 ½ hours at 325˚.

 

After removing the cake from the oven poke holes in the cake and pour on the 5 Flavor Glaze.

 Glaze:

1c. sugar

1 tsp. lemon extract

1 tsp. butter extract

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp rum extract

1 tsp. coconut extract

½ c. water

Combine all of the preceding. Bring to a boil.  Stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour over hot cake and let cool, then remove from pan.

Trust me...
This cake was made for sharing, and that's just what I've done.
On this day, this cake I have now shared with all of you.

You keep starin' when you should be sharin'
and you keep thinkin' bout how it's smellin'.
Ha! You just found out why they call it pound cake, yeah!
and I know your waist soon will be swellin'!

Are you ready friends? Start sharing!

Granny knows best

I always knew it was true, so I don't know why I didn't listen to her.  Now I know and I won't soon forget, Granny knows best.
But here is the caramel cake that resulted from that one time when from this Girl listened to Pinterest instead of her Granny. 
A few weeks ago I pinned a caramel cake from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody. I finally decided to make it this weekend and asked Granny if she would help me out, mainly because I've attempted Caramel Cakes before and failed miserably (see Going Nutty).
This cake has actual caramel in the cake and not just icing.  Creating the caramel syrup for the cake proved to be a little harder than I expected.  Granny quickly noted that the syrup was getting too dark.  Nonsense I said. The recipe said it should turn dark.

I removed the syrup from the heat to get ready for the next step.  Granny said that's going to keep cooking even off the heat.  Needless to say I wound up with a burnt caramel syrup.
But never one to give up easily I pressed on to let my burned syrup cool and prep the rest of the cake.
Granny took a look at the ingredients procedures and asked, "is this a pound cake?"

The cakes baked up nicely in the oven. After removing the cakes from the oven Granny covered them with a towel like she always does.  I told her the recipe said to remove them from the pans after 10 minutes and let them cool on a rack.  Granny looked at me like I had lost my mind and told me she never does that even though lots of recipes say to do it.

Did I listen to Granny? Of course not!  I removed Granny's towel, removed the cakes from the pans and put them on a rack.  Granny shrugged it off.
I then started to make the caramel frosting.  I constantly stirred the brown sugar, half & half mixture to keep it from sticking to the pot.  Granny scolded "Stop that constant stirring!"  Did I listen to Granny? Of Course not!
Peabody's recipe said to heat the frosting to 235.  So like any Girl who had just burned her last caramel syrup I turned off the heat when it reached 230...it would keep cooking, right?

WRONG!!
Granny asked why I turned it off and told me the frosting was not ready yet.  She said she could look at the way it looked in the pot and on the spoon and know when it was ready.

Finally, the frosting was ready according to the thermometer (and Granny's eye).  I tried to look for the softball that should form by dropping a bit of the hot caramel into a glass of cold water.


And I still don't see it!

After letting it cool, we were supposed to beat the mixture until it reached a spreadable consistency. I think I might have beat it for 72 hours straight and it still didn't reach the spreadable consistency (or at least not the consistency I thought it should be). 

Still beating, and still not the right consistency!

I (after consulting Granny) added some confectioner's sugar to thicken things up a bit.

Granny and I were finally ready to frost the cake when we both noticed how hard and dry the cake seemed.  That's when Granny revealed that she hardly ever cooks cakes for the amount of time called for on the recipe (thanks for telling me now Granny).
So we frosted our dry cake and then watched as the frosting slid right back off the cake.

And finally we tasted the worst cake I have ever eaten or made.
There's only one word that could describe this atrocity:  DRY!

I'm not giving up on making a good caramel cake, but I will definitely listen to Granny next time I try.  Afterall, Granny knows best.  

Goodness Gracious Great Balls of...Chocolate

I've always been impressed with Granny's ability to work her magic without using a measuring cup or a measuring spoon. I so desperately want to be like my Granny and have the measuring eye.  Unfortunately I don't.  Things usually turn out to be disastrous when I attempt to make anything without an exact measurement
However, there is one thing I happen to be able to make without measuring a single ingredient (never mind the fact that all of the ingredients I just take the whole package).  So I thought I'd show off my newly acquired skill here. Especially since they were such a hit yesterday at school.
So without further ado I present:

Oreo Balls (with no measuring)
1 pkg Oreos ( I use double stuffed)
1 -8oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
1 pkg. White candy coating
1 Hershey's chocolate bar (I like to use a Symphony bar) *optional

1.Dump the whole package of Oreos into the food processor (no measuring :-) )

2.In a large mixing bowl combine cookie crumbs and cream cheese.

Opting to be lazy and just add the cream cheese to food processor can result in a mixture that's a tad bit too juicy. Or it could result in a broken blender (luckily this one passed the test)

3.Roll the mixture into balls (average cake pop size). ...or be lazy and use a cookie scoop.

These were a little big, but I was able to shape them after they were colder.

4. Stick the balls into the freezer for about 20 minutes.
5. In the meantime, melt the candy coating in the microwave according to package directions.
6. Use a toothpick to dip balls into candy coating.
7. Place covered balls on a cookie sheet or wax paper to harden.
8.If desired, melt chocolate bar and drizzle Oreo balls.
9. Try to eat just 1. And give the rest of these things away ...QUICKLY!

