I am Somer Canon: Shiftless lay-about, blog enthusiast, and more importantly, food lover. This blog will share my favorite recipes, cooking techniques, adventures in eating, and just about any subject pertaining to cooking and eating.
My husband has been griping for the past few days about wanting a chocolate cake. I kept deflecting his belly-achings and going about my business. Today, however, I decided to humor him and make a chocolate cake.
At any given time, I always have the ingredients handy to make several different baked goods. It’s a nice way to put a peaceful note on a stressful day and, hey, sometimes you just want some warm cookies. So I was very not worried when I went online to look for recipes on how to make a wonderful chocolate cake and chocolate icing. What I came upon was a recipe that, at first glace, appeared to be the recipe for your average run-of-the-mill cake. I had all of the ingredients on hand and decided to try it anyhow. Besides, I trust Hershey. It’s the only chocolate (Besides Ghirardelli and Neuhaus) that I really like.
The recipe was super easy. The icing was super easy to make. When we had finished our dinner and I served this, my husband looked at me after his first bite and said, “I hope you’re keeping this recipe.”
I took a bite and WOW. It’s a REALLY good cake. It’s almost like brownies but in cake form. VERY chocolate-y and VERY moist. Give it a try.
No, there are no pictures of this. I had no intention of making a blog post about a simple Hershey’s chocolate cake, but after eating it, I knew I had to share it. Seriously. If you like chocolate, try that sucker. You will thank me.
When I was little, my mom would always get me birthday cakes from a local baker. She would do any design that was my fancy at the time. They always looked and tasted wonderful and thanks to her extreme disorganization, the cakes were always a little late but she always threw in a dozen delicious cookies to apologize for the tardiness. Now that I have a child of my own, I was curious as to how I would handle cakes on his birthdays. Do I go to an unorganized baker? Do I buy from the grocery store? Do I make simple cakes myself?
It was my mother-in-law who got me turned on to Wilton cake pans. She made character-themed cakes from Wilton cake pans for her sons when they were children and they both reminisce about them to this day. I decided that I wanted to do cakes like this for my son.
For his first birthday, Cookie Monster was the cake. Cookie Monster was a theme to his party. I got the Wilton food coloring gels to get the colors nice and deep.
I’ll be the first to admit that I have neither the patience or the talent to make a fancy cake. If you look closely you can see mistakes that I made, but all in all it was an adorable cake. The blue icing had that muppet fur look, and the basic picture is recognizable. My son isn’t going to look at a cake like this and say, “Geez Mom, you made a ton of mistakes! It looks so sloppy!” It’s supposed to be fun, and it was.
It was very fun.
This year, the birthday party theme was dinosaurs. Again, I turned to Wilton for the cake pan, and again it appeared that my novice abilities and minimal patience didn’t ruin the party at all.
Again, I used the Wilton gel food coloring because of the depth of color they achieve. The cake and cupcakes were a rousing success and I’d like to encourage anybody out there to try these for a little one. If it’s a niece or nephew or a son or daughter or grandchild, etc. and you want to do something special, make them a cake. If you’re abilities worry you, just go out and buy a set of tips (Wilton makes these as well) and go to their website and pick out a cake pan that will thrill your little one the most. They have hundreds of cake pans and many of them are in the shapes of today’s favorite children’s characters. Each pan comes with specific instructions on how to decorate the cake and what tips to use, etc.
Also, Wilton is a big name and can be found just about anywhere. It’s not hard to find. I know that times are tough for some people and sometimes splurging on the bakery cake might be a bit much for some so I’d like to encourage you to look into these cakes for parties. They are fun, make a great centerpiece, and it’s a personal think to bake a cake for someone like this. I know that I always feel touched when I put one of these cakes before my son. Sure, I’ve only done it twice, but it’s such a sweet tradition and I hope others might try it.
This is a hot weather dessert that reminds me so much of being a kid. I remember my mom making this all of the time in those hot, humid WV summers. I’m not sure where this recipe came from. I think it’s an old recipe, though. I’ve seen variations on it and it was either a recipe given on a Cool Whip tub or on the back of a Jell-o box. I’m sure nearly everybody who grew up in the States has had this dessert at maybe a picnic or at school. It’s a classic!
Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Crust
2 Cups pretzels, crushed
3 T sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted
Combine. Pat into 9×12 pan. Bake 350 for 10 minutes. Cool.
Creamy Filling:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
9 oz cool whip.
Combine. Spread over cooled pretzel crust.
Gelatin Filling:
Two 3 oz packages strawberry gelatin
2 cups boiling water
Two 10 oz packages frozen strawberries, partially thawed
Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add berries. Let mixture set 30 minutes.. Spread over second layer. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Spread more cool whip on top before serving.
An interesting variation on this recipe that I have seen quite a lot is to use orange gelatin and canned mandarin oranges. I’d like to try that variation someday, but I really love the strawberry version as well. It’s creamy, sweet, tart, and salty with fantastic texture.
I had no grand intentions of a weekend feast-a-thon on Saturday morning. All I knew was that I wanted to relax with my family. I got up on Saturday morning, made French toast, and as I was cleaning up I decided to make a luxurious batch of vanilla ice cream. Recipe seen here.