All I can think of lately is Mickey and his friends since I'll be going to the Food Blog Forum in Orlando this spring.  I'm so excited!

Even though I can make these without measuring or even looking at a recipe, I didn't develop the recipe.  Two friends told me about them in the same week, and I've been making them ever since.  I wish I knew the genius who first made these. 

Houston, We have PROBLEMs

So what's the problem?
The problem is with one of the contributers of this blog...and it ain't the girl!
I've never had a lot of will power, but I've been doing pretty good lately.

 

The cupcakes that were not eaten by this girl.

The Qdoba Taco Salad shell  this girl did not eat.

 That is, I was doing pretty good until this happened:

PROBLEM #2

I admit when Granny (Problem #1) first told me of her plans to make the Cowboy Banana Split Cobbler (which I shall refer to henceforth as Problem #2) I was super excited, mainly because Problem #2 didn't seem appealing in the slightest. So I assumed I would have no problem staying away from Problem #2. 
Unfortunately, as the aroma of Problem #2 soon began to fill my nose. That's when I said to Granny, "Houston, we have a problem!"
I kept telling myself I wouldn't eat any....but that smell

I was still determined not to eat any....but then strawberries and pineapples started peer pressuring me.

I was losing this battle, and then the bananas (not a huge fan) got me back on track.

So again I began reciting my new mantra: I will not eat it.....but then Granny started sprinkling crushed 'Nilla Wafers!!!!

I will not eat it, I will not eat it, I will not eat it!
Granny put the cobbler in the oven.  And the wonderful aroma started creeping back into my nose (as the cobbler began creeping out of the dish).

 Just when I thought I couldn't take any more....

Yep, those are mini Hershey Kisses!
And that's when it got me!  I got a bite of it!....Ain't nobody got time for that!

 

Ok, so it was more like a couple of bites.

 

I urge, don't be like me. Stay away from Problem #2 (I'll keep Problem #1 for a while).

...But just in case, here's a link to the original recipe: Cowboy Banana Split Cobbler.

Here's the recipe with the G-touch (Granny's special touches to make the recipe her own):

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar (+ more to taste)

1 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 - 20oz. can crushed pineapple

2 cups sliced frozen strawberries

1 banana

1 stick butter, melted

1 bag Hershey Chocolate Kisses Minis

1 cup 'Nilla Wafers, crushed

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine pineapple, strawberries and sugar to taste in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the first six ingredients, in order. Grease the sides of a 9x13 dish. Pour melted butter into the dish. Next, add batter. With a slotted spoon, evenly spoon peaches and strawberries onto batter. Take 1 cup of remaining juice and pour over batter. Reserve the excess juice to add after baking if you like a juicer cobbler. Slice bananas about ¼-inch thick and layer on top of berries & pineapple mixture. Crush cookies and sprinkle a light layer on top of cobbler. Bake for approximately 40 minutes. When cobbler is approximately 10 minutes from being done, remove from oven, add a thicker layer of crushed vanilla wafers and top with Hershey Kisses. Continue baking until done and kisses shiny.

*Note - After trying it out, we decided that it some nuts might send Problem #2 over the edge.

Some folks call it stuffing, I call it dressing

I'm baaaaack!!!
It's been forever since I've cooked with Granny. But I was finally permitted back into her kitchen and just in time since she was cooking chicken and dressing.
Some folks call it stuffing or cornbread dressing or turkey and dressing, but we call it chicken and dressing. No matter what the label it's still an American classic.  I feel pretty sure that the Native Americans and Pilgrims ate this at the very first Thanksgiving.  We only get it a few times a year at Granny's house. One of those being Thanksgiving and the other being our annual Super Bowl Family Dinner and perhaps once or twice more depending on Granny's mood.
Of course I tried to blog Granny's Chicken and Dressing for Thanksgiving, however, she all but put me out of her kitchen as she told me in her best Sweet Brown voice, "ain't nobody got time for that!"  So here we are some three months later and she welcomed me back into her kitchen to so I could clook Chicken and Dressing.

Granny starts by slicing and dicing some celery and onions.  The veggies are then tossed into chicken broth and simmered.

In the meantime, Granny prepares a few made from scratch biscuits (hardly ever, she usually uses some freezer biscuits) and her skillet cornbread (click here for cornbread recipe).

Once both breads are cooked up nicely, Crumble them up in a large bowl.
Add seasonings, veggie/chicken broth and mix it all up. Continue adding broth until the mixture reaches the right consistency. 

Transfer the mixture to a large casserole dish and bake at
425° approximately 25 -30 minutes (or until golden brown).
Serve with chicken (or turkey) and top with Giblet Gravy (recipe coming soon).
Unfortunately, I always forget to take a picture of the finished product!

Ingredients:
2½ cups Chicken broth
2 ribs of celery
1½ onions

1½ Tbsp sage

3 tsp poultry seasoning
dash of garlic salt
sprinkle of thyme

½ tsp. of ground black pepper

I'm excited to share someone has finally done their homework....My cousin Tosha made her very first pie.  She made a Brown Sugar Chess Pie that served as one of the desserts at our Super Bowl Family Dinner (and it was really good).  Way to go Tosha!!!