The recipe called for 8 egg yolks. That left me with 8 egg whites that I could either waste completely or save for later. Of course, I opted for “save for later” choice. But what to do with the egg whites? I could go the generic route and make meringues or I could think of something else. Well since I was making ice cream that had 8 egg yolks, I decided to try for something a little more heart healthy.
So for Sunday morning I made my husband and I egg white omelettes stuffed with roasted asparagus, green onions, and cheese. They were delicious. Perhaps I’ll try to show you all how to make an omelette on here (HINT: You don’t need a special pan…it’s all about a properly lubricated pan and the way you manipulate the eggs. After that, you can put pretty much anything in there and they are delightful!)
Moving on with the whole “Using up the old” routine, I needed an idea for Sunday dinner. I had quite a lot of leftover white wine that I needed to use up. I could have made risotto and used up a little bit or I could have gotten a little creative. I love Coq Au Vin, but it is a dish usually made with red wine. “What the heck” I said to myself. So I made Coq Au Vin with white wine. I used up the leftover wine and the Coq Au Vin was…..meh. It was ok, but I wouldn’t recommend trying it. It was too fruity and it lacked the body that the dish usually represents. The recipe that I use to make Coq Au Vin, however is fantastic and I’ll share it with you in the hopes of spreading the French happiness. It’s an all-day kind of dish best saved for company or weekends. But it’s SO GOOD.
Coq Au Vin
2007, Ina Garten
2 Tblsp. good olive oil
4 oz. good bacon or pancetta, diced
1 (3-4 lb.) chicken, cut in 8ths
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ lb. carrots, cut diagonally in 1-inch pieces
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 tsp. chopped garlic
¼ cup Cognac or good brandy
½ bottle (375 ml) good dry red wine such as Burgundy
1 cup good chicken stock, preferably homemade
10 fresh thyme sprigs
2 Tblsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
1-1/2 Tblsp. AP flour
½ lb. frozen small whole onions
½ lb. cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thickly sliced
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon. Meanwhile, lay the chicken out on paper towels and pat dry. Liberally sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. When the bacon is removed, brown the chicken pieces in batches in a single layer for about 5 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Remove the chicken to the plate with the bacon and continue to brown until all the chicken is done. Set aside.
Add the carrots, onions, 2 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. pepper to the pan and cook over medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac and put the bacon, chicken, and any juices that collected on the plate into the pot. Add the wine, chicken stock, and thyme and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the chicken is just not pink. Remove from the oven and place on top of the stove.
Mash 1 Tblsp. of butter and the flour together and stir into the stew. Add frozen onions. In a medium sauté pan, add the remaining 1 Tblsp. of butter and cook the mushrooms over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes, until browned. Add to stew. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot. YIELD: 3 servings.
A little hint to the weary, my mom uses this same recipe but lets it sit overnight before reheating it and eating it. She feels that it tastes better after sitting for a while. Some dishes are better as leftovers, you know. Enjoy!
I am having so much fun making ice cream this year. There are so many different recipes out there to try that I feel like a kid in a candy store when I go to a recipe page for ice cream.
“OOH! I want to try this one! OOOOOHHH! Look at that! I want that one! Whoa! That one looks cool! I want it!”
I’d been craving a good chocolate ice cream that didn’t require a lot of work and I kept getting recipes that produced an ice cream so dark that it looked like fudge and not ice cream. So, naturally, I whipped up some of my own. I used the base of that super easy vanilla ice cream that I talked about here. In case you need a refresher:
* 2 cups heavy whipping cream
* 2 cups half-and-half cream
* 3/4 cup white sugar
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Simply add 2 Tblsp. of a good quality cocoa powder to this mixture (Hershey or Ghirardelli are my personal favorites). Same as before, chill this mixture in the refrigerator before putting it in your ice cream maker.
Once it is in the ice cream maker, turn the machine on and watch the mixture carefully. When you notice that it is getting thick and starting to set, add 1/3 cup of chocolate syrup. Just let the machine mix it up for you.
When the ice cream is ready to be put into containers and frozen in the freezer (an ice cream maker won’t freeze it all that way. It will still be very soft.), add 1/2 cup of semi-sweeet chocolate chips and mix. Let the ice cream freeze in your freezer for at least 3 hours before eating. Being triple chocolate, it is very chocolatey but not terribly rich.
I understand that the chocolate chips in this might be a textural crap-shoot for some people. It’s no problem. If you think that they would bother you, then just leave them out! You’re still going to have an awesome Double Chocolate Ice Cream.
I’d like to make a quick note about my Sundae cups. You’ve noticed, I’m sure, that I almost always serve my ice cream in these tiny dishes. This is because the recommended serving size of ice cream is only a 1/2 cup! These Sundae cups are perfect for making sure that I don’t end up eating too much ice cream or serving too much to my family. You can pick these up anywhere! Look into them.
This is a quick and easy recipe and since it is not a custard-base, it’s not terribly rich. Oh don’t get me wrong, it’s still rich. There’s a lot of chocolate in this, but you don’t feel like your teeth are going to fall out after eating this dish. Give it a try and enjoy!
I am Somer Canon: Shiftless lay-about, blog enthusiast, and more importantly, food lover. This blog will share my favorite recipes, cooking techniques, adventures in eating, and just about any subject pertaining to cooking and eating.
